The Canadiens have fired general manager Pierre Gauthier.
Principal owner Geoff Molson will meet the media at 11:45 Thursday morning at the Canadiens training complex in Brossard.
HIO will be there.
More later.
Media hordes are swarming in Brossard and the lines are blazing on all-sports radio.
Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated told CJAD listeners the primary criterion of a new GM is “smarts”. Quite aprt from language and the other peculiarities of the Montreal market, running a hockey team in 2012 is a tough gig.
Long gone are the days when the NHL was Sam Pollock and the Five Dwarfs.
The new man will have to be sharp … and he’ll need help, because running the Canadiens is not the one-man job Pierre Gauthier tried to pull off.
The question, as we await Molson’s remarks: What happens to the other guy in the front office?
What happens to Bob Gainey, architect of so much of the current misery (Gomez in, McDonagh out … to cite just one case)?
Given the timing of Gauthier’s sacking, will Molson appoint an interim GM?
And will Gainey be the man?
Answers to come … soon.
Loading ...
Get Timmins off the airplane. We need young guy’s like him, with his work ethic. His contract is up this summer. Don’t lose him.
I don’t speak French so perhaps I missed it but..with Gauthier and Gainey gone and the assistant GM (Carriere) behind the bench…WHO IS in charge now????????????
Carriere’s going back to fill an expanded Asst GM role during the hunt for Gauthier’s replacement. Groulx will replace him behind the bench.
Thanks gents…i didn’t catch the part about Carriere/Groulx
Carriere won’t be behind the bench for the rest of the season. Going back to being a full-time assistant GM.
Pierre Groulx (goalie coach) will be behind the bench for the last 5 games.
A step in the right direction. Never heard Molson speak before. I was very impressed, looks like he means business & admitted that he listened, read & reacted to comments from fans via email, text & twitter.
A sign that the Molsons mean business & want to build a winner is reaching for Serge Savard & getting rid of Bob Gainey.
HH finally got to him.
I love you bro.
Guy Lafleur for GM. After The Rocket and Jean Beliveau he’s the Canadiens most popular player in the modern era.
Richard R
Lafleur would be a disaster.
Savard is the savvy, PR move that Molson had to make to re-establish credibility.
If this brings Lemaire back behind the bench…..that would be great!!
Lemaire would be able to grab Robinson and we would be all set.
The GM could be a young gun like Brisebois if it was Lemaire-Robinson behind the bench.
Can you imagine how Lemaire could influence some of our centers like Eller, DD, and Plekanec??
How well they would learn to play in all 3 zones!!
And Robinson with PK, Emelin, Tinordi and Beaulieu!!
Make it happen, Geoff.
I would love to have Larry Robinson. Not sure about Jacques Lemaire Ed.
He gets wins yes. But putting offensive players in the best position to get the most of their skills has always been something that has been lacking from his coaching abilities.
I would take the whole package deal, at this point.
I think Lemaire would teach these kids how to play winning hockey.
I think we have a good group, and they need to learn from a Pro how to win.
Lemaire is about winning – and that’s the goal.
What lemaire did 2 seasons ago in NJ was remarkable. It showed without a doubt that good coaching can make a huge difference.
But I understand your point – Lemaire is not perfect.
He did fine with Kovalchuk. He’s not stupid.
I think the Savard move is in case they give the job to a rookie (Patrick Roy), they’ll have a hockey expert like Serge to ease him into the GM position.
Molson was talking about stability, not “senility”. Lemaire is retired and isn’t coming back. Especially to Montreal.
amen. you nearly made me cry (in a good way).
Winning should come first, but bilingualism should be a close second in terms of priority. Doesn’t matter if you agree with that or not, the reality is a lot fans don’t even speak English, it must be sucky to not be able to listen to the personnel of your favourite team whenever they talk – specially considering the Habs are the only team in Quebec, they have the heritage, and the name Canadiens itself implies Frenchness and Quebec history. Unless the unilingual guy is miles ahead of the bilingual, you take the bilingual. It would be an affront to the fans not to.
