Speculation: Revamping Management and Turning Stones

[BLONG7]

Still a Habs fan, the last PC just left a sour taste in my gut, sounded like what you see is what you can expect!!!... Rubbed my rhubarb once to often, they can eat my pom poms, after that pile of dung!!!...

MB has even soured, our most passionate, positive poster...............this is the final nail...

MB must be fired right after the playoffs.

 

[S Bah]

Bergevin has to make this right, falling on his sword after the Habs miss the playoffs again next season. After he acquires as many high draft picks he can for 2018 & 2019, without completely trading away our future great core pieces. Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Drouin, Lehkonen, JDLR, Mete, Juulsen, Lernout, Danault, Byron, Hudon, Deslaurier, Petry. Keeping the good young passionate hockey players with talent & skating, whilst giving the Habs the opportunity to draft & develop prospects properly. Installing a winning attitude at the AHL/NHL level, no country club atmosphere, allowing them the Tiger Woods excuse of past history, which they didn't earn with hard work like past Habs teams did!!!... Do you find this to be Negative or Positive, honest question?

 

[Runner77]

Bergevin has to make this right, falling on his sword after the Habs miss the playoffs again next season. After he acquires as many high draft picks he can for 2018 & 2019, without completely trading away our future great core pieces. Gallagher, Galchenyuk, Drouin, Lehkonen, JDLR, Mete, Juulsen, Lernout, Danault, Byron, Hudon, Deslaurier, Petry. Keeping the good young passionate hockey players with talent & skating, whilst giving the Habs the opportunity to draft & develop prospects properly. Installing a winning attitude at the AHL/NHL level, no country club atmosphere, allowing them the Tiger Woods excuse of past history, which they didn't earn with hard work like past Habs teams did!!!... Do you find this to be Negative or Positive, honest question?

Are you backtracking now? Isn't the whole point that it's not the weapons that are being made available to the GM, but how likely the GM is going to fail while misusing them? We have a very disturbing track record especially in the past three years -- this GM would have been fired in any other org. The last season is unacceptable, said Geoff Molson. But allowing the GM who is responsible for it, to continue into the critical stage that is this summer -- that is acceptable?

Yes to the draft picks. And yes to building a great core. But, this "attitude" thing -- it's just a red herring. He and his staff are the ones who scouted, evaluated and chose to sign and/or trade for the players that supposedly have an "attitude" problem. It's not attitude ultimately, the team is short on talent. No amount of "attitude", "character" or any other intangible he comes up with, is going to make up for that fact.

"No country club atmosphere" you say? Bergevin instilled it, he promoted, gave raises and/or provided contract extensions to all of his key entourage last year. All of them have guaranteed contracts. How exactly is Bergevin going to now come clean, do a couple of mea culpas and no longer hire friends? Really, you expect him to do that? How naive are we supposed to be to believe that?

We need a new GM, with a new vision. We need someone other than the GM to watch the fort. And we need viable assistant-GMs who will be groomed one day to take over when whoever is named GM next, will be done.

Regardless, there is no salvaging this GM -- he's done too much damage and it is irreversible.

 

[Adam Michaels]

One thing MB mentioned on TLMEP last night was that the same scouting staff will be there at this year's draft, but that there will be an evaluation in that department afterwards. I'm guessing the amateur scouting staff will go through changes.

 

[S Bah]

When the Habs have Victor Mete 100th OV and Jake Evans & Jeremiah Addison both 207th OV , Daniel Audette 147th OV the scouting has been awesome IMHO. Development is another ballpark though.

 

[Adam Michaels]

When the Habs have Victor Mete 100th OV and Jake Evans & Jeremiah Addison both 207th OV , Daniel Audette 147th OV the scouting has been awesome IMHO. Development is another ballpark though.

The amateur scouting definitely needs some changes. But I agree that between drafting and developing, I place the bigger issue in developing.

When players had to go from Lefebvre to Therrien, they didn't stand much of a chance.

Now that they're both gone, here's hoping the next AHL coach will do better in developing. The names that are rumoured to succeed Lefebvre (Ducharme and Bouchard) along with Julien would fill me with a lot more confidence in the growth of the young players.

 

[Vachon23]

with Chuck Fletcher fired, I would do all what is possible to bring him in the organisation as VP of Hockey operations to replace Rick Dudley

 

[groovejuice]

Still a Habs fan, the last PC just left a sour taste in my gut, sounded like what you see is what you can expect!!!... Rubbed my rhubarb once to often, they can eat my pom poms, after that pile of dung!!!...

We understand @S Bah. Even saints can become disillusioned.

 

[Adam Michaels]

with Chuck Fletcher fired, I would do all what is possible to bring him in the organisation as VP of Hockey operations to replace Rick Dudley

I read the news and thought the EXACT same thing.

 

[Laurentide]

Bergevin won't hire someone he doesn't know personally. He values loyalty more than aptitude. If he has no prior relationship with Bouchard, Descharme or Fletcher, there's no chance that they will ever be hired. He'll give the Laval coaching job to one of his trusted minions like Boullion. He certainly isn't going to bring in someone who might be able to replace him one day. Bergevin is far too insecure to do that.

