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6 hours ago, Commandant said:

Per Friedman in the Marek/Freidman podcast, the Habs are very interested in adding multiple women to executive positions on the hockey side, though maybe not the GM role. 

Excellent ... perhaps as an A/GM or in another significant role that is a step on the ladder towards becoming a GM ... just not as window dressing.

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7 hours ago, Commandant said:

Per Friedman in the Marek/Freidman podcast, the Habs are very interested in adding multiple women to executive positions on the hockey side, though maybe not the GM role. 

 

Male, female, other - I don't care, just hire good people with sound judgement who will make good hockey decisions. 

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9 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

Male, female, other - I don't care, just hire good people with sound judgement who will make good hockey decisions. 

Yes. But broadening the candidate list beyond the usual old white guys will give them more options and should result in better hires, on average.

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37 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

Yes. But broadening the candidate list beyond the usual old white guys will give them more options and should result in better hires, on average.

 

Bingo. 

 

Having saddled themselves with a serious handicap in terms of language requirements, the Habs need to be much more wide-ranging and innovative in the way they think about recruitment into managerial positions - at all levels, really, since anyone in upper management could ultimately work their way into a GMing role some day. If the Habs do like most teams and just pull from the same old crowd of NHL cronies and insiders, but only targeting the bilingual handful, they are doing nothing but radically shrinking the talent pool. 

 

Women are one recruitment frontier. Europe is the other obvious one. It’s bewildering when you think about it that we’ve never reached across the Atlantic for managerial or coaching talent.

 

Beyond that, I tend to operate on the assumption that the NHL - although it’s gotten better over the last decade or so - is a somewhat ossified league filled with somewhat conservative, hidebound types. And I’ve always felt that the Habs should represent innovation and nimbleness in that context. Indeed, in their glory days the Habs really were smarter and more dynamic in their thinking, as an organization, than their rivals; that’s why they dominated. 

 

Recruit from the same old pool, and you tend to get the same old ideas. 

 

Diversity is also good business. The Habs used to represent, in their “Frenchness,” a distinctive identity in the marketplace that was often appealing to fans outside of the standard white bread lunchpail hockey crowd. They should have built on that legacy to be a more diverse organization than their competitors. Hockey still being extremely hetero-normative, patriarchal, and extremely white, it’s not too late to reclaim this aspect of their organizational legacy. It could make them a cool franchise again. 

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9 hours ago, tomh009 said:

Yes. But broadening the candidate list beyond the usual old white guys will give them more options and should result in better hires, on average.

Well in the habs case, they will probably just be broadening the pool to white French speaking women.

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Just now, hab29RETIRED said:

Well in the habs case, they will probably just be broadening the pool to white French speaking women.

They can broaden it to visual minorities (now more common in the sports media, too), women, men without a traditional hockey-playing background, people from outside US and Canada. Even if you require some French skills -- or maybe a commitment to learn French, in the case of a supporting role.

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42 minutes ago, tomh009 said:

They can broaden it to visual minorities (now more common in the sports media, too), women, men without a traditional hockey-playing background, people from outside US and Canada. Even if you require some French skills -- or maybe a commitment to learn French, in the case of a supporting role.

 

As I said before. Hire the best person.  I could care less what colour or sex.  I would think that someone without a hockey playing background would be at a disadvantage unless of course they were brilliant and would progress quickly under Jeff Gorton's tutelage. 

 

Hopefully that someone would see the need to rebuild. I am quite confident that Jeff Gorton sees this as a rebuilding situation and he will hire someone with the same vision. 

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I agree just get the best person.  If we get an advantage by considering people other teams are overlooking that's great.  My worry is that most (but not all) women have come up through the woman's game which is very different.  I want someone with some NHL or AHL coaching or managing experience.

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2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

As I said before. Hire the best person.  I could care less what colour or sex ...

But if you don't interview outside the old, and even new, boys club you might well miss the best person.

 

2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

... Hopefully that someone would see the need to rebuild. I am quite confident that Jeff Gorton sees this as a rebuilding situation and he will hire someone with the same vision. 

Agreed ... I think that being onboard with at least a MAJOR re-tool will be a requirement to even get in the door.

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49 minutes ago, tomh009 said:
2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

... I would think that someone without a hockey playing background would be at a disadvantage unless of course they were brilliant and would progress quickly under Jeff Gorton's tutelage ...

I think coaching or managing (or agenting!) experience is far more valuable than actual playing experience.

I agree ... IMO the search is for the person with the best skillset so that Gorton can mentor and mould them.

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1 hour ago, Peter Puck said:

...  My worry is that most (but not all) women have come up through the woman's game which is very different ...

Not certain that the fundamentals of the game, or evaluating talent, are so very different ... if a woman has the best skillset I am all for selecting her.

