MONTREAL – A year to the day following his dismissal, Marc Bergevin deserves some credit for the successes multiplied by the Canadian this season.
No question here of claiming that Geoff Molson made a bad decision in dismissing Bergevin.
On the contrary!
The successive hirings of Jeff Gorton as president of hockey operations, Kent Hughes as general manager, Martin St-Louis as head coach and the oh so positive impact that this new staff has given to the organization demonstrates that the changing of the guard had become desirable. That it had even become necessary as the Canadian was going nowhere. So clear was it that the team had abandoned its coach and his boss who led very wide in the locker room. It was so clear that the fans had abandoned the team and especially deserted the Bell Centre.
Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes implanted a new philosophy within the organization. The vast majority of decisions they made made the Canadiens a better team. A team that inspires optimism when you look to the future.
The transactions multiplied following their appearance on the scene made it possible to fill up with draft picks and young hopefuls. For the moment, the transaction that sent Artturi Lehkonen to Colorado, where he played an important role in the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup conquest last June, seems the only one not to smile on them.
Justin Barron looks more like he’s settling into the American League than preparing to climb up and settle in the NHL, but it’s going to take a few years before jumping to conclusions. As it will be a few years before we know what the second-round selection in 2024 obtained from the Avalanche will draft and develop.
But from Kirby Dach to Sean Monahan and the Flames’ first pick he brought with him to Montreal to Mike Matheson whom Kent Hughes got from the Pittsburgh Penguins to whom he was finally able to “get rid of” the problem associated with Jeff Petry and his family, the new staff advantageously replaced Bergevin.
And that’s before showering the Gorton-Hughes duo with all the compliments they deserve for breaking the bank by betting on Martin St-Louis as head coach.
If only for this decision to have replaced Dominique Ducharme by Martin St-Louis, the dismissal of Marc Bergevin is crowned with success. Because without this dismissal, it is clear that St-Louis would still lead one of his sons in minor hockey in Connecticut.
Because not only did Marc Bergevin seem ready to die with a coach who already had no control over his club just a few months following a presence in the Stanley Cup final, but it is reasonable to believe that the name of St. Louis would never have found its way onto his list of potential candidates if the idea had occurred to him to dismiss Ducharme.
There is no doubt that the decisions of the Gorton-Hughes duo and especially the immediate and positive impact that Martin St-Louis obtained upon his arrival behind the bench of the Canadiens fully justify Geoff Molson’s decision to have fired his director general, a year ago.
Good shots that paid off big
But from Los Angeles, where he is now established following his hiring as assistant to Kings general manager Rob Blake, Bergevin can affirm that he spoke the truth when, in the wake of his dismissal, he ensured to leave the Habs in better condition than he received it.
He can even allow himself to smile when he sees Nick Suzuki enthroned at the top of the Habs scorers with his 24 points collected in 21 games.
When he sees Cole Caufield on par with his center player with 12 goals scored.
When he sees David Savard and Joel Edmundson fulfilling leading roles on the blue line in addition to serving as godfathers to the Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj he has drafted or hired.
When he sees what his successor was able to obtain for Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Romanov that he had grafted to the Habs during his reign in Montreal whether through transactions, through the market free agents, through the draft.
When he sees Samuel Montembeault fighting Jake Allen to get more starts in front of the Canadian’s cage.
When he thinks back to the trade that allowed him to acquire Phillip Danault and a second-round draft pick who became Alexander Romanov, in exchange for Tomas Fleischman and Dale Weiss, whom he had passed on to the Blackhawks in 2016.
A transaction that has long been considered his best as GM of the Canadian, until he was able to obtain Nick Suzuki, Tomas Tatar and a second-round choice from the Las Vegas Golden Knights in return for Max Pacioretty.
I would have liked to talk regarding this first anniversary with Marc Bergevin. To return to his reign. To comment on the decisions he has made. To come back to the good moves, to explain why other decisions have become bad moves.
To salute the evolution of the team he left on November 28th.
My interview requests went unanswered.
It must be said that last spring, during the series between his Kings and the Edmonton Oilers, Luc Robitaille told me that he himself told Marc Bergevin to stay away from journalists and their questions.
