Former Canadiens General Manager Considered for Columbus Job

Even though former general manager Marc Bergevin left the Montreal Canadiens after a rather difficult divorce, it should come as no surprise that he’s being considered for the job opening in Columbus seeing as the NHL’s management recycling program ensures most members of the old boys club get several opportunities to prove their worth.

The Columbus Blue Jackets recently fired their longtime general manager, Jarmo Kekäläinen, after almost 10 years of service to the organization. The Blue Jackets made the playoffs five times since they hired Kekäläinen in 2013, however, they failed to secure a playoff berth in the last four seasons, with their last playoff appearance taking place in 2019-20.

Bergevin quickly found a new job as a special advisor with the L.A. Kings after the Canadiens fired him, a role that kept him out of the spotlight for the first time in almost a decade. He spent parts of 10 years as the decision-maker in Montreal, finishing his tenure with a 344-265-81 record. His greatest achievement will forever be tied to the 2021 team that put together one of the most exciting runs in recent NHL  playoff history.

That team eventually bowed out to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games of the Stanley Cup final, effectively marking the end of both Carey Price and Shea Weber’s careers in the NHL.

Buyer Beware

While Bergevin should be given credit for leaving the franchise in relatively good shape from a draft capital point of view, it must be said that his final year at the helm was marked with difficult contract negotiations, an unstable situation in the AHL, and a rather disrespectful series of decisions that led to a fracture between the franchise and its many legends.

Players like Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur were barred from walking near the Montreal Canadiens locker room, as Bergevin considered them to be distractions that would only hold the team back as they looked to write the next chapter in the organization’s glorious history.

While the Habs certainly look to the past too often, treating members of the Holy Canadiens Trinity as distractions is about as low as it gets from a human relations standpoint.

The issues went beyond his disgusting treatment of team legends.

The stress of the job had clearly gotten to Bergevin, who replaced his pleasant demeanour with an outright hostile attitude toward members of the media.

Of course, working in Columbus would be quite different, especially from a public relations point of view, as the media presence around the Blue Jackets is much less demanding than anything he experienced in Montreal.

And we also have to allow for personal growth.

But even if we give him the benefit of the doubt, the Blue Jackets must be careful to ensure Bergevin’s controlling personality will not come to the forefront as it did on numerous occasions in Montreal.