Speculation: Bergevin to hit Panic Button in MTL

[BLNY]

This is

I don't want Bergevin, Dudley, Carriere, or any of the patronage appointments that Berg has made making any decisions about the future. I want Molson to grow a spine, or get pressured from the majority ownership to make changes.

1. Call Scotty Bowman and ask him to come in and be something similar to what Lou Lamoreillo is in Toronto.
2. Extensive GM search. Julien Brisebois would be on my list.
3. Sit down with coaching staff. If you don't think Julien is the guy, dump him. I don't care if he's got 4 years left.
4. Fire the entire pro scouting department.
5. Remove Lefebvre from Laval. Five years of futility and losing.

 

[Braunbaer]

its not easy for Montreal to do what Toronto did. Montreal has 2 atrocious contracts in price and weber which will be nearly impossible to move. also, toronto has a fantastic gm, while mtl has a terrible gm.

Also ... who really wants to tank for over a decade?

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Just fire Bergevin and bring in the best guy to turn the ship around. Then we can deal with player movement. We have so few actual assets because drafting and player development under Bergevin has been bad. We can’t do much. We have a 10.5m goalie who’ll prevent us from actually bottoming our. So let’s hire a competent GM and management group to turn the ship around somewhat and then deal with the player issues and drafting/developing assets then.

IMO, the organization is already better off as soon as Bergevin isn’t there.

 

[Pyrophorus]

I don't want Bergevin, Dudley, Carriere, or any of the patronage appointments that Berg has made making any decisions about the future. I want Molson to grow a spine, or get pressured from the majority ownership to make changes.

1. Call Scotty Bowman and ask him to come in and be something similar to what Lou Lamoreillo is in Toronto.
2. Extensive GM search. Julien Brisebois would be on my list..

Lou is the GM in Toronto. Everyone thinks he's a figurehead, just because he's not the only voice anymore.
Why search if you have one in Scotty?
What would the Hawks want?

 

[ManofSteel55]

MB won't be making anymore trades. I figure he's fired if the Habs lose in Anaheim.

Nope, he'll fire his coach first and that will buy a bit of time for him.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

If you wanted Duchene then Sergachev should have been retained as a bargaining chip.

Exactly Sakic wanted Sergachev in any deal for Duchene, And no the Habs don't have the D man that Sakic would be seeking.

 

[Trapper]

Nope, he'll fire his coach first and that will buy a bit of time for him.

He's already played his fire the coach get out of jail free card.
This is his assembly, if he tailored the team for himself and Therrien, Julien has his hands tied without his kind of personnel vs. his coaching style.

 

[V13]

Which is the worst position a team can be in. Not bad enough to tank and draft in the top 3 but not good enough to contend seriously.

Teams who finish at the bottom of the standings actually have some hope because they will draft high. Teams whi fnish in the 9-11th range not so much

 

[torniojaws]

Buhahahahaaa... Roy will be the last person in the NHL circles to join the Habs in any capacity.

 

[Paneerboy]

As we've seen this past draft lottery, you don't need to finish bottom-5 in the league to acquire a top draft pick. Sometimes all it takes is a little luck.

If the Habs can't deal Carey Price for a strong return, then keep him. It's not a necessity to trade your top goalie in order to refresh the team. Look at New Jersey. There will be a significant cap hit difference but dealing away other contracts will free up the space difference.

Heck, if the Habs trend up again quickly enough, then you got a Price who's still in his early 30's and could very well have an elite goaltender left in the tank. The problem will be in his later 30's and how Price ages.

 

[Ken Wreggets revenge]

This is how I suspect it will all go down:

At some point, barring a drastic turnaround in MTL's fortunes, one or more of Pacioretty and Galchenyuk will be traded. The return is likely to be Duchene. These players will be the base of any deal. Bergevin will make other personnel changes in a desperate bid to improve the team and keep his job. Weber will be given the C.

Bergevin's firing is inevitable however, and will come this season or off-season. The poor results on the ice, combined with poor asset management, all but guarantee MB's departure. The loss of players such as Radulov, Subban, Markov, Emelin, Sergachev and others has helped to narrow the cup window. A lack of prospects and draft picks in the cupboard leaves the organization and fans wanting.

Probably Roy will become the new GM, mostly because he's French, but also because he's a storied, former star goaltender. Julien will remain the coach. The hiring of this new GM will signal the commencement of a much-needed rebuild and the pursuit of new priorities.

Because MTL has some great pieces to build around, the rebuild will be accelerated. A complete tear-down is possible but unlikely. Price, Weber, Drouin and Duchene will be among the core players to remain in MTL. Habs will bottom out this year and get a good player at the draft. It's expected the new GM will make more inspired and wise decisions to turn the organization around.

