Ken Dryden played a role in one of Jeff Gorton’s first memories of the Canadiens.
It wasn’t a good one.
Gorton grew up in Melrose, Mass., as a huge Bruins fan and was a month shy of his 11th birthday when Boston was leading the Canadiens 4-3 with 2:34 remaining in Game 7 of the 1979 Stanley Cup semifinal series at the Forum. That’s when the Bruins — with Don Cherry behind their bench — were penalized for having too many men on the ice. Guy Lafleur scored on the ensuing power play, Yvon Lambert scored the winner in overtime and the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup.
It was Dryden’s last of eight Hall of Fame seasons as the Canadiens goalie, during which time he won six Stanley Cups.
“Being from Boston, of course, the Canadiens broke my heart a lot of times,” Gorton said after he was named the Canadiens’ executive vice-president of hockey operations on Nov. 28, 2021. “That’s my first memories (of the Canadiens) — 1979 probably sticks out as the first one where things were thrown in my house with the too-many-men-on-the-ice.”
On Tuesday night at the Bell Centre — a few hours after team owner/president Geoff Molson announced he had signed Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes to five-year contract extensions that will kick in next season — Gorton watched with Hughes from their private loge as the Canadiens had a beautiful tribute to Dryden as part of their pre-game ceremony before beating the Seattle Kraken 5-4 in overtime. Dryden died last month at age 78 after battling cancer.
“I’ve always been happy here from the moment I got here and I’m really excited about the players and where we’re going,” Gorton, who now holds the title of president of hockey operations, told reporters at the Bell Centre after practice Wednesday. “You saw last night the moments that this franchise has always had and the touching thing with Ken Dryden. There’s just so much here. Just to be part of it is special and just look forward to where we’re going next.”
There’s a lot to like about this young Canadiens team.
“I like the character of the group, the talent, the youth, the enthusiasm,” Gorton said. “You saw last night they’re never out of it. I like that about the group. I think they’ve taken on their coach’s (Martin St. Louis) personality and they’ve embraced that.”
Gorton was a goalie in high school and his favourite player was Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers. He started working in the Bruins’ public-relations department as an intern and, at age 23, was hired full time by the team to deal with the media and arrange public appearances for players. He took it upon himself to start a database for scouting reports and a video library. That led to a job in scouting before being promoted to assistant GM and, eventually, GM of the Bruins.
The Canadiens hired Gorton six months after he was surprisingly fired as GM of the New York Rangers after starting a rebuilding process there. Gorton’s experience rebuilding the Bruins and Rangers was a big reason why Molson hired him to rebuild the Canadiens. That turned out to be a very smart decision, with the Canadiens making the playoffs last season for the first time in four years and then starting this season with a 3-1 record.
“Coming here for the first time, I didn’t really know what to expect,” Gorton recalled Wednesday about joining the Canadiens. “Obviously, you come here as a visiting team and you know how great games are to watch here and how historic this franchise is. But to be part of it, to be lucky enough to be in the position I’m in, sometimes you have to pinch yourself about the opportunities you get. So that’s where I’m at.”
The goal when Gorton started the Canadiens’ rebuilding process was to eventually have a team that could compete for the Stanley Cup for several years. The Canadiens aren’t there yet, but they are certainly on the right track and remain the youngest team in the NHL, with an average age of 25.8. The Buffalo Sabres — who have missed the playoffs for 14 straight years and are off to an 0-3 start this season while being outscored 10-2 — are the second-youngest team with an average age of 26.48.
How far are the Canadiens away from reaching that goal?
“I never like to answer that,” Gorton said. “I think the players will show us when it’s time. I think Kent, Marty, myself, all of us, have been pretty consistent that we’re moving in the right direction. We can feel the team getting better and putting timelines on, it’s not going to help. But our players are really confident, our coaches are confident, we’re confident in our group. Like I always say, we’re excited to see what could be next.
“I hate timelines,” Gorton added. “At the end of the five (years) I hope that’s not it for me, that’s not what it means. But I’m certainly thankful to Geoff for giving us this opportunity of a long-term deal at this point to try to keep going forward with it.”
Gorton now hopes to one day celebrate a Canadiens’ Stanley Cup championship.
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