Culture
Three years later, Marc Bergevin on how it ended with the Canadiens and what’s next
Marc Bergevin was fired three years ago today by the Montreal Canadiens and completely disappeared from the media glare, eventually settling into an enjoyable gig with the Los Angeles Kings.
The extreme lifestyle change of going from the constant public spotlight as Habs GM for nearly a decade to near-obscurity as senior adviser without a public profile with the Kings while living in Redondo Beach, Calif., well, that suits Bergevin just fine.
“I have no regrets about my time in Montreal,” Bergevin told The Athletic this week. “It was a great nine and a half years, and I have nothing but positive memories. But there is certainly a spotlight there.
“Here, you go to Starbucks to get your coffee in the morning and nobody knows who you are.”
Which is exactly what he needed. Three years to decompress.
“After I left Montreal, I remember thinking I wanted to be a GM again right away, but looking back, it would have been the wrong thing for me to jump back right in,” Bergevin said. “I needed this time to reenergize.”
It’s not like he’s been sitting on his hands. He’s working full-time for Rob Blake, advising and traveling and doing whatever the Kings GM needs. But he’s been able to do it in the shadows.
In his first media interview since his firing in Montreal on Nov. 28, 2021, Bergevin touched on a number of topics with The Athletic.
Let’s dive in.
Rejecting a Canadiens extension
Bergevin says Habs owner Geoff Molson approached him with a contract extension right after the team reached the ’21 Cup Final. His contract was expiring a year later.
“I decided that for me, it was best to move forward,” Bergevin said. “Time had come. It was good for both of us to move in a different direction. Geoff was very good, very fair. But I told him, ‘Geoff, I’m going to finish my last year that’s left and then I’m going to move on.’ He was good with that. He understood.”
The reality was that Bergevin was pretty much fried by one of the sport’s most demanding jobs. And not just from a hockey point of view.
“COVID took a toll on me — not physically, but as you know Montreal, Quebec, was really strict with the rules on COVID, and all my kids were in the States,” Bergevin said. “There was a 14-day quarantine then (once entering Quebec). I didn’t see my kids for almost a year.
“When Geoff made me the offer, I just felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel. The whole COVID thing for me beat me up, mentally, not seeing my kids.”
As it turns out, with Shea Weber playing his last NHL game in that 2021 Cup Final and Carey Price missing almost all of the following season, the end of an era for Bergevin’s team was happening even more quickly than anyone would have predicted. A 6-15-2 start to the season led to Bergevin’s firing.
“I knew a change was coming (because they had mutually agreed it was his last season), but it’s always a shock even though you prepare for it,” Bergevin said. “It was done the right way from Geoff’s side.”
The toll of the job
Before Bergevin landed in Montreal as Habs GM on May 2, 2012, he was known in hockey circles for his sense of humor. During his playing career and then working his way up the scouting ranks with the Chicago Blackhawks, he was the life of the party.
This is the guy who once picked up a plant walking out of a GMs meeting in Florida to avoid the cameras.
This is one creative way to avoid being spotted. #Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin hides behind a plant and (almost) slips right past everyone. pic.twitter.com/XHEk12Ev2Z
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 6, 2017
But a decade in that Habs job, through all the drama, chipped away at that personable, funny guy. The strain of the job was evident on his face by the end.
“Yeah that’s fair,” Bergevin said. “And it’s not like you change as a person, but you’re more on your guard because you feel like you have a spotlight on you every second of the day. And everything you said could be picked apart. So you’re more on your guard.
“But honestly, I enjoyed every second of my time there in Montreal. Even though there were times I didn’t feel like I did. But now that I can look back after a few years, yeah.”
He feels the good moves outweighed the mistakes, but yes, obviously, there were mistakes.
“Looking back I feel our average was pretty good,” he said.
Trader Bergevin
One of the characteristics of Bergevin’s time in Montreal was smaller to medium moves that ended up being beneficial. They all add up.
Acquiring Marco Scandella for a fourth-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres, then flipping him to the St. Louis Blues seven weeks later for second- and fourth-round picks.
