Gainey resigns as Canadiens GM

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens didn’t have to look far to find a replacement when general manager Bob Gainey decided to step down Monday afternoon.

Pierre Gauthier, who has served as Gainey’s right-hand man for the past six and a half years, is the team’s new GM.

“I’ve done my best and now it’s time for me to pass the torch,” Gainey told a news conference at the Bell Centre. “I believe that the general manager position requires a long-term vision and a long-term commitment. At this point, I’m not prepared to make a commitment of four or five or six more years in this position.

“If I had to choose between leaving a little earlier, or a little later, I’d prefer (to go) earlier,” added Gainey, who will remain with the organization as an adviser to Gauthier.

The decision to step down at this time allows Gauthier to apply his own vision, although it would seem there will be few changes in the short term.

Gainey and Gauthier both said they have been talking to other teams about possible trades, but it appears the Canadiens are intent on keeping goaltenders Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak, at least for the time being.

“We have two excellent young goaltenders,” said Gauthier, repeating a mantra that flies in the face of the fact Price has lost twice as many games as he has won over the past calendar year. “They both want to be No. 1 and there will be a time when they may be with different teams, but it’s not now.”

Gauthier noted that the Canadiens are a “new” team following Gainey’s decision to make wholesale changes last July.

“We have 11 new players from nine different organizations, and I think we only have four players who have been with us for two or more seasons,” Gauthier said. “Getting the team to where we want it to be is part of an ongoing process.”

One of the players who has been around for more than two seasons is leading scorer Tomas Plekanec, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Gainey has been criticized — at times unfairly — for not negotiating with players during the season, but Gauthier said the team has talked with Plekanec’s agent, Rick Curran.

Gauthier said both sides are interested in reaching an agreement, but the Canadiens face some salary-cap issues going forward. The team is currently committed to 12 players for a total of $44.8 million US for next season.

With the cap almost certainly going down from the present $56.8 million, Gauthier will have to do some fancy stickhandling to satisfy Plekanec, restricted free agents Benoit Pouliot, Price and Halak, and then fill in the gaps with five or six other bodies.

Team president Pierre Boivin said he considered looking outside the organization for Gainey’s replacement, but that it was a brief look. He noted that the list of qualified candidates didn’t go on “ad infinitum” and that Gauthier met the major criteria for the job — experience and an ability to communicate in both languages.

Gauthier has previous experience as a general manager in Ottawa and Anaheim.

He played a key role in building the Senators, acquiring defenceman Wade Redden and goaltender Damian Rhodes in trades, and drafting Chris Phillips, Marian Hossa, Mike Fisher and Chris Neil. Gauthier earned a reputation for finding unrecognized talent in Sweden, even picking up some of the language. He also helped rebuild the Mighty Ducks and provided a key element in Anaheim’s Stanley Cup in 2007 by trading for goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

But Gauthier rejected the notion the Canadiens might be better off going through some losing seasons and rebuilding.

“What we’re doing is building,” Gauthier said. “We have the same goal as every other team, and that’s to win the Stanley Cup. To do that, we first have to establish ourselves as a top-tier team and to do that consistently.”

Montreal Gazette

phickey@thegazette.canwest.com