On Tuesday, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reported that the
New York Islanders had asked the Montreal Canadiens for permission to speak to
Jeff Gorton about their general manager vacancy, spreading panic amongst Habs
fans.
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Gorton and Kent Hughes have worked very well as a duo since
they were hired, and they’ve often been referred to as HuGo by the fans. Given
how satisfied the fandom has been with this past season and the surprise
qualification to the playoffs, it’s hardly surprising that people would rather
not lose the executive vice president of hockey operations.
Less than two hours after Staple reported the information,
TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun took to X to say that he understood the Canadiens had
told the Islanders that Gorton was in Montreal to stay.
While fans were panicking left, right, and center, RG.org’s
Marco D’Amico was the voice of reason, explaining that it was normal for teams
to ask, but it didn’t mean the Canadiens would grant the request or that Gorton
even wanted to go.
In his post-season press availability, Gorton mentioned jokingly
that his son had reminded him earlier that day that he had been fired by the
Rangers four years ago. While he can laugh about it now, it’s easy to imagine
how gutted he must have been when he wasn’t allowed to see the New York Rangers’
rebuild through.
He got another chance with the Canadiens, and it’s hard to
imagine him walking out with some unfinished business. The team is in a much
better state today than it was when he was first hired, and the impact Lane
Hutson, one of the products of his first draft, has had this season is a big
win for the organization and HuGo.
Given what we’ve seen from Ivan Demidov in a small sample so
far, it’s likely that he, too, will make the duo look good next season, and who
knows, perhaps David Reinbacher will as well if he manages to remain healthy.
You can relax, Canadiens fans. Gorton is not going anywhere,
not until he’s accomplished the goal he’s given himself or is shown the door,
at least. Neither option is likely to happen overnight.
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