Gorton makes solid impression in first comments since joining Canadiens

Jeff Gorton dove into the deep end of French on Friday to begin his first news conference as the executive vice president of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens, and he bobbed back to the surface with a grin.

"I hope that was OK," Gorton said after slowly getting through a prepared statement in a language he doesn't speak. "I am learning and be patient with me, but I will try to learn.
"I would like to be as good [in French] as I can. My wife has bought me some lessons online that I'm starting. I will do my best, that's my pledge to you. I can't say that I'll speak the language fluently. Thirty years ago, I wanted to be great at golf and I still stink, right?"
He drew laughter for the golf remark, having earned goodwill points for his efforts in French from his first syllables of "bonjour."
Gorton, who was hired Sunday, was fired as general manager of the New York Rangers on May 5 after six seasons in the role and 14 seasons with New York. He was also GM with the Boston Bruins for four months in 2006.
He discussed his vision that's still taking shape and of myriad challenges he and the Canadiens face in a rebuilding that seems inevitable given their 6-17-2 record.

Gorton spoke with broad brush strokes, making wide-ranging comments about the Canadiens and the appeal of working for such a storied NHL franchise.
And he shared his plan for hiring a general manager, a decision not expected to come before Christmas, as well as building a staff, developing players and expanding the use of analytics.
There were a few "welcome to Montreal" moments in his first question-and-answer session with the media, perhaps the best coming when he was asked whether it would be he or owner Geoff Molson who would be responsible for firing the yet-to-be-hired general manager if the chosen candidate were to not succeed.
"I don't think I've been with an organization where you made a decision like that that wasn't at the ownership level, too," Gorton said. "Listen, I'm not going to think about if it goes bad. I'm going to think about how it's going to go good, OK? So we'll go that way."
There's no question Gorton has his work cut out for him. He reminded his audience several times he'd like a little time to get the lay of the land before detailing his strategy. He attended his first Canadiens game since being hired, a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at Bell Centre, on Thursday.
He flew with the team Friday to Nashville, where the Canadiens lost 4-3 in overtime to the Nashville Predators on Saturday.

New York Rangers president Glen Sather (left) and GM Jeff Gorton chat with Nashville Predators GM David Poile during the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo.
The Canadiens are seventh in the eight-team Atlantic Division, their 14 points tied with the 1938-39 team for fewest through 25 games in their history since the NHL began in 1917. The minus-33 goal differential is tied with the 1938-39 team for second worst in their history through 25 games, behind 1941-42 (minus-36).
"It's been a difficult time, right?" Gorton said. "Anybody in hockey can see that. It's almost been a perfect storm against Montreal with all the injuries and everything that's gone bad and now you have COVID. It just seems like it's adding up. It hasn't started off great.
"Walking into this building, you can tell the energy is a little down. … I hope that I can bring some energy and some positive way of thinking that we can turn this around and move forward. One of my short-term goals is to try to talk to all these players and understand what's going on so we can move forward. They've won six games in 25 so I understand the frustration. But the players are feeling it and I can tell you that just from being in [Montreal] for two days."
At the top of Gorton's to-do list is hiring a general manager. There is no shortage of candidates being discussed; the popular list begins with Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with Montreal and former coach with the Colorado Avalanche, who has declared his interest in the job.
Gorton joked that he had of heard of Roy, when asked about him, drawing laughs. But then he turned more serious.
"We want to hire the best person who can help us win, who has some ideas and can complement my skill set as much as possible," he said.
The courtship of a GM and the reorganization of the hockey operations department will take some time, but Gorton took his first strong, positive steps Friday to communicate a message of hope to a fan base desperate for good news.