 

1 hour ago, Peter Puck said:

...  I want someone with some NHL or AHL coaching or managing experience.

That may well (or even likley) be where the GM comes from ... but it is essentially the same old, same old pool in which the Habs fished in 2012 ... I like the idea of a wider search ... I suspect any truly outside the box selection will be for a more developmental position under the GM.

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A few things... 

 

1) the gm may have to be able to speak french but nothing saying the other front office have to be. Heck there is Jeff Gorton

 

2) as for the comment that the women have no nhl or ahl experience, true, but the whole point is that they are coming to contribute to the organization not be gm right away.  How else do they ever get the experience.

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1 hour ago, Dalhabs said:

A woman GM would be awesome.

It would totally destroy the ol boys club.

"A woman" can f**k things up just as easy, so not sure destroying old school thinking should be a factor, same as language shouldnt be, but both are now considerations after draft pick backlash and spotlight on all the issues of inequality.

 

I would kinda think AGM (or assistant coach?) or role like that for less experienced but 'outside the box' person wouldnt be too risky and get Molson some public relations credits?

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46 minutes ago, DON said:

"A woman" can f**k things up just as easy, so not sure destroying old school thinking should be a factor, same as language shouldnt be, but both are now considerations after draft pick backlash and spotlight on all the issues of inequality.

 

I would kinda think AGM (or assistant coach?) or role like that for less experienced but 'outside the box' person wouldnt be too risky and get Molson some public relations credits?

 

Exactly, I am absolutely fine with hiring a woman if they are the best candidate. I am most concerned with building a winner, being progressive is a secondary consideration.  If you can be progressive AND build a winner - fantastic. 

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39 minutes ago, huzer said:

Oh my.

 

Regardless, seems people have already tossed out the thought that Gorton is the "real" GM.

<sarcasm on>

so the new GM, will be like a "trophy" GM that speaks French and looks good at media events ?

</sarcasm off>

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3 hours ago, huzer said:

Oh my.

 

Regardless, seems people have already tossed out the thought that Gorton is the "real" GM.

 

The longer they go without a GM, it becomes more clear to me that Gorton is running the show.  The GM is going to be assisting him.

Its like the Raptors where Masai Ujiri is the President and Bobby Wagner is the GM.  Anyone who follows basketball at all knows its Masai who runs that team.

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8 minutes ago, Commandant said:

The longer they go without a GM, it becomes more clear to me that Gorton is running the show.  The GM is going to be assisting him.

Its like the Raptors where Masai Ujiri is the President and Bobby Wagner is the GM.  Anyone who follows basketball at all knows its Masai who runs that team.

I believe that was always the plan ... prioritize skills over experience and have Gorton mentor them.

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4 hours ago, alfredoh2009 said:

<sarcasm on>

so the new GM, will be like a "trophy" GM that speaks French and looks good at media events ?

</sarcasm off>

 

I don't think they've added an "attractive" clause, in addition to speaking French. But indicating that a woman is "too emotional" to be a GM seems a bit out to lunch.  While I don't expect a woman to be named the next GM, it wouldn't surprise me. However, I do see women being adding to other parts of the staff. Politics and all, I think too many would view a french speaking female GM as completely a figurehead and would balk at that.

 

I do find it interesting that with all of the "blow it up" talk around the team, that many of the suggestions to replace coaches, execs, etc, are simply people in similar positions of power at other teams. Rinse, repeat, recycle. Doesn't mean there aren't viable candidates at other teams, but I don't have visions of Mathieu Darche in my head as the awe inspiring leader to drag the Canadiens into the upper echelon of teams in the league.

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4 hours ago, GHT120 said:

I believe that was always the plan ... prioritize skills over experience and have Gorton mentor them.

 

That's the way I believe it will happen.  Skills will be most important.  I don't think there are too many successful, experienced hockey people looking for work and if there were they likely would want a lot of autonomy. Gorton will look for a bright young person with some hockey experience that he can mentor. And someone with a similar vision. 

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21 hours ago, GHT120 said:

But if you don't interview outside the old, and even new, boys club you might well miss the best person.

 

Agreed ... I think that being onboard with at least a MAJOR re-tool will be a requirement to even get in the door.

 

I never said you shouldn't interview outside the old or new boys club. 

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14 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

That's the way I believe it will happen.  Skills will be most important.  I don't think there are too many successful, experienced hockey people looking for work and if there were they likely would want a lot of autonomy. Gorton will look for a bright young person with some hockey experience that he can mentor. And someone with a similar vision. 

Just a thought.  Could Gorton mentor Paul Maurice enabling him to take the next step from coach to GM?

 

Granted I'm not sure Maurice even speaks French.  Nor an\m I sure he is the best choice.  But at some point you'd think that would be his next move - to become a GM somewhere.

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