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]
In 1980, Bergeron became an assistant coach for the Quebec Nordiques. Six games into the season, with the Nordiques sputtering to a 1-3-2 start, general manager and head coach Maurice Filion dropped his head coach's title and named Bergeron his successor. Bergeron remained head coach until 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. Bergeron was the franchise's 13th head coach in 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]
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This article is about the former NHL head coach For the former hockey player see Michel Bergeron ice hockey born 1954 Michel Bergeron born June 12 1946 is a Canadian former ice hockey coach Michel BergeronBorn 1946 06 12 June 12 1946 age 76 Montreal QuebecOccupationIce hockey coach Contents 1 Coaching career 2 Legacy 3 Broadcasting career 4 Coaching record 4 1 NHL 4 2 QMJHL 5 References 6 External linksCoaching career EditBergeron 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 In 1980 Bergeron became an assistant coach for the Quebec Nordiques Six games into the season with the Nordiques sputtering to a 1 3 2 start general manager and head coach Maurice Filion dropped his head coach s title and named Bergeron his successor Bergeron remained head coach until 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 Bergeron was the franchise s 13th head coach in 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 EditBergeron 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 EditBergeron 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 In 2021 he was a competitor on Chanteurs masques the Quebec adaptation of the Masked Singer franchise He sang Frank Sinatra s New York New York in costume as a whitecoat seal but was the first person eliminated from the competition 8 Coaching record EditNHL Edit Team Year Regular season PostseasonG W L T OTL Pts Finish ResultQUE 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 playoffsNYR 1988 89 78 37 33 8 82 fired QUE 1989 90 80 12 61 7 31 5th in Adams Missed playoffsQUE Total 634 265 283 86 616 1 Divisional Title 31 37 0 456 NYR Total 158 73 67 18 164 0 Divisional Titles 0 0 0 000 Total 792 338 350 104 780 1 Divisional Title 31 37 0 456 QMJHL Edit Team Year Regular season Post seasonG W L T OTL Pts Finish ResultTRO 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 Edit The Montreal Gazette Google News Archive Search news google com The word on the multilingual Nordiques is that they re now 12 14 81 SI Vault sportsillustrated cnn com Archived from the original on 2013 11 03 John Farrell joins select company of traded bench bosses CBC Sports CBC CBC Sports 22 October 2012 Retrieved 19 September 2018 a b Eskenazi Gerald 1987 06 19 Rangers Pull a Surprise Bergeron Becomes Coach New York Times Retrieved 2012 08 25 Pittsburgh Post Gazette Google News Archive Search news google com Bergeron is stable after heart attackMichel Bergeron RDS ca RDS Retrieved 2011 12 21 Natalie Slight Michel Bergeron revient sur son passage a Chanteurs masques 7 jours September 26 2021 External links EditCoaching statisticsPreceded byMaurice FilionJean Perron Head coach of the Quebec Nordiques1980 871989 90 Succeeded byAndre SavardDave ChambersPreceded byPhil Esposito Head coach of the New York Rangers1987 89 Succeeded byPhil Esposito Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michel Bergeron ice hockey born 1946 amp oldid 1134781812, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
