A trio of Quebec-born ex-NHLers headline a list of candidates in the Montreal Canadiens' general manager search.

The club plans to interview Roberto Luongo, Daniel Briere, and Mathieu Darche for the vacancy, reports The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Luongo is still new to managerial circles, retiring from his playing career in 2019. The Montreal native has since served as a special assistant to the GM of the Florida Panthers. He was also the architect of Team Canada's gold-medal winning squad at the 2021 World Championship. A likely future Hall of Famer, Luongo ranks fourth on the NHL's all-time wins list with 489 victories.

Briere served as a special assistant to the GM of the Philadelphia Flyers for two seasons post-retirement before joining the ECHL's Maine Mariners. He's currently the president of the minor-league squad but has previously held the titles of GM and vice president of hockey operations. The Mariners are a farm team of the Boston Bruins but are owned by the Flyers' parent company, Comcast Spectator.

A native of Gatineau, Quebec, Briere played 17 NHL seasons, including one campaign with the Habs in 2013-14. He was known as a clutch playoff performer, tallying 116 points in 124 career postseason contests.

Darche, a two-time Stanley Cup-winning executive, is in his third season as the Tampa Bay Lightning's director of hockey operations. A McGill University alumnus and St. Laurent, Quebec product, Darche played 250 games across nine NHL seasons. He suited up in 149 contests for the Habs from 2009-12.

The Canadiens fired longtime GM Marc Bergevin in November and brought on Jeff Gorton as executive vice president of hockey operations. Gorton doesn't speak French, but owner Geoff Molson insists he'll hire a bilingual GM.

The club will speak with as many as 10 candidates in the first phase of interviews, LeBrun added. Montreal is reportedly considering at least three women for the position.

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