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Bergevin, Julien must take Canadiens to next year’s playoffs to keep jobs safe – Sportsnet.ca

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5 years ago

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All of the Montreal Canadiens are going to wear the failings of this season, but no one in particular is going to own them. That much is clear after Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin did a round of interviews in Boca Raton, Fla., on Tuesday — on top of this exhaustive one with La Presse’s Mathias Brunet last week—and confirmed that head coach Claude Julien will be on the team’s bench at the start of next season.

Julien, who’s under contract for two more seasons after this one, isn’t taking the fall for what’s all but guaranteed to be a third consecutive playoff miss for the Canadiens this spring.

Neither is Bergevin, who’s also under contract until 2022.

That the GM is securing Julien’s position for next season at this point in time — he confirmed to our Elliotte Friedman, for an interview that will be dissected in this week’s 31 Thoughts, that this was his decision alone and that none of his core players were consulted before he made it—tells you that he has the authority and support from ownership to make major decisions for the team beyond this season.

And you know what else seems clear? That Bergevin doesn’t intend on making many (if any) drastic changes to Montreal’s core.

Even if his message was completely muddled after last Monday’s trade deadline passed, the one thing he repeated several times that afternoon was that he trusts he has the right nucleus of players to get the team to the playoffs.

On Tuesday, Bergevin doubled down on that.

“Making changes just to make changes often doesn’t work,” Bergevin said in an interview with TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. “I have confidence in Claude Julien, I have confidence in our team.”

Whether or not that confidence is well-founded can certainly be argued. The Canadiens are a team that’s currently nine points out of a playoff position, a team that has scored the 17th-most goals and allowed the 15th most per game, a team that ranks 19th on the penalty kill and 20th on the power play, and a team that ranks 30th in win percentage when leading after two periods. It seems logical (if not pertinent) to ask if those problems can all be fixed internally and with a few strategical tweaks from the coaches and a better buy-in level or performance from the players in place.

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Even if we know Bergevin intends to make some moves—he told Brunet he’d consider trading a forward for a defenceman if the opportunity arises this summer, and he said in his various interviews Tuesday that he will continue to try to improve his roster—it’s fair to say his biggest gamble as general manager is banking on drastic improvement without invoking fundamental change.

It has to pay off in the form of a playoff berth next spring for him and Julien to continue to have their jobs secured.

That means players like Tomas Tatar, Jeff Petry, Phillip Danault, Joel Armia and Ben Chiarot have to build on career-best seasons they’re currently enjoying.

It means franchise goaltender Carey Price has to maintain the type of play we’ve seen from him since Jan. 1 (he ranks top five in every traditional category except save percentage, where he ranks eighth) and not have drastic, month-long dips like he has over the last two Novembers. Captain Shea Weber is going to have to stay healthy, which is something (through no fault of his own) he hasn’t been able to do in his last three seasons. Jonathan Drouin is going to have to return as the player we saw at the beginning of the season, before wrist surgery and an ankle injury destroyed his campaign. Max Domi — if he isn’t used as trade bait to acquire a top-four defenceman—has to perform closer to the way he did in his first season with the Canadiens.

It also means Nick Suzuki needs to improve on an excellent rookie season, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Cale Fleury need to show they’re prepared to be impactful NHL players; and though expectations are smartly being tempered by Bergevin, it means Alex Romanov needs to step into the position that’s been carved out for him on Montreal’s third defence pairing and show that he can help the Canadiens balance the minutes on their blue line much more than they did this season.

Just as much (if not more) will be riding on Bergevin’s ability to unearth a player at this year’s draft who’s prepared to offer immediate help. It will be riding on his ability to make a shrewd trade (or two) and a couple of key signings on the open market — to acquire some more size, more talent, plus a backup goaltender capable of playing upwards of 25 games and winning at least half of them.

And even if the GM told Lavoie that he likes “the way (Julien) manages our young players, but also our players with more experience,” and that he finds the coach is “a very good teacher,” Bergevin must demand significant adjustments from the 59-year-old coach who could personally miss the playoffs for a sixth time in the last seven seasons if the Canadiens fail again next year.

Both Bergevin and Julien are being given a golden opportunity to continue shaping a brighter future for this team. If they can’t propel the Canadiens further down that path as early as next spring, it should be their last one.

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Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

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November 8, 2024

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

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November 8, 2024

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

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November 8, 2024

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Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

—

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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