Montreal Canadiens: Marc Bergevin Must Go

It’s baffling how the Montreal Canadiens are still letting Marc Bergevin run the franchise

As free agency is set to begin and player movement around the league begins to ramp up, it’s puzzling how Marc Bergevin remains in charge of the Montreal Canadiens.

Bergevin has been general manager of the Habs for over six seasons. In that time, fans have watched Montreal transform from an Eastern Conference finalist to one of the worst teams in the league.

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During that span, Bergevin has been front and center during the team’s struggles as he continues to make poor roster decisions.

With free agency only hours away and the trade market floodgates expected to open, it’s surprising he will likely be responsible for moving Max Pacioretty. After losing so many one-for-one trades in recent years, the Canadiens should have moved on from Bergevin by now. When Pacioretty is finally dealt, it’ll become more of a matter of how much will the trade setback the franchise rather than how much did they get in return for the club’s best forward.

The P.K. Subban for Shea Weber trade has been a disaster. That deal will forever highlight Bergevin’s tenure with Montreal. He then made the mistake of thinking Johnathan Drouin was a center and shipped away a top-four defenseman in Mikhail Sergachev.

In recent weeks, with the Canadiens desperately needing size he traded to get smaller as he sent a former third-overall pick in Alex Galchenyuk for a small winger who doesn’t score in Max Domi.

Even at the draft, Bergevin foolishly made the rookie mistake of drafting for team need over drafting the best player available. It’s been no secret for years the Canadiens desperately need a center.

However, instead of selecting Pacioretty’s potential replacement on the wing in Brady Tkachuk or Filip Zadina, Montreal choose center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who isn’t expected to make the jump to the NHL for at least two seasons.

To make matters worse for the Canadiens, Tkachuk was chosen one pick later by division rivals the Ottawa Senators. There is no doubt passing on Tkachuk will haunt Montreal for the next few seasons as he could have provided the size and grit the team has been lacking for years. A line featuring Tkachuk and Brendan Gallagher on the wings would have driven the opposition mad, and likely have made life easier for their smaller forwards Domi and Drouin as well.

On top of failing to draft Tkachuk, Montreal also failed to even secure a conversation with pending free agent John Tavares. Despite having all the necessary cap space to throw at the franchise center, the Canadiens and their current state failed to even show up on Tavares’ radar.

This is a total embarrassment that falls squarely on Bergevin’s shoulders. He had months to build up his franchise and attempt to make it look as appealing as possible to the best free agent center available in years. Instead, he was told no before any dialogue could even begin, proving the Canadiens are a complete mess entering the summer.

Next: 5 Free Agents The Canadiens Should Sign

With Pacioretty likely to be traded any day now, it’s shocking Montreal is continuing to allow Bergevin to be in charge of roster decisions. How deep of a hole will they allow this general manager to dig the franchise into?

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