When the Columbus Blue Jackets fired general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in February, Jeff Gorton's name immediately appeared in the rumors.

The connection between Gorton and John Davidson was impossible to miss, as both men had worked side by side for the New York Rangers.

However, the Blue Jackets never called Geoff Molson, as they should have, to speak with the Habs' vice president of hockey operations.

“I also read the rumors in the newspapers. “The first call I made was to Jeff Gorton,” Molson said during an exclusive interview with Renaud Lavoie that aired on TVA Sports. Nobody called me. It’s an invention, this story.”

And if another team plans to contact Molson for approval, that discussion can be quite brief.

“The likelihood of me allowing the Blue Jackets to talk to him is zero,” he said flatly.

Last year, rumors swirled that Gorton was bored with his duties as vice president of hockey operations at CH and wanted to return to general manager. However, this rumor was denied by Gorton himself at a press conference.

A decision that surprised Molson

Drafting is an area in which Gorton is particularly committed to the CH.

When the National Hockey League sought Molson's opinion on possible changes to the session's proceedings, he immediately contacted Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes.

Remember: The NHL had teams vote to decide whether the draft should be held in person or adopt the remote formula of other professional leagues like the NFL.

“Jeff and Kent feel like they prefer everyone to be together and have the other teams talk to each other,” Molson said.

However, this opinion was not shared by the majority of teams as a change to the format was made so that the Vegas draft will theoretically be the last in person.

“I was surprised too,” Molson admitted. I would have thought the status quo would have won. But that doesn’t change our goal of choosing the right player.”

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