Jump to content

Grade Marc Bergevin's first year


dlbalr

Recommended Posts

One of these days (once I stop procrastinating) I'm going to do an evaluation article on Marc Bergevin's first year as GM. In evaluating him, I'm going to review and grade the decisions made in terms of trades, signings, hirings, etc. Here are some of the key discussion points (I won't give away all of them so there are some surprises when you read the article):

- Hiring of Michel Therrien (Therrien picked his assistants so I'll stay away from commenting on those)

- Hiring of Sylvain Lefebvre, Donald Dufresne, and Vincent Riendeau as Hamilton's coaching staff

- Signings of Brandon Prust, Francis Bouillon, and Colby Armstrong

- The Cole-Ryder swap

With those in mind, how would you rate the new GM's first year?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I personally think he had a good year. He came in with the idea that Montreal won't be built in a year, so he made some what looked like minor moves that turned out really well. The addition of Prust (maybe overpaid) But still a great move. Prust has turned out to be a real leader on the team through his actions more than words. This is a never say die kind of guy. Ryder for Cole was done with an eye to future cap, and brought some nice benefits early on when Ryder was scoring and playing well, and in the end the cap move was the right thing to do. Cole appeared like he did not want to be here so MB moved him and got value in return. Boullion played well and at what he costs he is a good interim measure till we get the defense firmed up. Armstrong was a useful player at times but not for the long term. He will be moving on. The signing of MT looks like a stroke of genius at this time but I must hedge my bets by saying he has a 3 year contract that I doubt will be renewed, I won't comment on the Dogs coaches as I don't really know what we can say after the type of season it was. Due to the lockout they got hammered by NHL talent laden teams, that wont occur again so I say let's not pass judgement yet till we see what a real year looks like. I have great hopes for MB but I think this was a feel 'em out kind of year that went really well until the end collapse. I believe he will be making some serious moves this off season and look forward to it. The only really questionable move he made was resigning DD, but as he said DD has arbitration rights and was going to get at least the same amount, maybe more so he took the known quantity instead of the unknown. Who knows maybe DD will wake up and MB will look like a genius. Ya always gotta cheer for that little guy that just doesn't give up. MB is looking to have a team full of guys who have character and will chew through nails to win a cup. I like that idea. :habslogo:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiring of Therrien: B. He has been a great head coach in some ways and a flawed head coach in others. His use of Subban at the start of the year was sad and his refusal to increase the rookies minutes especially in the playoffs was a mistake. His reliance on Colby Armstrong and Francis Bouillon at times was a head shaker. Otherwise he employed the team offensive and defensive strategies they needed to succeed with their team makeup.

Hiring of other staff in the organization: A. Creating new positions in the front office and adding scouts was a huge need for the team. It's senseless for an organization as big as Montreal to not have dedicated staff for everything. Placing former players like Lapointe, Mellanby and Brisebois in valuable roles and picking up Rick Dudley from Toronto was smart. Not a fan of Sylvain Lefebvre in Hamilton.

Free Agency signings: B. Bouillon has been a good stop gap. Armstrong was good for us due to Leblanc being injured for the season but otherwise I hope we don't re-sign him. Brandon Prust was a runaway smash hit for us and proved he's worth every penny of his contract and more.

Trades: A. Cole for Ryder/3rd was hilarious. Pretty much the trade that got another GM fired . Getting Tokarski for Desjardins was a great trade too. No idea why the Tampa Bay organization is obsessed with that guy. We've got two goalies out of him now (traded Ramo of course). Standing pat at the deadline was the right thing to do.

Contracts: B. The early buyout of Gomez was a great move. Most of the contract signings have been good though a few are suspect (signing Budaj without seeing the market and re-signing Bouillon were mistakes). Time will tell if the short term contract for Subban was the right move or not. If it does establish precedent then it is good. If Galchenyuk's agent laughs at the idea of Galchenyuk taking a lower contract then it was all for naught. I like the respect he has shown for Kaberle.

