TSN 690 and Other Montreal Based Media (Part 10)

[Runner77]

the Bergevin stuff is pretty funny. Everyone betrayed by the equipment guy who was 'spying' for three decades! lol
Says bergevin should never have been a GM, was best suited for an advisery role; had no interpersonal skills, required anger management etc...
a perfect black-hawks alumni!

The equipment guy who made sure not to level any criticism towards Geoff Molson and ownership, during those years that it appeared to me, Geoff fashioned himself as a hockey executive and who played a key role in the decision making of hockey ops.

I’m assuming no criticism either toward Serge Savard and the selection committee that Bergevin fooled during the hiring process. Obviously, anyone can be wrong however even without Bergevin having proven anything, ownership chose to reward Bergevin with a 5 year contract extension while GMs like Stan Bowman who had won Stanley Cups was only offered a 3-year extension by the Hawks. Someone was asleep at the wheel.

Add to that how during the season that the team had cratered, Geoff vowed to leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of what caused it to fail so miserably and added insult to injury by assigning the task of finding out to Bergevin who played the largest role in the disaster.

Bergevin in turn, extended, promoted and/or provided contract raises to individuals in his immediate entourage without a stringent review process. There was little to no accountability.

If Gervais is now sniping at Bergevin’s childish ways, then he should have also pointed to Geoff for foolishly extending Bergevin’s contract for a longer term than the market standard of the day and for allowing that “adolescent” to wield his wrath and let his emotions cloud his judgment.

If I’m not mistaken, Bergevin received another contract extension before his last contract was in its final year but he chose not to avail himself of it.

Some pretty juicy accounts and character assassinations in Gervais’ book from all the excerpts I’ve read so far, however he made damn sure not to bite the hands that fed him during his 35-year career and who continue to grant him privileged access to the Bell Center. I can’t say I’m blaming him for that (most would have done the same in his place) but as an outside observer, it’s an incomplete picture to me without ownership and Geoff in particular, being brought to bear their share of responsibility.

If the equipment guy was so close as to be privy to Bergevin’s idiosyncracies and shortcomings, it’s not a stretch to believe that he must have known and witnessed first hand how much of a putz Geoff is and how big a role he played in the whole shit show that was the prior regime.

 

[HuGo Sham]

The equipment guy who made sure not to level any criticism towards Geoff Molson and ownership, during those years that it appeared to me, Geoff fashioned himself as a hockey executive and who played a key role in the decision making of hockey ops.

I’m assuming no criticism either toward Serge Savard and the selection committee that Bergevin fooled during the hiring process. Obviously, anyone can be wrong however even without Bergevin having proven anything, ownership chose to reward Bergevin with a 5 year contract extension while GMs like Stan Bowman who had won Stanley Cups was only offered a 3-year extension by the Hawks. Someone was asleep at the wheel.

Add to that how during the season that the team had cratered, Geoff vowed to leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of what caused it to fail so miserably and added insult to injury by assigning the task of finding out to Bergevin who played the largest role in the disaster.

Bergevin in turn, extended, promoted and/or provided contract raises to individuals in his immediate entourage without a stringent review process. There was little to no accountability.

If Gervais is now sniping at Bergevin’s childish ways, then he should have also pointed to Geoff for foolishly extending Bergevin’s contract for a longer term than the market standard of the day and for allowing that “adolescent” to wield his wrath and let his emotions cloud his judgment.

If I’m not mistaken, Bergevin received another contract extension before his last contract was in its final year but he chose not to avail himself of it.

Some pretty juicy accounts and character assassinations in Gervais’ book from all the accounts I’ve read so far, however he made damn sure not to bite the hands that fed him during his 35-year career and who continue to grant him privileged access to the Bell Center. I can’t say I’m blaming him for that (most would have done the same in his place) but as an outside observer, it’s an incomplete picture to me without ownership and Geoff in particular, being brought to bear their share of responsibility.

If the equipment guy was so close as to be privy to Bergevin’s idiosyncracies and shortcomings, it’s not a stretch to believe that he must have known and witnessed first hand how much of a putz Geoff is and how big a role he played in the whole shit show that was the prior regime.

very well said and I completely agree with you concerning Molson

 

[the]

The equipment guy who made sure not to level any criticism towards Geoff Molson and ownership, during those years that it appeared to me, Geoff fashioned himself as a hockey executive and who played a key role in the decision making of hockey ops.

I’m assuming no criticism either toward Serge Savard and the selection committee that Bergevin fooled during the hiring process. Obviously, anyone can be wrong however even without Bergevin having proven anything, ownership chose to reward Bergevin with a 5 year contract extension while GMs like Stan Bowman who had won Stanley Cups was only offered a 3-year extension by the Hawks. Someone was asleep at the wheel.

