Montreal Canadiens: Marc Bergevin Has a Lot of Work This Offseason

Montreal Canadiens general manager did his final media availability last Friday and shared that he has a lot of work on his plate this summer.

A hot topic on Friday was the fact that Joel Bouchard had taken an offer to coach the Anaheim Ducks AHL team, the San Diego Gulls, and the French-speaking media questioned Bergevin on why it happened and how it came to pass.

” We had plans to keep Bouchard in our organization either as the head coach in Laval or an assistant in Montreal, and he decided to go elsewhere,” Bergevin said.

The Laval Rocket had a very good season, finishing first in their division, and winning the title since there were no playoffs.

The Canadiens GM also noted the injuries that were suffered during the playoffs but that everything was fine and should be good for the beginning of training camp.

Tyler Toffoli had a groin injury, Brendan Gallagher suffered many but decided to fight and play through it which is what you can expect from the spark plug of the team, not to mention Shea Weber’s hand injury.

Bergevin did mention that Weber might need to have surgery for it but that he would still be ready in time.

Jeff Petry’s injury was the most intriguing as he suffered a finger injury against the Winnipeg Jets when he got his finger stuck in the camera hole. It was disclosed by the defenceman that he had actually dislocated it.

When he got to the bench he said he saw his finger go the opposite way and when they put it back in place, he passed out and popped the blood vessels in his eyes, hence, why we saw him in his return against Vegas with those red eyes.

The number one priority for Bergevin will be to sign Philip Danault who had a very slow start to the season but played an amazing role during the playoffs, shutting down the top lines of the opposing teams.

He confirmed, in his final media availability, the rumour that he had denied a contract offer of five years at $6 million, saying it wasn’t only about money but that he was in a tough place mentally and was trying to figure out his role with the emergence of Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Other notable UFAs are Joel Armia, Corey Perry, Eric Staal, Tomas Tatar, Jon Merill, and Erik Gustafsson, while Kotkaniemi and Arrturi Lehkonen are RFAs.

Armia and Staal have both mentioned they would like to take some time and go home before deciding their futures and whether they want to come back to Montreal. On the other hand, Tatar has informed Bergevin he will be testing free agency, so it is very likely he won’t be back.

Perry had an emotional exit press conference stating he would like to play next year and would love the opportunity to play one more full season with the team he grew up cheering for.

One of the things that motivate him to return is to experience a fully packed Bell Centre on a Saturday night with 21,302 cheering, yelling, and screaming. Who wouldn’t want to play for the team with the greatest rink in the league?

As for Dominque Ducharme, Bergevin did confirm the interim tag will be removed and that a contract is in the works, but nothing formal or confirmed as of yet.

It will be a busy summer for the Canadiens’ front office with all those players to be signed not to mention the expansion draft and the entry draft.