I think this is the question a lot of fans have been asking over the last few years. There is no doubt in my mind Scott Gomez has had a rough time in Montreal. There's also no doubt in my mind Scott Gomez would benefit from a change of scenery, however I don't feel the team would benefit from his departure, at least not nearly as much as people think. I also don't believe a change of scenery is a necessity for Gomez to succeed.
I know this is going to be a bit controversial because everyone hates Gomez now.
I'll break it up into sections the first dealing with salary.
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Salary:
Scott Gomez has a massive cap hit but at this point who do you give that salary to? There really isn't anyone available to give it to. I know some will say we should have landed Doan or Semin, but they were never realistic options. Doan is looking to win now and get a big payday, Semin doesn't strike me as a Bergevin type player at all and only took a one year deal anyways.
I believe Bergevin has kicked the tires on a couple of players but realized the payment was too much and didn't want to create any problems down the line. This team is being built for longevity, not just to try and win next year at the expense of competing every year. We aren't going to sign guys like that unless it's a fair deal. If somebody like Malkin or Toews became available you can be sure somebody like Gomez would be moved and an overpayment would be made to acquire such a player. Guys like Doan and Semin come and go, you can draft guys like that and overpaying for them is what got us into this mess in the first place.
We aren't in win now mode, we can make the playoffs but our team doesn't have the depth to go far without a ton of luck. Scott Gomez isn't at fault for that, his play has regressed on the stat sheet but his play on ice is largely the same. He isn't too old or too slow, he isn't too lazy or too much of a jerk in the locker room. He's a victim of bad luck and bad circumstance. He's also a player frequently name dropped by his teammates for being a good locker room guy. He isn't a bad person who is weak willed, it isn't that he isn't making an effort, he cares and I think he may even care too much.
In Short: His salary can't be passed onto another player anyways and even if it was it would be a less than ideal situation. We aren't contenders now anyways so it would be pointless to ruin our reputation burying him just to add a player who isn't an ideal fit. It could do more bad than good in the room.
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History Lesson:
Thomas Plekanec:
Plekanec had 69 points in 2007-08, then in 2008-09 he had 39 points. I'm not trying to compare apples to oranges here, I realize Plekanec was younger and still developing but hear me out.
After the 39 point season people wanted him gone. He came back and put up 70 points. Then followed up by 57 points, and now in our worst season he puts up 52 points playing a shutdown role. After the 2008-09 and 2011-12 seasons a large minority of fans wanted this guy dealt, I'd even dare say a majority after his 39 point season.The first time he wasn't even overpaid so ultimately salary is a non-factor. Media bashing, mob mentality and "what have you done for me lately" syndrome are the prevalent factors here.
People's perception of a player is often skewed by the stat sheet or the media. Anyone who knows hockey can tell you Plekanec was and still is one of the most important players on the team. The players can tell you this too because it's the truth. Let the record show that Plekanec has also had five twenty goal seasons in his last six seasons. The guy is talented at both ends, shows up in the playoffs and gives it his all every shift, but here we are again with the what have you done for me lately talk.
He put up 17 goals 35 assists and 52 points playing against other teams top level players with nobody backing him up on the wings. Does this not sound familiar? Scott Gomez struggled putting up points without any competent scoring wingers as well. I'm a huge Moen fan and I even liked Darche, Pouliot, etc. Is it any surprise that Gomez only put up numbers when Gionta wasn't injured and when the other winger was also on a hot streak? Gomez just needs another consistent winger to put with Gionta and he'll be fine. It isn't rocket science. Play makers need scoring wingers to get points.
Alex Kovalev:
In 2005-06 in his first season with Montreal he put up 65 points. He followed it up with a 47 point campaign and for the record he was a pretty similar age at that time to what Scott Gomez is now. Again, folks wanted him gone after that one bad year. He followed it up with an 84 point season in 2007-08 and in 2008-09 he had a 65 point season. Again, what have you done for me lately kicks in and people want the player gone.
In Short: Plekanec and Kovalev both had bad years where plenty of people wanted them gone. Both came back and had several strong years. Kovalev in particular was around the same age as Gomez when he struggled, then he had a big comeback. Why can't Gomez do the same?
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Reasons for the decline:
Gomez has had one bad season followed up by a year where he was injured. In most cases he was paired up with 3rd and 4th line players. His line mates were often injured, underdeveloped young players or guys he had no chemistry with. Even in the time he put up quality numbers he made Pouliot look like a potential thirty goal guy. Pouliot is an inconsistent player who has a long development path ahead of him. When he's on a streak he can put up quality numbers with a good play maker but for now that's where it ends.
The first question to ask is who are the consistent 20-30+ goal scorers Gomez has had on his line that even make him capable of putting up 40-50 assists in a season, let alone 50 points?
Let's see, there's Pouliot who we've already mentioned, Gionta who is solid but he's only one person and was also injured last season. We have Moen who is a great player but the 3rd line is already a stretch for him. Darche who is a borderline NHL player, Kostitsyn who was inconsistent at times too and also had his worst season last year.
Expecting Gomez to put up his regular production the last two seasons would be similar to expecting Moen or Darche to become 20-25 goal guys, because that's who he played with a lot of the time. Chemistry takes time to build and his set of wingers were a revolving door. I also don't see a time in Gomez's career where he easily produced points with bottom six players, he's always had great success on a line that had good chemistry and guys who can finish. Elias and Gionta are both guys who have had over forty goals in one season. Moen, Pouliot, Darche and Kostitsyn have never even come close.
The only consistent goal scorer that he played with regularly is Gionta. Usually a top line a center consistently plays with two players capable of complimenting them. So for example if they're a play maker they would have at least two 20 goal guys on their line giving them roughly 40 assists and maybe even 10 goals just being in the right places.
In Short: He had nobody to play with, bad chemistry, injuries, many issues that compounded.
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Conclusion:
I'm not saying none of the fault is on Scott, and nobody will tell you more than Scott himself that it's his responsibility. He's always been a competitor. The guy is a professional athlete with numerous elite level seasons under his belt and at the very worst close to point per game production. He was not put in a situation where he could succeed here. You don't take a play maker with a career average of around 12 goals a season and put him with guys who struggle to get 10 goals.
