Close enough.


- Scabeh

probably the toughest position in yoga.
- kicksave856

- Pat1993

Au moins c'est coulé dans le béton

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Bergevin Administration

I work for the GM but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

Sept. 6, 2018
The Times today is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Bergevin administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers. We invite you to submit a question about the essay or our vetting process here.
________________________________________
GM Bergevin is facing a test to his managership unlike any faced by a modern NHL leader.

It’s not just that the training camp looms large. Or that Hockeybuzz is bitterly divided over Mr. Bergevin’s leadership. Or even that his team might well lose the playoffs to an opposition hellbent on the Habs’ downfall.

The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

I would know. I am one of them.

To be clear, ours is not the popular “resistance” of the old guard. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made the Habs more prosperous.

But we believe our first duty is to this team, and the GM continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of the Habs.

That is why many Bergevin appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our hockey institutions while thwarting Mr. Bergevin’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

The root of the problem is the GM’s muscles. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making.

Although he was appointed as a bulky guy, the GM shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by new school hockey execs: skill, talent and scoring ability. At best, he has invoked these ideals in scripted settings. At worst, he has attacked them outright.

In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the Montreal hockey press is the “enemy of the people,” GM Bergevin’s impulses are generally anti-scoring and anti-charisma.

Don’t get me wrong. There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage of the administration fails to capture: Price, Kotkaniemi, new hot dogs and more.

But these successes have come despite — not because of — the GM’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.

From the scouting department to development departments and minors, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chief’s comments and actions. Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims.

Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.

“There is literally no telling whether he might change his mind from one minute to the next,” a top official complained to me recently, exasperated by a Molson meeting at which the GM flip-flopped on a major policy decision he’d made only a week earlier.

The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it weren’t for unsung heroes in and around the Bell Centre. Some of his aides have been cast as villains by the media. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the boardroom, though they are clearly not always successful.

It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Habs Nation should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what’s right even when Marc Bergevin won’t.

The result is a two-track GMship.

This isn’t the work of the so-called deep state. It’s the work of the steady state.
Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the Lack of CHaracter, which would start a complex process for removing the GM. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until — one way or another — it’s over.

There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put the Habs first. But the real difference will be made by everyday fans rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Habs Nation.

The writer is a senior official in the Bergevin administration.

Really Adam?

Au moins c'est coulé dans le béton
- Fredo

Ohhhhhh nice

Really Adam?
- Scabeh

2 minutes of my life Scabeh. 2!

2 minutes of my life Scabeh. 2!
- AdamFrench

Imagine when they decide to keep Kotkaniemi to centre the first line in a surprise twist that puts Drouin back on the wing!
- Scabeh

They'll start him on the wing to shelter him a little. Just for 2-3 years. After that they'll try him at centre.

They'll start him on the wing to shelter him a little. Just for 2-3 years. After that they'll try him at centre.
- BashCH

https://www.hockeybuzz.co...sson--May-Revisit/1/94611

More to come....really....

https://www.hockeybuzz.co...sson--May-Revisit/1/94611

More to come....really....





- Pat1993

I doubt this guy ever watched a single NHL hockey game.

He was desperately trying to save his career. He was sitting on the bench and now he is the new face of Nike. Don't be so naive
- Habsody

oui parce que clairement, ca beaucoup aidé ca carrière NFL ..

I doubt this guy ever watched a single NHL hockey game.
- BashCH

I also doubt that... really... lol



Although I wouldn't mind having OEL, would fit nicely on our stacked defense core

oui parce que clairement, ca beaucoup aidé ca carrière NFL ..
- Xizord

Ah ok, t'es en train de me dire qu'il fait moins d'argent là avec son lucratif contrat avec Nike que lorsqu'il réchauffait le banc? Calvaire ton kool-aid a l'air bon, passe ça ici

Two outta three ain't bad??

I just hope he goes back to Finland to develop. There's no value in starting him in this National Enquirer soap opera, poop slide led by an ego-maniac out of control.
- Snots33_77

Absolutely, he should get a 4-5 games stint and then hop back to Finland where he SHOULD dominate. He will be a player to watch at the WJC as well as Ylonen

things are lookin up for this team

things are lookin up for this team
- DoubleDown

Romanov aside, i like this year's draft though. Still not sure Kotka was a good bet at number 3 (Zadina still is my pick) but Ylonen could very well be a steal.

things are lookin up for this team
- DoubleDown

Ah ok, t'es en train de me dire qu'il fait moins d'argent là avec son lucratif contrat avec Nike que lorsqu'il réchauffait le banc? Calvaire ton kool-aid a l'air bon, passe ça ici
- Habsody

Ca vien d'arriver 2 ans après, clairement c'tait prevue

Beside sur le banc, il est payé pareil

Clairement ta manqué d'air a naissance aussi

things are lookin up for this team
- DoubleDown

Romanov aside, i like this year's draft though. Still not sure Kotka was a good bet at number 3 (Zadina still is my pick) but Ylonen could very well be a steal.
- Habsody

I'm worried about the guy moving up 12 spot in the draft whitout playing a single game.

- Pat1993

This whole Habsody vs Xizord rivalry is gaining steam!

Ca vien d'arriver 2 ans après, clairement c'tait prevue

Beside sur le banc, il est payé pareil

Clairement ta manqué d'air a naissance aussi
- Xizord

oh yes les attaques personnelles

Solide argumentaire by the way, et si tu penses que Nike sont les seuls à avoir profité de l'opportunité d'utiliser Kapernick, j'peux pas faire plus pour toi mon cher. Quand même ironique que j'occupe un poste de DG et prochainement de CEO tout en étant mentalement atteint