Gainey named adviser with Peterborough of OHL

Bob Gainey has come full circle in his Hockey Hall of Fame career.
A five-time Stanley Cup champion as a forward with the Montreal Canadiens, with another championship won as general manager of the Dallas Stars in 1999, Gainey is joining Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League as a volunteer senior adviser to the board of directors in all areas of hockey and business operations.

Gainey, 64, a Peterborough native, played two seasons there from 1971-73 before he was drafted by the Canadiens with the No. 8 pick in the 1973 NHL Draft and entered the NHL with Montreal in 1973-74.
"I'd met the president of the Petes board [Dave Pogue], who asked me if I'd consider working in some capacity with the team," Gainey said Wednesday from Peterborough. "It's ended up in an advisory role. I'm not sure the form this will take. It will take some time to find out exactly how I can fit in and get to meet people. I still have a pretty strong connection in this area, so I look forward to getting back in the game. I'll see if some of my experience can help them."
Gainey was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 and was named among the 100 Greatest NHL Players presented by Molson Canadian.

Winner of the Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward from 1978-81, the first four years it was awarded, Gainey won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens from 1976-79 and was voted winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoffs' most valuable player in 1979. He won his last title as a player in 1986 as Canadiens captain.
Gainey coached eight seasons in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars, Stars and Canadiens, and was Montreal GM from 2003-10. He later was a consultant with the Stars and St. Louis Blues.
"I'm fully invested," Gainey told reporters at a Peterborough news conference Tuesday. "I'm looking forward to the great success and the great evenings, the wins and the difficult losses that go along with every season. I'm very happy to be a part of the group and willing to participate in any way that could benefit.
"I have the time and I have a desire to participate in competition. The timing is right for me for those reasons. I think the timing is right for the Petes as they reorganize their team and head into a new season. … I'm very happy to participate in competitive hockey again after being away from it for a few years, and I can't think of a place that suits me better than doing it in my hometown with the Petes."
Peterborough is thrilled by Gainey's decision to come aboard.
"I'm not sure there is anybody better," Pogue said. "[Gainey's] experience in the hockey world is virtually unmatched. He's a Petes alumnus, Peterborough native and he has a renewed interest in the team. All the stars sort of aligned."