“Waste your summer praying in vain For a savior to rise from these streets…
Bruce Springsteen.Thunder Road.
Ok sports fans we are back today with part 2. This is a pure breakdown. I am going through the Habs forward group player by player and listing their strengths, weaknesses and where I see their future in the organization. I have not included Torrey Mitchell and young guns like Thomas, Addrighetto and Bournival at his point. We will discuss them at a later date. Buckle Up, you’re in for a long ride!
Max Pacioretty took his game to a new level this season. He added PK duties and rounded out his game to become a more complete player. An elite goal scorer, Max tallied 37 in the regular season, good enough for 5th in the league, and added 5 more in 11 playoff games. A late season concussion slowed #67 in the first round against Ottawa, but he rebounded nicely to lead the Habs’ attack in round 2. Pacioretty was tied for the league lead in plus minus and is following in the footsteps of Mike Modano and Steve Yzerman and trying to become his team’s captain and most complete player. Pacioretty is a first line winger on any club in the league.
Brendan Gallagher used the post-season to cement his status as a top 6 winger. After increasing his goal and point totals for the 3rd straight year, Gallagher emerged as the ultimate thorn in his opponent’s side in the playoffs. He is the Habs’ heart and soul and it would be tough for any player to take a night off after watching #11 play. He takes all the abuse thrown his way and returns it with a smile, literally. The question going into this season was could he fit into the top 6 on a contender? After struggling through stretches of the season, Gallagher hit his stride late and was the Habs most effective threat all playoffs. A potential Captain in the making, Gallagher projects to be 25 goal/50 point man. He may hit 30 in a career year, but much like a young Brian Gionta, he has a long career ahead of him. He very well could end up with 250 goals over the course of his career. 2nd line winger
Tomas Plekanec had a very solid regular season scoring 60 points, good for 2nd on the team. Plekanec was 24th in the league in scoring per centres. That would place him safely in the top two centre slots on pretty much any team in the league (exceptions: Pittsburgh, Tampa and San Jose). A multifaceted weapon, Plekanec can contribute on the PP, PK, in his own end, checking the other team’s stars and anything else a coach may ask. He shut down Kyle Turris in round 1 and played the Triplets to a standstill at even strength in round 2. Remember, most of their goals came on the PP. Unfortunately, Plekanec was unable to score when the Habs needed it most. Most fans are calling for a number 1 centre because #14 was unable to convert a couple feeds in the playoffs. If either his shorty in game 1 or his chance early in game 6 finds the twine, the Habs could still be playing. The idea of trading Plekanec is interesting, but who is going to give you the 20 goals and 50 plus points he puts up every year? He turns 33 this Halloween and is a free agent after this season. His game lends itself nicely to transitioning into a checking centre, but at what price going forward? And again, not many guys matched his points this year. Some notables who did not: Duchesne, Landeskog, Backes, Nugent-Hopkins, Stall, Stastny and Zuccarello to name a few. Terminally underrated, Plekanec may be the guy Habs fans only long for when he is gone. That being said, if he has another post-season like this last one, Habs fans won’t have to wait long to wait to miss him. Ultimately, who is going to step up and take the number 1 slot? 2nd line centre. Is Lars Eller the next John LeClair or the next Mike McPhee? Is he a 3rd line centre similar to Pittsburgh’s Brandon Sutter or is he a top 6 player blocked by a diminutive Frenchman and a plucky Czech? Eller can handle the tough minutes defensively and is excellent at both zone exits and zone entries. He is capable of generating tons of possession time in the opponent’s end off the cycle. He struggles to turn that possession into prime scoring chances though. Is he saddled with line mates who cannot help him make plays or does he lack the vision and the awareness to take the puck off the boards and into the home plate area? If the Dane were a Russian, we might say that he is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. At 26 years of age, Eller is running out of time to develop into an offensive force. There is a role and a place for him on any championship team. Whether he gets a chance to score and does or continues to be effective in his current role, Eller is a player who gets you through the playoffs. He is a leader with size and skating ability. He looks to be part of the Habs core going forward. 3rd line centre.
David Desharnais scores like a top 6 forward in the new NHL. Over the past 4 season DD has averaged .64 points per game. That averages out to 53 points over a full season. In the modern NHL anything over 45 points qualifies you as a top 6 scorer. Desharnais is a skilled playmaker with a great work ethic that can be very tough to knock off the puck for a man his size. His rise from the ‘Q’ to the ECHL to the AHL to the NHL is nothing short of amazing. Typically, a scoring star not drafted in the early rounds has to make an adjustment to his game to become a pro. Todd Marchant, Andrew Cogliano, Guy Carbonneau and Kris Draper are all names who had scoring success at lower levels, but became checkers to create a role and a career in ‘the Show’. Desharnais is a rare breed; a small man who rose to the NHL but kept producing all the way up. Again, few pundits grasp how difficult this is to accomplish. When people talk about Charles Hudon as a prospect, if he can repeat Desharnais’ scoring success, it would be an absolute home run for the Habs. But I digress, Desharnais is not without warts. On the power play his work on the half wall hinders the Habs. He does not use his shot enough (90 shots in 82 games) so teams sag off him and take away his passing lanes and options. #51 actually scored at over a 15% clip this season, but far too often he passed up golden chances to try and feed Pacioretty. His work in the faceoff circle is less than exemplary. Also his playoff stats are abysmal. He has 3 goals and 12 points in his last 33 matches. Simply put, the Habs best chance to win with Desharnais is for him to be a 3rd line centre with players that can both finish and provide some muscle on the cycle. This is the type of match up that would be a massive headache for any team to face. Coach Therrien would have the ability to move him up to the top 2 lines when the situation calls for it.
