Hockey

Jeff Gorton becomes president of the Canadiens: he and Kent Hughes sign new contract
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Jeff Gorton becomes president of the Canadiens: he and Kent Hughes sign new contract
Credit: Getty Images

We knew the Canadiens would be announcing contract extensions for Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. The rumor mill had been churning for a few hours already, but now the announcement of a five-year contract extension for each has been made… with a surprise in store. Geoff Molson has announced that Jeff Gorton is no longer the Canadiens' Vice-President of Hockey: he has been promoted to President of Hockey Operations.

Why such a change? I have my theories. 1. At first, the Canadiens didn't want to say that Gorton was above Hughes in the pecking order. But now everyone knows – and it's more official than ever. 2. Geoff Molson wanted to retain the title of president in 2021, and I have a feeling this is partly because Jeff Gorton doesn't speak French. Is he obviously more comfortable giving it to him now that we know him better than in 2021? Will it cry? 3. With other teams calling to talk to Gorton about becoming president of another club, Geoff Molson may simply have decided to promote (on paper) his most trusted man

But whatever the reasons, Gorton and Hughes have signed a five-year contract extension (2026 to 2031) that confirms they're not going anywhere. Martin St-Louis sees the men who put their trust in him staying in town. No one's surprised.

When you have men you trust, you make sure you keep them. And unsurprisingly, that's exactly what the Canadiens have chosen to do going forward. The last time Geoff Molson was placed under these conditions, he fired Marc Bergevin instead, in 2021.Details to come…

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