Post-Game Talk: Press Conference over: Better food coming, bad attitude, Carey Price’s fault & 27 is not a Center

[Kriss E]

Geoff Molson had another interview with Rejean Tremblay for Journal De Montréal. Here are the things they spoke about:

Thanks for this summary.

- Molson is fully aware of the fans' frustrations and said they will change in depth the way they communicate with the fans. He said the will aim to be more transparent and improve the experience for those who attend games at the Bell Center. But it all starts by winning. He says that it's important that fans go into next season with hope.

Important for fans to have hope for who exactly...?? For him and his pockets.
Yes, it all starts with winning, and the guy he is entrusting has lead the team to two bottom 10 finishes in 3 years, the other year he had to fire his newly extended coach to prevent yet another collapse.
Smart.

- Like in La Presse, he spoke about hiring Paul Wilson (from National) as consultant to help communicate better. He said instead of giving people the least amount of information possible, we will give them the most without putting the players in a difficult position.

This means so little. It has PR stunt written all over it.

- To further show how transparent they want to be, he goes back to the Tinordi trade. They got Bartley and Scott in return. He says that they should have been open about why Scott was included in the deal. He says it was because the Coyotes wanted to get rid of his contract. He says in such an instant, they should have said what the reason was so everyone can understand.

People made fun of Bergevin because he didn't say the reason for this trade, but in all seriousness, nobody gave two shits about it. What people cared about was leaving Tinordi in the pressbox for like 3 months, killing any and all his value, that we had to move him for a crap enforcer who has trouble skating.
But okay, let's bring on the transparency.

- Tremblay asks that if Molson is so close to Marc, he must know "the plan." Molson said he does. He knows what personnel will be let go. But explains that it's next to impossible for the plan to be executed at 100% because they don't know which teams will let go of who among those still in the playoffs.

Well..way to be transparent...
Did he also repeat that the plan is to trade, sign, draft and hire players/personnel?
I don't think they understand that these "what is the plan" questions are about. Nobody expects them to come out and say "we will trade for X player", it's about the general outline.
Year 1-2, rebuild, accummulate prospects/picks, focus on drafting and bringing in the best possible personnel for development. Year 3-4, be more active on trade-free agent front, year 5 become legit contenders.
THAT is what a plan is. Nobody expects them to say ''we will trade Pacioretty to the Coyotes on June 30th".
f***ing idiots. They still don't get it.

- He mentions the draft. The lottery will take place on the 28th and they will know where they will select. He says that a Rasmus Dahlin would definitely change the dynamic because they wouldn't need to find someone to play next to Weber.

Insightful.
Pretty amazing that we trade our best player who could pretty much carry any Dman given to him for a less versatile Dman, and then move our only blue chip Dman prospect for a winger, and now we need to find someone...
Great job. I guess...no comment there.

- And then there's free agency. They will be very active. But at the end of the day, the decision lies with the player.

Well no, it's on both sides, as seen with Markov.

- It's already mentioned in this thread, but Molson says that trading PK was a decision they were looking into months in advance. Molson thought long and hard about moving such a superstar. And when Weber became available, the reflection to move Subban was already made. Which is why the actual trade was quick to be put together.

Is that supposed to excuse the bad trade that it was?

- He ended by answering a question about ticket prices. He said that when he took over the team, the Habs were third in the league in ticket prices. Now they are 8th or 9th. He said he's happy with that. He also mentions that with a 21,000-seat arena, there are a lot of the higher seats are at a popular price.

Well if he was really concerned, he should look at ticket price vs average income after taxes. Not that I know where the Habs would rate, I have no clue.
Also, who is he kidding. He isn't raising ticket prices because there is no way he could justify it and it would cause a big backlash.

 

[Kimota]

Doesn't matter if he talks directly to Marc. It's obvious Molson doesn't have the hockey knowledge to understand what Bergevin is doing and if he's doing good and bad things. That is where EGO clouds his judgement.

 

[BLONG7]

Doesn't matter if he talks directly to Marc. It's obvious Molson doesn't have the hockey knowledge to understand what Bergevin is doing and if he's doing good and bad things. That is where EGO clouds his judgement.

