When new leadership takes over a front office, quite often the staff that has been there for years quickly find themselves looking for new employment. In Montreal, where there is not only a new general manager but a new executive vice president of hockey operations, it would be easy to see the entire front office cleaned out.
Not so for John Sedgwick, who has been with the Canadiens since 2013. Sedgwick was promoted to assistant general manager today, from his previous position as vice president of hockey operations and legal affairs. His duties for Montreal include player contract negotiation and daily management of the salary cap.
In today’s salary cap-driven league, having an expert in that field is incredibly important. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes obviously agree, and have decided to keep Sedgwick on after a number of other high-level Canadiens staffers were let go or resigned earlier this season.
A few days ago, Eric Engels of Sportsnet wrote how Gorton is tasked with more than just fixing the Canadiens roster, but modernizing the entire organization. The executive told Sportsnet that there was a “bit of an old-school feel” to the Canadiens, something that he is looking to change. Among those changes has been the additions of Vincent Lecavalier and Nick Bobrov to the front office in various capacities, and now includes the promotion of Sedgwick as well.