Integrity is a rare thing these days. A passing glance at the U.S. election, or politics in general, is indication enough.
When Marc Bergevin took the job as General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens in 2012 he told reporters he was ready for the job. What he didn't anticipate was everything that happened last season. After a brilliant start, the team all but collapsed when star goaltender Carey Price went down with a long-term injury. Certainly there were other factors contributing to the downfall, but for a team built largely from the goal crease out, it was a recipe for disaster.
Perhaps Bergevin could not have anticipated such a scenario, but I’m starting to believe he was ready to face it.
Managing a professional sports team is no easy task. One year they could be champions, the next fail to qualify for the playoffs. Any number of scenarios can occur beyond management's control: Injuries, bad bounces, a player - or players - losing confidence. Ask any goal-scorer how they got in a slump and most will be unable to explain it. The solution, we are told, lies in perseverance and a belief that if you keep doing the right things, the situation will eventually turn around.
For most of Marc Bergevin’s tenure as GM he has been doing the right things. Extricating the organization from expensive contracts, bringing in unsung talent without sacrificing developing players, and avoiding the pitfalls of trade-deadline spending sprees. Though not every move has met with fan approval, prior to last season most believed Bergevin’s actions were making the team better.
Many things unraveled last season, but the most significant was fan confidence in the Canadien’s front office. From conspiracy theories about Price's injury to the embarassment of the John Scott trade, the downward spiral seemed to accelerate with each passing week. Bergevin could have easily deflected the blame to someone else, but he didn't. Instead he took all of it on his shoulders, telling fans and reporters 'it's on me' while also doubling-down on his vision for the team, unwilling to fire his coach, using the now infamous ‘foxhole’ analogy, perhaps the one regret of his career as GM.
If there was any doubt that Marc Bergevin was up to the task of being the General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens it was quickly put to rest this summer. Pulling the trigger on the blockbuster trade of fan favourite P.K. Subban for veteran Shea Weber was Bergevin's boldest and riskiest move to date. He knew the backlash would be immediate and merciless, yet it did not sway his decision.
I have stated before that I believe Marc Bergevin’s goal has always been to make the Montreal Canadiens a better team. Unfortunately being GM of a team with a rabid fanbase means intense scrutiny fraught with many unpopular decisions. Executing a plan in an environment in which everyone else thinks they could do a better, requires tremendous courage of one’s convictions. When Marc Bergevin said he was ready to become General Manager of the Canadiens, the Subban-Weber trade was the precise measure of that statement.
It’s not difficult to figure out what Marc Bergevin and coach Michel Therrien believe to be a winning formula. It is a combination of grit, character, teamwork and great goaltending. It also involves building through the draft and player development. For the most part, those have been the guiding principles of the decision-making process over the past four years, and it is with these principles that Marc Bergevin has staked his future on.
It’s not often we encounter someone willing to endure the harshest criticism to see a plan to fruition. To be prepared to make wildly unpopular decisions with the firm belief that it is for the better. You can agree with him or not, but you can't deny that Marc Bergevin is is willing to do whatever it takes for the Montreal Canadiens to succeed, or go down trying.
That’s what it means to have integrity and it is a rare thing indeed.
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