Montreal Canadiens fans have had a rough ride this offseason and there’s another stark reminder the club’s management is continuing to trend downwards, this time pillaging itself publicly by making asinine comments.
Marc Bergevin spoke to Dave Stubbs of NHL.com about the Canadiens’ new culture following deals that saw P.K. Subban traded for Shea Weber and adding Andrew Shaw and Alexander Radulov. Bergevin said he’s hoping a new culture will be bred following the deals and that he hopes to build a culture reminiscent of the Blackhawks.
“Two Stanley Cups in five years. I like guys who don’t like to lose. Everybody likes to win, everybody’s happy when you win. I want guys, when you lose, it gets them inside. It hurts. And then you go back to work the next day.
I don’t want a guy who walks out of the rink thinking, “Everything is cute, everything is fine even though we lost the game, life goes on.” Yeah, life goes on, but I want guys who feel hurt by a loss. It’s the culture that I want. It’s the Chicago culture, that’s what I want.
Andrew Shaw has it. I was in Chicago long enough to know they don’t take losing with a grain of salt. I want guys who don’t like to lose.”
There’s so much going on with that comment, I don’t even know where to start.
Andrew Shaw was a serviceable depth piece with the Blackhawks, but to acquire him because he thinks he’ll bring a winning culture is laughable. Shaw isn’t Jonathan Toews. He’s a bottom-six center who plays with grit. He might not like to lose, but I’d wager that’s true with every hockey player in the league.
The “everything is cute” comment is a clear dig at Subban who wasn’t known to mope around after losses. He was full of energy and didn’t let a loss get him down. Again, that doesn’t mean he enjoyed losing. Bergevin is actively campaigning for the Canadiens to be ravaged and broken up following a loss. I get the thinking – but his means of coming to that thought is ridiculous.
The biggest take away from his comments is how he identifies culture. Subban wasn’t perfect and there might be issues behind the scenes the public isn’t aware of, but he was a Hart Trophy winner in terms of being beloved and generous with his time. We could only hope more hockey players care about their community enough to donate $10 million to a childrens hospital and spend countless hours there. Instead of Subban’s perceived negative culture killer, Bergevin thinks things will be stricter and better with Shaw and Radulov around. Let’s not forget their history.
Can you imagine thinking that culture, not top-tier talent, is what makes Chicago successful?https://t.co/GLzoRj2HQI
— Scott Cullen (@ByScottCullen) July 12, 2016
Shaw thought it would be OK to utter a homophobic slur during a game. He showed remorse, but is that the kind of player you want instilling culture on your team? As for Radulov, while he’s got potential to be a top-flight offensive weapon for Montreal, he’s shown time-and-time again he’s a basket case with a short fuse. Radulov is a player who thought it would be acceptable to hit his coach during a game. Again, can’t wait to see him change the culture.
At this point, Bergevin needs to get a clue. He’s had one of the worst offseasons from a GM in recent memory and continues to make boneheaded comment after boneheaded comment. He’s created a culture where if you show personality, you’re out the door. It’s a shame because the Canadiens could have been really good next season. Now, they’re culture chasers without their own identity.