Overall: B+/A-. More than deserving of a GM of the Year nomination especially seeing this is his first year. I love how he's given the organization an identity and he doesn't back down from silly questions. He has been saying all the right things for the most part (giving more respect to Subban is sorely needed) and while I like how he gives the coach some input on the team I think he might be a little too hand's off. I like his focus on attitude over physical stature. Overall I'm quite happy moving forward. It will be interesting to see how he and the staff handles the draft and how the team handles certain players promotions and departures.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll reserve my evaluation on the day Subban signs his long term deal.

Agreed. I'd also say that the praise for the way MB handled the Subban situation is ridiculous. MB deserves credit for a lot of things, but the way the Subban situation was handled was not one of them.

That could have easily turned into a similar situation as what occurred with O'Reilly in Denver. MB basically gambled that Philly or someone wouldn't through a stupid offer at Subban and got lucky. I've read that the Rangers are worried that a team like the Flyers will target McDonough this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiring of Therrien: B. He has been a great head coach in some ways and a flawed head coach in others. His use of Subban at the start of the year was sad and his refusal to increase the rookies minutes especially in the playoffs was a mistake. His reliance on Colby Armstrong and Francis Bouillon at times was a head shaker. Otherwise he employed the team offensive and defensive strategies they needed to succeed with their team makeup.

I Would give Therrien at least a B+. His use of Subban at the beginning of the season was perfect as PK needed time to learn the system and gel with his teammates due to missing training camp. His reliance on Colby and Frankie B are simply a reflection on their veteran status and history with Therrien. Most coaches will give a reliable veteran the benefit of the doubt over a rookie until the rookie proves they deserve the time. This is how it should be. I do agree that when the ship was sinking against Ottawa that there was no harm in giving the rooks more ice. I think MT handled the rookies very well this season and I expect that their ice time will increase next season.

Hiring of other staff in the organization: A. Creating new positions in the front office and adding scouts was a huge need for the team. It's senseless for an organization as big as Montreal to not have dedicated staff for everything. Placing former players like Lapointe, Mellanby and Brisebois in valuable roles and picking up Rick Dudley from Toronto was smart. Not a fan of Sylvain Lefebvre in Hamilton.

I agree.

Free Agency signings: B. Bouillon has been a good stop gap. Armstrong was good for us due to Leblanc being injured for the season but otherwise I hope we don't re-sign him. Brandon Prust was a runaway smash hit for us and proved he's worth every penny of his contract and more. +1

Trades: A. Cole for Ryder/3rd was hilarious. Pretty much the trade that got another GM fired . Getting Tokarski for Desjardins was a great trade too. No idea why the Tampa Bay organization is obsessed with that guy. We've got two goalies out of him now (traded Ramo of course). Standing pat at the deadline was the right thing to do. +1 Desgardins

Contracts: B. The early buyout of Gomez was a great move. Most of the contract signings have been good though a few are suspect (signing Budaj without seeing the market and re-signing Bouillon were mistakes). Time will tell if the short term contract for Subban was the right move or not. If it does establish precedent then it is good. If Galchenyuk's agent laughs at the idea of Galchenyuk taking a lower contract then it was all for naught. I like the respect he has shown for Kaberle.

Signing Budaj was the right move. He fits the role, he delivered everything you want in a back-up (except in the last game against Ottawa) and he is respected in the room. Also, do harm in resigning Frankie. IF the young guys develop better than expected he slides down to the #7 role and demonstrates a pro- attiude and mentors the young guys.

Overall: B+/A-. More than deserving of a GM of the Year nomination especially seeing this is his first year. I love how he's given the organization an identity and he doesn't back down from silly questions. He has been saying all the right things for the most part (giving more respect to Subban is sorely needed) and while I like how he gives the coach some input on the team I think he might be a little too hand's off. I like his focus on attitude over physical stature. Overall I'm quite happy moving forward. It will be interesting to see how he and the staff handles the draft and how the team handles certain players promotions and departures.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but he exceeded my expectations in every way.

