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Marc Bergevin

Kings Retaining Marc Bergevin As Senior Advisor

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After coming up short for the Islanders’ GM vacancy, Marc Bergevin will remain in his role with the Kings as a senior advisor, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports.

Los Angeles hired Bergevin, 59, midway through the 2021-22 campaign. He’s remained with the team since as one of the top input men for former GM Rob Blake. He’ll now continue to do the same for Ken Holland, whom the Kings installed as the 10th general manager in franchise history earlier this month.

Bergevin’s time with L.A. kicked off shortly after he was relieved of his duties as general manager by the Canadiens, his hometown team. The longtime NHL defenseman spent nearly a decade in the GM’s chair in Montreal after he was hired in advance of the 2012-13 season. He nearly ended up landing the second GM role of his executive career this week. He was one of two finalists for the New York job but was passed over today in favor of Mathieu Darche.

As for the Kings, there are no other indications of any staff changes outside of the Blake/Holland swap. Luc Robitaille remains in his post as team president and alternate governor while the rest of the hockey operations staff, including Bergevin and assistant GM Nelson Emerson, will remain in their posts.

Metro Notes: Islanders, Capitals, Peca

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According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the New York Islanders are closing in on their next General Manager. Pagnotta did not provide specifics but mentioned that Mathieu Darche and Marc Bergevin remain in the conversation. Arthur Staple of The Athletic confirmed Pagnotta’s findings.

Neither name is surprising, as the Islanders reportedly gave both a second interview a few days ago. Still, as Staple notes, it could prove a hurdle if the Islanders hope to hire Brendan Shanahan. Yesterday, New York reportedly received permission to interview Shanahan. Although the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they will proceed without him, he may not appreciate that a General Manager was appointed before him.

Whoever is ultimately named the Islanders’ next General Manager will have an important task ahead of them in the coming weeks. Aside from the needed roster changes, the Islanders won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery on May 5th, giving them this summer’s first overall pick.

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

Islanders Hold Second Interviews With Marc Bergevin, Mathieu Darche

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The New York Islanders have reportedly held second interviews with two general manager candidates. The first is former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The second is Tampa Bay Lightning assistant general manager Mathieu Darche, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Seravalli went on to add that Bergevin and Darche are expected to be the final two horses in the race for New York’s GM role.

Little has come out about the Islanders’ search for a new GM, but the final picture of the race features two very different candidates. Bergevin is among the most tenured front office staff in the hockey world, headed for the 20th anniversary of his first hockey management role this summer. Meanwhile Darche was hired in Tampa Bay just six seasons ago, and has only served as assistant general manager for the last three years.

That imbalance helps Bergevin’s resume look particularly bolded. He served 10 years as the Canadiens’ GM from the start of 2012-13 to the end of 2021-22. His tenure was headlined by six postseason appearances, including a flash-in-the-pan run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Bergevin managed the careers of iconic Canadiens players like Carey Price, Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber and P.K. Subban – including the shocking trade that swapped the latter two in 2016. He also managed the draft warrooms that selected Artturi Lehkonen (2013), Mikhail Sergachev (2016), and Cole Caufield (2019).

Bergevin’s management of his stars, and his control over Montreal’s heap of draft picks each year, earned criticism as Montreal dragged into a decade with little significant postseason success. But his extended tenure, and recent advisor role with the emerging Los Angeles Kings, could entice the Islanders as they look to change GMs for the first time since 2018.

If the Islanders are willing to be a bit more flexible with their job requirements, they could find a candidate-with-upside in Darche. The 48-year-old has already won two Stanley Cups in his young managerial career, serving as Director of Hockey Operations while the Lightning won back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021. Darche was promoted to assistant general manager one year later, and has quickly built a reputation for lucrative contract management and negotiations. That could be invaluable expertise as he eyes an Islanders roster with three contracts north of $8MM.

The Islanders missed the postseason for just the second time since 2019-20 this season. Their GM hire will be quickly tasked with reversing those fortunes, with a roster that wields stars Mathew Barzal, Ilya Sorokin, and Bo Horvat; as well as the first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Both candidates have plenty of postseason experience, though their management careers are a competition of quality versus quantity.

Islanders Prefer Ken Holland For GM Vacancy

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Former Oilers and Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is the Islanders’ top choice to fill their GM vacancy, Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports.

Holland hasn’t worked with a team since his contract with Edmonton as their GM and president of hockey operations wasn’t renewed following their run to the 2024 Stanley Cup Final. He’s still been working with the league as a hockey operations consultant, though, so he hasn’t been out of work entirely.

The belief was that the four-time Stanley Cup-winning GM likely wouldn’t resurface in an everyday role – he will turn 70 in November. It’s still unclear whether he is interested in stepping back into the GM’s chair and if he’d entertain a role with the Islanders, but the job will likely be his if he wants it. They’re on the hunt for a GM and a POHO, as another elder statesman of managerial roles, Lou Lamoriello, was let go last month. They’d likely prefer Holland fills both of those roles.

Holland is far from the first candidate linked to the Isles’ vacancy in the past few weeks. The first was Devils assistant GM Kate Madigan, whom Andrew Gross of Newsday reported would at least get an initial interview. There hasn’t been much reporting on her in connection with the vacancy since.

Staple adds that the Islanders contacted the Canadiens requesting permission to speak to executive VP of hockey ops Jeff Gorton, although it’s unlikely it was granted. Kings senior advisor, Marc Bergevin, is the frontrunner to succeed Rob Blake in their GM role, but is “in the mix” for a role on Long Island as well, per Staple. Some other speculative targets in former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen and Blues VP of hockey ops Peter Chiarelli don’t seem to have much of a chance.

Image courtesy of Gerry Angus-USA TODAY Sports.

