Bergevin, Timmins and Paul Wilson relieved of duties; Jeff Gorton hired as EVP

[MON4NHLTOR4MLB]

If Gorton nails this rebuild and we become successful for years to come, he will be celebrated like a god

 

[Krustchev]

Everyone not named Sam Pollock that has a management position in the NHL will end up having a bad legacy by the time they get fired.

Mathias Brunet had a good point this week: If you think of Serge Savard's legacy at the time he got fired, most people wanted him burned at the stake, to the point that he was getting booed in a Habs Old Timers game by the end of his reign.

If you're going to look at his body of work now, it's very good (albeit with notable mistakes, like with everyone).

People like Savard as. GM now because he won two Cups. His problem was that he would get distracted by his business ventures. When he focused on his GM job he was fine.

 

[lecoqsportif]

Barely, they’d use Sportlogiq on contract when needed and they had one person under the capologist. It was an afterthought, there was no dedicated staff like almost every other org does.

Not sure if true, but I heard the analytics person opposed the trade for Weber and walked afterwards.

 

[Sal_Butera]

Not sure if true, but I heard the analytics person opposed the trade for Weber and walked afterwards.

That kid got canned one month after he came out publicly and stated it was a bad deal for Habs.

Since then they’ve had one person working data sciences, alternating between working for John Sedgwick (capologist) and the recently departed Pierre Allard (sports sciences) - I have visions of Costanza’s Penske file with that individual..

 

[lecoqsportif]

He’s not Penske material…

 

[WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou]

That kid got canned one month after he came out publicly and stated it was a bad deal for Habs.

Since then they’ve had one person working data sciences, alternating between working for John Sedgwick (capologist) and the recently departed Pierre Allard (sports sciences) - I have visions of Costanza’s Penske file with that individual..

View attachment 10655

"Why the hell did you trade Jay Buhner?"

 

[WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou]

People like Savard as. GM now because he won two Cups. His problem was that he would get distracted by his business ventures. When he focused on his GM job he was fine.

The NHL that Savard managed in was altogether different than what exists today. And Savard only won when Roy stood on his head. When he was less than perfect, they lost. The most talented team he ever had was the 88-89 squad that finished 2nd overall and lost to Calgary in the final. Other than that the Habs were no better than a middle of the pack team with a Hall of Fame caliber goalie the rest of the time he was GM.

I didn't think it was possible for a team to be more goalie-centric than the Savard era Habs. But then came the Habs of the Jose Theodore era and later the Carey Price era. Objectively bad rosters propped up by goalies.

 

[GrandWazoo]

The NHL that Savard managed in was altogether different than what exists today. And Savard only won when Roy stood on his head. When he was less than perfect, they lost. The most talented team he ever had was the 88-89 squad that finished 2nd overall and lost to Calgary in the final. Other than that the Habs were no better than a middle of the pack team with a Hall of Fame caliber goalie the rest of the time he was GM.

I didn't think it was possible for a team to be more goalie-centric than the Savard era Habs. But then came the Habs of the Jose Theodore era and later the Carey Price era. Objectively bad rosters propped up by goalies.

That's not entirely fair. From 1984 to 1993, Habs ranked top 6 in the league 8 times out of 9 (in 1986 they finished 7th) and twice top 2. Roy had 4 Vezina seasons in that span but otherwise the net was shared with Penney (pre-Roy) and Hayward.

The Habs of that time were an heavy and sound defensive team, not unlike the Devils of the Brodeur era. The defense was solid and most of the time led by Norris caliber defenseman with a strong supporting group, and we had gritty group of 2 ways forwards with some of the best shutdown players in history. And unlike after Savard, we always had at least some legit first line players in Smith, Naslund, Richer, Muller, Damphouse, Bellows.

 

[WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou]

That's not entirely fair. From 1984 to 1993, Habs ranked top 6 in the league 8 times out of 9 (in 1986 they finished 7th) and twice top 2. Roy had 4 Vezina seasons in that span but otherwise the net was shared with Penney (pre-Roy) and Hayward.

The Habs of that time were an heavy and sound defensive team, not unlike the Devils of the Brodeur era. The defense was solid and most of the time led by Norris caliber defenseman with a strong supporting group, and we had gritty group of 2 ways forwards with some of the best shutdown players in history. And unlike after Savard, we always had at least some legit first line players in Smith, Naslund, Richer, Muller, Damphouse, Bellows.

I'd kill to have that mediocre 1986 team to what we've had under Bergevin. But it's been decades since Richer scored 50 or Naslund had 100+ points. We've been getting by (or trying to) on defense and goaltending since Lafleur retired the first time around.