Despite getting permission from the Montreal Canadiens to interview assistant general manager Scott Mellanby for their open general manager position, the Pittsburgh Penguins won’t be interviewing him, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. The scribe writes that Mellanby spoke to Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin Sunday and informed him that he’s happy in Montreal and wants to enjoy the team’s success and will not interview for any job in the near future.
That’s a big blow to the Penguins, who had narrowed down their job search to just a handful of candidates with Mellanby and Los Angeles’ Ron Hextall at the forefront. The team is also reportedly expected to give interim general manager Patrik Allvin an interview. Earlier on Sunday, it was reported that the Rangers would allow assistant general manager Chris Drury to interview for the post, if asked by Pittsburgh, which hadn’t happened as of Saturday afternoon.
Mellanby has worked for the Canadiens since 2012, but he has no experience as a NHL general manager. He was promoted to assistant GM in 2014 and has been mentioned as a candidate for several GM positions, but he turned down interviews for many of those. Mellanby did play five-plus seasons as a player in Pennsylvania, but for the rival Philadelphia Flyers.
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