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Now that it's happened, let's ask for real, who will be our GM?


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So now that the process has started for real, let's begin in earnest discussing who ends up being our next GM. Maybe instead of all of us listing all the names that are out there, can I suggest that we each just choose one name, the very best in our opinion, as to who we think would make the best GM for us. Let's think outside the box, even if someone seems to not be available right now, for whatever reason, pick a person, who you think could potentially be a great fit as our next GM and lead back to the Stanley cup. And if someone has already listed your top choice, give us your 2nd pick.

I'm going to name somone who I would not have thought of on my own but I heard Bob MacKenzie mention him and I thought this guy would be a great fit for us. He is currently under contract, but stranger things have happened [especially this year]. So my choice for our next GM would be Dale Tallon. Currently under contract to Florida, but he did a great job in laying the groundwork in Chicago, has rebuilt Florida fairly quickly, was a former player [which may not be a prerequisite] and he speaks french. So if we could negotiate a deal and somehow pry him out of Florida, Dale Talloon would be my top choice. What do you think??

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Jim Nill. It's a no-brainer.

Other than that, I have no strong preference from among the standard list of choices. People such as Brisebois, Loiselle, or Bergevin are safe, conventional-wisdom picks who are qualified and would likely do a professional job (which is not the same thing as making a champion). I am not wholly averse, though, to the 'swing-for-the-fences' choice; I saw Vancouver do this, going off the chart to pick Mike Gillis, and that has worked superbly. So if in the interview process somebody like Roy steps forward and impresses Molson/Savard, not merely with his name and rep but with his managerial vision, I wouldn't be up in arms. But I'd also be under no illusions that such a step would be other than a high-risk, high-reward move.

I really think that being a great GM is not just about resumé and experience. Serge Savard, Bobby Clobbers, and Mike Gillis are all examples of guys with no previous experience who stepped in a did very strong jobs. Conversely, two of the most seasoned and impressive c.v.s out there belong to Bob Gainey and Brian Burke, neither of whom are rated as successes in their most recent gigs. Dave Nonis represented the 'conventional wisdom' choice in Vancouver, yet he was turfed out for the neophyte Gillis and has substantially improved that organization. So there are different directions we could take. But if we want to win a Cup, I believe we'll need an ineffable combination of professional managerial competence (the 'conventional wisdom' types) with that mysterious X-factor (excellent intuition, ruthless drive to win rather than just be good). The choice will lean more to one side of these poles than the other, but ultimately whoever we choose must have both qualities if we hope to do more than tread water.

BTW, we won't do better than Farber's list, which should be taken as pretty authoritative: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_farber/03/29/pierre.gauthier.fired.new.gm/index.html?sct=nhl_t11_a0 Plus, I kinda like his idea of Roy + Savard staying on as éminence grise to keep the lid on Roy's fiery nature.

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If Pat Brisson said yes, you take Brisson. However, he likely won't.

Jim Nill and Paul Fenton are both excellent candidates but are anglophones.

Julien BriseBois and Marc Bergevin are good candidates that fill the language barrier but both have their own question marks. I'm starting to really like the idea of Bergevin though. He's a charismatic guy. Might be what Molson is looking for in a GM.

Claude Loiselle is an interesting choice though I didn't like that one article about him from the Toronto Star.

Vincent Damphousse would make an excellent assistant GM.

Pierre McGuire would be the death of the franchise.

My issue with Savard is that he's far too willing to let his agenda get in the way of doing a good job. He's going to care more for a Quebecer than he will the right man. Molson is going to have to be involved every step of the way. If Patrick Roy is the coach, it'll matter little what language the GM speaks. Attention will be on Roy and the dumber Francophone will just assume Roy is GM anyway. Roy is honestly going to have a lot of power as coach of the team and people need to understand that. Who we bring in as GM has to work well with someone who has an input as to what their lines will look like. I think guys like Nill and Fenton would be comfortable with that, who knows on a BriseBois or Bergevin.

In the end, I'm just happy there are a lot of good choices.

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Machine, this Roy question is tricky.

If you hire Roy as GM, then you are taking a big risk in hockey terms, but hoping for the high ceiling.

If you hire a GM other than Roy, you cannot proceed to dictate that he hire Roy as his coach. That is a recipe for disaster. Nor is a GM (other than a senior management type with huge credibility, such as Nill) liable to hire Roy for this job, both because Roy is under-qualified and because Roy will probably end up unseating him as GM before all is said and done. Therefore, hiring a GM other than Roy most likely means no role for Roy in the organization.

No role for Roy with Montreal means that he will end up running the Quebec City franchise: a gigantic PR disaster or epochal proportions and one whose pscyhology will probably see the Nordiques owning us on the ice more often than not.

It's a frigging time-bomb is what it is. Other than hiring him as GM, I just can't see Roy being anything other than a pain in our backsides.

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Machine, this Roy question is tricky.

If you hire Roy as GM, then you are taking a big risk in hockey terms, but hoping for the high ceiling.

If you hire a GM other than Roy, you cannot proceed to dictate that he hire Roy as his coach. That is a recipe for disaster. Nor is a GM (other than a senior management type with huge credibility, such as Nill) liable to hire Roy for this job, both because Roy is under-qualified and because Roy will probably end up unseating him as GM before all is said and done. Therefore, hiring a GM other than Roy most likely means no role for Roy in the organization.

I think you assume that only the Montreal Canadiens consider Roy a coaching candidate.

Colorado offered him both a coaching and GM role two years ago and he turned it down. Insiders have talked to other teams and said that Roy is ready to be an NHL coach and would love to bring him into their organizations but know Roy has the resume to choose where he wants to go.

