Quoting: gm_jeanguy
French is my mother language and I couldn't agree more. Enough with the "GM and coach must speak french" thing, this is just to avoid a media crisis and brings zero value to the process of icing a team that wins championships in the modern NHL.
Agreed. I don't think it should be fully ignored however. So long as it doesn't interfere with the most qualified person getting the job to build a winning roster. and you could have multiple "most qualified" candidates. It can be very subjective.
Hypothetically. Let's say there are only two candidates for the GM job. BOTH are equally qualified for the position with regards to Hockey expertise and experience, but one only speaks English, and the other is bilingual. If it were any other team in the NHL, the language component really doesn't matter, so they would be free to take either candidate. but with MTL I think in this circumstance, language is the deciding factor and the job is given to the bilingual candidate.
As I said, as long as the most qualified person gets the job. Language comes secondary. and I think this is what Molson did. He decided that Gorton was the best candidate period, and worked around the language barrier by creating a new title for him, with the promise to French media that a French speaking individual will still be GM.
The only issue with this is finding a GM who is alright with not being the one who pulls the strings. Without a doubt, generally speaking, people who hold these high end leadership positions....want to be in control...and the new GM is not going to get all of it in MTL now.