Was this the worst off-season in recent history?

[Saxon]

What is incredible is that Bergevin had back to back off-seasons that were so bad, they both are perceived as possibly the worst ever.

That's the legacy of this guy going forward. Stop the madness before the trifecta hits!!!

Bergy getting progressively worse each offseason....... wait until next off-season.......

 

[Scintillating10]

Trade thread seems to be gone...but would Oilers do Lucy, RNH and a first rounder for Pacioretty and Plekanec?

 

[YYZviaYUL]

 

[OldCraig71]

Trade thread seems to be gone...but would Oilers do Lucy, RNH and a first rounder for Pacioretty and Plekanec?

Lucic and that contract? How is that a step forward? I want to trade Pacioretty but I do not want dead weight in return.

 

[CharlesHabsFan]

Leafs fan coming here in peace, I know it's a frustrating time for you guys but no one know the pain better then any Leafs fan and it is all caused by the poor management and your GM should take the blame

- Traded for a winger (Drouin) to play center, and traded your best prospect and a stud "D" in that process
- Traded Subban for a declining 32 year old Weber
- Signed a goalie with a cap hit of 10.5 not even playing- I can't question that because Price is the best goalie if he is healthy
- Bith Markov and Radulov walked as Free agents for nothing
- I am not sure how many picks this organization has given up and the Team is not even better but it is declining

I am not here to pick on any one just sharing my views. We have suffered the same pain for decades and still trying our best to get some respect in this league

That's probably the worst part here. There are a ridiculous amount of people who rant against Trevor Timmins for the lack of talent, but very few seem to realize how few picks he really had to work with. In the last few years, how many 1st and 2nd rounders have we traded for absolutely unrewarding solutions ? And then of course we had pretty successful seasons so our 1st draft pick in the 25th ballpark, where no talent seems to be found lately.

It's in French, but here's an interview with Trevor Timmins that has a lot to say about how tied up his job really is : Trevor Timmins : Chris Kreider était mon choix

Honestly, I still can't fathom the fact that in 2 years, our complete defense was changed... and for the worst. We went from Markov, Subban, Emelin, Gilbert, Beaulieu and Weaver, acquired Petry during the 2015 season and going forward, our defense became Mete, Weber, Alzner, Petry, Benn and Davidson. Sure Beaulieu isn't great, Gilbert was horribly slow, Emelin had difficulties, Subban is for better or for worse. But at this point, at least they were actually defending. Alzner and Petry this year, I can't even understand how you can make so many mistakes in what you have been taught since junior. How many giveaways have they done in their own zone this seaosn ?

The offense is just putrid too. Only Drouin, Byron and Gallagher seem to be really trying. But out of the 3, only Drouin really has big talent so that shows much. Lehkonen was doing fine but got injured, Hudon is learning and trying, but aside from that... Flashes of Galchenyuk and Pacioretty when they actually try. They should more often since they should be our biggest threats on the ice. Plekanec has been useless, can't really even win draws nowadays anyways. Hemsky was a joke. Absolutely useless and good thing he's injured. I never liked his signing, especially if he was the pill to digest Radulov's loss. Hemsky has just been invisible all the way through. Danault is doing fine, but what can he really do ? He's pretty much our new Desharnais at this point, with a bit more talent and at a younger age.

Can't blame goaltending at all. Sure Price probably played injured and definitely didn't seem in his top condition and maybe that cost us along the way, but there's no way it's all on the goalies, not even close. It's as if the team is making it hard on goalies on purpose with all the horrible defensive covers, the turnovers in our end zone, the number of dumb icings we make, the ridiculous amount of absolutely stupid penalties we take and the hideous amount of wasted powerplay opportunities...

Usually, I try to make time when I'm busy to have the game on any way I can. This year, I think I must have watched a maximum of 5 full games so far. It's November and we are out of the playoffs. Not even the 2012 or 2016 seasons were that bad.

 

[YYZviaYUL]

I'd rather trade Pacioretty for a 2nd rounder than get Lucic back.
Free up some playing time for someone like Carr.
Pacioretty brings absolutely nothing to a winning team.

 

[Leafsmann]

nice photoshop

 

[Bieber fever]

The emelin/alzner move was sketchy...

iirc habs protected Benn over Emelin. Once emelin was drafted by vegas ,MB said he was suprise they took him. Then they tried to re-acquire emelin with a trade. Few days later they sign a similar player in Alzner to massive money and term ....

 

[Garbageyuk]

I would argue that the previous off-season was worse because trading Subban to protect Michel Therrien and Wax Statueretty was the defining moment where Bergevin was valuing the dead puck era over the current trend toward skill, possession, transition and speed.

lol, I love this. Now we have:

Wax Statueretty
Max Patio-Ready
Casparetty
Patch-where-is-he
Captain Invisible

Quite the stable of nicknames our captain has earned. Therrien was right about one thing: worst captain in Habs history.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

This off-season was the icing on the cake of a culmination of bad moves that started with the Subban trade that has put us in the position we're in now. It doesn't help that Bergevin also changes the direction of the team every summer because he doesn't have a clue about what to do.

But yes, to answer the main question, this off-season was quite possibly the worst one that I can remember.

 

[murray]

I have to vent.

I was angry when we lost Radulov. The "dog/loyalty" comment, to me, wasn't so much a red flag as it was the culmination of a growing sense of disillusionment/malaise; the icing on a real turd sundae.

I couldn't believe how classless that comment was, but it's a reflection of how this organization works now: they don't respect the fans, they don't respect the history, and they don't respect the players. We all joke about "rispeck", but the complete lack of grace and tact we've born witness to over the past few years is incredible. When do we expect another Bergevin press conference, Marc nearly in tears, "accepting" the blame? He's a cartoon character, a slimy politician that thinks this is some sort of reality show.

When Markov left, a part of my "heart" for this team died. Again, it comes down to respect, and I am still absolutely floored at the lack of respect we showed to him.

Will that passion that I lost ever return? I don't know. I hope so. I mentioned in another thread how I was changing my own routines, wearing specific socks, instituting inane superstitions, hoping it would help the team...but I think I'm done with that now. This, too, will probably be the first season in roughly a decade that I won't plan a nice Toronto-to-Montréal weekend with my wife to see a game.

Typing all of this out has made me really come to grips with my utter and crushing disappointment regarding the Montréal Canadiens.

Thanks, Geoff. Thanks, Marc.

 

[OneSharpMarble]

MB just confirming he is indeed the worst GM in the league and wouldn't have his position if it weren't for his name. Didn't he also play hardball with Subban after rushing to sign Desharnais? The guys a joke, he makes Gauthier look like Sam Pollock.