Laval-sur-le-lac, Que. — After a year’s worth of speculation over who the Montreal Canadiens will name as the next team captain, general manager Marc Bergevin took to the podium at the team’s annual golf tournament Thursday and wasn’t yet willing to make an announcement.
However, Bergevin did admit that a captain would be selected before the end of training camp and that the Canadiens would comply with league rules, which stipulate a goaltender cannot wear the ‘C’.
“Without a doubt, Carey Price is a leader not only by his performance, but by the way he interacts, the way he conducts himself,” said Bergevin before confirming he wouldn’t break league protocol.
It was at last year’s golf tournament that Bergevin and the Canadiens unveiled Andrei Markov, Tomas Plekanec, Max Pacioretty and P.K. Subban as co-assistants, instead of choosing one player to hold the captaincy.
“It was a transition year, losing Josh Gorges and Brian Gionta, and it might have been a little premature to name a captain,” said Bergevin.
As for the decision to not announce the next captain at this year’s golf tournament, Bergevin pointed to the late arrival of some of his players to Montreal. The GM said he wants to address the whole team to ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the decision.
“The leader needs to be somebody that’s respected by his teammates, that is a leader on and off the ice, that has a presence,” said Bergevin.
With Price out of the running, no two players better fit that description than Subban and Pacioretty. Last season was a banner year for both, with Subban receiving a Norris Trophy nomination and Pacioretty leading the Canadiens with a career-high 67 points.
But neither player has openly lobbied to become the Canadiens’ 29th captain.
“The history and the legacy of wearing the ‘C’ in Montreal is obviously a tremendous honour and I’d gladly accept that,” offered Pacioretty. “But at the same time, if they choose to go a different way, I’m on board with that as well.”
Subban, when asked what he believes makes a player worthy of the captaincy, said it’s all about leading by example.
Aside from Price, it’s hard to find a Canadiens player who’s done that better than Subban, who’s led the team in scoring in the Stanley Cup playoffs for three consecutive years.
GALCHENYUK GETS A NEW ROLE
While the Canadiens remain mum on who their next captain will be, both Bergevin and head coach Michel Therrien confirmed Alex Galchenyuk will be locked into the centre position for the 2015-16 season.
The announcement was quite a departure from Bergevin’s comments at the end of last season, in which he questioned the notion that Galchenyuk was destined to become a centre at the NHL level just because he was drafted as one.
Bergevin reiterated Thursday that the decision to move Galchenyuk to the middle wasn’t related to him being drafted as a centreman, but that this move is more about timing.
“It’s time for him to know, and for us to know, that he can fill that role,” said Bergevin.
Bergevin and Therrien met with Galchenyuk in June to assure him about his spot in the lineup. By moving him to centre, they’ll live with whatever ups and downs come along as Galchenyuk gets used to playing a position that demands defensive acuity at the NHL level.
“I don’t want the kid to lose his confidence and it’s a process,” said Therrien, who confirmed Galchenyuk will play on one of the top two lines. “I don’t want him coming to camp with the mentality that ‘if things don’t work at centre, I’ll be okay at wing.’ I want him to focus. And that’s the reason I sat down with him early in the summer, so his mindset was that he was going to work out during the summer and see himself as a centreman.”
Galchenyuk was thankful to learn about his new role on the team so early in the summer, as it was beneficial to his training and how he prepared for the coming season.
“It’s really huge, especially for a young player like me, to come in and know your role and your position and just to be confident,” said Galchenyuk. “At the end of the day, I still have to prove that I’m good for the job and that I can help the team win.”
After scoring nine points in nine games at centre in December of last season, there’s reason to believe Galchenyuk will thrive there. However, the move means that someone else on the team will have to move from centre to wing.
Before this announcement was made, it was assumed Plekanec, David Desharnais, Lars Eller and Torrey Mitchell would continue to pivot Montreal’s four lines. In addition to those four, Jacob De La Rose and Brian Flynn are also natural centremen.
Could too much depth at centre be a problem for the Canadiens?
“To me it’s a luxury to have centermen; teams are always looking for centremen,” said Bergevin. “If you lose a centreman for a long period of time, you can’t replace him; you can’t go out and get one. If you do (lose one), they’re not available (on the trade market) and if they ever are, they’ll cost you an arm and a leg and you’re creating a hole somewhere else.”
Bergevin could elect to keep all of his centremen, but his comments speak to the very real possibility that one of them could be on the move in the immediate future.