Also, I am not sure if the coaches in Hamilton are the right fit, but I am sure we will all know the answer to that question by the middle of next season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiring of Therrien: B. He has been a great head coach in some ways and a flawed head coach in others. His use of Subban at the start of the year was sad and his refusal to increase the rookies minutes especially in the playoffs was a mistake. His reliance on Colby Armstrong and Francis Bouillon at times was a head shaker. Otherwise he employed the team offensive and defensive strategies they needed to succeed with their team makeup.

Hiring of other staff in the organization: A. Creating new positions in the front office and adding scouts was a huge need for the team. It's senseless for an organization as big as Montreal to not have dedicated staff for everything. Placing former players like Lapointe, Mellanby and Brisebois in valuable roles and picking up Rick Dudley from Toronto was smart. Not a fan of Sylvain Lefebvre in Hamilton.

Free Agency signings: B. Bouillon has been a good stop gap. Armstrong was good for us due to Leblanc being injured for the season but otherwise I hope we don't re-sign him. Brandon Prust was a runaway smash hit for us and proved he's worth every penny of his contract and more.

Trades: A. Cole for Ryder/3rd was hilarious. Pretty much the trade that got another GM fired . Getting Tokarski for Desjardins was a great trade too. No idea why the Tampa Bay organization is obsessed with that guy. We've got two goalies out of him now (traded Ramo of course). Standing pat at the deadline was the right thing to do.

Contracts: B. The early buyout of Gomez was a great move. Most of the contract signings have been good though a few are suspect (signing Budaj without seeing the market and re-signing Bouillon were mistakes). Time will tell if the short term contract for Subban was the right move or not. If it does establish precedent then it is good. If Galchenyuk's agent laughs at the idea of Galchenyuk taking a lower contract then it was all for naught. I like the respect he has shown for Kaberle.

Overall: B+/A-. More than deserving of a GM of the Year nomination especially seeing this is his first year. I love how he's given the organization an identity and he doesn't back down from silly questions. He has been saying all the right things for the most part (giving more respect to Subban is sorely needed) and while I like how he gives the coach some input on the team I think he might be a little too hand's off. I like his focus on attitude over physical stature. Overall I'm quite happy moving forward. It will be interesting to see how he and the staff handles the draft and how the team handles certain players promotions and departures.

THerrian hiring - agree with your rating. At the time I'd given him an F, but MT is better then the coach we had, or the one that blew up in Pittsburgh. I also agree with the criticism of how Subban was used, as well as not giving more time to the rookies. I'd also add using Markov over Subban on the PK as an issue I had with Subban.

Hiring of other staff. I'd give him an B+. I still think not hiring Robinson was a mistake. Robinson is exactly what this team needs, when you consider the age of Subban, Tinordi, Bealieau. I'd also add that the Devisl with him on their staff went to the finals and the Sharks with him as an assistant had their best playoff performance ever.

With respect to Cole trade, I'd give him an A-/B+ again. Not sure how much Cole was shopped, but I still think that even with his contract, Cole should have netted more than Ryder (B+ rationale), being able to move him for a guy who can contribute, given the NTC tempered that a bit (A- rationale)

Gomez contract deserves its own category and should be an A+

OTHER CONTRACTS:

Budaj/Bouillon re-signings. I don't like either and didn't see reason to rush and sign a marginal backup and a 7th dman that was over played this year. IMO that should be his lowest score C-

Subban: Could have been a disaster if someone through stupid money or structured a deal like the Flames did for O'Rielly. If O'Reilly, could have netted that kind of money in year 2, I'm surprised that a team like Philly didn't structure a deal where Subban would have been offered $8M in his second year. I think we could have got Subban on an 8 year deal for $5.5M. Next yea we will be paying $7M+. Score C+

Overall I'd give him an B+ IMO an "A" is Sam Pollack (GM of the year should be called the Sam Pollack award). A- is to close to that, so I wouldn't rate him that high.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You got to give him full marks for a second place finish in the conference, then you can subtract the dismal season of the Bulldogs. I think I would be more confortable once we see what are teams look like this year. My grade for last year therefore must wait and see how he transitions into this year. No doubt in my mind that last year was about laying down the ground work for team building. So far so good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think, provisionally, that we're in good hands. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of any mistakes he made this year other than (inexplicably) not signing Jagr.

