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Habs Report Cards: Tomas Plekanec |
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Habs Report Cards - Tomas Plekanec
Grade B
Like most of his teammates, Tomas Plekanec started the season off playing extremely well as he centered the Canadiens #1 line between Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher. Through the first 25 games of the season in October and November, Plekanec was on pace for a career year as he recorded 24 points in 25 games. Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin saw enough positives in October to offer a 2 year contract extension worth a total of $12 million which Plekanec promptly signed. Unfortunately, without Gallagher to act as the sparkplug and catalyst to their line, Plekanec’s offense went dry, right along with his teammates.
Rather than have stability, Plekanec once again endured a revolving door of wingers to play alongside. It became difficult to establish chemistry and once some was discovered, it was rarely allowed the proper time to flourish and work through the tough times. December and January were particularly hard on Plekanec as he managed only 10 points in 25 games. Despite the ups and downs of the season, Plekanec still managed to record 54 points but only 14 of which were goals. He had scored 14 times in the 2012-2013 shortened season and before that 17 goals in 2011-2012, the last time that the Canadiens missed the playoffs. Before that, the only other season that he failed to score 20 goals was in his rookie season of 2005-2006 when he scored 9 in 67 games.
The most notable stat that sticks out from this season is his drastic drop in takeaways. Throughout 82 games, Plekanec had only 15 takeaways compared to 30 in 2014-2015. It is his lowest total since the lockout shortened season. Nor did Plekanec have any shorthanded points this year although he did play less minutes on the penalty kill. His overall minutes were also down as he averaged 18:32 minutes a game compared 19:09 the year beforehand. Moving forward, I would like to see Plekanec back on the top PK units as his minutes will be reduced by becoming the team’s second line center and no longer is he on the top powerplay unit.
Plekanec has been the model of consistency throughout his NHL career. He has rarely missed games since his rookie season knee injury and has become known as a dependable 2 way forward. The fact that he still finished the season a +4 is a testament to that. However, did Bergevin extend him too early in the season? Plekanec likely could have been a hot trade commodity at the deadline as the Canadiens playoffs hopes had all but evaporated. The assets that Plekanec could have brought in would have valuable, be it a draft pick or prospect. Then on July 1st Bergevin could have attempted to re-sign him, similar to Antoine Vermette’s situation last year as Plekanec has expressed his interest to remain and one day retire as a Canadiens.
The biggest knock on Plekanec though is that when the going gets tough, he is not able to elevate his game or inspire others. This has been especially true in the playoffs where consistency has been an issue. That sandpaper mentality that is needed for the playoff grind is not always there. As Alex Galchenyuk evolves into the team’s #1 centerman, the Canadiens will still need Plekanec to help provide secondary scoring and continue to shut down their opponents. $6 million a season for two years was a lot of money to extend Plekanec but the term and lack of a no trade/movement clause makes the signing somewhat reasonable. The Canadiens need Plekanec more than they need Lars Eller and David Desharnais and he can still contribute in a positive manner to the team. This season was obviously not Plekanec’s best but imagine how much worse it could have been. Plekanec is not taking up a youngsters spot in the Canadiens lineup. I fully expect him to rebound next season and perform well, providing that he has somewhat consistent linemates…
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As an aside, a big thumbs up to the Canadiens for stepping up and donating $100,000 to the Red Cross towards helping with the Fort McMurray wildfires...
Cheers & follow along!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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