It's been a rollercoaster of a season for the Montreal Canadiens. A season that started on a high with a record of 7-1-2 through their first ten games, but then the team's play started to decline, and as the season was winding down, they just squeaked into the playoffs by taking the final spot in the Scotia North division and only having a four-point lead on the fifth place Calgary Flames.
As the Canadiens struggled down the stretch, many fans across Quebec and Canada called for general manager Marc Bergevin to be fired. Those calls grew even more as the Habs went down 3-1 in their first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. As the Canadiens overcame that deficit and won the series in seven games, those calls for the 55-year-old to get fired started to die down, and even more so after they swept the Winnipeg Jets in the second round, clinching their second third round appearance in the Marc Bergevin era.
No one expected or predicted Montreal to make it past Toronto, let alone make it to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but there's one person that deserves a ton of credit and that is Marc Bergevin.
Last offseason was arguably his biggest in his time with the Canadiens. The reason for that could be because he felt a sense of urgency and that his job was in jeopardy. The players Bergevin traded for and signed since last fall may be the ones that'll save his job once this season ends.
Bergevin had a checklist of things he wanted to get done last season, and on that list were four areas he felt needed to be addressed if the Canadiens were to have any success in 2021. Those four needs were: a backup goaltender with the capability of playing 30+ games a season, a top-four defenceman, a top-six scoring winger, and a power forward. He went out and in a matter of four weeks addressed every single need by trading for Jack Allen,
Joel Edmundson,
Josh Anderson and signing
Tyler Toffoli, all four of whom have played key roles in getting the Canadiens this far.
Even weeks before the season began he made the decision to sign
Corey Perry to the league minimum on a one-year deal and it's been arguably one of the best moves he's made as general manager of the Montreal Canadiens.
Executives and coaches across the NHL are now praising Marc Bergevin for the work he has done this season.
"Marc had a real good offseason and went out and addressed needs, the (Joel) Edmundsons, (Tyler) Toffolis and (Josh) Andersons. He believed in what he was doing. (Corey) Perry was a big pickup, too, probably under the radar, but an important add for the team and his results during the season and now in the playoffs are reaping (the) reward. And Marc also had to make tough decisions during the season (coaching change). That's not easy. He had support of ownership which is important. I'm happy for him because that's not an easy market and he believed in a plan. The only thing now is that we need to get him a haircut!" Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said.
"To me, it's fun to see. He's built a really nice blend of (a) team. You always look at your team on paper, you see what you have and you see what you don't have. But until they all connect as a group, and buy in and you get them to play the way you need them to play, not the way they want to play; it's not a negative on Claude Julien but obviously (Dominique) Ducharme has come in and done a really good job, too. They're playing as a group. They're really playing a committed, connecting style of hockey. It's fun to watch, because it's something we look at, that's how you have to have success if you don't have the superstar players or whatever it may be. Yes, they have
Carey Price, who has been outstanding and one of the best goalies in the league. But they are the sum of all their parts, they're a really connected team. You can just see it. They've got great leadership in Price and
Shea Weber and (Brendan) Gallagher and (Phillip) Danault. Danault has played unbelievable. I think he's one of the most underrated guys in the game, because how he plays exemplifies their entire team; he's a really smart, good player who does all the right things at the right moment," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Quenneville said, "Happy for Berge. Playing a real solid, patient game with a check-first mentality. Strong on pucks. (Defensive zone) structure with a strong purpose, clean up second and third opportunities and let Pricer see the first one. (Neutral zone) very disciplined, tough to get through with possession offensively. They are holding onto pucks, spending quality time in (offensive zone)."
There is a ton of praise for Bergevin across the league, and it's well deserved. No matter how far the Canadiens go in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, it would be a smart decision to lock him up to a multi-year extension very soon.
Source: Pierre LeBrun - The AthleticADS
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