News Article: Geoff Molson re-affirms confidence in Marc Bergevin, will not hire a president of hockey operations

[Supersonic]

I don't think Molson doesn't want to win, I just think he doesn't know how

For other posters to suggests guys like Weber and Price don't want to win just shows their ignorance

Fair point for Molson - who knows really what goes on behind closed doors.

For the other posters, I don’t agree with them but I can empathize with their view. I also can see the point that the players do in fact hate to lose, God knows losing in Montreal has got to be an awful experience as a Hab

 

[Runner77]

He has no concept of reality or he simply doesn't care as long as he is making money.

It's my impression that Geoff cares but just doesn't know how to care in a way that would put the best interests of the franchise ahead of himself in a concrete manner. He's too close to the action rather than have someone above Bergevin, report to him directly. He also has his hands in too many pies, making him completely vulnerable to the type of quagmire this org. is stuck in.

And I suspect that part of the reason why he continues to act as head of hockey ops and not have someone else do the job, is that he has become much too close to Bergevin. The other part may have something to do with an ego-motivated desire to fashion himself as a hockey exec. rather than an exec. who delegates and verifies without being involved in day-to-day decision-making.

 

[Deebs]

It's my impression that Geoff cares but just doesn't know how to care in a way that would put the best interests of the franchise ahead of himself in a concrete manner. He's too close to the action rather than have someone above Bergevin, report to him directly. He also has his hands in too many pies, making him completely vulnerable to the type of quagmire this org. is stuck in.

And I suspect that part of the reason why he continues to act as head of hockey ops and not have someone else do the job, is that he has become much too close to Bergevin. The other part may have something to do with an ego-motivated desire to fashion himself as a hockey exec. rather than an exec. who delegates and verifies without being involved in day-to-day decision-making.

The biggest issue with the team is what you're suggesting. There needs to be a President of hockey ops that's acts as a buffer.

 

[OldCraig71]

I feel embarrassed for you.

You don’t need to, you can just put me on your ignore list, you won’t be the first or the last lol.

 

[OldCraig71]

Are posters saying guys like Weber and Price don't want to win or care about winning? They're writing winning is not their priority, their holy grail. And you know what? That's my opinion as well.

They better be voicing their discontent with the build of this team internally, because there is no f***ing way they believe they have a chance at the cup.

Exactly! We should question their desire to win, they seem pretty comfortable with the way things are going and say absolutely nothing about the current situation. If they want to win in the relatively short amount of career time they have left it will have to be elsewhere.

 

[OldCraig71]

It's my impression that Geoff cares but just doesn't know how to care in a way that would put the best interests of the franchise ahead of himself in a concrete manner. He's too close to the action rather than have someone above Bergevin, report to him directly. He also has his hands in too many pies, making him completely vulnerable to the type of quagmire this org. is stuck in.

And I suspect that part of the reason why he continues to act as head of hockey ops and not have someone else do the job, is that he has become much too close to Bergevin. The other part may have something to do with an ego-motivated desire to fashion himself as a hockey exec. rather than an exec. who delegates and verifies without being involved in day-to-day decision-making.

Well it’s not my impression at all, talk from him is cheap. 8 years of this crap and he is looking forward to 3-8 more, sorry but that is not someone that cares about winning.

 

[CHwest]

I don't think Molson doesn't want to win, I just think he doesn't know how

For other posters to suggests guys like Weber and Price don't want to win just shows their ignorance

I think those two have just resigned themselves to the situation they find themselves in. Why worry about something you have no control over. Just ride out the string.

 

[Runner77]

The biggest issue with the team is what you're suggesting. There needs to be a President of hockey ops that's acts as a buffer.

It's unfortunate but I don't get the impression it's going to happen during Bergevin's tenure for the reasons I offered.

 

[Runner77]

Well it’s not my impression at all, talk from him is cheap. 8 years of this crap and he is looking forward to 3-8 more, sorry but that is not someone that cares about winning.

How can we really know the state of mind of someone in authority? We can judge him by the lack of results and failed decision-making but to say someone doesn't care -- how do we know that unless we know the guy personally? I'm not a fan of his but I can't say that he doesn't care -- he cares in a manner that produces no desirable results, is as far as I'd go.

 

[EXPOS123]

While I don’t want to start speculating on players and their personal desires to win, I sure as **** can bet that our owner doesn’t care.

8 years into this train wreck and counting. It pains me to say this but I almost think it needs to take the Leafs winning the Cup to completely embarrass our franchise so maybe then Mol$on would look in the mirror and see what he has built with MB...

Whatever. What can you do. I’m just going to pray Price/Weber hold up and all our young guys hit their ceilings and we go from there. But you gotta think there should be a bit more of a plan than that

Agreed. It's damn sad that the owner of a team, let alone an iconic one, isn't somehow bothered that we haven't won a cup in 27 years., cuz you know, the parity makes it hard to do.

