Maybe, maybe not (I was going to say something about how Bergevin made the pick, when Timmins has made all the ones before, but actually that's not true, Bergevin made the pick last year and I think Weber did the year before)...AvalancheGM wrote: ↑Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:11 pm What a dumbass. Chalk that pick up to his massive ego after reaching the final. I don't think Timmins was on board judging from his 20+ seconds of silence when asked about it.
I do think that Bergevin is on his way out/up, that he's not going to be GM for 22-23, though he might be president of hockey ops or whatever, which makes a difference. If Mailloux is worth the pick on the ice, the new GM can say "it wasn't my pick but we have him so we're working with him" and mostly ignore the negatives. It's also not hard to get him good PR, just have him donate time and money to various charities linked with revenge pron or whatever, make it appear that he's improved (whether he actually has or not), the same way they did with Shaw's homophobic insults. Sadly, for a GM and organization that constantly preach character, they sure do acquire/chase a lot of garbage people (Voynov, Shaw, Domi, DeAngelo, etc)...
What I will say, and this is not a defence of the pick or Mailloux, but I would be shocked if there aren't a dozen players who were drafted this year who have done worse things. Hell, I would be surprised if Mailloux himself hadn't done worse things (seeing as the act itself was consensual). Hockey culture is fucked