Gomez has always been a passer, he's known as a solid play maker who can skate and gain the zone. If you don't put him with guys who have speed and who can drive the net to score he won't produce. His production is largely dependent on others being that he's a play maker with little finishing ability. This isn't Scott Gomez's fault, this is the fault of management who didn't give him the tools he needed to succeed. Do people honestly think our organization didn't know what they were getting with him? He is what he is, a solid player who is somewhat symbiotic. His wingers need him to make plays as badly as he needs them to finish. It's a two-way street and hockey is a team sport. Unfortunately he had no teammates of good enough skill level to produce at the levels he consistently has for most of his career.
For all his faults, not being Sidney Crosby isn't one of them. We need to put him in a position to succeed. Gomez won't ever blame anyone else for his problems, he has too much pride to make excuses. The truth is there are plenty of valid reasons. Those legitimate reasons accounted for his level of play
He was as fast as he always was, his passes were also just as good as they always were, he entered the zone with that same passion and drive that he always had. He had some injuries and even despite being given offensive zone starts he had nobody to pass to, so now people want to blame him for the lack of production.
If you take apart a carefully maintained machine and instead of putting back the proper parts you replace two of them with cheaply manufactured parts that aren't meant for that type of machine, what do you think will happen? Do you think it won't effect the quality parts as well? Gomez is the quality part but the maintenance guy keeps using a Moen or a Darche to do a quick fix rather than getting another Gionta or Elias which is what the machine actually needs.
In Montreal we consider hockey a team sport, but because Gomez
makes a lot of money people hate him and expect more. If you were
offered that type of money to be the teams water boy best believe you
would take it regardless of the cap implications. Anyone claiming
otherwise simply hasn't been given such an opportunity. It's easy to talk about it when you aren't in the
position. Sather offered him money and he took it, end of story.
In Short: He's a passer not a shooter, and the sooner people realize expecting him to put up 60 points with Travis Moen and Mathieu Darche on his wings is unrealistic, the better. He isn't Crosby, he won't make a line better on his own, but he's a great compliment to skilled shooters and that's all.
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Final Words:
Getting rid of Gomez with his value at an all time low and with nobody in the market worthy of burying him for would be an unmitigated disaster. He is loved in the locker room, has done nothing wrong and is only hated by fans for making the money he makes. He was never a Crosby or a Malkin so expecting him to be is absurd. He is a second line center who needs the right guys in order to get going. Stop blaming Gomez for all the problems our team has faced and start looking at management.
We finally have a management team in place that seems to get it and they aren't mortgaging the future or trying to dump Gomez for a quick fix. Gomez is a part of this team and for all those living in denial he will be in the roster in October. If the new coaching and management team know what they're doing he'll be producing too. This team has a lot of problems but Scott Gomez isn't the biggest one, winger scoring depth and defensive depth are the key issues here.
Plekanec, Gomez, Eller and Desharnais are solid for center depth as long as you have the right amount of scoring wingers. Then we add to this Galchenyuk, we certainly do have an abundance of centers however if we had the right amount of scoring wingers Gomez's salary would be a complete non-issue. Gomez's salary isn't the thing keeping us from those wingers either, bad management and poor player development are much bigger issues here. Instead of people focusing so much of their energy on bashing a guy like Gomez, they need to look to the root of the issue. This is a bad situation and Gomez isn't at fault for one bit of it. Give the guy a break.
Finally, give Gomez another chance and if he doesn't produce after two games with Bourque and a recovering Gionta on his wings get over it. It will take time coming back from an injury and having a new winger but ultimately Bourque is a much better option than Darche.
In Short: Just give the guy a chance.
Thanks for reading. I'll try to make my future blogs as appealing as possible so for those who don't like long reads, keep your eyes open for my "In Short" comments, they briefly summarize my rants... I mean blogs :)
-neogenhabs
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Yannick Weber - The Calm Before the Storm
The Montreal Canadiens have a lot of great youth on the team right now and some solid defensive prospects for the future. With guys like Subban, Emelin and Diaz in the pipes one guy is often overlooked. That guy is Yanick Weber who I believe is poised to have a solid year in Montreal.
Weber may have had a slow start offensively but in the three games he played against Boston in the playoffs he really stepped up his game notching two goals in only 26:19 minutes of total ice time. That's less than ten minutes a game. During the season after a slow start offensively Weber learned the defensive side of the game and played better defensively than I believe most people ever expected him to. Posting 1 goal and 11 assists in 41 games as a rookie most of his points were had between January and the end of the season.
Weber may have had a slow start offensively but in the three games he played against Boston in the playoffs he really stepped up his game notching two goals in only 26:19 minutes of total ice time. That's less than ten minutes a game. During the season after a slow start offensively Weber learned the defensive side of the game and played better defensively than I believe most people ever expected him to. Posting 1 goal and 11 assists in 41 games as a rookie most of his points were had between January and the end of the season.
Weber scoring on Thomas in the playoffs. Can you imagine how many he'll pot if he plays with Markov on the power play?
It may be a little early to say given the small sample size of half a season and three playoff games but this is what my blog boils down to. Predicting who will boom or who will bust. I personally believe this will be Weber's year to shine. If he makes moves like the above goal on Thomas with Markov playing the point he'll be unstoppable. This year the Montreal Canadiens have all the tools to develop this guy to his maximum potential. Only time will tell if Weber is up to the challenge, I think he'll kill it. Weber after this season should be a lock for the Montreal Canadiens line-up, trading him now would be unwise.
Weber's other opportunistic goal on Thomas.
This year should be quite the year for the habs and their prospects but don't count Yannick Weber out, he's already worked wonders on his defensive game and was only truly starting to click on his offensive game towards the second half of last year. If all goes well we should be seeing Weber scoring on the Bruins for years to come.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The Rise of Sophomore Subban
It isn't very often a team picks a superstar defenseman in the 2nd round 43rd overall, but on June 23rd 2007 the Montreal Canadiens did exactly that when they selected PK Subban. Who would have thought on that fateful day that by now we already would have seen the great Subban in action. As the year progressed we only got to see more and more what a diamond in the rough this guy is. From getting under the skin of his opponents to playing an average of 28:51 of ice time a game in the playoffs, this guy truly is a warrior. He is exactly the type of player any team in the league needs to have but hates to play against. Unfortunately people seem to hate him an awful lot more than one would think. That's okay with me, it just tells me PK is doing his job in impeccable fashion.
