Speculation: Revamping Management and Turning Stones

Runner77

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We were promised changes and how no stone was going to left unturned. How according to Geoff, every aspect of the organisation was going to be reviewed. Geoff said as much in his year-end presser of April 10th.

Unfortunately, Geoff chose to entrust the review and retool of management personnel to the individual who produced the current mess.

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There was a lot of awkwardness produced by the year-end presser. And contradictions, as Philippe Cantin highlighted in an interview he gave on 98.5 FM last evening, as I mentioned elsewhere.

Cantin says that the Lefebvre firing is disturbing in that Carrière is quoted as having been consulted, which suggests that Carrière's job is not in peril.

Then Cantin adds, it's all fine and dandy to fire Lefebvre, but change is only real if it also involves those who are the closest to Bergevin: Mellanby, Dudley, Lapointe, etc. When are we going to get an announcement about these guys? Why do we have to wait more time for the clean up to take place?

Cantin took more shots at Bergevin and Molson, reminding us how at the PC, Bergevin was asked what he would do with those players that don't fall into line. Bergevin was non-committal, at which point Molson interrupted him and asserted that these attitude problem players would simply be dispatched somewhere else.

And then you had Molson preaching a new era of transparency followed by his GM, eating away at it by not committing to ending the upper and lower body injury charade and invoking the secret plan and how other teams are listening and didn't want to give away company secrets.

Other awkward situation: the Habs fire Lefebvre but allow all the assistant coaches to remain, including the son of Larry Carrière. How is this supposed to play with a new coaching hire? "I don't want Nick Carrière but I'm going to be forced to keep him otherwise it'll look like I'm being too difficult." The Habs just can't provide a clean slate, always have to make life difficult for themselves and for potential candidates.

While we're awaiting to see whose heads are going to roll in Habsland, I thought it might be interesting to see what other organisations are contemplating:

The Isles are shopping for executives and while Garth Snow has not been fired as of yet, there will be a new GM named in the coming weeks. Some of the names are familiar ...

Since current Islanders President/GM/Alternate Governor Garth Snow has not been relieved of his duties more than a week since the end of another disastrous season, it is believed that the new hire would become Islanders GM while Snow would remain President (or given a new title).

The process includes asking other NHL teams for permission to speak to some of their executives. Among those expected to be on Malkin and Ledecky's list of highly-regarded hockey people to interview are Julian BriseBois (Lightning), Paul Fenton (Predators), and Tom Fitzgerald (Devils), who are assistant general managers with their respective clubs.

One source said that Malkin and Ledecky will wait for the completion of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- to see which executives become available -- before intensifying the process. A conversation with Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello, whose son Chris is the Islanders' assistant GM, should also be of interest to the Islanders' owners if the legendary ex-Devils boss becomes available.


Islanders looking to hire top hockey executive

So, what's taking so long? Why are heads not rolling any faster? Can they really afford to wait while other teams are targeting the same type of quality candidates that could have provided real change within the Habs?

We've already heard Ducharme this week:



How is it that with a vacant position with the Rockets, a logical candidate like Ducharme, hasn't even been contacted yet, while other teams have already shown interest?

Why is it taking so long for them to make the most logical of moves? The longer it takes, the more it feels like this ...

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Ray Lalonde said the same thing recently -- the Habs don't react quickly enough, he sees the same trend in other aspects of the organisation.

Geoff, we have a problem. And the problem is you.

Given that Bergevin won't be moving soon, whose head should roll and how quickly?

What can they do to get it right at the draft, given that they're not going to be able to add scouts who are being counted upon by other organisations and who may only become available after the draft.

And why is Larry Moobs-Chuckles Carrière still being counted upon to make personnel decisions? Simple. Molson entrusts the review of all staff to the guy who brought them in, so Bergevin does the same thing -- entrusts review of personnel to someone who is long in the tooth and deserves to be fired.

Thoughts?
 