Getting Brett Kulak from the Calgary Flames for Matt Taormina and Rinat Valiev.
One that wasn’t seen as big at the time: Getting Phillip Danault and a second-rounder from Chicago for pending UFAs Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann. That second-round pick became Alexander Romanov.
“I learned from Rick Dudley,” Bergevin said. “He said once to me, ‘Berg, you can’t go for the home run all the time. Sometimes you make your team better a little bit here, a little bit there. And eventually you get to where you want to be.’ I always kept that in mind. I think we did that in Montreal. We hit a lot of singles.”
Obviously, he also swung for the fences on some trades, including P.K. Subban for Shea Weber in June 2016.
“P.K. was a very good player, but we needed something different,” Bergevin said. “To get Shea Weber, you had to give up a pretty good asset. I think it worked out for both teams. Because both teams went to the Final. Nashville did with P.K. (in 2017), and we did with Shea.
“When a trade is made, both GMs think it’s going to work out for their teams, but I think the best ones are the ones that do actually work out for both teams.”
Bergevin was invited by Weber to his recent Hockey Hall of Fame induction, which was special for him.
“I’m glad that I went,” Bergevin said. “I told him, ‘I’m honored you’re asking me to go.’ And he said, ‘Berg, I want you to be there.’ That meant a lot to me.”
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The Carolina offer sheets
The Habs made huge news on July 1, 2019, when they signed star center Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet. The five-year, $42.295 million was front-loaded and mostly made up of signing bonuses, including $11.3 million in July 2019 and $9.87 million in July 2020. The gamble for Montreal was that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon wouldn’t have the stomach to pay that money up front. But Dundon didn’t blink.
In retrospect, Bergevin thinks he could have done it differently.
“Aho was the right player to give an offer sheet to, but I wish it would have been a different offer sheet,” Bergevin said. “Would I take that back? Yes. But honestly, at the time, we thought we would get the player based on the signing bonuses, which (Tom) Dundon matched. It ended up being a good contract for them.
“Lesson learned, honestly. Lesson learned. If I ever become a GM again, that’s a lesson I can use moving forward if it happens.”
The offer sheet also made mortal enemies, at the time, of owners Dundon and Molson. That fueled Carolina’s revenge offer sheet on Jesperi Kotkaniemi in August 2021, a one-year, $6.1 million deal.
The Habs didn’t match.
“He wasn’t going to do a long-term deal with us because he wanted a change of scenery,” Bergevin said of Kotkaniemi.
And well, the Canadiens didn’t feel Kotkaniemi was worth $6.1 million. So that decision wasn’t hard.
Carolina GM Don Waddell did reach out to see if a trade could be worked out instead. The rumor at the time was that Bergevin tried to get a young Seth Jarvis back.
“That’s true,” he confirmed.
Waddell, not surprisingly, didn’t want to move Jarvis, who was drafted 13th the previous year.
Drafting Kotkaniemi third in the 2018 draft was a decision fueled by a desperate need at center for the Habs. Obviously taking him one spot ahead of winger Brady Tkachuk, who went next to the Ottawa Senators, is tough to digest for Habs fans now.
“I look back at that, honestly, if you remember, Brady had a really tough season at BU,” Bergevin said. “He didn’t score for a long time. The skating was an issue. At the time in Montreal, all I would hear is (Filip) Zadina, Zadina, Zadina … because he was playing in Halifax (of the Quebec League).
“Obviously, now you would say, ‘Tkachuk, well of course.’”
But the need to draft a center was real.
“We didn’t have any centermen, and we were looking at a guy that was a tall, lanky center,” Bergevin said. “He had some good hockey as a 17-year-old. I wish KK the best. I think there’s more there, but time will tell.”
Drafting Mailloux
Bergevin’s last draft as Habs GM brought his most controversial moment, stunning the hockey world by taking Logan Mailloux 31st in 2021.
