As noted in the last post on this vein, January first this year marked the first day of the second decade of the millennium. Last time, we gave you some Habs High Points, this time I share with you what I thought were ten low points.
A decade that began inauspiciously enough with a roster that on a cold January day once sported Aaron Asham, Craig Darby, Chad Kilger, Eric Landry, Juha Lind, Gino Odjick and Patrick Poulin had its fair share of lows.
Here are the worst ten for me:
10. Bernie Geoffrion's passing
It wasn't anyone's fault. But although Bernie Geoffrion died knowing his #5 was to be retired by his team, he never got to see it happen - to experience again how much the city appreciated him. It was a terribly sad thing.
9. Expansion
Most of the expansion took place prior to 2001, but its effects were still felt into the pre-lockout years. The timing of expansion couldn't have been worse for the Habs. They had their worst management team in decades, scouts who weren't on the ball with player assessments (if you think it's bad now, spare a thought for your 2001 self). The Habs had been on the rebuild through a draft and had accumulated a small stable of good, if not great players. Guess who doesn't get protected in expansion drafts?
8. Not calling Larry Robinson
This one was totally avoidable. Last December at the Centennial game, Robinson feeling the nostalgia was told he'd be getting a call for later in the year re: possible ways to work together. No call. No call to a member of the all-time team, a valued alum. I don't care if there were no positions for the next 25 years, there's no excuse for not making this call. This, together with my estimation that a defenceman to coach our young defencemen might be a tonic to some ills down the road, and it still feels like a real low.
7. Randy McKay signing
In direct contrast with the Cammalleri signing is the McKay signing of 2002. It wasn't a big year for free agency, but Philippe Boucher might have looked nice. The Habs at he time dressed this up like it was big, as they were desperate that it would be. Doing nothing at all that July 4th would have led to better results.
6. Playoffs 2009
The 100th season in operation ended much like the first, and much like the early years of the Noughties - without a playoff win to speak of. It was especially disappointing considering it was the fifth year of Gainey's plan, and a year after winning the conference and challenging well enough in the playoffs. More important than the sweeping itself was the repercussions of the sweep, as those four losses became four nails in the career coffins of Koivu, Kovalev, KOmisarek, Tanguay and others. Regardless of what came later, the way those players were treated leading up to July 1 was a low point for a franchise that likes to think of itself as the embodiment of class.
5. The grooming of Mike Ribeiro
The mishandling of Mike Ribeiro began early. The Habs knew they had an egomaniac on their hands, and one that liked to party. What better way to bring him along than to play him in 19 games at the age of 19, boosting his idea of himself and burning a year of his contract in the process. The next season, he played a mere 2 games and was then on prolonged probation until he finally stopped being relegated to Quebec/Hamilton at age 23 in 2003. His grooming to that point was typical of the Canadiens approach with pure offensive players - play them with Aaron Asham and Jason Dawe. That's to say, he wasn't given much freedom. A breakout season in 2003-04 was seen as good news, but was the straw which broke the camel's back in terms of his later entitlement and corresponding work ethic. Traded for another tram's garbage, he has gone on to 5 consecutive good seasons as an offensive player. A true shame that the team could find neither the time for him on the ice, or the time for him off the ice, as he is exactly what this team craves in their Quebec recruitment program.
4. Therrien carry-on
A coach hired in the time-honoured tradition of simply looking at the QMJHL standings and nothing else, Therrien didn't have a very good time of it with the Habs. His low moment came during what had been his high moment. Following the 2002 knockout of the Bruins (courtesy, Koivu, Gilmour, Zednik, Theo), the Habs were rolling along nicely. The Habs had battled with the Hurricanes in three games to earn a 2-1 series lead. They were winning in Game 4 and looking to bury the Canes with a 3-0 going into the third. Quintal took a simple cross-checking penalty, Therrien's temper came out of check. Two-man penalty, Carolina goal, momentum shift, game slipped away, Canadiens lose in 6.