The only reason a GM should be hired who speaks French is if the 2 candidates are deemed to be of equal value.
If the candidate who does not speak French is just a tiny bit better, they should take him.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
I agree.
People say that it’s a ‘business’, but businesses are sociopathic (read ‘The Corporation’ for a great analysis of this concept!) and I’m not overly fond of sociopaths.
The team should represent its roots, its location, and its fans.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Are you familiar with closed captions?
Richard R
Now THAT would cause an uproar!
Your argument died the day Ferrari hired a non-Italian driver.
My proof is that if Enzo had NOT hired Villeneuve, the Quebec media geniuses would have screamed that Enzo should have hired the best man.
Tell me that’s not as true as the bubbles in beer.
The solution is to just bump up the “ambassador” roles of our Quebec born veterans in the media and at events, and develop young Quebec born players, that’s where the cultural role is. Not the GM and coaching jobs.
That’s different LA, that’s like having non-French players.
I think it is important for the leaders of the organization to be able to communicate with their fans, the majority of which speak French and only French. It’s just frustrating to see the leader of a such an institution come on TV or the radio and then think…. I don’t understand what he is saying. It’s just not the best feeling.
I think if there is a guy who is miles ahead of the next candidate and he does not speak French, go ahead, but all things being equal, take the bilingual.
You’re close. Take the bilingual guy if he is as good, but otherwise just take the better guy, even if he’s just a tiny bit better.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
This was necessary. That said, why today and not after the season ends?
Does it seems a little dysfunctional to do it today? Or am I just hyper-sensitive.
Secondly, If the result is bringing back Bob the Builder, what’s the point? I will be furious if that happens.
Thirdly, there are others who need a cigaret and a blindfold.
Mr. Molson needs to write Scott Gomez a big check and say “thanks, enjoy fishing in Alaska.” THAT would be worth it because it would give Mr. Molson huge cred and send a message to our other current and future millionaires.
Finally, we are at a critical, critical point. We can debate all day about who, when, how – but the #1 priority is to show that there is, somewhere in the bowels of the Bell Center, a calm methodical plan with a VISION and the stones and cajones to implement it.
LIke I said, it worries me that it was today when the end of the season is like a week out.
You are hyper sensitive.
What I gathered was that Gainey is on the way out.
Agreed on Gomez, but if the buyout ain’t free, Hamilton is better, let him ride the bus and play 3 games on week-ends.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Hyper-sensitive. I said the same thing too when I first heard, but it makes sense to do it now since they were eliminated and need some time to look for a new candidate. Also talking about Timmins who has been a good scout. Plenty of work to do, may as well start before the lottery. Besides, they got fed up with tofu in the head office. Geoff ordered a T-bone for lunch after the conference.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Molson said they did it today because it gives them a 10-day head start on their search for a new GM.
Too expensive to buy Gomez out. Trade or keep him in my opinion.
As for why now….. Maybe Molson has a sense of humor. Commenting on the mid game trade and pre game firings.
Most probable is they want to evaluate towards the end of the season.
I agree with you. I don’t know why this could not have waited till the end of the season.
The only thing I am hoping is that MAYBE Geoff Molson talked with Gauthier and told him that he would not be brought back and asked him how do YOU want to handle it leave now or wait 10 days.
Like the DODGERS “Wait till next year”
Gainey agreed to leave when PG was let go. Watch the presser.
thank guys, good points all.
I haven’t had a chance to watch the presser yet, but to a corporate bird like Molson, the mid-game trade, the pre-game firings, would embarrass him (as they did many of us) and he would have given those actions a lot of consideration in weighting the noose for PG.
There’s a great scene in Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Last Tycoon” where Munroe Starr, the protagonist, has to fire a director in the middle of a production. He gets him in the car, even brings his jacket, while the new director is already on the set. It’s a smooth as yogurt.
