Josh Gorges had to take the path less travelled to get to the NHL. He went undrafted and worked tirelessly to get an opportunity as a free agent signing, which he obtained with the San Jose Sharks organization. During the 2004-05 lockout, he played with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons, and made his NHL debut in 2005-06, skating in 49 games with the big club. The following year, after playing 47 games with the Sharks, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, along with a first-round pick in the 2007 draft (which would become Max Pacioretty), for Craig Rivet and a 2008 fifth-round pick.
It was in Montreal that he became a regular NHL player and a significant cog in the team’s defense. He was never a big points producer, but he was an effective defensive blueliner, an expert shot-blocker, and the kind of player who doesn’t think twice about sacrificing his body for the team.
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In the eight seasons he played with the Habs, he developed into quite a leader, so much so that when a young Brendan Gallagher joined the team, the veteran agreed to have the rookie move in with his family, a time the Canadiens alternate captain remembers fondly.
Gorges, who went back home to British Columbia after playing four seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, had been coaching his sons in minor hockey and served as an assistant coach with the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL for five years. He was recently appointed as an assistant coach with his hometown Kelowna Rockets in the WHL, and gave The Gazette’s Stu Cowan a phone interview following his nomination.
Cowan reports that Gorges has no regrets about blocking his trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs back in the 2014 offseason. After eight years of bleeding red, white, and blue, he didn’t see himself crossing over to the Canadiens’ rivals and was ultimately traded to the Buffalo Sabres instead. He does admit that spending four years losing was not the way he would have liked to end his career, but knowing what he does now, he still wouldn’t have agreed to the trade to Toronto.
Unsurprisingly, he still considers the Canadiens as his team, he wants to be remembered as a Montreal Canadiens player, and they remain the team he roots for. Gorges also added that he’s earned nothing but good things about coach Martin St-Louis from the likes of Shea Weber, Carey Price, and Brendan Gallagher, but he’s clearly not envious of the Habs’ bench boss since he doesn’t aspire to be an NHL coach, at least not for now.
The former blueliner was able to win a Memorial Cup with the Rockets in 2002-03, and now that the team is hosting this year’s tournament, he’s hoping to win another one behind the bench. In Kelowna, he’ll also get to coach Canadiens’ prospect Hayden Paupanekis, a third-round pick at the latest draft.
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