Did Marc Bergevin Overrule Michel Therrien To Move Rene Bourque?

Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien has a well deserved reputation of a guy who likes to lean heavily on his veteran players.

We saw this last season with a struggling Brian Gionta getting power play time over young guys like Alex Galchenyuk, and even more head scratching was his usage of Francis Bouillon and Douglas Murray while Nathan Beaulieu and Jarred Tinordi either sat in the press box or played in the minors with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Oct 16, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien during the second period against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

This season, we are seeing more of the same with Alexei Emelin, Mike Weaver and Tom Gilbert being outplayed by Beaulieu and Tinordi, but still getting far more ice time.

The most glaring mistake that Therrien has continued to make over the years, has been his insistence of giving significant ice time to Rene Bourque. He was frequently a linemate of Tomas Plekanec’s when he first arrived, though he was completely incapable of producing any offence.

This season, Bourque played the first 13 games on Lars Eller’s wing, before finally being made a healthy scratch and ultimately going unclaimed on waivers and finding himself with the Hamilton Bulldogs yesterday.

With zero goals and just two assists this season, you would think Therrien finally came to his senses last week, and gave up on a veteran player who clearly can’t perform at the level he once did. Perhaps Therrien finally realized a rookie like Jiri Sekac or a second year player like Michael Bournival would be much more valuable in the lineup than an underachieving and overpaid 32 year old.

Or perhaps, it was not Michel Therrien’s decision at all.

May 17, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin gives a press conference before game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Elliotte Friedman of Sporstnet, suggested on radio yesterday that it was Marc Bergevin’s idea to move on from Bourque, and the only way to get him out of Therrien’s lineup was to get him off the roster.

Friedman suggests Bergevin wanted to see Sekac and Bournival in the lineup, and the only way to get them on the ice was to take away one of Therrien’s favored veteran players who he consistently relies on.

I don’t think I have to explain how concerning it is for the Canadiens to have a coach who needs his worst players taken away from him because he is incapable of realizing how poorly they are playing.

Shouldn’t an NHL coach be able to see that Sekac and Bournival are better players today than Rene Bourque? Everyone else watching the Canadiens knew this long ago.

May 19, 2014; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens left wing Rene Bourque (17) misses a chance to score a goal against New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) as defenseman Kevin Klein (8) defends during the second period in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Sure, Bourque had a solid playoff run for the Habs last spring, but how long do you wait for that to happen again before you realize “Playoff Bourque” is not coming back anytime soon. Not to mention Bourque’s “amazing” playoff was basically him lightning up Anders Lindback in the first round and one big game against the New York Rangers.

It is about time the Montreal Canadiens moved on from Rene Bourque, who has not performed up to expectations since he arrived here nearly four years ago. However, it is troubling to see that Bergevin may have needed to step in to correct the error that Michel Therrien was somehow blind to see.

So don’t expect Therrien to finally start penciling Beaulieu and Tinordi into the lineup together every night. Nor will we see Travis Moen sit when Bournival returns to the lineup.

Well, not unless Bergevin steps in again and moves Emelin or Moen out of town.