Thanks GG

George Gillette Jr. An American businessman buying the storied Montreal Canadiens. For some this was insanity, how could someone like him buy the greatest franchise in the history of the NHL.

I was a little skeptical when it happened too. The word on Gillette was that he had been a billionaire and broke a few times over. But the Habs were losing money year over year. Taxes on the Molson Centre (Bell Centre) were out of this world. The Molson family had had enough. So Gillette stepped up and made the investment in the Montreal Canadiens.

Looking back at what he did for the franchise, I can't believe I was ever nervous about him being the new owner. He made the Habs profitable again and turned them into a model team for other NHL clubs to mold themselves after. Seeing him sit along the glass at games, cheering like every other fan after a goal was awesome. You won't find too many owners in professional sports that will do that. I once read an article about a fan who saw him at a game in Anaheim against the Ducks roaming the concourse between periods. After the fan stopped him to chat, Gillette spent 5 minutes, until puck drop, talking about the Habs and hockey in general.

Now the big knock against him was, and still is, that he knows little about the game. I find this such a funny argument because the owner puts people in place to run the team. A good owner doesn't call the shots on player moves. He hires experts to do that, which is exactly what Gillette did with Gainey. You don't have to look any further than the Tampa Bay Lightning to see a team with "hockey experts" as owners. Barrie, and to a lesser extent Koules, weigh in on every hockey decision that is made. The team, not surprisingly, signed and then traded a cornerstone d-man in Boyle after promising him they wouldn't, signed about 40 forwards and no defencemen last free agent period, hired an ESPN analyst who hadn't coached in 15 years to lead the team (and then fired him early in the season) and finished near the bottom of the standings. Now, one owner wants to trade Vinny L., the other doesn't, and Bettman had to meet with them both to iron out their differences....oh yeah and Barrie had to come up with cash to secure his ownership in the team. I could care less if Gillette knows what an icing is or not. The fact is he cared about the team and the fans. He let the hockey guys make the hockey decisions.

George Gillette was a great owner who I will miss dearly. He took a franchise that was hemorrhaging money and turned them profitable once again. Did make a killing while doing so? Sure he did. Did he get a great return off his initial investment and took the profits? Of course. I mean the guy is a businessman, and he did exactly what any smart businessman would do. At the end of the day he sold back to the Molson family, avoiding the evil Quebecor getting their hands on the team and turning it into a an all Quebecois team (and a political platform). Cheers to little GG and his smiling face cheering on the Habs and thanks for everything you did.