“I have no reason to make any changes when it comes to our coaching staff. They are doing great work,” GM Marc Bergevin said Friday.
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Fans longing for a warm, fuzzy presence or hankering for Mike Babcock to end the team’s 22-year Stanley Cup drought can forget about either happening.
Neither will Bergevin change the way he does business or builds his roster. A career defenseman doesn’t change his stripe.
“Am I ready to hit the reset button because we didn’t beat the Lightning — which are a very good team — no, not at all,” Bergevin in his season-closing remarks to the Montreal media. “If you can’t defend, you have no chance to win.
“Look at the (New York) Rangers, they’re a team without much firepower and they’re winning games 2-1. That’s the playoffs, we have to be more opportunistic. My philosophy will not change.”
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The Montreal Gazette passed along other key quotes from Bergevin, a guy with a great sense of humor who also knows how to how to make a point. His admittedly scoring-poor team needs help, and Bergevin hears the wails from Habs fans.
Here’s how he answered a question regarding a major Canadiens need.
“Do you want me to trade Carey Price? That’s what it costs to get a big center.”
Bergevin looked ahead to organization meetings, saying he would meet with Therrien, et al, next week. One point of discussion, he said, would be the power play.
A team can’t throw pucks into a net (although Bergevin famously did one … into his own goal, by accident during a playoff game). Neither can it make scorers magically appear.
Bergevin also said:
— As expected, a contract for trade-deadline pickup Jeff Petry is a priority.
— Forward Torrey Mitchell, also acquired at the deadline, is a contract target.
— Defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Mike Weaver and forward Manny Malhotra are goners.
