Claude Lemieux's one dream got rejected by the Canadiens and it hits harder after his passing

The four-time Stanley Cup champion didn't just want to stay connected to the Montreal Canadiens after retirement. He wanted to run the entire organization.

In a revealing appearance on 98.5 Sports with Philippe Cantin, Savard disclosed that when Geoff Molson tasked him with finding a new general manager in 2012, Lemieux personally called to express his interest.

Savard admitted he never considered Lemieux a serious candidate for the position. There was no formal interview and no real evaluation of what a four-time champion with deep business experience might bring to the front office.

The job ultimately went to Marc Bergevin. Reports from those close to the situation suggest Lemieux was deeply hurt by not even being given a chance to present his case.

This wasn't some idle thought from a retired player searching for relevance. Lemieux had built a successful high-end furniture business in Florida with his wife Deborah, proving he could operate well beyond the confines of a locker room.

His hockey intelligence was never questioned during a 21-season NHL career. Four Stanley Cup rings with three different franchises spoke to an understanding of winning culture that few executives could ever claim firsthand.

Yet the Canadiens apparently couldn't see past the player to evaluate the mind behind him. That's a blind spot the NHL still hasn't corrected, where the general manager pipeline remains narrow and predictable.

Lemieux carried the ceremonial torch at the Bell Centre just days before his tragic passing at age 60, a gesture that proved Montreal still embraced him as a beloved champion.

The Savard revelation forces a harder question about whether that embrace ever extended to taking him seriously as a hockey executive.

The hockey world lost one of its fiercest competitors this week. What Claude Lemieux wanted to give back to the game he loved is only now becoming clear.

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