Over the course of the year PK took a lot of heat around the league for different situations. Respected players like Mike Richards and Joffrey Lupul had a problem with PK and felt as a rookie he lacked respect for his opponents. PK was a class act in interviews and had nothing but praise for Mike, he even said he was a one of his idols growing up. There is also obvious bad blood between PK and the Bruins Brad Marchand, another solid NHL rookie who plays with an edge and seems to have a knack for getting under his opponents skin. One of the best hits of the year happened in a Boston versus Montreal game at the Bell center.
(Just to clarify something a friend brought it to my attention that Marchand and Subban are actually friends and ex junior Team Canada teammates. They are actually friendly off the ice so no bad blood there. Thanks to CrimsonSkorpion of HFBoards for bringing this to my attention. You can also follow his blog at http://hometownanalysis.blogspot.com)
(PK seen here at the draft after the selection, I bet Gainey doesn't regret this choice.)
(Just to clarify something a friend brought it to my attention that Marchand and Subban are actually friends and ex junior Team Canada teammates. They are actually friendly off the ice so no bad blood there. Thanks to CrimsonSkorpion of HFBoards for bringing this to my attention. You can also follow his blog at http://hometownanalysis.blogspot.com)
(The hit that sent Marchand back to the bench in a hurry)
It wasn't all big hits and big minutes for PK though. At a certain point he messed up a pass in overtime against one of the leagues bottom feeders in Edmonton. The resulting play had Dustin Penner in the slot to put away the overtime winner. A mistake by PK which led to a three game sit. A very controversial topic for fans and the media because many thought Subban shouldn't have been benched for one mistake, others thought it was fine, some thought it was too long. Everyone had their opinion but at the end of the day Subban came back and it was like a fire was ignited inside of him. From then on until the playoffs he played like a man not a rookie.
(The OT goal Penner ended up getting as a result of the PK error)
Even in the post season a huge part of the reason they were able to give the Bruins such a tough time was PK Subban. There really is no denying this, the guy played over 30 minutes in some games and did so well. He even managed to get the tying goal in game 7 to bring Montreal into overtime and it was a beauty. It wasn't the goal that mattered so much as how great PK was at both ends, we wouldn't have been in game 7 overtime if it weren't for PK playing those minutes. It just would not have happened.
(This one needed a video. It was really a superb goal)
With all of this said Montreal managed to take the future Stanley Cup champions to the breaking point of game 7 and Subban had as much to do with that as the other superstar on the team did, you know who I mean. I'm very optimistic of what this team can do with Price and Subban given the way this team has played with a depleted roster. Don't worry habs fans, our time has come. We finally have the tools to be a cup winner. We will have to rest our faith in management to get things done but ultimately it's become evident no matter how many injuries we get having guys like Price and Subban on your team elevate you to the point of being able to win any game. It would be almost impossible for our coaching staff and management to mess that up.
With the way PK Subban has developed at every level I don't have a doubt in my mind that this guy will be one of the cornerstones of our team for a very long time. This is the beginning of a new era, the era where our youth takes us to the next level. Ladies and gentleman I present to you the rise of sophomore Subban, if my gut is right I think we're in for one hell of a season.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Allstar Break Habs Report
Here's my report on the habs for the break, hope you enjoy:
Gomez:
I'm not afraid to say that Scott Gomez is one of my favorite players in the NHL. I like the way he plays and just think he's having a tough time right now I really do. But Scott you've gotta wake up. You're capable of so much better and you know it. He just seems to have lost his confidence out there and it's really a shame. I want to see the Gomez of the playoffs, I want to see the Gomez of those Stanley Cup runs in New Jersey. The guy who showed up every night and elevated his play, made his line better and setup some sweet goals. Heck he's never been known as a gifted goal scorer but he has been known as one hell of a play maker.
Gomez just needs a clean slate. He isn't going anywhere fans, sorry I know so many of you want him gone but he isn't going anywhere not only because he's an important part of our team but because with his cap hit no team will take him even if he does get paid less in coming years. I don't want him gone regardless but some people need to understand that. That being said we need to support him but he's gotta support himself too. He needs to get his confidence back and clearly needs fans and media support not to be shunned or hated on. I know he cares about this team and wants be successful. But I also know he isn't playing like Scott Gomez the coveted all star play maker from the New Jersey Devils. They did have a good team but he was a big part of the reason they did. He needs to be a big part of our reason. We have injuries now and the team needs him now more than ever.
He's gotta step up his game right now.
Price
Needs his team to stop taking dumb penalties that are costly and momentum shifting. Not kidding you I don't fault this guy one bit in a number of our losses in recent memory. When your team takes 3 penalties at the same time and on top of that takes several too many men penalties in a season (I wonder what the stat is) you really can't be blamed by them throwing away games. I'm not saying he hasn't let in some goals he'd like to have back or mishandled the puck ever, he has. But he's been a good goalie and the team needs to support him and stop ruining him by playing so bad defensively and taking dumb penalties. If it weren't for that Price would be doing a lot better. And another thing, play Auld please, thanks. He's a grown man he knows how to play also.
Jacques Martin
Makes some questionable decisions at times I think we can all agree. Anywhere from not taking a time out to taking a bad time out. Not pulling the goalie early enough at times. I find the habs this year have a seriously lack of control in the oppositions zone even on the power play and this direly needs to be addressed somehow.
Pierre Gauthier
What can I say, I like this guy. He goes and gets Wis for nothing. But then at the same time gives Lapierre away for nothing. I can only assume he's making cap space in case of a huge trade. Now I'm not saying we're going after Iginla even though it's rumored. But he freed up the Markov cap space, some of Gorges and even traded Lapierre to get rid of his cap room. Added Wisniewski so that adds cap but we could definitely fit Iginla in. We'd be giving up cap room in the process in that deal, not as much as Iginla's probably but some. If he makes the Iginla trade I'll be thrilled personally. Yes Iginla is 34 years old but I figure he has enough good years left. I want him on our team. He played with Cammalleri already. Cammalleri with Plekanec and Iginla would be a #1 line in the NHL that would match up against any other teams very well. I believe they will want Pacioretty in the deal though, that's the only problem I have with it. But you've got to give to get.
