Patrick Roy reacts to news that he did not get Canadiens GM job

In case you missed the news earlier today the Montreal Canadiens have hired player agent Kent Hughes as their new general manager, replacing longtime GM Marc Bergevin.

Hughes is a longtime NHL player agent who has represented the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Kristopher Letang, Anthony Beauvillier, Marco Scandella, Michael Matheson, Samuel Blais and William Carrier, all French-Canadian born players. While Hughes may have an English sounding name, he grew up in Montreal and is indeed fluent in both French and English.

"We are very excited to add Kent Hughes to our organization. Kent is highly-respected in the hockey world, having built an excellent reputation as an NHL player agent for over 25 years now," said owner Geoff Molson in a prepared statement.

"The process of finding our new general manager afforded us the opportunity to meet a number of extremely qualified candidates. Kent stood out, and we believe he is the right person to be the general manager of the Canadiens. We also believe that Kent's experience as an agent will be a great asset to the organization," declared the executive vice-president of hockey operations, Jeff Gorton in the same statement.

Hughes will work alongside Gorton with the Herculean task of turning around a Habs team that went from the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 to dead last in the NHL this season.

Hughes has been one of the top candidates for the job for over a week now, along with Tampa Bay Lightning executive Mathieu Darche, Philadelphia Flyers executive Daniel Briere and Habs franchise icon Patrick Roy.

In the case of Roy, most NHL insiders seem to agree that he was never truly considered seriously for the role, given that he has no NHL executive experience outside of his time as the Colorado Avalanche's head coach. Roy, of course, is head coach, general manager and co-owner of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts. 

Upon learning today that the Habs had hired Hughes though, Roy released a statement through Le Soleil de Quebec (The Quebec Sun) stating:

“I’d like to congratulate Kent Hughes for his nomination and I’m wishing him all the success required to execute his new functions. Thanks to the organization for considering my candidacy in the process that was put in place.”

- Patrick Roy

Colour me surprised, but I expected a few more expletives in Roy's official statement. Call me crazy, but maybe he actually has some sense that his hot headed nature may have ultimately cost him a job with the team. Thoughts, Habs fans?