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Mea Culpa, by Andrew Saadalla

July 2, 2016, 11:01 AM ET [430 Comments]
Habs Talk
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Dear Mr. Bergevin,

I owe you an apology.

I was harsh with you a few months ago when I, along with countless Habs fans, analysts and members of the media criticized your lack of proactivity during the dreadful and forgettable 2015-2016 season. Personally, I felt like you should’ve taken a page out of Pittsburgh’s general manager Jim Rutherford’s book and had the courage to make the kind of bold moves required to push your organization in the right direction. There were lots of problems with the Montreal Canadiens, and it was nearly impossible for anyone to show patience towards your master plan because emotions were (and continue to be) running high. Frankly, I started thinking that perhaps you weren’t the man for the job- that you would not be able to address the lack of scoring and overall leadership and character of the team.

I was wrong and for what it’s worth, I salute the exceptional work you’ve done in the last few days alone:

1- You signed the ultra versatile Andrew Shaw to a six-year contract, thus offering head coach Michel Therrien quite a few options with that player alone. He can play anywhere in the top-9 as well as navigate the ice as a center, left or right wing. His in-your-face style will remind fans of their very own Brendan Gallagher, who has never taken a single shift off in his entire career.


2- You traded the underachieving Lars Eller to Washington, where he’ll certainly thrive in a set role centering the Capitals’ third line. There was simply no more room for him in the lineup.


3- With the ninth overall pick, you selected arguably the best available defenseman at the NHL Entry Draft in Mikhail Sergachev and signed him to his first professional agreement on Friday.


4- You proceeded to trade P.K. Subban to Nashville in exchange for Shea Weber, who will most certainly be adored by the fans and bring steadiness to the blue line. I’ve discussed this trade at length already, and will choose not to elaborate for the time being.


5- You signed goaltender Al Montoya to a one-year deal, and his utter confidence in outright declaring that he’s looking to be Carey Price’s backup reassures me that he’ll more than likely be the ideal candidate. Either way, a healthy competition between Mike Condon, Charlie Lindgren, Zachary Fucale and Montoya during training camp will only benefit their teammates and ensures stability between the pipes.


6- Your coup de grace was bringing in KHL superstar and former NHLer Alexander Radulov at a very affordable rate. His contract is the perfect risk to take with a player who many have proclaimed has matured and earned the respect of his teammates since his less-than-spectacular “exile” from the National Hockey League. Moreover, his decent size (6’1” 200 lbs) and all-around phenomenal skillset will fit perfectly in the top-six that has desperately needed an injection of offensive production. My gut feeling is that he will thrive in the Montreal market and a 25-goal season is not a farfetched prediction.


Moreover, you signed Mark Barberio earlier last month as well as Sven Andrighetto and Daniel Carr. All 3 impressed during their short stints with the Habs last season, and could earn themselves permanent spots on this team should they perform as expected.


While many are struggling to get over the Subban trade, I hope those same fans do not persecute Weber, so to speak. I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now as he must have caught wind of everything that transpired in Montreal, and leaving his Nashville home must be a tough pill to swallow. I wonder if he’s already starting to feel the pressure of filling P.K.’s proverbial shoes even if he bluntly said that he has no intention of doing so. Sadly, every insignificant mistake he will commit will always be contrasted to Subban’s performances for the duration of his remaining tenure. That seems unfair to me, yet I can understand where everyone is coming from…


Mr. Bergevin, Montreal can pride itself on having the most intelligent and knowledgeable hockey fans- you must know that better than anyone. Unfortunately, this following happens to quite possibly be the most highly emotional as well, and I must therefore commend you for sticking to yours guns and upholding your word. You specifically said that you will do what you believe is required to make this team better and not base any of your decisions on what the fans want.


This offseason was a big one for you. You had a lot of work to do and perhaps much to prove, and you’ve succeeded in my eyes.

You have made the Bleu Blanc et Rouge infinitely better in every single way with your courageous decisions. Adding Kirk Muller to the mix just so happens to be the icing on the cake. You have turned this team into a competitive one almost instantly, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing how you handle the trade deadline. Next year, you’ll have over $25 million in salary cap space to work with, if all things remain equal and the ceiling remains steadily at around the $73 million mark.


You’ll certainly continue to have your hands full, but I believe that you can rest easy knowing that you’ve silenced a lot of your harshest critics- myself included- in a very convincing fashion.


I’ll be looking forward to training camp and the start of the new season. Before I ever became a hockey writer, I was a fan. There will always be a part of me that feels the excitement come September and October, and I can confidently say that I’ll look forward to watching this team perform well in the playoffs next season.


In all humility, I am sincerely sorry.


You’ve proven me wrong.
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