O'Byrne
I know he's an ex hab but just because I was speaking about Gauthier I think this trade will look very stupid if the Bournival kid doesn't pan out for us. I knew O'Byrne would be an NHL defense man and I also called the trade on my blog before it happened. It was a no-brainer because O'Byrne clearly was NHL ready. I'm happy for him that he's playing well and progressing.
Gomez:
I'm not afraid to say that Scott Gomez is one of my favorite players in the NHL. I like the way he plays and just think he's having a tough time right now I really do. But Scott you've gotta wake up. You're capable of so much better and you know it. He just seems to have lost his confidence out there and it's really a shame. I want to see the Gomez of the playoffs, I want to see the Gomez of those Stanley Cup runs in New Jersey. The guy who showed up every night and elevated his play, made his line better and setup some sweet goals. Heck he's never been known as a gifted goal scorer but he has been known as one hell of a play maker.
Gomez just needs a clean slate. He isn't going anywhere fans, sorry I know so many of you want him gone but he isn't going anywhere not only because he's an important part of our team but because with his cap hit no team will take him even if he does get paid less in coming years. I don't want him gone regardless but some people need to understand that. That being said we need to support him but he's gotta support himself too. He needs to get his confidence back and clearly needs fans and media support not to be shunned or hated on. I know he cares about this team and wants be successful. But I also know he isn't playing like Scott Gomez the coveted all star play maker from the New Jersey Devils. They did have a good team but he was a big part of the reason they did. He needs to be a big part of our reason. We have injuries now and the team needs him now more than ever.
He's gotta step up his game right now.
Price
Needs his team to stop taking dumb penalties that are costly and momentum shifting. Not kidding you I don't fault this guy one bit in a number of our losses in recent memory. When your team takes 3 penalties at the same time and on top of that takes several too many men penalties in a season (I wonder what the stat is) you really can't be blamed by them throwing away games. I'm not saying he hasn't let in some goals he'd like to have back or mishandled the puck ever, he has. But he's been a good goalie and the team needs to support him and stop ruining him by playing so bad defensively and taking dumb penalties. If it weren't for that Price would be doing a lot better. And another thing, play Auld please, thanks. He's a grown man he knows how to play also.
Jacques Martin
Makes some questionable decisions at times I think we can all agree. Anywhere from not taking a time out to taking a bad time out. Not pulling the goalie early enough at times. I find the habs this year have a seriously lack of control in the oppositions zone even on the power play and this direly needs to be addressed somehow.
Pierre Gauthier
What can I say, I like this guy. He goes and gets Wis for nothing. But then at the same time gives Lapierre away for nothing. I can only assume he's making cap space in case of a huge trade. Now I'm not saying we're going after Iginla even though it's rumored. But he freed up the Markov cap space, some of Gorges and even traded Lapierre to get rid of his cap room. Added Wisniewski so that adds cap but we could definitely fit Iginla in. We'd be giving up cap room in the process in that deal, not as much as Iginla's probably but some. If he makes the Iginla trade I'll be thrilled personally. Yes Iginla is 34 years old but I figure he has enough good years left. I want him on our team. He played with Cammalleri already. Cammalleri with Plekanec and Iginla would be a #1 line in the NHL that would match up against any other teams very well. I believe they will want Pacioretty in the deal though, that's the only problem I have with it. But you've got to give to get.
O'Byrne
I know he's an ex hab but just because I was speaking about Gauthier I think this trade will look very stupid if the Bournival kid doesn't pan out for us. I knew O'Byrne would be an NHL defense man and I also called the trade on my blog before it happened. It was a no-brainer because O'Byrne clearly was NHL ready. I'm happy for him that he's playing well and progressing.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Mathieu Darche - Does make the team better.
The other day I was watching the game and RDS posed a question that to be quite honest I think is ridiculous. The question was in French but I'll paraphrase to the best of my abilities. Basically they were asking if Darche makes the team better or not. To me after 20+ games it's a ridiculous question, in my mind the response is "of course he does".
I'll be the first to admit I had my doubts about the Darche signing, thought maybe it could have been a waste of salary cap space due to it being a depth signing. I don't think I'm too worried about it anymore as Darche is a very hard working player who makes things happen. As a thirteenth forward I don't think it gets much better than Mathieu Darche. I'm not sure if this was a question posed by a fan or RDS but the fact that RDS chose this question above others to me is just crazy.
Darche fills the role he's given by our management on any given night. He has never hurt the team but on many occasions has in fact helped the team a lot. What more could you want from a "thirteenth" forward and I'm beginning to use that word pretty loosely already. The team simply has looked better when he's in the line up then with out. So to the question "Does Darche make the team better" I boldly answer "of course he does!"
I'll be the first to admit I had my doubts about the Darche signing, thought maybe it could have been a waste of salary cap space due to it being a depth signing. I don't think I'm too worried about it anymore as Darche is a very hard working player who makes things happen. As a thirteenth forward I don't think it gets much better than Mathieu Darche. I'm not sure if this was a question posed by a fan or RDS but the fact that RDS chose this question above others to me is just crazy.
Darche fills the role he's given by our management on any given night. He has never hurt the team but on many occasions has in fact helped the team a lot. What more could you want from a "thirteenth" forward and I'm beginning to use that word pretty loosely already. The team simply has looked better when he's in the line up then with out. So to the question "Does Darche make the team better" I boldly answer "of course he does!"
