Because Julien genuinely thinks he has a better chance to win with
Thompson as his 2C. Its not the first time hes shown something as stupid as this, hes a known offender.
I think you actually attribute too much brain power to Bergevin, think hes smart enough to plan ahead like that ? Three years ahead ? No way. Why would he play Suzuki in the top 6 then? Why did he bring up Kotkaniemi last year? If he lets him simmer he has 3 free years of Kotkaniemi in his prime (at 3.5 ELC cap hit.)
Really, much like Ad Astra, youre seeing too far into this