New CEO and new chief recruiter | What future for the relationship between the Canadiens and the QMJHL?

Each year, when he was at the head of the Quebec Nordiques, Maurice Filion dined with the commissioner of the QMJHL, Gilles Courteau, to obtain a detailed report on the local hopes.

Each year, when he managed the Montreal Canadiens, Serge Savard also met the commissioner of the QMJHL to get his opinion on the rising stars of his league. “Serge always told me: ‘The QMJHL players are my priority.’ He was sometimes wrong, but he won the Stanley Cup with them, ”says Gilles Courteau.

Each year, the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Julien BriseBois, also calls Gilles Courteau to learn more about the hopes here. “Julien wants comparables. When we talk about a player, we will discuss five minutes of the hockey component, and ten minutes of everything that happens outside the ice. ”

And with the Canadian, in recent years, how was it going?

Gilles Courteau had an open discussion channel with Marc Bergevin, who asked him for advice “on such and such a player”. But with the chief recruiter, Trevor Timmins, there were several arms of distance.

Trevor Timmins and Gilles Courteau sometimes crossed paths in an arena. Or in the National League draft. But substantive discussions, such as those with Maurice Filion, Serge Savard or Julien BriseBois, were rare. Very rare. In fact, it has only happened once, in 18 years.

“It was last January,” Gilles Courteau told me.

This was following the 2020 draft, in which the Canadian had completely ignored the QMJHL for the third time in five years. The Habs had notably traded their last choice to the Chicago Blackhawks, who had recruited Quebec defenseman Louis Crevier, now under contract.

After this transaction, several general managers and head coaches of the QMJHL contacted me to express their discouragement and their exasperation towards the Canadian. Trevor Timmins defended himself, saying he had “no bias towards QMJHL players”.

Last summer, after controversy and discussions with Gilles Courteau, Trevor Timmins drew four times in the QMJHL. This is as much as in the previous seven years – combined.

The Canadian scrutinizes the QMJHL. The club has two full-time recruiters here (Donald Audette and Serge Boisvert), in addition to the director of player personnel and amateur recruiting, Martin Lapointe. The three have regular discussions with the head coaches and GMs of the QMJHL.

However, before last summer, under the management of Bergevin-Timmins, the Habs did not often turn to local players.

Several QMJHL club leaders told me that they doubted the influence of Quebec recruiters at the Canadiens decision-making table. “I think it took them a walkie-talkie to be able to talk to Trevor Timmins,” quips one of my contacts. While elsewhere, Stéphane Pilotte (Anaheim), Luc Gauthier (Pittsburgh), Jérôme Mésonéro (Colorado), Michel Boucher (Tampa Bay) and Jean-Philippe Glaude (Nashville) have the ear of their bosses to recruit players from here, even in the first or second round.

“The Canadian did not make an exchange to gain ranks in order to draft a player from here, while other teams did,” notes Gilles Courteau.

The commissioner’s wish? That the next general manager and the next head recruiter of the Habs have “a great sensitivity towards the QMJHL”. “It’s not the 32 NHL clubs that have a full-time recruiter here. The Canadian must take advantage of this situation, ”says Gilles Courteau.

The commissioner points out that in the last year, the Canadian has come very close to the QMJHL.

” I have felt it. Look at the number of players selected. Coaches hired in Laval, like Jean-François Houle and Martin Laperrière. The number of QMJHL alumni with the Laval Rocket. Almost all of the Trois-Rivières Lions players have played in our league. There is an important turning point. Like a wake up call.

“Today, to build a winning team, you have to take the best players available. Except when two players are of equal value, you must have a fondness for the QMJHL guy. […] The Canadiens fans want to have a winning club, but they also like to encourage players they know. Players they can relate to. ”

At one point, he adds, “you can’t always miss [des joueurs locaux] “.

“I always said to Marc Bergevin: stop putting out your stats [du nombre de joueurs québécois] at the end of the year. It does not work. It’s not the number of players that matters. They are the ones who play and perform […]not the guys who sit at the end of the bench and play once in a while. Watch William Carrier, Nicolas Roy and Jonathan Marchessault, in Las Vegas. Let’s see! How we can [tous les rater] ? ”

Marc Bergevin is gone. Trevor Timmins too. The new executive vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton, has never worked in Quebec hockey or lived here. How does Gilles Courteau anticipate the future of the relationship between his league and the Canadiens?

Very well.

First, he holds Jeff Gorton in high esteem. “He’s a guy who knows the QMJHL,” he said. With the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, Gorton has often drawn it here. To recruit Brad Marchand and Alexis Lafrenière, but also lesser known players, such as Jonathan Girard, Gabriel Fontaine and Eric Naud.

“He’s the kind of guy who listens a lot, and doesn’t talk often. When he speaks, it’s very structured, thoughtful. He is respected by the other general managers. DGs told me: “The Canadian did not put his finger in the nose with him.” He will quickly learn the local culture. ”

Gilles Courteau is also optimistic that the next GM will know the QMJHL well. “On the selection committee, Geoff Molson speaks French. Bob Gainey speaks French. And Michael Andlauer speaks French very well. Mr. Andlauer, I know him personally. He has shown an interest in the past to buy a QMJHL franchise. He owns a club in the OHL. He knows the sensitivity of Quebec. I’m not worried about it. ”

As for the critics who point out that the problem is not so much the Canadian, but the QMJHL itself, Gilles Courteau has a ready answer.

“Our clubs have won five of the last ten Memorial Cups. Including three consecutive [2011 à 2013]. And why does the Tampa Bay Lightning find some local players that they play and who perform well? ”