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Habs - A Last Ten Story Pt. 2
After the first 10 games of the season I posted a blog about how the Habs were doing as a team and as individuals on the team. We were 7-1-2 in those games and now we're 6-4-0. Funny thing is I think aside from last nights game against Philly I think we've been playing some good hockey in that 10 game span. Still posting an above .500 record and with Markov out once again. We'll find out later this week just how serious the injury is, hopefully it isn't too bad but I have my doubts to say the least. Now being 13-7-1 I can't say I'm complaining and yes I know I'm late in posting this. A slight miscalculation on my part ;)
Again I think the coaching has been good and a big part of the reason we're doing so well on the PK and improving on the PP, though I must admit the PP leaves much to be desired it still isn't in 29th place so that's a huge improvement over the first ten games of the season. Either way talk regarding the team as a whole, we're 3rd in the eastern conference and winning games, enough said on that.
Carey Price A+ - I think it's pretty obvious why he gets the A+. First of all 30% of his wins are shutouts, second of all he's only ever allowed 3 goals in regulation. Third of all he's played 20 games already this season which is a ton of games. He's been solid, he's been making big saves, keeping us in the game and much more. He's been confident in net, probably the most confident we've ever bared witness to. I'm in awe even as a big time Price supporter that he's doing this well. I expected him to be a good goalie this year I really did. I did not expect him to be one of the three best. This year I'd say he's definitely a top 3 goalie so far and I'm not going to be knocking on wood anytime soon. The way Price is playing I don't think voodoo or knocking on wood has anything to do with it, he's proving why he has such a great history of winning.
Tomas Plekanec A+ - Again this is a guy playing above expectations and going into this season they've been the highest of all time for him. People expect no less than a 70pt season out of Tomas, I think Tomas is more interested in 80 to 90 points and I don't doubt he could achieve either. He's been our best forward and often times he's even played like a third defenceman for us. Hard to fault a guy who works so hard and gets results, when you look back to his rookie season and now it's crazy how much this guy has grown as a player and continues to. Now my expectations for he and Price are super high, these two guys are players Stanley Cups are won with.
Andrei Kostitsyn B+ - Last time I gave him an A- and my reasoning was that I wanted to see him produce for a more extended period of time. It isn't that I feel Andrei has become worse it's just that he hasn't produced at the same pace so this time I'm knocking him down a notch. That isn't to say I don't acknowledge his solid play regardless. He's been playing his game still just hasn't been as good in the first 10 games as he has been in the last 10. I attribute this partly to being moved around the line up and don't fault him for that but at the same time I call it how I see it. I don't doubt that in the next 10 games he could go back to being an A- or even become an A. Remember this is based on their last 10 or so games, in this case 11 because of my mistake. While he's still been great out there he's not producing at the level that he was early on. Still 3 points in his last 5 games isn't too bad considering we got shutout by Nashville.
Mike Cammalleri B+ - I haven't seen enough improvement in his game statistically to merit increasing his rating yet. He certainly hasn't been terrible like people are mentioning either. He too has been moved around a bit and has had some close chances but like Andrei simply hasn't been putting up the numbers. In Mike and Tomas' cases reason I keep them the same is because they've proven their consistency at the NHL level already. We all know how Mike is, he'll score 15 goals in 12 games and then he'll score 3 goals in 15 games. Other than that he's been playing the way he normally does which is good, when he's on the ice he creates space for his line mates as they try to cover Mike pretty tightly.
Alexandre Picard - Will give him the pass this time around as he didn't get to play much. Glad he's back in the line up and he hasn't looked too bad yet. He might have been slightly better before he got benched for a bit but I think that's the way the cookie crumbles. He'll be much more solid in the next few games I think once he gets back into his groove. He still wasn't bad even despite that though.
PK Subban A - I can't give him the A+ just yet but I think he's been solid still none the less. He got under a vets skin (Richards) and he's been known to get under peoples skin throughout the league. I love this about PK and I wouldn't ask him to change his game in the slightest. Once he starts banging them in and getting more points and consistently maintains good numbers the A+ won't be too far away. The guy is a superstar, he's magical with and without the puck. He's still maintained a good defensive game while playing well offensively. For me right now the only thing holding me back from A+ is consistency, not saying he isn't consistent but he's a rookie, I'd like to see how he does for most of or an entire season first before deciding but if he manages to find magic on our PP I wouldn't rule out giving him an A+ sooner than later. He brings a lot to the table and if he can manage to quarterback our power play eventually then surely he'll bring enough elements to the table to merit being called an A+. He is our defensive version of Plekanec, he's a star and he plays the game well in many different areas and has only improved since becoming a hab. I know he hasn't even come close to reaching his full potential yet so calling him an A+ now would be detrimental to my rating system :) I know the logic behind it is less than logical but remember I just do this for fun and give my opinion on the matter, I'm no Eklund (lol)
Eller B - Reason I give him a B instead of B- this time is because I find in the last 5 or 6 games especially he's simply been more noticeable on the ice, doing more things and he seems to be gaining the coaches trust. It's tough to rate the guy because he isn't being used in an offensive role in most cases. Considering that I think he's developing fine. I don't think he's being ruined I just think he's being taught the defensive side of the game and the system prior to being put in a position where he can cost us a game. Give the kid some time, he's got a tremendous amount of talent and could be our Subban 2.0 come playoff time this year. He will surprise us all I think but we'll have to wait and see, he might possibly become our secret weapon. The Dane is being developed properly we just need to be a little bit more patient.
Halpern A+ - What can you really say about this guy? He works hard, he produces and he wins games for you. Hardly the Halpern I thought we had acquired in the post season but it just goes to show how looks can sometimes be deceiving. I feel our organization has done a tremendous job over the past couple seasons of finding guys that work well within our team. Metropolit, Moore and now Halpern. All seemed to play a really good game for us when compared with other teams. This guy really is a perfect fit for us though, I just pray he can stay healthy because looking at his stats it seems he does get injured often enough. For a player that I had pegged as a B- to a C+ at most going into the season Halpern has exceeded expectations. He gets the A+ for now but we'll see if he can maintain it.
Moen B - He hasn't been bad but kind of like Halpern this player imo has to produce in order for me to consider him a B+ etc. I wouldn't say Moen is playing beyond his level, he's just playing his typical game which is what we need. However I also wouldn't say he's dominating the physical game/presence entirely. Other guys have really seemed to step up this year even the smaller guys, seems our team is a bit more feisty then in past seasons. A solid B for Moen and deservedly so.
