Canadiens Notebook: Contract extension coming for Habs GM Marc Bergevin?
Marc Bergevin #MarcBergevin
The Canadiens announced Wednesday that John Sedgwick, the team’s vice-president of hockey operations and legal affairs, has been given a three-year contract extension.
You have to think that means a contract extension is also coming soon for general manager Marc Bergevin, who has one year remaining on his deal. The NHL announced Tuesday that Bergevin had finished second in voting for the Jim Gregory Award as the top GM in the league this season. The New York Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello won the award for the second straight season. It marked the third time Bergevin has been a finalist for the Jim Gregory Award since taking over as GM of the Canadiens in 2012.
Sedgwick joined the Canadiens in 2013 as director of legal affairs and is a specialist in contracts and legal matters. He was promoted to his current position in 2017 and has become a key member in the day-to-day management of the Canadiens, working along with Bergevin and helping him deal with the NHL salary cap among other things.
The Canadiens can advance to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993 — the year they won their last championship — with a win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of their Stanley Cup semifinal series Thursday at the Bell Centre (8 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM). If Game 7 is necessary, it will be an 8 p.m. start Saturday in Las Vegas.
“I think Berg is a passionate guy,” assistant coach Luke Richardson said Wednesday morning before the Canadiens flew home from Las Vegas, where they won Game 5 by a 4-1 score Tuesday night. “He was a passionate player and he’s still passionate as GM. I think the players understand his feeling and really get what he takes because he comes from a player’s angle. He really believes in this team. He wears his heart on his sleeve and the guys see that.
“There’s nothing more that the players want to do is play for this organization and especially Berg the way he entrusts the players that are here and encourages them that he believes in them,” Richardson added. “I think that’s really showing. It’s transforming right into our play on the ice.”
Cool Hand Luke
Richardson now has a 2-1 record as head coach since filling in for Dominique Ducharme following his positive COVID-19 test last Friday.
“We’ve I think done a good job with the staff and Dom’s obviously still quite involved,” Richardson said. “He can’t be here face-to-face other than the Zoom meetings that we do have with the players at time-to-time. But we have a good game plan for the players and we keep it simple. The guys are playing great, they’ve bought in and really skating hard and playing the system to a T for us defensively, which is very frustrating for the other team or teams that we have played. So right now we try and keep it bullet points, keep it playing the same way. Emphasize a few things, maybe make a few alterations here or there. But the guys are great. We have a good veteran core that are leading the way inside the dressing room internally, so that really helps as well. Right now the guys are confident. We want to keep them confident, not give them too much information but just bring up a few of the main points that they’re doing well and just encourage them to keep doing that.
“I know this time of the year when you get this far in the playoffs, obviously you’re doing something well and you’re feeling good about your game and you have to just get out there and get the blood flowing early in the game,” Richardson added. “Get yourself into the game and you become like a machine. You’re just doing it shift-after-shift and the more you play the better you feel and good things happen. I think the guys are just doing that. They’re playing together, they’re really following the system well. They’re frustrating the other team. We’re back-checking harder than we’re probably attacking right now, so that’s a good example. We’re trying to attack hard and when we don’t have the puck we’re tracking even harder. It’s not one or two lines, it’s not one or two players, it’s everybody right now. So that’s basically team success and we’re really proud of how they’re doing it.”
Gustafsson earns his spot
Erik Gustafsson has earned a regular spot among the Canadiens’ six defencemen but hasn’t been getting a lot of ice time.
After being a healthy scratch for the first four games of the playoffs, Gustafsson has played in 12 straight. Richardson said Gustafsson got into the lineup because of his power-play abilities, but has played well enough overall since then to stay in the lineup.
Gustafsson had a team-low 7:33 of ice time in Game 5 and is averaging only 9:51 in the playoffs, but he has 1-2-3 totals in 12 games and is plus-5.
