Michel Bergeron (born June 12, 1946) is a Canadian former
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
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
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...
, leading the team to two
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...
appearances.
In 1980, Bergeron became an assistant coach for the
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...
. 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
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
. 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
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
for a first-round draft pick and $75,000, which was a first in NHL history. 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.
Bergeron's first season in New York saw the Rangers in a battle with the upstart
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
for the final playoff spot in the Patrick Division. A tie with the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
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
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
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
Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...
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."
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
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earth ...
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.
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
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
; 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.
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.
In 2021 he was a competitor on ''
Chanteurs masqués
''Chanteurs Masqués'' is a Canadian French language reality singing competition television series based on the South Korean television series ''King of Mask Singer''. The series premiered on September 19, 2021 at ( EST/EDT) on TVA. The show feat ...
'', the Quebec adaptation of the ''
Masked Singer
''Masked Singer'' is an international music reality game show franchise. It originated from the South Korean program '' The King of Mask Singer'', developed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation.
Format
The format features the celebrities who per ...
'' franchise. He sang
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
's "
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
" in costume as a
whitecoat
A whitecoat is a newborn harp or grey seal with soft, white fur.
From newborn to whitecoat
Newborn seals have yellow fur because of amniotic fluid, and are still wet. When the pup dries, it is called a yellowcoat. The amniotic stain fades and t ...
seal, but was the first person eliminated from the competition.
[Natalie Slight]
"Michel Bergeron revient sur son passage à Chanteurs masqués"
''7 jours'', September 26, 2021.
Coaching record
NHL
QMJHL
References
External links
Coaching statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeron, Michel
1946 births
Living people
French Quebecers
Ice hockey people from Quebec
Montreal Canadiens announcers
National Hockey League broadcasters
New York Rangers coaches
Quebec Nordiques coaches
Sportspeople from Montreal
Trois-Rivières Draveurs coaches