Bergevin's end of season press conference

[dlbalr]

Today, Bergevin will meet the media (about 15 minutes from now actually) for the 'State of the Union' address. RDS will carry it live online, here's the link for that: http://www.rds.ca/en-direct

Also, congrats to Bergevin for being a GM of the Year finalist which was announced earlier today by the league.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Some quotes from the Marc Bergevin press conference I gleaned off others:

"Team slowed down near the end of the season, especially after clinching with the game against the Toronto. Carey had difficulty against them. All teams have difficult times though and we had a little bit of success near the end. Hard to pinpoint why the team slowed down."

"I believe in balance. Team is small, but fast. You do not change the make up of a team over night. Balance is important. You cannot win with only big guys and you cannot with only small guys. You need balance and character players like Gallagher."

(On why he signed DD early) "Easy to ask in hindsight. He had a good year last year and a good start this year. He has arbitration, the way it works with the points he puts up, arbitration would have given him more or less that money. He did not play well but he will bounce back. I do not have a crystal ball."

"I don't care how big you are, if you have no character you aren't going to succeed."

"29 teams want to get bigger. Everyone is looking for the same type of players. They don't grow on trees. We will look at trades, but I won't trade a young player to fill one specific hole. You build through the draft."

"There is more than one need. Depth is the most important, especially in the playoffs. It doesn't occur at the deadline, you get depth at the draft. I am staying pat on this issue. Depth, character and speed are the most important factor to reach your goal and to win.

"The goal is to eventually to bring Galchenyuk to centre, but his performance will determine when that occurs."

"Carey is still in the process of maturing as a goaltender who are the last players to develop. It's normal in a market like Montreal, Toronto and Philly...it is a hard position to play and really demanding and normal that they feel the pressure. Carey Price is 25, it's important to remember. It's hard to deal with pressure at that age. He showed character when he said he wasn't good enough. If a blueliner has a bad game it's a scoring chance, when a goaltender has a bad stretch it's a goal. I am 150% behind Carey Price."

"Tomas Kaberle is a true professional. We will look to trade him before buying him out. We are not there yet."

"You don't build a championship team through free agency."

"It's a working progress with PK Subban."

"(Louis Leblanc) took a step back."

"The player who made the biggest progress in Hamilton was Nathan Beaulieu."

[dlbalr]

One other thing worth noting from his presser is that Emelin hasn't had his ACL surgery yet, the swelling hasn't come down enough for them to do it yet. At this point expecting him to be ready day 1 next season is looking more and more unrealistic.

[Meller93]

If Emilen's injury is real bad I'll be really bummed about that.. He was a huge part of the team this year. We missed his physicality on the back end a lot.

I'm wondering too, did Gionta's injure the same bicep as last season? If so I'm worried about the strength he has left in that arm.

[dlbalr]

If Emilen's injury is real bad I'll be really bummed about that.. He was a huge part of the team this year. We missed his physicality on the back end a lot.

I'm wondering too, did Gionta's injure the same bicep as last season? If so I'm worried about the strength he has left in that arm.

It's an ACL tear for Emelin, that qualifies as significant. As for Gionta, it's not the same bicep.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

This has probably been discussed before, but - is Emelin's injury likely to compromise him, or is recovery pretty much 100% these days?

[Trizzak]

Some quotes from the Marc Bergevin press conference I gleaned off others:

"29 teams want to get bigger. Everyone is looking for the same type of players. They don't grow on trees. We will look at trades, but I won't trade a young player to fill one specific hole. You build through the draft."

The question preceding this response was embarrassing. Whoever asked the question seems to think the answer to the team woes is "just replace the small players with big players with the same talent!"

Damn, why didn't Bergevin think of that!?

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

I'm a little surprised he admitted to being a "small team." I don't think that's a true as people think it is...maybe I'm wrong.

