Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson has announced Marc Bergevin as the Canadiens new General Manager. Bergevin was the assistant general manager for the Chicago Blackhawks. Bergevin was chosen because of his experience and knowledge but he is also known to have a good eye for talent and that’s what the Canadiens need. He played in the NHL for 20 seasons as a defenseman and has been part of the Blackhawks scouting staff from 2005 until being named as the Blackhawks assistant GM in 2011.
Instead of saying that Marc Bergevin will have big shoes to fill but I think he has a big mess to fix. Replacing Pierre Gauthier shouldn’t be too hard considering the Canadiens are coming off one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Bergevin is left to tie up a bunch of loose ends starting with whether or not Randy Cunneyworth will continue on as head coach. Cunneyworth replaced former head coach Jacques Martin when Gauthier fired Martin because the team wasn’t performing the way he wanted them too. Cunneyworth was classified as a “interim” head coach so his fate is still undecided.
The Montreal Canadiens are one of the most talked about NHL teams in the whole league, so Bergevin should expect criticism from the Habs huge fan base. Bergevin will have to determine how he is going to make the Canadiens successful again. As of July 1st goaltender Carey Price and defenseman P.K. Subban will become restricted free agents, so he shouldn’t waste time in resigning them. Subban had a less than stellar season but he showed great potential and maturity at the end of the season. Price was the Canadiens “MVP” in my opinion. He gave them a chance each and every night and he came up big when needed.
Another hot topic in Montreal is the Scott Gomez contract. Gomez is an extremely overpaid underacheiver scoring only 2 goals all season long. However we can’t simply blame Gomez for the Canadiens horrible season, there are many other players that did not perform to the best of their ability. Tomas Karberle, Petteri Nokelainen and Rene Bourque were all huge disappointments for the Canadiens this season.
I am looking forward to the changes that are going to take place in Montreal with Marc Bergevin calling the shots. I just hope he can bring the Canadiens back to one of the top teams in the NHL. With all the talent he has to work with like Erik Cole, Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais.
Totally agree. Can’t wait to see what this guy can do – he seems like he’s definitely got some personality! Don’t see the upside in buying out Gomez and being stuck with a cap hit for the next 3 years – rather send him to the minors like the Rangers did with Redden…no cap hit.