by Chris G, Digital Radio Producer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

LAVAL, QC. — The off-season has already been a busy one for the Montreal Canadiens. Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins, and the rest of the management team now know that the Canadiens will draft third at the NHL draft in Dallas in June.

Here are my top 5 takes of the week:

1. 1. 1. Trading top pick – The Habs fan base was the happiest it has been this season when Bill Daly announced on Saturday that the team will be drafting third. The debate already began whether they should draft Filip Zadina, Andrei Svechnikov, or Brady Tkachuk. I think that there’s a strong possibility that Marc Bergevin tries to trade that pick in order to acquire an established roster player. Besides Rasmus Dahlin, the other top selections won’t have an immediate impact in the NHL. Does Bergevin have two or three years ahead of him to wait that out? The answer is ‘no.’ From an organizational perspective, the selection should be kept, but frequently long-term needs are sacrificed for short-term results.
      2. Bergevin on TLMEP – Last week, Marc Bergevin was on French TV show Tout Le Monde En Parle (TLMEP) for a 20-minute interview. TLMEP is the most watched TV show in the province of Quebec. This could be considered another step in the organization’s new ‘transparency policy.’ It’s no surprise to me, but Bergevin was criticized after the interview, because nothing new was learned. Imagine if Bergevin contradicted himself while he is on his media tours. The Canadiens issued a statement in LaPresse Plus a couple of days later following an article LaPresse  published stating that Bergevin contradicted Geoff Molson regarding the P.K. Subban trade. I wonder how many of these statements that we will see in the future.
      3. Ducharme skips a step – The news of Dominique Ducharme joining the Canadiens organization didn’t surprise me, neither did the announcement that J.J Daigneault and Dan Lacroix will not be returning next season. Personally, I was expecting Ducharme to be named head coach of the Laval Rocket. Ducharme has no experience in coaching professional players, so the American Hockey League seemed like the next logical step for Ducharme and his development. I wonder if the decision to bring him straight to the NHL was a hockey decision or if it was a decision to get on the good side of the fan base in Quebec.
      4. Ducharme good choice – Looking at Ducharme’s resume, you can see that he’s had success at the junior level by leading Team Canada to a gold and a silver medal in the last two World Junior Championships and with a 255-158-37 record in the QMJHL, including a Memorial Cup win. Ducharme is a good addition to the organization, and he speaks French as is required by Geoff Molson. The Canadiens now have their potential next head coach in the organization. This is an important element cause the fact that they didn’t have anyone waiting in the wings when they fired Michel Therrien, cost them $25-million.
      5. New Rocket coach – It was no surprise to me that Sylvain Lefebvre was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Laval Rocket. Normally, a new head coach gets the opportunity to evaluate the assistant coaches in place. I wonder how awkward the new coach would feel if he had to go to his boss, Larry Carriere, and tell him that he wants to replace his son, Nick, as assistant coach.

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