Mailloux had asked NHL teams not to draft him after reports surfaced that he was convicted and fined in a Swedish court in December 2020 for disseminating offensive photography. He had taken a photo of a woman performing a sex act without her consent and circulated it among some teammates.
The Habs took him anyway. Bergevin at the time described what Mailloux had done as “unacceptable,” but many felt, as The Athletic’s Arpon Basu wrote, that the pick signaled that for the Canadiens, “Improving their hockey team is more important than basic, common decency.”
The story has died down over time, in part because it sounds like Mailloux has put in work to improve and educate himself. He remains part of the organization, has played six NHL games and is currently with AHL Laval.
“It’s nice to see the young man has done the necessary things, to earn a second chance,” Bergevin said, declining to say anything else on the matter.
I suspect his decision not to say more comes down to the regrettable decision involving other people around him in the organization. Most notably, of course, ownership signed off on it.
Whatever the case, if Bergevin is to become an NHL GM again one day, he will have to answer this question in more detail as part of his interview process with his next NHL owner.
What he left behind
Current Canadiens leadership inherited good young players, such as Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, but also, it must be pointed out, some hefty contracts in Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson.
But Bergevin feels he left Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes decent pieces to rebuild with.
“I never traded a first-round pick when I was there,” Bergevin said. “Not that I wouldn’t, but I didn’t. And you can look at the draft picks I left them. And I’m proud of that. I didn’t put that franchise in a bad spot. People might argue that, but I don’t know where you would argue that.”
Gallagher’s six-year, $39 million extension, signed in October 2020 and expiring in 2027, is one some would point to, although he’s had a renaissance season in 2024-25.
“He had three years of 30 goals in a row (before signing the extension),” Bergevin said. “You have to pay for that. Every GM sometimes gives one or two years too much in contracts.”
And yes, the Carey Price contract is still on Montreal’s books through 2026. Bergevin signed Price to an eight-year, $84-million extension July 2, 2017.
Of course it was too many years, but the alternative was to let the best goalie in the world walk a year later.
“You had to sign him, but then injuries … nobody knew that — he didn’t know that — would happen,” Bergevin said.
Before the extension was signed, did other teams call to gauge where things were with Price to see if a trade was possible? Like maybe at the draft?
Nope.
“Nobody ever called,” Bergevin said. Because it was obvious the Habs were going to do all they could to sign Price.
Life with the Kings
As senior adviser, Bergevin travels to scout games and spends time with the Kings coaching staff every week.
“I’ll come in most days and be part of all our discussions as a group,” Bergevin said. “I’ll watch other games, other teams, for either trades or free agency.”
Last week, Bergevin went to games in Vegas, Utah, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Bergevin played with Blake and Kings president Luc Robitaille on Canada’s world championship gold medal team in 1994. They remained close afterward.
The Kings hired him in January 2022.
“They wanted a different set of eyes,” Bergevin said.
“Marc has been a terrific addition to our staff,” Blake said via text. “Really enjoys the scouting aspect of managing. Has a busy travel schedule where he watches many live games with very thorough reports on players who may or may not fit with us. His welcoming personality allows him to interact with the coaching staff on a daily basis. Sharing his thoughts on our team and what is happening around the league.”
GM interviews
Bergevin has interviewed for three GM openings since leaving Montreal: in Toronto in May 2023 when Brad Treliving was hired, in Pittsburgh around the same time in 2023 when Kyle Dubas was hired and in Columbus this past offseason when Waddell got the gig.
“When teams reach out, it’s always good to do it,” Bergevin said.
Treliving was always the front-runner for the Toronto job, but Bergevin appreciated interviewing with Leafs president Brendan Shanahan.
“I knew Toronto a bit better because of my days with Montreal,” Bergevin said. “But Tree is a good general manager. After the announcement was made with Tree, I ran into Shanny and said, ‘Thank you for the opportunity.’
“There’s no hard feelings that I wasn’t picked. It’s a business. I wished him the best.”
So what’s next?
No doubt there will be more GM interviews, but whether or not that produces another GM gig remains to be seen.
