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

[BLONG7]

I will oblige if I don’t get booted off.
I do think that the smartest here are @Treb (his Covid stuff is FASCINATING and complex AF) and Ozy (he’s a brilliant analyst of the human kind and mind).

I come in a far third.


And I’m kidding here.


Apologies, but the subject gets my old blood boiling. It infuriates me because it originates from pure ignorance. Ugh.

No worries..........hot topic issue for all who have an opinion.
Does it make sense, to shrink our pool of candidates each and every time we need to hire people? Honest question...
Most habs fans at this point, franco or anglo just want to WIN......this past 10-12 years has been brutal....

 

[dcyhabs]

I don’t like Bergevin but I fail to see how his tenure is worst than any other Habs GM for the past 25 years.

And I am 99,99% positive the next GM won’t do better.

let’s state the reality here in Mtl:

-you can’t commit to a full rebuild.
-GM and coach need to speak french. So basically, 80% of the coaches and GMs can’t be hired.
-Quality UFAs will never sign here
-Worst of all, players need to produce in pressure-cooker market.

So to simplify. It doesn’t matter if the GM is Yzerman or Jean-Guy de Laval, the team will never be contender under the actual situation.

-Bergevin got the rebuild commitment, maybe even twice depending on how you look at it, then they won some games and he dropped it. Last year was the first year winning didn't start with a "huh" for him and he was surprised again this year.
-Not hiring 80% of coaches and GMs is not much of a disadvantage, most of them suck. Habs should develop their own whatever the situation.
-They have. Franchise players pretty rarely leave the team that drafted them, serviceable guys have signed here, Toffoli, Edmundson, Radulov, lots of guys over the years. Sure TO and NY and some sun belt teams have some advantages there, but most of those teams haven't been really good, either.
-That's a tough one. Montreal media sucks and they encourage a lot of painful fans.

It's mostly just bad ownership and competing with 32 other franchises many of which are better run. Some of the traditions are good, some lead to losing. Bettman doesn't help, either.

 

[CHwest]

But I kept being told how deep our pool was....and yet no one AHL wise can crack this elite squad that is the habs. Been reading about players in the AHL for so long I think they are vets by the time they are called up.

Every year is the same, we get told our pool is B+ and we are trending the right way. But it never happens. I see no impact players coming, not a one.

 

[CHwest]

-Bergevin got the rebuild commitment, maybe even twice depending on how you look at it, then they won some games and he dropped it. Last year was the first year winning didn't start with a "huh" for him and he was surprised again this year.
-Not hiring 80% of coaches and GMs is not much of a disadvantage, most of them suck. Habs should develop their own whatever the situation.
-They have. Franchise players pretty rarely leave the team that drafted them, serviceable guys have signed here, Toffoli, Edmundson, Radulov, lots of guys over the years. Sure TO and NY and some sun belt teams have some advantages there, but most of those teams haven't been really good, either.
-That's a tough one. Montreal media sucks and they encourage a lot of painful fans.

It's mostly just bad ownership and competing with 32 other franchises many of which are better run. Some of the traditions are good, some lead to losing. Bettman doesn't help, either.

BS, the GM is the most important person on the team. You had better be getting the best. And that percentage is closer to 95 than it is 80.

 

[Kriss E]

Only Habs radio guys.

Beat writers & media are not allowed on the plane, that was the first thing Gainey did when he took over ...which is why Reggie Tremblay has always been so pissed and has an axe to grind

Yea, so who's making hard on them? Matthias Brunet? Gaston Therrien?
Molson ain't scared of media, he does whatever he wants. Fact Bergevin has survived for so long is perfect proof of it.

 

[Burke the Legend]

BS, the GM is the most important person on the team. You had better be getting the best. And that percentage is closer to 95 than it is 80.

Who is the best??? Who are these super geniuses who routinely moves in circles around all other GMs. Let's hear some names.

