Marc Bergevin 1st interview since being fired

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Nashville wanted to trade Subban the summer after their cup run, so after 1 year they tried to trade him.

That's not a fact, but simply a rumor. Also, the cup run was in his second season in Nashville.

He was their best player in their cup run.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

That's not a fact, but simply a rumor. Also, the cup run was in his second season in Nashville.

He was their best player in their cup run.

Nah, it was his first season there.

The stats say he wasn't and the eye test at the time said he wasn't.

He was definitely an important factor.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

IIRC correctly, Subban had an underwhelming regular season and was an absolute stud in the playoffs when Nashville finished as runner-up.

And yes, Nashville went to the finals in their first year with him. Not second.

 

[Miller Time]

That contract wasn't good

Contract signed by Bergevin... After he completely botched the opportunity to get PK locked in through his prime at 2-3M less/year with his idiotic bridge deal.

Even casual fans could see by then that PK was at worst becoming a high end top 4, but trending toward a clear cut #1 D.

Worst thing is that he didn't even use those two years of very low salary on his young Norris trending dman to aggressively leverage the cap room to bolster the roster.

That bridge deal might well be the worst of Bergevin's numerous management failures.

So, that poster isn't really trolling it's just others view PK in higher regards than it should be, but my f*** he was a dynamic player.

The poster literally stated that PK "became a bum who was a 3rd pairing dman"... That's a nonsense take given the way he performed in Nashville. Injuries certainly caught up to him and reduced his effectiveness, eventually cutting his career short... One year later than Weber, mind you.

 

[Miller Time]

Nah, it was his first season there.

The stats say he wasn't and the eye test at the time said he wasn't.

He was definitely an important factor.

Might want to rewatch the finals... PK was tasked with Crosby primarily during that series IIRC. Eye test from that playoffs situated him squarely as Nashville's most important dman.

 

[CharleyHorse]

The 2017 offseason was of course also the Sergachev for Drouin trade with JD getting his easy peasy 6 year contract. And the Price contract. And after letting Markov AND Radu go, Berg managed to have his contending team sitting on 8-9M in cap space.

That offseason work came after his infamous 2017 trade deadline. Team needs more scoring? Well, too bad, we acquired Ott, King and Martinsen.

After that 2017-18 finished at the bottom of the league that was when Berg 100% should have been shown the door.

The was so sad it was hysterical, Everyone, including Ott, King and Martinsen, was like, WTF? Those guys were healthy scratches on their respective teams, but here they were, traded to a team that would feature them playing in the playoff . Bergevin had never lived up to his nickname, BargainBin, quite like he did with this trade . This said, BargainBin had the right idea - address the need to make the team bigger -but many of us were thinking this should involve big, skilled (or at least somewhat skilled) players, not straight-up goons.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Nah, it was his first season there.

The stats say he wasn't and the eye test at the time said he wasn't.

He was definitely an important factor.

I watched the entire run. Subban Ekholm played the toughest minutes in most games and had a far superior xGF% than Josi-Ellis. You're wrong about both the stats and the eye test.

Also, if they were looking to trade him, it probably had much more to do with his health versus salary than his actual play.

 

[Habs Icing]

Unpopular opinion but underrated GM. Here was a local(French) management talent the hand rushed and made him learn on the job in the biggest market. If he had gotten more experience first he would’ve been better.

I know people will go on about how he sucks and it was old boys club but we literally have 2 GMs and they hired a dude with zero coaching experience to be coach because they’re friends.

The one thing Molson learnt was to put a layer between him and the GM. Best decision made to let someone more hockey focused manage the GM.

Although I agree with much of your post, Bergevin had a huge problem that no amount of nurturing could solve. He didn't (doesn't) know how to build a consistently winning team.

 

[Habs Icing]

Worst person to GM the Habs.

Houle just asked me to hold his beer.