“I’m in a good place here with Blakey and the staff. I really am,” Bergevin said. “If it turns out that I stay here for three, four, five years instead, I’m really good with that. But do I want to try again? I think we did enough good things in Montreal to have another crack at it. But that’s not my decision.
“I’ve never stopped working since the day I got let go. I’ve stayed really in touch with the game and the players.”
Regardless of what the future holds, he’s now better able to appreciate his time as Habs GM.
“Geoff Molson was always supportive,” Bergevin said. “I have nothing but respect for him. And I wish the best of luck in Montreal. Because they have a great fan base, great ownership, and I know Kent and Gorts, and they’re good people. I wish everybody there the best. I really mean that.”
(Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
The NFL’s Thanksgiving schedule delivers three-fourths of what could become the most dominant division since the league realigned in 2002.
The 2024 NFC North is the first division since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to feature three teams with at least eight victories through Week 12, led by the 10-1 Detroit Lions, who have tied an all-time NFL mark for most victories in a season by at least 38 points (three, all outside the division).
With the Lions facing the division-rival Chicago Bears (4-7) in the early game Thursday before the 8-3 Green Bay Packers play the late game against the AFC East’s Miami Dolphins, the 2024 NFC North — which also includes the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings — stands apart. It could well decide who takes home the Lombardi Trophy.
The Lions (+260), Packers (+750) and Vikings (+850) are among the top seven in Super Bowl odds, per BetMGM, and the top four in odds to win the NFC, along with the Philadelphia Eagles (+325). The Lions remain Super Bowl favorites, comfortably ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs (+450), while the NFC North has the shortest odds to produce the champion at +175, half of the second-place AFC West (+350).
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The chart below shows where all eight divisions have ranked each season since the league realigned in 2002 in point margin per game (X-axis) and win rate (Y-axis) in non-divisional games through the first 12 weeks of each season. The 2024 NFC North (red dot) ranks first among these 184 divisional seasons in average point margin (+9.5) and second in win rate (.765), per TruMedia.
Only the 2022 NFC East (26-7) had a better record than the 2024 NFC North (26-8) in non-division games through Week 12, but the current NFC North had a far better average point margin (+9.5 to +5.1) in these games.
Here’s what you need to know about where the NFC North stands and what it must do to become the most dominant division over a full season since realignment.
1. The NFC North is by far the most dominant division this season.
The scheduling rotation (which we’ll explore later) is part of the equation, but this level of dominance is extreme.
2024 non-divisional game scorecard
| Division | W-L | Point Margin |
|---|---|---|
|
NFC North |
26-8 (.765) |
+323 |
|
AFC West |
19-12 (.613) |
+74 |
|
AFC North |
17-16 (.515) |
+56 |
|
NFC West |
15-15 (.500) |
-33 |
|
NFC East |
15-16 (.484) |
-33 |
|
AFC East |
13-18 (.419) |
-38 |
|
NFC South |
10-18 (.357) |
-138 |
|
AFC South |
11-23 (.324) |
-211 |
AFC North teams lead the way in total victories over opponents who currently have winning records (11) and total non-divisional victories in these games (nine). The NFC North is second with eight and six.
Since 2002, the NFC North’s +323 point margin ranks first by 64 points over the runner-up 2013 NFC West (+259) through Week 12. That is larger than the difference between the 2013 NFC West and the sixth-ranked division in that span, the 2011 NFC North (+200). The table below shows the only divisions since 2002 with PPG margins greater than 7.0 through Week 12, led by the 2024 NFC North.
