There was a lot of talk from 3-10-1 to 9-4-10 on Wednesday.
3-10-1, it is the atrocious record of the Canadian at the start of the season; 9-4-10 is the restaurant at the Bell Center where the said start of the season caused a few to curse on this fall afternoon.
For Serge Savard, the diagnosis is easy to establish.
“There are two or three players drafted by Marc Bergevin in nine years. I have a hard time believing that you can not build a solid base, ”analyzed the former general manager, crossed at the launch of the biography of Yvon Lambert.
Okay… Let’s get the facts straight first. There were four players in the lineup of the Canadian drafted under Bergevin on Tuesday: Artturi Lehkonen, Jake Evans, Alexander Romanov and Michael Pezzetta. In Bergevin’s defense, the top three were among the club’s best in the loss. But they are nonetheless players who occupy a supporting role most evenings.
One can however understand Savard to be sorry for the weak contribution of the Canadian products house. A reminder of the players who took part in the Stanley Cup conquests of 1986 or 1993, drafted by the Habs from 1983, his first year at the helm of the club.
1983: Claude Lemieux, John Kordic
1984: Petr Svoboda, Stéphane Richer, Patrick Roy
1985: Donald dufresne
1986: Benoît Brunet, Lyle Odelein
1987: John LeClair, Éric Desjardins, Mathieu Schneider, Ed Ronan
1988: Sean hill
1989: Patrice Brisebois, André Racicot
1990 : Gilbert Dionne, Paul DiPietro
That’s without counting Shayne Corson, Sergio Momesso, Brent Gilchrist, Jyrki Lumme and Andrew Cassels, who have enjoyed long careers even without a Stanley Cup ring in Montreal.
In Savard’s eyes, the Canadiens’ hopes are paying the price of a rushed arrival in the NHL.
“We think they are our saviors,” he laments. [Ryan] Poehling arrives, he scores four goals in his first game, but now he’s in the minors [il a été rappelé tard mercredi soir]. There was KK [Jesperi Kotkaniemi]. [Cole] Caufield, we think he’s the savior, he’s in the minors.
” [Yvon] Lambert spent two or three years in the minors. Larry [Robinson] too. Caufield played well last year when he arrived, I understand that. But it’s like you’re in 9e year and that we give you your certificate of 12e year ! ”
Uncertainty
Bergevin’s uncertain future beyond this season is certainly not helping the cause. However, the elders we met on Wednesday are all of the opinion that the effect on players of the current edition is minimal.
But Lucien DeBlois, who worked for twenty years as a recruiter after his playing career, recalls that the situation is not without consequences.
“It creates some uncertainty for the players. They might not be that involved in this, but they know something’s going on, he raises.
“But the people around, the scouts… Many don’t have a contract for next year. They were waiting for Marc to sign his contract, but he doesn’t. I’m not sure the players feel it, because they’re under contract and they know where they’re going. But coaches can feel it too. ”
Guy Lapointe notices the gaping hole in the absence of Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson.
“Add them, it would stabilize a lot. In our time, me, Serge and Larry… If one was missing, it would throw off a bit of balance! ”
In this regard, it is fascinating to see how the “Big Three”, which became the “Big Four” with Edmundson last year, was shattered. It is Claude Julien, during the series of 2020, who sometimes evoked the nickname of the group formed of Savard, Lapointe and Robinson to speak of Weber, Ben Chiarot and Jeff Petry. These full-backs have been crucial for the past two seasons, but Weber is the only one who has ever been part of the elite as the three members of the original version of the “Big Three”.
Either way, these discussions brought back fond memories to Lapointe.
“Serge and Larry were playing together when I arrived, I was playing with Pierre Bouchard or Bill Nyrop. They said the Big Three because when we had three or four minutes, we were playing with three defenders. I was on the ice with Larry, Serge was coming, we looked at each other and if I was the most tired, I said: ‘Larry, I have to get off “, and I got off, Serge got on, and we did. the rotation. ”