How much would it hurt us if Rick Dudley leaves?

[REV-G]

There is evidently some discussion, maybe much discussion, that Rick Dudley, if he wants it, can be the next GM of the Buffalo Sabres.

Who knows if that will happen although Dudley has lots of history with Buffalo, evidently still lives there and obviously has player, GM and salary cap experience and has the reputation as being one of the best judges of talent around. Many believe he built Tampa Bay before they won the cup and also put together the Chicago Blackhawks for their cup run. He drafted and traded for players that went against some of the accepted thinking of the day and yet most of his moves turned out to be successful.

So the questions are, how much would we miss Dudley, would we be hurt if he left, and if he left who would we replace him with?

[dlbalr]

I like Dudley and I think he's an important part of the management team but I don't think they'd miss him a ton. He hasn't been there all that long to have made an irreplaceable impact. Larry Carriere, the assistant GM under Gauthier, is still there; I would imagine he'd pick up a lot of the slack. I can't say I know this for sure but Dudley's loss would primarily be felt in the scouting department.

[REV-G]

I like Dudley and I think he's an important part of the management team but I don't think they'd miss him a ton. He hasn't been there all that long to have made an irreplaceable impact. Larry Carriere, the assistant GM under Gauthier, is still there; I would imagine he'd pick up a lot of the slack. I can't say I know this for sure but Dudley's loss would primarily be felt in the scouting department.

I personally hope that he stays with us. I think our team is stronger with him. But maybe he's not using his full capability with us. Maybe he needs to be a GM, build teams and be the go to guy. Maybe Buffalo needs him much more than we do?

[dlbalr]

I personally hope that he stays with us. I think our team is stronger with him. But maybe he's not using his full capability with us. Maybe he needs to be a GM, build teams and be the go to guy. Maybe Buffalo needs him much more than we do?

If they think Dudley is their guy then yes, they need him more than the Habs do. I hope they look elsewhere too though, it's nice to have a veteran NHL GM around with Bergevin still fairly early in his managerial tenure.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Dudley is a good guy to have around but that doesn't mean he isn't replaceable or crucial.

[habs rule]

I hope they look elsewhere too though, it's nice to have a veteran NHL GM around with Bergevin still fairly early in his managerial tenure.

This is my thought exactly, MB can use the help right now, so I hope it is a couple of years before Rick leaves. If he does it probably won't be the end of the world.

[nihilz]

I think Dudley is committed to Bergevin and the current situation. Perhaps if MB was a few more years into his tenure it'd be a more suitable scenario.

Buffalo brass made a big mistake. Should have fired Regier and promoted Ruff internally. Lafontaine is a nice addition out of novelty.

I'd have given Cunnyworth a call for coaching over Nolan.. Strange days is Sabre land.

[dlbalr]

I'd have given Cunnyworth a call for coaching over Nolan.. Strange days is Sabre land.

I think if the Nolan hiring blows up in their face, he may be back behind the bench in some capacity before the year ends. He coached quite a few of the players on their current roster in Rochester. In the meantime, he'll keep scouting for them.

[dlbalr]

According to source, Rick Dudley has not been contacted by Sabres (as of last night) and is unlikely to be their next GM. Surprising. #habs

— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) November 16, 2013

[REV-G]

According to source, Rick Dudley has not been contacted by Sabres (as of last night) and is unlikely to be their next GM. Surprising. #habs

— Marc Antoine Godin (@MAGodin) November 16, 2013

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Interesting. I wonder what reasoning or info there is behind a statement/tweet like that? Does he have some inside info from the Canadiens?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I'm not sure a guy as smart as Dudley would want to step into that hornet's nest. Nolan is notorious for undercutting GMs by ingratiating himself with the owner, and this owner has already shown himself to be an ignorant clod who loves interfering with hockey operations. Lord only knows how Lafontaine fits in, meanwhile. I understand that a chance to be GM is a massive opportunity, but on the other hand some situations are best avoided. This may be one of 'em.

[REV-G]

I'm not sure a guy as smart as Dudley would want to step into that hornet's nest. Nolan is notorious for undercutting GMs by ingratiating himself with the owner, and this owner has already shown himself to be an ignorant clod who loves interfering with hockey operations. Lord only knows how Lafontaine fits in, meanwhile. I understand that a chance to be GM is a massive opportunity, but on the other hand some situations are best avoided. This may be one of 'em.

Since Dudley is a smart guy I'm sure if he's interested he'd get the necessary written guarantee's giving him all the freedom and decision making regarding all the areas and personnel he'd need to do the job. He would go into this fully aware of the history of everyone involved.

There are some situations that are ready to be turned around by the right person and some leaders look for them. However there are sometimes fine lines between what is possible versus that which may not change for a long time.

