One candidate emerges as the favorite to be the next Habs GM.

Over the course of only a few short days we went from rumors about a major shakeup in the front office of the Montreal Canadiens, to a drastic overhaul of the team's front office as Canadiens owner Geoff Molson looks to make sweeping changes.

Over the course of the last 72 hours we have seen former assistant general manager Scott Mellanby resign from his position and we have seen the Canadiens relieve former general manager Marc Bergevin, assistant general manager Trevor Timmons, and other key figures in Bergevin's staff of their duties and we have seen former New York Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton introduced as executive vice president of hockey operations for the Canadiens.

There's no question that this marks the closing of a chapter in Canadiens history, but the quick addition of Gorton also signals that the next chapter of that history is already well under way. On Sunday we heard reports that 6 men were reportedly being considered to replace Marc Bergevin as the next general manager of the Habs, but it appears that at least one National Hockey League insider believes that there is a clear frontrunner for the job.

NHL insider Chris Johnston echoed some of the names we've heard already, but what was different about his reporting on the matter was his belief that the job may already belong to Mathie Darche.

"Most likely we're looking at Mathieu Darche here," said Johnston.

Darche is of course a veteran of the NHL himself as a player, having played 250 games in the league, and he spent his final 3 seasons as a player with the Montreal Canadiens. He reportedly struck up a friendship with Canadiens owner Geoff Molson during his time there and has gone on to have a successful career as an NHL executive. Currently Darche serves as the Director of Hockey Operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning, an organization that has had tremendous success since he joined in 2019.

Best of all for the Canadiens however is the fact that Darche is a native of Saint Laurent, Quebec. Not only would that make him a popular choice among local fans, but he also speaks French which the Canadiens are reportedly viewing as an essential qualification for Bergevin's replacement.