Scott Mellanby’s name has come up in several GM searches in recent years and that trend will continue as the Habs have permitted him to speak with Florida about their vacancy, according to multiple reports including Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic and TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. The Panthers officially parted with Dale Tallon on Monday after announcing that his contract will not be renewed.
Mellanby was one of Marc Bergevin’s first hires as he joined the team in 2012 as the Director of Player Personnel. He was promoted to Assistant GM in 2014 and has held that role ever since. Since then, he has been interviewed for several positions including Vegas, Edmonton, and Minnesota in recent years.
The 54-year-old is no stranger to Florida, having played in 550 career games for the franchise and sits fifth in franchise history in games played and points. He also has some familiarity with their head coach in Joel Quenneville from their time in St. Louis when Mellanby was still active.
While the league experimented with compensation for head coach and general manager hires a few years ago, that was quickly abandoned so if Mellanby does get the job, Montreal will not receive any compensation for his services.