Bergevin is a decent GM. He outright wins a lot of trades and loses few, keeps contracts at reasonable levels (even though he has to overpay because of Quebec taxes), and actually did build a team identity, which got it to SCF. The #1 flaw and it is a BIG one is the total failure of drafting, basically since 2007. Is that on Bergevin? Maybe, I don't think he is deeply involved with player selection but he does keep Timmins employed along with whoever else is making the decisions.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Who is the best??? Who are these super geniuses who routinely moves in circles around all other GMs. Let's hear some names.

Bergevin is a decent GM. He outright wins a lot of trades and loses few, keeps contracts at reasonable levels (even though he has to overpay because of Quebec taxes), and actually did build a team identity, which got it to SCF. The #1 flaw and it is a BIG one is the total failure of drafting, basically since 2007. Is that on Bergevin? Maybe, I don't think he is deeply involved with player selection but he does keep Timmins employed along with whoever else is making the decisions.

“Marc is a very good GM in the NHL, one of the best,” continued Robitaille. When you look at his transaction history, he did some really good things. He has good vision. He’s a talented manager and he knows everyone in the NHL. In my eyes, he is clearly among the top ten in his profession. ”

I guess the fans will dismiss Robitaille's opinion on this? Some fans are emotionally attached to wanting Bergevin fired too much IMO. I'm open to a change but last thing I want is another rookie GM learning on the job.

 

[Burke the Legend]

“Marc is a very good GM in the NHL, one of the best,” continued Robitaille. When you look at his transaction history, he did some really good things. He has good vision. He’s a talented manager and he knows everyone in the NHL. In my eyes, he is clearly among the top ten in his profession. ”

I guess the fans will dismiss Robitaille's opinion on this? Some fans are emotionally attached to wanting Bergevin fired too much IMO. I'm open to a change but last thing I want is another rookie GM learning on the job.

There's people in these threads still crying about the PK Subban trade.

 

[montreal]

But I kept being told how deep our pool was....and yet no one AHL wise can crack this elite squad that is the habs. Been reading about players in the AHL for so long I think they are vets by the time they are called up.

and yet in the playoffs, Price was a beast, Caufield was one of our best players, McDonagh looked great in the finals, Sergachev has been one of the top producing U-22 blueliners in the NHL, KK is one of the top U-20 goal scorers in the past 20 years in the NHL playoffs, Evans for a 7th round pick just to make the NHL is impressive imo. Romanov in time might turn into a better Emelin and that's certainly not far fetched.

There's always highs and lows, ever since we lost in the Finals it's like nothing can go right for the Habs, it won't always look this bleak and this could be just what we need to hopefully force change and perhaps finally get a GM that understands proper development, a coach that understands how to develop young skilled players, a scouting staff that doesn't look at their needs and says get the best, most skilled player regardless of what position they play.

 

[LaP]

But I kept being told how deep our pool was....and yet no one AHL wise can crack this elite squad that is the habs. Been reading about players in the AHL for so long I think they are vets by the time they are called up.

There's nobody in the AHL right now. There's Ylonen and Fairbrother and that's pretty much it. Neither of them is a particularly great prospect. Brook and Poehling are injured i think and anyway at this point they are more suspects than prospects. This is not a good prospects pool imo. This is our defense in the AHL atm :

Fairbrother
Ouellet
Bisson
Belpedio
Amorosa
Schueneman
Dello
Neil

This list looks more like a Italian crime family names list than a hockey defense.

 

[montreal]

There's nobody in the AHL right now. There's Ylonen and Fairbrother and that's pretty much it. Neither of them is a particularly great prospect. Brook and Poehling are injured i think and anyway at this point they are more suspects than prospects. This is not a good prospects pool imo. This is our defense in the AHL atm :

Fairbrother
Ouellet
Bisson
Belpedio
Amorosa
Schueneman
Dello
Neil

This list looks more like a Italian crime family names list than a hockey defense.

Poehling is back and he will play games in the NHL this year. I think Ylonen is a good prospect but hard to say if he's good enough to be a 2nd line winger or not. Fairbrother has been better then I expected. Brook and Teasdale being out for months sucks. RHP I could see him getting some NHL games in perhaps within either this season or next, I wouldn't rush him though as he started out slow this season so far.

