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MasterMatt23

Not so Fasth
Member Since
Jan. 13, 2018
Favourite Team
Montreal Canadiens
2nd Favourite Team
Winnipeg Jets
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Forum: Mock-DraftJul. 2, 2023 at 10:50 p.m.
Forum: Mock-DraftMay 13, 2023 at 8:52 p.m.
Forum: Montreal CanadiensMay 15, 2020 at 5:28 p.m.
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>ColonelX</b></div><div>Pretty harsh imo; He has traded his -former- number 1 defenseman (Subban) for immediate help, his 1st round pick (Sergachev) for immediate help and a pair of second round picks for immediate help (Shaw). Yes we can argue about winning or losing the trades but he was doing more than just surviving and sadly at one point he just admitted to himself that this roster wasn't working so he started tearing it apart piece by piece. One thing I'll give you is that he hasn't been ahead of the curve but we tend to forget that he was a rookie GM and I think this is why Molson has a longer leach on him. At least he now shows that he's learned from it and goes for longer term projects with higher ceiling that will soon flourish in the org, no more McCarron kind of guys and more Hillis, Suzuki, Caufield. Skills over size.
He hasn't reached for the moon but he did make balzy moves that some GMs aren't doing troughout their whole career and sadly these moves haven't had enough immediate effects on the team which caused everyone to aged. I think we could say he hasn't been pushing enough but I don't think we can say he hasn't pushed at all.
I always enjoy reading you Marco!</div></div>

Oh don't get me wrong, he has made some good moves for in which I think because they worked out as they have, he still has job as a result. I think he has shown that on the micro scale he has been lights out good. I have in general disagreed with his overall macro management however. In regards to my analogy, I guess its important to remember, simply making the NHL is still a high accomplishment. With that said, nobody ever remembers the Randy Ladouceurs's and Bob McGills of the world. That's kind of where I was going with that. MB played to just try and stay as long as possible in the NHL without really ever making a major impact on the ice. Which as lacklustre as it sounds is again, still a huge accomplishment considering his long playing career. Just not the accomplishment I'm looking for in the mind of a GM.

I guess my over criticism of him has been because of my own personal journey along the way. I feel I shifted from "general fan" to "fan who also likes to manage" right around the time MB came into office. Kind of felt I was on the job along with him.

I feel that I, the unknowledgeable fan, should never have, what seems to be a better understanding of what to do next than an actual GM should. Yet I found myself , trade after trade, signing after signing, decision after decision, being astonished by his ineptitude. Moreso astonished by the fact that I, the unknowledgeable fan, saw it coming a mile a way and yet he did not?

At the end of the day, my criticism is less about how bad he has been but more about what could have been if not for a few illogical but very critical moves that changed the course of the team drastically.

I believe, at the core of my soul, had he handled June 1 2016 - July 2nd 2017 bette........... or you know what? I'll take ownership of it - the way I think he should have handled it, the Habs would not only be a playoff team right now, they'd be right up there with the likes of TB and BOS. That's why I judge MB so harshly.

Edit: My belief was semi backed up by other teams making similar trades during that time and flourishing which made me believe that I was not just out to lunch.
Forum: Montreal CanadiensMay 9, 2020 at 2:43 p.m.
Happy quarantine to everyone,
Today we'll take a look down on my favorite Montreal Canadiens trade tree since I'm a fan, this 2007 trade would set a powerful ripple effect on the whole organisation and is still seen to this day <em>-and counting-</em>.

<em>February 25, 2007</em>: <strong>Craig Rivet along with Montreal's 2008 5th round pick are traded to San Jose in exchange for Josh Gorges and their 2007 1st.</strong>
-Craig Rivet ended up getting 43 points in his 91 games played in San Jose before being traded to Buffalo.
-Josh Gorges spent his next 7 years where he's -mainly- played top four for his 464 games in Montreal. He's also been Montreal's alternate captain for his last two seasons in town.
-Montreal selected Max Pacioretty 22nd overall, he ended up playing 626 games with the Habs racking up 448 points and named team Captain for three years.
-With the 146th pick, San Jose selected Julien Demers. He fared well in the OHL but left the hockey world in 2011 before seeing any NHL ice time.