Therrien delivered strong results this season. MB appears to have unloaded Cole at just the right moment. He had two modest but solid UFA signings in Bouillon and Armstrong and one tremendous, team-changing acquisition in Prust. (Because Prust was hurt in the playoffs people seem to have forgotten what a difference-maker he was). By all accounts Bergevin knocked it out of the park at the 2012 draft.

Nevertheless, the Cole trade will ultimately only be assessable once we see how MB replaces him on the roster. Right now we're at least one winger short in the top-6. It's all well and good to talk about cap savings, but cap space doesn't win hockey games.

Habs29, we still have no evidence that Robinson would have come here. One thing about Larry, he has never shown any desire to coach in high-pressure settings. He doesn't want to be a head coach, which is one clue to his mindset. He took a sweet, low-pressure position in sunny San Jose. Beyond that, I'm not sure you can say that he would have made Subban or Emelin better than they are. Frankly it's hard to imagine two players who could have progressed better than those two. (In short, good as Big Bird is, we don't appear to have a problem with coaching on the blueline).

As for the Subban contract, it may be that we could have locked up a franchise defenceman long-term at a cut rate if MB had not taken the stand that he did. But remember, MB was widely viewed as setting a precedent for how his regime would deal with RFA contracts in particular and player negotiation in general. The stand he took has cut the knees out from under future blackmailing by RFAs for big fat contracts and in that sense will benefit us in future dealings apart from Subban. And then there is the question of what it would do to PK's psyche to be prematurely over-rewarded. Would he have been as hungry, and therefore as good, if he'd gotten the $6 mil last summer? We can't know, but these things need to be kept in mind.

I'll give Bergevin an "A-." It is, however, way too early to be conclusive about him. You need at least three years to get a bead on a GM, I should think, except in clear-cut pathological cases such as Houle or Gauthier.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think MBs handling of PKs contract was perfect. I want players to be paid what they deserve - and it's my opinion that locking up PK at a discount rate wouldn't REALLY help us. a healthy team is one where no one is overpayed OR underpayed. you get your cap bargains on young achievers (like Gally) or guys just hoping to stay in the league (like Colby). I hope PK gets paid as a Norris finalist should and that he plays like a Norris finalist should. that's what is best for player psyche and team chemistry.

MB gets an A.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Stogey24

It's too bad MB didn't have the opportunity to take this job before Gainey and Gauthier sunk this organization. Tough pill to swallow when ever I watch McDonough play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's too bad MB didn't have the opportunity to take this job before Gainey and Gauthier sunk this organization. Tough pill to swallow when ever I watch McDonough play.

McDonaugh gets pretty overrated by Habs fans. He'd probably be getting the same heat Gorges is getting right now if he was playing for us. Emelin is probably better than him if you compared the two directly. His biggest asset is logging big minutes but Lundqvist still bails him out at times.

Gainey took an organization that was missing the basement due to a hot goalie and turned it into an Eastern Conference leader. Gauthier made some bumbling errors as a mediocre GM but the team still made the Eastern Conference finals under his direction. The team was nowhere near as bad as it gets treated. It was middle of the road with occasional moments of success. Gainey didn't sink the organization any lower than it already was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

McDonaugh gets pretty overrated by Habs fans. He'd probably be getting the same heat Gorges is getting right now if he was playing for us. Emelin is probably better than him if you compared the two directly. His biggest asset is logging big minutes but Lundqvist still bails him out at times.