Wow! Wasn’t expecting this to happen before the end of the season.
haven’t worked in an hour. Now listening to TSN. Guess I’ll have to breath deeply and get back to work shortly.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Yashin, Melrose, Mcguire = Success
Ha! Co-sign!
______________________________________________________
Lost a bottle of Kraken during this debacle of a season. Better gettem next year.
Pretty happy Gainey’s gone too. My big fear was him back as a GM and giving us another Scott Gomez.
Will now depend on who replaces him. If it is Serge in the long term, that won’t be good either. Different time and play today. Need experience in a front office. Need someone who understands how to run a team now. If Savard is there to help with talent, great.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
I honestly don’t want any former greats to be running this team. For ones they are all behind times. Another, there is just too much emotion involved and a lot of “back when I played” crap… just doesn’t work this way anymore. Hockey is a different game now and athletes are different too.
I don’t pretend to know who would be a good GM (other than myself, of course) but I hope that for once Molson makes a right call and appoints a smart hockey man from this century who is focused on building a winning team (also in this century).
For now, I am going to stay cautiously pessimistic.
I don’t think the perfect GM exists out there. No matter who it is, there will be praise and condemnation.
Any GM needs a great pure business / contract / cap guy anyway, I think the hockey player smarts are more important, as they are harder to come by.
I guess Geoff didn’t like Gauthier’s signing of Greg Pateryn yesterday!
You have to change your avatar from a picture of Gainey… good guy but not a great manager.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Randy Cunneyworth’s take on today’s developments:
“Merde!”
Post of the day (notwithstanding that the day is young).
I think mr Molson did ok. Did not try to evade questions and did not fall in too much political correctness . Of course he said what we wanted to hear but did not hide his own feelings
Too many reporters .Although it helped to go through the whole subject some questions were…at best unnecessary.
Please take note that it is confirmed. The Roy story a few week ago was a lie. Just saying that before you think that reporters have the thruth and are some sort of gods…
…sooooo ??? …is EVERYONE satisfied now ?
…the PROCESS for ‘change’ in Our culture has begun
…let’s hope They won’t funk it up
Only when you put the H back in your “C” will I feel better
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
…I look forward to the day I can put the ‘H’ back in My C OldSchool
_________________________________________________________
HIS’ Official Habs’ Fan Theme Song: Morrissey ‘There is a light that never goes out’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjObvIQtsLk&feature=related
Habitant means PASSIONATE HOCKEY
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=423049
Couple things. First of all, good riddance tp PG. Useless, POS!!
I know this is off topic, but, i just have to wonder if Cammellerri is going to come out with any statements to the effect that” The Flames practice like losers, so they play like losers.”This guy is a selfish goof, looks good on him too. Nothing against anybody else on
Calgary, but, I hope they don’t make the playoffs either, serves him right!
Yes, I’m still pissed.
Need a clean slate, if it’s going to be Serge, long term, then I’m afraid, were in for a long haul, methinks!
You just hate Vegans!
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
I love vegans. Hated Laraque. Felt indifferent (trending towards disliking) Gauthier.
I hope this is a positive move. I believe it will be.
Are you saying he has a beef with vegans?
I agree with hard habits.. I have seen the habs win 2 cups in my life and savard was the gm for both those teams. Worst trade in 30 years!!! Think before you speak
He most likely means the Leclair trade.
Have to admit, that one was tres stinko!
———————————————————————-
“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
The Soft Parade
The bad economy helped influence that decision. I was so upset when they traded LeClair though but that was more Corey’s doing than Savard’s.
Not only Leclair, Desjardins as well.
Habs worst trade?
———————————————————————-
“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
The Soft Parade
Just got a call on my cell… Display name G. Molson. Wonder what he wants.
He probably just thinks you are MAB’s agent, already thinking about next season…
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
A Labatt
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Wants to know if you think hiring Mab/Brisebois for GM/HC positions would be a good idea.
MAB’s got a lot of great playing years lefts in him. I mean, we have always been talking about powerful, physical, puck moving defenseman…
Most likely Sacha Cohen lawyer wanting u to stop using his pic.