<em>July 4, 2008</em>: The San Jose Sharks traded Craig Rivet to the Sabres in return for their 2009 and 2010 2nd round picks.
-In 2009 SJ selected William Wrenn. Wrenn never lived up to his good sophomore season in the USDP and since he's been floating from a league to another (WHL, AHL, ECHL, KHL, Liiga, DEL, EBEL) without ever recording an NHL game (Hasn't officially retired but highly unlikely to touch an NHL ice).

<em>February 7, 2010</em>: The Sharks traded Buffalo's 2010 2nd round pick to Carolina for Niclas Wallin and their 2010 5th round pick.
-Wallin played 97 games under the sun -as a bottom pairing defenseman- before heading to the SHL where he has retired from hockey the very next year.
-With the 127th pick the team selected Cody Ferriero. Drafted after his interesting USHS development years he hasn't done anything following it. He failed to reach the AHL and has been out of the hockey world since 2016.

<em>July 1, 2014</em>: The Montreal Canadiens traded Josh Gorges to the Buffalo Sabres <em>(Who also traded for Rivet, mildly interesting fact)</em> for Minnesota's 2016 2nd round pick.
-Josh stayed four years in the "City of no illusions" where he's had average success. He retired as a Sabres in 2018.

<em>June 24, 2016</em>: Montreal -paired with another 2nd round pick- traded Minnesota's 2016 2nd round pick to Chicago for the signing rights of Andrew Shaw.
-That trade's been talked about a lot because Chicago took DeBrincat with the other pick but Shaw's been a very good addition to Montreal in the late 2010's. He brought grit to this team and has been able to get pucks into the net on while playing on Danault's wing, he totaled 96 points over the 182 games played in The city of Saints.
-With the 45th pick the Blackhawks selected Chad Krys. He's still a Chicago prospect but the shine is starting to wear off the apple as he's been surpassed by a number of blueliner prospect and is still showing too much inconsistency in his D+4 year.

<em>September 10, 2018</em>: The Canadiens are trading their captain Max Pacioretty to Las Vegas for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and CBJ 2019 2nd round pick.
-The "Pacc watch" was finally over and after putting up 226 goals in Montreal, Max has finally been traded.
-Tomas Tatar ended up fitting very nicely in Montreal's top six where he's put up 119 points on the board in his 148 games -and counting- with the team.
-Nick Suzuki has already shown this year what he was able to do and he figures to be a part of this team's core for a long time, his 41 points rookie season are -hopefully- just the tip of the iceberg.

<em>June 22, 2019</em>: Montreal traded down in the 2019 NHL entry draft and gave Columbus' 2nd rounder to the LA Kings in exchange for the 64th and the 126th selection in this draft year.
-Samuel (The 50th overall selection for the Kings) had an excellent D+1 year showing up in every tournement he was in especially when paired with Hoglander in the 2020 WJC. More of a sniper than a playmaker Fagemo still has top six upside in the NHL, it'll be interesting to see him grow up.
-Habs selected Mattias Norlinder with their 64th overall pick and he rapidly became an intriguing prospect in his first post draft year. His IQ level's so high that it feels like he sees the game in slowmotion, his crisp first pass and sneaky speed makes him a very interesting prospect to look going forward.
-With the 126th pick Montreal selected Jacob Leguerrier a big Soo Greyhounds defender. His offensive upside was almost non existent but his Hall Gill'esque defensive efforts made him a Canadiens pick. Surprisingly enough he doubled his offensive stats -in seven less games- the very next season while being named alternate captain for his OHL team. Montreal may have found a diamond in the rough here but still very early for the hypetrain to leave the station.

<em>June 30, 2019</em>: The Chicago Blackhawks are bringing Shaw back home, in exchange Montreal's getting Chicago's 2020 second and seventh rounders along with their 2021 third.
-None of the picks have been made yet. (Personnal note: It is hard to hate this trade. You've got slightly less value than what you paid for 3 years ago for a player that got older and had way too many concussions in that span.)
----------------------------


The Rivet tree will continue to grow for years to come and will hopefully give Montreal the players they need to bring Lord Stanley back where it belong, home. Thank you Gainey.
Hope you enjoyed reading my write-up, all <em>constructive</em> comments are always welcomed!
Forum: Montreal CanadiensFeb. 27, 2020 at 12:12 p.m.
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>gm_jeanguy</b></div><div>I just don't get the sky high expectations towards MB. Yes, this team hasn't shown apparent signs of progress over the last 3 years, but does that mean he's doing poorly as a GM? Actually, how can we measure the performance of a GM?

