Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking All 32 NHL General Managers

The 5th Ranked GM – Marc Bergevin (Montreal Canadiens)

In May of 2012, the Montreal Canadiens hired Marc Bergevin to be their GM and Executive Vice President. That means he has over nine years on the job with the Habs. Not surprisingly, Bergevin is bilingual, fluent in both French and English.

The Good – Let’s be honest, the reason that Bergevin ranked so high is because of his team’s recent success. After just barely scraping into the playoffs, it’s shocking that the Canadiens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, Bergevin, the architect of the that squad deserves his due. He was even recognized by the league this season, becoming a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

Bergevin needs to also be commended for his ability to build up the team’s prospect pool. He was even able to secure ten new prospects at the 2019 NHL Draft, which included an important piece for the team’s future. Bergevin was was very fortunate that the Habs’ secret weapon, Cole Caufield, was available 15th overall in that draft. Bergevin certainly didn’t miss in selecting the sniper.

The Bad – Had the Habs not gone on their incredible run, it’s possible that Bergevin could have been on the hot seat this offseason, with the potential of being replaced. That’s because he has made some mistakes. One of his biggest errors was trading for disgruntled star Jonathan Drouin. To get the former third-overall draft pick, the Habs gave the Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and a second-round draft pick which Tampa later used to select goaltender Olivier Rodrigue.

Since the trade, Drouin’s value declined. He has become an insignificant player for Montreal but the same can’t be said about Sergachev with the Lightning. He was an important member of the team and a reason why they were able to win back-to-back Stanley Cups.

The Ugly – Karl Alzner only played a total of 95 games in the bleu blanc et rouge, which wasn’t exactly what Bergevin expected when he signed the D-Man to a massive deal in the summer of 2017. Alzner signed a five-year, $23.125M deal. After which, he played almost as many games with the Canadiens farm team as did with with the Habs. Each of Alzner’s 87 games with the Laval Rocket was a reminder for Bergevin that he had made a big mistake. Things were so bad that Alzner needed to be bought out of the final two years of that deal.