Spearmint Rhino

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It comes down to the old boys club, surround yourself with people you know and can control or people with limited upside potential that you can keep below you, either way you create a hierarchy of protection

Hiring someone who has the potential to replace you is not the easiest thing to do but it's something a competent person would have the confidence to do to make the team better and provides a succession plan

The whole Larry Robinson fiasco was the first sign of this when he was just getting started, he would have been a tremendous addition but there's a threat there to Therrien - enter JJD who had basically zero coaching experience at the pro level

Lefebvre has some experience but a very low ceiling and was never seen as a potential NHL coach, again keeps the Hab's coach's job safe

Dudley is on semi-retirement, never a threat to replacing MB

Muller has the experience but doesn't speak French, no threat

The rest of his buddies are lucky to have jobs, they protect him and he looks after them with no threat

Ducharme/Bouchard are threats as is Brisebois

I've seen this same set up at dozens of corporations around the globe, it will scare you how many billion dollar businesses have incompetent people at the top looking after each other

The only way to tear it down is cut off the head, they can throw pawns away for years making it look like they're making real changes

My prediction next scapegoat is Timmins (post draft) as he wasn't hired by MB
 

Runner77

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Larry Carrière was also inherited by Bergevin and yet, his job seems safe.

There is always a half-assed method to the way the Habs implement changes. When they are slow to react, they also tend to not perform complete clean-ups, which only carries forward lingering issues.
 

Runner77

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Interesting piece by Martin Leclerc yesterday: Le CH cherche-t-il un vrai remède ou un pansement sur une jambe de bois? | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca

He claims that the Bergevin has entrusted changed responsibilities to Martin Lapointe and Vincent Riendeau, directing them to validate information gathered on the ground. Leclerc surmises that the change in amateur scouting will have Lapointe and Riendeau be named to amateur scouting positions, if I read this quote from his article correctly:

Marc Bergevin semble avoir instauré des mesures de contrôle de qualité du recrutement au cours de la dernière année. Des hommes de confiance comme Martin Lapointe et Vincent Riendeau ont vu leur mandat nettement bifurquer vers le recrutement, sans doute pour valider les informations recueillies sur le terrain. Il n’est donc pas à écarter que des changements puissent survenir de ce côté.

Again, no new blood. The organisation is content to play musical chairs with critical decision-making.

Begs the question, what were Lapointe and Riendeau doing before they were redirected to amateur scouting? Were they involved with pro scouting? Were any of them consulted in respect of all the failed acquisitions and signings since Ott, King, Martinsen, Benn etc.

Leclerc refers to Lapointe and Riendeau as "hommes de confiance" -- basically, right hand men. That presupposes a high level of confidence. What exactly did both of them do to deserve such a high degree of trust? These guys must have already had a lot of influence while the team committed repeated blunders. And yet here we are with more reshuffling of the deck. It's difficult as a fan, to not remain skeptical.
 

Spearmint Rhino

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Larry Carrière was also inherited by Bergevin and yet, his job seems safe.

There is always a half-assed method to the way the Habs implement changes. When they are slow to react, they also tend to not perform complete clean-ups, which only carries forward lingering issues.
He's no threat and very few call for his head - to date anyways but like anything once you change one thing the focus will shift to some one else (kinda like there's always a drunkest person in the room analogy). With their slow to react method he can play this out for a while.

As for Lapointe and Riendeau, being incompetent is their biggest asset for promotion around him
 

Runner77

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Leclerc like many of us, is a proponent of hiring both Ducharme and Bouchard. He says that both Ducharme and Bouchard are both head coaches and GMs with their respective teams. They have mastered the tenets of recrutement, development and enhancing performance.

It's obvious that the two get along well, Leclerc adding that they share the same values, which would make their dual hiring all the more compelling. They are amongst the best hockey minds available and their hiring would allow the Habs to emulate what Trana did when they added Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas who were both given assistant-GM positions. A year later, the Leafs made another key addition in Jim Paliafito, a highly regarded OHL GM, whom they named director of player evaluation.