I think a smart GM candidate to come into Montreal realizes this as well. There is no better candidate for coach of the Canadiens than Roy and even if Roy ends up wielding serious coaching power from the beginning, it's the best relationship to work with.

I think the right GM will select Roy as head coach. So I don't see it as a pain.

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I line it up like this.

Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard

General Manager - Patrick Roy

Assistant GM - not Julien Brisebois (he doesn't leave Tampa for a lateral move IMO), but someone of his ilk as a Capologist.

Head Coach - here is the tricky one.... but Marc Crawford.

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson

Assistant Coach Forwards - Benoit Groulx

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

Head of All Scouting/Director of Hockey Operations - Trevor Timmins (gets a promotion)

Head Pro Scout - Larry Carriere

Head Amateur Scout - Ryan Jankowski

Hamilton Bulldogs Coach - Don Lever

Hamilton Bulldogs Assistant Coach - Ron Wilson (not the ex-Leaf)

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Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard

General Manager - Pat Brisson

Assistant GM - Vincent Damphousse

Head Coach - Patrick Roy

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson

Assistant Coach Forwards - Randy Cunneyworth

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

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Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard, as people say, level headed and a good respected sounding board for the organization

General Manager - I wish we could get Nill... Anyone who has been with Detroit that long has to know whats up. Though if the french bit is in play I like what I've heard about Bergevin and another one who I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is Francois Giguere, who apparently league gm's respect and think he didn't get fair treatment in Colorado, maybe his credibility in the eyes of the other gm's will help us do deals. But. I do not know much about Giguere himself and how he operates.

Assistant GM - Vincent Damphousse, why not right! Give him some experience in case whoever we do get doesn't work right.

Head Coach - Patrick Roy, I think he would be better down behind the bench then up in management right now.

Assistant (well at least one) - I'd like to see Larry Robinson in there, I think it would be great for PK.

And PLEASE don't let us touch McGuire!!!!

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Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard, as people say, level headed and a good respected sounding board for the organization

I like people calling Serge level headed when everyone knows he has a temper and can be critically outspoken. I mean, Molson had to contradict him yesterday!

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I like people calling Serge level headed when everyone knows he has a temper and can be critically outspoken. I mean, Molson had to contradict him yesterday!

Of course we are comparing him to Roy :P

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I line it up like this.

Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard

General Manager - Patrick Roy

Assistant GM - not Julien Brisebois (he doesn't leave Tampa for a lateral move IMO), but someone of his ilk as a Capologist.

Head Coach - here is the tricky one.... but Marc Crawford.

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson

Assistant Coach Forwards - Benoit Groulx

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

Head of All Scouting/Director of Hockey Operations - Trevor Timmins (gets a promotion)

Head Pro Scout - Larry Carriere

Head Amateur Scout - Ryan Jankowski

Hamilton Bulldogs Coach - Don Lever

Hamilton Bulldogs Assistant Coach - Ron Wilson (not the ex-Leaf)

I would take that whole organization. Nice work!

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Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard

General Manager - Pat Brisson

Assistant GM - Vincent Damphousse

Head Coach - Patrick Roy

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson

Assistant Coach Forwards - Randy Cunneyworth

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

The Cunnyworth demotion is interesting. I wonder if a new coach would consider this. He definitely got thrown under the bus. Probably deserves a mulligan on the season.

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I did it special for you. I wanted to put Cunneyworth in that spot, but I had to put Lever.

I'm completely up in the air as to what to do with Hamilton. Cunneyworth might be a good bet if he accepts the demotion but I think with the possibility of the team moving to Laval, it's tough to find someone perfect for the role. All I know is the current coaching just isn't working.

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I'm completely up in the air as to what to do with Hamilton.  Cunneyworth might be a good bet if he accepts the demotion but I think with the possibility of the team moving to Laval, it's tough to find someone perfect for the role.  All I know is the current coaching just isn't working.

Andaleur keeps saying the team isn't moving. Laval should go for a QMJHL team.

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He is from ALmonte so maybe.

But I doubt it.

I would be so sad if he was let go.

I highly doubt he speaks French. His annual butchering of the French version of "The Habs are pleased to select" is more than enough proof for me.

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I highly doubt he speaks French. His annual butchering of the French version of "The Habs are pleased to select" is more than enough proof for me.

Marc Crawford cant even pronounce Desharnais. And he does.

I agree though he cant get it done.

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General Manager - Pierre Mcguire

Assistant GM's - Jarmo Kekalainen, Vincent Damphousse, & Marshall Johnson

Head Coach - Patrick Roy

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson, Gaston Gingras or Rick Green

Assistant Coach Forwards - Benoit Groulx and Tourigny

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

Director of Hockey Operations - Trevor Timmins

Head Pro Scout - Blair Mackasey

Head Amateur Scout - Pierre Gauthier (it's really one of his fortes)

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General Manager - Pierre Mcguire

Assistant GM's - Jarmo Kekalainen, Vincent Damphousse, & Marshall Johnson

Head Coach - Patrick Roy

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson, Gaston Gingras or Rick Green

Assistant Coach Forwards - Benoit Groulx and Tourigny

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

Director of Hockey Operations - Trevor Timmins

Head Pro Scout - Blair Mackasey

Head Amateur Scout - Pierre Gauthier (it's really one of his fortes)

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

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Advisor/Vice President - Serge Savard

General Manager - Pat Brisson

Assistant GM - Vincent Damphousse

Head Coach - Patrick Roy

Assistant Coach Defence - Larry Robinson

Assistant Coach Forwards - Randy Cunneyworth

Assistant Coach Goalie - Pierre Groulx

I think this would be a great team with room to train/mentor people and build a great team for years to come. I wonder if Pat Brisson would be interested??

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