Michel Bergeron (ice hockey, born 1946)

Michel Bergeron (born June 12, 1946) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach.

Michel Bergeron
Born	June 12, 1946 Montreal, Quebec
Occupation	Ice hockey coach

Coaching career

Bergeron began his coaching career behind the bench of a midget team from Rosemont, Quebec. During his second season, he led the team to a national championship. He then took over for the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs of the QMJHL, leading the team to two Memorial Cup appearances.[1]

Bergeron coached the Quebec Nordiques from 1980 to 1987. His teams gained a reputation for playing a high scoring, quick paced game. As coach, Bergeron also devoted significant time to pursuing European players, adding the Stastny brothers after their defection from Czechoslovakia.[2] His teams reached the postseason in each of seven years behind the Quebec bench, including two trips to the Wales Conference Finals.

Just before the 1987 draft, Bergeron was traded to the New York Rangers for a first-round draft pick and $75,000, which was a first in NHL history.[3] In spite of on-ice achievements, Bergeron's relationship with the Nordiques front office had become rather strained in recent years. Nonetheless, his reputation as a strong motivator enticed the Rangers, who were seeking coaching stability; they had made 13 coaching changes in the previous 12 years.[4]

Bergeron's first season in New York saw the Rangers in a battle with the upstart New Jersey Devils for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. A tie with the Winnipeg Jets in the second-to-last game of the season left the Rangers and Devils tied with 80 points each. However, the Devils had one more win, meaning that if both teams won their final game, the Devils would advance on the tiebreaker. On the final day of the season, the Rangers easily defeated Bergeron's old team, the Nordiques, 3–0. Hours later, the Devils defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime, 4–3. The Devils went to the playoffs, and the Rangers went home. Had the Rangers defeated the Jets rather than tie them, they would have sealed the last playoff spot in the Patrick Division with their win over the Nordiques.

With two games remaining in the 1988–89 NHL season, general manager Phil Esposito fired Bergeron and named himself head coach for the remainder of the season. Even though the Rangers had secured a playoff spot, Bergeron had drawn the ire of Esposito by vocally requesting a contract extension; Esposito stating that the firing was rooted in "philosophical differences."[5]

Bergeron returned to Quebec during the 1989–90 NHL season, presiding over a ghastly 12-win season that is still the worst in Nordiques/Avalanche franchise history (both NHL and WHA). He was fired after the season. His 265 wins over two stints are still the most in franchise history. Due in part to the 1989-90 debacle, he also owns the most career losses in franchise history.

In December 1990, he was treated for a mild heart attack.[6]

Legacy

Bergeron earned the nicknames of "Le Tigre" ("The Tiger") and "Napoleon", in reference to his fiery temper, small stature, and French lineage. Bergeron reportedly even got under the nerves of Cuban leader Fidel Castro; in 1964, Bergeron was the catcher on a travelling Canadian baseball team, and, despite the tradition of visiting teams showing deference to the Cuban executive during his appearances in games, Bergeron cut down Castro as he attempted to score.[4]

Broadcasting career

Bergeron served as panelist on the popular French talkshow "l'antichambre" which is broadcast on RDS. He spent 6 years with RDS and he was nicknamed "le capitaine" on the talkshow. Bergeron quit RDS for TVA Sports on December 19, 2013. He is a panelist before and during games when TVA broadcasts NHL hockey. TVA Sports recently acquired the rights to broadcast 20 regular season Montreal Canadiens games in French.[7]

Coaching record

NHL

Team	Year	Regular season							Postseason
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
QUE	1980–81	74	29	29	16	—	(78)	4th in Adams	Lost in Preliminary round (2–3 vs. PHI)
QUE	1981–82	80	33	31	16	—	82	4th in Adams	Won in division semi-finals (3–2 vs. MTL) Won in division finals (4–3 vs. BOS) Lost in conference finals (0–4 vs. NYI)
QUE	1982–83	80	34	34	12	—	80	4th in Adams	Lost in division semi-finals (1–3 vs. BOS)
QUE	1983–84	80	42	28	10	—	94	3rd in Adams	Won in division semi-finals (3–0 vs. BUF) Lost in division finals (2–4 vs. MTL)
QUE	1984–85	80	41	30	9	—	91	2nd in Adams	Won in division semi-finals (3–2 vs. BUF) Won in division finals (4–3 vs. MTL) Lost in conference finals (2–4 vs. PHI)
QUE	1985–86	80	43	31	6	—	92	1st in Adams	Lost in division semi-finals (0–3 vs. HFD)
QUE	1986–87	80	31	39	10	—	72	4th in Adams	Won in division semi-finals (4–2 vs. HFD) Lost in division finals (3–4 vs. MTL)
NYR	1987–88	80	36	34	10	—	82	5th in Patrick	Missed playoffs
NYR	1988–89	78	37	33	8	—	(82)	(fired)	—
QUE	1989–90	80	12	61	7	—	31	5th in Adams	Missed playoffs
Total		792	338	350	104	—	780	1 Divisional Title	31–37 (0.456)

QMJHL

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
TRO	1975–76	72	36	31	5	—	77	2nd in East	Won in quarter-finals (4–1 vs. CHI) Lost in semi-finals (1–4 vs. SHE)
TRO	1976–77	72	38	24	10	—	86	3rd in Dilio	Lost in quarter-finals (2–4 vs. COR)
TRO	1977–78	72	47	18	7	—	101	1st in Dilio	Won in quarter-finals (4–0 vs. QUE) Won in semi-finals (4–1 vs. SHE) Won President's Cup (4–0 vs. MTL) Finished in 3rd at Memorial Cup (1–3)
TRO	1978–79	72	58	8	6	—	122	1st in Dilio	Won in quarter-finals (4–0 vs. SHA) Won in semi-finals (4–1 vs. MTL) Won President's Cup (4–0 vs. SHE) Finished in 3rd at Memorial Cup (2–2)
TRO	1979–80	72	36	27	9	—	81	4th in Dilio	Lost in quarter-finals (3–4 vs. CHI)
Total		360	215	108	37	—	467	2 Divisional titles	2 President's Cups - 34–15 (0.694) 0 Memorial Cups - 3–5 (0.375)

References

1. "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
2. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125081/1/index.htm
3. "John Farrell joins select company of traded bench bosses | CBC Sports". CBC. CBC Sports. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
4. Eskenazi, Gerald (1987-06-19). "Rangers Pull a Surprise: Bergeron Becomes Coach". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
5. "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
6. "Bergeron is stable after heart attackMichel Bergeron..."
7. "RDS.ca". RDS. Retrieved 2011-12-21.

External links

• Coaching statistics