RUMOR: The Maple Leafs wanted to talk to Julien BriseBois about the GM position

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
RUMOR: The Maple Leafs wanted to talk to Julien BriseBois about the GM position
Credit: source : YouTube

Even though his team hasn't dominated the playoffs in the past four seasons, Julien BriseBois is regarded as a great general manager.

Yes, he won his two Stanley Cup rings with the core built by Steve Yzerman. But he added the right pieces to keep his team among the elite.

And in recent years, the Lightning should never be underestimated. Even if the Habs could knock them out tonight.

Officially, BriseBois is the GM and VP of the Lightning. He doesn't have a president of hockey operations above him, and he's the one in charge of hockey operations.

We know he's firmly in the saddle in Florida.

That said, it didn't stop a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs from calling the Lightning to ask permission to speak with BriseBois about the GM position. Elliotte Friedman (32 Thoughts) reported the story.

The response from BriseBois's bosses—a man who cut his teeth in Montreal before heading to Tampa Bay? No, you can't talk to Julien BriseBois.

We can all agree that seeing the Quebec native become GM in Toronto wouldn't be a promotion. It's only natural that the Lightning turned down a division rival.

Could the Maple Leafs have named him president and GM, just to call it a promotion? Maybe… but that's hypothetical since the Lightning doesn't want to let their trusted guy chat with the folks in Toronto.

Without BriseBois, the plan still seems to be for Mats Sundin and John Chayka to form a duo, then. Yeah…

It's not unusual for teams to ask permission to talk to someone already in a position. Remember that Jeff Gorton, when he was the vice president (he's been president for a few months now) of the Habs, was often at the center of such requests.

The Canadiens said no every time.

In my opinion, Geoff Molson has as much respect for Jeff Gorton as the Lightning's owners have for Julien BriseBois… which is normal: they're both top-tier executives.


In a nutshell

– Heads up, soccer fans.

– Really?

– Note.

– Stay tuned.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!