New Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Montreal Canadiens, Jeff Gorton, met with the media on Friday and discussed his plans for the future of the team. Noting that Dominique Ducharme would stay on as head coach, at least through this season, Gorton said he needed more time before ultimately determining the direction the Canadiens will go.
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He said, “Working for the Montreal Canadiens is a dream for anyone working in hockey” and Gorton discussed a number of topics, but among the most interesting were that he wanted to build a fast and skilled team. That would take time and he noted that he won’t have a general manager in place until after Christmas to help him realize his vision. When asked who his candidates might be, he noted that he hasn’t put a group together but wouldn’t rule anyone out. As for Patrick Roy, he said he’d heard Roy made a statement that he’d be interested but said it’s too early to talk names.
As for whether or not that means a rebuild, it’s too soon to commit to something like that as well.
If the Canadiens do go down that road, the media was curious as to whom would be traded. Darren Dreger commented during a hit on TSN 690 radio that there would be teams interested in Brendan Gallagher’s contract this year. Saying his character is a big selling point, Dreger admitted, “It’s not an easy move to make though, if you’re a contending team chances are you’re a cap team, so what are the Canadiens taking back?”
There’s talk of Ben Chiarot being moved. He knows he could be moved too and says that guys with expiring deals get moved all the time. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes:
“… I spoke with a few contending teams today who value him greatly and here’s a guy who can absolutely fetch a first-round pick given the dearth of rental defencemen available. He was terrific during the Habs’ playoff run to the Stanley Cup Final last year.”
Canadiens Roster News and Notes:
It also sounds like forward Josh Anderson will miss at least 2-4 weeks with an injury after he went hard into the boards in a game on Thursday evening. Gallagher and Sami Niku were placed on the COVID protocol list. Jeff Petry will not accompany the team to Nashville due to an upper-body injury. Corey Schueneman has been recalled from the Laval Rocket. Corey Schueneman has been recalled from Laval.
As for the jersey being thrown on the ice in last night’s game, a number of team members said it was disappointing. “It’s not a good feeling for the players. I think it was one of my jerseys… It’s tough,” said Nick Suzuki.
Next: Maple Leafs’ Michael Bunting Gearing for a Breakout Season
don
December 3, 2021 at 10:29 am
stick with it through thick and thin go habs go
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