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Roundup: What Marc Bergevin has to do to transition the Montreal Canadiens

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 26: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate a goal by Shea Weber #6 against the Boston Bruins during the first period at the Bell Centre on November 26, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 26: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate a goal by Shea Weber #6 against the Boston Bruins during the first period at the Bell Centre on November 26, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens, Marc Bergevin
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 22: Marc Bergevin Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

2. What can Marc Bergevin do to transition the Habs from being a bubble team to a legitimate playoff contender?

EL: The Montreal Canadiens need a superstar player to really make them a contender. That has always been the issue in La Belle Province: convincing players to come and play there. The factors being weather, taxes, not to mention the media attention and scrutiny you are put under.

The Habs will never be a strong, successful hockey team playing four lines of inconsistent streaky players. Jonathan Drouin, unfortunately, hasn’t panned out as Bergevin thought while Max Domi had one good year, and it seems now he has tailed off and back to the way he was playing in Arizona.

OW: One of the most polarizing things Marc Bergevin has said about the Montreal Canadiens was at the end of the 2017-18 season, making the move to focus on youth, speed and skill. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great thing as the NHL’s best teams have a core made up of at least two of those things. The issue, and the polarizing nature of the statement, comes from how it’s been implemented.

The 2018 NHL Draft was one of the early signs of this front with the kinds of players the Habs were letting into the organization. But there was a constant push to compete each year and build on the fly. Other teams have perfected it while the Canadiens haven’t made the playoffs since. Bergevin refused to use the word “rebuild” while the replacement “retool” hasn’t provided the city anything to cheer for beyond April.

However, I don’t feel a rebuilding year is ever going to come for the Montreal Canadiens, at least not on purpose. Fans will never see something like what the New York Rangers did in admitting to their fans that they’ll tank or the Detroit Red Wings in their historically horrible year. And if that’s not the case, Bergevin can’t stick to his stance on not salvaging the future for improvements.

It’s time to make a big move. The Habs will be gifted a trip to the playoffs, it’s not earned. If Bergevin wants to take the team to the next level, he needs to start making those impact trades with a hefty, but reasonable price. The other teams in the Eastern Conference continue to shoot their shot on the market, if Bergevin isn’t going to take, it’s time to pay.

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