More details on the shakeup in Montreal.

There is a major shakeup happening in Montreal right now as the Canadiens implode on the ice.

As most of our readers will already know, Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is in the final year of his contract with the Canadiens organization and there is a widely held belief that he is done with this organization at the end of that deal. For the first time since those rumors began to surface however, we now have some indication of the names that may be coming in to replace Bergevin in the Canadiens hierarchy.

News first broke today when National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Canadiens had been granted permission to speak to former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton.

The story quickly exploded however when it was revealed just moments after that initial report that Canadiens assistant general manager Scott Mellanby had resigned from his position in the Canadiens front office.

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun would also chime in, revealing that Mellanby's resignation may have been related to the Habs pursuit of Gorton, at least indirectly.

Now just moments ago, Elliotte Friedman has once again commented on the situation and has put all of the puzzle pieces together. According to Friedman it sounds like Bergevin himself would have put Mellanby forward as his successor, a plan that the Canadiens would have considered but are no longer seriously contemplating moving forward.

"Well it's really exploded tonight with reports that [the Canadiens] have permission to talk to Jeff Gorton who is formerly the general manager of the New York Rangers, and also that Scott Mellanby has resigned as assistant general manager there," said Friedman. "Without any of the particulars talking here is the best scenario that I can paint guys. We all believe that Marc Bergevin was not coming back after this year... I believe that he recommend Scott Mellanby to be his successor or to have a significant role in the organization. I think there were conversations between Scott Mellanby and ownership to have a significant role and then i believe in the last little while it changed and recently Mellanby was informed that he is not going to be getting that position and the Canadiens are going in a different direction."

There was initially speculation that Gorton could take over Bergevin's role when the current Canadiens GM leaves at the end of the season, but that was quickly dismissed. That speculation has since turned to Gorton potentially taking on a role as an assistant GM due to the resignation of Mellanby, but Friedman believes the Habs have bigger plans in store for Gorton.

"I've been told he's not gonna be the GM... but it's possible he could be president of hockey ops or something along that role," said Friedman.

Jeff Gorton has an impressive track record as an NHL executive and if he is indeed a big part of the Canadiens future, I think it will prove to be a shrewd move on the part of that organization. Many often overlook the fact that Jeff Gorton was instrumental in constructing the Boston Bruins team that would eventually go on to win the Stanley Cup. Gorton was behind the acquisition of Tuukka Rask, a trade of draft picks that led to the selection of Brad Marchand, and even the signing of long time Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara.