New GM Discussion Thread

[Habs10025]

Who speaks french in the NHL?

Yeah, nobody.

YOU proved my point.

Who cares if no players speak French in the Nhl The Majority of the fan base in Montreal and the province of Quebec do speak French .. If Molson doesn't care about those fans he'll hire an English speaking general manager who can't speak French .. It'll never happen even if the English person is the most qualified and that's because Molson knows whats most important . That's the Francophone fan base that have supported the franchise from the beginning

 

[Moose Head]

Really, how the hell hard is it too learn a language. You're getting paid well, learn the language. Dryden, Robinson and Gainey knew this. As part of the leadership group of the habs They realized the important place they represented in Quebec.

 

[AboveandBeyond]

I’m sick of this f***ing team ! Put Galchenyuk at centre for f***s sakes . Fire bergevin and hire a GM that isn’t a francophone f*** ! We are actually the laughing stock of the NHL . The Canadiens are a joke

 

[jfm133]

If we assume that Québec and bilingual hockey people outside Québec amout for around 20% of hockey people from Canada, it means the hockey people mastering french are way under represented in the NHL since only Bergevin, Dorion, and to a lesser extent Talon speak french. So that means the Habs have a big talent pool to pick from that is under exploited, unless you think that french speaking hockey people are mostly incompetent all other things being equal.

 

[dinodebino]

1) The Canadiens serve more than just Francophones. They represent no one, since they're a business and fans are revenue sources.

2) Selke did not speak French;

3) Regardless of language, looking for a GM that the fans relate to is stupid. I want the GM to build a cup winner, not hang out with me at the bar.

I don't disagree that French language should be heavily considered when hiring a GM, but enough with this buddy-buddy view of a GM.

At the time of Selke's hire, the francos were not a plenty in the administrative part of hockey. It was still very much an anglo-canadian sport.

 

[Captain Mountain]

If we assume that Québec and bilingual hockey people outside Québec amout for around 20% of hockey people from Canada, it means the hockey people mastering french are way under represented in the NHL since only Bergevin, Dorion, and to a lesser extent Talon speak french. So that means the Habs have a big talent pool to pick from that is under exploited, unless you think that french speaking hockey people are mostly incompetent all other things being equal.

You are aware that there are more than just Canadians in the NHL, right?

Also, Stan Bowman is bilingual too, kinda.

 

[habdynasty]

Politics over winning = last place . welcome to todays game.

 

[groovejuice]

If we assume that Québec and bilingual hockey people outside Québec amout for around 20% of hockey people from Canada, it means the hockey people mastering french are way under represented in the NHL since only Bergevin, Dorion, and to a lesser extent Talon speak french. So that means the Habs have a big talent pool to pick from that is under exploited, unless you think that french speaking hockey people are mostly incompetent all other things being equal.

It's not a matter of competence. Nobody is suggesting that francophones are unfit for consideration. That doesn't mean that the best candidate at the time will be a francophone.

25 years with no Cup. How about we get the best person possible to end this pitiful streak?

 

[mtl_felix]

This team f***ing blows but hey, at least we can take pride in our terrible architect's ability to butcher the french language. Great.

 

[dinodebino]

I don't care about the GM's original spoken language. I do think that in today's world, speaking the majority's tongue is a given. Bob Gainey and Sam Pollock are good examples of this.

There are very competent francophone candidates and I do think Roy is one. At the junior level, he built powerhouses in Quebec. Yes he's got a big ego. So do all NHL GMs. Is he that old school? I don't know. Was he that old school in Quebec?

My choice would be Brisebois.

But don't underestimate Quintal's candidacy. He could be groomed as Shanahan is. That's why I think that Jacques Lemaire could become his Lou Lamoriello.

 

[TheGame777]

Honestly, i'm not the biggest fan of Bergevin and I feel that a change would be refreshing for everyone.

Finding a good GM that speaks french shouldn't be a big problem.

Dale Tallon comes to mind, he built the Blackhawks and found really good talent for the Florida Panthers. Even if he seems to be lacking in some areas, this man could find talent that we need throughout the draft. He has a good history in building teams and good eye for talent.

Julien Brisebois has gained experience during the years and may be ready for a job as a GM. Smart guy that knows he's way around rules and he had some success with tampa bay.

Stephane Quintal has taken an important role in the NHL, he had time to build relationships with many GM and excutive around the league. Smart and humble, ex player that played for the habs and know the importance of this team and what it takes in this market. May not have the experience, but you always need to start somewhere and look what his pal Shanahan did both were extremely close and you surround yourself with people that are like you.

Patrick Roy has the name and the favor of casual fans and the media. He may be the frontrunner if Bergevin is out. Has experience (gm and coach in colorado) even if the Avs was a failure under his tenure. I don't like him, I never did. He was a great player and should have never been traded by this team unless they had a better return and I will always respect his play with the habs but i don't like his attitude, his antics, the way he runs the team.

Pierre McGuire is a good friend of Molson was in the running last time and since then you can see that he is less flashy. He speaks french and has a gd knowledge of the league and the players. Tho he wouldn't be my choice, i'm not to sure that this team will be better under him.

