Marc Bergevin held his end-of-season press conference last Friday morning, and although he was his usual funny self, there were a lot of issues that needed addressing. Staying true to the Montreal Canadiens’ classy ways, he started his conference off by wishing Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk the very best of luck with his upcoming liver transplant. It seems like the Senators can’t catch a break these days…
I posted a blog in French before Marc Bergevin answered the media’s questions, and I’d like to quickly reiterate a few key points that I made (See my French blog here):
1- Bergevin needs to sign Petry, at all costs. 2- Michel Therrien is the man for the head-coaching job, getting maximal performances from his lineup. 3- Galchenyuk needs to play at the centre position. 4- Bergevin needs to add a powerplay specialist to the coaching staff. 5- The fans cannot be disappointed in the Habs losing in 6 games to the Lightning.
Here is what I’ve observed, after the general manager concluded his press conference:
1- Both the Habs organization and Jeff Petry have expressed a desire for Petry to remain here in Montreal. His wife loves the city and he claims it’s incomparable. He made mention of having the best goalie in the world, and that he’s confident the young guys will grow and develop in order to allow this team to compete for the highest honors. At this point, I don’t think much more needs to be said with regards to that. I have yet to speak with anyone who disagrees with Petry’s place on this team.
2- When asked about Michel Therrien’s ability (or lack thereof) to bring the team to the next level, Bergevin went on the defensive and challenged all of the journalists present to make themselves known if they believed that Therrien doesn’t have what it takes. A gutsy yet admirable move, his boldness was met with silence. Whether some of the media at the press conference had the courage to stand up and voice their actual opinion is a different story… Bergevin made a few very interesting points. Firstly, he pointed out that the Canadiens are second in the league over the past two seasons with 29 playoff games. He also mentioned that the 16 wins (third after the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Rangers) are admirable. He explicitly said he was disappointed that anyone would disagree with Therrien’s role within the organization, especially given that the team finished second in the league overall with 50 wins and 110 points in the regular season. It’s hard to argue against that. Say what you will about Therrien’s inability to close off a season with a championship (see Pittsburgh Penguins, 2008), but I can guarantee he’s learned a lot more from losing than he has from winning. We’ve yet to see the best of the head coach here in Montreal.
Over the course of the last three years as head coach of the Habs, he has a record of 129-64-23, good for 273/474 points, a 64% winning percentage. Winning nearly 2/3 of all games is no small feat, and to do so in a consistent manner deserves the utmost recognition.
3- Marc Bergevin was questioned with regards to Alex Galchenyuk’s role as the first line centre next year. Surprisingly, he said there is a chance that Galchenyuk might never develop into a centre and there’s no guarantee that he’ll play at that position. To me, that’s a statement that is as outrageous as Carey Price shouldering the blame for the Habs’ loss against Tampa Bay.
Regardless of what Galchenyuk might have done during his stint with the Sarnia Sting, he is a natural centre. The issue is not his scoring, playmaking, vision, or faceoff-winning abilities but rather, his two-way game. I don’t believe that his defensive game can improve with him necessarily playing on the wing. Next season, he should be given a chance to make mistakes that could potentially cost the Habs a few games. A few losses combined with a young superstar-in-the-making’s progress are significantly easier to digest- especially if Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher flank him, two players who are very responsible in their own zone and who could make up for a few of his shortcomings. In all, Galchenyuk’s real problem according to Bergevin is that he has a hard time coordinating and working with defensemen in his zone.
4- When asked about whether Marc Bergevin will add a powerplay specialist to his coaching staff over the course of the summer, MB once again lauded the great work the staff has accomplished. He said there wouldn’t be any changes made, and I found that rather odd. I still haven’t decided if I believe him or not, and I’d be curious to know what you all think about this situation.
5- I stand by this, and Marc Bergevin also believes that it was all a matter of luck. He’s right. After all, and this cannot be repeated often enough, the Habs hit the posts over 10 times during the course of the series. Games 1 and 3 belonged to the Canadiens, according to Bergevin, and some losses were simply a matter of a single inch at times.
Finally, Bergevin has continued to maintain that his philosophy won’t change with regards to the team’s “defense-first… identity and how he believes it’s important to continue to develop talent through the draft.
This wasn’t the most encouraging statement that the general manager made, in my opinion. I firmly believe that the Habs have all the tools necessary to be considered a Stanley Cup contender, though a few minor changes wouldn’t hurt. Many alluded to the idea that the team should acquire a top-line big centre, but Bergevin admitted that they’re impossible to come by (unless the team were willing to trade Carey Price, which is understandably out of the question). He claims that trading players is seen as a “sideway move…, as opposed to one that necessarily and immediately propels a team forward. I have no real issues with this declaration, but I’m shocked that the organization and the players themselves admitted that the team exercises a defense-first style of play.
We all know that it’s a brand of hockey that the Canadiens play; this comes as no surprise. That the general manager officially said it out loud worries me- is this a means of masking a lack of scoring depth? I cannot recall the last time a defensive-oriented team won a championship in the NHL.
I look back at the 2012 Stanley Cup finals between the New Jersey Devils and the Los Angeles Kings. The Devils were renowned for their conservative, puck-possession style of play, whereas the Kings were significantly more physical and focused on getting the puck deep into the offensive zone while emphasizing attack. Peter Deboer’s Devils managed to score only 8 goals over 6 games, whereas the eventual Stanley Cup winners put up 16 goals over that period. The Vancouver Canucks, a defense-first team under Alain Vigneault did not do well against the Boston Bruins in 2011. The Bruins scored 24 goals, whereas the Canucks managed only 8.
The Devils hardly came close 3 years ago, neither did the Canucks a year earlier. I’d be hard-pressed to believe that the 2014-2015 New York Rangers, who do play a similar style of hockey as the Habs, are going to give a hard time to either Anaheim or Chicago. The Lightning might stand a better chance, although the Rangers did look better during yesterday’s game (and are my favorites to move on from the Eastern Conference finals).
Let’s wait and see what this upcoming summer has in store for the Montreal Canadiens. Marc Bergevin has always surprised everyone with certain moves, and he is surely working the phones right now in order to pull a rabbit from his hat.