CEOs comment on Marc Bergevin’s work

The recent decisions of Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin seem to have obtained the approval of some of his counterparts in the National Hockey League (NHL), according to an investigation by the site The Athletic.

Bergevin acquired goaltender Jake Allen, defenseman Joel Edmundson and forward Josh Anderson in offseason trades before offering them contract extensions. He also added Tyler Toffoli through the free agent market.

“They should have an easier time scoring goals with Toffoli and Anderson and their defense is solid, especially with Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson. I liked their changes, ”said a member of the hockey department of an Eastern Conference team.

Another general manager also indicated that he understood Bergevin’s decisions, arguing that head coach Claude Julien’s requests for bigger players certainly had an impact.

The deal that sent Max Domi to the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for Anderson certainly served that purpose.

“I totally understand,” said the questioned CEO. I would’ve done the same thing. Claude Julien wants to get fat, they must take the next step. It cannot be a reconstruction. [L’échange Max Domi-Anderson] made sense for both teams. ”

No plan?

Not all reviews are good, however. Another interviewee praised Bergevin’s successes but did not understand the plan.

“Montreal is weird because I always feel like they do a lot of good shots, but I don’t know what they’re trying to do overall. Bergevin seems to be really good at making good moves that don’t seem to make sense in the grand scheme. “

“I think they have a lot of good players. It’s a question of whether they are ever going to be in a position where they will be one of the top five teams in the league. I do not know.”

And the contract awarded to Anderson could also haunt the CH.

“Anderson is a big risk,” said another source. If he shows up, that’s fine. If not, they’ll hang around [le contrat] during a moment.”