Montreal Canadiens: The difficult part of being a general manager

The best NHL GMs are the most ruthless and Marc Bergevin may find himself in that position with the Montreal Canadiens when it comes to Max Pacioretty.

There are moments in any team’s tenure when the general manager has to make a tough decision. Stan Bowman has been down that road several times with the Chicago Blackhawks when the salary cap forced his hand. The Montreal Canadiens haven’t had any cap-themed deals come their way, but Marc Bergevin has made his fair share of tough deals.

Say what you will, but the Shea Weber for P.K. Subban trade couldn’t have been easy. Bergevin wasn’t ignorant to what Subban meant to the city and the fans. However, management believed it was the right move to make.

As we sit nearly two weeks away from the NHL Draft, the Montreal Canadiens may have another one of those coming up. Max Pacioretty has had his name in the trade cookie jar all season. The trade deadline didn’t have any movement on that front, but there was no doubt that those efforts would be revisited in the offseason.

Since that final game, Pacioretty has made it clear how badly he wants to stay. His last interview of the regular season painted a pretty picture of his feelings towards the team and the fan base. Pacioretty’s work in the community, and most recently at the Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, that shouldn’t change Bergevin’s thought process. If moving Pacioretty is the best move for the Montreal Canadiens in the future, then it needs to be done. That’s what makes being general manager difficult. At times you need to separate the person from the player, and sometimes that has you make decisions you don’t want to do.

As frustrating as the season was for Pacioretty, I’d bet a lot of the majority of the fanbase don’t want him to leave. However, what the Habs may get in return could make the sorrow of him being traded easier to accept.

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