Gomez C- - I'm starting to agree with people that a larger part of the problem might be Gomez. While I still stand by my point that Gomez never really got a true 2nd line to play on he still certainly has to be producing more than he has even despite that. There comes a time where there just aren't any excuses to be used anymore. If he had maybe 1g 4a more I probably wouldn't complain and would have even given him a B- but really he's just been terrible out there. Now I know Scott Gomez isn't the kind of player to carry a line but it would be nice if he could at least get some points now and then. That aside I still think once he's paired up with a true pair of wingers rather than one 4th liner all the time his stats will improve. I just don't think his stats are justified by this reasoning anymore. Like I said if he had 4-5 more points fair enough but he's just been terrible out there. Now he even appears to have lost all confidence where as before he still was and just wasn't getting lucky. We need this guy to wake up and soon but I really do think a trade is in the works for deadline latest, if we start losing even sooner. We need to get this guy a winger to play with and then people are going to see he and Gio will find their magic once again.
Gionta B- - I consider him to be the most improved hab in the last 10 games. Switching him onto the Plekanec line really did help. It's too bad we can't put Gomez on a line with Plekanec as he really seems to make even the coldest or worst players around him look amazing. Gionta started producing which was what we needed him to do and to continue doing. Now all he has to do is take that confidence to the Gomez line and hope it translates into production. He's definitely been burying chances when before he missed many open nets and screwed up several good feeds from Gomez. Not trying to detract from how badly Scott has been don't get me wrong, but if Gionta had put away a few of those feeds I think I'd be telling you all a much different tale right now. I don't know if it's my Koivu fanboyism but I still don't think he's anywhere close to as good a captain as Koivu was but then again Koivu had a lot of time to learn.
Pouliot B- - Still think he's a B-, he's been playing great but needs to produce a little more consistently. This is a guy that at one point people thought was capable of putting up 30-40 goals and in my opinion with good reason. He has size, speed and a good shot, what more could you want? I'm putting him on hold for now though because like Andrei I think over the next 10 games he might impress me. Both these players have grown tremendously as hockey players this year in my opinion. Something caused by Jacques Martins coaching and coaching staff? I really hope so because if it's the case we'll pretty soon be putting the habs development issues to rest.
Lapierre B - Even though it was a fluke pair of goals that got him some points I still think he's been playing with a bit more kick in the last few games. Maybe he had a wakeup call who knows but one things for sure he shoots the puck and sometimes that's all you need to do and fluke goals can happen. Also you can't really pretend to forget that amazing goal he had against Cam Ward, for that alone I'll give him the bump up to B from B-, he's still capable of much more in my opinion but it remains to be seen. I think he needs to be a bit more feisty out there and a bit more physical but I get the feeling the coach has told him to tone it down, possibly because he's known for getting called on a lot of stupid penalties both legit and BS.
Spacek C- - Most inconsistent habs player bar none. Sure he's improved but he's still not consistent in the slightest. One game he'll look like the Spacek we knew from Buffalo. The next game he looks like crap. One game he's producing offensively and playing defensively sound, the next game he's blowing clear cut opportunities and getting burned. I think if we give him more time he'll work out his game and be a surprise benefit to us this year maybe even in the playoffs. Either way he's a signing I was excited about and I want to like the guy, he just makes it very difficult with his blunders.
So that's my 2nd novel on the habs players this year. Also honorable mentions go to Tom Pyatt (very underrated and solid on the PK) and of course Darche who looked great along side Pouliot and Halpern, though I'm starting to suspect a lot of players would.
Again I think the coaching has been good and a big part of the reason we're doing so well on the PK and improving on the PP, though I must admit the PP leaves much to be desired it still isn't in 29th place so that's a huge improvement over the first ten games of the season. Either way talk regarding the team as a whole, we're 3rd in the eastern conference and winning games, enough said on that.
Carey Price A+ - I think it's pretty obvious why he gets the A+. First of all 30% of his wins are shutouts, second of all he's only ever allowed 3 goals in regulation. Third of all he's played 20 games already this season which is a ton of games. He's been solid, he's been making big saves, keeping us in the game and much more. He's been confident in net, probably the most confident we've ever bared witness to. I'm in awe even as a big time Price supporter that he's doing this well. I expected him to be a good goalie this year I really did. I did not expect him to be one of the three best. This year I'd say he's definitely a top 3 goalie so far and I'm not going to be knocking on wood anytime soon. The way Price is playing I don't think voodoo or knocking on wood has anything to do with it, he's proving why he has such a great history of winning.
Tomas Plekanec A+ - Again this is a guy playing above expectations and going into this season they've been the highest of all time for him. People expect no less than a 70pt season out of Tomas, I think Tomas is more interested in 80 to 90 points and I don't doubt he could achieve either. He's been our best forward and often times he's even played like a third defenceman for us. Hard to fault a guy who works so hard and gets results, when you look back to his rookie season and now it's crazy how much this guy has grown as a player and continues to. Now my expectations for he and Price are super high, these two guys are players Stanley Cups are won with.
Andrei Kostitsyn B+ - Last time I gave him an A- and my reasoning was that I wanted to see him produce for a more extended period of time. It isn't that I feel Andrei has become worse it's just that he hasn't produced at the same pace so this time I'm knocking him down a notch. That isn't to say I don't acknowledge his solid play regardless. He's been playing his game still just hasn't been as good in the first 10 games as he has been in the last 10. I attribute this partly to being moved around the line up and don't fault him for that but at the same time I call it how I see it. I don't doubt that in the next 10 games he could go back to being an A- or even become an A. Remember this is based on their last 10 or so games, in this case 11 because of my mistake. While he's still been great out there he's not producing at the level that he was early on. Still 3 points in his last 5 games isn't too bad considering we got shutout by Nashville.
Mike Cammalleri B+ - I haven't seen enough improvement in his game statistically to merit increasing his rating yet. He certainly hasn't been terrible like people are mentioning either. He too has been moved around a bit and has had some close chances but like Andrei simply hasn't been putting up the numbers. In Mike and Tomas' cases reason I keep them the same is because they've proven their consistency at the NHL level already. We all know how Mike is, he'll score 15 goals in 12 games and then he'll score 3 goals in 15 games. Other than that he's been playing the way he normally does which is good, when he's on the ice he creates space for his line mates as they try to cover Mike pretty tightly.