I have to admit, Molson knocked that entire press conference right out of the park.
Said all of the right things.
Two years too late. Nervous Nellie should have grabbed the team by the bols when he bought it instead he tiptoed and kicked the can down the road.
How about the first-ever woman GM? Preferably a burqa-wearing francophone Muslim. Inshallah, esti!
I’ll be ok with Jessica.
Yeah! Jessica Alba for GM!!!
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
I’m also from QUEBEC… and keeping the culture alive should also fall to the general francophone population
Here here and without making a bunch of it’s citizens second class. One of the only states in North America with institutionalized linguistic racism. Bienvenue a Quebec, just don’t speak English. Silly for the 21st century.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
If you don’t count the 25 U.S. states with Official English or English Only laws (to which can be added two or three U.S. territories.)
Also saying the new GM would have to be able to speak French doesn’t mean he can’t speak English.
That “culture” was out in full force on March 18th.
———————————————————————-
“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
The Soft Parade
Cunnyworth is not out according to Geoff. It will be up to the next GM
As should be.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Oh he is so effing out.
Of course. Molson can’t undermine the next guy before he’s even hired or no one will sign on.
That said, I think RC should get a decent bonus check and a nice gig because he took it on under horrible circumstances and deserves our respect.
I can’t believe there are living, breathing, supposedly thinking human beings in the french media would actually be happier if Rejean Houle was the GM of the team versus Steve Yzerman.
…French important, but ‘winning’ FIRST priority …Geoff, is standing up well, so far, on that issue
I wonder if Geoff imbibed a few prior to the press conference?
And what trade are you referring to ?
Also savard was the last gm here to manage a cup winning team
What trade is that??
I hope the GM is a French-speaker.
Keep the culture alive.
(I love how the majority of people bitching about the language issue live out of province, btw.)
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I’m in Montreal, and could not care less, the only thing that would annoy me about an unilingual english GM, is that the media would go bonkers over that.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Sorry Matty, I live in the province/city and I’d like the best possible man for the job, regardless of language.
ie: Jim Nill
———————————————————————-
“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
The Soft Parade
Out-of-province people haven’t accepted the double-standards of Quebec as a norm.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
I just hope he helps the team win.
Speak French? Would be nice I suppose but should not be a priority.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Remember your history though fella, the team was created by English businessmen to market to the native French speaking Quebecers. Ouch, marketing and spin was a motherf***er even in 1909.
______________________________________________________
Lost a bottle of Kraken during this debacle of a season. Better gettem next year.
That quickly changed, though. The Maroons were Montreal’s Anglo team, while the Canadiens were the Franco one.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
As was ownerships plan I believe, as my comment states. It’s all business, and being close minded in how the business is run is a scary proposition. If the Canadiens are the standard bearers of a French speaking nation in Quebec, that very nation is in dire straits.
**Disclaimer** I’m a Anglaphone blue collar worker from Nova Scotia who reads too much. I’m all for a Francaphone Quebec, I really don’t care, but using an entertainment enterprise to further your cause is kind weak….
______________________________________________________
Lost a bottle of Kraken during this debacle of a season. Better gettem next year.
Well, it’s not as simple as that.
The Canadiens were traditionally a symbol of how Francophones could succeed in a world where they were permitted from doing so by the Anglophone management and their own Church.
This notion has held on, as being a matter of pride for Francophone Quebecers, and I can understand people feeling like they’ve sold out a part of their heritage by simply going for The Best Man For The Job.
I don’t think that ‘Hockey As A Business’ is the end-all and be-all. Because it’s just entertainment, shouldn’t there be more reason to play up the cultural aspect?
—Hope Springs Eternal—
I would love for the next GM to be the best possible man available. As for what language he speaks, I could care less. Maybe people should learn how to speak more than one language if they want to be able to understand. I don’t see the huge problem with learning french or english. Being bilingual is not that hard.
Not true Mattyleg. Been here for 40 years. Mainly living in East End Montreal, y’all. Probably know it better than you.
