Montreal Canadiens: Three Potential General Manager Replacements For Marc Bergevin

The Montreal Canadiens are going to miss the playoffs for the third straight season. Marc Bergevin sounds pretty confident he will be back next season, but who could replace him if Geoff Molson decides to make a change?

The Montreal Canadiens are in the midst of their third straight season without playoff hockey. It will be the fourth time in five years that they miss the postseason altogether and they haven’t won a playoff series since they defeated the Hamburglar-led Ottawa Senators in 2015.

Five straight years without appearing in more than one playoff series is usually grounds for dismissal for general managers around the National Hockey League. We did see head coach Michel Therrien get fired midway through the 2016-17 season and his replacement Claude Julien has not been able to bring the team back to the postseason.

Once a general manager changes coaches, it is usually his turn to jump on the hot seat. The Canadiens came close to the postseason last year, but it was pretty clear around New Year’s Day that the 2020 postseason was not coming to Montreal.

This should have a general manager sweating it out. Bergevin was doing several interviews in the past week however, and looks calmer and more confident than ever that he will be around for the long term. Geoff Molson has not mentioned he is pandering a change at the top of the Habs managerial ladder, but what if he decides things need to be shaken up at the end of the season?

Who is out there as obvious replacements for Bergevin? Well, since this is the Montreal Canadiens there are unique circumstances around who can be hired. The right person for the job should probably have some experience at the NHL level, or else he could be thrown into the lion’s den in this market. He definitely has to speak French (not saying I think this is a requirement, but it is so why debate it?) and he should have confidence when dealing with the media or he will be pummelled.

There are no shortage of fans who want to see Bergevin fired. The thing is, saying you want Bergevin gone is an incomplete statement. You can’t just fire Bergevin. You have to hire someone to replace him as well. Who is out there that is a better fit than Bergevin?

Well, let’s take a look but once you do, you might start ti realize why Molson has been so hesitant to make changes at the general manager position.