- Born
- Nickname
- Le Tigre
- Michel Bergeron is a Canadian former ice hockey coach. Bergeron began his coaching career behind the bench of a 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, leading the team to two Memorial Cup appearances.
Bergeron coached the Quebec Nordiques from 1980 to 1987. His teams gained a reputation for playing a high scoring, quick paced game. As coach, Bergeron devoted significant time to pursuing European players, adding the Stastny brothers after their defection from Czechoslovakia. 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 Hockey Team for a first round draft pick, which was a first in NHL history. 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 Black Hawks in overtime, 3-2. 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.
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). 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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- He has been an NHL head coach, for the former Quebec Nordiques (1980-1987, 1990) and for the New York Rangers (1987-1989).
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