Bilingual too.
So how some of you people can make such bold statements without any facts to back them up really burns me up. I know, it’s just an attitude. Like a chip on one’s shoulder.
I still wear my 1986 Stanley Cup t-shirt on occasion. It’s pretty faded now. So would you be if you had been washed several hundred times.
Richard R
Serge better not be the next GM he made the worst trade in the past 30 years makes me sick he is part of anything right now.
Really? You don’t think the Roy trade was the worst?
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Ya gotta say it was that Dagostini trade. Look at St. Louis now!!
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Savard did not trade Roy. As for his trading before he was let go, he was under duress from ownership.
Serge Savard was the best GM the Habs have had since Pollock, Gainey included. Two Cup wins and 3 Cup appearances not to mention the very decent drafting under his tenure is not too shabby indeed.
That’s not saying much. A train wreck since Pollock. Andre Savard was better than Serge.
“No more Russian flakes.” Stick to bran. (Unfortunate double entendre.)
Serge was better. Andre did next to nothing.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Andre Savard was a non-entity. Name me one significant thing he did as Habs GM.
I’m guessing he means Chelios.
–
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
Leclair and Desjardins for Dr. Recchi most likely
———————————————————————-
“You cannot petition the lord with prayer!” – James Douglas Morrison
The Soft Parade
Ugh! In the top 3 of worst Habs trades ever, the other tow being trading Roy and acquiring Gomez.
If he means LeClaire, yeah, that was a train wreck.
Chelios, however, no GM could have kept given the situation. We can’t hang that one on Serge.
I would be happy with Serge Savard, it’s no biggy to give him a capologist and a bunch of MBA / Lawyers to handle the contracts. Remember that SS is also a very savvy and successful business man.
Still not sure why the disdain for Gainey by some here. He led the team out of a terrible spell,and built first place teams and conference finalists. He made a bad deal on Gomez, I agree, but the teams built were good none the less.
Even though he was not the GM here, I assume that other teams will be clammering over him for his services( not so for Gauthier), and he will go on to manage a successful team somewhere else just like he did with Dallas. What are the chances Toronto will court him again ?
To me, the biggest problem has been Molson himself.
Ok, I agree with the Gainey part, but Molson just got here. He watched for a while and became fed up pretty quickly.
Judge him starting now.
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
It’s time to move on as Molson said. Gainey’s rebuild was a failure. It has to be acknowledged. It is better that new blood be brought in.
I agree that it’s time for a change. I just don’t get how a rationale thinker can’t see that the team did improve with Gainey as GM.
Definitely pumped for them to get even better with some new blood though!
Go Habs Go!!
“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock
Bob Gainey is a GREAT person!
He was a good player!
He was NOT a good manager here in Montreal.
One only needs to examine the trades that he made,
and more importantly, the results of those transactions.
Gauthier simply followed along in his footsteps, with even worse results. (just my opinion)
Actually, Gainey had a lot of success. Look at the standings under Gainey. Gauthier, not so much. Strangely things fell apart as soon as Gauthier took over.
A cup, no..good teams,yes
Looks like he is staying with the organization according to Molson..which he should. Unless another team woos him.
No one will be chasing after Gainey.
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
I wouldn’t be so sure about the SD…he is very highly regarded around the league. If you think otherwise, you are clearly dillusional, and are letting your personal opinion get in the way
Success to some of us means winning The Stanley Cup.
And we ain’t won NOTHING in almost 20 years.
That tells me somebody isn’t doing their job.
Bob didn’t win any cups here. He might as well been working for the Leafs….
Smart question in French about whether it is realistic to have a winning team year after year, after talking about Serge Savarad as an all around wonderful resource and friend of the Molson family, talking about fans and how important it is to win and despite being in a “parity league” it is and must be the goal.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Given Lou Lamirillo is not too pleased with the situation in New Jersey is there the possibility he could come to Montreal and perhaps bring a free agent with him?
I loved Gainey as a player but glad he’s gone too.