It's time we fans embrace what is to come. If we're lucky, it will be similar to what has happened in Toronto.

If the Habs decide to rebuild, which I think they should, it's going to require more than just a GM change. It needs to start with ownership changing the culture in the front office by hiring the most qualified person available rather than the most qualified francophone or former player from glory days of yore. Simply changing GMs, hoarding young talent and tanking isn't a guarantee of future success through rebuild if the front office was hired for any reason other than being the most qualified. A recent example of former glory failure would be the Edmonton Oilers and a current example would be the Avalanche.

I'm not sure if this is true, but I've read that a prerequisite of being hired as a GM in Montreal is the need to be bilingual. If true, that is a pretty big mistake that needs to be rectified. Could you imagine if an NHL team or even the league itself had denied players like Pavel Datsyuk or Evgeni Malkin because they couldn't speak English when they entered the league. Insanity.

Only after installing a proper front office, will the Habs be able to rebuild properly. If the Habs do embrace a rebuild, then Price and Webber need to be traded. They are 30 and 32 years old this year and will combine for $18,357,143 in the Habs cap space for the next eight years thanks to Bergevin. It would be shocking to see Bergevin trade either of those two before he's fired as trading away Price before the ridiculous contract he gave him even kicks in would make him look very foolish. The same applies to any trade of Webber because whatever the return for Webber is, it won't be as much as he paid. A new GM will not only be free of such issues but moving them will actually be expected. It happens all the time, the new guy comes in and dumps the high priced, aging players. Just freeing up that cap space will be a win for the next regime regardless of what comes back, which should be picks and/or prospects as well as short term, bad contracts to maximize the return of the picks and prospects. Tavares and Duchene and flashy and exciting but don't fit with a rebuild.

 

[grapes55]

Also ... who really wants to tank for over a decade?

Nah leafs were just bad for 10 years. We really only started "tanking' halfway through 2014/15

 

[Ciao]

@Ken: Trading Price and Weber seems like a very tall order. Is that doable?

 

[LaP]

If you wanted Duchene then Sergachev should have been retained as a bargaining chip.

100% sure Sergachev was offered.

Duchene is the type of players MB dreams about at night. If he was ready to offer Sergachev and a conditional 2nd for Drouin no doubt he offered Sergachev for Duchene. Sakic just wanted too much.

 

[bleuetbio]

I feel that MB cannot have the right to trade our 1st pick and should has to consult Molson to get his agreement for any trade at this point. Molson should actually study how it works out for us. Tickets resales price are now lower than regular tickets, this is pretty alarming for his industry for years to come. He has to take the right decision. Tickets are basicly already sold for this year, so he can afford to lose money for the next two years. I think he cant risk another all-in move. He's not fool enough to believe that we are in a cup window.

Many talk about Bergevin being fired at game 15 to 20. Then, start a fast rebuild by selling Pacioretty, Price and Weber for futurettes, hit the bottom and play the Dahlin card. Do the same next year and see if we can stand up from there.

 

[HOPE]

100% sure Sergachev was offered.

Duchene is the type of players MB dreams about at night. If he was ready to offer Sergachev and a conditional 2nd for Drouin no doubt he offered Sergachev for Duchene. Sakic just wanted too much.

i totally agree with you that it was probaly offered and deny, but im realy happy it got denied, sakic probably regrets it and at the point of their career even if Duchene is the natural center i much rather have drouin!.

 

[HOPE]

I feel that MB cannot have the right to trade our 1st pick and should has to consult Molson to get his agreement for any trade at this point. Molson should actually study how it works out for us. Tickets resales price are now lower than regular tickets, this is pretty alarming for his industry for years to come. He has to take the right decision. Tickets are basicly already sold for this year, so he can afford to lose money for the next two years. I think he cant risk another all-in move. He's not fool enough to believe that we are in a cup window.

Many talk about Bergevin being fired at game 15 to 20. Then, start a fast rebuild by selling Pacioretty, Price and Weber for futurettes, hit the bottom and play the Dahlin card. Do the same next year and see if we can stand up from there.

honestly, unless your the penguins, caps or something you should never trade your first before clinching a playoffs spot.

 

[Redder Winger]

What would Montreal offer for Frans Nielsen

 

[Black hat blue eyes]

Jvr, Bozak and Rosen for Galch.

Instant offense with chemistry built in, just add a rw. It's great for cap. As both ufa at end of season. Rosen, young mobile Dman.

