The Athletic sure likes its rankings and this time around, they've ranked the teams' front-office through a survey of executives. Where do you think the Montreal Canadiens' front-office lands?
The Montreal Canadiens are rebuilding. You'd have to live on Mars not to know that, and even then, you probably would. Rebuilds are lengthy exercises, and in the early beginnings, there isn't a lot of winning. Still, to the trained eye, it's possible to see which way it's heading.
The Athletic released its NHL front-office ranking yesterday, and considering where the Habs are in their rebuild, they didn't place badly. Who decided who ranked where? I was a voting exercise conducted with 40 NHL executives who couldn't vote for their own team. The outlet polled general managers, assistant general managers, team presidents, senior advisers, and scouting directors who voted for the top five front offices.
Each time a team won a first, second, third, fourth, or fifth-round place vote, it received a set amount of points. The Dallas Stars topped the ranking with a whopping 251 points, 64 points ahead of second place; the Tampa Bay Lightning with 187 points and 78 points ahead of third place; and the Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers with 173 points.
The only other team over the century mark is the Vegas Golden Knights with 117 points; after that, the points drop significantly. The Canadiens didn't crack the top 10, but they came awfully close, finishing in 11th place with 13 points. Thanks to one-second place vote, one-third place, and one-fifth place one.
Of course, that's not a lot of votes, but it's still better than 21 other teams. In the article, the sole quote about the Habs comes from an assistant GM who put them in third place and says:
Kent Hughes doesn't BS. He just goes about his business. I think they have a good plan.
It's hard to argue with that statement. The Canadiens' GM does look like he's keeping his head down and sticking to the plan, but he does remain on high alert for shortcut opportunities. "Helping" the Calgary Flames by taking Sean Monahan off their hands back in August 2022 was such a move, bringing some draft capital. Signing him to a short-term contract, trading him for more draft capital, and maximizing asset value in the process was another.
A couple of months ago, Hughes struck again by trading for Patrik Laine. Bringing in a player with his skills and NHL experience should have sped up the rebuild, helping his linemates elevate their play to keep up with the big Finn's skills and vision, but his injury derailed that plan.
Should Montreal finally manage to stay healthy and get some results on the ice, there's no doubt the front office would climb up the rankings. For now, though, 11th place will have to do.
For those who are curious, Dallas, Tampa Bay, and Florida are joined in the top five by the Vegas Golden Knights and the Boston Bruins (87), while the Colorado Avalanche (51), New Jersey Devils (29), Carolina Hurricanes (21), New York Rangers (20), and Detroit Red Wings (17) complete the top 10.
While some fans are getting anxious to see some results on the ice, they can find some solace in the fact that Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton was the architect behind the Rangers' rebuilding. This team is currently fourth in the standings and obliterated their beloved Habs on Tuesday night.
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