It's slightly disconcerting that Montreal seems to be getting to Price. Complaining that he can't buy groceries, that he lives like "a hobbit"...a bit worrisome. Still, he signed a 6-year deal, so he can't be TOO dismayed by it all.

In terms of the bigger picture, I love what MB said, constantly emphasizing character over size, stressing the draft, rejecting quick fixes, prioritizing building from within and constructing a long-term contender, not just a one-year lunge for the prize. This guy clearly has a vision and the discipline to stand by it.

[JGC21]

While I agree that character players are important, having a team full of Gallagher's won't win you the Cup. Eventually you need big guys, especially on defense, to shut other teams down. Tinordi stays up next year, Diaz gets traded to make room for another hulking defenseman.

[brobin]

I read that as him being realistic that getting big, fast, and talented is very difficult and everyone wants those players. Doesn't mean he doesn't want a few like that in the lineup. I also think big but slow doesn't help either. It is definitely about balance, but I am sure in private he would admit he would like to get bigger if he could.

Remember that if you are doing it through the draft there is little short term help in the system, which comes from the drafting long before he showed up. It will take time to add some grit and size. He did well with Prust, so so with Armstrong. I look forward to,his moves this summer. He certainly cleared the cap space to make a move.

[HabsWEST]

This has probably been discussed before, but - is Emelin's injury likely to compromise him, or is recovery pretty much 100% these days?

ACL surgery has advanced to such a point that doesn't impact performance. The key is the athletes strength before and after surgery and how he works to get back at it. Quite often its all mental and that first impact and being prepared.

I would look at a January return time frame, if he is ahead of the game maybe December.

From MB's press conference, if there is still swelling a month after the injury is little concerning ( meniscus-cartilage damage?? )

A month without any strengthening or using is muscle groups in area will prolong recovery ( why I am saying January ).

I suffered my ACL injury during soccer. I had the same surgeon as Pavel Bure's ortho. Surgeon, it took me about 10 months, but without the benefit of all the facilities Emelin's will have access to.

I had a cadaver ligament done-allograft ACL surgery-. Which gets you to recovery that much quicker,without cutting into your hamstring or patella ( the other 2 common self donor sights ).

Allograft seems to be the prefer method these days given length of recovery and why I chose it as well.

GALCHENYUK was back in 6 months which is really amazing and a credit to his mental strength and work ethic, and working out. This must be seen as the exception. ( plus he did have his surgery soon after).

Been involved with and around ACL injuries for last 15 years, and the recent dramatic improvements in surgery. There isn't reason why an athlete shouldn't go back to past performance, BUT ITS UP TO THE ATHLETE TO PUT IN THE WORK TO RECOVER MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY.

Plan on January return anything earlier is a bonus.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

ACL surgery has advanced to such a point that doesn't impact performance. The key is the athletes strength before and after surgery and how he works to get back at it. Quite often its all mental and that first impact and being prepared.

I would look at a January return time frame, if he is ahead of the game maybe December.

From MB's press conference, if there is still swelling a month after the injury is little concerning ( meniscus-cartilage damage?? )

A month without any strengthening or using is muscle groups in area will prolong recovery ( why I am saying January ).

I suffered my ACL injury during soccer. I had the same surgeon as Pavel Bure's ortho. Surgeon, it took me about 10 months, but without the benefit of all the facilities Emelin's will have access to.

I had a cadaver ligament done-allograft ACL surgery-. Which gets you to recovery that much quicker,without cutting into your hamstring or patella ( the other 2 common self donor sights ).

Allograft seems to be the prefer method these days given length of recovery and why I chose it as well.

GALCHENYUK was back in 6 months which is really amazing and a credit to his mental strength and work ethic, and working out. This must be seen as the exception. ( plus he did have his surgery soon after).

Been involved with and around ACL injuries for last 15 years, and the recent dramatic improvements in surgery. There isn't reason why an athlete shouldn't go back to past performance, BUT ITS UP TO THE ATHLETE TO PUT IN THE WORK TO RECOVER MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY.

