Montreal Canadiens let go of General Manager Pierre Gauthier, search for new GM kicks off -NHL Update
After official notification that the Montreal Canadiens had been eliminated from the playoff race following a loss to the Florida Panthers and sitting at number 15 in the Eastern Conference, the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise decided to fire their
general manager, Pierre Gauthier.
The news about the releasing of the GM came Thursday afternoon, March 29, 2012, at an expected moment since Montreal was nearly finished with one of their most disappointing seasons in history.
Montreal Canadiens owner, CEO and president, Geoff Molson, made the announcement along with bringing in former GM Serge Savard to proclaim that with his help, the organisation will be looking for a replacement to Gauthier.
"Montreal is one of the best places to play hockey in the world, and our fans deserve the best possible team on the ice," Molson said during a press conference at the clubs training facility. "The Montreal Canadiens is a storied franchise, often cited as
one of the best sports organizations in the world. Our 24 Stanley Cups are a testament to this. However, the traits that are common to all successful organizations have been lacking in recent years."
Many might think that Montreal not making the playoffs is the only concern, but being a team with the most Stanley Cup championships (24) throughout, not winning the cup for over 19 years now is just plain disappointing.
Gauthier became the third Montreal official to be fired this 2011-2012 NHL regular season after he himself let go of assistant coach, Perry Pearn, and later on head coach, Jacques Martin earlier in December.
It was also learnt that appointing Randy Cunneyworth as the interim coach also did not go down well with the Canadiens higher-ups since it sparked protests around the Canadian province of Quebec due to his inability to speak French.
A number of names are floating around at the moment for taking over as the team’s new GM including a former Montreal goalie and an assistant general manager of another NHL team.
It might take some time for Montreal to find the perfect match but further developments on the situation can be expected during the postseason.
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