The Montreal Canadiens appear to be on the verge of prying Toronto Maple Leafs executive Rick Dudley away from their division rival, according to reports.
Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke told Sportsnet’s John Shannon via email on Sunday that he is working through issues with Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin that would allow Montreal to hire Dudley as the team’s assistant GM.
Dudley, who served as Atlanta’s GM in 2010-11, joined the Maple Leafs front office last June after the group that bought the Thrashers hired Kevin Cheveldayoff to be GM of the Winnipeg Jets. During his one-year stint in Atlanta, Dudley’s biggest moves were trading for Chicago’s Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien.
Prior to joining the Thrashers Dudley was an assistant GM with the Chicago Blackhawks and is often credited with acquiring breakout stars Kris Versteeg and Patrick Sharp, along with playing a big role in the drafts that produced current franchise cornerstones Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
