Montreal Cleans House!

[GASabresIUFAN]

https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/canadiens-fire-gm-marc-bergevin-assistant-gm-trevor-timmins-hire-former-rangers-gm-jeff-gorton/

Not that I haven’t thought that Bergevin should have been fired years ago, but getting tossed early the following season after a visit to the Cup final seems like an overreaction considering they have 5 key players and 3 others on IR.  

Edited November 29, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Pimlach]

I guess they don’t accept the losing.  Either that or they are going to be Efficient, economic, and something-something for  the rest of the season. 

[WildCard]

There has to be something else going on otherwise that's a pretty large move after your first Cup finals appearance in three decades.

[Eleven]

11 minutes ago, WildCard said:

There has to be something else going on otherwise that's a pretty large move after your first Cup finals appearance in three decades.

Well, we all knew they didn't really belong.  A hot goalie can go far in a sixteen-win tournament.

[Pimlach]

17 minutes ago, WildCard said:

There has to be something else going on otherwise that's a pretty large move after your first Cup finals appearance in three decades.

They don’t want to pay them. 

[WildCard]

4 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Well, we all knew they didn't really belong.  A hot goalie can go far in a sixteen-win tournament.

A fair point. They could be simply prudent and pragmatic and realized their FO just got lucky but it's a tough sell given their lack of success in 30 years and how fast they're moving on. I just can't imagine they'd be that callous. 

[Hoss]

19 minutes ago, WildCard said:

There has to be something else going on otherwise that's a pretty large move after your first Cup finals appearance in three decades.

Bergevin was probably going to get fired if they didn’t make the unlikely run to the finals and everyone knew that run wasn’t exactly … legit.

[DarthEbriate]

Bergevin was a lame duck GM and if the decision is to blow it up, you don't need him being the one to redesign it. Once the effort to tank is decided, you either fire the GM immediately and let the new person dismantle and restock, OR you keep the GM and let him restock if you believe in his abilities of roster construction (for example, the previous core simply aged out and needs a full replacement).

But look at Montreal's roster --- everyone is signed long-term and not many of them on wonderfully team-friendly deals. They made the Cup Final (whether overachieving or not is irrelevant) and their roster is being paid like a Cup contender (and the latter part is completely relevant).

[inkman]

53 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I guess they don’t accept the losing.  Either that or they are going to be Efficient, economic, and something-something for  the rest of the season. 

Well they are going to need to figure out how to accept it for a season or three 

[Weave]

1 hour ago, WildCard said:

There has to be something else going on otherwise that's a pretty large move after your first Cup finals appearance in three decades.

I had the same thought.

[kas23]

It’s nice to be leapfrogged in the dumpster fire competition. 

[tom webster]

Don’t be surprised if Danny Briere is part of the new leadership 

[French Collection]

1 hour ago, tom webster said:

Don’t be surprised if Danny Briere is part of the new leadership 

Yeah, his name is being thrown around in the media. He’s GM in the ECHL, that would be quite the promotion.

The Montreal fans and media are crying for a French speaking GM, really limits your search.

[woods-racer]

2 hours ago, tom webster said:

Don’t be surprised if Danny Briere is part of the new leadership 

I gave you sad eyes because if true, that would be a great hire for Montreal. 

[Weave]

14 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

I gave you sad eyes because if true, that would be a great hire for Montreal. 

If the Sabres hired an ECHL GM we’d all skewer that decision, and rightfully so.  No way is Briere ready for that big of a jump, under that big of a spotlight.

[Brawndo]

It actually might be the perfect situation for Briere. There are reports out of Montreal are that Gorton is going to be running day to day operations of the Hockey Department and have final say over Hockey Decisions.

If this is true the Role of the Montreal GM would actually be more of an AGM. This would give Him the chance to learn the position and possibly take over once Gorton decides to move on. 
 

The major downside is He would be the Face of the Front Office and have to constantly deal with the Montreal Media to answer questions about decisions He did not make. 

[woods-racer]

1 hour ago, Weave said:

If the Sabres hired an ECHL GM we’d all skewer that decision, and rightfully so.  No way is Briere ready for that big of a jump, under that big of a spotlight.

You are right with the Sabres. A bright young hockey mind would have been crushed here in the last ten years. I'm not being snarky, the Sabres have been a mess. Might be a Captain Obvious moment, but.....

But as Brawndo has mentioned if a similar situation happen here in Buffalo as is happening in Montreal... say for instance...

KA was *promoted* to Pres. of Hockey Stuff  and Danny was brought in as GM right now I would have no problems with that. I have no problems with more good people in our front office. 

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, WildCard said:

There has to be something else going on otherwise that's a pretty large move after your first Cup finals appearance in three decades.

No, I think the Cup run saved the FO jobs for the time being but I heard they were on thin ice for a while.  When the team came back to earth this season that was enough.

[Second Line Center]

7 hours ago, Eleven said:

Well, we all knew they didn't really belong.  A hot goalie can go far in a sixteen-win tournament.

 

This. 

[LabattBlue]

2 hours ago, Weave said:

If the Sabres hired an ECHL GM we’d all skewer that decision, and rightfully so.  No way is Briere ready for that big of a jump, under that big of a spotlight.

Wouldn’t hiring an ECHL GM be a step up from a guy running a youth hockey academy?

[PerreaultForever]

Briere has a shot. GM has to be fluent in French. That's an absolute in this case. 

They're not cost cutting though. They, unlike us, have acknowledged it's too much for just 1 GM and thus they created a new upper spot for Gorton. 

(sort of like if we'd been smart enough to hire Dudley above Adams :))

 

[Weave]

6 hours ago, woods-racer said:

You are right with the Sabres. A bright young hockey mind would have been crushed here in the last ten years. I'm not being snarky, the Sabres have been a mess. Might be a Captain Obvious moment, but.....

But as Brawndo has mentioned if a similar situation happen here in Buffalo as is happening in Montreal... say for instance...

KA was *promoted* to Pres. of Hockey Stuff  and Danny was brought in as GM right now I would have no problems with that. I have no problems with more good people in our front office. 

KA was obviously being groomed for a bigger role.  He had time and experience in an NHL front office prior to taking the reigns.

What has Briere done to cement the notion that he is a bright young mind, ready for an NHL GM position?

[Sabres Fan in NS]

24 Stanley Cups in a hundred year history.  That is 1 every 4 years, give or take, on average.  The most recent in 1993 ... close to 30 years ago.  I am surprised that the fans are not rioting.  They have rioted over less in the past.  Final appearances mean nothing to the Habs and their fans.

Gorton is not French.  The GM will be French Canadian.  Maybe Briere will be a good choice, but he will be facing the savage media and the fans even if Gorton is calling all the shots.

[Eleven]

18 minutes ago, The Ghost of Doohickie said:

They have rioted over less in the past. 

They riot when they win.

[inkman]

If it’s time for a rebuild, why not do it with a once in a generation dman who is only 21.  I’m sure he can learn French.  Suzuki and Caufield would be a nice return. 😎