Hope we don’t use language as key for GM…get the best.
Not interested in McGuire and Lemaire (past due date).
should have waited till 7:55 tomorrow night.
A major housecleaning. Long overdue. I feel good about this. The Habs could be unrecognizable within 6 months. Many players can expect to go. This move has energized me and I feel positive about the future. Good move, Mr Molson.
If the experience, hockey inteligence, and track record of guys like Brian Burke and Bob Gainey can’t do it, then we should consider how much the hard salary cap handicaps Canadian teams.
The much lower US taxes means the US teams have more room to work with. And because it’s a hard cap, money making Canadian teams can’t spend their money to even the playing field.
I know everybody loves the salary cap because it brought labour peace and sanity to salaries. But it should be a soft cap, not a hard cap. Even the NFL has switched to a soft cap. Otherwise Canadian teams will not have equal opportunity.
I know there’s exceptions to every rule, but generally that’s the rule. And the coming CBA negotiations are a perfect opportunity to fix it.
Beacuse until they do fix it, the GM jobs in MTL and TO will continue to be a ticket to failure. And our teams will continue their descent into joke status.
Doesn’t matter in the Montreal market. The Habs are still a top four team in profits. Bottom line.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Sanity to salaries?? We started at 39M cap – we’re now headed to 70M. – Many owners do not consider that sane. We’ll see how much labor peace there is this summer.
I wonder if the possibility of a work disruption in the fall had something to do with the timing.
I emailed gary bettmans office with the same concern 2 years ago.With no response.
But at least you understand that it is an issue for Cdn teams’ on ice success.
Now the complaints have to come from Cdn teams’ management.
Did you just get off the phone with Conor Mckenna? Someone just called and it was pretty much word for word. as the above. Please with the Canadian handicap. There is some truth to it but when you look at how those guys ran this team and it’s reputation into the mud, that was the least of our worries. That excuse wont cut it today. Good riddance. The worst thing was the defiance and even comtempt these guys showed when they were challenged.
Luc Gélinas just sounds like an absolute hack compared to the other journalists on hand.
—————-
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
When Molson speaks he reminds me a lot of Dalton McGuinty.
Is bringing back Savard a step forward or more of a necessary security blanket move by a guy who really doesn’t know the hockey market?
Speaking of guys who may not be up to date, is Savard really on top of the NHL these days? Is his tenure just short term to help out with the interview process, or is he going to be looking over the shoulders of the new GM and coach?
Savard from what I gathered is only in place to help in selecting the right person for the job. Not to make hockey decisions in an ongoing capacity.
Savard, or someone of his pedigree could be seen as an asset when determining what kind of man will bring a winning attitude to the role of GM.
Pedigree and Savard in the same breath? on the ice big time as GM not so much.
You seem to forget who was GM when the Habs won their last two Cups.
The French media want a return to the old Canadiens where the “Flying Frenchmen” were kings…
Do they remember who led those teams? Frank Selke GM, Toe Blake Coach, Sam Pollock GM, Scott Bowman Coach…
DUMBASSES!
__________________________________
Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
Toe Blake spoke French.
So did Bowman.
—Hope Springs Eternal—
Spoke French, but in this day and age, if you are a “bloke” or worse in the eyes of the Separatists, they it doesn’t matter.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Bowman hardly spoke French, he’s said he spoke English to the room except to Mario Tremblay who spoke no anglais.
__________________________________
Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
But was his French Office de la langue française/Société Saint-Jean Baptiste acceptable?
Richard R
As long as ‘winning’ is their mother tongue, I’m happy. The more criteria you place on the positions involved in the rebuild, the smaller the pool of candidates will be and, therefore, the less talent you’ll find.
Let the politicians complain about the language issue for their 15 minutes, then get on with the business at hand. That’s WINNING.
DDonais
Thank GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wonder who is going to be the next shmuck they bring in to make this team even worse.
LOVED Molson’s speech….said all the right things….no need for snap decisions that will come back to bite us…. Think long and hard and make great things happen
God Bless Geoff Molson. Can’t disagree with anything he’s said.
