Page 41 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 108

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #108 January 2022 41

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Energy N e w s presents Sports Panel
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Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
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Last month, 2 long-standing NHL GMs were fired by their owners, Marc Bergevin (9 years in Montreal) and Jim
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Benning (7 years in Vancouver). Given the current state of both teams, do you think this was the right move by the
owners, and how long do you think it will take new GMs to turn the franchises around?
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Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - I think that both the Bergevin and Benning cases had some common elements regarding the reasons
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for their dismissals. Benning seemed to have built a strong young core, with many of his draft picks like Boeser, Demko, Hughes, and
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Pettersson, performing at a high level; but his trades have been expensive and haven’t worked out. Bergevin, on the other hand, has
made mostly good trades that landed Habs contributors such as Petry, Anderson, Weber, and Suzuki; but his draft picks have been less
than memorable. This is highlighted by this year’s draft of Logan Mailloux, whose career has been sidelined by off-ice issues.
Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
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Perhaps, though, the biggest flaw of both men was in the coaching department. Vancouver hasn’t found the right mix in the past few years with Willie
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Desjardins or Travis Green at the helm. Montreal hasn’t discovered the winning formula with Therrien, Julien, or Ducharme. Worst of all, they are near
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the top cap limit and the bottom of the NHL standings. Vancouver will most likely just tweak the line-up and with a new coach in Bruce Boudreau, they
have a chance to contend for a playoff position. Montreal on the other hand, looks like they are destined to embark on a complete rebuild, so it will be 3
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to 5 years before they contend again. That is of course if they make the right moves.
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Two Canadian franchises that haven’t fulfilled their potential. Could Ottawa’s GM be next?
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Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach - In reviewing the NHL’s tenure statistics for GMs, it’s interesting to note that, on average, GMs
affiliated with American teams hold their positions for approximately 5 ½ years while tenures for GMs affiliated with Canadian teams,
only 4 years. Again, these are stats that date back to the 1920s.
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Reasons why Canadian GMs have shorter tenures are hard to pinpoint; they could include budgets, critical media stress, or fickle
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fans who are just interested in supporting championships rather than supporting the game and the home team. Who knows, but a GM
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more concerned about employment may make decisions more likely to maximize short-term gain at the expense of long-term success.
Examples could include trading away young talent or future picks for veterans or signing players to long-term deals in exchange for a short-term payoff.
Although Bergevin and Benning did surpass the league’s average GM tenure, the state or structure of both teams must be questioned.
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Despite Montreal making it to the Stanley Cup finals last year, without Carey Price this season, the team’s performance has been dismal. Structuring a
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team around a single player is not a team positioned for long-term success. Instead, a team mindset structured around the goal of long-term success is key
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in my opinion, which in Montreal’s case, could take 2 to 3+ seasons to accomplish.
A GM change in Vancouver’s wheelhouse seems to have generated an immediate turnaround for the team. The Canucks have had 6 straight wins with
Jim Rutherford now at the helm, which leads me to believe issues with the Canucks may have been personality clashes rather than team structure; here’s
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hoping they can keep the momentum moving forward.
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Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - Both the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks have failed to meet expectations this season,
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and as a result have fired their General Managers. The Canucks only made the playoffs twice during the seven years former GM Jim
Benning was in charge. With the team sitting in last place in the Pacific division, Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini cleaned house,
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firing Benning, his assistant GM, and the coaching staff. In Montreal, the Habs cleared out the front office but have left the coaching
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staff intact for now. The Canadiens have made six playoff appearances with Marc Bergevin in charge but have been struggling badly this
season. The Canucks have responded immediately to the changes, climbing out of last place, and closing in on the teams above them
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in the standings. The Canadiens, on the other hand, are still sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic division. Both teams have several good young players
to build around and some expiring contracts to move. Vancouver is more likely to tweak their roster and be competitive very soon, while the Habs may
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be looking at a longer-term solution. The NHL entry draft is scheduled for July7th and 8th in Montreal and with 11 picks, and more coming at the trade
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deadline, the Canadiens will be in an excellent position to make a hometown splash via trade, as well as acquire one of the top available picks.
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