Montreal Canadiens
Eric Engels: Key Roster Decisions Loom for Habs’ Bergevin
The Canadiens have had some excellent performances from their players at the World Championships of hockey.
As you undoubtedly know by now, Max Pacioretty has been outstanding for the Americans, popping two goals and nine assists in just seven games.
This morning, Alexei Emelin put on a clinic in the Russia-Norway game, notching an assist and scoring what proved to be the winning goal….
Scotty Bowman On The Current Style Of Play
from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail, The senior adviser to the Chicago Blackhawks can trace it back to the 1979 playoffs when he was coaching the powerful Montreal Canadiens. Roger Neilson, the innovative head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, saw his team swept by the Habs in the previous year and wanted to avoid a repeat.
The Canadiens relied on their Big Three defencemen, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe, to control the puck along the offensive blue line and get it to highly skilled forwards like Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire.
The key to success, Neilson figured, was to forget the traditional defensive game of having your wingers cover the defenceman on each point. He wanted them closer to the net, or down low, as the coaches say, checking the Canadiens forwards hard so the puck never made it back to the point.
“That’s kind of the theory they try to do now,” Bowman said Tuesday morning. “There’s two guys out at the…
US tops Finland 5-0 at worlds
Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens opened the scoring and the United States rolled to a 5-0 victory over defending champion Finland at the ice hockey world championships on Sunday.
Kyle Palmieri of the Anaheim Ducks added a goal in the second period, followed two minutes later by a power play goal by Justin Faulk.
Chris Butler of the Calgary Flames and Bobby Ryan closed out the scoring for the US team.
The Finns also lost to Canada in the round-robin tournament.
Canada tops Group A with 16 points, followed the US with 13 points and Finland with 12. If Finland beats Kazakhstan on Monday, it will again face the US team in Thursday’s quarterfinal.
Are The Devils About To Lose Larry Robinson To Montreal?
from QMI Agency at the Toronto Sun, Former Montreal Canadiens great Larry Robinson wouldn’t mind joining the Habs as an assistant coach, his agent said Wednesday.
Robinson, who currently works for the New Jersey Devils, would be a good fit with the Canadiens, Don Cape told TVA Sports. But Montreal would need to ask permission to talk to Robinson and that wouldn’t be granted until after the Devils season comes to an end.
“Larry would like to return to Montreal because the right people are in place, the conditions are good and because it is the right job for him,” Cape said. “We know Marc Bergevin and the Molson family, these are professional people. But it will be the next coach to determine if he wants Larry.”
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Rumor: Montreal Canadiens Interested in Joel Quenneville
On Sunday night, Hockey Night in Canada gave the hockey world the following: So we can apparently add Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville’s name to the list of candidates in Montreal. Whether or not he would leave Chicago is up for … Continue reading →
Tomas Kaberle 2011-12 Scoring Chances
Let’s not beat around the bush here, the Tomas Kaberle signing was a gigantic misfire by Jim Rutherford. He even admitted it himself. The Hurricanes may have almost made the playoffs in 2010-11 but they were still a team that was rebuilding and had a stockpile of defensemen in their farm system, so bringing in Kaberle on a three year deal was a puzzling acquisition to say the least. I do understand that they were looking for a replacement for Joe Corvo and that they didn’t know Justin Faulk would be NHL-ready at such a young age, but committing three years and $12.75 mil. to an aging offensive defenseman isn’t something that a team in Carolina’s position should do.
Hindsight is 20/20, but those who watched Kaberle in Boston and Toronto the last couple of seasons could have told you that his days of being a top-four defender are long gone. He was used as a third pairing defenseman/powerplay specialist with the Bruins during the playoffs last season and wasn’t exa…
Montreal’s rebuilding challenge is no laughing matter
Long-time NHL defenseman Marc Bergevin was one of the great pranksters and quipsters in the sport. He added color to every dressing room he joined.But now he faces a grimly serious challenge. As the new general manager of the Montreal Canadiens, he must rebuild one of the world’s most storied professional franchises from scratch. The public relations portion of the job will come easily for Bergevin. After replacing the media-shy Pierre “The Ghost” Gauthier as GM, he charmed reporters during his introductory news conference.“I played for eight teams, although I may be forgetting a couple,” Bergevin joked. “My luggage was always one team late.”His immediate tasks include:
Hiring a new head coach. Candidates must be bilingual, as Bergevin is, to deal with the Montreal media and fans. Patrick Roy has campaigned for the job, but reporters are wondering if Alain Vigneault may depart Vancouver after the first-round demise of his Canucks.
Securing …
Now The Hard Work Starts For Bergevin
from Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette, Geoff Molson said he’s not an impatient owner.
That could be a good thing because Marc Bergevin, who has been tasked with re-establishing a winning culture with the Montreal Canadiens, said Wednesday that he can’t put a timetable on how long it will take to rebound from what may have been the most embarrassing season in the team’s storied history.
