Though the main front-office news Tuesday was the extension signed with Julien BriseBois in Tampa Bay, Pierre LeBrun also included another note in his appearance on TSN’s Insider Trading. The Montreal Canadiens, fresh off an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, offered general manager Marc Bergevin a contract extension in July.
What I can tell you is this. He has talked to owner Geoff Molson about his future dating back to last January. I’m told they spoke again last March. I’m told in July Molson made an offer. There has not been an agreement, read into that what you will. I believe Marc Bergevin wants to stay, but they obviously have to reach a deal that works for both sides. Both sides continue to talk, and there’s a lot of pressure on this situation.
Bergevin’s tenure in Montreal has been anything but smooth. Hired away from the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012, he came to a Canadiens team that had just gone 31-35-16, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Michel Therrien would return as head coach, leading the team back to the postseason in a lockout-shortened schedule, and then to consecutive 100+ point seasons and a Conference Finals appearance in 2014. Things didn’t continue so well, though, and when Bergevin decided in 2016 to trade all-star defenseman P.K. Subban, many fans were at their breaking point.
In time, that trade turned out to be accepted by many thanks to the style of play and leadership Shea Weber brought back to the team. But there was a period when Bergevin appeared to be on his last legs in Montreal. The public departures of Alexander Radulov and Andrei Markov caused many to call for change at the top, but Molson stuck with his GM through some lean seasons and was rewarded when they went on a Cinderella-like run this year. The Canadiens entered the postseason as huge underdogs against the North-leading Toronto Maple Leafs, but pulled off a miraculous first-round comeback and then stormed their way to the finals.
That performance, including a midseason coaching change to replace veteran Claude Julien with upstart Dominique Ducharme, will buy Bergevin some more time if he wants it. An extension offer comes as no surprise, but the question now is whether a deal can be worked out before the season begins. In July, Ducharme and his staff were given three-year extensions. Now the wait is on to see whether their boss will get one of his own.
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