Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

HHOF Inductees, Habs Bottom Six and D-Depth, Who Replaces Emelin?

July 10, 2013, 11:02 AM ET [1841 Comments]
Habs Talk
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
1) If you want a good laugh, read what Georges Laraque has to say about new Habs enforcer Geroge Parros.

Laraque has had no issue criticizing the Canadiens much more than he ever played or fought for them...

2) Congratulations to the Hall of Fame Class of 2013. No, Pat Burns didn't get in, but Fred Shero finally did in the builders category.

A note on the NHL players:

Scott Niedermayer-- Purest skater I've ever seen. Pure skater, pure winner. Everything this guy touched was gold. No brainer.

Brendan Shanahan-- Obviously, there aren't too many players who could be labelled a better power forward. Shanahan could do it all, from scoring 50 goals, to jerseying someone in a fight. Pure leader.

Chris Chelios--All kinds of skill, all kinds of nasty. He was sensational at getting under opponents' skin, and though he was known for giving out a beating, he could sure take one.

3) On who didn't make it:

Fleury, Lindros and Kariya are sure to make it some day. Some have debated Lindros' inclusion, but not me.

Phil Housley will be a hall of famer, just not this year.

Rod Brind'Amour? He's a winner, and he may well have been one of the best two-way forwards the game has ever seen. He may also go down as the best conditioned athlete to ever play in the NHL (not what qualifies him for the Hall). What does qualify him: Scoring 452 goals, 1184 points in 1484 games as a two-time Selke winner. Also, scoring 111 points in 159 playoff games as a shutdown centre ain't too shabby.

4) I wasn't in Brossard to take in development camp last week, but spies tell me the standouts were (in no particular order):

Leblanc
Fucale
Collberg
Nygren
Nystrom
Duffy
McCarron
Beaulieu

5) Mike McCarron has elected to play for the London Knights as opposed to the Western Michigan Broncos.

I think this choice is likely to get McCarron to the NHL sooner. Who his is when he gets there...well, I'm guessing Dale Hunter is going to exploit McCarron's ability to play mean.

In the OHL, McCarron will have to fight significantly more than he'd have had to at Western Michigan.

6) Looking at the Habs lineup right now, the bottom six will be an interesting mix.

I don't know if Marc Bergevin's done tinkering, but here's what he has available to him:

Briere-Plekanec-Gionta
Gallagher-Desharnais-Pacioretty
Galchenyuk-Eller-Bourque
Parros-White-Prust
Blunden, Moen

7) Seems to me the defensive depth of the team has grown. I believe all of these players could be used at the NHL level this year:

Markov
Emelin
Tinordi
Subban
Gorges
Bouillon
Diaz
Drewiske
Beaulieu
Pateryn
Nygren

There could be a couple of names added to that list, but we'll have to see how they fare in Hamilton first.

8) The biggest concern headed into next season will be absence of Alexei Emelin through October and November, and at least part of December as he rehabs from an ACL reconstruction. The Canadiens weren't good without him at the end of the last season, and there's no clear plan on how they can replace him internally for part of next year.

Sure, Jarred Tinordi will be a bit more seasoned (probably a bit bigger too), but it's a gamble that he can fill in for Emelin.

9) I'd imagine Alex Galchenyuk's going to get a good look at centre during training camp, but if the Canadiens picture remains as is, he's most likely to play wing next season.

10) Last year, it was pretty much consensus that Lars Eller would have a breakout year with the Canadiens. He did.

Who will it be next season?
Join the Discussion: » 1841 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Habs Talk
» Heartbreak> Brian Bannan
» Game 3 Preview: Brian Bannan
» Will the Real Habs Please Step Forward? by Andrew Wright
» Game 2 recap- Jennifer Berzan Cutler
» New Habs Blog> M.R. d'Awe