Add to that how during the season that the team had cratered, Geoff vowed to leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of what caused it to fail so miserably and added insult to injury by assigning the task of finding out to Bergevin who played the largest role in the disaster.

Bergevin in turn, extended, promoted and/or provided contract raises to individuals in his immediate entourage without a stringent review process. There was little to no accountability.

If Gervais is now sniping at Bergevin’s childish ways, then he should have also pointed to Geoff for foolishly extending Bergevin’s contract for a longer term than the market standard of the day and for allowing that “adolescent” to wield his wrath and let his emotions cloud his judgment.

If I’m not mistaken, Bergevin received another contract extension before his last contract was in its final year but he chose not to avail himself of it.

Some pretty juicy accounts and character assassinations in Gervais’ book from all the accounts I’ve read so far, however he made damn sure not to bite the hands that fed him during his 35-year career and who continue to grant him privileged access to the Bell Center. I can’t say I’m blaming him for that (most would have done the same in his place) but as an outside observer, it’s an incomplete picture to me without ownership and Geoff in particular, being brought to bear their share of responsibility.

If the equipment guy was so close as to be privy to Bergevin’s idiosyncracies and shortcomings, it’s not a stretch to believe that he must have known and witnessed first hand how much of a putz Geoff is and how big a role he played in the whole shit show that was the prior regime.

Great post, I share the same feelings as you. Molson barely got criticized for the Bergevin era but he was the main architect. He deserved way more heat than he got.

 

[Whitesnake]

The equipment guy who made sure not to level any criticism towards Geoff Molson and ownership, during those years that it appeared to me, Geoff fashioned himself as a hockey executive and who played a key role in the decision making of hockey ops.

I’m assuming no criticism either toward Serge Savard and the selection committee that Bergevin fooled during the hiring process. Obviously, anyone can be wrong however even without Bergevin having proven anything, ownership chose to reward Bergevin with a 5 year contract extension while GMs like Stan Bowman who had won Stanley Cups was only offered a 3-year extension by the Hawks. Someone was asleep at the wheel.

Add to that how during the season that the team had cratered, Geoff vowed to leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of what caused it to fail so miserably and added insult to injury by assigning the task of finding out to Bergevin who played the largest role in the disaster.

Bergevin in turn, extended, promoted and/or provided contract raises to individuals in his immediate entourage without a stringent review process. There was little to no accountability.

If Gervais is now sniping at Bergevin’s childish ways, then he should have also pointed to Geoff for foolishly extending Bergevin’s contract for a longer term than the market standard of the day and for allowing that “adolescent” to wield his wrath and let his emotions cloud his judgment.

If I’m not mistaken, Bergevin received another contract extension before his last contract was in its final year but he chose not to avail himself of it.

Some pretty juicy accounts and character assassinations in Gervais’ book from all the excerpts I’ve read so far, however he made damn sure not to bite the hands that fed him during his 35-year career and who continue to grant him privileged access to the Bell Center. I can’t say I’m blaming him for that (most would have done the same in his place) but as an outside observer, it’s an incomplete picture to me without ownership and Geoff in particular, being brought to bear their share of responsibility.

If the equipment guy was so close as to be privy to Bergevin’s idiosyncracies and shortcomings, it’s not a stretch to believe that he must have known and witnessed first hand how much of a putz Geoff is and how big a role he played in the whole shit show that was the prior regime.

It's clear Runner. There was just no room for him to blame higher up.

IN the end, he went from guys that were kinda easy to blame. Though the Ducharme assassination is pretty spectacular.

 

[HuGo Sham]

It's clear Runner. There was just no room for him to blame higher up.

IN the end, he went from guys that were kinda easy to blame. Though the Ducharme assassination is pretty spectacular.

ducharme, calling him to complain about the portrayal is next level. He said something like ' i was 3 wins away from the cup' and Gervais said something like, good luck with your next project
lol

 

[Andrei79]

Interesting that our impression of MB being an inept sensitive arrogant ass was spot on. Same with mumbled being, well, an idiot.

 

[Runner77]

Interesting that our impression of MB being an inept sensitive arrogant ass was spot on. Same with mumbled being, well, an idiot.

 

[Runner77]

That book is a must. Plz someone translate most of it and make it download pdf. Or we start a thread about it with parts translated. I'm gonna buy it soon.

There is no plan for an English translation right now but that could change I suppose, if there were sufficient demand.

 

[ReHabs]

@Runner77 Why would the equipment guy even have any access to Molson to begin with? He criticized those he saw and dealt with. He would be out of his depth if he criticized individuals he never encountered or interacted with in a professional basis.

If the equipment guy was so close as to be privy to Bergevin’s idiosyncracies and shortcomings, it’s not a stretch to believe that he must have known and witnessed first hand how much of a putz Geoff is and how big a role he played in the whole shit show that was the prior regime.

