Montreal Canadiens Top Five General Managers: #4 Tommy Gorman

The Montreal Canadiens have entered the quietest time on the calendar. While there is little to look forward to in the month of August, we decided to take a look back at some of the greatest managers in franchise history. We continue up our site countdown of the five best general managers in Canadiens history with number four, Tommy Gorman.

The Montreal Canadiens are known as the NHL franchise with the most Stanley Cup victories. Their run of success dates back over 100 years when they won their first Stanley Cup and they became a top franchise in the 1930’s with Stanley Cup wins in 1930 and 1931.

They were the team’s third and fourth ever championship and though they would become known as the team that wins more than anyone, it did not continue uninterrupted.

After having their name etched on the Stanley Cup in 1931, the Canadiens went over a decade without winning another. Ernest Savard, Cecil Hart and Jules Dugal would have their turn as the team’s general manager but it was without success.

The team turned to Tommy Gorman in 1940 and their fortunes would soon change. Before bringing in Gorman, the team won just ten of 48 games in 1939-40 and missed the playoffs. This was especially embarrassing considering there were seven teams in the league that season and six of them qualified for the postseason. That left the Canadiens as the lone team outside the playoffs, and they decided to make a change in the front office.

Gorman arrived with plenty of experience around the league. He had helped form the NHL, and was the general manager of the Ottawa Senators when they won the Stanley Cup in 1920, 1921 and 1923. He then brought a Stanley Cup to Chicago with the Black Hawks in 1934 and then won it again the following year with the Montreal Maroons.

He quickly turned the Canadiens around after arriving and a big reason for that was the decision to bring Dick Irvin on board as the team’s head coach. Irvin would go down in history as one of the best coaches to step behind the Habs bench.

WIth Gorman in charge, and Irvin behind the bench, the Canadiens returned to the postseason immediately and would win a Stanley Cup in 1944 and again in 1946.

Gorman brought in future franchise cornerstones like Rocket Richard, Elmer Lach, Ken Reardon, Butch Bouchard and BIll Durnan to play goal. His decisions resulted in the Canadiens becoming a champion yet again instead of being left for dead in a tumultuous time for the NHL.

With the war going on, teams were strapped for cash and the league was rapidly changing from one year to the next. Gorman built a winner which ensured the Canadiens stayed in Montreal and continued to exist for many years to come.

That’s why he is among the top five general managers in Montreal Canadiens history.

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