Vincent Damphouse was also in the running last time, and i pray god everyday that henever gets close to this team. I don't like the way he thinks and his assesment on many players. The fact that he was considered last time is the only reason i include him and McGuire.

Honestly, i'd rather one of the first three than Roy. Other than that, i think that those three are good candidates for the GM role in mtl (they all speak french) and they all bring something to the table.

 

[NobleSix]

If the best possible candidate for the job is bilingual, you hire them. If the best possible candidate is an Anglophone, you hire them.

Winning comes first, and giving the team the best possible chance of winning shouldn't be trumped by civic pride.

Nobody is saying that the team can't win with a francophone GM, and nobody is saying that the team will definetly win with an English speaking GM. It's all about hiring the best man for the job.

 

[TheGame777]

If the best possible candidate for the job is bilingual, you hire them. If the best possible candidate is an Anglophone, you hire them.

Winning comes first, and giving the team the best possible chance of winning shouldn't be trumped by civic pride.

Nobody is saying that the team can't win with a francophone GM, and nobody is saying that the team will definetly win with an English speaking GM. It's all about hiring the best man for the job.

I think everyone would like the best candidate. And i was more than pleased when Molson took Nill has a serious candidate. It made me happy but i do believe that there is no way they find a GM that doesn't speak french. I wish it wasn't like that but it most likely is.

 

[Jazzped]

I'm all for French-protection in Québec's market as it's very easy for a country/province/region to lose its language's identity. I think our province is doing an OK job at doing so, nothing's perfect, but hey... it's hard to please everyone.

That being said, please, PLEASE hire the best person available, whether it's a Coach, GM, President, Owner, Player, whatever. We, as fans, learn literally NOTHING from press conferences. Medias do a lot of money from them though so... gotta hire a French GM, right?

No.

What about hiring fully bilingual reporters who are able to translate the press conferences? Oh, they're already (somewhat) bilingual? Case. Closed. Not even a need for a GM translator, which could be a viable option if medias think it's important to hear the team's reps talk live instead of a few minutes delay after translation.

It was a different era when Richard was a symbol of French-speaking people standing up against the English-controlled Montreal. We have now laws helping the population to have pretty much equal opportunities as French-speaking or English-speaking citizens. Job's done.

We all want the Habs to win, so we have to accept that maybe, MAYBE the best person available is not bilingual. And that's fine, really.

 

[jfm133]

Stan Bowman speaking french? You are confusing him with his father.

 

[jfm133]

There are 4 US GM in the NHL, only one european, all the rest are Canadian. So 26 Canadian GM and only two real francophones. A big talent pool is there for the Habs to pick from.

 

[CHwest]

If we assume that Québec and bilingual hockey people outside Québec amout for around 20% of hockey people from Canada, it means the hockey people mastering french are way under represented in the NHL since only Bergevin, Dorion, and to a lesser extent Talon speak french. So that means the Habs have a big talent pool to pick from that is under exploited, unless you think that french speaking hockey people are mostly incompetent all other things being equal.

Where would you get this magical 20% number, and Americans are probably more highly represented than Que. Even if your numbers are true it is a fools game to say there is a gem hidden in the Que numbers. All the rest of the league cares about is talent, never heard anything as stupid as the Canadiens hiring policy in the rest of the league. If the best available canidate was french every team in the league would be looking at them. Only in Montreal....sigh.

 

[CauZuki]

Brisebois is the only decent choice.

 

[calder candidate]

Actually I rather have the best candidate, but even if we have the best french candidate has long as he surround him self with a great team and not a bunch of is friends it might work...

 

[Frank Drebin]

If we assume that Québec and bilingual hockey people outside Québec amout for around 20% of hockey people from Canada, it means the hockey people mastering french are way under represented in the NHL since only Bergevin, Dorion, and to a lesser extent Talon speak french. So that means the Habs have a big talent pool to pick from that is under exploited, unless you think that french speaking hockey people are mostly incompetent all other things being equal.

Why would you say its under exploited? Other teams hire qualified francophone/bi lingual coaches and managers. Julien BriseBois in TB for example. (does he really have two capital letters in his name?)

 

[habergeon]

I think it does matter, to Molson anyway. It shouldn't but he pays the bills so he can do what he wants.

Having said that, the NHL is a copycat league and the trend is assistant GMs are the ones getting the jobs these days.

But as many has said, the point is moot as one of the best guys out there speaks french, is a winner, a lawyer, a businessman and very familiar with the organization and knows what it is to be a Hab. I can't see Yzerman blocking him, as it would be a promotion and if memory serves correct, we gave him permission to speak to Julien in the first place.

 

[Draft]

I'll start cheering for WPG if this team hires Pierre Maguire. I don't think I could take them seriously and I can't imagine having to watch a press conference.

 

[LaP]

MB wont be canned unless the team keep losing at an unsustainable rate. He's here for at least two other years.

 

[habergeon]

Thinking out loud here...and playing devils advocate for folks who say language shouldn't matter.. what would be the reaction of the fanbase if they hired Kyle Dubas?

He's another smart, young GM in waiting and really, what has happened in Toronto has been miraculous.

Edit: I still think Brisebois to be the superior candidate of the two, and his ability to speak french makes him a slam dunk.

 

[NeptunesTrident]

In addition to BriseBois I'd interview Mark Hunter.