It was a very relaxed and pleased Montreal Canadiens owner who met the Montreal media before his team’s home opener. You could tell by his demeanor that with the Lane Hutson contract and the Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes extensions signed, a weight had been taken off his shoulders.
Although it was not complicated to put pen to paper with the duo of executives who both wanted to continue working on the rebuild they had started together, it was essential to do so. While there was still plenty of time left to get contract extensions done since their current deal took them to the end of the season, it made sense to do it now, especially with the outside interest Gorton was receiving in the last couple of years. His promotion to the rank of president of hockey operations had nothing to do with a fear of seeing him jump ship; he told Molson time and time again that he was happy in Montreal and wanted to stay. It was essentially done to reflect today’s reality in the NHL.
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Molson spoke candidly about what the pair has achieved since he hired them late in 2021 for Gorton and early in 2022 for Hughes, when he was asked what their best move had been so far, though he replied:
It starts all the way up. After hiring Jeff, it was a coup to hire Kent, and then Martin St-Louis. We also made some trades to acquire first-round picks, which helped us build for the future. These trades have already borne fruit or will bear fruit in the future. It’s a lot of things; it’s all part of the plan.
– Molson on Hughes and Gorton’s best move
It was a coincidence that both the Hutson deal and those two happened in such a short period of time, but these deals had been reached a little bit before Hutson’s, which came together last weekend. Understandably, the player extension was announced first, but once that was done, there was no reason to delay the announcement further.
The owner had a little laugh when he was asked if the team architects had followed the players’ lead and left some money on the table, before adding he was more than happy to pay them. It’s been a while since the general feeling has been so positive after the signature of an executive in Montreal. The last time a hire or contract extension in the front office was so well-received was when the organization appointed Chantal Machabee as the vice president of communications.
Nearly four years after Molson decided to bet on Jeff Gorton, an anglophone, to spearhead his rebuild, a move that was criticized by some, it’s safe to say that he has won his gamble. The Canadiens haven’t won anything yet, but they seem well on their way, and the business is thriving.
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