Since the hirings of Hunter and Dubas, the Marlies have compiled a cumulative record of 190-90-24 (,664) while providing the Leafs with quality players, year after year. Of course, there's a debate to be had since not all of their success has to do with how well Leaf prospects are being developed.

However, the Leafs method of building a management team, appears to be working. They are obviously not holding back when it comes to investing in the best available minds and giving them positions of prominence in their organisation. And they're doing what we have often discussed on this forum for a team like the Habs, who enjoy a high revenue stream and have a clear economic advantage over most other NHL teams -- take the fullest advantage to invest is as many resources that you can, that are not subject to the salary cap.

Plus, if anything, most of these sharp minds are in our backyard or close by in Ontario. And they can't all be hired by the Leafs.

What are we doing about it? Watching Bergevin continuing to trust his best friends is not going to cut it.

Geoff, are you following any of this? You seem to be distracted by culinary exploits (you're wasting your time, you should have contacted Groove), fan experiences, condos and ribbon-cutting ceremonies while the guy you're playing fake-tough with in front of the mics, is continuing with the same old tired recipe. And you're expecting different results.

Worse, we have available hockey minds that other teams are no doubt looking to add to their staff. Please don't tell me we're going to watch all of these talented management individuals be snagged by some other organisation.
 

Runner77

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He's no threat and very few call for his head - to date anyways but like anything once you change one thing the focus will shift to some one else (kinda like there's always a drunkest person in the room analogy). With their slow to react method he can play this out for a while.

As for Lapointe and Riendeau, being incompetent is their biggest asset for promotion around him

This is the problem with not having someone else assist Geoff in an organisational capacity as opposed to the intermittent communications Geoff is known to have with NHL insiders who he apparently uses as a sounding board. It's much better to have someone named and who can directly supervise Bergevin's "progress" in implementing changes.

Good point about Carrière, I've seen that too in the corporations I've worked in. These deadwood guys know how to play the game -- they let the negligence of their hierarchical superiors be their friend and that usually buys them a lot of time. That's also the inherent issue with entrusting a conflict of interest mandate to the GM who created the entourage that failed to do their jobs.

I still don't get how Bergevin is continuing to be trusted. It's not as if adding several assistant-GMs like the Leafs did and putting in a PHO, is going to add that much more to the budget, especially that the PHO's mandate doesn't need to be permanent -- he can be made to stay only so long as Bergevin remains as GM and to ensure the transition toward the next GM. Also, the assistant GMs that would be named now, could survive Bergevin, so long as they are not named from his nepotist inner circle, so they would be an investment in the future.
 

Spearmint Rhino

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This is the problem with not having someone else assist Geoff in an organisational capacity as opposed to the intermittent communications Geoff is known to have with NHL insiders who he apparently uses as a sounding board. It's much better to have someone named and who can directly supervise Bergevin's "progress" in implementing changes.

Good point about Carrière, I've seen that too in the corporations I've worked in. These deadwood guys know how to play the game -- they let the negligence of their hierarchical superiors be their friend and that usually buys them a lot of time. That's also the inherent issue with entrusting a conflict of interest mandate to the GM who created the entourage that failed to do their jobs.

I still don't get how Bergevin is continuing to be trusted. It's not as if adding several assistant-GMs like the Leafs did and putting in a PHO, is going to add that much more to the budget, especially that the PHO's mandate doesn't need to be permanent -- he can be made to stay only so long as Bergevin remains as GM and to ensure the transition toward the next GM. Also, the assistant GMs that would be named now, could survive Bergevin, so long as they are not named from his nepotist inner circle, so they would be an investment in the future.
As much as we joke about Molson saving money I don't think it's a budget thing to not increase the quantity/quality of the hockey mgmt, MB has him brainwashed. Only way this ends is if Molson grows a pair and hires someone not related to MB in anyway to be that PHO, can't see anyone with half a clue in that role not firing him within a month

