First Half Check-Up Other Forwards

Finally, the checking forwards. our supposed depth. For posterity, here's how they did in the second 20 game stretch of the season.

Legend:

G, A, Pts, Dome - you know already
PM - Plus/minus
Ch +/- - Differential in scoring chances at even strength
Fenwick - Shots and missed shots for minus those against at ES
Corsi - Shots, missed shots and blocked shots for minus those against at ES

Jeff Halpern

Grade:

B+

Jeff was a different player in the first twenty games than he was in the second. That said, the surprise from him was the first twenty and not the second twenty. Even if he's no longer an offensive contributor, he still brings what the team supposedly sought when they signed him -- a solid NHLer who can play in a few different roles.

Mathieu Darche

Grade:

A-

Darche has had a very nice second quarter season. Playing from a variety of lines, he has more often than not provided a spark. Have a look at his Corsi and Fenwick columns to see that he completely outclassed whoever he was on against. The trouble that remains is that for all this, he is even in plus minus -- perhaps witness to the fact he is still a third line type scorer. Still an incredible asset to have found in the way the team did.

Travis Moen

Grade:

C+

Moen is quite a consistent player. I would never expect a horrible game from him. Nor would I expect to be blown away. When the team signed Travis, it was thought he could contribute in small bits when the other forwards might be on down cycles. I think we now know that is not what he can do. You hope in a slump that the 4th line might provide some spark. instead in these back to earth 20 games, Travis was outchanced as badly as almost anyone else.

Tom Pyatt

Grade:

B-

Last time I said something about how every team needs a player that can just play a responsible game, not get scored on and take a small salary for doing it. Pyatt does that. I don't have much more to say about him.

Lars Eller

Grade:

B+

Eller's been doing a lot of things right. Ultimately, though, at some point he has to learn how to turn doing a lot of things right into numbers that will help the team -- pushed in goal here or there, a penalty drawn. Despite what looked like a good improvement on first quarter numbers, Eller actually gets a downgrade. This is because in the second quarter he was promoted on several occasions and just failed to seize the moment. I'm not talking about not scoring gamewinners here, I'm talking about the fact his play suffered when he was moved up a line. he needs to work this out to make the next level.

David Desharnais

Grade:

N/A

The cat may be out of the bag now, but at 41 games there wasn't much evidence. David shows extraordinary skill at times, but is yet to show the St. Louis or Briere ability to make us forget he is small. We need more time to view him.

Maxim Lapierre

Grade:

D

This is a bit of a different review. He's getting a D mostly because he proved himself to be an unreasonable person who took a lot for granted. For a guy who had a horrible first season with the coach and then followed with a horrible opening 20 games, I was a bit shocked to hear he asked for a trade because he felt cheated of ice time. I think at times we felt cheated because he was getting too much ice time, no? It's a shame that Max asked for that trade, i never thought self-interest was what he was about.

Dustin Boyd

Grade:

D

Not a very good start to his Habs career so far. And to be in the shadow of a player with 11 goals and 20-odd points makes it worse. Dustin can't get such a low mark for his play, but I can only surmise that in practice and elsewhere he can't have impressed the coaches too much, as there would have otherwise been plenty of opportunity for him to play a few more games. With depth being as thin as it is in Habsland, don't be too surprised if Boyd makes a glorious recovery from Hamilton and is called back into the team.

Other Forwards At The Quarter Pole

Moving on now to the forwards. Finally up are the other forwards without whim, the Habs record might look a whole lot different.

The legend again:

G, A, Pts - you know already
PM - Plus/minus
Ch +/- - Differential in scoring chances at even strength (these chances combined by Olivier are basically shots, misses and blocked shots that happen from danger areas)
Fenwick - Shots and missed shots for minus those against at ES
Corsi - Shots, missed shots and blocked shots for minus those against at ES
Dome - Dome for that game = 1

Jeff Halpern

Grade:

A-

At 20 games, I think it's fair to say Halpern was a good signing. For minimum salary he provides a good third line option, a penalty killing deputy for Plekanec and, so far at least, some surprising offense.

That said, he has had his low points. Off games where he seems to lose the assets he brings in other games. He'd have full marks if not for these.

Dustin Boyd

Grade:

C

Through a combination of missing a golden opportunity to take a top line spot and then being benched for missing that opportunity, Boyd was rendered pretty well useless. It's a hard read to know if he could recover from this point. I tend to think he might deserve a chance

Still, one can't give marks for aspirations. Over his limited playing time, Boyd made little to no impression. Some fans think he is called Justin. He was pretty consistently negative in all categories and unable to score except in game one. Still, he sat tight, did what he was asked and played in a few wins. He gets a boost for that.

