Montreal Canadiens: A major issue with two of Geoff Molson’s comments

You may scoff at the word “plan,” considering Bergevin has become fairly infamous for his five-year plan, which is now in year eight. What we got from Molson here is some clarification on where the organization is as far as their vision. This comes from Eric Engel’s post on Sportsnet, where Molson talked about Bergevin’s tenure as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.

"If we look at the history of Marc’s time as GM, in the first few years, with the core of players we had, we had a lot of success but we didn’t win. But we had a lot of success. It was decided two years ago that with the core of players we had, we weren’t going to win and we had to make changes. We readjusted. It’s not an excuse, but we readjusted. And we’re trying to realize the plan of those readjustments. And I have a lot of confidence in that plan, and that’s the only way I can explain it."

A lot to unpack here. Ignoring the synchronous belief of, “Anything can happen in the playoffs,” there is one thing that stands out to me. That being:

It was decided two years ago that with the core of players we had, we weren’t going to win and we had to make changes. We readjusted.

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

To joggle your memory, going back two years ago brings us to the 2017-18 season. Or as some would call it, The, “What can go wrong, will go wrong – Part 1” season for the Habs. The Montreal Canadiens finished fourth last in the league and won the third draft lottery, moving up to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

According to Molson, this is where the “reset” began, and we can assume the movement for this started in the offseason. Alex Galchenyuk was moved for Max Domi while captain Max Pacioretty would later be traded for Tomas Tatar and Nick Suzuki.

Forwards moved for forwards. This was the “readjustment”. It’s clear Galchenyuk and Pacioretty’s time in the organization was over, but those adjustments were used to address the team’s issues. Tatar and Domi replenished the offence left behind, but the team’splay in their own end hadn’t improved.

So I ask, what was it about that previous core that made Molson and Bergevin so sure they weren’t going to win with them? Did they actively think about those issues on a grander scale?