Front runner for GM of the year?
- Thread starter amnesiac
- Start date
Xspyrit
DJ Dorion
Personally I would have taken Bergevin in Ottawa, and it's not a recent opinion. I'd like to see Ottawa's drafting/development + Bergevin asset management.
I had a post in February where I listed this :
But Bergevin trades were pretty much all good/great (except Drouin trade?) :
- Acquired Petry for a 2nd + 4th
- Acquired Danault + 2nd (Romanov) for Fleischmann + Weise
- Acquired Suzuki + Tatar + 2nd for Pacioretty
- Acquired Weber for Subban (move that was heavily criticized for 2-3 years but not anymore)
- Acquired Domi for Galchenyuk, then eventually Anderson for Domi + 3rd
- Acquired Armia + 4th + 7th for eating Steve Masons's cap dump for just 1 year
- Acquired Byron from waivers
- Acquired Kulak for Taormina (AHL player that ended up being done shortly after)
- Acquired Thompson + 5th for a 4th round pick, then eventually traded him for another 5th
- Acquired 2nd + 3rd for damaged goods Andrew Shaw
- Acquired Scandella for 4th, then flipped him a few weeks later for a 2nd and a 4th
- Acquired Allen for 3rd, then extended him for a reasonable 2 years at 2.875 (0.930+ SV % since last year)
- Acquired Edmundson for a 5th then signed him for a reasonable 4 years at 3.5 (leads NHL with +18)
- Signed Toffoli and Chiarot as a UFA
I had a post in February where I listed this :
But Bergevin trades were pretty much all good/great (except Drouin trade?) :
- Acquired Petry for a 2nd + 4th
- Acquired Danault + 2nd (Romanov) for Fleischmann + Weise
- Acquired Suzuki + Tatar + 2nd for Pacioretty
- Acquired Weber for Subban (move that was heavily criticized for 2-3 years but not anymore)
- Acquired Domi for Galchenyuk, then eventually Anderson for Domi + 3rd
- Acquired Armia + 4th + 7th for eating Steve Masons's cap dump for just 1 year
- Acquired Byron from waivers
- Acquired Kulak for Taormina (AHL player that ended up being done shortly after)
- Acquired Thompson + 5th for a 4th round pick, then eventually traded him for another 5th
- Acquired 2nd + 3rd for damaged goods Andrew Shaw
- Acquired Scandella for 4th, then flipped him a few weeks later for a 2nd and a 4th
- Acquired Allen for 3rd, then extended him for a reasonable 2 years at 2.875 (0.930+ SV % since last year)
- Acquired Edmundson for a 5th then signed him for a reasonable 4 years at 3.5 (leads NHL with +18)
- Signed Toffoli and Chiarot as a UFA
Danault trade has to be one of the biggest steals in the league. Cant believe Chicago gave up on him.
Losing Sergachev sets them back, though. Him and Romanov couldve been their core pairing D for the next 10+ years. And now theyll probably give away Drouin for a pick. One of the worst trades the Habs have ever done, period.
Two 2nd for Shaw was horrible too, especially considering Debrincat was one of those picks, and Girard went not long after the other.
Dont forget he also signed Alzer to that horrible deal.
Hes been great for the last 2.5 years, but before that not so much. He deserves GM of the year since we're just talking about THIS season. But Im still curious how the Habs will fair longterm with the longterm contracts on the books (Price, Weber, Gallagher, Anderson). Wont be easy signing KK, Suzuki, ROmanov, and eventually Caufield tell yourself! Time will tell.
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I still think Bergevin is one of the worst. Like Benning last year, a Cinderella run doesn’t change my view. Especially in a weak Canadian division. Montreal doesn’t even make the playoffs in the regular divisions. Most Habs fans I know wanted him fired before the playoffs.
Eliminating Toronto down 3-1 and sweeping WPG isnt due to a "weak" division.... its become such a poor narrative on these boards.
The West had 5 teams in the bottom 11 in GA last season. So maybe COL and VGK were benefitting more than any other division. COL sure looked like that was the case after sweeping a poor STL team, and then looking like they had none left vs Vegas.
Do I think MTL can beat Vegas? No, but they deserved their wins especially shutting down one of the top players/offenses int he league in TOR. WPG also still had the likes of: Connor, Dubois, Wheeler, and Ehlers too dont forget (and Scheifele for game 1), let alone Hellebuyck after shutting down EDM with a 950 SV%
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Speaking of poor narratives, in a normal year Montreal doesn’t even make the playoffs. But this is HF Boards where a lot of posters have short memories. Next year they will want him fired again when he misses the playoffs.
I agree, that is a poor narrative.
No one knows that. Maybe they finish even better for all we know, face TB in the 1st round and get eliminated. Maybe not. Whats the point in even talking about something that MAY or MAY NOT have happened? Maybe I wouldve got hit by a bus yesterday if I left work 4 mins later and this conversation never happens.
Poor rebuttal. The whole point of being a good GM is building a team that can compete every year. Bergevin has not done that and a Cinderella run doesn’t change that. As I said before, many on here have very short term memories.
You can watch what happens next year and then get back to me. Anyways I’ll leave you to it as this thread is about the GM of the year and even most Hab fans would agree with me. Enjoy the playoff run though!
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It doesnt matter what happens next year or 4 years from now, the award is for the 2020-21 season, and without Bergevin's acquisitions, they sure as hell dont get to where they are now. Understand that.
