Montreal Canadiens

[ericdaoust]

Sorry guys for the lack of coverage lately. I've been working full-time while getting ready to defend my masters thesis. I presented yesterday and it was approved, which means my time as a student is coming to an end. Now I'll be back in full force.

This was a terrible game because the team was so terrible when it came to completely breaking down defensively. The team is weak on the back end. They simply could not contain anything. The Leafs only had 27 shots but that total is misleading. Several giveaways and blown assignments gave the Leafs some high quality scoring chances.

Before I continue, I'll do an aside about a major problem in the NHL: goaltenders being crashed all the time. They are interfered with all the time and the application of the rule is terribly inconsistent. They are focused on the puck and should not have to deal with players bumping into them or rolling onto them and staying there (hint hint).

Another issue: stop putting six players on the ice! This is the NHL boys! They had the same issue and nothing has changed.

Carey Price was spectacular despite what the stats show. He made a lot of key saves and brought the fans to their feet more than once. I like his intensity to fight through the traffic and track pucks. He was getting frustrated at one point with the net crashing and took a penalty for tapping Kadri on the helmet. Compared to some of the stuff that was let go I thought this was a bit of a cheap call but it is what it is.

Travis Moen and Lars Eller were in my opinion the best Habs forwards tonight. The duo was rewarded with 16 and 17 minutes of ice time, respectively. Moen is skating better than I've ever seen him skate and he's been looking good on breakaways (seriously). Eller is starting to rise up the depth chart in my books. With all the bad contracts on the team it's nice to see guys like Pacioretty, Desharnais and Eller emerge.

I might chime in with some more thoughts later but for now I'm spent.

[potatoetree]

nice synopsis, congrats on your thesis

i agree that goalie crashing was kind of stupid

[ericdaoust]

nice synopsis, congrats on your thesis

i agree that goalie crashing was kind of stupid

Thanks man, very appreciated.

Some more thoughts on the game and the Habs in general:

I just saw the coach's post-game press conference and to me it's clear that he's not a fan of Erik Cole. When asked why he uses Darche on the power play instead of Cole he pointed to the amound of PP goals that Cole scored last year (3) as the reason.

I think his change in character during the press conference is a sign that he might think his job is on the line soon. The rumors have been flying around for a while and normally Martin just dodges questions instead of giving this much detail and basically throwing his player under the bus.

Say what you will about Martin, his GMs have not given him great support. The first thing I point to is the Markov debacle. Apparently the GM knew all along that Markov would not start the season but did not add another defender while they were available on the free agent market. Instead he waited until training camp to sign Chris Campoli, who was basically a cast-off at that point. He should have spent that money on a higher quality player while there was quality available. If it's true that the GM knew all along that Markov would not be ready for the start of the season, then the way he handled the situation is GM incompetence 101.

I was optimistic for this season because I assumed Markov would be there. But he's not and at this point I have no idea how effective he will be once he returns with no training camp to test his knee in real situations. I'm not one who hits the panic button early but if the team continues to fall behind will there be enough time to claw back into a playoff spot once Markov returns?

I leave the floor to you guys. What are your thoughts on the Habs' situation at the moment? What are your thoughts on the jobs done by the coach and GM?

[TK12555]

Diaz's decision on the penalty kill without a stick was idiotic. If you're gonna just stand there, do something. This led to Phaneuf's blast. However, Moen was arguably the best player on the ice tonight.

Another fantastic game vs your squad, looking forward to the others!

[ericdaoust]

Diaz's decision on the penalty kill without a stick was idiotic. If you're gonna just stand there, do something. This led to Phaneuf's blast. However, Moen was arguably the best player on the ice tonight.

Another fantastic game vs your squad, looking forward to the others!

Your Leafs look better this year. I'm not sure if it's going to be enough to break 8th place when it's all said and done but I'd say their chance is better than ever to do it now. The key is to continue getting value per dollar spent, especially in terms of the big contracts (Kessel, Phaneuf). Habs fans know all about wasted cap dollars.

[mister_mcgoo]

Thanks man, very appreciated.

Some more thoughts on the game and the Habs in general:

I just saw the coach's post-game press conference and to me it's clear that he's not a fan of Erik Cole. When asked why he uses Darche on the power play instead of Cole he pointed to the amound of PP goals that Cole scored last year (3) as the reason.

I think his change in character during the press conference is a sign that he might think his job is on the line soon. The rumors have been flying around for a while and normally Martin just dodges questions instead of giving this much detail and basically throwing his player under the bus.

Say what you will about Martin, his GMs have not given him great support. The first thing I point to is the Markov debacle. Apparently the GM knew all along that Markov would not start the season but did not add another defender while they were available on the free agent market. Instead he waited until training camp to sign Chris Campoli, who was basically a cast-off at that point. He should have spent that money on a higher quality player while there was quality available. If it's true that the GM knew all along that Markov would not be ready for the start of the season, then the way he handled the situation is GM incompetence 101.