Gainey took an organization that was missing the basement due to a hot goalie and turned it into an Eastern Conference leader. Gauthier made some bumbling errors as a mediocre GM but the team still made the Eastern Conference finals under his direction. The team was nowhere near as bad as it gets treated. It was middle of the road with occasional moments of success. Gainey didn't sink the organization any lower than it already was.

Yeah, Gainey made mistakes but describing him as an 'organization sinker' is way off base. Even Gauthier did zero long-term damage (indeed, you could argue that the Goat wasn't all that bad in terms of pure hockey decisions; his deeper problem was that he was terrible at people management and organizational practices, which are key parts of a GM's repetoire).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, Gainey made mistakes but describing him as an 'organization sinker' is way off base. Even Gauthier did zero long-term damage (indeed, you could argue that the Goat wasn't all that bad in terms of pure hockey decisions; his deeper problem was that he was terrible at people management and organizational practices, which are key parts of a GM's repetoire).

McDonaugh gets pretty overrated by Habs fans. He'd probably be getting the same heat Gorges is getting right now if he was playing for us. Emelin is probably better than him if you compared the two directly. His biggest asset is logging big minutes but Lundqvist still bails him out at times.

Gainey took an organization that was missing the basement due to a hot goalie and turned it into an Eastern Conference leader. Gauthier made some bumbling errors as a mediocre GM but the team still made the Eastern Conference finals under his direction. The team was nowhere near as bad as it gets treated. It was middle of the road with occasional moments of success. Gainey didn't sink the organization any lower than it already was.

I agree with both of these obviously intelligent hockey guys :habslogo:

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

McDonaugh gets pretty overrated by Habs fans. He'd probably be getting the same heat Gorges is getting right now if he was playing for us. Emelin is probably better than him if you compared the two directly. His biggest asset is logging big minutes but Lundqvist still bails him out at times.

Gainey took an organization that was missing the basement due to a hot goalie and turned it into an Eastern Conference leader. Gauthier made some bumbling errors as a mediocre GM but the team still made the Eastern Conference finals under his direction. The team was nowhere near as bad as it gets treated. It was middle of the road with occasional moments of success. Gainey didn't sink the organization any lower than it already was.

I I was to choose between McDo or Emelin to build a core D squad, I'd take McDonagh. 3 years younger also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I I was to choose between McDo or Emelin to build a core D squad, I'd take McDonagh. 3 years younger also.

Trading McDonagh for a $7-million-dollar bag of pucks was a terrible, terrible decision, and I don't think we need to pretend that McD would not look terrific in a Habs jersey to make ourselves feel better about it. But describing it as 'franchise sinking' is just over the top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Trading McDonagh for a $7-million-dollar bag of pucks was a terrible, terrible decision, and I don't think we need to pretend that McD would not look terrific in a Habs jersey to make ourselves feel better about it. But describing it as 'franchise sinking' is just over the top.

Not saying that either.

In fact, most of you know about it, I was kinda happy about bringing Gomez. He did REALLY well for us at first and was among our very best players during his first playoffs with the Canadien.

I just liked McDonagh a lot as well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not saying that either.

In fact, most of you know about it, I was kinda happy about bringing Gomez. He did REALLY well for us at first and was among our very best players during his first playoffs with the Canadien.

I just liked McDonagh a lot as well...

Hey, as Habs29 will remind you, I was all for acquiring Gomez. Always loved his game, so much speed, panache and playmaking. And it has been long forgotten that he was pretty good in his first season with us. The trade turned into a total disaster, but if only Gomez had not suddenly forgotten how to play hockey - if only he had remained the highly entertaining 50-assist, 60-point playmaking C he'd been for the previous seven or eight years - it would be merely a dubious trade, not an apocalyptically horrendous one. Gainey can certainly be (and was) criticized for trading a promising young talent for a bad contract. But I'm not sure anybody expected Gomez to simply evaporate as an NHL-quality player, nor can Gainey be reasonably criticized for having failed to forsee that. Frankly, it was bullsh*t bad luck, kind of like Markov breaking his leg 400 times in a row.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would I take McDonaugh back? Of course! He's an excellent defenceman.