 

[Vachon23]

with what we know ( Bergevin and Timmins will stay ) that's the change that I want and it can change depends of the next fired staff or if Boucher is not fired

Rick Dudley = Chuck Fletcher
Larry Carriere = Joël Bouchard
Scott Mellanby = Shawn Horcoff
Jean-Jacques Daigneault = Chris Chelios
Dan Lacroix = Guy Boucher
Sylvain Lefebvre = Dominique Ducharme
Eric Crawford = Blair MacKasey
Rob Ramage = Yanic Perreault
Shane Churla = Stéphane Pilotte

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Still a Habs fan, the last PC just left a sour taste in my gut, sounded like what you see is what you can expect!!!... Rubbed my rhubarb once to often, they can eat my pom poms, after that pile of dung!!!...

Wow.

If this management made YOU throw your pompoms away, it's very telling. Congrats on turning a new leaf

There's still Belial though.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I don't want Chuck Fletcher.. he built a team in the image of everything we want to get away from.. a complete aversion to offense.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

I don't want Chuck Fletcher.. he built a team in the image of everything we want to get away from.. a complete aversion to offense.

He hasn't done much beside get lucky with Suter and Parise. His one excellent move was buying low on Nino.

 

[Vachon23]

He hasn't done much beside get lucky with Suter and Parise. His one excellent move was buying low on Nino.

Eric Staal and his draft has been always good

 

[OldCraig71]

Wow.

If this management made YOU throw your pompoms away, it's very telling. Congrats on turning a new leaf

There's still Belial though.

My good buddy adam is back as well.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

My good buddy adam is back as well.

He seems on the fence

 

[OldCraig71]

He seems on the fence

That's just a way to get back, it will change lol.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

That's just a way to get back, it will change lol.

We're talking about Scrub, right?

 

[Adam Michaels]

I had no idea until now, but Chuck Fletcher is actually Montreal-born. As @Vachon23 has said earlier. If I'm MB, I'm going all over Chuck to bring him into the fold.

 

[Runner77]

When the Habs have Victor Mete 100th OV and Jake Evans & Jeremiah Addison both 207th OV , Daniel Audette 147th OV the scouting has been awesome IMHO. Development is another ballpark though.

I suspect most teams have their versions of these players obtained on late picks. The Habs are not particularly better at it.

However, where the Habs have failed during many years is in securing the very best coming out of the first round. Wouldn't you rather they land the best available player in the earlier rounds where the greater talents are available? Cherry picking a few players, especially when you include mostly players who haven't proven anything at the NHL level, doesn't make for a very strong argument in support of this scouting contingent.

We need to poach from other organizations, those scouts with proven track records of being able to reliably recommend the best talents -- have you noticed how none of these guys have been signed by the Habs? When your staff is made up of your friends there is no place for individuals who are merely just competent.

 

[Runner77]

Wow.

If this management made YOU throw your pompoms away, it's very telling. Congrats on turning a new leaf

There's still Belial though.

Nah, you're celebrating too soon. He's the same old. He recanted with his two subsequent posts. Got his 5 minutes of attention and now he's back to cheerleading without pom poms. Illusions, delusions.

 

[S Bah]

McGuire pointed out today that teams that scraped into the playoffs have struggled. The era of “anyone with a ticket may win” may be in the past.

When one takes a good look at each team that has won the Stanley Cup over the last decade, it's very difficult to believe that "anyone with a ticket may win". Pittsburgh - 3 titles
Chicago - 3 titles
L.A.Kings - 2 titles
Boston - 1 title
Detroit - 1 title
Five teams have won with 3 of those teams having 8 titles. Those teams built by suffering through many years of futility, which earned them great draft picks. Their management teams are exemplary, having quality hockey people at every position in their systems. None of those teams just happened to get lucky, as the statement above suggests. The old adage of a GM being able to turn a franchise into a SCC in five yrs. is a fable, the moral here is that 31 teams are trying to accomplish the same feat. Competition is fierce amongst the NHL franchises, building through the draft is the only true way to build a perennial contender. ( IMHO teams always need infusions of top talent, Top Ten picks are an absolute necessity.)
The Habs in fact have turned their organization around, building from the top down. With the new arena in Laval, fans eyes have been opened to the nepotism rampant with the farm team.(Therefore poor development of Habs prospects, IMHO.) Which has been abundantly clear to most Habs fans, that post here on Hockey Futures Board for many yrs. now. The need for transparency as Mr.Geoff Molson stated is certainly a must, as is new young blood running the Habs prospect development factory. A Claude Ruel type of manager (Joel Bouchard) & a top drawer coach like Dom Ducharme -(Drummondville Voltigeurs, Team Canada-Silver medal, Halifax Mooseheads - J.Drouin.) whose abilities to develop young players is stellar, IMHO!!!... Habs fans want SCC's, these are two hockey people capable of developing our great young draft prospects. Building a winning attitude within the Laval Rockets prospects, is building a great foundation for our Montreal Canadiens.

As a lifelong Habs fan I too appreciate the work Marc Bergevin has done, the framework is in Place Bell for Bouchard & Ducharme to work their magic. Allowing Bergevin & Timmins to use their forte's (Talent Evaluation) in providing more great prospects to build the next Habs Dynasty team.

Then the "anyone with a ticket may win" mantra will apply to our Habs, as it always has in the past. Go Habs Go!!!... Always striving to be the best you can at every endeavor, will see our team win their 25th Stanley Cup.

 

[Runner77]

I've got the smileys down pat. Just need a couple of reasons to make them worthwhile.

 

[MasterDecoy]

Well that lasted long