Originally Posted by
newfcollins
The problem with Bergevin is that he spent his first four years in Montreal doing nothing. He didn't have any great drafts, didn't make big moves to improve the team in the long-term, didn't sign any big free agents, etc. His first four years were making trades such as Briere for Parenteau.
After last season, the Habs core players were Subban, Plekanec, Markov, Gallagher, Pacioretty, Galchenyuk, Price, Desharnais and Eller. Bergevin brought in just one of those guys, and that was Galchenyuk. He had four years and didn't put his stamp on the team at all.
Last year, I think he realized that he needed to make some big moves. If he spent another year doing nothing and the team still sucked, he would be out of a job. That's why he traded for Weber, signed Radulov, traded for Shaw, etc. He couldn't go through another year of not doing anything.
With Subban specifically, Bergevin backed his coach over the player. And he had to trade Subban before July 1 when Subban's no-trade clause kicked in. That's why Subban was dealt when he was.
Instead of slowly rebuilding this team the way he wanted to, Bergevin tried to do it all at once. And it backfired.
As for a rebuild, if the Habs' brass believe the squad needs a rebuild in a year or two, they need to hold on Sergachev. You can't trade him for someone like Duchene (who can walk in a couple of years) and then do a rebuild.