Expecting MB to be good at his job, on a go forward, after 6 yrs of being bad, just makes no sense...as I have said before, a bowl of lucky charms for breakfast, doesn't make this guy, magically good at his job!!
He is in over his head, and we will have at least one more lost season, before Geoff gets it...

 

[bobholly39]

The one thing to keep in mind.

People around here tend to take what Bergevin says at face value a little too much. You shouldn't.

1. He's a bad communicator
2. He's secretive
3. His responses to media are often sarcastic/ego driven

But the above have nothing to do with his ability as a GM. It's just how he communicates. I actually enjoy that type of communicator as I find it fun - but even if you hate it it has nothing to do with his GM'ing on-ice decisions.

Not saying that means he's GOOD as a gm as his track record speaks for itself with many mistakes and many things we disagree with. But point is he's not as bad as people think he comes off as when they hear him in a press conference.

I'm trying to stay optimistic but I think I still have faith. I honestly expect a FANTASTIC off season from the Habs. Possibly best in the NHL, at least top 3. My expectation is that come august/september a lot of people here will be at the very least intrigued going into the season to see the changes. I could be wrong - but that's my expectation.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Geoff Molson had another interview with Rejean Tremblay for Journal De Montréal. Here are the things they spoke about:

- Molson is fully aware of the fans' frustrations and said they will change in depth the way they communicate with the fans. He said the will aim to be more transparent and improve the experience for those who attend games at the Bell Center. But it all starts by winning. He says that it's important that fans go into next season with hope.

- Like in La Presse, he spoke about hiring Paul Wilson (from National) as consultant to help communicate better. He said instead of giving people the least amount of information possible, we will give them the most without putting the players in a difficult position.

- He gives an example of the rumor that he met with Patrick Roy. He said that he never met with him.

- To further show how transparent they want to be, he goes back to the Tinordi trade. They got Bartley and Scott in return. He says that they should have been open about why Scott was included in the deal. He says it was because the Coyotes wanted to get rid of his contract. He says in such an instant, they should have said what the reason was so everyone can understand.

- He spoke about hiring a President of Hockey Ops to sit between the GM and owner. He said he's close to Marc and follows his work closely. He knows about every player Marc is negotiating with, every team he's having conversations with, and so on. He specifies that only 5 teams operate with a President of Hockey Ops and the rest of the GMs report directly to the owner. He also feels that his position can offer a different viewpoint on certain aspects of the operation.

- Tremblay asks that if Molson is so close to Marc, he must know "the plan." Molson said he does. He knows what personnel will be let go. But explains that it's next to impossible for the plan to be executed at 100% because they don't know which teams will let go of who among those still in the playoffs.

- He mentions the draft. The lottery will take place on the 28th and they will know where they will select. He says that a Rasmus Dahlin would definitely change the dynamic because they wouldn't need to find someone to play next to Weber.

- And then there's free agency. They will be very active. But at the end of the day, the decision lies with the player.

- It's already mentioned in this thread, but Molson says that trading PK was a decision they were looking into months in advance. Molson thought long and hard about moving such a superstar. And when Weber became available, the reflection to move Subban was already made. Which is why the actual trade was quick to be put together.

- It wouldn't be a Tremblay interview if he didn't ask about Francophones. Rejean notes that Molson was ready for this question and had the numbers ready for him. He says there are 37 Quebec-born players in the league, Habs have 4 of them (Danault, Drouin, Hudon, and Deslauriers). That's a little more than 10% of them.

- He also says that they do help a lot of the Francophones by investing $25M on all the rinks they built around Quebec to help get those kids into hockey. He talks about Genevieve Paquette, along with working with the Habs Foundation, works closely with Hockey Quebec. He admits they can do more. But also explains that they will miss out on some at the draft or as free agents. But he said it wouldn't be because of a lack of want or effort.

- He ended by answering a question about ticket prices. He said that when he took over the team, the Habs were third in the league in ticket prices. Now they are 8th or 9th. He said he's happy with that. He also mentions that with a 21,000-seat arena, there are a lot of the higher seats are at a popular price.

Thanks for the summary, guy.

 

[habsfan909]

Completely. The team is based on his lack of vision.

