Friedman - "I don't believe permission was ever granted"
usatsi_18659786-1
Per Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts Podcast today, The Montreal Canadiens Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton was not granted permission to speak to the Columbus Blue Jackets about any vacant front office positions they might've wanted to fill with him.
On the podcast, Friedman says, "I'm not sure how it all unfolded if they officially asked for permission or sent feelers. And I'm also not exactly sure how the position was presented, how it would've all worked. If Gorton would've been one hire, or it would've been two, Gorton and somebody else below him. Whatever the case is, he's not going to be leaving Montreal for Columbus. At the end of the day, I don't believe permission was ever granted. He's still in the process of rebuilding Montreal, and I think it was made pretty clear that the Canadiens were not in favor of the idea. So, Gorton stays in Montreal, continuing to rebuild that team. Although you can't blame the Blue Jackets for having interest."
He also mentioned that he believes the Blue Jackets did talk to Marc Bergevin, but thinks the rumors about his eminent hire are "premature" because there are more people they want to talk to.
You can listen to the podcast here.
The search for the vacant GM job in Columbus continues with many names, both high-profile and lower-profile that they are rumored to be interested in. The Blue Jackets have been silent so as to not show their hand, so until we hear from them, take the rumors as you will. But where there's smoke there's fire, and until we see the white smoke coming from Nationwide Arena, we'll keep speculating and guessing.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts on our forum.
More From THN Columbus