 

[Not The One]

If Bergevin was still our GM and had done the exact same moves that Hughes did the vast majority of people here would be howling for his head. After almost three years the only player that he traded for that is amongst the team's top 10 scorers is Matheson, who was a reclamation project.

The two young players he spent a lot to acquire have six goals and seven assists combined in 44 total games.

Apparently trading IS hard.

 

[FerrisRox]

Worst person to GM the Habs.

Not even close to as bad as Rejean Houle.

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)

He hit with Sergachev and Guhle, too.

 

[nhlfan9191]

That's not a fact, but simply a rumor. Also, the cup run was in his second season in Nashville.

He was their best player in their cup run.

Subban’s first season in Nashville was the SCF run. His second he finished in the top 3 for Norris voting. He fell off a cliff after that.

 

[le_sean]

Tbf, there is nothing appetizing about that particular list of centres, but that doesn’t excuse the point. Who knows who could have been acquired in exchange for PK, some 1sts, and whatever prospects still had value

They are all clearly better than David Desharnais

While we were irrelevant up until the COVID Season, Subban put the Preds on his shoulders for two Seasons straight and was a big part of their 3rd run
When they went to the final against the Pens, he were their best player by far

Has Weber been better after that? Yeah, absolutly
But Subban had AT least equally good Seasons than Weber post Trade, and had a bigger impact IMO

I'd say if someone is trolling here, it's you

To be fair, Subban got to play with Ekholm. Look at what an older Ekholm has done for the game of Evan Bouchard. This is on top of the other pairing having Josi with Ellis.

Weber got to play with such stalwarts as Chiarot, Emelin and Mete. I don’t need to reiterate the crap that was on the other pairings as well.

 

[The Real Timo]

C'mon molson do it. Round 2 let's go

View attachment 937242

YES!!!! Oh man... the entire internet will implode. There are no hamsters that will handle the traffic. so just for that reason alone.

 

[Heffyhoof]

That’s not the intent whatsoever…. but who cares about actual facts

You posted, unprompted, an entire paragraph full of excuses for why MB wasn't able to do certain things during his infamous offseason. You posted nothing else and certainly no clarifying sentences to show your 'intent'. It is clearly a defense of MB, whether you 'intended' or not. Also you clearly did intend as your little 'who cares about actual facts' shows.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

History of hockey trades by general manager Rejean Houle - NHL Trade Tracker

Look at this shit. The idea that Bergevin was worse than Houle is utterly absurd. It's not even close and I think Bergevin was a really crappy GM but a lot of it also has to do with the moves he didn't make when he should of.

The only good trade Houle ever made was Malakhov-Souray and Hackett-Thibault might be somewhat of a wash if we're being generous. The rest is just him getting taken to the cleaners in a multitude of ways. Giving up a top 10 pick for a crappy Linden, giving up the greatest goaltender of all-time, giving up awesome veterans for middling returns or giving up young players who ended up thriving where they got traded to or at another stop (Bure, Tucker, Hoglund) etc.

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I watched the entire run. Subban Ekholm played the toughest minutes in most games and had a far superior xGF% than Josi-Ellis. You're wrong about both the stats and the eye test.

Also, if they were looking to trade him, it probably had much more to do with his health versus salary than his actual play.

Yeah, thar was his first year

I'll give you the pairings, as when I went and checked them it was based on individual rankings where he'd be 1st, 4th, 3rd, 2nd like the other d.

Obviously Irwin and Weber didn't show up any higher than 5th, or 6th.

That team, like a lot of teams were more than the sum of their parts.

Can't imagine it was his health, as he played 82 games the next season and that season was better than his Notris winning season.

Pretty sure it was 32 thoughts that brought up the Preds trying to trade Subban. Nashville tried again after his best season and couldn't. Then the next (at the end of his 3rd season with Nashville) he got dealt for pretty much peanuts.