2002-24 non-division PPG margin (Wk 1-12)
| Division | W-L | PPG Margin |
|---|---|---|
|
2024 NFC North |
26-8 (.765) |
+9.5 |
|
2013 NFC West |
23-9 (.719) |
+8.1 |
|
2002 NFC South |
17-8-1 (.673) |
+7.3 |
|
2008 NFC South |
22-8 (.733) |
+7.2 |
|
2011 NFC North |
19-9 (.679) |
+7.1 |
|
2005 AFC West |
20-10 (.667) |
+7.1 |
2. Strong defense has been the key to the NFC North dominating its non-divisional schedule.
The 2024 NFC North ranks first among 184 divisions since 2002 in defensive EPA per play against non-division opponents, compared to a No. 69 ranking in offensive EPA per play.
| Non-Division Category | 2024 NFC North | Rank of 184 |
|---|---|---|
|
W-L |
26-8 (.765) |
2 |
|
PPG |
26.1 |
16 |
|
PPG allowed |
16.6 |
2 |
|
PPG differential |
+9.5 |
1 |
|
Score differential/play |
+4.86 |
1 |
|
OFF EPA/play |
+0.013 |
69 |
|
DEF EPA/play |
+0.148 |
1 |
All four NFC North teams rank among the NFL’s top 10 in defensive EPA per play across all games this season. They are all in the top five when isolating non-divisional games only. The Lions and Packers also rank among the top 10 on offense across all games and in non-division games.
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3. Dominating a weak AFC South accounts for 61 percent of the NFC North’s +323 point differential in non-division games.
NFC North teams are 8-0 with a +144 differential against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. They are 14-2 with a +197 differential against the full AFC South. Bad teams get blown out. The NFC North has played its share of them.
2024 NFC North non-division scorecard
Forty-five percent of the +323 differential in non-division games stems from facing the Jaguars and Titans, while 61 percent stems from facing the AFC South overall.
The six other divisions are a combined 9-9 against the AFC South, with a +14 differential. That includes a 6-7 mark with a +21 differential for AFC East teams.
4. The NFC North has a 6-4 record against non-divisional opponents who had winning records through Week 12. Here’s a full accounting.
The Bears are the only NFC North team without a victory over a team that currently has a winning record. They are 0-3 in those matchups, headlined by their defeat at Washington on a Jayden Daniels Hail Mary. The rest of the NFC North has a 6-1 record in those games, with three victories over Houston, two over Arizona and one over Seattle.
2024 NFC North vs. teams now above .500
| NFC North Team | Wk-Opp | Result | Point Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
|
3-HOU |
W, 34-7 |
+27 |
|
|
6-AZ |
W, 34-13 |
+21 |
|
|
4-SEA |
W, 42-29 |
+13 |
|
|
3-AZ |
W, 20-13 |
+7 |
|
|
10-HOU |
W, 26-23 |
+3 |
|
|
7-HOU |
W, 24-22 |
+2 |
|
|
8-WAS |
L, 18-15 |
-3 |
|
|
1-PHI |
L, 34-29 |
-5 |
|
|
2-HOU |
L, 19-13 |
-6 |
|
|
9-AZ |
L, 29-9 |
-20 |
The NFC North’s record would be 6-3 if we adjusted the parameters to feature non-divisional games against teams that had winning records at kickoff. Victories over Dallas, San Francisco and Tampa Bay would come into play.
5. NFC North teams play 10 more games against non-division opponents this season. Here’s what the division must do to become the most dominant since 2002.
The NFL pushes most division games later in the season for competitive reasons. That leaves only 10 remaining non-division games for the NFC North to build upon its dominance or fall in the rankings. Those games are listed below chronologically and with point spreads pulled together from various sources where available.
Remaining non-division opponents
| NFC North Team | Week | Point Spread |
|---|---|---|
|
13 |
-3.5 (vs. AZ) |
|
|
13 |
-3 (vs. MIA) |
|
|
14 |
+6.5 (at SF) |
|
|
14 |
-5.5 (vs. ATL) |
|
|
15 |
-2 (vs. BUF) |
|
|
15 |
-1 (at SEA) |
|
|
16 |
+2 (at SEA) |
|
|
16 |
-5 (vs. NO) |
|
|
17 |
+3.5 (at SEA) |
|
|
17 |
-5 (at SF) |
The 2013 NFC North holds the full-season record for PPG margin against non-divisional opponents since realignment (+359 in 40 games, for 8.975 per game). That division featured the 13-3 Super Bowl champion Seahawks, the Jim Harbaugh-coached 49ers (12-4), the Bruce Arians-coached Cardinals (10-6) and the 7-9 Rams.
