Canadiens add Vincent Lecavalier, Nick Bobrov to front office

The Montreal Canadiens have finally made the hirings of Vincent Lecavalier and Nick Bobrov official, according to the team.

Lecavalier joins the team as a special advisor to hockey operations, while Bobrov will be brought in as a co-director of amateur scouting.

Rumours of the two joining the team have been around for several days, with word of Lecavalier joining having been around since last week while talk of Bobrov getting hired had started since Canadiens GM Kent Hughes’ press conference on Wednesday.

Lecavalier comes without any front office experience, but he does come with hockey experience. Once one of the best players in the league, Lecavalier had 421 goals and 949 points in 1,212 career NHL games. He spent 14 years with the Tampa Bay Lightning before getting bought out and signing with the Philadelphia Flyers, and eventually getting traded to the Los Angeles Kings before retiring. He collected a Rocket Richard trophy in 2007 for leading the league with 52 goals that season.

Lecavalier also has plenty of playoff experience, with 75 games in the postseason, as well as 26 goals and 56 points. He won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004, and went to the conference finals again in 2011.

Bobrov has no playing experience, but plenty of front office experience in the NHL. He started out with the Boston Bruins from 1999 to 2006 as a video coach and the director of European scouting, before joining the Los Angeles Kings as a scout from 2006 to 2009, and the New York Rangers from 2015 to 2021 as the director of European scouting.

Bobrov will work alongside Martin Lapointe, who will also be a co-director of amateur scouting, as well as a director of player personnel.