Gary Bettman had a lot to say about Hughes and Gorton, an unexpected rumor circulates

Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins and Dominique Ducharme left to make room for Kent Hughes, Jeff Gorton and Martin-St-Louis. These changes also brought a new philosophy to the team and for the first time in ages, the word "rebuilding" was mentioned in Montreal.

Despite the new direction the Habs have taken over the past year, fans are generally pleased with the work the new staff has done and as Marc-Olivier Cook of Danslescoulisses.com reports, the Habs have received praise from the NHL's leaders.

Reporter Stu Cowan, who covers the Habs for The Gazette, met with Commissioner Gary Bettman where several topics were discussed in a recent article.

The recent scandal involving Hockey Canada, which is currently creating deep unease in the community, was obviously discussed, but also, the Habs were discussed and Bettman mentioned that the team's new management has done quite a job in recent months.

Wow this is appreciated and rather unusual from Bettman.

And according to some important rumors, it was the commissioner himself who suggested the hiring of Jeff Gorton to Habs president Geoff Molson! However, the main interested party would not confirm anything.

Whether or not he recommended the hiring of Jeff Gorton, we can say that the Habs organization did not make a mistake with the hiring of the new management and even if we do not expect the team to participate in the playoffs this year, it is still the first full season of a new era in Montreal.