After many weekss of speculation, the Montreal Canadiens finally decided to hire Marc Bergevin as their 17th General Manager and Executive Vice President replacing Pierre Gauthier, who was released by the team on March 29.

Bergevin, a native of Point Saint Charles grew up cheering for the Habs before being drafted in the third round in 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks.  After spending 20 years as a defenceman in the NHL with various teams, Bergevin rejoined the Blackhawks in 2004 working various positions in the organization.  He was currently serving as an assistant GM to Stan Bowman after serving as director of player personnel for two years, winning the Stanley Cup in his first year in that position.

Bergevin and NBC hockey analyst Pierre McGuire were the last two-man standing for the position.  The team conducted an extensive search led by a four-person committee including team president Geoff Molson and adviser Serge Savard.

An official news conference will be held at 2pm EST at the team’s practice facility in Brossard.