Here is my question – why does the obvious always takes so long to sink with the decision makers? I mean, it was obvious for the most of the people following this team that Gauthier and Martin were a disaster in a making from the moment they got hired. Why does it take nearly 3 years to can their sorry asses. Why did it have to come to the worst season in the team’s history to make the obvious move? Molson is just as big an idiot as the rest of those who are running this team.
I have little hope for whoever will be named a replacement.
Yup
__________________________________
Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
Maybe this has always been “The Year of The Tank”?
Wasn’t that an Al Stewart song?
Says he hasn’t talked to Patrick Roy since he handed the jersey to him two years ago. But won’t bite and talk about the process. WOn’t communicate candidates until they choose.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Alleviate some of pain because of some of diminshing skilled players (Gomez, Kaberle) but Molson won’t bite on the question. WIll do anything required to win! Good Geoff, keep talking.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Well let’s look at the list of french GM’S that are french as it’s number one that he talk’s french as Molson has said…
Actually, I think he has pushed back on a couple of the block-heads that asked that question. He already cr.pped his pants when he apologized for the interim coaches hire.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Don’t have to announce a decision right now. Let the smoke clear … no snap decisions…for God sake think before you jump for once.
Stubbs question, giving new manager autonomy or manage the new hire? Good question Dave!
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Having said all that, watch Molson hire a franco first GM with no hockey experience…
__________________________________
Jack Edwards is a clam, Bruins are pukes.
Jacques Lemaire will be chosen. Worked under Savard as an assistant GM for 7 years until the coaching bug hit.
Not if it means New Jersey Devils Part Two in Montreal.
Richard R
Stubbs!
Wish they could take all of the delusional fans who applauded them every step of the way with them.
lol so true
So will Serge be at the Lottery Pick event April 10?
Would Jacques Lemaire consider coming out of retirement to coach the Habs again?
Why?
He did, he failed ….
again with the language issue…..ONE LANGUAGE……STANLEY CUP
Not being pressed by media on candidate. Says it will take time and is a priority. Now question is what qualities. Lead from a hockey perspective…. extremely important to be an excellent communicator externally and internally, third element beyond managing team is winning. another question on being bilingual… what a bunch of repetitive idiots. Molson won’t bite. He said best person possible to help win. That’s it, now go eat your Mae West idiot.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Not bad for Thursday morning.
Good morning!
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Gauthier deserved to lose his job just over the Camalleri trade. I would have been satisfied with a package of draft picks, but instead Gauthier saddled this team with yet another indifferent problem player. Now the team must deal with TWO major contract problems — Gomez AND Bourque. Don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out of the office today Pierre….
There is no way the habs could move a 6 million cap hit (7 million in real dollars the next 2 years) without taking a contract back.Not in a cap system and definately not mid-season when teams already have money tied up in contracts.
Not sure I agree. But even if that is partly true, was Calgary/Bourque the only option? I doubt it. It’s still a poor decision whatever the context.
Would there be really that many teams willing to take a contract like that one who had 9 goals? I’ll wait to see who holland and the 2nd round pick turns into before i pass judgement.
Cammalleri has been a consistent playoff performer. It seems improbable there was no team other than Calgary interested in Cammalleri.
You for got Craperlae
I am trying to forget Kaberle plays for the Montreal Canadiens….
What about son of Boivin? Does he avoid unemployment?
Cammy is on the decline and isn’t playing that great with Calgary either. We got a draft pick, prospect and a usual 27 goal scorer…with 3 mill cap relief to go to other players…..it was a good deal in my eyes. Bourque has sucked since he has came but lets see what he does next year before we write him off. I also think we should wait to see how the prospect and pick turn out
“Like Canadian Hip hop..check us out http://www.groovecontrolmusic.com“
Still talking about finding THE BEST person for the jobs ….regardless of language…focus on winning and our pride and history
Molson: “to make a move while we are still mathematically possibly to make the playoffs would be a mistake”
Nice jab to Toronto.
