Canadiens unlikely to hire general manager before new year, Gorton says

BROSSARD, Quebec --The Montreal Canadiens are not likely to hire a new general manager before the new year, Canadiens executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said Friday.

"I would say if you give me the over-under, I'm going to say after Christmas," Gorton said.
Gorton also said coach Dominique Ducharme's job is safe through the end of this season.
Gorton, who has been general manager of the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, was hired by Montreal on Sunday after the Canadiens fired GM Marc Bergevin.
"The history of this franchise excites me, and with my background it seems to be a path I've somehow found myself on with the Original Six," Gorton said. "And once I spoke to (Montreal owner) Geoff Molson, talked about what his thoughts were about where the organization needed to go, what they were looking for, it just felt like the right fit for me. So here I am."
The Canadiens (6-17-2) are seventh in the eight-team Atlantic Division after reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
"There's obviously things that have to happen here," Gorton said. "I would say that if you look at some of the teams I've been around and been part of, we want to be fast and skilled. We need to probably to work on our player development here. I'd like to add to analytics. There's a lot of different things I'd like to do. It's my second or third day here, so I'd ask you to give me a little time on that on how that plays out. But I think over time you'll see my philosophy."
Gorton watched his first game at Bell Centre in his new role Thursday, a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. He will travel with Montreal to their game at the Nashville Predators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CITY, SNE, TVAS, BSSO, NHL LIVE). He said his top priorities are familiarizing himself with Montreal's players and coaches and getting acquainted with its scouts.
Molson stipulated the next GM has to be able to speak French in order to communicate with the fan base.
"I think it was important when I met with Geoff Molson that the general manager has a direct line to Geoff Molson, that can make decisions," Gorton said. "My role is to use all my experience to help that person and to help make this team better again and start winning. And that's how I look at it.
"Anybody that knows me, I don't have a huge ego, I'm not worried about titles, I've never been worried about that. I want to be a hockey decision guy and I think I can really help this team move forward."
Asked about Patrick Roy expressing interest for the general manager's job, Gorton said, "I've heard of him, yes."
Roy won the Stanley Cup four times as a goalie, including the Canadiens' last title in 1993, and was coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-16. He resigned from that positon on Aug. 11, 2016.
"Would I be interested? Of course," Roy told TVA Sports and Radio-Canada on Tuesday, according to a CTV report. "But at the same time, I am aware that it is a process and that there are several very good candidates who will be in the running. But if I get a call, I'll definitely listen."
Gorton said of Roy, "Well first, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him for what he's done in hockey. And I know that he's always been an emotional guy and speaks his mind. Listen, I don't want to answer this every time, but I'm just getting here and getting a feel for the organization, and as we move forward in talking to Geoff and figuring out how we're going to go about picking that general manager, we're going to look at everybody that we think could fit.
"So I'm not going to rule anybody out. I'm not going to say yes or no to anybody, but certainly Patrick Roy, I heard that he made that statement. I know he's a passionate guy. I know a lot of people that know him well, and I have obviously a lot of respect for somebody like that."
Gorton specified he wants somebody who would bring a different perspective.
"Look, I've been in hockey my whole life," Gorton said. "Maybe it could be an agent, it could be somebody that was just a player, it could be somebody, but somebody different than me. I wasn't a player, I wasn't an agent. It could be just a different background. So we're going to look at those things."
Player development is another area Gorton said he would like to improve.
"I think we can do a better job," he said. "Every team really can do a better job of working with these kids and bringing them and turning them into men and eventually good pros. It's really just the day-to-day contact and keep those relationships because, you know, it's a high-pressure game. There's a lot that goes into this for these players, and we want to help them as much as we can [to] get there as soon as they can. But I think that we can do a better job of supporting them and having the right people in place for them."