I don't believe future investment is anywhere in the famed plan at the moment
 
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Runner77

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As much as we joke about Molson saving money I don't think it's a budget thing to not increase the quantity/quality of the hockey mgmt, MB has him brainwashed. Only way this ends is if Molson grows a pair and hires someone not related to MB in anyway to be that PHO, can't see anyone with half a clue in that role not firing him within a month

I don't believe future investment is anywhere is the famed plan at the moment

I've never been one to dub Molson as a cheapskate. I agree, the money is there but it's not being spent wisely. Bergevin can't convince anyone around the league to buy into his sales pitches but somehow, he's keeping the ownership group captive in being able to hold on to his job, to incredibly being entrusted to conduct personnel reviews on his friends and having had the ability to secure a lofty contract extension for himself. Amazing how he hasn't been able to parlay any of these special skills that worked for his self-interest, into advantages for the hockey club.

Bergevin seems to only be able to prevail when it comes to his personal dealings with our ownership duds.
 
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Spearmint Rhino

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I've never been one to dub Molson as a cheapskate. I agree, the money is there but it's not being spent wisely. Bergevin can't convince anyone around the league to buy into his sales pitches but somehow, he's keeping the ownership group captive in being able to hold on to his job, to incredibly being entrusted to conduct personnel reviews on his friends and having had the ability to secure a lofty contract extension for himself. Amazing how he hasn't been able to parlay any of these special skills that worked for his self-interest, into advantages for the hockey club.

Bergevin seems to only be able to prevail when it comes to his personal dealings with our ownership duds.
From what I can see Molson was President/CEO for only a year or 2 before he hired MB, I don't think he really knows the difference between a good and bad GM, Bergevin is a proclaimed likeable funny guy and has lots of connections, Molson would've been exposed to Gauthier/Gainey duo prior that don't hit me as either likeable or funny, it's actually really hard to fire people you like but comes with the territory of management
 

BLONG7

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From what I can see Molson was President/CEO for only a year or 2 before he hired MB, I don't think he really knows the difference between a good and bad GM, Bergevin is a proclaimed likeable funny guy and has lots of connections, Molson would've been exposed to Gauthier/Gainey duo prior that don't hit me as either likeable or funny, it's actually really hard to fire people you like but comes with the territory of management
Molson, is more the problem, for sure.........we need a real hockey President. It's as obvious to all, that MB is not the brightest lightbulb in the package, but checks a few of Geoff's boxes off, being a franco and being a real karacter guy.

It's looking more and more, like we have to have another season or two, before we start to make REAL changes.
 

NotProkofievian

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As much as we joke about Molson saving money I don't think it's a budget thing to not increase the quantity/quality of the hockey mgmt, MB has him brainwashed. Only way this ends is if Molson grows a pair and hires someone not related to MB in anyway to be that PHO, can't see anyone with half a clue in that role not firing him within a month

I don't believe future investment is anywhere in the famed plan at the moment

I think he just wants to nip costs spiralling out of control in the bud. He could absolutely pay for a new hockey management, but then he'd be paying a lot of coaches, assistants, gms, and their assistants to do nothing for a long time (because he was stupid and extended them for so long). If he doesn't think that a new GM could immediately put us in the playoffs (that's probably smart), then there's no financial incentive to take on the new costs.

Most of the arguments against my take that Molson is just avoiding new costs because it's not profitable to do so revolve around demand disappearing from a relatively inelastic market. I don't agree.
 

Kriss E

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I've never been one to dub Molson as a cheapskate. I agree, the money is there but it's not being spent wisely. Bergevin can't convince anyone around the league to buy into his sales pitches but somehow, he's keeping the ownership group captive in being able to hold on to his job, to incredibly being entrusted to conduct personnel reviews on his friends and having had the ability to secure a lofty contract extension for himself. Amazing how he hasn't been able to parlay any of these special skills that worked for his self-interest, into advantages for the hockey club.

