We didn’t report on it last week, but it’s still relevant as earlier rumors had one of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s own executives as part of the discussion.
The Montreal Canadiens have filled their General Manager vacancy with former NHL defenseman Marc Bergevin. From this point forward, Bergevin (who played for the Lightning during two stints in his career) will be looking to rectify the perceived crimes committed by former Habs GM Pierre Gauthier – namely the replacement of Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth in favor of a French speaker.
The Bolts dodged a bullet, for now. Assistant General Manager Julien BriseBois was oft-mentioned as a possible candidate for Les Habs new GM. And why not? BriseBois is a former Canadiens front office executive (under former GM Bob Gainey) and a native son of Quebec. He has been overseeing the Bolts AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals, and they have been successful in his two seasons as the Ads GM.
Just to opine on things, I have to wonder if BriseBois’ ties to Gainey’s tenure as GM played a part in the Canadiens going elsewhere for the role. Gainey fell out of favor in Montreal, resigning from his role as GM / head coach in 2010, and was dismissed from the club from his adviser capacity the same day Gauthier was ousted by the club late in the season… Why bring in someone who was a member of the unsuccessful old guard?
BriseBois will get another shot at a GM role in the future. What Lightning fans might wonder about next is the future of Admirals head coach Jon Cooper. With the success of the Ads, he’ll be a candidate for NHL jobs where vacancies currently exist (Calgary, Columbus if interim head coach Todd Richards is not retained, and potentially Edmonton where Tom Renney’s status has not been determined… but likely not Montreal – he’s an anglophone, after all).
