Montreal Canadiens' big boss Jeff Gorton absolutely fuming over weekend events
Jeff Gorton, the top boss in the Montreal Canadiens organization was extremely upset over the weekend as the situation with the team continued to spiral downwards.
The Montreal Canadiens are coming off a rough weekend, losing back-to-back games to the New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins. However, one of those losses in particular has sparked outrage within the organization.
The game against the Rangers on Saturday left the Canadiens frustrated visibly by the officiating done by NHL referees Kelly Sutherland and Francis Charron.
Coach Martin St. Louis was subtle in his post-game media session, making sure not to cross the line, which would have brought in fines from the league.
He did a good job of measuring his tone, but the meaning was crystal clear: he was criticizing the referees.
Each question thrown his way in the media scrum, in English and French, respectively, received the exact same pointed response that expressed his displeasure.
"I loved our game but I'm not going to talk about the refs," said St. Louis in both English and French regardless of the question that was asked.
While it is not uncommon to see a coach or players blow off steam after a tough loss, things got out of hand when a senior executive joined in.
On Monday morning, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that Jeff Gorton, the Canadiens' executive vice president of hockey operations, was particularly incensed following Saturday's loss.
"Some of the reporters I know who were in New York on Saturday told me they had never seen Jeff Gorton that mad," revealed Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.
Friedman followed up by suggesting that Gorton's reaction went beyond St. Louis's restrained critique and bordered on anger, echoing down through the organization.
"Marty St. Louis clearly had a message he wanted to deliver post-game but people said they had never seen Jeff Gorton that angry after a game before," added Friedman.
The fact that Gorton has a long history with the Rangers, after having been summarily dismissed along with former team president John Davidson, might have added fuel to his frustrations, given the nature of Saturday's defeat.
One thing is certain: the Canadiens were thoroughly displeased with the refereeing of Sutherland and Charron. It would be extremely unsurprising if the team aired their frustrations more privately with the league following the game.
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