Kings Notes: Jeannot, Kopitar, Lewis, Bergevin

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The Los Angeles Kings held exit interviews on Monday, providing a chance for many players to share their final thoughts on this year and first impressions of next season. For forward Tanner Jeannot, it was a chance to share more about the injury that held him out of the final 19 games of the season. Jeannot told with Kings insider Zach Dooley, that he sustained a groin injury and was doing all he could to make a return during the first round. It appeared to be a non-contact injury suffered when he went down to block a shot in the Kings’ March 25th win over the New York Rangers.

Jeannot is one of four Kings forwards set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. He’ll be coming off a two-year, $5.33MM contract originally signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Los Angeles reeled him in last summer for a second-round and fourth-round draft pick. Jeannot delivered 13 points, 89 penalty minutes, and 11 minutes of average ice time through 67 games. That’s likely not strong enough to earn a raise over his $2.67MM cap hit this season. But L.A. seemed to miss his physical presence – and team-leading 211 hits in the regular season – in their first-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers. That could make him a candidate for a low-cost deal as the Kings look to build a team that can run deep into the playoffs.

Other notes out of Los Angeles:

  • Kings captain Anze Kopitar affirmed his desire to play out the final year of his contract next season, per John Hoven of Mayors Manor. It will be Kopitar’s age-38 season. He still looked in prime form this year, netting 21 goals and 67 points. It was his third consecutive season of netting at least 20 goals and 65 points – though he did cross the 70-point mark in the other two. With confirmation of one more season, Kopitar will be on pace to play his 1,500th career game with the Los Angeles Kings – which will make him only the ninth player to play so long with one club, assuming Alex Ovechkin also reaches 1,500 with the Washington Capitals. Kopitar managed nine points and 21:30 in average ice time over the Kings’ six playoff games – and will now return as the Kings’ steady leader next year.
  • Trevor Lewis also expressed his desire to continue his career for another year, per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Lewis will have to find that year on the open market, after the conclusion of a one-year, $800K extension with the Kings. He recorded 12 points in 60 games while operating from a fourth-line role. It was a quiet season that could be hard to market in free agency, though Lewis would become just the sixth King to appear in 15 or more seasons with the club with one more year. It will likely only cost Los Angeles a league-minimum contract to honor that milestone, if they choose to do so.
  • Bernstein also shared that he believes Marc Bergevin could be in the race for the Kings vacant general manager role. Los Angeles hired Bergevin as a special advisor soon after the Montreal Canadiens fired him from his general manager role in 2021. Bergevin served 10 years managing the Canadiens before then. He led the team to six playoff appearances and one Stanley Cup Final loss in 2022. Bergevin wasn’t a stranger to controversy over his time in Montreal, whether it be for his management decisions or personality clashes. But with four years of adjusting to the Kings’ innerworkings, and a decade of experience, his resume for the role could be pretty strong against what Los Angeles could find on the open market.

Blue Jackets Considering Marc Bergevin For General Manager Vacancy

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Former Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin is on the Blue Jackets’ radar in their search for a new general manager, according to The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein.

Bergevin, 58, has been in NHL front offices for nearly two decades after ending his 1,191-game NHL career in 2004. After spending seven years with the Blackhawks in scouting, coaching and front-office roles, he was tabbed as the GM and executive vice president of hockey operations of the Canadiens ahead of the 2012-13 campaign.

He spent over nine seasons with Montreal, presiding over one of the most unexpected Stanley Cup Final appearances in recent memory in 2021. The wheels came off the Canadiens immediately, though, and he was fired in late November 2021 after a 6-15-2 start to the following campaign. Head coach Dominique Ducharme followed suit, paving the way for Martin St. Louis to land his first role as an NHL head coach.

In the last few months of his tenure with Montreal, Bergevin was criticized heavily for his decision to draft defenseman Logan Mailloux with the team’s 2021 first-round pick. Mailloux had played in Sweden during his draft year due to the Ontario Hockey League suspending operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, he was charged with defamation and criminal photography for “sending explicit pictures of a sexual act without the consent of his partner.”

Mailloux stated before the 2021 draft that he didn’t want to be selected, wanting to focus on personal growth. Without a formal NHL draft renunciation process in place, though, the Canadiens selected him anyway. The NHL initially barred Mailloux from playing in the league after being drafted, but the ban was lifted before this season after a meeting with league commissioner Gary Bettman. He spent most of the season on assignment to AHL Laval but made his NHL debut in Montreal’s final game.

Many of Bergevin’s biggest signings as Canadiens GM regarding total value haven’t panned out. The largest of them all, Carey Price’s eight-year, $84MM extension signed in 2017, was worth it for his two electric playoff appearances in 2020 and 2021, but through no fault of Bergevin’s remains on Montreal’s books longer than they’d like with him unable to play again due to knee injuries. Two deals signed less than a week apart in 2020 – a six-year, $39MM deal for Brendan Gallagher and a seven-year, $38.5MM deal for Josh Anderson – have saddled current Canadiens GM Kent Hughes with some pricey cap hits for injury-prone players that have struggled to meet expectations since signing.

Since being fired by the Habs, Bergevin has worked with the Kings as a senior advisor to GM Rob Blake.

Columbus remains on the hunt for a GM after firing longtime manager Jarmo Kekäläinen in February. He also drew recent criticism for his offseason hiring of Mike Babcock as head coach, who’d been criticized multiple times by his former players for improper treatment and alleged verbal abuse since being fired by the Maple Leafs in 2019. Babcock never coached a game for Columbus, resigning as head coach at the beginning of training camp after the NHL and NHLPA opened an investigation into further allegations of improper behavior.

There haven’t been any other known candidates for the Blue Jackets’ GM vacancy. The search is being led by interim GM and president of hockey operations John Davidson.

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