Montreal Canadiens: How Marc Bergevin is Quietly Preventing Disaster
Marc Bergevin is quietly preventing disaster for the Montreal Canadiens by saving a lot of cap space as he is preparing to sign many of his primary players.
The Montreal Canadiens, yet again, are starting the season with approximately $6 million in cap space (when all is said and calculated). Many fans are angry and feel as though Marc Bergevin is wasting time, and money is being left in the bank that he could potentially be spending on a beneficial addition to the team, whether being a top 6 forward or top-four defenseman. Little do they know, these same fans will be thanking Bergevin in as little as two years for saving this cap space.
Throughout the NHL, we notice how many teams are struggling to maintain their rosters as their cap is filled to the brim. From the Winnipeg Jets having to potentially choose between Patrik Laine or Kyle Connor, to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s situation in which they don’t have enough money to sign star center Brayden Point, arguably leading them to have to trade one of their top 6 players. Bergevin and the Canadiens are keeping things into perspective as they do not want to be in these same situations in the upcoming seasons.
Marc Bergevin has two years to sign big names such as Jeff Petry, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Max Domi, Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar (if they choose to keep these players). This is without mentioning the handful of new prospects that will be entering the 2020-21 campaign starting their ELCs, who will undoubtedly be getting pay raises in the following 2-3 years.
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Keeping the cap at a manageable rate this early and knowing that he will be getting much more cap space next summer (from many options such as buying out Karl Alzner, and UFAs will be leaving that the Habs won’t be needing anymore), Bergevin and the Canadiens will be in comfortable hands to sign their important star players.
As we know, Marc Bergevin will have his hands full in the upcoming off-seasons. He is planning ahead for the sake of his and the Canadiens’ own good, which should be preferable from Habs fans. Bergevin and the Canadiens have successfully built an empire of young talent that will soon completely re-identify the Montreal Canadiens, and Bergevin wants to make sure he has enough money for every piece of talent that is on the rise.
A lot of fans are praising the talents and futures of young prospects that Bergevin has acquired, whether that be Romanov, Brook, Suzuki, Caufield or Poehling, yet they still complain that the team is missing players like Laine or Duchene. This is understandable as the culture in Montreal is and always will be in a win-now state of mind. However, the patience of saving the cap space will be very worth it for when the Canadiens are a team with solid offensive and defensive depth, as well as of course having one of the best goaltenders in the world.
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Bergevin is managing to start the 2019-2020 season with a young, passionate and hard-working roster, while still leaving a lot of unused money in the Canadiens’ cap space. This is understandably frustrating for some fans; however, it is imperative to realize and understand Bergevin’s plan behind not spending the available cap space, as it leads the Habs to a near, promising future.