Family Reunion

A major transaction emerges over the weekend as George Gillett agrees to sell his 80.1% stake in the Canadiens, as well as control of Bell Centre and Gillett Entertainment Group, to a group headed by the Molson family. All signs indicate that the deal could be valued as high as $550M, which would mark a record purchase for an NHL franchise. The agreement has a number of intriguing story lines, most of all the return of the Molson family back in control of the storied franchise, which it previously owned from 1957-71. One Montreal columnist writes there is something "almost comforting about the Molson name taking the Canadiens back.” For Gillett, the move to cut all ties and walk away from the franchise completely was reportedly not easy for him, but his tenure receives mostly high marks from local media -- he "accorded the Canadiens' history an enormous amount of respect and always seemed to err on the side of tradition."

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GM says it will maintain ad budget between $40-50M a month while in bankruptcy proceedings.