The good news is that Bergevin, who was introduced Wednesday as the team’s new general manager, believes that there is the nucleus of a good team and that his job is more a question of retooling than rebuilding.
Bergevin is facing some serious challenges as he settles into a new role, but he appears prepared to take them on in a thoughtful, methodical manner.
The Canadiens need a new head coach, there are serious concerns about the team’s pro scouts, the Canadiens have the new-found luxury of a high draft pick and there are decisions to be made regarding a dozen res…
Marc Bergevin Could Make Montreal Threat Again Following Pierre Gauthier’s Dysfunctional Regime
The Montreal Canadiens have a new boss. And bad news for the rest of the NHL, this one might actually know what he’s doing. The Habs handed the reins to Marc Bergevin on Wednesday, naming the longtime NHL defenseman as their new general manager. It’s uncertain how good Bergevin will be in the new post. It will be his first time running a team. He returns to his hometown after spending the last seven years with the Blackhawks, serving as a scout, assistant coach, director of player personnel and assistant GM. He was the director of player personnel in 2010…
Highlights From Presser Introducing Marc Bergevin As New Canadiens GM
The Montreal Canadiens introduced Marc Bergevin as the team’s new General Manager and Executive Vice President at a press conference in Brossard today.
It will surely take some time for the lungs of Habs fans to get used to such fresh air.
It was quite a lengthy and informative conference, something the Habs media aren’t used to from former GM, Pierre Gauthier’s tenure. The points from the presser that are especially important to note are as follows:
Bergevin, former Chicago Blackhawks assistant GM, lead the candidates for new GM from the start of the search and interviewing process.
In terms of what Molson saw in Bergevin, he was looking specifically for the communication skills that (without naming names) Pierre Gauthier didn’t possess.
The team’s priorities, as pointed out by Molson, are to improve the team short-term, and to re-establish a winning culture long-term.
Carey Price and PK Subban are Bergevin’s top priorities when it comes to the t…
Montreal Canadiens Hire GM Marc Bergevin
Overnight the Montreal Canadiens have announced that Marc Bergevin will be their new general manager. Bergevin satisfies the main criteria for a Habs GM. He is a hockey guy and he speaks French. The second of those points prevented the Habs from hiring the best GM candidates (although they did look into Jim Nill).
Bergevin has been working in the Chicago Blackhawks organization since his retirement. He has been a pro scout, an assistant coach and the director of player personnel. Last summer he became their assistant GM. It is far too early to determine if he has been successful as an assistant GM and he is already getting promoted above that level. His promotion comes because he speaks French. Without that, he wouldn’t be a contender to be a GM anywhere … at least not yet.
Continue reading “Montreal Canadiens Hire GM Marc Bergevin”
Eklund: Montreal Welcoming back Marc Bergevin and Their Mojo. Gomez gone?
I truly can’t imagine how cool it must be to be a kid who grew up in Montreal and about to be named GM of the Montreal Canadiens. I mean, come on! Does it get any better than that?
A few days ago I wrote about the Habs needing someone to come in and rescue their culture. Someone who brings back the pride of the jersey. Someone who understands fully the meaning of the Torch the captains carr…
Canadiens hire Marc Bergevin as general manager
The Montreal Canadiens have hired Marc Bergevin as general manager.
Bergevin served as assistant GM for the Chicago Blackhawks under Stan Bowman this season. The 46-year-old Montreal native replaces the fired Pierre Gauthier.
A former defenseman with 20 years NHL experience, he has spent seven seasons in various jobs in Chicago’s front office.
Bergevin played for Chicago, the New York Islanders, Hartford, Tampa Bay, Detroit, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Vancouver from 1984 to 2004.
Montreal owner and president Geoff Molson will introduce Bergevin at an afternoon news conference.
Montreal Will Introduce Marc Bergevin As Their GM This Afternoon
from NHL.com, The Montreal Canadiens have tabbed former NHL player Marc Bergevin as its new GM and will introduce him in a Wednesday afternoon press conference at the team’s practice facility.
Bergevin, 46, will replace the fired Pierre Gauthier, who was let go near the end of the 2011-12 season, and become the 17th GM in Canadiens history. The Canadiens not only missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, but finished last in the Eastern Conference and No. 28 in the League with a 31-35-16 record.
A Montreal native, Bergevin has spent the past seven seasons in Chicago’s front office. This past season, Bergevin was the assistant GM under Stan Bowman.
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Kamal Panesar: Marc Bergevin to be Named Montreal Canadiens GM/Gomez Bought Out?
UPDATE: 8:25 AMSportnet’s Louis Jean is reporting that the Montreal Canadiens will buyout Scott Gomez’s contract. Wow. And the hits just keep on coming!
According to a story by Chris Kuc, in the Chicago Tribune this morning, the Montreal Canadiens have chosen their new General Manager. And his name is….drum roll please…
Marc Bergevin.
Here is the Tribune story.
Apparently, Pierre M…
