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Like I've said, it's all about your expectations. Given the core he inherited (and partially dismantled by trading Subban in a lateral move) and the rhetoric about his vaunted five year plan--which indeed he didn't stray from when the team needed one or two pieces to contend--I expect the team to be in contention for the Cup by now, or at least knocking on the door. Instead, in the rearview mirror we have a first round exit, the moral victory of ending the year atop the worst division in hockey, and like Bergevin said himself we "need help everywhere." The same problems persist: a bad powerplay, a prospect pool that includes zero blue chippers, and a center core that is closer to an expansion team than a Cup winner. Perhaps the biggest smack upside the head is the nepotism. Sylvain Lefevbre has made the playoffs once and the team allows him to use the Rocket as a quasi-stopgap job. Trevor Timmons hasn't been a big deal since the Bush administration. Patrice ####ing Briesbois had a job at one point. There's no appreciable player development, and the guy in charge of player development is promoted. And you think the team is on the right track??? Face reality! But it's not on me for judge other fans. For many, including you, Saturday night wins vs Boston/Toronto/Ottawa, a dominant Carey Price, and a sparkling Francophone star like Drouin are more than enough.

We aren't even legitimate contenders yet, he knows that and so do we, what should he be doing? lying about it an making a lavish claim before the season that he expects this team to win a championship just to make you happy? Did David Poile say that about Nashville before the season? Of course not, because no one expected them to get to a cup final and neither did he, Bergevin doesn't expect us to win a cup and neither do we. So why should he set anything but a realistic goal, Make the playoffs, after that anything can happen, as teams have shown time and time again each and every year. Just more unobjective rhetoric, pitch forks out, type of stuff, instead of looking around the league and noticing only 2 teams had even remotely made announcements such as the one you seem to want to see Bergevin making. Two teams made such claims, Pittsburgh and Chicago, one said they would like to repeat, the other said anything less than a cup is a failure for this core, 2 teams who have been the most successful of the past 5 or 6 years, that's it, that's all. Do you honestly believe us in that category? should Bergevin be making the same kind of claims as they do? what about all the other 29 teams, why aren't they doing that? Why is it only Bergevin gets inexplicably attacked for nonsense like being realistic with his expectations and that of the ones he wants to rest on his teams shoulders? Is he the only GM not making "Win a cup or Bust" claims before the season? Should everyone else be on the chopping block then because of that? Maybe we should start calling them all special names Steve YzerTrash, David DumPoile, Ray TraShero, Ken HollandBin, Peter TrashArelli...

So according to this article you've provided, we traded a tier 1 player for a tier 4 player. Are you seeing the light yet?

Allow the promotion of Cunnyworth then tossing him under the bus, was likely a good sign of his character or the lack of a backbone.

He was damn good in 2011. But yes Waite was a great hire. As was Christer Rockstrom. You do realize talking about management hires is a terrible idea when trying to defend Bergevin right? Pretty much every other hire was awful. I liked the hiring of Kirk Muller but it doesn't seem to have changed much. I liked Ramsey and he ended up the only guy let go after the 2016 disaster. Ramage, Lapointe, Churla, Brisebois, Lefebvre, Burke, Mellanby, all trash. He has also kept Timmins long after his expiry date and even gave him a raise. Heck almost forgot Therrien, JJ, and Dan The Man. Also are you trying to credit Bergevin for Price, Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Gallagher, and Subban?

Hey, for the price, even if ends up injured, is worth the risk that he can be a solid 3rd line RW and don't they say he is pretty good defensively, so at least he shouldn't hurt the team when out there. Will need to wait and see if surgery has slowed him up too much though?

check out PK at 8:45 lmao.. the Durant roast was magnificent.

Losing Subban was good for the locker room. Same with Radulov. And Cammalleri. And Gionta. Can't have players who are successful in the playoffs. Makes everyone else look bad.

I don't care what Whack-Mole says or doesn't say. What I care about is that his team has not improved one iota since 2014, and that its prospect pool is nonexistent. Anyone who thinks that that is just Jim Dandy does not seriously want or demand that the team win the Cup.

How so?

Not my point at all. The comment I made is that Bergevin has said on multiple occasions "the goal is to make the playoffs." I can link two examples, one in 2014 and 2017, if needed. I didn't argue that he should say the goal is to win the Stanley Cup. My point was that we can only take him at face value. I view Bergevin's move through the prism of failure because he's a failed GM. I don't think he has a job for more than three years without the core he inherited, and I put him in the same class of Canadian Old Boys that Suck at GMing. The other members are Dave Nonis, Craig McTavish, Cheveldisaster, and Jim Benning.

Nashville has bluechips. Their drafting position has been similar to ours. So tired of endless excuses for a management group that is mediocrity personified. And a GM who decimates the development pipeline does not DESERVE to decade-plus of general managing that you seem to feel is required (of course Serge Savard won a Cup and went to another Final within five years of taking over, but whatever, apparently five-year plans when you inherit a strong bunch of core pieces are now impossible).

What should they be doing differently?

Typically is quite hard to win a cup without making playoffs 1st.