Marc Bergevin 1st interview since being fired

[26Mats]

He did leave off a pretty great d prospect pool along with Nick and Cole. And it's true that he didn't dump draft picks.

But holy shit the contracts were so bad. Price. Weber, Edmunson, Hoffman, Armia, Anderson, Gallagher, Drouin, Dvorak, Byron, Petry, Chiarot. I feel like I am even forgetting some players lol.

Christ, so much money in non-impact players (Price and Weber too beat up to amount to anything).

It was his vision that was the problem: try to win the cup with grinders, and not respecting talent and his talented players, like Radulov, Markov, Subban, etc... Like talent is an afterthought to being able to grind.

 

[themilosh]

All the bad contracts???

Nahhhh.. MB never going to admit he handcuffed the Habs for 5 years with insanely bad contracts to players who had no right getting insanely high pay.

We're almost free.. people underestimate just how toxic these contracts are.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Did you read the article?

"In retrospect, Bergevin thinks he could have done it differently.

“Aho was the right player to give an offer sheet to, but I wish it would have been a different offer sheet,” Bergevin said. “Would I take that back? Yes. But honestly, at the time, we thought we would get the player based on the signing bonuses, which (Tom) Dundon matched. It ended up being a good contract for them.

“Lesson learned, honestly. Lesson learned. If I ever become a GM again, that’s a lesson I can use moving forward if it happens.”

That's literally taking accountability.

Like I get it, Bergevin is not a popular guy around here, probably the by-product of spending 10 years as GM of a team, I for one have mixed feelings about his time in Montreal, but damn having read that article and some of the responses in here, not quite sure why people are so upset. Thought it was a honest interview and sober take on his time as GM here, some good, some bad and a lot of in-between.

No bro, it's literal propaganda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[themilosh]

No bro, it's literal propaganda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't even think Bergy is caoable of propaganda.. that takes strategy.

He had one goal: spend to the cap with veteren plugs, rely on Price. It was mind numbing. High school drop out, telling.

 

[Habs13]

He bragged about not trading first round picks.

Dude, that was your problem. You had Carey Price in net and a horrible offense and you held your first rounders to pick bust after bust.

It's even more funny when you look at how bad our first round picks were. In ten years, he hit with Caufield. Thats it. (Maybe Mailloux. We shall see)

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

It was his vision that was the problem: try to win the cup with grinders, and not respecting talent and his talented players, like Radulov, Markov, Subban, etc... Like talent is an afterthought to being able to grind.

I had been so critical of Peanut after he replaced Gainey. So negative. So when MB came on board I vowed to give him a chance. Day one he passes on Jagr, hires Therrien, Prust, Bouillion come onboard... I tried for a long time to be a Devil's advocate for him. When he got Vanek I thought there might be hope for him. But then we played him on the 3rd and 4th line...

He was a terrible GM. He had terrible coaches at the NHL and AHL level. He made 'bargain bin' moves and traded away prime PK Subban. Just a God awful GM.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Gainey was fine until his daughter passed. Then he made moves that just made no sense.

Total myth that gets parroted every time he's brought up. He was pretty much the same GM before and after. Made great and terrible moves between both events.

I'm sure losing his daughter left a mark but it's not one that was reflected in the actual moves he made. At all.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

Gainey was fine until his daughter passed. Then he made moves that just made no sense. He built the club that should've won cups in the 2010s. Drafting Carey Price was a gutsy move that paid off in spades.

Being a dad now, I can't imagine how he even stayed with the team. I'd have lost my mind. What a horrible tragedy he endured with that loss. So sad.

Gainey was not fine, he was a walking excuse. The man couldn't make a trade to save his life. Totally incompetent after getting Kovalev. He sunk the ship on the way out. Hughes puts him to shame in 15 minutes.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Total myth that gets parroted every time he's brought up. He was pretty much the same GM before and after. Made great and terrible moves between both events.

He wasn't perfect, that's true. But he was building through the draft. You look at the club he'd assembled (including prospects) by 2007-2008 and it's a very good club. The roots of a contender are there.

I'm sure losing his daughter left a mark but it's not one that was reflected in the actual moves he made. At all.

