Canadiens’ Marc Bergevin Thinking About Leaving GM Position?

As per Elliotte Friedman’s 33 Thoughts column on Friday evening, there is chatter that Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin might be thinking about making a change as far as his job description goes with the team. Talk of burnout and expiring contracts seemed to take over a season-ending media avail, one in which Bergevin left reporters with a lot of questions, maybe more questions than answers.

Speculation is that he and team owner Geoff Molson have been discussing a new front office structure where Bergevin would move up to Pres. of Hockey Operations and either Scott Mellanby or Martin Lapointe take on the GM role after next season. Bergevin has one year left on his contract and he has said that he’ll honor that year. Beyond that, Bergevin would not make any commitment to his future. Of course, in not saying he was staying, many wondered if it meant he might be leaving.

Bergevin did acknowledge the last 16 months were “tough on me. Mentally, it was very difficult.” Friedman said there have been reports in the past about the GM potentially being burnt out and that he may not want to return as GM. There have been other rumors in the past that he might be a target for a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins, although not much came of that.

Bergevin Still Has Work To Do

Whether he stays past next season or not, this offseason, he still has work to do. Near the top of his priority list is how to approach the NHL Expansion Draft and ensuring he doesn’t lose a good player. Friedman wonders if he’ll try to swing a deal with the Seattle Kraken to protect one of his “big four” defensemen.