Michel Bergeron (ice hockey, born 1946)

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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 (1946-06-12) June 12, 1946 (age 77)
Montreal, Quebec
OccupationIce hockey coach

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

Coaching career[edit]

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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4][5] 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.[6]

Bergeron's first season in New York saw the Rangers in a battle with the upstart and rival, 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 total wins 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.[7][8]

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."[9][10][11][12][13]

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.[14][15][16] His 265 wins over two stints were the most in franchise history until current Avs coach Jared Bednar passed him in 2023.[17] Due in part to the 1989-90 debacle, he still owns the most career losses in franchise history.

In December 1990, he was treated for a mild heart attack.[18][19][20][21]

Legacy[edit]

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.[6]

Broadcasting career[edit]

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.[22]

In 2021 he was a competitor on Chanteurs masqués, 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.[23]

Coaching record[edit]

NHL[edit]

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
Quebec Nordiques 1980–81 74 29 29 16 — (78) 4th in Adams Lost in Preliminary round (2–3 vs. PHI)
Quebec Nordiques 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)
Quebec Nordiques 1982–83 80 34 34 12 — 80 4th in Adams Lost in division semi-finals (1–3 vs. BOS)
Quebec Nordiques 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)
Quebec Nordiques 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)
Quebec Nordiques 1985–86 80 43 31 6 — 92 1st in Adams Lost in division semi-finals (0–3 vs. HFD)
Quebec Nordiques 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)
New York Rangers 1987–88 80 36 34 10 — 82 5th in Patrick Missed playoffs
New York Rangers 1988–89 78 37 33 8 — (82) (fired) —
Quebec Nordiques 1989–90 80 12 61 7 — 31 5th in Adams Missed playoffs
Quebec Nordiques Total 634 265 283 86 — 616 1 Divisional Title 31–37 (0.456)
New York Rangers 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 season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
Trois-Rivières Draveurs 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)
Trois-Rivières Draveurs 1976–77 72 38 24 10 — 86 3rd in Dilio Lost in quarter-finals (2–4 vs. COR)
Trois-Rivières Draveurs 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)
Trois-Rivières Draveurs 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)
Trois-Rivières Draveurs 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]

  1. ^ "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  2. ^ "He may not have seen the puck go into... - UPI Archives". UPI. November 5, 1980. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "John Farrell joins select company of traded bench bosses | CBC Sports". CBC. CBC Sports. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  5. ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (1987-06-19). "Rangers Pull a Surprise: Bergeron Becomes Coach (Published 1987)". New York Times. p. D17. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  6. ^ a b Eskenazi, Gerald (1987-06-19). "Rangers Pull a Surprise: Bergeron Becomes Coach". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-08-25.
  7. ^ Yannis, Alex (1988-04-04). "Devils' Playoff Blight Ends (Published 1988)". New York Times. p. C1. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  8. ^ "After winning their final regular-season game to keep alive..." UPI. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  9. ^ "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
  10. ^ "BERGERON IS FIRED AS RANGERS COACH". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  11. ^ "The New York Rangers Saturday fired Coach Michel Bergeron... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  12. ^ Sexton, Joe (1989-04-02). "PRO HOCKEY; Esposito Replaces Bergeron (Published 1989)". New York Times. p. 1, Section 8. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  13. ^ "N.Y. RANGERS FIRE BERGERON, HIRE ESPOSITO". Deseret News. 1989-04-02. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  14. ^ "Bergeron gets fired as Nordiques coach". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  15. ^ "NORDIQUES FIRE BERGERON". Deseret News. 1990-05-31. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  16. ^ "Nordiques dismiss Bergeron". UPI. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  17. ^ "Avs' Bednar now winningest coach in team history". ESPN.com. 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  18. ^ Sun, Baltimore (1990-12-02). "Bergeron is stable after heart attackMichel Bergeron,…". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  19. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (1990-12-11). "THE SIDELINES : Bergeron Released by Hospital". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  20. ^ "Former coach Bergeron suffers a heart attack". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  21. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO HOCKEY; Tips From Bergeron (Published 1991)". 1991-05-19. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
  22. ^ "RDS.ca". RDS. Retrieved 2011-12-21.
  23. ^ Natalie Slight, "Michel Bergeron revient sur son passage à Chanteurs masqués". 7 jours, September 26, 2021.

External links[edit]

Preceded by Head coach of the Quebec Nordiques
1980–87
1989–90 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the New York Rangers
1987–89 		Succeeded by
Phil Esposito
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