“I’m not convinced the Habs would like the Blue Jackets to talk to Jeff Gorton.”

This morning, the Blue Jackets announced that the club’s GM, Jarmo Kekalainen, had been relieved of his duties. This was big news, considering that the Finn had been in the job for a decade… but with all the talk about the organization’s culture, a change was in order.

I confess I’ve never been his biggest supporter, but he does have a certain reputation.

That said, the news caused even more of a stir in Montreal a few hours later, when Darren Dreger speculated that Jeff Gorton, Montreal’s VP of hockey operations, might be considered by the Blue Jackets. He reiterated this on tonight’s Insider Trading segment, saying he believes the Jackets will at least ask Gorton for permission to talk.

What’s important to remember, though, is that since this wouldn’t be a promotion for Gorton (as it would be if he’d been an assistant GM, for example), the Blue Jackets won’t be able to talk to him if the Habs don’t want it to happen.

And according to Pierre LeBrun, it’s far from certain that this is an idea that would appeal to the Habs:

I’m not convinced the Habs would like the Blue Jackets to talk to Jeff Gorton. – Pierre LeBrun

Jeff Gorton among the candidates to succeed Kekäläinen? pic.twitter.com/QKheHm9ZsK

– Hockey 360 (@hockey360) February 15, 2024

It’s important to point out that LeBrun then adds “you never know”, and it’s true that seeing the Habs prevent him from talking to another club about a position he’s interested in might frustrate Gorton a bit.

I have a feeling he won’t “sulk” if the club doesn’t let him talk to another team, but if Gorton wants to be a GM again, it’s up to the Tricolore to see if they’re comfortable letting him test the waters.

During his segment on the JiC show, Renaud Lavoie agreed: in his opinion, the Habs don’t want anything to do with letting their VP of hockey operations leave the club… and like Pierre LeBrun, he too mentions the idea of Mathieu Darche coming to town.

It’s not (really) the first time his name has been floated for a GM position on the Bettman circuit, by the way.

We’ll see what happens, but it would seem that Darche is a much more logical candidate than Gorton for the Blue Jackets’ GM position.

I could be wrong, of course, but let’s just say that all this doesn’t give me the impression that we need to worry too much about Gorton’s future in Montreal…

Breaking news

– Interesting.

– Remember that he said yesterday thathe didn’t want to be traded. It would really take a whole Wild slump for things to change, but if it were to happen, there are three clubs to watch.

– Quite logical, though.

– A Habs scout attends the Kraken-Bruins game.

– News from Julien BriseBois.