The Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes announced the hiring of women’s hockey legend Marie-Philip Poulin. Poulin is joining the Habs front office as a player development consultant.
Congratulations to Marie-Philip Poulin (@pou29) and best of luck in your new role! 🙌
Details: https://t.co/C4ZjDtjvq8 pic.twitter.com/yZrFNF7RUr
— NHL (@NHL) June 7, 2022
Habs Hire Marie-Philip Poulin
Poulin will hold to role part-time as the continues to pursue her playing career. She will work together with the director of player development Rob Ramage and the director of hockey development Adam Nicholas. Her role will include on-ice and video sessions working on individual and collective skills for the Habs. Poulin has been on the Habs radar for a while, so they were pretty happy to bring her into the fold. Habs owner and CEO Geoff Molson had this to say about the team’s new hire:
“It is a privilege to add someone as competent as Marie-Philip Poulin in our ranks. She is the best in her field, and her accomplishments will help us build a winning culture within the Canadiens… Her arrival is another step towards achieving the diversity that we want to establish within our organization.”
New Culture
The Habs management team has been focused on creating a new winning culture with the team. It started when they hired Martin St Louis as head coach and they have continued the trend by bringing in one of the most decorated female hockey players of all time to their development team. Habs GM Kent Hughes knows Poulin can contribute to the new culture the team is working towards:
“We are thrilled with the addition of Marie-Philip Poulin to our hockey development department… Marie-Philip is one of the best players on the planet and she has won at the highest level, which will be very beneficial for our players. Her knowledge, leadership and vision of the game certainly make the Canadiens a better organization.”
Captain Clutch
The 31-year-old from Bruceville, QC brings an impeccable playing resume to the table. She is perhaps best known as team Canada’s ‘Captain Clutch’ for her ability to show up in big games. She is the only player (men or women) to score in four consecutive finals. Not only does she score in big moments, but they are big goals. She scored the only two goals in Canada’s win in the 2010 Olympics. She again scored twice in the 2014 finals. The last-minute game-tying goal and the overtime-winning goal. While Canada lost the 2018 finals in a shootout, Poulin scored (at the time) the go-ahead goal for Canada. In 2022 she scored twice, including the game-winner in a 3-2 victory. Just to make sure people knew how clutch she is, Marie-Philip Poulin also scored the overtime winner in the 2021 Women’s World Hockey Championships.
Moving Forward
As stated, the role, for the time being, is part-time while Poulin continues to fulfill her playing career. Once she is done playing, however, it’s not hard to see her joining the Habs in a full-time capacity. Having one of the best and most successful hockey players to ever play working with your players is invaluable. Poulin is the latest hire by the Habs looking to reinvent themselves after a disastrous 2021-22 season. She joins Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes, Martin St Louis, Chantal Machabee, Vincent Lecavalier, Nick Barbov and Christopher Boucher as new additions looking to return the Habs to glory. It is defiantly a new era for the Montreal Canadiens.