And, what we all have known since last summer, was finally admitted this week -- the cap room was not intended. It was a badge of dishonor left over from the failure to sign Radulov and Markov. I don't know that it was a secret but I do recall during the season how someone had argued that cap room had been intentionally left high so as to have a shot at making a splash this summer.

I think it was clear to everyone that was the case and the splash this summer was only made as an excuse by MB supporters. We all knew that Marc completely gaffed the summer after trading our best prospect.

 

[mtl_felix]

Just the fact that he can't explain his plan in simple terms, let alone give a rough timeline of what's to come, shows that he has no clue.

 

[Price is Wright]

The fact Bergevin didn't once try to defend Alzner as a skilled player and allowed him to be characterized as a "well liked character guy" and felt the right defence was to say he was slow because he was tired is everything I needed to hear.

 

[Montreal Impact FC]

The one thing to keep in mind.

People around here tend to take what Bergevin says at face value a little too much. You shouldn't.

1. He's a bad communicator
2. He's secretive
3. His responses to media are often sarcastic/ego driven

But the above have nothing to do with his ability as a GM. It's just how he communicates. I actually enjoy that type of communicator as I find it fun - but even if you hate it it has nothing to do with his GM'ing on-ice decisions.

Not saying that means he's GOOD as a gm as his track record speaks for itself with many mistakes and many things we disagree with. But point is he's not as bad as people think he comes off as when they hear him in a press conference.

I'm trying to stay optimistic but I think I still have faith. I honestly expect a FANTASTIC off season from the Habs. Possibly best in the NHL, at least top 3. My expectation is that come august/september a lot of people here will be at the very least intrigued going into the season to see the changes. I could be wrong - but that's my expectation.

expect your unexpected!

 

[NotProkofievian]

The one thing to keep in mind.

People around here tend to take what Bergevin says at face value a little too much. You shouldn't.

1. He's a bad communicator
2. He's secretive
3. His responses to media are often sarcastic/ego driven

But the above have nothing to do with his ability as a GM. It's just how he communicates. I actually enjoy that type of communicator as I find it fun - but even if you hate it it has nothing to do with his GM'ing on-ice decisions.

Not saying that means he's GOOD as a gm as his track record speaks for itself with many mistakes and many things we disagree with. But point is he's not as bad as people think he comes off as when they hear him in a press conference.

I'm trying to stay optimistic but I think I still have faith. I honestly expect a FANTASTIC off season from the Habs. Possibly best in the NHL, at least top 3. My expectation is that come august/september a lot of people here will be at the very least intrigued going into the season to see the changes. I could be wrong - but that's my expectation.

He's exactly that bad. As you said, the track record speaks for itself. 6 years later, and it's the same lack of results, the same (and more) problems, and the same excuses.

 

[Price is Wright]

Imagine for a second. You have been working at a job for half a decade as the manager. Let's say manager of a car dealership. And when you start you're one of the best in the region. And even though you sell a lot of sports cars, you don't sell enough luxury cars. But instead of getting someone who can sell them, you hire a bunch of people good at selling jeeps. Your online presence sucks and now you're at the bottom of the region because now your sports cars are old and you just acquired a bunch of jeeps to sell nobody wants and you still don't have a single luxury vehicle. And the owner says why isn't there one in six years? And you say, "You don't know. I tried. They just don't go left and right."

Would you keep your job?

 

[Tyson]

So Jerabek could not crack the Habs line up and is in the top 6 in Washington.

Morrow in the top 6 in Winnipeg.

DSP scores last night.

Hey, we at least have Alzner, Benn and a Schlemko

 

[417]

The fact Bergevin didn't once try to defend Alzner as a skilled player and allowed him to be characterized as a "well liked character guy" and felt the right defence was to say he was slow because he was tired is everything I needed to hear.

Who would defend the characterization of Alzner as a skilled player?

 

[417]

So Jerabek could not crack the Habs line up and is in the top 6 in Washington.

Morrow in the top 6 in Winnipeg.

DSP scores last night.

Hey, we at least have Alzner, Benn and a Schlemko

I guess we should assume that if all 3 of those players were traded - they'd also be thriving elsewhere?

 

[Habs]

When all else fails, throw your team under the bus.

 

[EdAVSfan]

The one thing to keep in mind.