Plan on January return anything earlier is a bonus.

Amazing post. Thanks.

Hopefully Emelin has the right character makeup to both do the necessary work and not let it gnaw at his psyche. As the playoffs revealed, he is a MUCH more important player than we realized. (Say, what is it with us losing key defencemen to catastrophic injury anyway? )

[sakiqc]

Thanks for the quotes MoLG, and good post HabsWEST

Congrats to Bergevin for being nominate for GM of the year.

[Guest Stogey24]

I'm a little surprised he admitted to being a "small team." I don't think that's a true as people think it is...maybe I'm wrong.

It's slightly disconcerting that Montreal seems to be getting to Price. Complaining that he can't buy groceries, that he lives like "a hobbit"...a bit worrisome. Still, he signed a 6-year deal, so he can't be TOO dismayed by it all.

In terms of the bigger picture, I love what MB said, constantly emphasizing character over size, stressing the draft, rejecting quick fixes, prioritizing building from within and constructing a long-term contender, not just a one-year lunge for the prize. This guy clearly has a vision and the discipline to stand by it.

Where did you hear that about price? That scares me a bit.

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I wouldn't worry about anything Price said. He's a country boy adjusting still to living in Montreal.

[Guest Stogey24]

Yeah, that's true.

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

Here's Price. http://www.faceoff.com/sports/hockey/montreal-canadiens/Montreal+Canadiens+goalie+Carey+Price+faces/8374106/story.html

Draw your own conclusions, but I wouldn't be panicking about it. He definitely comes off as someone who sees himself as still learning, though.

[habs rule]

While I agree that character players are important, having a team full of Gallagher's won't win you the Cup. Eventually you need big guys, especially on defense, to shut other teams down. Tinordi stays up next year, Diaz gets traded to make room for another hulking defenseman.

And I think his point was a team full of hal gills won't either or chara for that matter

[JMMR]

And I think his point was a team full of hal gills won't either or chara for that matter

I'll tell you what though i'd take 5 Milan Lucics on my team

[habs rule]

I'll tell you what though i'd take 5 Milan Lucics on my team

Did I miss something? when did Lucic become such a star? Too much of anything is a bad thing and that is what MB is trying to say. A well balanced team can do it all. Having 5 guys like Lucic who can take stupid penalties at any time or place may not be the answer. I mean there has been talk of the Bruins getting rid of him.

[JMMR]

Did I miss something? when did Lucic become such a star? Too much of anything is a bad thing and that is what MB is trying to say. A well balanced team can do it all. Having 5 guys like Lucic who can take stupid penalties at any time or place may not be the answer. I mean there has been talk of the Bruins getting rid of him.

If the Habs could have 3 lines with 1 Lucic and 1 line with 2 the Habs would be unstoppable.

Sure they would take some penalty's but in the playoffs for the most part they would get away with murder.

Opposing teams defencemen would be hobbled after 2 or 3 games.

Milan is the best power forward in the NHL!

[Machine of Loving Grace]

Five Lucic's = 35 goals

Desharnais + Gionta + Ryder = 40 goals

[habs rule]

"Milan is the best power forward in the NHL!"

Really? I wonder if we could take a pole on that? I think he was one of the best last year and the year before but he did not have a good year, 27 points? 7 goals?

Thanks molg

[Kiwihab]

While I agree that character players are important, having a team full of Gallagher's won't win you the Cup. Eventually you need big guys, especially on defense, to shut other teams down. Tinordi stays up next year, Diaz gets traded to make room for another hulking defenseman.

MB only said hes looking for guys with character, like Gallagher, you have extrapolated that to mean that only small guys have character. He has stated he wants a balanced team of size and speed, but with a common denominator of character. That's my interpretation at least. In summary, you don't have to be small to have character.

[tebo64]

Agree, Prust has character!