NFC North teams must outscore their 10 remaining non-divisional opponents by 72 points to beat the 2013 NFC West for the best full-season differential since 2002. That would leave the division +395 in 44 games for a +8.977 PPG differential.
The best full-season record against non-divisional opponents since 2002 is shared by the 2013 NFC West and the 2007 NFC South at 30-10 (.750). The NFC North (currently .765 at 26-8) would equal that mark with a 7-3 finish against foes outside the division.
The best team in the NFC North (Detroit) will be at home for the division’s toughest remaining opponent (Buffalo). The Seahawks’ recent improvement on defense could complicate efforts for Chicago, Minnesota and Green Bay to win at Seattle. The 49ers’ decline could help Chicago (Week 14) and Detroit (Week 17).
Green Bay and Minnesota can set the tone in Week 13. Both are favored at home against non-division opponents.
(Photo of Josh Jacobs, center, and three Lions defenders: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)
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Liverpool ran roughshod over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving Carlos Ancelotti’s side — particularly Kylian Mbappe — hurt.
At the club, the fans and the media agreed that, with Vinicius Junior absent through injury, this was Mbappe’s day to prove his worth to his new club after a mixed start to the season.
But he did not. Quite the opposite, as he missed the penalty that could have brought his team back into the game.
His plight was summed up at the final whistle, seconds after he had lost possession for the 15th time in a sequence that ended with an amazing Thibaut Courtois save to stop Luis Diaz from making it 3-0. The Frenchman stood for a few moments with his hands on his hips before being the first player to reach the dressing room, crestfallen and consoled on his way by team-mate Jesus Vallejo and assistant manager Davide Ancelotti.
Losing the battle with Bradley
Before his move to Real Madrid was announced, there was debate among fans and in the media about how Mbappe might fit in. The main concern is that his preferred position, on the left, is already occupied by Vinicius Jr, a player rated as the second-best in the world by the Ballon d’Or judges.
The Brazilian started the season on the wing but at Leganes on Sunday, in an attempt to improve the Frenchman’s fortunes, Ancelotti switched their positions.
With Vinicius Jr injured for the trip to Anfield, Mbappe’s area of greatest impact was cleared. And opposite him was Conor Bradley, who was playing just his fourth Champions League game and his first as a starter.
Although Bradley received help from his team-mates, Mbappe continually failed one-on-one with him and against other opponents.
In the opening four minutes, he had the first two losses, celebrated with jubilation by the home fans, who whistled at him throughout. The first mistake led to a Liverpool chance, too, with Raul Asencio clearing off the line.
One of the most significant images came in the 32nd minute, when he challenged Bradley in a race he would have been expected to win easily, but lost. Anfield celebrated it like a goal.
Mbappe finished with just one shot on target (the saved penalty) and another blocked, three successful dribbles (the most, along with Brahim Diaz) out of six, a 75 per cent passing success rate (the lowest outfielder), zero chances created, 15 possessions lost and three recoveries. His erratic display is illustrated in The Athletic’s player dashboard below.
The missed penalty
Mbappe was presented with an opportunity in the second half to change the script.
Eight minutes after going 1-0 down to Alexis Mac Allister’s goal, a combination between substitutes Dani Ceballos and Lucas Vazquez ended in a penalty for a foul on Vazquez. Without Vinicius Jr, there was no doubt the penalty taker would be Mbappe.
Antonio Rudiger stayed close to the ball and his team-mate during the VAR check, making sure no one disturbed him. But when Mbappe stepped up to face Caoimhin Kelleher, Liverpool’s academy goalkeeper came out on top.
Caoimhin Kelleher denies Kylian Mbappé from the spot! 😳
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/fr45wUF2Cj
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 27, 2024
Mbappe reacted by putting his hands to his head, though he was a little less expressive afterwards. Briefly, he thought he might have another chance, waiting to hear whether the penalty would be retaken if the goalkeeper had stepped off his line, only to be disappointed again.