Bergevin seems to only be able to prevail when it comes to his personal dealings with our ownership duds.
I think a lot of people turn to money being the main reason because they cannot come up with another rational reason. I don't care how clueless Molson is, at some point, you wake up. He hears it all over the place, everyone is questioning his GM, the obvious blunders are frequent, missed the POs 2 years out of 3 and there is nothing coming up to be hopeful about, no blue chip prospect, Price has played over 50 games in the reg season once in last 3 years and you just locked him up to an 8 year deal while on the wrong side of 30. I mean, sure, Bergevin got him mesmerized, that got Molson to extend him to a ridiculous contract while no urgency was present. But that is over with. At this point, it is clear to everyone that Bergevin is a fraud. Even the french media are going "wtf" for the most part. Always a few ass lickers that try to stay on the good side no matter what, but deep down I'm sure they also know he's failed miserably. I don't think Molson is the only person in the world that is still under his spell.
Renaud Lavoie and the likes, they stay nice because it might get them scoops and insider info. I get it.

A guy like Molson? There is no way he can think Bergevin has done a good job. There is nothing other than money to look at as a rational excuse. Molson already lost cash on buyouts, is paying for Therrien, will pay for Sly, if he fired Bergevin, that is him and his team, possibly Julien and the other coaches too, to that, he would have to pay a lot for new employees. It adds up to quite a shit load of cash. No longer talking about just buying out 10-15M here...

There were rumors of Molson meeting Roy. I know they were denied but as we know, that doesn't really mean it's true. Maybe he did meet Roy, where he asked him for a proposal/business plan, to see how much it would end up costing him, and after consulting he decided to give Bergevin one last crack because he rather not commit to possibly wasting 30-50M in staff salaries.

I mean what else...? He thinks Bergevin did a good job in the past? Ya...it's been 3 years. Pretty sure he also thinks Bergevin has failed in the last 3 seasons if he is capable of saying he did well for the first 4 years. It has to be money.
 
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Spearmint Rhino

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I think a lot of people turn to money being the main reason because they cannot come up with another rational reason. I don't care how clueless Molson is, at some point, you wake up. He hears it all over the place, everyone is questioning his GM, the obvious blunders are frequent, missed the POs 2 years out of 3 and there is nothing coming up to be hopeful about, no blue chip prospect, Price has played over 50 games in the reg season once in last 3 years and you just locked him up to an 8 year deal while on the wrong side of 30. I mean, sure, Bergevin got him mesmerized, that got Molson to extend him to a ridiculous contract while no urgency was present. But that is over with. At this point, it is clear to everyone that Bergevin is a fraud. Even the french media are going "wtf" for the most part. Always a few ass lickers that try to stay on the good side no matter what, but deep down I'm sure they also know he's failed miserably. I don't think Molson is the only person in the world that is still under his spell.
Renaud Lavoie and the likes, they stay nice because it might get them scoops and insider info. I get it.

A guy like Molson? There is no way he can think Bergevin has done a good job. There is nothing other than money to look at as a rational excuse. Molson already lost cash on buyouts, is paying for Therrien, will pay for Sly, if he fired Bergevin, that is him and his team, possibly Julien and the other coaches too, to that, he would have to pay a lot for new employees. It adds up to quite a **** load of cash. No longer talking about just buying out 10-15M here...

There were rumors of Molson meeting Roy. I know they were denied but as we know, that doesn't really mean it's true. Maybe he did meet Roy, where he asked him for a proposal/business plan, to see how much it would end up costing him, and after consulting he decided to give Bergevin one last crack because he rather not commit to possibly wasting 30-50M in staff salaries.