3. Brisebois contract extension, December 2001
At the time, the extension was going to make Brisebois the highest paid Montreal Canadien in all of history. Of course, he'd just had his -31 season and wasn't exactly able to hide his warts as much as previously. The contract made him untradeable even without the clause that said it in writing. It was a decision that hampered a rebuild from happening prior to the lockout.
2. Cristobal Huet trade
Probably the worst justification for any move the franchise has made since trading Patrick Roy. Huet, fresh off a hot start, an All-Star appearance, and a tiny wobble in February was traded so that Carey Price could be handed the reins without fear of losing them. We didn't even need retrospect to know this was a recipe for disaster. Starting Carey Price looks like a move of genius for a while, but then having a back-up the coach and GM are so reluctant to use they leave Carey to be dismantled by the Flyers shows why Huet should have been retained. Not even the return on the trade justifies the move. And now, with retrospect, nor does the experience Price gained.
1. The year with no hockey
There's not much to say. it was unfortunate and unnecessary. Nothing bottoms below this one. It remains the black eye of the decade for all teams (and players).
And again for those interested:
Blogs were less prevalent in 2001, this one wasn't conceived, i can assure you. But I did find one amateur account of the beginning of the decade. It's fun read.
Showing posts with label Brisebois. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brisebois. Show all posts
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Habs and Leafs in Hogtown
A Preview
The season is upon us. There's a game at noon! So we need to get ready.
For you here is the first game preview of the season.
I figured, you knew the lineups, you knew the lines that would last for the first 5 minutes and you knew all the basic news, so I thought I'd try to look at things differently and add: Key match-ups, Momentum, Players the other side covets, Ready-made excuses, and the ultimate Impact of this result.
Key match-ups
Kessel andAuld Price
Kessel shoots from just about anywhere, and the Habs defence let up shots from just about anywhere as a strategy. It will be down to Kessel's accuracy vs.Auld's Price's positioning and size.
Komisarek and Moen
Komisarek is still looking to prove to Montreal TV audiences that he intimidates people. Last season, he opened with 15 PIM, including a double minor for high-sticking and a fight with Travis Moen. His final penalty led to the tying goal and ultimately the first Leafs loss of the season. Moen is the only player on the Habs who "can" fight. The team once again chose to recognize that 84% of NHL teams don't even have a fighter, so Moen can get pummeled in Toronto if it means having forwards on the roster. Should be fun for him.
Gionta and Phaneuf
The new captains will be squaring off for the HNIC spotlight on opening night for the season. Gionta is already under pressure to learn how to speak French. Phaneuf is already under pressure to learn to skate backwards.
Todd Warriner and Patrice Brisebois
Habs and Leafs fans both have reason for optimism as victory on the ice actually seems within reach this season. Alums Todd Warriner and Patrice Brisebois both survive to skate against Kelly Chase another day on Battle of the Blades. Needless to say, there's work to be done for both. For Warriner, learning to speak French could help him with Isabelle Brassuer. For Brisebois, learning to skate backwards is still on the do list.
Momentum
In reality: none. Training camp is a farce and I can hardly believe it is televised.
In fantasy world, the Leafs are counting on the "strong finish" from last season to spur them to at least three October victories. Similarly, the Habs believe that playoffs rounds 1 and 2 (all the same players, almost, remember) is their impetus going forward.
Leafs the Habs covet
Phil Kessel
Phil really stands out on the Leafs for possessing exceptional natural talent. On a roster laden with guys who want to push the net over the puck, Phil shines with the quickest of releases teamed with sharp accuracy. He'd be an expensive addition to any team (see no draft picks for a few years), but guaranteed scoring is worth it.
Tomas Kaberle
Even as he greys a little on top, he is still one of the smoothest and canniest passers in the league. Perhaps he doesn't fir the Leafs plans for their own reasons, and might not fit other teams because of defensive concerns, but with skills like his, you make allowances.
Habs the Leafs covet
Mike Cammalleri
More than anyone on the roster, Cammalleri is the one they longed for. The Habs signature of the Toronto sniper not only deprived the Leafs of a season with forwards, but also ultimately led to the fiasco that was the Kessel trade (even though we admire Kessel, a free agent would have allowed the MLs to keep that top pick, and the next top pick).