“Especially those from Montreal,” which friend Luc had insisted with a laugh.
We have to believe that the directive from the president of the Kings still stands. That’s a shame!
Bad shots that weigh heavily
Marc Bergevin did not only make good moves.
It’s clear! In fact, the best general managers in history drag on some of the decisions they have made.
It will happen to Kent Hughes too.
But Marc Bergevin gave a lot of ammunition to his detractors who still blame him for the loss of Phillip Danault to whom he refused to give a contract similar to the one the Kings offered to the Quebecer – $ 5.5 million on average under the ceiling until 2027 – when he became a free agent in the days following the appearance of the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup final. A presence to which Danault had greatly contributed, it is necessary to recall.
He is still criticized for the very expensive, and very long, perhaps even too long contract – $6.5 million on average on the mass until 2027 – that he granted to Brendan Gallagher.
The too expensive and perhaps too long contract granted to Josh Anderson – 5.5 million on average on the mass until 2027 – following he had acquired it from the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for Max Domi.
We still blame him, and we will always blame him, for the loss of Mikhail Sergachev, whom he sacrificed to obtain Jonathan Drouin. Sergachev has risen to stalwart status in Tampa Bay. We are still waiting for the Drouin promised when it was acquired.
That said, and that clears a bit or two of Marc Bergeron, the acquisition of Jonathan Drouin had raised reactions that were overwhelmingly favorable, even very favorable, when it was announced.
Like what hockey is far from being an exact science.
What else can you blame Marc Bergevin for?
Hiring Mike Hoffman? It will depend on what the new management can get in return for their services.
The loss of Jesperi Kotkaniemi? At the salary granted to him by the Hurricanes, not sure that we would not blame Bergevin for having matched the hostile offer of Carolina.
The hiring of Christian Dvorak who came to replace Phillip Danault? Again, we have to wait for further developments before concluding anything.
His detractors still resent him for losing patience with PK Subban and replacing him with Shae Webber. A decision that Bergevin never won on the marketing side, but which he largely won on the hockey side.
As we wanted him a lot when Alexander Radulov left for Dallas. A departure associated with a five-year contract – $ 6.25 million on average on the mass – that the Stars have regretted during the last three seasons.
From refreshing to overly flamboyant
When we look back on the reign of Marc Bergevin, great contradictions mark his reactions to his achievements. reactions to his personality. Or his personalities, because he might show many faces in a single day.
The recent biography of Pierre Gervais “At the heart of the locker room” written by colleague Mathias Brunet also shows that the management – both hands in the dough – of Bergevin gave hives to some players in the organization.
With his very strong and even more colorful personality, with this way he had of taking an active and highly publicized part in the success of his team, Bergevin contrasted with the reserved nature of the vast majority of NHL general managers.
True, he might go from very pleasant to angry in less time than it takes Nick Suzuki to spot Cole Caufield in the slot and give him a chance to score with a skillful pass.
That said, it is also imperative to remember that this flamboyance of Bergevin had not only been hailed upon his arrival in Montreal, but that it had even been haloed by supporters and journalists who might no longer bear the austere personalities of Bob Gainey and Pierre Gauthier who preceded him.
In the same way as the Drouin-Sergachev transaction.
How time can greatly change the first observations…
Last November, Marc Bergevin was covered in tar and feathers by fans and several journalists who blamed him for all the wrongs of the team. Who no longer saw the slightest positive aspect of his reign.
A year later, the Canadiens’ successes demonstrate that the legacy left by Bergevin – and by Trevor Timmins, who drafted Caufield, Guhle, Harris and all the young people who inspire confidence, and who also drafted the McDonaghs, Sergachevs, Lehkonens and Romanov before they were involved, even sacrificed in transactions that far from always worked to the advantage of the Canadian – is not as dark as everyone heard in the days, even the weeks leading up to Geoff Molson’s decision to fire him.
But when we see all that the new staff has done good and good over the past 12 months, we have to face the facts: yes Marc Bergevin can legitimately enjoy a share of the successes achieved by his former team. this year, because the balance sheet of his reign is far from being only negative.
But his departure had become necessary.