I think it all had to do with his contract that wouldn't have happened had Bergevin not done the bridge deal, but you can't blame a man for taking however much is offered to him.

The trade to Edmonton would have been better given that it sounds like Draisaitl was 1 part of the deal and Edmonton's 1st with Nurse potentially being there, too. I think the Habs 1st might have gone back the other way.

Ahh well. What could have been

 

[HabzSauce]

YES!!!! Oh man... the entire internet will implode. There are no hamsters that will handle the traffic. so just for that reason alone.

Da bois are going to bring back da cup!!

 

[dinodebino]

Explosive scoop from Martin Leclerc.
EDIT: well, according to him, this is more old news because Dan Brière had told him so when he researched the book on the Flyers GM.

 

[EXPOS123]

If Bergevin was still our GM and had done the exact same moves that Hughes did the vast majority of people here would be howling for his head. After almost three years the only player that he traded for that is amongst the team's top 10 scorers is Matheson, who was a reclamation project.

The two young players he spent a lot to acquire have six goals and seven assists combined in 44 total games.

Apparently trading IS hard.

What are you talking about?

Newhook had 15 goals in 55 games last year

Sure he has started off slow this but I bet he finishes with 20

At a cost of #31 and 37 overall picks , that’s a win in my books.

Dach suffered massive injuries that i am sure subconsciously are still affecting him. Let’s see what happens the rest of the year but regardless, trading an overrated Romanov for him is something most of us would have done

Toffoli for Heinnann and a first is a win not to mention turning Monohan into 2 first picks (with one ending up being Hage)

Sorry but please don’t lump Hughes with Bozovin

 

[abo9]

Again, if you were expecting he was going to blast himself in an interview, I don't know what to tell you….

I don't think anyone expected that. Some might have expected him to recognize his mistakes a bit more.

There's a spectrum between patting himself on the back for a job well done and blasting himself.

 

[Shred]

If Bergevin was still our GM and had done the exact same moves that Hughes did the vast majority of people here would be howling for his head. After almost three years the only player that he traded for that is amongst the team's top 10 scorers is Matheson, who was a reclamation project.

The two young players he spent a lot to acquire have six goals and seven assists combined in 44 total games.

Apparently trading IS hard.

Dach is tied for 10th and Heineman is 1 pt behind. Monahan was a top 5 scorer on this team for 2 years while also bringing back 2 first round picks. I don't think anyone would complain if Bergevin had managed something like that.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

f*** this moron for the way he dealt with Markov.

You spelled Radulov wrong

 

[expy]

Bergevin essentially bragging that he didn't trade a first round pick his whole time here is legit hilarious. Not only did he (for Dvorak.. thanks Marc) but the ones he held onto the team didn't develop at all. Caufield (where he got lucky) and Guhle, that's it.

One he also traded for One of the Worst Trades in Canadiens' History (Drouin) scored the game winner against us the other night!

 

[BLONG7]

History of hockey trades by general manager Rejean Houle - NHL Trade Tracker

Look at this shit. The idea that Bergevin was worse than Houle is utterly absurd. It's not even close and I think Bergevin was a really crappy GM but a lot of it also has to do with the moves he didn't make when he should of.

The only good trade Houle ever made was Malakhov-Souray and Hackett-Thibault might be somewhat of a wash if we're being generous. The rest is just him getting taken to the cleaners in a multitude of ways. Giving up a top 10 pick for a crappy Linden, giving up the greatest goaltender of all-time, giving up awesome veterans for middling returns or giving up young players who ended up thriving where they got traded to or at another stop (Bure, Tucker, Hoglund) etc.

Known fact............Houle was the front man or a puppet for a one Mr Ronald Corey, this is who you are really talking about.
So, to recap, Houle was a puppet who was told to reduce payroll to less than 30 M, and Bergevin a clown, with the ability to spend to a cap upwards 70-80M.

It's a very close race............one was dealt a bad hand, and it wasn't Bergevin.