Acquisition: Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton have made a significant move that could change everything by adding the excellent Jim Ramsay

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David St-Jean
July 5, 2023 (8:12 PM)

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The past few weeks have been extremely busy for the Montreal Canadiens. There have been numerous news, acquisitions, and departures, and unfortunately, we haven't had the time to focus on certain acquisitions.

So today, we'll take the time to revisit one particular addition: Jim Ramsay.

Indeed, Kent Hughes confirmed early on June 27th the arrival of Jim Ramsay, who will be the new Director of Sports Medicine and Performance as well as the Head Athletic Therapist, along with Maxime Gauthier, who becomes the Head Physiotherapist.

Ramsay's hiring is quite surprising. He spent the last 28 years with the New York Rangers organization and is one of the most respected sports therapists in the industry. It's clear that his arrival with the Canadiens is a move by the current Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Canadiens and former GM of the Rangers, Jeff Gorton.

Why is it a big move for Gorton? Read on.

It's worth noting that Ramsay made a significant contribution last year with the Blue Shirts as they had the fewest injuries in the NHL. In fact, the Rangers have been one of the healthiest teams over the past decade.

You read that right. He led one of the least injured teams in the entire NHL, and clearly, it's not a coincidence. He is the Connor McDavid of his field, and according to many, he could truly have a positive impact in reducing missed games due to injuries for the Montreal Canadiens.

With a healthy team, it could change everything for the Canadiens.

In addition to being an excellent therapist, Ramsay is very active behind the bench. See below what he put an official through after a decision that was definitely poorly received by the therapist.

As for Gauthier, he previously worked with the Senior PGA Tour, as well as in Italy with the Ascoli Calcio soccer club in Serie B. According to Marc-Olivier Cook from the website DLC, he is also a close friend of Martin St-Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

It is hoped that these hirings will help the Canadiens in the seasons to come!

It couldn't be worse than last season, as the Canadiens were, according to the website ManGamesLost, the team that missed the most regular-season games due to injuries was the Montreal Canadiens, with 751 games missed. That's 155 games more than the second team in that category, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who missed a total of 596 games. For reference, the Rangers only missed 51 games.

We wanted to revisit this because it's a great move by the Hughes-Gorton duo.