Friedman: Bergevin forcing Therrien's hand
/Elliotte Friedman was on Sportsnet 960 Monday morning.
On Rene Bourque being on waivers:
“Well, they tried to move him last year and there were no takers because he has another year on his contract at about $3.3 million dollars.
“What I think is going on here Ryan is that Marc Bergevin, I think, wants Sekac and Bournival to play and Michel Therrien wasn’t using them. And I’d heard last week that don’t be surprised if Bergevin moves somebody to force Therrien’s hand. Now, I didn’t think it would be waivers, but I do think that’s what’s going on here. That he’s saying, ‘Okay, I’m taking Bourque out of the way so that there’s no choice but to play Sekac.’ And I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.”
On if this is tension between a coach and GM, or just standard operating procedure:
“Maybe a little bit of tension, but I don’t think it’s anything too crazy. You know, Sekac is a guy who had a lot of interest after he came out of the KHL last year. Probably about 12 teams were looking at him and he picked Montreal, so I’m sure there was a little bit of frustration there.
“I think sometimes GMs and coaches don’t pull in the same direction. I mean, there’s not a lot for Bergevin to be unhappy with. Therrien’s done a great job there. He just gave him a big, new contract extension. Something like four more years at about $2 million per.
“So, I mean, I think they butted heads a bit, but I’m not sure it’s the biggest thing in the world. Anyway, the GM wins here. He just makes the move so the coach can’t do that anymore.”
Source: Sportsnet 960/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey