Go Habs Go
Joined: Mar. 2017
Posts: 10,667
Likes: 4,091
Bergevin can be considered good at depth moves, and if he wants to put his stamp of character and responsibility on the team, that's where he should be doing it.
Montreal's bottom 6 has rarely been an issue, until those players start floating up to the top 6. I doubt MB is familiar with the Peter Principle, and he needs a serious lesson on it.
We need a different voice weighing in on big trades, because that's where MB is failing hard. He's moving our most talented players, which is problematic but sometimes necessary. The issue is that he's doing it without addressing our needs.
When you have a young talented player with attitude or personality, it is your job to mold that player. It's part of their development. If you end up having to move a player because you just can't reach them (Kassian?), that's fine. Perhaps there is a player you just can't train, despite your best efforts.
When you have to move multiple players for similar reasons, it suggests the failure is not only the players'.
It is MB's responsibility to instill the values he wants in his players, and he has shown little ability to do so. It's not a coincidence that the most skilled, individualistic players, are the ones that get the stick treatment. He views them as liabilities rather than tools at his disposal, and he undervalues them as such.
In his mind, he's not trading a talented player. He's unloading a problem. That's why he gets less than expected in return.
The players that have the skill, character, and attitude that he wants, are players like Tavares. A player that was drafted and developed into the player he is today. He could have turned out differently, but he was groomed rather than chopped down at every opportunity.
In short, this is another instance of MB making a poor decision predicated on his inability to ensure the proper development of our prospects. He continues to be poor with development, fails to address our needs, and make poor trades as a result of both.