Alexandre Picard - Will give him the pass this time around as he didn't get to play much. Glad he's back in the line up and he hasn't looked too bad yet. He might have been slightly better before he got benched for a bit but I think that's the way the cookie crumbles. He'll be much more solid in the next few games I think once he gets back into his groove. He still wasn't bad even despite that though.
PK Subban A - I can't give him the A+ just yet but I think he's been solid still none the less. He got under a vets skin (Richards) and he's been known to get under peoples skin throughout the league. I love this about PK and I wouldn't ask him to change his game in the slightest. Once he starts banging them in and getting more points and consistently maintains good numbers the A+ won't be too far away. The guy is a superstar, he's magical with and without the puck. He's still maintained a good defensive game while playing well offensively. For me right now the only thing holding me back from A+ is consistency, not saying he isn't consistent but he's a rookie, I'd like to see how he does for most of or an entire season first before deciding but if he manages to find magic on our PP I wouldn't rule out giving him an A+ sooner than later. He brings a lot to the table and if he can manage to quarterback our power play eventually then surely he'll bring enough elements to the table to merit being called an A+. He is our defensive version of Plekanec, he's a star and he plays the game well in many different areas and has only improved since becoming a hab. I know he hasn't even come close to reaching his full potential yet so calling him an A+ now would be detrimental to my rating system :) I know the logic behind it is less than logical but remember I just do this for fun and give my opinion on the matter, I'm no Eklund (lol)
Eller B - Reason I give him a B instead of B- this time is because I find in the last 5 or 6 games especially he's simply been more noticeable on the ice, doing more things and he seems to be gaining the coaches trust. It's tough to rate the guy because he isn't being used in an offensive role in most cases. Considering that I think he's developing fine. I don't think he's being ruined I just think he's being taught the defensive side of the game and the system prior to being put in a position where he can cost us a game. Give the kid some time, he's got a tremendous amount of talent and could be our Subban 2.0 come playoff time this year. He will surprise us all I think but we'll have to wait and see, he might possibly become our secret weapon. The Dane is being developed properly we just need to be a little bit more patient.
Halpern A+ - What can you really say about this guy? He works hard, he produces and he wins games for you. Hardly the Halpern I thought we had acquired in the post season but it just goes to show how looks can sometimes be deceiving. I feel our organization has done a tremendous job over the past couple seasons of finding guys that work well within our team. Metropolit, Moore and now Halpern. All seemed to play a really good game for us when compared with other teams. This guy really is a perfect fit for us though, I just pray he can stay healthy because looking at his stats it seems he does get injured often enough. For a player that I had pegged as a B- to a C+ at most going into the season Halpern has exceeded expectations. He gets the A+ for now but we'll see if he can maintain it.
Moen B - He hasn't been bad but kind of like Halpern this player imo has to produce in order for me to consider him a B+ etc. I wouldn't say Moen is playing beyond his level, he's just playing his typical game which is what we need. However I also wouldn't say he's dominating the physical game/presence entirely. Other guys have really seemed to step up this year even the smaller guys, seems our team is a bit more feisty then in past seasons. A solid B for Moen and deservedly so.
Gomez C- - I'm starting to agree with people that a larger part of the problem might be Gomez. While I still stand by my point that Gomez never really got a true 2nd line to play on he still certainly has to be producing more than he has even despite that. There comes a time where there just aren't any excuses to be used anymore. If he had maybe 1g 4a more I probably wouldn't complain and would have even given him a B- but really he's just been terrible out there. Now I know Scott Gomez isn't the kind of player to carry a line but it would be nice if he could at least get some points now and then. That aside I still think once he's paired up with a true pair of wingers rather than one 4th liner all the time his stats will improve. I just don't think his stats are justified by this reasoning anymore. Like I said if he had 4-5 more points fair enough but he's just been terrible out there. Now he even appears to have lost all confidence where as before he still was and just wasn't getting lucky. We need this guy to wake up and soon but I really do think a trade is in the works for deadline latest, if we start losing even sooner. We need to get this guy a winger to play with and then people are going to see he and Gio will find their magic once again.
Gionta B- - I consider him to be the most improved hab in the last 10 games. Switching him onto the Plekanec line really did help. It's too bad we can't put Gomez on a line with Plekanec as he really seems to make even the coldest or worst players around him look amazing. Gionta started producing which was what we needed him to do and to continue doing. Now all he has to do is take that confidence to the Gomez line and hope it translates into production. He's definitely been burying chances when before he missed many open nets and screwed up several good feeds from Gomez. Not trying to detract from how badly Scott has been don't get me wrong, but if Gionta had put away a few of those feeds I think I'd be telling you all a much different tale right now. I don't know if it's my Koivu fanboyism but I still don't think he's anywhere close to as good a captain as Koivu was but then again Koivu had a lot of time to learn.
Pouliot B- - Still think he's a B-, he's been playing great but needs to produce a little more consistently. This is a guy that at one point people thought was capable of putting up 30-40 goals and in my opinion with good reason. He has size, speed and a good shot, what more could you want? I'm putting him on hold for now though because like Andrei I think over the next 10 games he might impress me. Both these players have grown tremendously as hockey players this year in my opinion. Something caused by Jacques Martins coaching and coaching staff? I really hope so because if it's the case we'll pretty soon be putting the habs development issues to rest.
Lapierre B - Even though it was a fluke pair of goals that got him some points I still think he's been playing with a bit more kick in the last few games. Maybe he had a wakeup call who knows but one things for sure he shoots the puck and sometimes that's all you need to do and fluke goals can happen. Also you can't really pretend to forget that amazing goal he had against Cam Ward, for that alone I'll give him the bump up to B from B-, he's still capable of much more in my opinion but it remains to be seen. I think he needs to be a bit more feisty out there and a bit more physical but I get the feeling the coach has told him to tone it down, possibly because he's known for getting called on a lot of stupid penalties both legit and BS.