So as you suggested, he may know enough and be smart enough to say no.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

It's pretty funny that the unfounded rumours about Nolan still stick.

[dlbalr]

The Habs have agreed to a re-negotiated (higher paying) contract with Dudley in response to Buffalo asking for permission to speak to them about their GM vacancy. He's sticking around.

https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/status/405791719150456832

[mineral]

Thought they were looking for young bodies to fit that new GM role in Buffalo.

After Stan Bowman has given the Habs "permission to speak to" countless people in their organization, I wonder what people think about this defensive manover by Bergevin.

[dlbalr]

Thought they were looking for young bodies to fit that new GM role in Buffalo.

After Stan Bowman has given the Habs "permission to speak to" countless people in their organization, I wonder what people think about this defensive manover by Bergevin.

I don't think they denied permission but rather went to Dudley and said, we'll tack on a few years to your current deal at a higher rate if you'd like to stay. That's a bit different than simply denying permission on its own.

It turns out it's not a renegotiation of his current deal but rather an extension. This new contract doesn't kick in until 2015.

Here's a tidbit from TSN's article with some Dudley quotes:

"The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, I'm flattered,'' Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. "And Berg (Montreal GM Marc Bergevin) said he would never stand in my way which I appreciate, too. But he said, 'I've got something for you to think about.' He presented me with an option, and you know what, I came to Montreal because of Berg, and I'll stay in Montreal because of Berg. It's been a lot of fun. If you're doing something you enjoy, why would you change it?''

Dudley said Bergevin phoned the Sabres on Wednesday to inform them he would stay with the Canadiens. In return, he got a contract extension.

"It got extended by a lot,'' said Dudley, who turns 65 in January. "It probably means it'll be my last deal. This is a great organization. I'd like to help build one more (champion) like the Blackhawks and Lightning, I think it can happen with this organization, and if it does, it would be wonderful.''

http://www.habsworld.net/out.php?18402

[habs rule]

I think Bergevin has made an excellent decision. Dudley says this is probably his last contract, so MB stepped up to the plate and hit a homer. Really think Dudley is a quality person and will be a benefit to us for a long time.

[Neech]

Glad that Bergevin didn't lose someone who he obviously thought is very important to the organization. Sounds like Dudley wanted to stay for the right reasons too. It really seems (and you can never be sure) that the Habs have good people from the top down.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Glad that Bergevin didn't lose someone who he obviously thought is very important to the organization. Sounds like Dudley wanted to stay for the right reasons too. It really seems (and you can never be sure) that the Habs have good people from the top down.

Seems that way, yeah. Of course this was equally true of the Gainey years: Gainey, Trevor Timmins, André Savard, Pierre Gauthier, Carbo - these guys all had superb credentials, that led me to say things like "the Habs have one of the best braintrusts in hockey" in the early days of the Gainey era. So much for that.

We'll know a lot more about "Berg's" competence as GM over the next year or two, as he actually starts making serious personnel decisions. So far he has mostly been waiting for the young guys to develop and signing placeholders (Briere, Parros, Murray) to tide us over, but the time will come when he has to start taking decisive steps to make us contenders. That'll be the moment when we learn if we really do have stars in charge.

[Neech]

Seems that way, yeah. Of course this was equally true of the Gainey years: Gainey, Trevor Timmins, André Savard, Pierre Gauthier, Carbo - these guys all had superb credentials, that led me to say things like "the Habs have one of the best braintrusts in hockey" in the early days of the Gainey era. So much for that.

We'll know a lot more about "Berg's" competence as GM over the next year or two, as he actually starts making serious personnel decisions. So far he has mostly been waiting for the young guys to develop and signing placeholders (Briere, Parros, Murray) to tide us over, but the time will come when he has to start taking decisive steps to make us contenders. That'll be the moment when we learn if we really do have stars in charge.

Yeah, the Gainey era made second-guessers out of all of us, and with good reason.

We have a few reasons to be more optimistic about this rebuild, however. For starters, we have a young top-line forward in Galchenyuk the likes of which we haven't seen in Montreal in decades. There's no corollary in the Gainey era. You could say that Markov from a decade ago had a similar role in the future that Subban has now, but the fact that Markov is still around and performing at a high level tips the comparison to favour the current team. Higgins, Komisarek, Ryder, et al. don't seem spectacular now, but they were once our future core; if you stack them up against Patches, Gallagher, Eller, Emelin etc, I don't think it would take rose-coloured glasses to chose this era. And perhaps most importantly, we aren't relying on headcase boobs like the Kostitsyns and most seasons of Kovalev who give intermittent efforts and provide media stories of a fractured room.

With young players like Bournival stepping in and looking like all-around contributors, along with a solid pipeline of defensive prospects, I'd say we're positioned pretty well.