In this third installment of a four-part series comparing Montreal Canadiens
general manager Marc Bergevin to his four immediate predecessors, we take a
look at Andre Savard.

It's been 25 years since the Habs last won the Stanley Cup. In that time,
players have come and gone, but so have GMs. Five in fact have been hired since
 Serge Savard was let go in 1995. Only four of those five have followed him out
 the door though, with Bergevin being the sole exception… for now.Montreal
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin - (Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports)

How do they each stack up against (Serge) Savard? Not well, it turns out. So,
we'll settle for comparing Bergevin to the other four who have failed to fill
the former's shoes, starting with Pierre Gauthier, continuing with Bob Gainey
and now (Andre) Savard.Tale of the Tape: Bergevin vs. Savard

Time Served: Nov. 20, 2000 - June 2, 2003 (Savard); May 2, 2012 - now
(Bergevin)

No. of Playoff Appearances/ Seasons: 1/3 (Savard); 4/6 (Bergevin)

No. of Division Titles/ Seasons: 0/3 (Savard); 3/6 (Bergevin)

No. of Playoff Rounds Won/ Seasons: 1/3 (Savard); 3/6 (Bergevin)

No. of Draft Home Runs/ Picks (home run being a projected long-term, good fit):

1/ 14 (Savard; Tomas Plekanec at No. 71 in 2001);3/ 32 (Bergevin excluding last
 two drafts; Charles Hudon at No. 122 in 2012, Artturi Lehkonen at No. 55 in
2013, Victor Mete at No. 100 in 2016)

Best/ Worst Free Agents Signed (based on contract and expected/ actual
contributions):

Yanic Perreault/ Randy McKay (Savard)Alexander Radulov/ Daniel Briere
(Bergevin)

Best/ Worst Free-Agent Re-Signings:

Saku Koivu ($3.3 million over one year)/ Patrice Brisebois ($12 million over
three years) (Savard)Max Pacioretty ($27 million over six years)/ Carey Price
($84 million over eight years) (Bergevin)

Signature Trade:

Trevor Linden, Dainius Zubrus, 2001 second-round pick for Jan Bulis, Richard
Zednik, 2001 first-round pick (Savard)P.K. Subban for Shea Weber (Bergevin)

The Underrated Andre Savard

Andre Savard may very well be the best general manager of the darkest era in
Canadiens history. Some may argue that's not saying much, as he took over a
team on the verge of finishing out of the playoffs for a third straight season.
 On the contrary, it doesn't give him enough credit.Andre Savard (Vince
Richard/The Hockey Writers)

Under his guidance, the Habs earned their first playoff-game victory in the
second round since they won the Stanley Cup in 1993. The Habs were actually
close to taking that second-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes in
2002 or at least taking a 3-1 series lead before an infamous third-period
meltdown in Game 4. The Habs would lose in overtime despite having taken a 3-0
lead into the third period. The loss helped shift the momentum in the series,
which the Hurricanes won.

That was a soul-crushing defeat, but the season, during which Saku Koivu
returned at the very end after his battle with cancer, provided fans with a
newfound sense of optimism. Granted, they ended up missing the playoffs
altogether the following season, but the light at the end of the tunnel had
been practically blinding at that point.Sandwiched Between Houle and Gainey

Of course the Habs ended up replacing Savard with Gainey, which maybe
brightened the light even more. It also painted the wrong picture. It's not
that Savard failed the organization. He was brought into a no-win situation,
promoted from director of player personnel upon the firing of Rejean Houle, at
which point the Habs had dropped to last place in the entire league by Nov. 20
with a 5-13-2 record.

Making the playoffs that 2000-01 season would have taken a miracle, which
wasn't in the cards. So, instead, Savard rebuilt, making several savvy moves
that helped to make the Canadiens playoff-ready once again for 2001-02.

He traded Trevor Linden and Dainius Zubrus to the Washington Capitals for Jan
Bulis and Richard Zednik, which proved to be a great move to get younger and,
frankly, better. He also signed free agents Yanic Perreault and Doug Gilmour,
two underrated acquisitions who probably provided more offense than you
remember. He even drafted arguably the closest thing the Habs would get to a
No. 1 center for the next two decades in Tomas Plekanec that summer.Ex-Montreal
 Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore - (Photo: Andy Martin Jr)

Of course, the emergence of Jose Theodore as a Hart Memorial Trophy-caliber
goalie that season certainly didn't hurt. Seeing as Bergevin has openly
embraced Carey Price as the backbone of his teams, it at the very least
shouldn't be held against Savard. Nor should it how, once Theodore dropped back
 down to Earth the following season just as Price did this past season, the
team struggled mightily.

Following that disappointing 2002-03 season, Savard didn't get fired. That's
key. He stepped aside, facilitated the hiring of Gainey and became his
assistant GM, getting a new contract in the process. That's not a sign of
failure. Nor is it a sign of frugality on the part of a Habs team arguably
looking to get all they can out of a previous hire who didn't work out. It's a
sign Savard, who had zero managerial experience before taking the Habs' reins,
knew his limitations and that a Stanley Cup-winning GM who had a history with
the team might be a better fit. It's a show of mutual respect.Savard vs.
Bergevin

Contrast that with the reign of Bergevin, who hadn't had any experience as a GM
 prior to coming on in 2012 either. While things started off well for Bergevin,
 the Habs have been in a downward spiral over the last four seasons, as he
seems more and more out of his element.

There's no denying that, superficially speaking, Bergevin's tenure has been
more successful based on the sheer numbers. Delve deeper though. It becomes
clear Bergevin should take a page out of his predecessor's book. Savard's may
have been relatively short and anti-climactic, but it's definitely worth a
nostalgic re-read, if only for the moral of the story: It's arguably not where
you start or finish that counts, but how you run the race instead.

Savard's tenure could have gone smoother, but, ultimately, he left the Habs in
better shape for the long term than when he had been hired. All things being
equal, maybe in better shape than any other GM in this series, Gainey (and
Bergevin) included.

The post Canadiens GM Showdown: Bergevin vs. Savard appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

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