 

[Mario Lemieux fan 66]

Price tried once to put pressure on Bergevin to do Something when he said that his window to win the Stanley Cup is getting smaller. Bergevin replied by saying Price still has a lot of fuel left in the tank. No comment by Bergevin telling Price that he is building the team toward that goal.

No urgency to win and no plan to build a winning team is starting to kill the hope and passion in a lot of fans. I hope Price or Weber ask for a trade and Gallagher, Petry and Tatar walk away. They need to ashamed Molson and Bergevin in the media it's the only way the team might get better someday.

 

[Runner77]

Money Mol$on is the enabler, and REAL problem.

Sometimes, you have no choice but to start over from scratch ...

 

[OldCraig71]

How can we really know the state of mind of someone in authority? We can judge him by the lack of results and failed decision-making but to say someone doesn't care -- how do we know that unless we know the guy personally? I'm not a fan of his but I can't say that he doesn't care -- he cares in a manner that produces no desirable results, is as far as I'd go.

We know when he releases a statement to the media that he will not hire a president of hockey operations because he feels that Marc is one of the most experienced and trusted GM's in the league, (basically he's doing a great job)that's how we know. We know when we see his team underperforming and lacking talent but yet remaining under the cap for the last 3-4 years, that's how we know. His actions or lack thereof are more valuable to me than his hollow words.

 

[smarties 1]

I Can and I Will. The power of intention.

 

[nhlfan9191]

The biggest issue with the team is what you're suggesting. There needs to be a President of hockey ops that's acts as a buffer.

If they were bringing in a new team of managers and cleaning house, I would absolutely agree a real president needs to be included this time. Hiring one to babysit Bergevin after 8 years is not the right reason to hire one, although getting Molson out of that position would be a huge step forward for the franchise.

 

[BLONG7]

Price and Weber won’t talk, they are both happy making money and being part of a losing culture. If they really had a problem, they would have spoken a long time ago.

The only player who talked shit was Pacioretty and he quickly got traded away for his “bad” attitude. Say whatever you want about him but he’s the only one who stood up to Bergevin’s stupidity.

Price did speak up last year, at the year end locker clean out, and during this year when they were losing. Price has made his feelings well known, he wants to win now...and he said he was beyond frustrated.
Weber has remained pretty quiet. The captain has to be politically correct especially in Montreal.

I think both of these guys have made themselves clear, they just try not to air their feelings in the media. Just my 2 cents, like you feel they are ok with making their $$$, and don't care.
We will agree to disagree.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If they were bringing in a new team of managers and cleaning house, I would absolutely agree a real president needs to be included this time. Hiring one to babysit Bergevin after 8 years is not the right reason to hire one, although getting Molson out of that position would be a huge step forward for the franchise.

If they ever make a chance, a President would have to be hired first so he has time to hire a GM to be ready for draft and free agency. Unless, the President is a Yzerman type who can handle the GM role temporarily

 

[Deebs]

If they were bringing in a new team of managers and cleaning house, I would absolutely agree a real president needs to be included this time. Hiring one to babysit Bergevin after 8 years is not the right reason to hire one, although getting Molson out of that position would be a huge step forward for the franchise.

It absolutely is the right time. Hire an outside person that will have a fresh set of eyes and be able the appraise the situation without bias. If that person doesn't like what he sees, that recommendation can be presented to Molson and maybe they go in a completely new direction, from the GM down.

Problem is, Molson has no interest in this direction which is unfortunate.

 

[Doc McKenna]

Meh Molson may want to win, but he is content with generating good revenue. I think pressers are useless. Its all PR and nothing more. This is still a problem. Language aside, it doesn't matter because they don't even answer anything concrete. And they won't anyway. If Molson gave Marc an ultimatum for this year or next it won't matter because he won't say it publicly. ITs more grist for the mill. Reminds me of Willem Defoes character in boondock saint. "Time to feed the press" They know whats going on , but they won't say to the public.

We can speculate all day, just to satisfy our need to do something hockey related. But we don' know. I would like to think there are things happening behind the scenes. Price wanting out, maybe gally? Molson telling marc his has till december to be a 600 team...something. Because the optics of this gong show is terrible. If Molson is OK with this mess he is a terrible manager.

 

[OldCraig71]

Meh Molson may want to win, but he is content with generating good revenue. I think pressers are useless. Its all PR and nothing more. This is still a problem. Language aside, it doesn't matter because they don't even answer anything concrete. And they won't anyway. If Molson gave Marc an ultimatum for this year or next it won't matter because he won't say it publicly. ITs more grist for the mill. Reminds me of Willem Defoes character in boondock saint. "Time to feed the press" They know whats going on , but they won't say to the public.