PK Subban
The Leafs' parent club Boston Bruins are looking to accept draft picks and a good prospect in another annual trade, but they are asking for a decent defensive prospect. Sadly the Leafs might have to look elsewhere to dump their selections in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts. Subban might have been the ticket.
Ready-made excuses
In Toronto and Montreal, the only sport more popular than hockey is scapegoat hunting. Over the years, this has led to players, trainers, coaches and managers adapting the uncanny ability to wriggle free like earthworms trapped in the maw. I figure to do this, they need some excuses ready. Luckily, they've had a whole summer to think of these.
If Montreal lose:
- Markov is injured
- The goaltending coach is working hard on that every day
- This new group of guys really needs time to gel
- Our defensive strategy relies on a lot of luck, sorry
- Halak lost too
When Toronto lose:
- We had a strong finish to the game and that will provide our momentum going forward
- We thought the fans were booing us, so we stopped shooting high glove side
- Kaberle is distracting us
- You can't judge this team during the portion of the season where the refs ref, it wasn't built for that (see: strong finish)
Impact of this result
In Toronto, fans really are a bit more even-keeled than in Montreal. They will give the team plenty of leeway this season to grow and take advantage of the deft maneuvering that created the defense that boasts five potential 30-point men, to go with the two they have at forward. A win will be greeted with knowing nods and uneasy optimism. A loss with knowing nods and familiar pessimism. Either way, Kaberle really must go.
In Montreal, I expect everything will be viewed through the in-net camera. The Halak trade made an already focused group into one completely obsessed by goaltending. If Auld should win, the inevitable cascade of praise will lead to questioning of Carey Price. If Auld should lose, the hand wringing will be followed by the questioning of Carey Price.
Sometimes, you have to wonder if they even need to play the games. Both teams could really use the points, however. And, in all seriousness, these 2 points look to be deciders for these teams that fancy themselves contenders.
For you here is the first game preview of the season.
I figured, you knew the lineups, you knew the lines that would last for the first 5 minutes and you knew all the basic news, so I thought I'd try to look at things differently and add: Key match-ups, Momentum, Players the other side covets, Ready-made excuses, and the ultimate Impact of this result.
Key match-ups
Kessel and
Kessel shoots from just about anywhere, and the Habs defence let up shots from just about anywhere as a strategy. It will be down to Kessel's accuracy vs.
Komisarek and Moen
Komisarek is still looking to prove to Montreal TV audiences that he intimidates people. Last season, he opened with 15 PIM, including a double minor for high-sticking and a fight with Travis Moen. His final penalty led to the tying goal and ultimately the first Leafs loss of the season. Moen is the only player on the Habs who "can" fight. The team once again chose to recognize that 84% of NHL teams don't even have a fighter, so Moen can get pummeled in Toronto if it means having forwards on the roster. Should be fun for him.
Gionta and Phaneuf
The new captains will be squaring off for the HNIC spotlight on opening night for the season. Gionta is already under pressure to learn how to speak French. Phaneuf is already under pressure to learn to skate backwards.
Todd Warriner and Patrice Brisebois
Habs and Leafs fans both have reason for optimism as victory on the ice actually seems within reach this season. Alums Todd Warriner and Patrice Brisebois both survive to skate against Kelly Chase another day on Battle of the Blades. Needless to say, there's work to be done for both. For Warriner, learning to speak French could help him with Isabelle Brassuer. For Brisebois, learning to skate backwards is still on the do list.
Momentum
In reality: none. Training camp is a farce and I can hardly believe it is televised.
In fantasy world, the Leafs are counting on the "strong finish" from last season to spur them to at least three October victories. Similarly, the Habs believe that playoffs rounds 1 and 2 (all the same players, almost, remember) is their impetus going forward.
