With the Canadiens struggling considerably out of the gate, some are wondering if a big change is going to be made in the near future. In his latest column, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that it’s unlikely that ownership would consider changing general managers during the season. It’s worth noting that GM Marc Bergevin is believed to be signed for four more years after this one so making that change would be an expensive one if it were to happen.
Dreger also notes that the team isn’t willing to consider dealing captain Max Pacioretty just yet although if they were to put him on the block, there would be no shortage of suitors around the league. Pacioretty has led the Canadiens in scoring for six straight seasons but hasn’t been productive so far in 2017-18 with just one goal through seven games. The 28-year-old is signed through 2018-19 with a cap hit of $4.5MM which is good value for a player who has hit 30 goals in each of the last four years.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- It doesn’t appear like Zach Bogosian will be suiting up for the Sabres anytime soon. Head coach Phil Housley told John Vogl of the Buffalo News that the blueliner remains week-to-week and that “As we look further into it, we’ll have more information as we move forward”. Considering that Bogosian’s lower-body issue that was sustained at the end of the preseason was classified as a day-to-day issue for more than two weeks, Housley’s comments suggest that the 27-year-old will be out of the lineup for a while yet.
- The Red Wings were close to dealing center Riley Sheahan to the Penguins over the offseason but there is nothing imminent on that front currently, reports TSN’s Bob McKenzie (Twitter links). Pittsburgh’s interest in adding another depth center is well-known while Detroit will soon have to shed some salary with Andreas Athanasiou agreeing to terms on a new deal earlier today. Sheahan is off to a slow start this season, being held off the scoresheet through seven games and carries a $2.075MM cap hit that also represents his required qualifying offer in June.
I’m not saying Montreal should or should not fire Bergevin but Molson has never shied away from remaining term when he felt changes were needed. Jacques Martin had 2 years left on his deal when he was fired and Michel Therrien was 2/3’s of the way through the first year of a 4 year extension when he was fired. Both were highly paid(both set records for biggest coaching contract in team history before Julien shattered it).
Don’t you wish that we could get paid even a portion of what these GM’s get for getting fired? Keep up the good work Doc, because what you contribute here is invaluable to harcore hockey fans.
*hardcore*^^^