We can speculate all day, just to satisfy our need to do something hockey related. But we don' know. I would like to think there are things happening behind the scenes. Price wanting out, maybe gally? Molson telling marc his has till december to be a 600 team...something. Because the optics of this gong show is terrible. If Molson is OK with this mess he is a terrible manager.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Meh Molson may want to win, but he is content with generating good revenue. I think pressers are useless. Its all PR and nothing more. This is still a problem. Language aside, it doesn't matter because they don't even answer anything concrete. And they won't anyway. If Molson gave Marc an ultimatum for this year or next it won't matter because he won't say it publicly. ITs more grist for the mill. Reminds me of Willem Defoes character in boondock saint. "Time to feed the press" They know whats going on , but they won't say to the public.

We can speculate all day, just to satisfy our need to do something hockey related. But we don' know. I would like to think there are things happening behind the scenes. Price wanting out, maybe gally? Molson telling marc his has till december to be a 600 team...something. Because the optics of this gong show is terrible. If Molson is OK with this mess he is a terrible manager.

Molson clearly believes in that reset/retool and a better prospect pool that fills holes moving forward. Will it work? Probably not cause rushing kids is not smart and by the time they are ready, Price is 35+ and Weber has retired. Then we are likely stuck in the middle again.

I say we need to make a move or two this summer. Keep the young core in tack with our grade A prospects and dangle Domi and/or the 8th OA pick. I would be very happy if they are able to acquire Brodin with an extension that looks similar to Muzzin (maybe a bit more AAV). My strategy would be to turn our team around by having a top 5 or top 10 team defense in front of Price with a speedy forward group. Suzuki, Kotkaniemi, and Evans will only mature more as each season passes.

Personally, as a fan, I want to try to become a top 5 or top 10 team in the 3 year window by making moves now and then after that, we still have a very young team that we can focus on a true rebuild without Price and Weber in our way. Just cause other teams are better on paper than us in the short term, it don't mean we should not try. Rebuilds can fail too.

 

[BLONG7]

Molson clearly believes in that reset/retool and a better prospect pool that fills holes moving forward. Will it work? Probably not cause rushing kids is not smart and by the time they are ready, Price is 35+ and Weber has retired. Then we are likely stuck in the middle again.

I say we need to make a move or two this summer. Keep the young core in tack with our grade A prospects and dangle Domi and/or the 8th OA pick. I would be very happy if they are able to acquire Brodin with an extension that looks similar to Muzzin (maybe a bit more AAV). My strategy would be to turn our team around by having a top 5 or top 10 team defense in front of Price with a speedy forward group. Suzuki, Kotkaniemi, and Evans will only mature more as each season passes.

Personally, as a fan, I want to try to become a top 5 or top 10 team in the 3 year window by making moves now and then after that, we still have a very young team that we can focus on a true rebuild without Price and Weber in our way. Just cause other teams are better on paper than us in the short term, it don't mean we should not try. Rebuilds can fail too.

We have to make a move or two now, if they are keeping Price/Weber, they have to make moves now.......The 1st rounder has to be on the table, we will pick in the top 8-16 somehwere....Petry and Tatar were kept, so MB has never been wanting a rebuild done properly.
Moves have to be made after the Covid tourney to make da team bedder for next year.
The only problem is, we still have a clown making the decisions.

 

[Habs Halifax]

We have to make a move or two now, if they are keeping Price/Weber, they have to make moves now.......The 1st rounder has to be on the table, we will pick in the top 8-16 somehwere....Petry and Tatar were kept, so MB has never been wanting a rebuild done properly.
Moves have to be made after the Covid tourney to make da team bedder for next year.
The only problem is, we still have a clown making the decisions.

Bergevin has 2 years left. Hopefully his plan is not entirely on kids filling holes in the 3 year term while Price is still good and before Weber retires. The timing has gaps and it won't work. It will be difficult to be a top 5 team but I do think we can be a top 5-top 10 team and possibly go on deep playoff runs if we add two key pieces. Got to fix the team D in front of Price cause we can't hold leads

I do respect Bergevin not mortgaging the future for short term gains. But if there is a hockey trade out there where we get a valuable piece for 5 years+, we should consider trading that pick. Problem is the cap space will be very very tight for 21/22 season even if it is $86M. Hard to predict what Domi, Gallagher, Petry, Tatar, Danault, Kotkaniemi will have as cap hits.

 

[jackeymoon]

Cause we have knocked on the top 10 and bottom 10 door with the current roster. I don't see us as bad as you do and if we add two impact pieces with a more mature center group with prospects coming, I see this as a good situation.

No, As a fan, I'm not going to ignore Price and Weber's window they have left.

Instead you'll ignore the fact that this team has literally no chance of winning a Cup short of a miracle trade

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I touched on this about a week ago, Bergie is safe because it doesn't have to be about winning here, Molson can continue to cash in on the glory days of old while running a garbage organization that is a mockery of what we used to be. We still pack the stands and money is flowing like a river, Bergevin will be our GM as long as Molson owns the team. Accept it, I have.

I see you took the cynic route