Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin Becoming a Master Negotiator

The Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has been getting players to buy in recently and return to the Habs organization for cheaper deals than they could get elsewhere.

The Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin has gone through some ups and downs as the man at the helm of the Habs organization. Lately, he is proving himself to be a shrewd negotiator who can get players to buy in and stay in Montreal.

Bergevin’s career as the Habs general manager has been rocky at times. He took over a team that was near the bottom of the standings and steered them to the postseason in his first year with the team. A pair of 100 point seasons followed, and all was well in Habland.

Then, the 2015-16 season saw the team crash and crumble after Carey Price was injured. They missed the playoffs and fingers were pointed at Bergevin for going with Ben Scrivens and Mike Condon to fill in for Price.

The Canadiens bounced back to make the playoffs again a year later but had perhaps the worst depth at centre in the league. This was a huge sore spot for the organization for years. Bergevin took over a team with David Desharnais, Tomas Plekanec and Lars Eller down the middle and five years later it somehow looked worse.

More from Editorials

• Montreal Canadiens: Senators Rebuild At Crisis Point As Kent Hughes Moves Forward
• Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Continues Charity Work In Montreal After Leaving Habs
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Lineup Going To Be Must Watch
• Montreal Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Contract Extension Analysis
• Montreal Canadiens: Top 31 Prospects – #31 Quentin Miller

Missing the postseason once again in 2017-18 had many calling for Bergevin to be fired. They did not get their wish, and just one year later, Bergevin seems to have restored Montreal as a leading destination for players around the league.

Over the past few weeks, the Canadiens have re-signed a handful of players. None of them are elite level players, but all of them took less money than would have been expected after their most recent season.

The first was Christian Folin. The big, right-shooting defender was acquired along with Dale Weise for David Schlemko and Byron Froese shortly before the trade deadline. Folin proved to be the best player in the trade by a wide margin. He showed to be fully capable of playing regular minutes on the third pairing by playing tidy defence and moving the puck well.

Shea Weber and Jeff Petry are locked into the top two slots on the right side of the Habs defence. Noah Juulsen has a great chance to be a full-time NHL player next season and take the third spot on the right side. Cale Fleury and Josh Brook could be Habs soon too. With all this depth on the right side, I would have thought Folin would test free agency looking for a better fit.

However, on April 18th, long before Folin would become an unrestricted free agent, he signed a one-year extension with the Habs for a measly (by NHL standards) sum of $800,000. Had he tested the free agent waters, he surely could have received more, but he obviously wanted to stay in Montreal.

Nate Thompson was the next one to re-sign. He was acquired at the trade deadline as a pending UFA. He earned at least $1.6 million in each of the previous six seasons but waived his right to free agency this summer to take a one year deal at $1 million to stay in Montreal next season.

Jordan Weal finished the season with Montreal after stops in Philadelphia and Arizona this season. He scored ten points in 16 games with the Habs, earned some powerplay time and fit in well on a new and improved fourth line.

With all of the team’s forwards returning next season, and Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki pushing for NHL jobs, there is no defined role for Weal next season. He could be a third line winger, a fourth line center, a part-time player, heck, he could find himself in the minors.

However, even with that uncertainty, and just two months away from hitting the open market as a UFA, Weal inked a two-year contract with a $1.4 million cap hit. As a free agent, it’s very likely Weal could have found himself a place where he has a better chance of full-time NHL employment, and likely could have made more money. However, he balked at the opportunity to hit the open market and chose to stay in Montreal.

Finally, Brett Kulak just signed a three-year contract with a cap hit of $1.85 million. He played the bulk of the second half of last season as either Shea Weber or Jeff Petry’s partner. That means he was a top-four defenceman. He said on Saturday that he expects to be a top pairing guy as soon as this season.

What top pairing guy takes less than $2 million on a three-year contract? He could have been a UFA in two years if he wanted. You can argue all you want if Kulak is a top pairing defender, but the reality is he is 25 years old and established himself as a top four at minimum already. He believes he can be played on the top pairing but was willing to take $1.85 million to stay in Montreal long term.

Something is going on here with this group of players. Either Marc Bergevin is a master negotiator who can convince players they are worth less than market value. Or, the players on this team believe something special is being built.

Either way, the Canadiens should be able to add some significant pieces in free agency, as playing for the Montreal Canadiens seems to be a desirable destination for these players, and that should help attract free agents this summer.