They beat one of the best teams int he league whether you think so or not, and then swept a team with arguably the BEST top 9 in the league (yes, 3 games without Scheifele, but still had Connor, Dubois, Wheeler, Ehlers, Stastny 3 games), the same team who swept Edmonton and shutdown McDrai.
Keep trying to find your excuses. Facts are facts. What ifs are what ifs.
Web In Front
Registered User
- Feb 1, 2020
- 386
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There's more to being a good GM than winning trades. The biggest issue I have with Bergevin's tenure in Montreal has been his lack of vision and long-term planning. There is no foreseeable window in which the Habs will be one of the top 5-8 Stanley Cup contenders in the league and given their current contract structure it will be almost impossible to open such a window in the near future.
Montreal is currently devoid of the high end forward talent you need to win a Cup. The best case scenario for them is Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Caufield developing into those top of the lineup pieces. The problem is that by the time those kids are in their primes Weber will be 38, Price 36, Petry 36, Gallagher 32, Toffoli 32.
Essentially there is a big age gap problem the Habs will run into due to a lack of strategic thinking from Bergevin when building his roster. He is always making moves to fulfill short-term needs and as you point out they do often succeed but over time he has boxed himself into an older roster lacking true difference makers (outside of Price) that will be too old and ineffective to form a Cup caliber supporting cast around his young potential stars. That is if the young players even reach those heights which is an open question when it comes to Kotkaniemi and Caufield.
If they win the Cup this year I'll obviously admit I was wrong but I don't see that happening. Ultimately if your team's ceiling is a miracle run where they get spanked in the conference finals you have not built a true Cup contender. He has been their GM for almost a decade there are no excuses.
I agree with this, hes always been trying to win now with the Price/Weber prime window closing (and its just about closed regardless of Price's present heroics). The catch 22 is you have to suck/tank to get elite talent, but if you suck too much you lose your job. So what can he do?
Most of if not all the Cup winners since Boston have won based of sucking and getting high picks. STL being a bit of an exception, but still needed the 4OA pick to get Pietrangelo.
Satoru Gojo
Registered User
- Jan 15, 2012
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LOL just because Bergevin gets a fluke run to the CF shouldn't mean he's GM of the year
Everyone was calling for his head a week before the playoffs even started...
I think the two front runners should be Zito or Guerin
Everyone was calling for his head a week before the playoffs even started...
I think the two front runners should be Zito or Guerin
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Agreed. The award should go to a GM who has a long term vision and is building a perennial contender. Not a GM who has one short term run that’s clearly not a contender nor building to one. The Stanley Cup is such a hard trophy to win and the best GMs build teams that can contend multiple years so that they improve their odds of winning. Sakic, Lou and a few other guys jump out to me.
And looking at it realistically in a normal year Montreal don’t likely even make the playoffs. Who of Tampa, Boston, Toronto and Florida do they knock out of a playoff spot?
I mean it makes a nice story to pick a Canadian Cinderella team but I think when Montreal likely misses the playoffs next year, fans will once again be calling for his head.
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A Loyal Dog
I love SlafCaulZuki (pronounced Slafkovsky). Woof!
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Dubas. Acquired Foligno. Got Barrie, Simmonds, etc. Defence vastly improved. He got gritty forwards. Lost against a Habs destiny team.
Otherwise, Bergevin and Sakic (Toews acquisition is A+) did a good job too.
Otherwise, Bergevin and Sakic (Toews acquisition is A+) did a good job too.
Bouboumaster
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- Jul 4, 2014
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Too true! A lot of people with short term memories on here.
And neither won. The vote usually goes to a GM building for long term success. You should read the criteria before just jumping on a Cinderella team.
DonM
The Industrial Revolution and its consequences
- May 18, 2015
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Gotta vote Brisebois on this. His GM skills are so good, half the forum keeps accusing him of cheating. There's no greater compliment than that
but thats how its voted. Should a team who finished last and lands the top pick be considered for the award since its a good "longterm" strategy? or GM who trades all his best players and stock piles picks?
Im just telling you how it is, not how it "should be".
I edited my reply. Neither won the award which proves my point and debunks your whacky theory about short term success.
The winner was Lou and Brisebois of Tampa was second. Both don’t fit your narrative. Maybe Bergevin has a shot at the third spot amongst some voters with short term memories who like a good Cinderella type story.
I dont think you thought that one though....
You say Brisebois doesnt fit the narrative yet Tampa WON THE CUP with some of his moves LAST SEASON. What longterm success did he land exactly in 2019-20?
Isles got to the conference finals LAST SEASON. And again, what longterm success did Lou land exactly in 2019-20?
I mean the top 7 GMs in voting ALL Made the 2nd round of the playoffs (out of 8) ...... Sweeney being the one left out mainly because he WON it in 18-19.
Seriously, get a clue, dude
.... This is just plain observation. Its really not hard to understand. 2+ 2 = 4
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You’ve shown in the past an inability to admit when you’re wrong. Both Tampa and NYI were obviously building teams for long term success and here they are in the final four once again this year. The guys building for short term success didn’t win. Repeating the same nonsense in every post doesn’t make you correct. It just makes you stubborn. Take the L and move on.I dont think you thought that one though....
You say Brisebois doesnt fit the narrative yet Tampa WON THE CUP with some of his moves LAST SEASON. What longterm success did he land exactly in 2019-20?
Isles got to the conference finals LAST SEASON. And again, what longterm success did Lou land exactly in 2019-20?
I mean the top 7 GMs in voting ALL Made the 2nd round of the playoffs (out of 8) ...... Sweeney being the one left out mainly because he WON it in 18-19.
eriously, get a clue, dude
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