People around here tend to take what Bergevin says at face value a little too much. You shouldn't.

1. He's a bad communicator
2. He's secretive
3. His responses to media are often sarcastic/ego driven

But the above have nothing to do with his ability as a GM. It's just how he communicates. I actually enjoy that type of communicator as I find it fun - but even if you hate it it has nothing to do with his GM'ing on-ice decisions.

Not saying that means he's GOOD as a gm as his track record speaks for itself with many mistakes and many things we disagree with. But point is he's not as bad as people think he comes off as when they hear him in a press conference.

I'm trying to stay optimistic but I think I still have faith. I honestly expect a FANTASTIC off season from the Habs. Possibly best in the NHL, at least top 3. My expectation is that come august/september a lot of people here will be at the very least intrigued going into the season to see the changes. I could be wrong - but that's my expectation.

Personally, I see his communication and GM track record as perfect parallels.

He’ll answer a question here and there decently, just like he’ll complete a decent trade here and there.

But when it comes to discussing the overall scenario and plan of his team...it’s basically exactly how he’s conducted his personnel on the ice. Conflicting and confusing decisions, severe lack of a quality overall plan/direction, and poor answers/trades with regards to asset management.

What I hear, is pretty much what I see.

 

[Beer and Chips]

"
The scouting staff gets another shot..."its hard to build prospects with picks in the bottom of the 1st round"
Lefebvre gets another shot..."his job is hard with all the call-ups and the lack of prospects due to picking in the bottom of the 1st round"

Has he ever been asked about rebuilding and admitting it to the fans like the Rangers did? Wouldn't it be better to admit it rather than blame the roster for a poor attitude?

 

[Laurentide]

Who would defend the characterization of Alzner as a skilled player?

Bergevin should, because if he doesn't believe that Alzner is a skilled player the next question from the media is going to be "Then why did you give him all that money and term last summer as though he were a skilled player?"

 

[Price is Wright]

Who would defend the characterization of Alzner as a skilled player?

Why would you spend more than $1 million, let alone five years of almost $5 million, on a player you would never consider to be skilled at anything? He didn't even defend him as a skilled defensive player. He let him be characterized as a character guy and only disputed that his skating is a temporary issue due to being tired.

 

[417]

Why would you spend more than $1 million, let alone five years of almost $5 million, on a player you would never consider to be skilled at anything? He didn't even defend him as a skilled defensive player. He let him be characterized as a character guy and only disputed that his skating is a temporary issue due to being tired.

Again, why would he defend the characterization of Karl Alzner as skill player? He's not...and I don't even think Bergevin thinks he's a skill player.

I think he knows exactly what he is...the problem is he puts too much value to the type of player Alzner is (character player).

I think when Bergevin sees Alzner, he sees himself as a player - which is not a good thing.

 

[sampollock]

MB has no clue, and yet HE states he will find a centre.

 

[Roke]

I'm really late getting to that Melnyk interview, but Bergevin grasping for Grubauer's sv% as an excuse is interesting. Grubauer put up .923 in 35GP this season for the Capitals.

Niemi was .929 for the Habs in 19GP and they still managed to win less than half of his games.

 

[justafan22]

ROR is going to be a hab and he'll overpay for him

 

[Habs]

MB has no clue, and yet HE states he will find a centre.

Well its only been 6 years, give him time . Imagine if a smart GM wanted to move PK, what he could have got in return.... and started talking before the last possible trade minute. Don't tell me he couldn't have fetched a C, or an Edmonton first round pick etc.. he wasted that move in so many ways, he should never have a job. I say this loving Weber btw, but you don't miss a chance for a franchise C if you are moving a franchise D.

 

[Price is Wright]

Again, why would he defend the characterization of Karl Alzner as skill player? He's not...and I don't even think Bergevin thinks he's a skill player.

I think he knows exactly what he is...the problem is he puts too much value to the type of player Alzner is (character player).

I think when Bergevin sees Alzner, he sees himself as a player - which is not a good thing.

I agree for the most part, I just feel most people felt that Alzner was good defensively and tried to argue such. Bergevin doesn't argue it. As if skill, even defensive skill, doesn't matter. It's hilarious.