Huge Front Office Changes for the Montreal Canadiens

Saturday turned out to be quite the day for the Montreal Canadiens. While the team was busy upsetting the Pittsburgh Penguins, management was doing some serious shuffling. Assistant general manager Scott Mellanby has resigned and rumors have Marc Bergevin being the next to go, while Jeff Gorton being added by the team in some capacity.

Mellanby quitting has everything to do with broken promises. As Andy Strickland reported, he was told he would be next in line for the GM position but that as we know now was a broken promise.

Mellanby was promised he’d be the next GM of the Montreal Canadiens. Ownership recently changed their mind. #Habs https://t.co/id8BxTW96S
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) November 28, 2021

The interest in Gorton was the bomb that was dropped on Saturday night as moments after Mellanby's resignation was announced. As Darren Dreger of TSN reports, it's such an intriguing situation in Montreal:

Very intriguing situation in Montreal. We know Scott Mellanby is out. He resigned. We know there’s interest in Jeff Gorton. Geoff Molson is running point on this and it’s believed, Gorton is targeted for a very substantial hockey operations position.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) November 28, 2021

Expectation now is that Bergevin is going to be asked to leave his post as general manager as it's not expected he signs an extension with the Canadiens. Some out there feel the team is looking for a French speaking general manager to replace Bergevin. This was reported by Chris Johnston:

With the #habs front office in a state of turmoil, there's a widely held expectation inside the industry that the organization will pursue a French GM when it comes time to replace Marc Bergevin.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) November 28, 2021

As for Mellanby he will land on his feet with another organization, including potentially the Florida Panthers or Vancouver Canucks. He's 55, and has been working with the Canadiens since 2012. As for the team on the ice, the Habs site 6-15-2 and look like a team headed for tank mode.

Things continue to develop in Montreal. All signs indicate Jeff Gorton will soon be heading up Hockey Operations for the Canadiens.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) November 28, 2021

the real enemy of this Habs front office drama is Scott Mellanby's parents for not enrolling him in french immersion
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 28, 2021

Photo credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports