Montreal Canadiens: 10 Best Candidates for General Manager Position

The Montreal Canadiens hope their next general manager has a bit of janitorial experience.

That’s because whoever is hired to succeed Pierre Gauthier will have a lot of cleaning up to do.

The Canadiens’ owner, Geoff Molson, fired Gauthier just weeks ago and is now on the hunt to hire a new general manager. It won’t be an easy task. Molson has brought in ex-Canadiens general manager Serge Savard to help with this decision.

There are a number of candidates to fill the position, and some are better than others. But there is no clear No. 1 answer. The new general manager will speak French, and that’s basically all that is known.

Molson and Savard are going to debate about filling arguably one of the most pressure-filled positions in the NHL and once they do, the selected candidate is going to have to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

There’s a lot to do. The team needs to sign a few key players, deal with a few ugly contracts and draft some solid prospects. Oh, and he has to answer to the Montreal media almost daily.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 candidates to replace Gauthier as the Habs’ general manager.

Jim Nill

Jim Nill is currently the Detroit Red Wings' assistant general manager. He’s highly respected within the franchise, so it might be unlikely that he would leave a secure, well-paying, successful job for an opportunity in Montreal, where things are a little crazier.

But maybe now's the time for Nill to want full control of a team for himself. Nill was a scout for the Ottawa Senators after he retired from the NHL. He then moved to the Red Wings front office to help with scouting and drafting.

And by looking at the Red Wings' track record of brining up prospects (and Nill’s four Stanley Cup rings), it’s not hard to see why the Habs want this guy on their team.

Julien BriseBois

Julien BriseBois, the Tampa Bay Lightning assistant general manager since 2010, is a lawyer by trade. BriseBois is good with numbers and is from the Montreal area. He has worked closely with one the most respected young general managers in Steve Yzerman, in Tampa Bay.

BriseBois would be a guru at negotiations, contracts and player transactions. But does he have an eye for talent?

He is familiar with the Canadiens’ organization, having been the vice president of hockey operations. He was also named the general manager of the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Habs’ minor league affiliate team, in 2007.

BriseBois has never played professional hockey and some consider that a disadvantage. Yet, it has been reported that BriseBois is one of the most likely candidates for the general manager position.

Luc Robitaille

Luc Robitialle, the Los Angles Kings' president of business operations, doesn’t have any experience in the management side of things. But the Habs’ brass believes he might have what it takes. He understands the game of hockey from the ice.

Every general manager needs to get his start somewhere, and some believe it’s Robitialle’s turn in Montreal. He got started with the Kings front office in 2007, after enjoying a long NHL career where he finished as the highest-scoring left winger in NHL history.

Maybe it’s now time for Lucky Luc to bring some of that luck to Montreal.

Ron Hextall

Ron Hextall, the Los Angeles Kings' assistant general manager, is known in Montreal for his time he spent as goaltender of the Philadelphia Flyers.

He was involved in a few controversies with the Canadiens, like the brawl in 1989, so he isn't necessarily the most well-liked candidate in Montreal. But maybe Habs fans are willing to forget the past and accept Hextall, who understands the game of hockey from his playing days, and is learning all about scouting, drafting and management currently in L.A.

He has worked with the Flyers as a professional scout and director of player personnel before moving to Los Angeles. Hextall is also the general manager of the AHL's Manchester Monarchs.

Hextall would be an OK choice to succeed Gauthier, and he would definitely bring a lot of attention and speculation.

Marc Bergevin

Marc Bergevin, the Chicago Blackhawks' assistant general manager, would be a solid choice for the position.

Bergevin is from Montreal and played 1,191 games with eight teams in the NHL. Bergevin was a pro scout and the Blackhawks director of player personnel leading up to the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup win.

Last summer, he was promoted to assistant general manager. Bergevin has an eye for talent and is known around the league as a guy who has a good sense of humor.

Maybe a guy like him would help lighten the mood in the most tense hockey city in the world.

Francois Giguere

Francois Giguere, the former Colorado Avalanche general manager, has experience and speaks French. Check and check.

He is not currently employed by any NHL team, so it's likely he would be willing to come to Montreal if the Habs wanted him, too. Giguere is more likely to be the general manager of a Quebec team, if they are awarded one by the NHL, since he has closer ties to Quebec City than Montreal.

Giguere is definitely a possibility but isn't one of the top favorites.

Patrick Roy

Patrick Roy’s name has been swirling around the Montreal media for quite some time now. Some believe Roy, the current general manager and head coach of the Quebec Remparts in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, would be a good fit in Montreal, since he is one of the team’s all-time greatest goalies.

Roy is familiar with the franchise and has some experience in the junior ranks. But is he too hotheaded to be a general manager?

Some fans would like to see Roy behind the bench as the next head coach of the team instead of the general manager. But giving him the general manager role is definitely an option. Roy likes being in power and has done some solid things in junior. But, he has also been at the head of some controversy.

Roy is a candidate, but he is definitely more likely to be the next head coach.

Claude Loiselle

Clause Loiselle, the Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager, played 616 games in the NHL and then moved upstairs.

Loiselle has been working closely with Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, and his main duty is negotiating contracts. But there are more promising candidates than Loiselle out there, so don't look for Molson and Savard to jump all over this guy.

Pierre McGuire

Pierre McGuire, an NHL commentator and analyst, knows a lot about hockey. But would he really be the right man for the job?

He is from Montreal and is passionate about the game, but he has security in his job with NBC. He could bring a different element to the team. He won a Stanley Cup ring as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins 20 years ago and hasn’t been employed by an NHL team since before the lockout.

But is the time right for McGuire to move into management? He has a keen eye for talent and a lot of personality. 

Doug Risebrough

Doug Risebrough, the former general manager of Minnesota Wild, played with the Canadiens for eight seasons and won four Stanley Cups, so some Canadiens fans know him quite well. He was then traded to the Calgary Flames, where he continued to have success until retirement in 1987.

Risebrough then went behind the bench as an assistant coach with the Flames for two seasons before becoming assistant general manager. In 1991, he was promoted yet again to general manager and also served as the coach for most of the 1991-92 season.

He then moved onto the Minnesota Wild and became their general manager in 1999. He remained with the team for 10 years. Risebrough is now a professional scout for the New York Rangers.

Arguably the guy with the most experience, Risebrough is, however, not one of the most likely candidates.

The Skinny

This is likely the last photo of Pierre Gauthier associated with the Montreal Canadiens you will see for quite some time.

Any one of the men mentioned above is going to inherit a team that needs a little tuneup. The team needs a new direction, a new personality and new goals.

Whoever the next general manager of the Montreal Canadiens is will likely gain some weight, in the form of an entire city of passionate fans waiting for answers.

Follow Taylor Shire on Twitter: @TaylorShire