 

[BigHabs]

What would Montreal offer for Frans Nielsen

At this point Nielsen probably wouldn't be able to help what woes the Habs. He is decent. Just the Habs are missing a top 6 center to go along with a top 6 winger on the right and left side IMO. The defense can't move the puck well enough to get the forwards moving. Secondly, Plekanec would have to go in order to make it work as Drouin and Danault play center. Plekanec is basically here until the deadline or walk at the end of the season. I have a feeling after the season if it goes downhill fast the Habs will try to go with a bit more youth and speed.

Hemsky
Plekanec
Mitchell

Will all be gone on offence.

 

[Ken Wreggets revenge]

@Ken: Trading Price and Weber seems like a very tall order. Is that doable?

Bad contracts get traded all the time. I think a savvy GM could find something for those two. There are definitely GMs out there to be hoodwinked. I could see one potential scenario, after the season ends and it becomes apparent that Tavares isn't going to resign. A knee-jerk reaction from a frantic Garth Snow as he pulls the trigger on a deal for Price in a attempt to either convince Tavares to resign or replace his star power to appease fans. I could see a deal with the Isles having to include an Andrew Ladd (5 yrs, 5.5M cap hit) or Johnny Boychuk(4 yrs, 6M cap hit) in order to get higher end picks and/or prospects. Both of them have less term, a lower cap hit and will be coming off the books around the time that any of the Habs high end picks from this draft or next will be due for a raise on their entry level deals. With an extra 1st rd and 2nd rd pick in this years draft, I think Snow could be talked out of one of his 1st rd picks, if not more.


EDIT: The biggest hurdle in any trade with the Isles would likely be convincing Price to waive his no trade clause. I can only assume NY is on his list of 15 teams he can veto a trade to.

 

[cafelatte]

This is how I suspect it will all go down:

At some point, barring a drastic turnaround in MTL's fortunes, one or more of Pacioretty and Galchenyuk will be traded. The return is likely to be Duchene. These players will be the base of any deal. Bergevin will make other personnel changes in a desperate bid to improve the team and keep his job. Weber will be given the C.

Bergevin's firing is inevitable however, and will come this season or off-season. The poor results on the ice, combined with poor asset management, all but guarantee MB's departure. The loss of players such as Radulov, Subban, Markov, Emelin, Sergachev and others has helped to narrow the cup window. A lack of prospects and draft picks in the cupboard leaves the organization and fans wanting.

Probably Roy will become the new GM, mostly because he's French, but also because he's a storied, former star goaltender. Julien will remain the coach. The hiring of this new GM will signal the commencement of a much-needed rebuild and the pursuit of new priorities.

Because MTL has some great pieces to build around, the rebuild will be accelerated. A complete tear-down is possible but unlikely. Price, Weber, Drouin and Duchene will be among the core players to remain in MTL. Habs will bottom out this year and get a good player at the draft. It's expected the new GM will make more inspired and wise decisions to turn the organization around.

It's time we fans embrace what is to come. If we're lucky, it will be similar to what has happened in Toronto.

The future will tell but please be honest in your analysis:

- Subban was not a loss ... we got Weber in return
- Emelin was not a loss ... he has been a healthy scratch in the last 20 games and most experts agreed he was quite erratic
- Sergatchev was not a loss ... was not playing with the team last year and we got Drouin in return

A few more thoughts:

Most experts believe Duchene is a very good player but not a "core" player.

Our best player (and with highest cap hit in the future) is our goalie with a .885 save average.

Patrick Roy will never be a GM ... he is way too impetuous and emotional. When MB was hired the runner up was Pierre McGuire and I believe he would be the next GM. Stop this french thing ... your off the charts ... the criteria is to speak both languages ... Gainey was our GM ... Julien is a Franco-Ontarian.

 

[LaP]

What would Montreal offer for Frans Nielsen

Not interested at all. I would rather tank than apply a band aid named Plekanec 2.0.

 

[sansabri]

The future will tell but please be honest in your analysis:

- Subban was not a loss ... we got Weber in return
- Emelin was not a loss ... he has been a healthy scratch in the last 20 games and most experts agreed he was quite erratic
- Sergatchev was not a loss ... was not playing with the team last year and we got Drouin in return

A few more thoughts:

Most experts believe Duchene is a very good player but not a "core" player.

Our best player (and with highest cap hit in the future) is our goalie with a .885 save average.

Patrick Roy will never be a GM ... he is way too impetuous and emotional. When MB was hired the runner up was Pierre McGuire and I believe he would be the next GM. Stop this french thing ... your off the charts ... the criteria is to speak both languages ... Gainey was our GM ... Julien is a Franco-Ontarian.

Um, what?

 

[Thenameless]

It's kind of depressing to read all this. It's like the Habs are practically hopeless.