Montreal Canadiens: What Will Be Marc Bergevin’s Legacy?

One-for-one deals

You cannot talk about Marc Bergevin without talking about his proclivity for the one-for-one trade. One team gives up one player and receives one player in return. That’s it. No retainment of salary or extra draft picks, just a player for a player. A hockey trade.

It became so prevalent it was a sort of calling card for Bergevin. And none was bigger than the trade that kicked off one of the craziest hours in NHL offseason history.

Steven Stamkos, captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, needed a new contract and theories were flying, especially involving his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens. Instead, Stamkos resigned in Tampa. At the same time, the Edmonton Oilers struck a deal to send star forward and former first overall pick Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defensive defenseman Adam Larsson. Optimistic Oilers fans pointed out that Larsson did indeed fill a much needed spot for Edmonton, but were quickly quieted when Hall won the Hart Trophy the next year.

And then that same hour, this happened:

This was earth shattering. The Predators traded their current captain for a younger, more offensive P.K. Subban, who, was so well liked in the community and has donated so much money into hospitals in Montreal, was seen as untouchable.

The truth was that Montreal’s leadership core was in shambles. Then captain Max Pacioretty was shouldering the blame for every little thing that went wrong, and was clearly uncomfortable in the role of captain. Hotheaded Subban was rubbing certain teammates the wrong way, and head coach Michel Therrien had no control and fights during practice were common.

Now all of them are gone, and Weber is the captain of the Habs, even if he is semi-retired. He provided years of a steadying presence on the blueline, and most importantly, a huge leadership presence on the team.

Subban had some productive years with Nashville, before his offensive output fell off, and he has never been good in his own zone. Today he is playing with the aforementioned Devils, and is more well-known for slew-footing opponents than playing good hockey.

This was a head scratcher at the time. Galchenyuk was a third overall pick who did have a 30 goal season under his belt. Max Domi had a great rookie season, but failed to put up great offence since. But it was clear that both players needed a change of scenery.

It instantly payed off for Domi and the Canadiens, who scored just shy of a point per game, and was part of one of the most entertaining Montreal teams in recent history. Jesperi Kotkaniemi was a rookie and the team was making crazy comebacks, and even if they were losing, they were entertaining while doing it.

Galchenyuk has bounced from team to team since the trade, and hasn’t stuck anywhere long since. A far cry from Domi’s 72 points and his own 30 goal season years ago.

Domi wasn’t long for Montreal either and after a lackluster second year, he was traded in the offseason to the Columbus Blue Jackets along with a third round pick for Josh Anderson. Its so close to another one-for-one, but alas Bergevin needed to add a third rounder.

For the record, I like Anderson more than Domi, or at least the idea of Josh Anderson. He is one of a kind if he can play consistently, but I think he provides more when he isn’t scoring than Domi. Domi and Anderson finished with the same amount of points last year, but Domi was healthy scratched at points by Columbus and was left exposed to the expansion draft but wasn’t taken.

The first out and out loss we are talking about. Mikhail Sergachev was a 9th overall pick, and was seen as a blue chip defensive prospect. In fact, Bergevin said a week before this trade was made that he wouldn’t trade Sergachev.

The player that changed his mind was Quebecois forward Jonathan Drouin. He was a third overall pick, and is the most talented player on the ice at any given time. The skill is tantalizing if the work ethic isn’t always there. So Bergevin pulled the trigger.

So far, the trade has worked well for Tampa, scoring a young top-4 defender that has been able to put up points while being sheltered by the Lightning’s fantastic D-corp.

Drouin has been a different story. There are flashes of something there, just never enough. One year he had 17 points in 17 games, but a wrist injury sidelined him for most of the year, and when he came back he wasn’t the same. This year Drouin had points in almost every Montreal goal, but now his name doesn’t come up on the scoresheet nearly as often.

Its too bad. Bergevin took a risk on Drouin, and so far it hasn’t turned out in his favor. If Drouin could reach his full potential this trade could be a wash, but so far it hasn’t and every year that passes makes it seem less and less likely.

Unfortunately this trade might be the most talked about along with the Weber-Subban trade. People love the clear cut winners and losers, and there aren’t too many more clear cut losses than this.