|
It took a comedy king to turn the Canadiens into a main attraction |
|
|
|
|
|
When Montreal GM Marc Bergevin was playing for the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992-1993 nobody noticed his management potential because they were too busy enjoying his comedy routine.
"I don't think we ever ever gave it a thought 'there's a GM of the future' because he was just so funny," said Nashville Presidents senior vice president and senior advisor Gerry Helper who was PR director in Tampa back then.
In his playing days, Bergevin has a reputation as one of the NHL's kings of comedy.
"He would come up with one practical joke after another," Helper recalled. "And what you always appreciated about Marc's sense of humor was that it was never demeaning to whoever was the subject of it. And there is an art to that."
Helper recalls when the team checked into the famed Drake Hotel around Christmas in 1992-93, the lobby had a large gingerbread house display. It was cordoned off by steel stanchions and fancy velour rope.
As players were looking ahead at the check-in counter, Bergevin unhooked the rope and re-attached it to a player's overnight bag slung over his shoulder.
"As soon as he took a step, the barrier came down," Helper said, laughing at the memory of slapstick comedy at his best.
Helper said Bergevin could take any situation and "make something humorous happen."
Another time, the Lightning were eating a pre-game meal in a hotel private dining room. Players had a habit of removing their shoes and walking around in their socks. Unbeknownst to anyone, Bergevin stole a shoe. He then went to the fruit station, pushed the shoe into the ice, and rebuilt the fruit display around the shoe.
"He did it in such way that if you looked at the bowl of fruit, you didn't see the shoe," Helper said. "It was decorative."
Tampa Bay general manager Phil Esposito ordered Lightning lapel pins. He wanted players to wear them to show they were proud of being a member of the Lightning organization. He said if he caught any player wearing a sport coat or suit without a lapel pin there would be a fine.
When the team was in St. Louis, no one paid attention when Bergeron was first to leave the ice after practice. What they didn't know is that he went into the dressing room and absconded with every player's lapel pin.
Esposito happened to be standing outside the Lightning dressing room and he fined every player who walked out without one. Players were stunned they were gone.
"They were all checking themselves, and were saying, "I had it. I know I had it," Helper said. "Phil nailed one right after another, but when Berg comes out, he has his pin on."
Reporters loved to talk to Bergeron because he was always insightful and humorous If he was saying goodbye, he would say: "If you get the urge to call me, resist it."
Or he would say, "Hey, stay in touch with yourself."
His humor was much needed in Tampa Bay that season. The Lightning were 23-54-7.
"We were not the Vegas Golden Knights by any stretch," Helper said. "We were kind of a rag-tag bunch. He kept things light for us because you never knew what he was going to do next."
"He was a delight to be around because he kept things light," Helper said. "And he was a decent player. He didn't do anything terrifically well, but he worked hard to stay in the league."
Teammates always respected Bergeron for how he carried himself. "Now when you look back, you remember, Yea, he was pretty sharp, maybe we should have thought, "He'll make a good general manager."
Maybe his humorous approach prepared him for the challenge of his current position. Few jobs come with the amount of pressure that the Montreal GM faces. Bergevin seems to handle it well. He's been an aggressive, bold general manager. And his boldness has paid off with Montreal's first Stanley Cup appearance since 1993.
It took a comedian to get the Canadiens back on top.
Funny how things work.
Blogger •HHOF Writer's column on the NHL • 
Join the Discussion:
»