After hiring Martin St. Louis as head coach, there were reports that surfaced this week the Montreal Canadiens were also interested in bringing another former member of the Tampa Bay Lightning into the Habs organization. Vincent Lecavalier was rumored to be on new GM Kent Hughes’ radar, some reports suggesting Lecavalier was being considered for the Assistant GM role.
That rumor has turned out to be inaccurate, but there is truth to the reports that Montreal would like to hire Lecavalier. During an interview with the Montreal Gazette’s Stu Cowan, Hughes confirmed he is trying to find a place for Lecavalier inside the Canadiens’ organization. He said it wouldn’t be the Assistant GM job, but the two sides have already spoken about different roles that might suit Lecavalier and allow him to continue to work from home.
He’s got a young family, he’s not going to pack up and move. It’s not fair for his family to do that at this point. So the question is how can we involve him in a way that interests him and benefits us? And if we can do that we’re going to do it. It’s not going to be assistant GM, despite all the rumors, but if we can find a way to do it — and I have ideas about it — then we’d absolutely like to do it.
Hughes sees his former client (Hughes was Lecavalier’s agent) as a great fit for the Canadiens. His desire to bring him in has to do with the environment Hughes is trying to build around the players and executives in Montreal. “Everything that we do has to in part be about our culture and the kind of people that we bring in, what they stand for,” he said. “And I don’t think that’s just in the locker room. That has to be the whole organization, from the top down.”
Interestingly, there are also reports that the Canadiens are considering Nikolai Khabibulin for a role with their goaltending coaching staff.
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