I was optimistic for this season because I assumed Markov would be there. But he's not and at this point I have no idea how effective he will be once he returns with no training camp to test his knee in real situations. I'm not one who hits the panic button early but if the team continues to fall behind will there be enough time to claw back into a playoff spot once Markov returns?

I leave the floor to you guys. What are your thoughts on the Habs' situation at the moment? What are your thoughts on the jobs done by the coach and GM?

I maintain that the Cole signing was amongst the worst of this offseason and not far off the Gomez contract in terms of blatant mismanagement . I don't understand why the Habs are so obsessed with overpriced, over-the-hill vets when they've drafted well and should be building with what they have already in place

[TK12555]

I maintain that the Cole signing was amongst the worst of this offseason and not far off the Gomez contract in terms of blatant mismanagement . I don't understand why the Habs are so obsessed with overpriced, over-the-hill vets when they've drafted well and should be building with what they have already in place

Well I feel that the Habs need a big body. The team has finesse and speed, but they're small! Eric Cole is much bigger, and is actually an ideal fit for the team. However, he's just not that good. He makes stupid mistakes that cost his team.

I also think that the Canadiens' management feels constant pressure to constantly be playoff contenders, and a rebuilding year or waiting for prospects is not in the team's style.

[ericdaoust]

I maintain that the Cole signing was amongst the worst of this offseason and not far off the Gomez contract in terms of blatant mismanagement . I don't understand why the Habs are so obsessed with overpriced, over-the-hill vets when they've drafted well and should be building with what they have already in place

I'm still in wait-and-see mode regarding Cole because the coach is not putting him in a position to do well. His minutes are in the third-line area. He looked great in the preseason and I want to see him be used like a front-line player.

[mister_mcgoo]

Well I feel that the Habs need a big body. The team has finesse and speed, but they're small! Eric Cole is much bigger, and is actually an ideal fit for the team. However, he's just not that good. He makes stupid mistakes that cost his team.

I also think that the Canadiens' management feels constant pressure to constantly be playoff contenders, and a rebuilding year or waiting for prospects is not in the team's style.

you know people have been saying that for years now and I just don't think its that important...when you can knock off the Caps and the Pens and come within an OT of knocking off the eventual Cup champs then you've got a pretty good team...size is overrated, I'd way rather have speed. Where you want good size is on the blue line and that's where they should have signed someone this offseason

[TK12555]

you know people have been saying that for years now and I just don't think its that important...when you can knock off the Caps and the Pens and come within an OT of knocking off the eventual Cup champs then you've got a pretty good team...size is overrated, I'd way rather have speed. Where you want good size is on the blue line and that's where they should have signed someone this offseason

Very true, but I think there's a happy medium that you have some size and some speed. Having a larger power forward is important to success.

[ericdaoust]

you know people have been saying that for years now and I just don't think its that important...when you can knock off the Caps and the Pens and come within an OT of knocking off the eventual Cup champs then you've got a pretty good team...size is overrated, I'd way rather have speed. Where you want good size is on the blue line and that's where they should have signed someone this offseason

I think a far bigger issue is that some of the Habs' players don't play hard. Lots of players take nights off.

[ross10019]

I'm still in wait-and-see mode regarding Cole because the coach is not putting him in a position to do well. His minutes are in the third-line area. He looked great in the preseason and I want to see him be used like a front-line player.

Say what you will about the contract (I for one think it's 1 year too long and about a million too high), but it's a TRAVESTY that Darche has 3 mins on the PP tonight and Cole has ZERO, and played all of 11 minutes. Freakin ridiculous. I've generally supported Martin's system and decisions but this is brainfart city. Take DARCHE off the PP for chrissake, he's a plugger!!

[ericdaoust]

I think tonight's game showed a lot of what's wrong with this team and the reasons behind those issues go back to coaching and GM decisions in a lot of cases. The rumors are certainly there about changes potentially happening. I don't know what will happen but the team is trending in the wrong direction at the moment.

[ericdaoust]

With all the problems on the blue line, the Habs made that a priority this morning as they completed a trade for... Petteri Nokelainen???

Yeah, the Habs traded Brock Trotter and a 7th round pick for Nokelainen. He is basically a slightly better clone of Andreas Engqvist. I don't know why this trade was necessary - if Gomez or someone else is out long term I'd say it's a golden opportunity for a young guy to be called up from Hamilton and given an actual chance to play as opposed to the 6-7 minutes a night that Palushaj was getting.

Above all else, spelling out Nokelainen's name is already getting annoying!!!

[ross10019]

With all the problems on the blue line, the Habs made that a priority this morning as they completed a trade for... Petteri Nokelainen???

Yeah, the Habs traded Brock Trotter and a 7th round pick for Nokelainen. He is basically a slightly better clone of Andreas Engqvist. I don't know why this trade was necessary - if Gomez or someone else is out long term I'd say it's a golden opportunity for a young guy to be called up from Hamilton and given an actual chance to play as opposed to the 6-7 minutes a night that Palushaj was getting.

Above all else, spelling out Nokelainen's name is already getting annoying!!!

This is such a meh move I don't even know what to say about it. Is Nokelainen a big face off guy? I hope so. I know he definitely brings some grit.