What’s next for Habs’ GM Marc Bergevin?

By Joce, Senior Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

“Never be satisfied until you reach your goal. Next year will be hard, expectations will be higher and that’s the way it should be.” ~ Marc Bergevin

PENTICTON, BC. – On the day that the NHL announced his nomination as one of the three finalists as General Manager of the year along with Anaheim’s Bob Murray and Pittsburgh’s Ray Shero, Marc Bergevin was answering questions from reporters in Montreal. “I had to become a GM to get nominated for something, I never got anything as a player”, said Bergevin with a big smile. While some are surprised at the nomination, taking a team that finished 28th a year ago to finishing 4th overall is a pedigree that other teams would love to see their own GM have, that’s for sure.

Knowing your limits and what you can accomplish on your own is a skill and Bergevin has that. He surrounded himself with great hockey minds, helping him make the decisions that needed to be taken in every aspect of a complex hockey organisation. A strong believer in building a team through the draft, he also recognized the work and competencies of his Director of Amateur Scouting Trevor Timmins and he has given him some much needed leeway to do his job.

It didn’t take long to Bergevin and his team to realize that this team, in order to improve, was lacking character and quality people in the dressing room to help out captain Brian Gionta and leader Josh Gorges. He signed Brandon Prust to a long term contract, then Francis Bouillon and Colby Armstrong one year deals.

Being a good GM also means being able to go to bat in front of ownership to make the tough decisions and none was bigger than convincing Geoff Molson to pay under-productive Scott Gomez his $5.5M ($7.4M cap hit) and sending him home, and to buy him out. Wanting to take full advantage of the one-time amnesty buyout offered by the new CBA, he also agreed to sit veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle ($4.25M cap hit) to avoid risking a serious injury.

One of the toughest situations for Bergevin to handle as a brand new GM might have been the contract talks with stand-out defenseman P.K. Subban and his agent Don Meehan, a shrewd negotiator. While the jury is still out as to who was right or wrong, Bergevin ultimately got what he wanted, in signing his young talented player to a bridging two-year deal, which is a steal for this year and the next, especially that the salary cap is going down for the 2013-14 season. Further, to Bergevin’s credit, he knew that Andrei Markov’s $5.75M deal expires on time for Subban’s next contract, freeing up some much needed space.

The Canadiens’ GM also managed to unload Erik Cole’s long term contract to the Dallas Stars, receiving pending UFA Michael Ryder and a pick in return, a move that goes well beyond this season as it is once again creating cap space for future years. Further, at the trade deadline, Bergevin resisted temptation and pressure to overpay for rental players, refusing to sacrifice the future for a short term fix. “I’ll never trade one of our youngsters or prospects for a guy who’ll be here short term, he said. You don’t bring depth at the deadline, you bring it through draft. I want to make this team good for years to come.”

Now what?

When asked about what he would be looking for in order to improve his team this summer, Bergevin was clear: “I believe in balance. We have a small team, a fast team. It takes a long time to change the makeup of a team. There are 29 teams out there who want to be big and fast. The difference is character. It’s my job to bring balance to our club.”

KABERLE: Bergevin will likely buyout Tomas Kaberle’s contract. In his year end press conference, he said that he will try again to trade him, feeling that it might be easier now that he only has one year left to his contract, but if he’s unsuccessful, the buyout is definitely an option. No one asked him about Yannick Weber, another defenseman who has seen very limited action this year, and who is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer.

UFAs JULY 5th: Since being announced as the new Habs’ GM, Marc Bergevin has been constant in his comments when talking about how to build his team. He believes in building for now and for the future. “You don’t build a championship team through free agency,” he restated again. He will be looking at who’s available and there is no doubt that he will pursue a couple of guys whom he feel would help his team get better, but not at any price.

TRADES: One way to accelerate the process to improve could be through trades. Not the kind you read on fan forums where you give your garbage for the other team’s gold, and Bergevin was clear on that. “If you want something good in a trade, you must give something good in return, he claims. You can’t create a hole in one place to fill one elsewhere. It’s tougher and tougher to complete a trade in the NHL.” Seeing how banged-up Brandon Prust was, seeing how his team was physically abused by the Senators in these playoffs, there is no doubt that Bergevin will try to add some weight to what is one of the NHL’s smallest line-up. But he warns that it’s not evident: “There are 29 other teams looking for size and those players don’t grow on trees. We’ll look through trades, but I won’t give up a young player for short term help.”

DRAFT AND YOUTH: Listening to Bergevin’s press conference, it was very obvious that he was extremely proud of the team’s young players and he often referred back to Calder nominee Brendan Gallagher. There is no doubt that he wants to build his team around youth, good draft picks, focussing on their development. Perhaps the most telling statement to that effect was when he was asked about Bulldog’s head coach Sylvain Lefebvre and his work with the Canadiens’ farm team. “We had one of the youngest teams in the AHL. I didn’t want to add a bunch of veterans and sit our young players.” When asked if there would be room for more young players next year on the team, Bergevin was clear, saying that he’ll make room if there isn’t any. “I tell those guys to force me to make room for them.”

In one short year, Marc Bergevin has changed the culture on this team and one would be hard-pressed to claim that it didn’t pay dividends. He and head coach Michel Therrien brought back the team concept and accountability for the players’ actions, and Bergevin had a clear message to send to anyone willing to listen: “Guys who have their own agenda won’t be part of this team, and that won’t change.”

For the first time in over 15 years, I feel confident in the direction that this team is heading, and I fully trust the man in charge making the ultimate decisions. Although not totally surprised, I am however scratching my head reading the continuous pessimism brought forth by some members of the media and some fans who, it seems, have forgotten that Rome wasn’t built in a day and that it takes times to build a championship team.