Should the Gomez trade not included McDonaugh at all? Of course! If Montreal was going to throw a prospect defenceman in that the organization had question marks about (Gauthier allegedly didn't like McD's development and told Gainey such) it should have been David Fischer.

But compare Montreal from 1995-2003 and 2003-2012. One was an organization falling apart. The other was an organization repairing itself into something middle of the road but hardly great. In hindsight there's a thousand things we could point out about fault's for Gainey and we'd even disagree on a lot of them (personally any organization thinking you're going to win a Cup with Koivu and Kovalev as your best players is bonkers but like hell was I saying that then, I got a Kovalev sweater in my closet) but for every flaw, it's quite obvious that Gainey did everything to bring the organization up not down compared to what it was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Stogey24

Sinking organization was the wrong choice of words.

The Gomez trade is up there with one of the worst of all time. Then trading a player mid game, gutless move. Those type of things shake a team up in a bad way. Not to mention the fact that we have thomas kaberle benched all year; taking up space that solid D-man could be filling.

The two buyouts that we were all crossing our fingers the new CBA would create, saved our ass. Those buyouts took so much heat off Guathier. We would have zero cap space right with out the buyouts.

All I'm trying to say is that MB was brought into tough situation.;Left by dumb and dumber.

Edited by Stogey24
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sinking organization was the wrong choice of words.

The Gomez trade is up there with one of the worst of all time. Then trading a player mid game, gutless move. Those type of things shake a team up in a bad way. Not to mention the fact that we have thomas kaberle benched all year; taking up space that solid D-man could be filling.

The two buyouts that we were all crossing our fingers the new CBA would create, saved our ass. Those buyouts took so much heat off Guathier. We would have zero cap space right with out the buyouts.

All I'm trying to say is that MB was brought into tough situation.;Left by dumb and dumber.

Bob Gainey did a pretty good job as GM. The Gomez trade turned out to be a disaster, but like others on here have said, who the hell would have thought he could be that bad that suddenly. The trading of Cammy after the 2nd is nonsense, that was Feaster trying to get all his ducks in a row. How come I never hear anyone critisizing Feaster for that fork up? Gauthier was an mystery and gets blamed for results. Ok but the Kaberle trade was made due to injuries. We had no defenceman left and he was all that was available. Good trade ? NO but he did the best with what he had. Some people sure do like to make it sound worse than it was. :habslogo:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob Gainey did a pretty good job as GM. The Gomez trade turned out to be a disaster, but like others on here have said, who the hell would have thought he could be that bad that suddenly. The trading of Cammy after the 2nd is nonsense, that was Feaster trying to get all his ducks in a row. How come I never hear anyone critisizing Feaster for that fork up? Gauthier was an mystery and gets blamed for results. Ok but the Kaberle trade was made due to injuries. We had no defenceman left and he was all that was available. Good trade ? NO but he did the best with what he had. Some people sure do like to make it sound worse than it was. :habslogo:

Kaberle was traded for Spacek, so I don't see how we had no defensemen left.

But, hey, I still like that trade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Trizzak, you are right I got a little ahead of myself, I thought we gave up a pick but giving up spacek, was better. When I say we had no defenceman I should have clarified that the power play was going nowhere and we were looking for someone to fill Markov's role. Tough to find and we did the best we could.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Stogey24

Cammy being traded in the second was Gauthier getting pay back for the comments that were made regarding the team. The kaberle trade was way too much money to sink into basically a place holder player. Carolina was in their glory getting rid of that 4.5mil boat anchor. Sound worse than it is? When you have a guy making 4.5mil benched all year and through the playoffs. It's pretty bad.

Edited by Stogey24
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...