As for the blueline, it's the biggest weakness for Laval by far, but they likely thought they would have Harris and Brook to go with Fairbrother and then things would look very different. Next year you have Guhle, Norlinder, Harris, Brook, Fairbrother, Xhekaj, plus if they opt to sign Struble or not, Kostenko is currently without a contract so I don't know what the plan is.

I'm not a big Schueneman fan but I could see Bisson getting a contract, he's been pretty good since they brought him in.

 

[bcv]

Who is the best??? Who are these super geniuses who routinely moves in circles around all other GMs. Let's hear some names.

Bergevin is a decent GM. He outright wins a lot of trades and loses few, keeps contracts at reasonable levels (even though he has to overpay because of Quebec taxes), and actually did build a team identity, which got it to SCF. The #1 flaw and it is a BIG one is the total failure of drafting, basically since 2007. Is that on Bergevin? Maybe, I don't think he is deeply involved with player selection but he does keep Timmins employed along with whoever else is making the decisions.

Yup, I’ve been asking people on here for names but can’t seem to cone forward with plausible replacements.

 

[dcyhabs]

BS, the GM is the most important person on the team. You had better be getting the best. And that percentage is closer to 95 than it is 80.

Yes GMs are important, and most of the guys out there aren't that good. How many teams have really good GMs? How many teams have really good coaches? There is a lot of room to get, train, teach, and develop guys to be better than the various ex-players doing these roles on other teams.

 

[CHwest]

Who is the best??? Who are these super geniuses who routinely moves in circles around all other GMs. Let's hear some names.

Bergevin is a decent GM. He outright wins a lot of trades and loses few, keeps contracts at reasonable levels (even though he has to overpay because of Quebec taxes), and actually did build a team identity, which got it to SCF. The #1 flaw and it is a BIG one is the total failure of drafting, basically since 2007. Is that on Bergevin? Maybe, I don't think he is deeply involved with player selection but he does keep Timmins employed along with whoever else is making the decisions.

If he is so damn good we are we stuck in sucktatude year after fricking year. Damn people are blind.

 

[WeThreeKings]

If he is so damn good we are we stuck in sucktatude year after fricking year. Damn people are blind.

It's incredible that people still defend this after 10 years.

You can identify strengths and weaknesses for every GM but after 10 years, you should expect better.

it doesn't matter if Bergevin has strengths, you can have good ingredients but if you don't know how to cook and make a meal, the quality of the ingredients doesn't matter in the end.

 

[eklund the clown]

If he is so damn good we are we stuck in sucktatude year after fricking year. Damn people are blind.

Although i agree with you 100% It doesn't matter.People will believe whatever the propaganda show tells them.The only truth is in the record itself from the last 10 years with Bergevin.Some say well look what he started with .Give it time.Well after 10 years this team is by far the worse i have seen as a fan of 50 years.Here is the record of the last several years.

NHL Records

 

[FlatIron]

Who is the best??? Who are these super geniuses who routinely moves in circles around all other GMs. Let's hear some names.

Bergevin is a decent GM. He outright wins a lot of trades and loses few, keeps contracts at reasonable levels (even though he has to overpay because of Quebec taxes), and actually did build a team identity, which got it to SCF. The #1 flaw and it is a BIG one is the total failure of drafting, basically since 2007. Is that on Bergevin? Maybe, I don't think he is deeply involved with player selection but he does keep Timmins employed along with whoever else is making the decisions.

Contracts at reasonable levels? Price and Gallagher contracts are going to haunt us for a few years, add Drouin's to the list along with the actual trade. Even the Suzuki deal is questionable, should have bridged him. I repeat, they can thank Covid for making the playoffs the last two years. We're just downright cursed, we try to rush players, development is garbage in Laval, scouting is atrocious.

 

[FlatIron]

It's incredible that people still defend this after 10 years.

You can identify strengths and weaknesses for every GM but after 10 years, you should expect better.

it doesn't matter if Bergevin has strengths, you can have good ingredients but if you don't know how to cook and make a meal, the quality of the ingredients doesn't matter in the end.

Quality of the ingredients matters too along with good cooking, don't buy your steak at Super C. Analogy works for sports too.

