Another big name retires from the race
With Geoff Molson's announcement on Sunday, it was clear that the race for the Tricolore's GM position would be the hot topic of the week ahead. Speculations are multiplying, as are those who are officially withdrawing from the race.
The most recent candidate to drop out of the race is former New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur. Currently in the Devils organization, Brodeur told Renaud Lavoie that he has no intention of leaving his position to come to Montreal.
According to Renaud Lavoie, there are still four big names to watch for the coveted position. They are Mathieu Darche, Daniel Brière, Roberto Luongo and Martin Madden Jr.
Darche has been with the Tampa Bay Lightning organization for two years. He is the assistant general manager since this season. Julien BriseBois' right hand man already has two championships under his belt, which makes him a very interesting candidate.
As for Brière, he is part of the Flyers organization in the player development department. He has also served as President and Governor of the Maine Mariners for the past three years. Moreover, he was considered as the next general manager of the Habs by Scott Mellanby, Marc Bergevin's assistant until last Saturday.
As for Luongo, he is still in Florida. For the past three years, he has served as a special advisor to the Panthers' general manager while also being responsible for the team's goaltending department. He also assists Doug Armstrong in managing the Canadian team for the 2022 Olympic Games. According to the information revealed so far, the main interested party does not want to leave the hot sun, but he is ready to listen to Jeff Gorton if he wants to make him an offer.
Finally, there's Martin Madden Jr. who built his reputation between 2008 and 2020 as the Ducks' director of recruiting. He has now been an assistant general manager for the past two years, and still with the same organization. There is a very good chance that he will get a call from the Canadiens' new executive vice president of hockey operations.
It is important to remember the constraint that the successful candidate will have to speak both official languages of the country, French and English. This limits the number of candidates. Who would be your choice to succeed Marc Bergevin? Is there another name you would like to see take the reins of this team?
