Former Canadiens GM Reportedly Mistreated Team Legends

Former Montreal Canadiens player Gilbert Delorme discussed the alumni situation while Marc Bergevin was in place as the team’s general manager in a recent radio hit with 91.9 BPM Sports.

According to Delorme, Bergevin was not happy seeing legends such as Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur enter through the player’s entrance to make their way to the alumni room.

“When Mr.Béliveau was alive, there was a player’s parking, then you walk up a set of stairs. When you walk, you go through a small hallway, and you walk toward the alumni room. That bothered Mr.Bergevin. It bothered him that Mr.Béliveau walked by there! Jean Béliveau!

“He told Mario, who was the main security guard for 50 years, he told him that he did not want Mr.Béliveau to walk by there, it bothers the players. To make a long story short. Flower parked in the player’s parking, because he was Guy Lafleur. It bothered Mr.Bergevin. Maybe because he was taking up space. He didn’t want him to park there.”

Gilbert a révélé quelques informations concernant les anciens Canadiens sous l'ère de Marc Bergevin dans Le Club du matin plus tôt aujourd'hui.

C'est le jour et la nuit maintenant avec le tandem Hughes-Gorton😳 pic.twitter.com/TUyn9jvdOQ

— BPM Sports (@BPMSportsRadio) February 16, 2024

I can confirm that many of the alumni had a very difficult relationship with the Montreal Canadiens organization while Bergevin was the general manager.

Serge Savard, in particular, made a point of discussing the uneasy situation whenever the opportunity arose. He also went out of his way to speak out once Bergevin was fired, to the Montreal Gazette in March 2023.

“I guess he wanted to go his own way and he tried to make his own mark,” Savard told the Gazette. “I don’t know. But, at the same time, the whole management looked at Bergevin and let him do it.”

Savard was originally brought in as an advisor to help replace Pierre Gauthier. He was part of the group that decided Bergevin would be the right man for the job.

There was certainly some logic in moving away from the constant reminders of the team’s past glory. Those reminders also point to the fact that the team has not been successful in a very long time and that there’s more history to be written.

But cutting off all ties with the endless list of Hall of Fame players who brought Stanley Cups to Montreal was more than a slight marketing shift. It represented an inglorious end to their longtime ties with the team.

Especially when we’re discussing players such as Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur, who were part of the holy trinity of Montreal Canadiens greatness.

The good news is that the relationship has been mended with Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes in place. They’ve organized events for the former Canadiens players, and there have been various alumni involved in pre-game ceremonies.

In that sense, Hughes and Gorton were tasked with doing more than just rebuilding the on-ice product, they also had to heal a fractured part of the franchise’s past.