A third of his goals this season — three out of nine — have come from penalties. But this was not his night.
Is Mbappe’s attitude an issue?
Body language can only tell us so much but Mbappe’s gestures have not been giving a good impression for some time.
He looked lacking in confidence as he went to the changing room at half-time. After those minutes inside, before returning to the pitch, the cameras caught him apart from a group of team-mates, as if distant, while Jude Bellingham was leading the way, giving directions and encouragement.
Mbappe’s frustration could be seen after Cody Gakpo’s goal made it 2-0 with 14 minutes remaining, protesting to the referee about a possible offside.
Just before that, there had been a moment that reflected his impotence, losing a ball from Luka Modric’s short corner and losing a race back to regain possession.
Many fans also criticised him for his attitude after the game, not going to greet the away stand. He also did not show his face in front of the media or the mixed zone, with Modric, Ceballos and Bellingham representing instead.
Ancelotti was asked about the Frenchman’s mood.
“It could be that he lacks a bit of confidence,” said the Italian. “When you have a moment when things aren’t going your way, the idea you have to have is to play simply and sometimes you complicate things a bit more. But this moment is missing. You can’t judge a player for a missed penalty.”
Support to overcome a difficult period
Mbappe is struggling and his numbers reflect that. He has produced nine goals and two assists in 18 games, at a rate of a goal involvement every 136.5 minutes.
How can he improve his situation?
Perhaps the first step is support from within, something he has been feeling.
Club representatives have gone out of their way to speak highly of him in private with the media, highlighting his high level in training sessions.
Ancelotti and his team-mates have been supportive in public, too.
“Kylian has been criticised in an exaggerated way, it has been very positive how he has contributed. I see him in training and it’s scary,” Bellingham told a press conference on Tuesday.
“The penalty (miss) is not the reason we lost,” said the Englishman on Wednesday.
“Work and keep fighting and keep going, because the moment will pass,” said Ancelotti. “(A situation like this) has happened to me many times in my career, especially with strikers when they struggle to score. There is a medicine: be patient. Everyone has to support him.”
Modric, in captain mode, also offered supportive words in the mixed zone: “It’s his first year and it’s never easy — at Madrid, the first years are complicated. He has our confidence and knows how to get out of this: not to lose confidence, to work day by day.”
Vazquez assured that his team-mates will “always support him, he is a world-class player and he will prove it. The team is always there to help him”.
Ceballos also gave him a nod. “He’s not scoring the goals he wants to score, but we know better than anyone how hard he’s working,” he explained. “It’s difficult to settle at a club like Madrid, but Kylian will do it. I’m sure he will.”
(Top photo: Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty Images)
Since the NBA is considering altering the format of the All-Star Game, I have some ideas.
USA vs. The World has more juice than ever, from an NBA perspective. Think about the starting lineup the Americans would have to face: Nikola Jokić at center, Luka Dončić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the backcourt, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama as the forwards. USA’s starting five ain’t a joke: Anthony Davis at center, LeBron James and Kevin Durant at forward, Stephen Curry and Anthony Edwards in the backcourt.
Or how about the old heads vs. the next generation? The under-30s against the gray beards. Or, make the dividing line the 2014 draft — halfway between LeBron’s draft and the last one. Turn it into a full-on NBA culture war. Gen Z vs. the Millennials. Make fans pick a side and divide San Francisco’s Chase Center, this season’s host arena, in half.
Oh, wait. Just thought of an even better alteration. The idea to end all ideas, sure to make the All-Star Game spectacular. It’s so clear a solution, it’s hard to believe no one in the NBA hasn’t already thought of it. So sure a fix is this, it might actually sound like a crazy idea.
PLAY HARD.
If not 100 percent, then 75. If not for the whole game, for a half. Even for just the final quarter.
Boom. Problem solved.
