Habster’s take:
The signings of Don Lever and Ron Wilson was expected and well deserved after a terrific 2006-07 AHL season where they helped coach the Hamilton Bulldogs to a Calder Cup championship. The Bulldogs will have another strong roster to help defend their championship. Lever and Wilson did a masterful job of balancing the younger players with the veterans and incorporating a strong “defense first” approach to their game plan.
The appointment of Julien BriseBois as general manager of the Bulldogs (Bob Gainey held the position last year) is a little more surprising to me as he doesn’t have a hockey background as far as player evaluation. BriseBois does have a vast knowledge of the NHL collective agreement, salary negotiations (he was hired to help Gainey deal with the salary cap) and legal issues as a lawyer. I wonder if Bob Gainey offered the post to Director of Player Development Trevor Timmins or Assistant GM Pierre Gauthier as they have a better background in player evaluation and building a team roster (Gauthier was the former GM of the Anaheim Ducks and a former DPD like Timmins). Timmins would have been a good choice as well because he drafted most of the younger players who will make up most of the Bulldogs roster.
In the end, Julien BriseBois will have Gainey’s ear and will rely on Gauthier, Wilson, Lever and Timmins to help him guide the team. Last year, Gainey was giving BriseBois more control of the day to day operations of the Bulldogs so this decision isn’t a complete surprise. It certainly gives you the impression that the Canadiens are grooming BriseBois to eventually replace Gainey when he does decide to retire from his GM post with the Habs.