“I’m just trying to do my part,” said Gustafsson, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers before the NHL trade deadline in exchange for a seventh-round pick at next year’s NHL Draft. “I’m just trying to play hard in front of my net and just try as simple as I can in my own zone and follow up the rush. We’re an attacking team, so just trying to play simple in my own zone and follow up the rush and see what’s happening. Have good gaps, good sticks. I’m just ready whenever they call my name out and trying to do my best out there.
“It’s been a lot of talk that I can’t play the defensive part, but I think I’ve shown that I can do that, too,” he added. “I obviously play on the power play a bit, but I want to show the team that I can play the defensive part well, too. I’m just trying to do my job when I’m out there. I’m not playing a lot, but every time they call me out I’m just trying to be ready to go and I think I’m doing a good job right now. I just got to keep going here.”
Gustafsson said he’s enjoying his time with the Canadiens, who are his fourth NHL team after stints with the Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames and the Flyers. The 29-year-old Swede is playing on a one-year, US$3-million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent during the off-season.
“Passion. Great city,” he said about Montreal. “I’ve been playing here when the arena is packed and the fans are crazy here. I was really looking forward to playing in front of the fans when I got traded here. We know the COVID stuff, but it’s fun to see at least a small amount get into the arena. I think it’s 3,500, but if feels like it’s more than that. It feels like it’s 10,000 when we play at home. Just the passion about the hockey in this town is crazy and it’s a lot of fun to play where we’re at right now.”
Frustrating Vegas
The Canadiens have been able to frustrate the Golden Knights in this series and it was really starting to show at the end of Game 5.
Mark Stone, who led Vegas in scoring during the regular season with 21-40-61 totals, doesn’t have a point in this series. Former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty, who finished second on the Golden Knights in scoring during the regular season with 24-27-51 totals, scored his first goal of the series in Game 5 and has two assists. Jonathan Marchessault, who was third on the Golden Knights in scoring during the regular season with 18-26-44 totals, has one assist in this series.
The Vegas power play is 0-for-13 against the Canadiens.
“I think we’re on them all the time,” Gustafsson said when asked about frustrating the Golden Knights. “We were kind of going into this series as underdogs and they probably thought that they’re going to have more puck possession and do more stuff on the power play and stuff like that. But I think we’ve been on them since Game 1. Just like yesterday, we forecheck them hard, we play hard in front of our net and we make the easy play from our own zone. Our forwards are doing a great job. I think the whole team is doing a great job, too. It’s fun to see how we played yesterday. We knew they were going to have a little push at the end, but we solved that pretty well and it’s going to be fun to play in front of our fans in Game 6 here.
“I think the most thing that you have to do right now is stay together as a team,” Gustafsson added. “We know we’re up 3-2 and we know that Vegas is going to come back to Montreal and got to win a game. Everyone’s got to do the job out there for 60 minutes. We know that we’ve been in this position before, too, to close out games and we’re in a great spot right now. But we know that Vegas is going to come and they got to win one game and they’re going to do all they can to do it. But what I can see in our team, the leadership, how tight we are and it’s fun to see and that’s what you want in a winning team, too. I think we’ve showed that before and everyone is ready for Game 6 here.”
Another DeBrincat?
Gustafsson had Alex DeBrincat as a teammate for three years in Chicago.
The 5-foot-7, 175-pound DeBrincat was selected by the Blackhawks in the second round (39th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft and had 32-24-56 totals in 52 games this season. In 286 career games with the Blackhawks, DeBrincat has 119-110-229 totals.
Gustafsson said the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield, who is 5-foot-7 and 162 pounds, reminds him of DeBrincat.
“Actually, the first time I came here and I saw (Caufield) in practice I actually thought it was DeBrincat out there,” Gustafsson said. “They’re both really great goal-scorers. Every time they touch the puck something happens. They’re so skilled, they see the ice so well. Even on the power plays, always a threat. So it’s fun to see Cole right now in the playoffs doing what he’s doing. It’s got to be tough for a 20-year-old to come in like this and do what he’s doing. But I think he’s showed the NHL right now what he’s able to. I see for sure the same player. It’s fun to see him out there.”
scowan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuCowan1
Related