Free washer | Marc Bergevin, a CEO hard hit by the pandemic

Marc Bergevin was an exhausted, embittered man when he left Montreal in November 2021.

In his first interview since his dismissal, he confided to colleague Pierre Lebrun, from The Athletic site, that he had been badly affected by the pandemic. “We had to be in quarantine for 14 days when we returned to Quebec, I didn’t see my children for almost a year. COVID hit me hard, psychologically, for this reason. »

The former GM of the Canadiens seemed isolated at the end of his trip in Montreal. He says he enjoys his anonymity in Los Angeles, where he serves as assistant to general manager Rob Blake.

Bergevin’s psychological state, now confirmed by the main person concerned, can explain the end of his reign, less accomplished than his work during the first four years of his nine seasons and a few months with the Canadian.

We forget his arrival too quickly. This rare charm, this enthusiasm, this breath of fresh air. A stark contrast to his predecessors, Bob Gainey and Pierre Gauthier.

Three consecutive seasons of 100 points or more between 2012 and 2015 (prorated in 2012-2013, the year of the lockout, with a fourth place in the general classification), that had not been seen since… 1982. Had it been for the injury suffered by Carey Price in the 2014 playoffs, courtesy of Chris Kreider, who knows if Montreal wouldn’t have reached the final for the first time times since 1993? During this period, the CH maintained a record of 125-64-23.

Bergevin lined up behind his goalie Carey Price as soon as he arrived, while the majority of fans were ready to chase this young goalie who was still fragile. He surrounded his young core of Price, Subban, Markov, Pacioretty and Plekanec with strong and sturdy players. And he made room for young Galchenyuk and Gallagher, an open-mindedness that contrasted with previous administrations.

Most of his less wise decisions came during the pandemic or after. The Canadian did not have a great team during their unexpected 2021 final. Obviously no one can take away the credit from them, there is no asterisk to the conquest of the Tampa Bay Lightning that year , but Montreal was already on the downward slope, with three exclusions from the playoffs in the previous four seasons.

Would a fresh and fit Bergevin have better managed the decline of the team? The sudden loss of Carey Price and Shea Weber obviously left a huge void.

But contract negotiations with three team leaders at the end of the 2020 season left their mark. Phillip Danault left for Los Angeles a year later because we couldn’t agree on $500,000 per year, but Jeff Petry signed for four years and 6.25 million per season and Brendan Gallagher for six years and 6 .5 million annually.

Bergevin wrongly believed that Christian Dvorak, obtained with first and second round picks from the Arizona Coyotes (the first round pick previously acquired with the Hurricanes’ hostile offer for Jesperi Kotkaniemi), would effectively replace Danault . The contract offered to Mike Hoffman for three years for 13.5 million was an aberration.

Fortunately, Bergevin never sacrificed his own first-round picks or top prospects to keep his club competitive. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes thus inherited upon their arrival from Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kaiden Guhle and Alexander Romanov, among others, an interesting basis to begin a reconstruction.

Marc Bergevin says he does not regret his experience in Montreal. You shouldn’t regret your visit either. He gave hope to the team’s fans during the first half of his reign.