Montreal Canadiens: Three Women Perfectly Qualified for Habs GM Job

Emilie Castonguay

If you are concerned with Goyette or Sauvageau’s ability to deal with the minutiae of the general managers job like negotiating contracts or worrying about the fine print on a contract extension, then you’ll be far more comfortable in Emilie Castonguay’s credentials.

Admittedly, it would be a bit of a leap for Goyette or Sauvageau to go from their current roles to general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. With Gorton there to support them, they would be fine at their role, but it would be a different role than Sauvageau has been in and one that Goyette has only been working in for this season.

When anyone out there tells you these women are not qualified, what they really mean is they haven’t spend time negotiating NHL contracts and dealing with NHL general managers in the past.

While that is technically true, the same could be said for any Junior general manager or AHL coach or any man working in college hockey. It is a different world than the NHL, but the qualifications really are just a smart hockey mind who knows the game well. Goyette and Sauvageau would be terrific.

Emilie Castonguay would be even better.

Castonguay does not have the playing career of Goyette or the coaching career of Sauvageau, but she does have experience working in the NHL as a player agent. When Alexis Lafreniere was drafted first overall (by Jeff Gorton and the New York Rangers) Castonguay became the first woman to represent a first overall pick in the NHL Draft.

The native of Montreal has several good young players from Quebec as clients, including Lafreniere, Jakob Pelletier, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Mathieu Joseph as well as NHL regulars Antoine Roussel (who is way overpaid, good job Emilie!) and Cedric Paquette. Many Habs fans have voiced their displeasure with Paquette’s play but his agent was smart enough to get someone to pay him nearly a million bucks this year.

Castonguay actually interned with former Canadiens general manager Pierre Gauthier after she graduated University. She is a lawyer, earning her law degree from l’University de Montreal as well as an NHLPA certified player agent.

With that background, she would make a terrific general manager. Negotiating contracts, dealing with the minutiae of the CBA, the salary cap gymnastics that need to be done, recruiting free agents like she currently recruits players to represent, and knowing hockey from the grassroots levels where she would recruit players to the NHL level where she represents Lafreniere among others.

She is smart and she knows the game at all levels and is well aware of how NHL front offices work. She would be a perfect candidate for the vacant general manager’s job.