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The Bergevin Contradictions

Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Still reading through it but

"We need to get bigger and tougher to play against." -Marc Bergevin, summer 2012


Ummmm. He tried that. You hated it.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Good write-up GGpX.

Outside of my not caring if MB changes his opinion/values on things. For a new GM I want him learning.

He seems to have learned the hard way that "getting bigger" is not the answer.

Now lets see what he learns from this season.

My biggest issue with MB is his "draft and develop" contradiction. Say you are building through the draft, not trading prospects, not trading that many draft picks (balance), etc but then keep Timmins and the crap AHL coach.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

My problem is that the club is stuck between winning now and rebuilding and MB for some reason is hesitant to make tough decisions, ie. trading players like Markov even if it upsets the fans who don't understand the reasoning to getting stud prospects back. I am not sure how MB is going to deal with the next couple of years, because we have basically an empty farm compared to many other teams. The bottom line is, is MB giving free reign with this team, or is he directed to make the playoffs every year even if it means holding onto vets instead of trading them for picks/prospects.

My biggest fear is we end up stuck in mediocrityville like we have been for 20+ years, and teams like the lightning can retool and draft, and we're stuck here getting hard ons just making the playoffs saying there's always next year. I don't see anything changing because of what we have on the ice, and the players we have in our system, and I don't see any break in that direction. MB needs to come up with some big trades so we can do quick retools, but these half ass efforts only prolong our suffering like what happened this year. I'm also scared because Toronto seems to be on the right track long term, and we aren't.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

I don't think we need to rebuild, we just need to keep on building. We have good pieces on the team, we simply need to add to it. Some prospects are getting closer to the NHL but we need to complement them with some good signings and trades,
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

I don't think we need to rebuild, we just need to keep on building. We have good pieces on the team, we simply need to add to it. Some prospects are getting closer to the NHL but we need to complement them with some good signings and trades,
If the Habs are able to sign two top-6 UFA's, the entire face of the team is instantly overhauled. Ideally Stamkos and now Ladd looks like an absolute must given the veteran leadership void on this team. Never a big fan of giving 30-yr old players who play that type of game longterm deal, but MBs painted himself into a corner.

Emelin, Eller, and DD need to be sent to Siberia in salary dumps. Plekanec needs to be jettisoned to some moron GM - hopefully for Stamkos rights pre-July 1st.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Unfortunately, Bergevin may be the moron GM.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Still reading through it but

"We need to get bigger and tougher to play against." -Marc Bergevin, summer 2012


Ummmm. He tried that. You hated it.

Whether I like it or not isn't particulaly relevant.

Says he wants to get bigger & tougher to play against, acquires Brière, Parros & Murray in the same off-season. Ummm...
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Good write-up GGpX.

Outside of my not caring if MB changes his opinion/values on things. For a new GM I want him learning.

He seems to have learned the hard way that "getting bigger" is not the answer.

Now lets see what he learns from this season.

My biggest issue with MB is his "draft and develop" contradiction. Say you are building through the draft, not trading prospects, not trading that many draft picks (balance), etc but then keep Timmins and the crap AHL coach.

I don't mind if you a manager changes his opinion on how to build a team. However, how do you explain acquiring Semin/Kassian/Matteau when he says in nearly every single press conference that he values character so much? It doesn't make sense.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Whether I like it or not isn't particulaly relevant.

Says he wants to get bigger & tougher to play against, acquires Brière, Parros & Murray in the same off-season. Ummm...

Pretty much he said the equavalent of "give 110%"

need to get bigger is standard nothing speak

it was only when he seemed to overearct to the sens series that it became an issue

and like you said later on - he got bigger be default - it was an easy win
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

I don't mind if you a manager changes his opinion on how to build a team. However, how do you explain acquiring Semin/Kassian/Matteau when he says in nearly every single press conference that he values character so much? It doesn't make sense.

Side rant:
I never bought the character stuff.

Cammy was a terrible character guy until he lead us in playoff points.

Price was a bad character.


As for him claiming character - Assuming those are low character guys (i have no clue) he gave them second chances and had a short leash.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Whether I like it or not isn't particulaly relevant.

Says he wants to get bigger & tougher to play against, acquires Brière, Parros & Murray in the same off-season. Ummm...
Well at least when he first started Bergevin was supposedly trying to do something, whether that something was to get bigger or faster or whatever else. Today he basically told us that he doesn't plan to do anything because it's too hard.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Side rant:
I never bought the character stuff.

Cammy was a terrible character guy until he lead us in playoff points.

Price was a bad character.


As for him claiming character - Assuming those are low character guys (i have no clue) he gave them second chances and had a short leash.

