I understand the appeal of getting players who beat the odds into the org, but isn't that what this management is already filled with ?
Aside from Muller, there aren't many skill guys. Why not get a different perspective ?
Tampa Bay has a lawyer as coach and the highest season scorer not named Gretzky or Lemieux as GM.
Speaking of Gretzky, he has been a complete and utter goof in his post-player hockey career. Almost makes Bergevin look smart. The player's *style of play* has absolutely no bearing on his post player career. None whatsoever. Some people have a keen hockey mind that they can develop while playing, by having a global sense of the the game, simply observing their surrounding, watching their coaches. Others can't.
While there are notable exceptions, most former players who get hired as hockey personnel (scouts, various personnel and coaching duties) are low skills. That's not a Habs thing. That's league-wide and a matter of economics. While plumbers like Bouillon are not exactly dirt poor, they and their family can certainly greatly benefit from the post career earnings.
Eric Desjardins still lives in Quebec, is a smart guy and could do the same job, but he's filthy rich, did not enjoy his first try at player development in Philly and instead runs tons of companies locally and enjoys his free time and being on his schedule. Vincent Damphousse also has a post player career on his own term. These guys are multi-millionaires who simply don't need that kind of grief. Or they come for super special assignments until they lose interest. It's useless.
You will also notice that the few high profile players who are motivated and jump into a post-playing career usually demand bigger incentives. They rarely accept backseat roles and usually demand top spots. While it's great when it works (Serge Savard) it sucks when it doesn't (Denis Savard). Of course, being a former plumber isn't a guarantee you know what you're doing either (Mario Tremblay) but Reggie Houle was definitely in the skilled guy category and sucked just as much.
I'm totally with you on non-former players, though. Habs should definitely look into hiring people who have other skills than being former players. (And maybe Burrows does, but I don't know about it)