There's a night and day difference before and after. Before he's building through the draft. After, he goes and gets a bunch of over the hill vets and gives up great prospects to get them. Totally different guy. Trading McDonnaugh was so, so bad.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Gainey was not fine, he was a walking excuse. The man couldn't make a trade to save his life. Totally incompetent after getting Kovalev. He sunk the ship on the way out. Hughes puts him to shame in 15 minutes.

Hughes puts everyone to shame. Solid, solid GM.

 

[Bombshell11]

Total myth that gets parroted every time he's brought up. He was pretty much the same GM before and after. Made great and terrible moves between both events.

I'm sure losing his daughter left a mark but it's not one that was reflected in the actual moves he made. At all.

Gave away McDonaugh for Gomez

I dont remember if it was him or Gauthier but they let go of Kovalev, Koivu and a bunch of other veterans (at the same time) for absolutly nothing. They dint even try to stock on picks before the trade deadline for some of these guys. Just a stupid move... well unless they made deals behind the scenes with everyone else to allow them to sign Camellari, Gionta and the rest of the guys they brought in that summer.

But Koivu? how could you let him go like that?

 

[The Last Red]

Apparently zero GM job offers since he left. ‘Nuff said. He’s clearly not held in very high regard around the league. I concur.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

He wasn't perfect, that's true. But he was building through the draft. You look at the club he'd assembled (including prospects) by 2007-2008 and it's a very good club. The roots of a contender are there.

There's a night and day difference before and after. Before he's building through the draft. After, he goes and gets a bunch of over the hill vets and gives up great prospects to get them. Totally different guy. Trading McDonnaugh was so, so bad.

The Rivet/Pacioretty trade happened after the event, for example. What happened is that the very next season after her death the Canadiens got red-hot and finished 1st or 2nd in the conference. Of course the focus shifts after that, especially as they were looking to contend for the centennial. Getting guys like Robert Lang and Alex Tanguay were really good moves on paper, albeit we (of course) dealt with a ton of injuries. The McDonagh trade happened roughly 3 years ago after the girl's death and just before Gauthier took over. Linking that with her death feels Hallmark movie-esque. It's not like the man worked alone.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Bargain Bin , Chest Bras , but my favorite was MAESTRO

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Gave away McDonaugh for Gomez

I dont remember if it was him or Gauthier but they let go of Kovalev, Koivu and a bunch of other veterans (at the same time) for absolutly nothing. They dint even try to stock on picks before the trade deadline for some of these guys. Just a stupid move... well unless they made deals behind the scenes with everyone else to allow them to sign Camellari, Gionta and the rest of the guys they brought in that summer

She died in 2006. This stuff happened in 2009. They were a consistent playoff team.

And frankly, guys like Gionta, Cammalleri, Hamrlik, etc. weren't even bad moves. They turned out to be good to great signings.

Linking that stuff with his daughter's death is just weird, man. The hockey department of the Montreal Canadiens is a vast and isn't a one-man job. You guys think this dude was just popping pills at the Bell Center to drown his sorrow and making trades or what? That's not how life and corporations work.

 

[417]

For me it's not about accountability, but just a re-affirmation that he never really saw the big-picture/long-term window.

He wanted to balance building with competing, and he kind of reiterated that in a subtle way. But at some point, one of those goals needs to be sacrificed.

I don't disagree - was just responding to a post where someone said he didn't take an ounce of accountability, just don't think that was fair after reading the article.

A core of Price, Petry, Markov, Subban, Plekanec, Pacioretty, Gallagher, Eller was pretty darn good for that era. They needed to sacrifice picks and prospects to get the offensive hlep they desperately needed. Never happened.

Christ, they had the best goalie in the world supported by three top pairing D-men. Two of which were the best offensive D-men in the league.

In the end, he competed when he should have torn it down, and was trying to build while they should have been competing. That will forever be his legacy.

That said, I am thankful for Cole, Suzuki, Guhle, Arber, Struble, Mailloux, and Monty.

100% agreed

I can respect that he stands behind his decisions and defends them. I think he genuinely was doing the best he could and was trying to help the team.

But I also disagreed (at the time) and still disagree with many of his decisions, and I'm happy he isn't GMing the Habs anymore. The results speak for themselves, and stating that he didn't leave the franchise in a bad state is a straight up fabrication.

Again, I don't disagree.

