Opinion: Galchenyuk Trade Is The Last Straw For Canadiens Fans
I should probably get this out of the way first. This article is coming from a Canadiens fan, whose favourite player on the team is... or was Alex Galchenyuk. Now that this precaution is out of the way, let's examine Bergevin's 3 worst trades as GM of the Habs
1. P.K. Subban for Shea Weber
An issue that has plagued Montreal for years has been the lack of offence. Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban were the best offensive producers for the team. But after a terrible 2015-16 season, something needed to change. You'd think those 2 aforementioned players would be the untouchables right? Well you'd be wrong, as Bergevin traded Subban 1-for-1 in exchange for Shea Weber. A player who is 4 years older than Subban, plays a more physical style than him, and has almost a decade left on his contract, which will make him 41 years old before they can stop shovelling 7.8 million dollars at him. Both players have been producing at a consistent pace since their trades when you take their injuries into account, however Weber will decline much sooner than Subban given his older age and tougher style of play.
Some might argue that Subban's attitude was wearing on his teammates, and they might be right. However to trade him for a player who does not fill the crater-sized hole you left on the team (top-2 puck mover) leaves the team in a very strange state. Some might also argue that the Canadiens will be getting a left-handed version of Subban in their new draft choice, Mikhail Segachev. Well...
2. Mikhail Sergachev for Jonathan Drouin
All of those people shut their mouths a year later when Sergachev was traded for pending-RFA Jonathan Drouin, who was promptly signed to a 6-year, 33 million dollar contract (5.5M AAV). Montreal also moved out Nathan Bealieu to Buffalo for a 3rd round pick around this time and now had 1 offensive defence-man in Andrei Markov (38 years old, pending UFA). Sergachev went on to flourish with the Lightning in his rookie season (9 goals, 40 points in 79 games), producing very similar numbers to Drouin in his first year with the Canadiens (13 goals, 46 points in 77 games).
Many people argue that Drouin had very little to work with, considering that the Canadiens only puck-mover in Andrei Markov left for the KHL and Alex Radulov left for Dallas in free agency. While this is true and Drouin was being forced to play centre when he is a natural winger, Bergevin should not have acquired him if he can't fit into a role the team needs. The Canadiens needed a centre, and got a winger out of both impulse (Bergevin needed to make a big splash to show he wanted to win) and... because Drouin is French-Canadian. People might not want to hear it, but the Canadiens will always look at francophone players more highly than others. This is why they chose Louis Leblanc over Chris Kreider (who Trevor Timmins suggested at the time of the draft). Now with no puck movers on the team, Montreal will have to look to their offensively capable forwards to carry the team's goal scoring. Players like Drouin, Pacioretty, Galchenyuk... oh wait a minute.
3. Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi
I can't even figure out what was going through Bergevin's mind when this trade was made. Galchenyuk was a player that was bounced around from position to position and line to line (even spending some time as a 4th line winger at the start of the 2018 season), unable to establish much chemistry with anyone on the team. He proved to be a capable centre during the few attempts they gave him. After being allowed to play centre towards the end of the 2016 season, he came alive and produced at an excellent pace. When he was allowed to play as the 1st line centre during the 2017 season, he maintained an almost a point-per-game pace before suffering a knee injury that had him out for over a month. Despite all of this, Galchenyuk was forced to play on the wing for the majority of his career with Montreal. Now he is sent to Arizona for Max Domi. A player who needs a new contract (pending RFA), has produced at a very average rate (9 goals, 45 points in 82 games last year), and to top it all off, is primarily a winger.
For many Canadiens fans, myself included, this is the last straw for Marc Bergevin. Fans already wanted him out after the Drouin trade, and now he turns around and throws Galchenyuk away for Max Domi.
Can anyone explain how Bergevin still has a job with this team?
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