It wasn’t the ending to the season fans and players wanted, but Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said he’s happy with his team.
“Am I ready to turn everything upside down because we didn’t get by the Lightning, a very good hockey team? Not at all,” Bergevin told reporters at a news conference Friday.
The players gave their year-end interviews Thursday and it was Bergevin’s turn Friday. Questions focused on Jeff Petry, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, coach Michel Therrien, who many decided needed to be fired at various points of the season, and making an improvement at centre.
Petry told reporters he’d like to stay in Montreal, and the feeling appears to be mutual as Bergevin told reporters he’d love to see the 27-year-old defenceman return to the team
Therrien and his team, Bergevin said, did a good job with the team, saying he "tipped his hat" to the coaching staff, with the exception of the Canadiens’ less-than-productive power play.
Bergevin wasn’t impressed with suggestions that Therrien be replaced by Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babock that were floated toward the end of the season.
And when it comes to Alex Galchenyuk, the young forward who was once hailed as the solution to the Habs’ problems at centre who is playing on the wing, Bergevin said it’s possible Galchenyuk will never play centre. Galchenyuk, he said, isn’t ready to play in the middle.
When asked about the possibility of trading for a centre, Bergevin said he’d like to but it’s not that simple.
“To get that top centre, I’d love to get him, but I don’t see them getting traded,” he said.
And Bergevin also confirmed that Manny Malhotra, Sergei Gonchar and Mike Weaver will not be back
"They did great service for our team," said Bergevin. "On the leadership side, these guys really helped with the transition."
