Almost daily now, I get messages that mention where Kent Hughes (now barely three years into the job) ranks on the all-time list of Canadiens GMs.
Hughes has enjoyed an almost unparalleled honeymoon with the fans because he does most things right and communicates well. They tend to rank him behind Sam Pollock and either just ahead or just behind Serge Savard on the all-time list — which is rather short on historical perspective.
My own view is short on figures like coach/GM/owner Leo Dandurand and begins instead with Frank J. Selke, only because I was able to learn about Selke from legends like Red Fisher and Dick Irvin Jr.
With apologies to Dandurand and Tommy Gorman, this is how I would rank the GMs from the day Selke took over in 1946 to the present.
1. Sam Pollock (1964-1978): Duh, right? Pollock is credited with winning the Stanley Cup nine times between 1965 and 1978. In truth, Pollock won 10 Cups because the 1979 champs were his team all the way. Irving Grundman had the title at the time but the players were assembled by Pollock, who also hired Scotty Bowman, the coach who should have been promoted to GM when Pollock stepped down.
Much of Pollock’s reputation rests on the manoeuvres that led to drafting Guy Lafleur in 1971 but really, his impact began almost immediately after he took over from Selke on May 15, 1964. Pollock won the Cup the following season and his teams won four times in his first five seasons, a record blemished only by that fluky loss to the Leafs in 1967.
2. Frank J. Selke (1946-1964): Not only did Selke’s teams win six Stanley Cups, they also lost five times in the Stanley Cup final. With any other organization, Selke would rank No. 1. His prolonged negotiations to persuade Jean Béliveau to leave the Quebec Aces and sign with Montreal are probably unmatched in NHL history — never did a GM have to work so hard for so long to get a player signed.
Selke also managed the club for 18 years, a record that is likely to remain untouched.
3. Serge Savard (1983-1995): It’s hard to argue with those two Stanley Cups, although Savard’s tenure was a decidedly mixed bag that included a number of terrible first-round picks and some terrible deals like the one that sent Chris Chelios to the Blackhawks for Denis Savard.
Savard snatching Patrick Roy with the 51st overall pick in the 1984 draft, however, was one of the all-time coups — and the teams that won in 1986 and 1993 were deep and well-prepared for the playoffs.
4. Kent Hughes (2022-present): How does a GM whose teams have yet to make the playoffs rank so high? By doing most things right, drafting and trading wisely and communicating well, that’s how.
5. Marc Bergevin (2012-2021): Ironically, Bergevin became perhaps the most hated GM in Habs history for one of his best moves, trading P.K. Subban for Shea Weber. Bergevin also stuck with Michel Therrien far too long — but his team made the Stanley Cup final, he drafted Cole Caufield and Kaiden Guhle, and the deal that sent Max Pacioretty to Vegas for Tomas Tatar and Nick Suzuki was a key to where the Canadiens are today.
6. André Savard (2000-2003): Savard is the great unknown. A superb judge of hockey talent, he gets credit for stabilizing the organization after the chaos of the Réjean Houle years.
Savard drafted Chris Higgins, Mike Komisarek and Tomas Plekanec before Gainey was made vice-president and general manager, effectively demoting Savard, who was soon gone from the organization. We’ll never know what he might have accomplished.
7. Bob Gainey (2003-2010): The culture a GM instils is a big part of any executive’s reign and Gainey’s tenure — secretive, distrustful and heavy on firings — was not a happy one. He and Trevor Timmins blew the talent-laden 2003 draft completely and made the wretched trade that sent Ryan McDonagh, Chris Higgins and throw-ins to the Rangers for the disinterested Scott Gomez.
Drafting Carey Price atoned for some of that — but only some.
8. Réjean Houle (1995-2000): Houle never had a chance. He worked hard and learned on the job but he was doomed by a hot-tempered coach, an equally incandescent superstar and a jittery, interfering team president in Ronald Corey. It’s amazing he lasted long enough to draft Andrei Markov.
9. Pierre Gauthier (2010-2012): Gauthier earned the nickname “the Ghost” for the way he seemed to drift around the shadows, making contact with no one, treating journalists and players with equal contempt. The manner in which he traded sniper Michael Cammalleri would tarnish the Canadiens’ image for a decade.
10. Irving Grundman (1978-1983): A terrible GM and, later, a convicted criminal. That covers it.
Heroes: Nick Suzuki, Josh Anderson, Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson, Lane Hutson, Jake Evans, Jakub Dobes, Cayla Barnes, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Jack Crawford, &&&& last but not least, Kent Hughes.
Zeros:Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, Kyle Dubas, Bill Guerin, P.K. Subban, Wayne Gretzky, Irving Grundman, Aaron Rodgers, Bud Selig Jr., Claude Brochu, David Samson &&&& last but not least, Jeffrey Loria.
Now and forever.