And Prust oozed karaktur but at the end he couldn't skate anymore.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

And Prust oozed karaktur but at the end he couldn't skate anymore.

We kinda missed the skating version of himself this year. Prust had a knack for waking up the team when they were in a funk.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Well at least when he first started Bergevin was supposedly trying to do something, whether that something was to get bigger or faster or whatever else. Today he basically told us that he doesn't plan to do anything because it's too hard.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

He's been saying it's too hard to acquire legit top six talent for two years now.

Of course its hard but I don't think I hear another GM harp on it as much as MB.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

He's been saying it's too hard to acquire legit top six talent for two years now.

Of course its hard but I don't think I hear another GM harp on it as much as MB.
He wanted the job and he got it. Now he says it's too difficult to actually do the job bit it pays well so he wants to keep it. I doubt he expressed any doubts about his ability to get the job done when he interviewed for it.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

We kinda missed the skating version of himself this year. Prust had a knack for waking up the team when they were in a funk.

Yup.

Brandon Prust during his first year here was worth every penny of his contract. Unfortunately for us, we only got one really good year out of him before his body started to fall apart.

If there was a player similar to Brandon Prust available this summer, I'd love to get him.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

If nothing else, I was 100% correct about this. Today's press conference confirmed it when he blatantly said he didn't tell the media the truth.

The third and final point of the Bergevin Contradictions, Bergevin's own lack of credible accountability. On January 21st, Bergevin held his infamous press conference where he doubled down on his support for Michel Therrien, and used the famous sentences of "It's on me." and "If you’re ever in a foxhole and you want [someone] next to you, that’s what Michel Therrien is." Bergevin went into lengths to indicate that he was the one responsible for the season going down the toilet and not the players & coaches. “It it doesn’t work, it’s the fault of Marc Bergevin, nobody else.” Normally, the reaction should have been a positive one. There's someone taking accountability for this mess and there isn't someone the boss will scapegoat for all of this, he's saying it's his fault...

...Until I hear this:

"Honnêtement, je n’ai rien à me reprocher. / To be honest, I have nothing to feel bad about."

What?

"Je travaille constamment. Je fais des appels. J’ai à cœur les succès de l’équipe. Honnêtement je n’ai rien à me reprocher. Je n’ai aucun regret parce que je fais tout en mon possible. / I'm constantly working. I'm making calls. I really care about the team's success. To be honest, I have nothing to feed bad about. I have no regrets because I'm doing everything I can." -Marc Bergevin January 21st, talking about his inability to make a trade

I don't know what took Bergevin to say this, but it illustrated that it was all bullshit. His "blame me, not the coach" speech was bullshit. It's not the player's fault, it's mine. Bullshit. All bullshit. Not a shred of honesty or truth in all of it, he just wanted to get the heat off of Therrien and on him because he avoids the media the same way rich white people avoid the ghetto. Bergevin talks to the medias a dozen times every year, he doesn't do any media that isn't mandatory. This isn't real accountability, it's a talking point to get fans/media to talk about him instead of Therrien.

More importantly, how do you claim to be responsible for the team's slide then minutes later saying you have nothing to feel bad about? Professional sports aren't an "I tried" business.
 
Re: The Bergevin Contradictions - My post-season wrap-up. (Long read)

Still reading through it but

"We need to get bigger and tougher to play against." -Marc Bergevin, summer 2012


Ummmm. He tried that. You hated it.

Except that is bullshit.

Getting "bigger and tougher to play against" doesn't have a damn thing to do with getting a possession black hole like Douglas MUrray, Or trading a 7th rounder for George Parros.

There's this idea that "tough to play against" is always part in partial to being "bigger". But that's complete and total nonsense.

When the puck is constantly in your own end, you are easy to play against. I don't care how big or tough Murray was, he wasn't "tough to play against". He was the exact opposite. He was a dream to play against. Throw the puck in his corner, let him flounder around trying to play the puck, and get possession back.

You know who is tough to play against? Gallagher. Because he leaves it all out on the ice every shift, because he's a nuisance out there, because he's great at getting to the tough areas and capitalizing on rebounds/second chances.

It isn't that people "hated" the Habs getting bigger, or "tougher to play against" it's that Bergevin failed in his attempts to do that.

And at the same time he continually made personnel moves that even if we ignore everything I just outlined to you, went against it. Like signing Desharnais to a 4 year contract extension, like signing Bouillon twice, like bringing in Briere as a UFA. The list goes on and on.

It's been happening for a while with this organization.

They say one thing, and do another.

But because people complain about awful signings like Murray, you make it out like they are saying the yhate the idea of being "bigger and tougher to play against".
 
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