I mean what else...? He thinks Bergevin did a good job in the past? Ya...it's been 3 years. Pretty sure he also thinks Bergevin has failed in the last 3 seasons if he is capable of saying he did well for the first 4 years. It has to be money.
Maybe but what's the lesser of 2 evils, paying some short term money to fix up the mgmt or paying long term money on useless contracts like Alzner? Julien can probably stay even though I don't really like him but all MBs buddies can go away, can't see them making millions each or locked up long term but who knows
 
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Kriss E

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Maybe but what's the lesser of 2 evils, paying some short term money to fix up the mgmt or paying long term money on useless contracts like Alzner? Julien can probably stay even though I don't really like him but all MBs buddies can go away, can't see them making millions each or locked up long term but who knows
Well I am a fan that is nowhere near taking decisions that involve that much cash, so it's very easy to sit in my disappointed and frustrated chair to simply say "get rid of all these f***ing bozos". That is what I would do, in an instant.
But maybe things are different for Molson. I also have no idea how his company is set up, would he need approval from a board for spending x amount? I have no clue.

My point is simply, what reason does Molson have to keep these guys here? Is he a complete idiot, well possibly, but as I said, even the dumbest guy eventually catches on and at this point, with everyone questioning his GM, I'm pretty sure Molson realizes Bergevin is in way over his head.

I guess, easiest way to find out is..do you think Bergevin is still here if he only had 1 year left on his contract? I don't think he'd survive.
 

psychonaut

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Well I am a fan that is nowhere near taking decisions that involve that much cash, so it's very easy to sit in my disappointed and frustrated chair to simply say "get rid of all these ****ing bozos". That is what I would do, in an instant.
But maybe things are different for Molson. I also have no idea how his company is set up, would he need approval from a board for spending x amount? I have no clue.

My point is simply, what reason does Molson have to keep these guys here? Is he a complete idiot, well possibly, but as I said, even the dumbest guy eventually catches on and at this point, with everyone questioning his GM, I'm pretty sure Molson realizes Bergevin is in way over his head.

I guess, easiest way to find out is..do you think Bergevin is still here if he only had 1 year left on his contract? I don't think he'd survive.
I'm pretty sure if this was the case we would have a new GM. So is it a question of money ego not sure but some mix of both.
 

sandviper

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I think @Spearmint Rhino nailed it in regards to the old boys club, and keeping those with limited upside around.

A well-run company will always have a succession plan. You put people in place that you groom as replacements for you (or others). This is especially important for the Canadiens because of the extra requirements to work for the organization. Put a coach in place in the farm who you eventually want on the big club. Put a GM in place to do the same. AHL staff shouldn't be throwaways and in fact, I would argue that AHL staff should be just as ambitious, educated and strong mentors, if not more so, than the NHL staff.

Organizational culture and core values should be inclusive of the AHL organization, so the way of thinking, development and philosophies are the same top to bottom.

Ultimately, a manager who places weak staff behind him is one who is insecure in his/her's own abilities. Putting a potential replacement for yourself, or your "friends and family", I would argue will push you to be a better leader and manager.

Getting rid of Sly was a start. 6 years of mediocrity and failure can't be tolerated. Doesn't matter if other clubs do the same in letting guys hang around too long... not the point. Focus on your own house and start fixing it. That said, getting rid of Lefebvre is pointless if he's replaced with another unqualified candidate or if we add Ducharme but handcuff him with the same support staff and upper management.

Great managers don't just adapt to current issues. They forecast, or have strong individuals in place who can do that for them, and adapt to those changing needs. This is a standard management theory but it applies to anything, including hockey. Thing is, this thinking again, has to come from the top. Bergy and Molson talk a big game, but like the cliché goes, actions speak louder than words.

In short, a successful business is run when you put good people in place. You don't need to be a management major to know that. Whether you choose to see that is a different matter.
 

WeThreeKings

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It's really simple to create a new management team here that knows what it is doing.

Julien Brisebois is the most qualified candidate out there. He has been in the organization before so he knows the market, he was responsible for our farm team when it was developing talent, winning games at the AHL talent and churning out more NHL players than we are now. He's in an organization with great scouting and the ability to find undrafted talent that has NHL upside. So with him, he can bring along some of those personnel and immediately our scouting and pro-scouting has improved.