Alex Galchenyuk is the star in waiting. So far his pro career has seen him add to his point totals each year. He is the leading scorer from his draft class and has played the most games. This comes after missing his draft year due to a torn ACL. He has already played in 34 playoff games. He hit the 20 goal mark for the first time this season. All these milestones occurred before his 21st birthday; an auspicious debut for sure. Did AG27 have a rough ride n the playoffs? Absolutely. Does he still have the highest ceiling of any Habs prospect since Koivu? Most definitely. We keep waiting for the scoring explosion to happen and for this young man to put the puzzle together. Is he a centre? Will he play on the wing? This is the biggest season yet and those who criticize Therrien do so because they believe he is hindering young Alex’s development. But to fit in and play key minutes on a team that has had considerable success in both the regular season and the playoffs is a testament to the skills of both the coach and #27. Galchenyuk’s basement is top 6 forward. He projects as a 1st line player capable of making the difference. Will it be at centre? Marc Bergevin has challenged to earn his spot. As Snoop Dogg says “If you want some, get some, bad enough take some…
Jacob de La Rose just turned 20 and made a very nice debut for the Habs this season. Therrien praised him very early on as possessing similar attributes to a young Jordan Staal. De La Rose will never be a big scorer, but he skates well, he hits and he is always on the right side of the puck. He looks to be headed for a 3rd line checking role. The Canadiens team of the 80’s featured guys who excelled in this role. Players like Brian Skrudland, Mike Keane, Mike McPhee and the king Bob Gainey fashioned careers out of shutting the other team’s best players down. De la Rose can be the same type of player for this edition of Les Canadiens. He has a long career ahead of him.
Known as “The Dutch Gretzky…, Dale Weise has made a real nice home for himself on the Habs. #22 can hit, skate and pot the odd (OT) goal. Weise may be best suited to the bottom 6, but he can be added judiciously to the top two lines to provide a spark. He provides excellent depth for Montreal. Coach Therrien likes to roll 4 lines and players like Weise make this possible. A character player, signed through 2016, Weise has a chance to carve out a role in the bleu blanc et rouge for the long term with another solid campaign.
Brandon Prust has one year left on the 4 year deal he signed to come to Montreal. Prust has been an absolute warrior for the Habs. He is the one guy on the Habs capable of sticking up for his teammates. Slightly undersized, there is not one fight he has backed down from. It is no coincidence that the Habs turnaround, a feat largely accomplished by a tight group that played for each other, started when Prust came on board. The Rangers struggled initially after Prust left town, leading many to conclude that Prust’s value exceeds anything you may see on the score sheet or perhaps even his pay stub. Prust can still contribute toughness, 4th line minutes and effective shifts on the PK. That being said his future is very much up in the air after next season. Prust is 32 next season with a lot of had miles on his body, particularly his shoulders. He has given his heart and soul to the Habs, but with the Canadiens possessing a lot of depth on the bottom 6, it may not be enough to keep him in Montreal beyond 2016.
Devante Smith-Pelly had a roller coaster first season in Montreal. He had to battle to get in shape to lay Therrien’s demanding system and found himself everywhere from the first line to the press box. DSP plays a heavy game and is able to punish the opposition with his physical play. He is above average defensively and can be a net presence on the power play. His hands do not look like they are capable of 20 goals at this point, though he is still young. He reminds me a bit of Anthony Stewart, another Toronto born, OHL raised grinder. Much like Weise, DSP is a bottom 6 player on the Habs who can fill in on the tops 2 lines when needed. He is young enough that he may still find his scoring touch at the NHL level (he had 27 goals in 55 games in his last stint in the AHL). Regardless, he does enough to warrant a spot in the line up even if he does not develop into a scoring winger. Habs fans would be wise to accept what he brings and put the Sekac trade in the review mirror.
Finally, there is PA Parenteau. In the final year of his deal, PA will be primed to produce… if he gets the chance. Bergevin made a sweet deal to unload an aging Danny Briere for PA, but injuries and healthy scratches limited Parenteau’s effectiveness. He needs to play with good players. A creative player with soft hands, Parenteau can produce with good line mates. He is wasted on 4th line duty, but when paired with say Desharnais and Galchenyuk in the playoffs, he makes this line a dangerous trio. The Habs have a gaping hole in the right side in their top 6. Everyone wants Galchenyuk at centre, but that opens up an equally big hole on the left side. Regardless, Parenteau, if he is in shape and gets a chance, has the ability to put up 18 goals and 40 points in a top 6 assignment. He is most likely keeping this spot warm for Nikita Sherbak or potentially Charles Hudon. A healthy Parenteau deployed effectively, could provide the production the Habs crave.
Here’s how I see the Habs lining up on opening day (goals predicted on the right):
67/14/11 Goals : 35/20/25 27/81/15 : 25/15/15 25/51/22 : 8/13/10 8/ /21 : 5/ 5/ 10
This forward group, if healthy, should be able to put up 180+ goals. Add 40 goals from the defence (5 guys at 5 goals apiece and PK with 15) and say 5 extra from some call-ups and you have 226 goals; 12 goals more than in ’15. That would put the Habs on pace for 2.75 goals per game. Now you know why they play a tight checking system. This team as it looks right now is missing 15 goals up front to be a true contender. Will it come from within? Is there a saviour that can rise from The Habs streets? Or will be back next year lamenting that the Habs were again one player short. The future may be unwritten, but the future for the Montreal Canadiens starts now.