Spacek C- - Most inconsistent habs player bar none. Sure he's improved but he's still not consistent in the slightest. One game he'll look like the Spacek we knew from Buffalo. The next game he looks like crap. One game he's producing offensively and playing defensively sound, the next game he's blowing clear cut opportunities and getting burned. I think if we give him more time he'll work out his game and be a surprise benefit to us this year maybe even in the playoffs. Either way he's a signing I was excited about and I want to like the guy, he just makes it very difficult with his blunders.
So that's my 2nd novel on the habs players this year. Also honorable mentions go to Tom Pyatt (very underrated and solid on the PK) and of course Darche who looked great along side Pouliot and Halpern, though I'm starting to suspect a lot of players would.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Carey Price pt2
So at the start of the preseason I wrote about how Price will gain his confidence back and become the goalie we all know he can be if we're just patient and show him our support. When Price commented about how the preseason is irrelevant the media and fans had a field day saying that Price has everything to prove and should not take any games lightly. So far there has not been a single game this guy didn't keep us in. The only times he didn't were times the team couldn't put the puck in the net 3-0 losses where we just couldn't finish.
It's now 15 games in and Price is a top 10 goalie in the NHL. He has 8 wins and has posted two shutouts already. One against a team like Vancouver none the less. He's 10th in GAA but has played 3 more games than any of his competition. He's 13th in save percentage as well which is pretty impressive again as only Cam Ward has played a comparable number of games thus far. Obviously another shutout or a 5-0 loss would drastically change these numbers but it's always nice to see the guy so many doubted winning games for your team. Obviously it's still very early but if you've seen Price play you can tell not only is he on the ball this year but he's improving.
How do I see Price improving? Well it's actually pretty obvious for me. He's much better on the glove, early on in the season this was a weakness in my opinion. Opponents would go for the glove side, he wouldn't get it up fast enough, sometimes he wasn't really positioned that well to make the save in the first place. I noticed as games went on slowly he started to get confidence in his glove hand. He would still get beat on the glove but he was improving. Now it seems you won't be getting too many shots past Carey's trapper anymore. He really seems to have improved that element of his game and what's crazy is just how drastically it's improved from game 1 until now. The second thing I noticed is that in the past Price wasn't a very good puck handler. When he would get the puck often times he wouldn't be patient enough or even sometimes too patient. He would pass it to a guy whose covered and it would create chances for the other team. He still does it sometimes but I mean, every goalie does now and then. The point is though he's improved this drastically this season. Positionally he's also better and seems to be going down less often or at least less quickly. He plays big in his crease and really makes it tough on the opposition to score. Another thing I found about Price in past years is that he would often times have a good game but then a bad ending. Would let in a goal with a few minutes left. Could have just been bad luck but he seems much more focused out there.
So now that the confidence is rolling in, he's gotten himself into a top 10 position in the league, is it any wonder Price had this tremendous talent and the confidence to back it all along? Sure he was down on himself after last season, any professional athlete in his position would be. The point is though he bounced back. He took his bumps along the way and he grew as a player but more importantly as a human being. Up until now we've seen Carey Price the boy but I think this year we're going to see Carey Price the man, and I think this is just Price playing like Price, if he goes on fire at some point I think we'll really frustrate some teams. Price has all the tools to be a top 10 goalie in the NHL for years to come. Right now he's showing that his first season wasn't a fluke and that the only fluke was last season. We are incredibly lucky as a team to have a guy as gifted as he is in between the pipes. I'm positive by game thirty I'll still be happy with his game, he's getting better and better as time goes on. Now the team has to feed off of his confidence and the fact that they have a guy like him in goal and start putting the puck in the net.
It's now 15 games in and Price is a top 10 goalie in the NHL. He has 8 wins and has posted two shutouts already. One against a team like Vancouver none the less. He's 10th in GAA but has played 3 more games than any of his competition. He's 13th in save percentage as well which is pretty impressive again as only Cam Ward has played a comparable number of games thus far. Obviously another shutout or a 5-0 loss would drastically change these numbers but it's always nice to see the guy so many doubted winning games for your team. Obviously it's still very early but if you've seen Price play you can tell not only is he on the ball this year but he's improving.
How do I see Price improving? Well it's actually pretty obvious for me. He's much better on the glove, early on in the season this was a weakness in my opinion. Opponents would go for the glove side, he wouldn't get it up fast enough, sometimes he wasn't really positioned that well to make the save in the first place. I noticed as games went on slowly he started to get confidence in his glove hand. He would still get beat on the glove but he was improving. Now it seems you won't be getting too many shots past Carey's trapper anymore. He really seems to have improved that element of his game and what's crazy is just how drastically it's improved from game 1 until now. The second thing I noticed is that in the past Price wasn't a very good puck handler. When he would get the puck often times he wouldn't be patient enough or even sometimes too patient. He would pass it to a guy whose covered and it would create chances for the other team. He still does it sometimes but I mean, every goalie does now and then. The point is though he's improved this drastically this season. Positionally he's also better and seems to be going down less often or at least less quickly. He plays big in his crease and really makes it tough on the opposition to score. Another thing I found about Price in past years is that he would often times have a good game but then a bad ending. Would let in a goal with a few minutes left. Could have just been bad luck but he seems much more focused out there.
So now that the confidence is rolling in, he's gotten himself into a top 10 position in the league, is it any wonder Price had this tremendous talent and the confidence to back it all along? Sure he was down on himself after last season, any professional athlete in his position would be. The point is though he bounced back. He took his bumps along the way and he grew as a player but more importantly as a human being. Up until now we've seen Carey Price the boy but I think this year we're going to see Carey Price the man, and I think this is just Price playing like Price, if he goes on fire at some point I think we'll really frustrate some teams. Price has all the tools to be a top 10 goalie in the NHL for years to come. Right now he's showing that his first season wasn't a fluke and that the only fluke was last season. We are incredibly lucky as a team to have a guy as gifted as he is in between the pipes. I'm positive by game thirty I'll still be happy with his game, he's getting better and better as time goes on. Now the team has to feed off of his confidence and the fact that they have a guy like him in goal and start putting the puck in the net.
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