Then you cull your own back yard for the bright, innovative minds who are behind the most successful Q franchises. Joel Bouchard, Dominic Ducharme are two such names. Bobby Smith and Cam Russell in Halifax. Halifax Mooseheads have been one of the best scouting teams, especially from Europe, so make them an offer they can't refuse to join. Bring on the bright minds behind what made the Saint John Sea Dogs a quality team for so long. The Quebec Remparts, the Moncton Wildcats, who are the guys making these teams successful? Bring them in, put them in a position that showcases their strengths and put the other people in spots that play up their strengths.

Hiring buddies, ex-NHLers with limited experience except ball-washing for the old boys club.. is not how you win.
 

Milhouse40

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Like i said for Lefebvre, it's much more about who's coming in than it is about who's going out. I don't want lateral moves, i expect a change in the philosophy...not just some french name hire to calm the Fans down.


Marc Bergevin - Defense
Claude Julien - Defense
Larry Carrière - Defense
JJ Daignault - Defense
Francis Bouillon - Defense
Rob Ramage - Defense
Sylvain Lefebvre - Defense
Michel Therrien - Defense


Martin Lapointe - Middle-six grinder
Scott Melanby - Middle-six grinder
Dan Lacroix - Middle-six grinder
Rick Dudley - Grinder
Shane Churla - Grinder

Then we shouldn't be surprise that this organisation value grinders more than skills and that everything has to be defense first. Bunch of ex-Dmen and Ex-Grinder are running this organisation top to bottom.

No wonders why they chose guys like Julien or Therrien and goes out of their way to get players like Shaw and Alzner. And no suprise they traded Weber for Subban.

Muller is probably feeling alone in there...

I expect this mentality to change. Hire some offensive-minded poeple....Like Yzerman/Verbeek/Kurvers in Tampa. This will matter a lot more than just firing poeple. And of course, on-ice move will be even more critical for Bergevin.
 

Captain Mountain

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Another bad season and MB is gone anyway. Geoff is clueless but I don’t think he’d tolerate mediocrity for that long

The question is, if that comes to pass (and its probably likely), will there be a qualified candidate available? Because Brisebois is the only bilingual guy that might be available that is actually a GM candidate outside of Montreal. Guys like Roy, Damphousse, etc. aren't even sniffing a serious interview in any other market.
 
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Laurentide

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Not for nothing but Molson also used the "no stone left unturned" line in his 2016 presser so all he did last week was recycle a tired platitude because he can no longer be bothered coming up with a more original lie. He doesn't believe a word he says so we shouldn't either. When you say that you will leave no stone unturned and then declare that the best candidate was actually working down the hall from your office all along you are not to be taken seriously.
 

Beer and Chips

Registered User
Feb 5, 2018
1,266
915
Worse, we have available hockey minds that other teams are no doubt looking to add to their staff. Please don't tell me we're going to watch all of these talented management individuals be snagged by some other organisation.

Especially since the Habs are largely limiting themselves to a small pool of talent, its incredibly short sighted to allow the best to be wooed elsewhere. Its hardly surprising though if the brightest want nothing to do with the Habs under the current circumstances.
 

Laurentide

Registered User
Mar 24, 2018
3,249
3,411
Edmonton, Alberta
The question is, if that comes to pass (and its probably likely), will there be a qualified candidate available? Because Brisebois is the only bilingual guy that might be available that is actually a GM candidate outside of Montreal. Guys like Roy, Damphousse, etc. aren't even sniffing a serious interview in any other market.
That's the problem: you get rid of one incompetent GM and inevitably replace him with a clone who is similarly incompetent. Bergevin's core beliefs about how to build a team do not differ greatly from those of his predecessors. And how could they? He was hired on the recommendation of Serge Savard, who would naturally favor a candidate who thought about the game the same way he did when he was a GM. We keep getting new names but we've really only had one GM for the past 25 years. Bergevin, Gauthier, Gainey, A. Savard, Corey (Houle) and S. Savard (and probably Irv Grundman too) are essentially the same person with just a few minor differences.
 
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