When it comes to choosing who will be the next person to run the Montreal Canadiens, owner Geoff Molson says he wants someone experienced enough to handle the Montreal pressure cooker, speaks French, a proven winner and an individual obsessed with winning.
Kevin Lowe makes the most sense to me.
Now my colleague, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, has spoken to Lowe and word is the long-time Oiler executive is quite happy where he is in Edmonton. The Habs would be silly to take no for an answer. This is a candidate who makes too much sense.
He was born in LaChute, Quebec, about 60 kilometres outside Montreal, and has a full grasp of both languages. He could stickhandle the business side, and handle the politics involved with running the Canadiens for both the French and English fan base.
You want a winner? How about a guy who has won six Stanley Cups? In 1988, he played throughout the playoffs with not only a broken wrist, but broken ribs as well, never missing a game. In 2002, Lowe was part of the management team that assembled the squad that landed Canada's Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake. Until then, Canada had gone 50 years without winning gold in Olympic hockey.
He built a team that came within a win of the Stanley Cup in 2006, and who knows what could've happened had the core he assembled, namely Chris Pronger, had decided to stay in Edmonton.
Lastly, imagine Lowe and Brian Burke leading the charge for the Habs and Leafs in the same division! He would be the perfect adversary to want to crush Montreal's arch-rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Think of the intensity that would be rekindled to that rivalry with both those egos in the same division. Sounds fun, doesn't it?
Give him the autonomy, give him the rank of president and general manager. Kevin Lowe makes the most sense to lead the Habs going forward.
Twitter.com/jamescybulski