Quoting: gm_jeanguy
I just don't get the sky high expectations towards MB. Yes, this team hasn't shown apparent signs of progress over the last 3 years, but does that mean he's doing poorly as a GM? Actually, how can we measure the performance of a GM?
By his number of Stanley Cups? That sounds pretty reliable, but only if you take a measure over many decades: in the cap era, the only realistic expectation is that any given team will win 1 championship every 31 years, soon to be 32. Plus, the cap is not state-tax adjusted, and a lot of teams are surfing on the remnants of the old lottery formula, so that kind of rigs the probabilities. Therefore, one could argue that no championship in 8 years is actually nothing to worry about, and that MB is doing as good as pretty much everyone else.
What about building the core? This one is easy to mesure: when MB took over in 2012, MTL's core was 7-8 players deep, and there weren't many notable prospects in the pipe. Fast foward to 2020 and the core is now 12-13 players deep while the prospect pool is one of the league's very best. By any measure, this team is in a much better shape on that front than it was 8 years ago, so that's one thing MB must be good at.
What about instilling chemistry, coherence and a winning mentality to this core? That one is debatable, but judging by MB's tendency to make unpopular decisions (not trading Tatar, a locker-room favorite, being the latest example), I'd again say that it's something MB is at least trying to achieve.
So anyhow, I totally get that MB should take the heat for yet another lackluster of a season, and for not disclosing how he intends to end what is now a 3 year playoff drought. But I'd say that he's not part of the problem. As a matter of fact, he's doing fine.
Yes lots to agree with here but I disagree with plenty also.
The expectations aren't sky high for MB..... but the expectation is that he has to show clear lines of progression. He hasn't done that. Blaming everything from injuries to character to players not performing. Under this mentality, this team could make the playoffs 1 out of every 5 years and he'd have a valid excuse every year. That is simply not good enough.
I think its very easy to gauge a GM's performance. All you got to do is ask yourself one question: Has what he's done in his tenure thus far lead you to believe this team will win a cup before his eventual dismissal?
IMHO - Up until 15-16, I raved of just about everything he had done and I felt like the Habs were just one top center away from winning a cup. Each year since, has been a downward spiral of lacklustre performances and most of all EXCUSES. The difference between his 1st 3-4 years and his last 3-4 years has been the roster. The first half of players were given to him. That roster was mainly comprised of players who were there before he even made a significant adjustment to the team. The latter has been his doing, his hands are all over it and what has he got to show for it?
Believe it or not, I don't have sky high expectations for MB. I just want him to be ahead of the curve. New age thinking or at the very least proactive. He is neither. He is literally the other side of that spectrum. The GM that reacts when its
too late. That line of thinking is what sinks a franchise for years and wastes so much time.
Has he made good trades? Yes. Has he made bad trades? yes. They can be at the very least cancelling out. But everything else? Drafting? UFA? Future plan? Pro activeness? He has earned any of that yet. And just to harp on the fact that you mentioned his drafting is good: Just remember those players haven't done jack squat yet. I hope Caulfield is a superstar but he may just be a 25 goal scorer. lets pump our brakes for a second and look at what he has done: From his first year till lets say 2016 has been a mitigated disaster of drafting. Galchenyuk, Lehkonen and Sergachev/Drouin. That is abysmal with considering two top 10 drafted players. His 2017 to present is looking promising but it is way too early to tell if he is worthy of his praise. development will play a big part in that and that has been one of the worst things about his tenure in all fairness.
I'll gladly sit back and hope for next year but I disagree wholeheartedly with anyone who says he has been just fine. "Just fine" is the same thing as mediocre. I don't want just fine. i want good. Good teams make the playoffs more times than not.
My last comments final sentence rings so true (IMO obviously
) that I'll say it again:
"Bergevin's legacy in Montreal will be as unflattering as his 19 year, 36 goal career. He GM's the same way his hockey career went. Just to stay alive. Not to thrive."