 

[Burke the Legend]

If he is so damn good we are we stuck in sucktatude year after fricking year. Damn people are blind.

Still waiting for names of who is the super-genius GM we could hire tomorrow who would solve all problems if only we didn't ban anglos.

Also mentioned it's blindingly obvious why we are mediocre-poor club, because drafting has been HOT GARBAGE for 15 years. Some of these bad outcome picks can be defended in a vacuum as unfortunate (Louis Leblanc's ankle injuries) or blamed on development (overused argument IMO, impact NHL talent can overcome a year or two of bad coaching) or whatever but when it keeps happening year after year for over a decade you gotta wonder about the key decision making on amateur talent evaluation.

 

[montreal]

because drafting has been HOT GARBAGE for 15 years. Some of these bad outcome picks can be defended in a vacuum as unfortunate (Louis Leblanc's ankle injuries) or blamed on development (overused argument IMO, impact NHL talent can overcome a year or two of bad coaching) or whatever but when it keeps happening year after year for over a decade you gotta wonder about the key decision making on amateur talent evaluation.

if that's the case then it's even more at fault for the guy that promoted his head scout and just recently promoted his top Euro scout despite the fact that we couldn't draft anyone better then DLR from Sweden since he joined us in 2010.

But the biggest issue is why I brought up this thread, Molson is either clueless, lazy or only cares about counting his money.

 

[mitchmagic]

Getting decent 2nd line / 3rd line trades is not the mark of a good GM. He failed to address our most glaring issues and develop prospects.

He sucks and has sucked and got lucky last year and unfortunately will buy him the rest of the year.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Still waiting for names of who is the super-genius GM we could hire tomorrow who would solve all problems if only we didn't ban anglos.

Also mentioned it's blindingly obvious why we are mediocre-poor club, because drafting has been HOT GARBAGE for 15 years. Some of these bad outcome picks can be defended in a vacuum as unfortunate (Louis Leblanc's ankle injuries) or blamed on development (overused argument IMO, impact NHL talent can overcome a year or two of bad coaching) or whatever but when it keeps happening year after year for over a decade you gotta wonder about the key decision making on amateur talent evaluation.

Its less the names of the super-genius anglo GMs and more the fact that are currently no bilingual NHL AGMs in the NHL apart from Madden in Anaheim (which isn't really a model franchise).

And the GM is responsible for amateur talent evaluation.

Bergevin has been GM since 2012. He is currently the 6th longest tenured GM in the NHL with a single team. It may simply be time for a change based on how the job evolves and industry trends.

 

[JoelWarlord]

There's people in these threads still crying about the PK Subban trade.

What about the guy in your profile picture who's been gone for 5 years and still represents a glaring roster hole that hasn't been fixed yet?

 

[sandviper]

Still waiting for names of who is the super-genius GM we could hire tomorrow who would solve all problems if only we didn't ban anglos.

Also mentioned it's blindingly obvious why we are mediocre-poor club, because drafting has been HOT GARBAGE for 15 years. Some of these bad outcome picks can be defended in a vacuum as unfortunate (Louis Leblanc's ankle injuries) or blamed on development (overused argument IMO, impact NHL talent can overcome a year or two of bad coaching) or whatever but when it keeps happening year after year for over a decade you gotta wonder about the key decision making on amateur talent evaluation.

TT is responsible here but ultimately he reports to Bergevin.

Replacing MB isn't enough. The whole house needs to be cleaned.

 

[Mediocre since 93]

Still waiting for names of who is the super-genius GM we could hire tomorrow who would solve all problems if only we didn't ban anglos.

Also mentioned it's blindingly obvious why we are mediocre-poor club, because drafting has been HOT GARBAGE for 15 years. Some of these bad outcome picks can be defended in a vacuum as unfortunate (Louis Leblanc's ankle injuries) or blamed on development (overused argument IMO, impact NHL talent can overcome a year or two of bad coaching) or whatever but when it keeps happening year after year for over a decade you gotta wonder about the key decision making on amateur talent evaluation.

Correct.