Did one GM ship out ALL his Russians on purpose?

The mass exodus is raising some questions around the league.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Did one GM ship out ALL his Russians on purpose?
Keystone Press

According to a report from Montreal Canadiens insider Max Truman of the French-language blog DansLesCoulisses.com, Habs general manager Marc Bergevin may have rid the team of its Russian contingent this offseason on purpose.

First, look at the facts: all five of the team’s Russian members are no longer with the team. Both Alexei Emelin and Mikhail Sergechev were traded in separate deals, while Andrei Markov, Alexander Radulov and Nikita Nesterov were all allowed to walk away via free-agency. Coincidence? Not according to the Russian interview uncovered by Truman.

In comments translated from Russian, to French to English, Nesterov explains how the team’s Russian faction never really fit in with the rest of the team and didn’t really communicate with the team’s coaching staff.

Could this explain why all of the team’s Russians were sent packing? It’s no secret how important the “team” aspect of things is to Bergevin, so it may not seem so far fetched. In any case, don’t expect an official explanation from the Habs anytime soon, all we can do is speculate on their reasons for these peculiar personnel decisions.

Source: Max Truman