Travis Moen

Grade:

B+

Moen tries. my goodness he tries. And I admire that. I just wish it wouldn't be reason to keep giving him scoring line duty. The guy for all his effort has stuffed many a scoring play already because he either never expected a pass (not used to playing with people who deliver) or can't handle it if it comes (not used to having to deal with passes).

Moen still gets a good grade as a role player on this Habs team.His ideal role resides on the fourth line, doing what he is told for 10 minutes an outing.I didn't hold Gomez's salary against him, so i won;t here. But it's worth considering if Moen brings an extra million to the table on a cap-strapped team.

Maxim Lapierre

Grade:

C

This is Dustin Boyd's profile pro-rated to 20 games. There's little to get excited about. It is more reminiscent of the Lapierre that went about 40 games without making a contribution last regular season than the one who scored clutch goals in the playoffs.
I am happy to say that Lapierre is already on his way to upgrading though, as Game #21 was an inspired effort from the guy who would seem set to make me look a fool with my grading.

Mathieu Darche

Grade:

B

Four excellent games get Mathieu a B. In those four games, he was truly among the outstanding Habs. He helped Halpern look better and helped Pouliot finally score a goal.
Still, not every NHL GM of the last decade missed out on something here. Mathieu is what he is. What I think that might be is a guy with some talent, but not enough to push through tight checking. He's an excellent option for third line duty, however, and a reason the Habs have the record they do. I'd like to see my fellow Redmen back in the lineup.

Lars Eller

Grade:

A-

You know, it takes a lot for a rookie to play 20 games under Jacques Martin with only a single benching. Even more in an environment where goals are scarce and he's not providing any. That is the testament to Lars Eller's start. Though he hasn't made the impression of a Jeff Skinner on the NHL web page, his play has been good all around apart from that inconvenient truth.

If you think an A grade is high, I'd only justify it by saying that taking the minutes he's given without complaining or skating a single sulky shift, together with the way he thoroughly has outchanced, outshot and out-attempted his opposition is enough.

Tom Pyatt

Grade:

B-

Blah. It's entirely possible that an AHLer might be worse than Pyatt, that he might bleed shots and chances against. but at this point, this fan is willing to find out. Pyatt is Mr. Responsible at times, but he cheats on D like MAB would cheat on O. His tendency to turn back before pressing forward belies his statistics that do him a favour.

At the end of the day, I suppose one can't be excited about every player on a 19-man outfit. I suppose every team needs a quietly effective and mostly dull option to send out for 10 minutes. Pyatt does this well, and doesn't seem to complain or seek out more. Maybe I'm too hard on him. I still think I might like to see Palushaj, though.

Dustin Boyd Demoted

The news out of Montreal today is that Corsi's nightmare, Dustin Boyd has been put on the track for relgation to Hamilton.

Of course, he has to clear waivers to do it, so most outlets have taken the chance to headline this move with "Boyd placed on waivers" sometimes to stir up a Kostitsyn for nothing discussion. The reality he has to clear waivers to be sent down. This headline doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as it did pre-lockout.

I think we all thought that getting Dustin Boyd was a good idea in the summer. Team Canada junior, learned other defensive systems, plays a simple game, meant to be physical. I think we all thought it was an even better idea after a single game when he left the ice on pace for 82 goals.

So 8 games of play later have we overturned our verdicts?

I can only speak for myself when I say. Not really, and I don't really know.

Dustin has been an OK addition to what has at times been a good team. I never thought he stood out as exemplary, nor did I ever expect he would. He pretty much fulfilled my expectation. His demotion can probably be viewed trough the classic Darchian lens where not all player moves are entirely to do with the player in question. In this case, the Montreal Canadiens can't score, Boyd probably never would have anyway, so in order to promote someone who might, they need to demote someone.


Promotion coming?

There's no word yet, but putting a player through waivers to save his salary would be a bit miserly from the Molsons. I think we all think this is the smoke before the promotion fire.

Here's the Hamilton scoring list for consideration.

Like for like enthusiasts have put their money behind Ryan White, whom I like. Wishful thinkers look to Desharnais. And those who remember Martin's fixations of September suggest Palushaj. Apart from not doing anything, which i still think is possible, i would only add that the possibility still remains of promoting another defender. Yannick Weber is NHL tested and AHL heated.

What do you all think will be the associated promotion if any?
(See poll adjacent)


Not entirely related (paraphrased, out of the context of the thread, that's a warning for you PF), but I found this quote from a fan funny:

"So long Justin, nice to have known you."

I think that pretty much sums up the impression he has made on a lot of fans.