But what are people expecting? Him to say he was awful and doesn't deserve to have been GM of this franchise or in the NHL again?

it was a pretty fluffy article, certainly not worth the anger posts i'm reading in this thread lol

 

[Bombshell11]

She died in 2006. This stuff happened in 2009. They were a consistent playoff team.

And frankly, guys like Gionta, Cammalleri, Hamrlik, etc. weren't even bad moves. They turned out to be good to great signing.

Linking that stuff with his daughter's death is just weird, man. The hockey department of the Montreal Canadiens is a vast and isn't a one-man job. You guys think this dude was just popping pills at the Bell Center to drown his sorrow and making trades or what? That's how not life and corporations work.

That was literally his last season here. No one is linking that to his daughter passing away but we're pointing out the flaws. Yes they were good signings but letting go a bunch of vets for nothing made no sense

 

[Spring in Fialta]

That was literally his last season here. No one is linking that to his daughter passing away but we're pointing out the flaws. Yes they were good signings but letting go a bunch of vets for nothing made no sense

Lafleurs Guy did.

My point is that Gainey was the exact same GM throughout his entire tenure here. He could make some ridiculously great moves and then turn around and do us in with an absolute dud (Ribeiro anyone? That was before she passed.)

But what are people expecting? Him to say he was awful and doesn't deserve to have been GM of this franchise or in the NHL again?

That's precisely what some people are expecting and it makes them weirdos, not him or Lebrun lol

 

[StCaufield]

He's dead to me ever since the Subban Trade

I mean he won that trade

 

[The Last Red]

I mean he won that trade

Trades was the one thing he was decent at as a GM. But even his trades seemed like random acts, without being part of a cohesive plan. The one year he actually had a real plan was the Cup run one, when he built a big, heavy D for the playoffs and added some size and scoring up front in Anderson, Perry and TT.

 

[WeThreeKings]

You bunch of wuss, let the man talk.
Don't act like Réjean Houle didn't exist with your worst GM nonsense.

He exists and existed in a time when the Canadian dollar was horrible and the team had to trade anything that cost them money.

Bergevin could spend to the cap and had total control over his moves, and did his damage for nearly a decade.

Bergevin edges out Houle for those reasons.

 

[the]

Such a bad look for Molson. But also lol @ Bergevin for 'moving on' without having another job in the bag. Dude had to take a demotion because he's a joke league-wide.

I know Molson is a clueless moron but something seems off with that story.

Geoff said he had made his decision to move on from Bergevin when we were down 3-1 against Toronto during the 2021 playoffs but then the comeback happened and we went to the finals.

I have a hard time believing Molson would have given him a long term contract when he was very close of firing him a few months prior.

Maybe Molson offered him a short term deal or suggested to wait until his current deal expires before starting negotiations and that offended Bergevin?

Something clearly rubbed him the wrong way. It's as if he knew Molson was already thinking about firing him and Bergevin was delusional about his worth and thought he deserved better.

 

[Bouboumaster]

I mean he won that trade

If by "won" you mean that we lost the Trade, we def won it

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

The Rivet/Pacioretty trade happened after the event, for example. What happened is that the very next season after her death the Canadiens got red-hot and finished 1st or 2nd in the conference. Of course the focus shifts after that, especially as they were looking to contend for the centennial. Getting guys like Robert Lang and Alex Tanguay were really good moves on paper, albeit we (of course) dealt with a ton of injuries. The McDonagh trade happened roughly 3 years ago after the girl's death and just before Gauthier took over. Linking that with her death feels Hallmark movie-esque. It's not like the man worked alone.

Oh shit, yeah. I thought she’d passed in late 2007.

Great draft that year. And then after that he loses his mind. It messed him up. As I said, I can’t believe he actually stayed with the team.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Lafleurs Guy did.

My point is that Gainey was the exact same GM throughout his entire tenure here. He could make some ridiculously great moves and then turn around and do us in with an absolute dud (Ribeiro anyone? That was before she passed.)

I disagree with your assertion that those were solid moves. They were terrible. If you want to say it has nothing to do with his daughter’s passing - so be it. But Gomez was terrible and so was Gionta. He let everyone walk for no return… made no sense whatsoever.

Getting Cammaleri was good. Everything else was him going off the deep end.