He did that once. Not every season. Other deadline acquisitions include Vanek and Petry. I wouldn't put those two as a tendency to bring in useless UFA plugs.
King was a bad one. Ott first a 6th round pick, didn't mind that one. The difference though is the context they're in. When MB made those moves, he was in the rental business. He admitted he's not this season. It remains to be seen if he sticks to that mindset.
But I think that the moves you mentioned and his past errors to try and fast track the team into a contender and failing to do so may be what encourages management to go slow and steady this time around.
I would be extremely surprised if Benn is still a Hab past the deadline.
I am convinced Bergevin didn't see Petry as a pure rental when he got him. I think he saw it as a calculated gamble, that he thought there was a good chance that he could resign Petry.
He said in a post conference interview that if he could get a good UFA at a pretty good price AND that he thought he had a really good sign of resigning, he would do it. The Petry acquisition (like the original Radulov signing and the Skinner trade this summer) isn't something that comes along every day/year. A really good player that is undervalued by the rest of GMs and there fore available for a bargain bin price. It's too bad Bergevin didn't offer Radulov a contract he couldn't refuse, and get Skinner this summer.
Hoffman and Evander Kane are other players that come to mind. Although kane may prove that he isn't that good and Hoffman had serious character question marks.
Hopefully another good player will fall into his lap again and he won't botch it. But I don't see any yet. It's got to be someone who's undervalued by the rest of the league. Tarasenko's value may get there, but it's not there yet.