Game #1 Habs' Lack of Depth Shows in Opening-Night Loss

Details

Date: 7/10/2010
Opponent: Maple Leafs
Location: Toronto

Loss: 2-3

Habs Goalie: Price (L)
Opposition Goalie: Giguere (W)

Habs goalscorers: Boyd, Halpern
Opposition goalscorers: Brent, Kessel, MacArthur

Play of the game

Our first goal showed that our plumbers are at least better than Toronto's. We knew Komisarek was bad with the puck, but what we may not have known was that his partner, Gunnarsson was worse. The two had some exciting (for Habs fans) moments throughout the game; none better than on Boyd's goal. Our new winger stole the puck and seemed to put it in on Giggy with ease. Unfortunately, however, it was our D, not Toronto's that went on to be more embarrassed as the game went on.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Brian Gionta
Right where he left off. The new captain played with heart and passion and very nearly scored at the end to tie it up. It looks like he'll have a good season with Gomez, but who will be on the other wing? The experiment continued tonight with Darche and Moen (the definition of 4th-liners) seeing some serious time at that position.

Tomas Plekanec
Our best forward tonight was Pleks. He was alert and led his line on each presence. Cammalleri's return will be just what the doctor ordered, though as Eller was good, but certainly looked like a rookie. Look past the -2 in Tomas' case and try to forget the giveaway on the first goal as Kostitsyn, O'Byrne and Price all had a hand in that too.

Dustin Boyd
Dustin is one of (the only?) the bottom-six forwards that I am pretty excited at seeing this year. Maybe that is because I don't know him that well and that I have a hope that he can provide some scoring from the area that we need it the most. So, tonight was a good audition as I thought he played well and I was encouraged to see him put one in. I hope that he can be at the heart of a competitive third line; something we lost the day we let Moore walk.

Defencemen

PK Subban - Game Puck
Thank goodness for PK. Can you imagine if Henry was in instead? Tonight Subban was our only really great defender as 4 of the others (Gill, Spacek, Picard, O'Byrne) all played as we expected. Rush after rush, spin after spin his true skills were on display and it was very exciting to watch. He will be a great player for us this year and for years to come; unless we trade him when he gets too good.

Josh Gorges
This is the regular season and that means Gill is back to his old self, which, of course, means that Josh is on clean-up duty for 81 more games. Tonight it was one mistake after another from the big man and a smooth, confident Gorges was there at each turn to take care of it. It looks like the partnership is set in stone which means we won't see Josh at his fullest until April 12th at the earliest.

Goaltender

Carey Price
An average game from Price after a shaky first few minutes. Not much he can do about defensive breakdowns in front of him, though, so it should be interesting to see what he does playing a whole season behind an average (at best) defence. Of course when Markov comes back things will change for us and for Price. I was very disappointed to see him handling the puck so much tonight as I had hoped he'd forgotten that he likes to do that over the summer. I counted 3 times where he made a mistake; 3 more than he would have made had he stayed in his net.

Comments

To me the big concern is our depth. With Markov and Hamrlik out we are really quite a weak group on the blue-line. Take out Gorges and Subban and we would be in some very serious trouble. So, let's hope we can be healthy this year (at least in the top-4), otherwise it may be more Bergeron-like (Bergeron is unsigned...) signings for us. Our offensive depth, to me, is even more alarming. Topham has made arguments for Pouliot and Kostitsyn and I can live with those, so, for me, the top-6 is good. But, take out Cammalleri (like tonight) and then things get interesting. All of a sudden you have a rookie on the the top line and are dressing a bottom-6 that has to be towards one of the worst groups in the league. We are very fragile in this area and that is why we need to be healthy and need good seasons from Eller, Boyd and Lapierre as we'd be fools to think we can win with 6 forwards alone. (Pyatt, Moen, Darche and Halpern aren't horrible, but they are true 4th-liners; something the best teams don't have a surplus of.)

Seregi Kostitsyn Traded For... Nothing

So Sergei Kostitsyn was finally traded.

If anyone thought we’d seen the end of trading down after Ribeiro was traded for Janne Niniimaa then they’d be wrong. Sergei was traded as an RFA, mind you, for the chance to sign Dan Ellis and Dustin Boyd two days ahead of schedule. Consider that the Habs don’t even have room for Ellis (more on that later), and it’s the chance to sign Dustin Boyd.

But wait, if they do sign Boyd, it’s a compensatory draft pick due to Nashville.

So we’re down to Sergei Kostitsyn for nothing. Maybe we get a draft pick if Nashville manage to sign the Belarussian.

If the Habs wanted Boyd, they could have signed him first thing July 1st for the same salary and avoided having to give up a draft pick. If they wanted Ellis, they could do the same, though they might want to check back on all that talk about salary caps surrounding the last trade.

Whatever the case, it’s a downgrade in talent that was necessitated by the Canadiens inability to keep another youngster in line. Think the Habs are the only team with spoiled brats acting up at every turn? Hear of Patrick Kane? No, the Habs are only unique in their complete inabaility to contain matters and turn what may be a quiet and productive trade into nothing.

I didn’t love Sergei as a player. Nor did I subscribe to the idea that we should persist with his painful development. But trading players for nothing is a fool’s game. And our team is at it again…