By his number of Stanley Cups? That sounds pretty reliable, but only if you take a measure over many decades: in the cap era, the only realistic expectation is that any given team will win 1 championship every 31 years, soon to be 32. Plus, the cap is not state-tax adjusted, and a lot of teams are surfing on the remnants of the old lottery formula, so that kind of rigs the probabilities. Therefore, one could argue that no championship in 8 years is actually nothing to worry about, and that MB is doing as good as pretty much everyone else.

What about building the core? This one is easy to mesure: when MB took over in 2012, MTL's core was 7-8 players deep, and there weren't many notable prospects in the pipe. Fast foward to 2020 and the core is now 12-13 players deep while the prospect pool is one of the league's very best. By any measure, this team is in a much better shape on that front than it was 8 years ago, so that's one thing MB must be good at.

What about instilling chemistry, coherence and a winning mentality to this core? That one is debatable, but judging by MB's tendency to make unpopular decisions (not trading Tatar, a locker-room favorite, being the latest example), I'd again say that it's something MB is at least trying to achieve.

So anyhow, I totally get that MB should take the heat for yet another lackluster of a season, and for not disclosing how he intends to end what is now a 3 year playoff drought. But I'd say that he's not part of the problem. As a matter of fact, he's doing fine.</div></div>

Yes lots to agree with here but I disagree with plenty also.

The expectations aren't sky high for MB..... but the expectation is that he has to show clear lines of progression. He hasn't done that. Blaming everything from injuries to character to players not performing. Under this mentality, this team could make the playoffs 1 out of every 5 years and he'd have a valid excuse every year. That is simply not good enough.

I think its very easy to gauge a GM's performance. All you got to do is ask yourself one question: Has what he's done in his tenure thus far lead you to believe this team will win a cup before his eventual dismissal?

IMHO - Up until 15-16, I raved of just about everything he had done and I felt like the Habs were just one top center away from winning a cup. Each year since, has been a downward spiral of lacklustre performances and most of all EXCUSES. The difference between his 1st 3-4 years and his last 3-4 years has been the roster. The first half of players were given to him. That roster was mainly comprised of players who were there before he even made a significant adjustment to the team. The latter has been his doing, his hands are all over it and what has he got to show for it?

Believe it or not, I don't have sky high expectations for MB. I just want him to be ahead of the curve. New age thinking or at the very least proactive. He is neither. He is literally the other side of that spectrum. The GM that reacts when its <strong>too late</strong>. That line of thinking is what sinks a franchise for years and wastes so much time.

Has he made good trades? Yes. Has he made bad trades? yes. They can be at the very least cancelling out. But everything else? Drafting? UFA? Future plan? Pro activeness? He has earned any of that yet. And just to harp on the fact that you mentioned his drafting is good: Just remember those players haven't done jack squat yet. I hope Caulfield is a superstar but he may just be a 25 goal scorer. lets pump our brakes for a second and look at what he has done: From his first year till lets say 2016 has been a mitigated disaster of drafting. Galchenyuk, Lehkonen and Sergachev/Drouin. That is abysmal with considering two top 10 drafted players. His 2017 to present is looking promising but it is way too early to tell if he is worthy of his praise. development will play a big part in that and that has been one of the worst things about his tenure in all fairness.

I'll gladly sit back and hope for next year but I disagree wholeheartedly with anyone who says he has been just fine. "Just fine" is the same thing as mediocre. I don't want just fine. i want good. Good teams make the playoffs more times than not.

My last comments final sentence rings so true (IMO obviously :p ) that I'll say it again:

<em>"Bergevin's legacy in Montreal will be as unflattering as his 19 year, 36 goal career. He GM's the same way his hockey career went. Just to stay alive. Not to thrive."</em>
Forum: Montreal CanadiensFeb. 24, 2020 at 8:47 p.m.