Bergevin was famously very close to the lockeroom. Hearing him slam doors and act like a big baby is extremely likely for the equpment guy. Being privy to Molson's talks with Bergevin is far less likely, nigh impossible.

 

[sandviper]

@Runner77 Why would the equipment guy even have any access to Molson to begin with? He criticized those he saw and dealt with. He would be out of his depth if he criticized individuals he never encountered or interacted with in a professional basis.


Bergevin was famously very close to the lockeroom. Hearing him slam doors and act like a big baby is extremely likely for the equpment guy. Being privy to Molson's talks with Bergevin is far less likely, nigh impossible.

I‘m in a similar “tier” as the equipment guy within my own company, maybe higher, and while I don’t have access to the very top of our org structure, I’m quite in tune with decisions made and what goes on.

Obviously, I’ll know a lot more about my direct reports, peers and other directors than I would about the executives in our company.

Sure, Gervais probably didn’t have much interaction with Molson but given his tenure, he’d probably be more aware of behind the scenes than even players and coaches who tend to come and go.

While he probably couldn’t comment directly about Molson’s decisions, he can certainly have opinions of them which based on what I’ve read, he seemed to share.

I interpreted @Runner77 summary (thanks BTW) as Gervais not directly criticizing Molson for his decisions and burning him, which he would be in more of a position to do than say a “regular” fan.

One excerpt I read was Gervais said Bergy was more suited as an assistant GM. That’s sort of an indirect shot at Molson but he stopped short of actually calling Molson out. That’s how I read it.

 

[Team_Spirit]

Interesting that our impression of MB being an inept sensitive arrogant ass was spot on. Same with mumbled being, well, an idiot.

Patches being inconsiderate with the staff and having no friends on the team is disappointing.

Figured he was at least friends with Desharnais, Plekanec, Price and a class act off the ice to get the 'C'

2 guys Gervais hated the most...Cammalleri and Niinimaa. Niinimaa was just a bad person, drunk, inappropriate in public, would have been destroyed in a social media era. And one time, in a hotel lobby, with his dick out...lol.

 

[JianYang]

@Runner77 Why would the equipment guy even have any access to Molson to begin with? He criticized those he saw and dealt with. He would be out of his depth if he criticized individuals he never encountered or interacted with in a professional basis.


Bergevin was famously very close to the lockeroom. Hearing him slam doors and act like a big baby is extremely likely for the equpment guy. Being privy to Molson's talks with Bergevin is far less likely, nigh impossible.

24 CH gave a susprisingly in depth look at the team behind the scenes during Bergevin's first season before it got muzzled in the following seasons.

During that first year, I remember Bergevin very nervously addressing the team before their first game. Pacing back and forth. The nervous energy felt contageous

That was the same game where parros got badly hurt when his head hit the ice. Again, Bergevin was a wreck, looking so helpless and on the edge of breaking down.

You could tell he was very invested with his emotions right from the start, so I'm not surprised if he was seen having tantrums like this.

 

[the]

Gervais was on the radio at 98.5. He said that Alexei Kovalev was a fantastic person and the best player to wear the Habs uniform during his tenure.

 

[sandviper]

24 CH gave a susprisingly in depth look at the team behind the scenes during Bergevin's first season before it got muzzled in the following seasons.

During that first year, I remember Bergevin very nervously addressing the team before their first game. Pacing back and forth. The nervous energy felt contageous

That was the same game where parros got badly hurt when his head hit the ice. Again, Bergevin was a wreck, looking so helpless and on the edge of breaking down.

You could tell he was very invested with his emotions right from the start, so I'm not surprised if he was seen having tantrums like this.

I have no doubt Bergevin cared about the team and most of the players... almost to a fault. I did like his passion at times, and did enjoy watching him be so happy during our playoff run. Guys like Gallagher were clearly loved by Bergy and it's nice seeing that.

At the same time, he was overly passionate perhaps. Probably taking a lot waaayyy too personal. He got really combative also at times, especially when his process or decisions were being questioned. As much as he loved some players, he also perhaps expected too much from others, choosing not to throw out a lifeline and instead expecting people to figure shit out on their own.

So far, it seems HuGo are both finding a happy medium. Of course, the initial rebuild stages is the easiest. Crafting something and making it sustainable is when it gets hard.

 

[Garry Valk]

Patches being inconsiderate with the staff and having no friends on the team is disappointing.

Figured he was at least friends with Desharnais, Plekanec, Price and a class act off the ice to get the 'C'

Reminds me of the Hurley’s fireplace story, Koivu having to apologize, etc.

