Montreal Canadiens: Marc Bergevin Just Saved His Job… For Now

One more time, shall we?

This year is certainly going on the list.

I must’ve pinched myself a million times to the point of bruising since Monday night’s sweep. I called my father the next day to confirm we weren’t stuck in a Matrix glitch or some kind of looped dream. If it is a dream, I don’t want to wake up.

Looking at Marc Bergevin screaming with his fists in the air, shades of 2014 were suddenly coming back.

This year’s celebration hits a little different for the GM. Nine years at the helm of one of the most prestigious organizations in all sports. 94 trades, 68 draft picks, and 208 contract signatures. The “reset” has gone on long enough and the fans have been demanding a competitive team. Not patiently asking, not politely holding their hands out – demanding.

A 28-year Cup drought to a fanbase that’s used to seeing at least a Stanley Cup per decade will do that to you.

It’s pretty common knowledge by now that Geoff Molson and Marc Bergevin have already been kicking the tires on a contract extension since at least the end of the regular season. We can’t automatically assume that Bergevin will in fact be presented with a contract extension, as it is not only common, but the respectful thing to do, to make a full-blown evaluation of your tenure before moving forward. Especially to someone who’s been around for nearly a decade.

His contract expires at the end of the 2021-2022 season. There have been many speculations about whether or not he stays. Despite being a master of trades, Bergevin has received his fair share of criticism on many levels. From signing players that had no business being in the starting lineup, to begin with, to his weariness of drafting local players. His relationship with Trevor Timmins, now his Assistant GM, has irked more than a few in the fanbase and media. Especially come draft day.

Now, no GM has a perfect track record during the draft. Everyone has made blunders and scouting is not an exact science. Although the NHL seems to be miles ahead of everyone when it comes to the scouting and drafting system, there’s no questioning that you can’t be perfect. For every Cole Caufield, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Mikhail Sergachev you’ve drafted in the first round, sometimes you get a Michael McCarron or Nikita Scherbak.

We’re not going to ignite another draft fire and debate whether management should’ve picked Brady Tkachuk over Kotkaniemi. It’s too easy to go back and say “Oh man, we missed out on this one.” Don’t forget everyone passed on Brendan Gallagher four times before he was drafted in the fifth round in 2010.

The issue is more of cultural identity more than anything.

Where Bergevin and subsequently Timmins have succeeded in drafting later round victories such as Alexander Romanov (2nd), Victor Mete (4th), Jake Evans (7th) or Artturi Lehkonen (late 2nd), they have completely failed in bringing in players the fans can truly connect with – Quebec-born players.

Of course, a lot has changed since the days where 80% of the club hailed from somewhere within La Belle Province. The sport has grown, globalization and technology have given access to nearly every country in the world to practice and perfect the sport. Then, of course, there’s the archaic dominion of Hockey Canada and Hockey Quebec whose ranking system and sudden capitalist approach have made it nearly impossible for kids of a certain social and economical status to even play the game.

The previous paragraph can be, and likely someday will be, an article on its own, because I still insist that the parents of the next Guy Lafleur or Maurice Richard can’t afford a $200 hockey stick.

The thing is, however, in today’s hockey, we don’t necessarily need a Richard or Lafleur. It would be nice, but it’s not completely necessary. Everyone will get behind Cole Caufield when he starts filling up the next. Everyone will honk their horns every time Suzuki puts one in. In the end, though, Quebec is a blue-collar province. We love our scrappy third and fourth liners who play with heart and give it their all in the name of the jersey they wear. Guys like Steve Begin, Maxime Lapierre, Stephane Quintal or unless you’re a reader of a certain age, go ask your parents about how hard someone like Mario Tremblay worked shift after shift despite having guys like Lafleur, Shutt, Lemaire, Robinson, Savard and Dryden surrounding him.

The debate will always be there for as long as Quebec holds on to its francophone identity. Some will prefer Lehkonen and Armia. Others would rather have Anthony Beauvillier and Alex Chiasson playing the same roles.

Cultural identity aside, after nine years, Bergevin can finally say he has his team on the ice. It’s a team built in his image. Towering defencemen with scrappy and speedy forwards who can play both ends of the ice backed up by an elite goaltender. It’s a very late 90’s/early 2000’s mentality reminiscent of the New Jersey Devils of the Martin Brodeur era or even shades of the 2006 Carolina Hurricanes who won the cup with leadership and grit.

There’s more than one argument to oust Bergevin from his seat and let a new voice and vision take his spot. After much fanfare that the 2020-2021 version of the Montreal Canadiens had tons of depth and leadership and had what it takes to have a deep playoff run, the whole thing went flat and the team barely made it to the playoffs, again.

The reports have started to leak out and no one within the team wants to talk about it. The rumour goes that after the brutal 4-0 loss in Game 4 against the Leafs, Corey Perry and Eric Staal both stood up and called everyone out, including Dominique Ducharme and Carey Price. When Shea Weber came up to Price’s defence it was Perry who stood up to the captain and told him that he needs to start to lead by example as well.

What followed was a spectacular comeback to beat the Leafs in seven, followed by sweeping the Jets in dominant fashion in Round 2. Certainly, that makes Bergevin look like a genius.

A third-round visit pretty much guarantees that Marc Bergevin will at least see the start of the 2021-2022 season. If the team struggles out of the gate, then the GM seat will start boiling and we’ll likely see a change midway or at the end of the season. Same thing for Ducharme as he has finally adapted to what’s in front of him and is playing what I like to call “the trap on steroids” and is using his assistant coaches properly all while using a very innovative, and successful thus far, way of rotating his defencemen. Chances are strong he’ll have his “interim” tag dropped at the start of next season.

The bottom line is we can debate history all we want. Both Marc Bergevin and Dominique Ducharme are fighting for their careers here. A trip to the finals and they’ll immediately get that contract extension.

A 25th Cup? All will be forgiven and Marc Bergevin will become a deity in Quebec.

He’ll then be able to make all the Weber jokes he wants.