Said when they were mathematically illiminated from Playoffs, then it was the point to do it. He is right about that. Have a lot of work to do. Rigorous process to select the best possible GM for “this market”.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
There is a god
And there you have it.
The new GM will be named at the conclusion of the regular season.
Does anyone know seriously who they will consider for new gm?
We all have the list but we’re not telling you.
—————-
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
My list is just as confidential as Molson’s.
Julien Brisebois and Claude Loiselle will surely be the front runners.
…I can’t stand this woman translating …groan
… torture
Wow Gainey resigned again. That’s twice. Three strikes you’re out?
I predict you will also be let go soon, like Anti JM was.
gauthier cared much more about keepng his job and pulling wool over peoples eyes than the actual success of the team
It’s Mr. gauthier….let’s have a modicum of dignity as we celebrate the firing of his ass.
—————-
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
LOL.
poor Greg Pateryn must be wondering whats so bad about him that he was the straw that broke the camels back.
STUPID FIRST QUESTION from a douche bag about language…. Come on!!!!!!!!!!! let’s talk like MOLSON….. about winning…
just picked that up too. What a bunch of idiots! We want to win the Cup! Not make poutine!
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
It was Luc Gelinas…what did you expect….and now here’s another guy asking about French…
—————-
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Let them eat poutine!
Richard R
…so far, Geoff is saying what We want to hear philosophically …but, the proof will be in the pudding
…still lots of important decisions to be made
…I truly believe that the Commentariat of HIO must be contracted on a retainer-basis by Molson for the foreseeable future
…We will accept free beer in lieu of cash
True, but he seems very specific and understands that it is the fans that support beer sales. He’s responding in French to some idiot who’s first question was will the new GM be bilingual…. Idiots in separatist Quebec!
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
I agree. To aid in the cause, I’ll even take Molson’s products. (As long as he stands by his speech).
DDonais
Passion for victory. Support fans to have a winning organization. Just qualifying for the playoffs is not the goal or the standard. Hell of an about face. “No lesser objective than the Stanley Cup should be our objective”.
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Ah yes…the tried and true : we see this chaos as an opportunity line.
—————-
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
ah well,if greg pateryn’s hockey career doens’t work out at least he gets to be an answer to a trivia question as gauthiers last hockey move.
Geoff Molson: Just qualifying for the play-offs cannot be enough. The ultimate goal has to be winning the ultimate prize.
he also thanked the input of HardHabits, I mean the fans….
For him the ultimate prize is the $15 beer.
—————-
Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
Resume of the presser :
Pierre et Bob are on the way out.
Serge Savard helps in finding replacement for those 2.
Molson speaks of stability, in players and management.
He flatters the fans also.
Speaks of a winning philosophy, and aims for more than just a playoffs appearance.
Process of finding a new GM and the candidates will be kept confidential.
PG was fired today, because it was now assured the Habs would not make the playoffs, and they need as much time as possible to find the new one.
They will try to find the best person to face the stuggles ahead, he did not mention french or langage.
Apparently the presser was only in french?
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Thx Shiram, and all others who assisted those of us who can’t stream audio/video by providing updates!
“Only a goalie can appreciate what a goalie goes through.” – Jacques Plante
NP, I’ll try to keep it updated, as there was a question period.
RC : “Merci beaucoup.”
Both Gainey and Gauthier gone.
Serge Savard hired as an adviser for Molson in the search for a new GM.
NICE! I am very glad Gainey is no longer involved with this team as well!
Here here ! That’s way overdue. Thank you Alfred E. Newman for Gomez. Now how do we fit him into a piece of luggage?
Promote the Youth, Support From The Veterans and Remember the Heritage!
Still not sure why the disdain for Gainey. He lead the team out of a terrible spell,and built first place teams and conference finalists. He made a bad deal on Gomez, granted, but the teams were good none the less.
Teams will be clammering over him, and he will go on to manage a successful team somewhere else. What are the chances Toronto will court him again ?