Any format changes are but Scotch Tape. Any concocted gimmicks are covering up the real issue like lacquering barbecue sauce on dry beef. The one thing everyone wants is to see the best players earnestly compete against each other.
Figure out what it takes to make that happen and do that. Because no one really wants to see defense powered by apathy and deep 3-pointers hoisted without regard. Otherwise, Washington Wizards games on League Pass would be a party.
The lure of the All-Star Game isn’t simply to see the best players. It’s to witness them face each other. There aren’t any real stakes. So the lone draw is the rare occasion to see opposing teams loaded with superstars go at each other.
The All-Star Game once was the only place to see this collection of stars together. To see what type of personality they had and how they interacted with each other. It was the chance to see some of the new stars you heard about but didn’t get to watch usually.
Just seeing the stars on the court together isn’t enough in the modern era to make the NBA All-Star Game compelling. (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images)
But in the modern era, we see all of them all of the time. The way social media has reconfigured the landscape and the access to games through cable and streaming already gave them high visibility. And now they’re all pushing podcasts like aunties peddling Mary Kay in the ’90s. The sheer novelty of their presence has been diminished, the pageantry of the annual showcase undermined.
Undoubtedly, the mere gathering of such stars will always be a spectacle. You just don’t get the 10 best players of any era together outside of the All-Star Game, at least not in their prime. But such only increased the demand for a dramatic end to the weekend. The one way to secure it is to find a solution that prompts true competition.
We know they get after it. We know they’ll go hard. All it took was a trip to Las Vegas, some nail polish on the court and a $500,000 purse to make the NBA Cup real.
It’s a little more complicated than players ratcheting up their intensity. It’s not just on the players.
The league would have to make some sacrifices. Part of the issue the players face is the demand for their time during the weekend. The obligations seem to grow and will continue to do so as the league’s partners grow.
That’s the league’s money, so it must be done. But if it damages the product by limiting the potential of the All-Star Game, it’s worth reining in some of the demands.
GO DEEPER
How can the NBA fix the All-Star Game? Our writers share their ideas
As I’ve been told, the players’ preparation is so dramatically different at All-Star. The practices aren’t real, much more like the open-to-the-public practices teams do for their fans. The intrusiveness of the spectacle compromises pregame regimens.
If taking on the Utah Jazz requires full preparation, taking on the best in the league is worthy of it too. If the potential for injury in an exhibition game is a concern, it’s for sure heightened by inadequate prep time. Especially for an All-Star roster replete with players over a decade in.
The NBA can do things to free them up. Give them space for a real practice, one without TV cameras and fans interrupting with cheers.
Clear their schedules for Sunday. Make it all about the game. Even do the eight-hour introductions on Saturday or make the videos on Sunday. An AI-generated hologram of Donovan Mitchell standing on the stage not only works but also fits the Silicon Valley vibes of an All-Star Game in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the players can warm up in the practice facility.
Prioritize the game by making sure they have no excuses not to go hard.
Everything else concocted in the name of entertainment value is rooted in this same principle. From the Elam Ending to the players’ draft themselves to money for chosen charities. It is all designed with the same aim — to manufacture a competitive spirit. To incentivize intensity. To put some juice into the showcase.
Allen Iverson led a 21-point comeback in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game, leading the East to an improbable win over Kobe Bryant and the West. (Andy Hayt / NBAE via Getty Images)
Who could ever forget the 2001 All-Star Game? The Eastern Conference squad, led by Allen Iverson, rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the West. It was the most riveting display for a generation. Maybe ever. A comeback for the ages.
It didn’t require some contrived format. They weren’t worried about getting embarrassed or being criticized. They weren’t deterred by the possibility of injury and the jeopardy it could bring. They weren’t obsessed with numbers and recognition.
Yet, they provided an All-Star Game moment for the ages. In the final eight minutes, they lived up to the moment, honored their grand reputations and treated the NBA audience in such a way we still remember. And they did it by doing the one magic solution.
They played hard.
(Top photo: Brian Sevald / NBAE via Getty Images)
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