 

[ReHabs]

Gervais was on the radio at 98.5. He said that Alexei Kovalev was a fantastic person and the best player to wear the Habs uniform during his tenure.

Oh man, this Gervais fella is trying to buy my heart.

 

[The Real Timo]

Not sure where this fits. And how credible, but presumably this guys is taking everything from Pierre Gervais book.
Totally trashes Pacioretty... and good words about Nick.

 

[Lshap]

Patches being inconsiderate with the staff and having no friends on the team is disappointing.

Figured he was at least friends with Desharnais, Plekanec, Price and a class act off the ice to get the 'C'

I'm sure Gervais is telling a version of the truth, but let's be fair – Pacioretty had a leadership role with the Habs and Vegas. It's a stretch to believe he was as disliked and nasty as Gervais paints him to be.

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

I'm sure Gervais is telling a version of the truth, but let's be fair – Pacioretty had a leadership role with the Habs and Vegas. It's a stretch to believe he was as disliked and nasty as Gervais paints him to be.

He said that even the Vegas staff didn't like him

 

[Lshap]

He said that even the Vegas staff didn't like him

I haven't read it, but how does Gervais have credible info on Vegas?

 

[Runner77]

@Runner77 Why would the equipment guy even have any access to Molson to begin with? He criticized those he saw and dealt with. He would be out of his depth if he criticized individuals he never encountered or interacted with in a professional basis.

I think @sandviper did a great job explaining it. You don't need to have immediate or regular contact with a higher up in an organization in order to be cognizant of their actions, especially when they are enabling the very high ranking individual that Gervais has panned in his book. It just seems to me that Gervais was close to a lot of individuals in the organization that provided him with privileged information. He did not witness all that he has written, directly. Similarly, he did not need to directly interact with Molson in order to paint a picture of his behavior.

Gervais did not need to interact with Molson on a professional basis in order to form an opinion or know things. There were plenty of allies within his circle that volunteered information, as is apparent from some of the details he mentions in his book that he was not privy to directly, but that he collected from others.

 

[Runner77]

I was channel surfing on my radio earlier this afternoon, during commercial breaks at the sports stations and turned to CJAD for a few minutes.

A woman and a man were hosting the afternoon show but in replacement of the regular hosts, Natasha and Aaron. They start off by playing a comedy bit that was super lame. Folowing the comedy segment, the woman says that she's the one who chose it.

She follows that up with a news item regarding Bob Dylan. Some library bid and won an auction for love letters that he wrote. She then says that her on-air father is Mitch Melnick. And that is followed by the playing of a Dylan song.

Awful comedy act, Dylan news item, Dylan song. Thanks Mitch Melnick, there isn't enough of that stuff on your show, now your daughter has to replicate the same tired formula.

 

[Adriatic]

I was having my coffee this morning and I had to stop drinking it for the moment I was reading this. I don't know if that was discussed here in a thread but the book of Gervais is revealing. That Réjeanne Tremblay (sorry I feminise his first name, lol) who write about it this morning in JdM. Ducharme didn't lose his lockeroom, he never had it, PK was annoying everyone, PK was in war vs Paccio. Paccio was a bad captain. Therrien hated Paccio. Bergevin had a good flair of hockey but he was horrible in human relations, ups and down, unpredictable, they could hear him shouting and slaming doors, Gervais write he was a teenager. Bergevin would have been better as a gm adviser. Corey Perry should have been signed two years because he was so good mentoring the young players, etc.
Price is a very good person, simple down to earth, loving the nature and his alcool problems never shows, Gervais never saw anything. MSL is the closest to perfection Gervais saw as a coach.

I think I'm gonna buy the book.
Here's the lkink to the JdM R. Trenblay:

Ducharme n’a jamais eu son vestiaire

Dominique Ducharme a texté vendredi à Pierre Gervais pour se défendre et dire que ce qui était écrit dans son livre n’était pas vrai.

www.journaldemontreal.com

That sounds just about right lolol. I will definitely buy a copy of that book. That man must have so many stories after 3 decades with the Habs and I'm sure some of them were even too much for the book.

 

[Runner77]

Congrats to Denis Casavant on his 40-year broadcasting career. Where have all those years gone?

One of the classiest and most versatile broadcasters in both languages, covering a multitude of sports and always with a high level of preparedness and professionalism.

Nicely done and wishing him many more.

 

[Suzuki x 14]

Congrats to Denis Casavant on his 40-year broadcasting career. Where have all those years gone?

One of the classiest and most versatile broadcasters in both languages, covering a multitude of sports and always with a high level of preparedness and professionalism.

Nicely done and wishing him many more.

The morning show on Team990/TSN 690 was never the same for me after he left.
Denis was and still is phenomenal at what he does.
Grew up listening to his Expos calls and loved his input throughout the years on other sports