Former Rangers GM executing similar blueprint in Montreal as New York

Former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton, now the executive vice president of hockey operations of the Montreal Canadiens, is executing a similar blueprint with his current club as he did with his former team.

Montreal is in a rebuilding phase and a few years away from being a serious contender. If you have watched the Canadiens these past few seasons, you see they’re going through what the Rangers did when Gorton replaced Glen Sather in 2015 as the Rangers’ 11th general manager. The symmetry and imagery are nearly identical.

Gorton took over the Rangers after they won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2014-15 and lost in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That was one year after the Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and lost to the Los Angeles Kings.

He assumed his duties in Montreal mere months after the Canadiens lost in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final to the Lightning.

His first two seasons in New York resulted in 100-point campaigns and early postseason exits. A full-on rebuild soon followed. The rebuild was immediate in Montreal, though, and there’ve been three straight years out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so far.

Seeing what was coming, Gorton started making big moves with the Rangers in the 2016 and 2017 offseasons. Looking to get younger and battling a tight salary cap, Gorton made a string of key trades. He offloaded veterans Keith Yandle and Derick Brassard in separate deals in 2016, the latter bringing back 23-year-old Mika Zibanejad in one of the best trades in Rangers history. Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta were traded to the Arizona Coyotes in June of 2017. Dan Girardi had his contract bought out that same summer.

The full-on Rangers rebuild officially began on Feb. 8, 2018. That’s the date when Gorton and Sather, then Rangers president, penned The Letter to fans explaining the plan to rebuild, get younger and trade away older, more expensive players.

That spring, Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner were all traded. Eventually so, too, would Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes. In 2020, the Rangers bought out the contract of future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist.

But Gorton wasn’t just tearing down. He was building the Rangers up. He acquired Ryan Strome, Ryan Lindgren and Adam Fox in trades. Igor Shesterkin was brought over from Russia. Eventually with all of that salary cap space, the Rangers signed Artemi Panarin to a massive free-agent contract, signaling a turn in the rebuild.

Gorton built back New York’s prospects pool, lucking out in 2020 when the ping pong balls helped the Rangers land Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 overall pick.

Though Gorton preached patience, Rangers owner James Dolan lost his. Gorton and team president John Davidson were fired in May of 2021, each replaced by Chris Drury. The Rangers have posted three straight 100-point seasons since and reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2022 and 2024, with a core assembled by Gorton.

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Jeff Gorton implemented similar strategies with Rangers, Canadiens

When Gorton landed in Montreal, he inherited a mess from previous executive Marc Bergevin. So, he hired former player agent Kent Hughes as the first-time general manager and set about following his New York blueprint about rebuilding an Original Six team.

Gorton and Hughes didn’t issue a letter to Canadiens fans, but they were clear in their messaging that a rebuild was in order. After one season, Gorton brought in a first-time coach, former Rangers forward and Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis. That was not dissimilar to when he hired David Quinn as a first-time NHL coach to develop the Rangers young players.

It was rough in Montreal after their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. Carey Price had severe deterioration in his knee and played only five games in 2021-22. Though he hasn’t retired, Price will never play again in the NHL.

So, in New York, Gorton had to move on from a legendary goalie (Lundqvist) and now the same thing took place in Montreal with Price. This time, Gorton doesn’t have a Shesterkin, or even Alexandar Georgiev, waiting in the wings to take over. Though Sam Montembault and Cayden Primeau are proving capable.

In 2022, the Canadiens moved out Tyler Toffoli, Ben Chiarot, Andrew Hammond, Artturi Lehkonen, and Brett Kulak to create $5.2 million in cap space. The Canadiens traded Jake Allen, Sean Monahan, and Jan Mysak, generating $4 million in cap space in 2024.

Under Gorton, the Canadiens traded for young center Kirby Dach, and have made a string of excellent draft selections to build up their prospects pool. Like in New York in 2020, Gorton saw the Canadiens win the draft lottery and select talented forward Juraj Slafkovsky No. 1 overall in 2022.

Yes, the parallels are uncanny.

Montreal is in position to acquire another top-six forward, in order to bolster a strong group that features Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Dach, and Alex Newhook. The Canadiens are loaded with talented young defensemen in the NHL and on the way with Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Lane Hutson, and Justin Barron.

If this sounds familiar, recall how Gorton stockpiled the Rangers farm system before striking. With multiple draft picks in the first four rounds of the next couple drafts, the Canadiens can either fortify their system with more high-end talent or swing a trade or two for established NHL stars.

There’s still work to be done with the current roster. Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, and Joel Armia are players the Canadiens want to move out for salary cap reasons. Landing a true No. 1 goalie will certainly catapult the Canadiens into the next phase of their rebuilding process.

It’s a familiar blueprint Gorton is following with the Canadiens. One that has served the Rangers quite well.

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