The Montreal Canadiens made a mistake not hiring a President of Hockey Operations

Geoff Molson confirms he has 100% faith in Marc Bergevin as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens and will not hire a President of Hockey Operations.

A couple of weeks ago, a rumor circled in the Montreal media that the Montreal Canadiens were looking at Vincent Damphousse as their next president of hockey operations. Those rumors were squashed today when Geoff Molson took the time to speak to the Montreal media on a conference call.

I have no intention to hire another president of hockey. There are very few teams across the NHL that do so, and there are a lot of reasons why. Marc [Bergevin] is one of the most respected GMs in hockey. He is also now among the most experienced, and he will continue to report to me. He is very well surrounded by people with a lot of experience, including – without naming everyone – people like Scott Mellanby, Martin Lapointe, and John Sedgwick. There is a culture team-wide, and surrounding Marc, to never be afraid to question the decisions we take. (Quote from the Habs NHL site)

I tend to agree with this statement, but I question the fact that Molson doesn’t realize the ill effects Marc Bergevin has had on this team.

The Montreal Canadiens have not made the playoffs two years in a row, and it could be three depending on whether the Canadiens can pull off a shocking upset against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. We have to realize if Montreal doesn’t beat the Penguins, it will be another failed year for Bergevin and co.

These past couple of seasons has seen Bergevin sign a lot of fringe players who would be either on the 3rd or 4th line. He also signed a backup goalie in Keith Kinkaid, which turned out to be a dud and now plays for another team in the AHL.

He attempted to offer sheet Sebastien Aho but didn’t offer enough to the point that owner Thomas Dundon of the Carolina Hurricanes was laughing at him. I even tend to suspect it was all a plot made by his agent to get his client an amazing contact and used Bergevin as a pawn.

In my personal opinion, I think it is time for Molson to wake up and show Bergevin the door. Up until 2017, things were going alright. However, I feel Montreal is not in a very good spot.

They picked Jesperi Kotkaniemi over Brady Tkachuk, which isn’t turning out as everyone in Montreal hoped. He had one good season, and midway through this season, he was back in Laval. Injuries are a factor, but it’s a tough pill to swallow. Tkachuk has been vital to the Ottawa Senators, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they made a run next season.

The fact also is that Montreal has a tendency to rush players that are not ready. Most players fresh out of a draft aren’t ready to play. Putting a rookie in the spotlight of the Montreal Canadiens media is not good for his development. They need a whole new system of how to develop players and turn them into superstars.

That’s just my two cents, but if I were Geoff Molson and the Montreal Canadiens miss the playoffs again, I’m thinking twice about giving Marc Bergevin another chance. We are in year eight of a five- year plan that Bergevin laid out, and it won’t be long before the Montreal faithful start to lose faith if they haven’t already.

The Montreal media is even scrutinizing Bergevin, and they would actually prefer for the team to lose so they can have a higher draft pick this year. Again, we will have to see how Montreal fares hopefully come August if they can hold their own or if they are on a course to another failed season.