Habs Strengths now Weakness
While rumors of Pierre Gauthier taking in the Ottawa Senators visit to Los Angeles spread across the wire last night, not many paid attention to the fact that the Habs also had scouts in Carolina, as well as other various locations across the league.
And while this must all mean that Dustin Brown is coming to Montreal from LA and that Eric Staal must surely be on his way from Carolina, the reality is that the Canadiens are, at the moment, one very busy organization.
And so they should be.
Boasting an 8-9-7 record at the Bell Center, your Habs hold the very worst home record in the NHL. Contrasted with their perennial dominance on home ice and you have team issue #1.
Second fiddle to the sloppy home record, but no less important, is a power play that sits 28th overall on home ice and a unit that fares only one spot better on the road (27th).
Clicking at
12.5% at the Bell Center (13 for 104) and
11.9% everywhere else (10 for 84), the man advantage has been disastrous for the Habs this season, and what makes it even worse is the fact that
they have enjoyed the 5th most power plays of any team in the NHL (188).
Scoring the 20th most goals in the NHL, the amount of production expected from the team's top players simply hasn't been there. And, though the support of Pacioretty, Desharnais and Cole is what has pulled the Canadiens along this year, their current production was supposed to buoy far better performances from Tomas Plekanec, Brian Gionta and, at one time, Michael Cammalleri.
Now only 2 points out the cellar, there's no hiding that the Habs will be sellers.
Yet, unlike many "rebuilds" that have happened around the NHL, these Habs - who should now be focusing on the future - don't necessarily have to knock it all down and start again.
Many of the young pieces of the puzzle are in place and, if you're paying attention to the stockade of prospects in the Habs system, you'll know that there's legit talent on the way up.
In the meantime, though it will pain fans to pass on the post-season, the real goals should be in transferring the balance of power within the lineup. Perhaps already happening, it's a situation where those who demonstrate a passion for playing will get the ice time whereas those who don't will likely find themselves on the bench, in the press box and perhaps, eventually, right out the door.
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