Leafs the Habs covet
Phil Kessel
Phil really stands out on the Leafs for possessing exceptional natural talent. On a roster laden with guys who want to push the net over the puck, Phil shines with the quickest of releases teamed with sharp accuracy. He'd be an expensive addition to any team (see no draft picks for a few years), but guaranteed scoring is worth it.
Tomas Kaberle
Even as he greys a little on top, he is still one of the smoothest and canniest passers in the league. Perhaps he doesn't fir the Leafs plans for their own reasons, and might not fit other teams because of defensive concerns, but with skills like his, you make allowances.
Habs the Leafs covet
Mike Cammalleri
More than anyone on the roster, Cammalleri is the one they longed for. The Habs signature of the Toronto sniper not only deprived the Leafs of a season with forwards, but also ultimately led to the fiasco that was the Kessel trade (even though we admire Kessel, a free agent would have allowed the MLs to keep that top pick, and the next top pick).
PK Subban
The Leafs' parent club Boston Bruins are looking to accept draft picks and a good prospect in another annual trade, but they are asking for a decent defensive prospect. Sadly the Leafs might have to look elsewhere to dump their selections in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 drafts. Subban might have been the ticket.
Ready-made excuses
In Toronto and Montreal, the only sport more popular than hockey is scapegoat hunting. Over the years, this has led to players, trainers, coaches and managers adapting the uncanny ability to wriggle free like earthworms trapped in the maw. I figure to do this, they need some excuses ready. Luckily, they've had a whole summer to think of these.
If Montreal lose:
- Markov is injured
- The goaltending coach is working hard on that every day
- This new group of guys really needs time to gel
- Our defensive strategy relies on a lot of luck, sorry
- Halak lost too
When Toronto lose:
- We had a strong finish to the game and that will provide our momentum going forward
- We thought the fans were booing us, so we stopped shooting high glove side
- Kaberle is distracting us
- You can't judge this team during the portion of the season where the refs ref, it wasn't built for that (see: strong finish)
Impact of this result
In Toronto, fans really are a bit more even-keeled than in Montreal. They will give the team plenty of leeway this season to grow and take advantage of the deft maneuvering that created the defense that boasts five potential 30-point men, to go with the two they have at forward. A win will be greeted with knowing nods and uneasy optimism. A loss with knowing nods and familiar pessimism. Either way, Kaberle really must go.
In Montreal, I expect everything will be viewed through the in-net camera. The Halak trade made an already focused group into one completely obsessed by goaltending. If Auld should win, the inevitable cascade of praise will lead to questioning of Carey Price. If Auld should lose, the hand wringing will be followed by the questioning of Carey Price.
Sometimes, you have to wonder if they even need to play the games. Both teams could really use the points, however. And, in all seriousness, these 2 points look to be deciders for these teams that fancy themselves contenders.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Top 100 Habs By Decade:
10. 1999-2009
In 5 short days from now, the Centennial that the Canadiens have been promoting for the last 4.5 years will actually arrive. Though this celebration has inevitably lost some steam due to relentless marketing and pre-game ceremonies for all of living memory, it would be a shame to let it pass unnoticed just because Mr. Gilett wanted to cash in before he cashed out.
In recognition of the occasion, we at Lions in Winter have been doing what we like best – making lists. As a precursor to publishing the definitive LIW top 100, we will be couting down the decades from least successful to most successful and naming our LIW top 10 players for the ten-year span. You should expect a few each day for the next few days.
Sorry young fans, but 1999-2009 has without much doubt the worst decade in the hisory of the Montreal Canadiens. Whether you want to look at Cups, standings, scoring or personal awards, things have been pretty thin on the ground for the Habs. Chalk it up to expanded competition, sure, but this organization has lofty standards and a middling playoff team is bottom of the barrel by most counts.
The decade has nonetheless had some very big and notable highs, and we have been lucky enough to watch some very good players grace the ice in Montreal since the turn of the Millennium. here are the LIW cream of the crop. If you don't do anything else, at least check the profile links out – the Habs have done an outstanding job with their history site.
10. Richard Zednik (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
A stretch of reliable goalscoring peppered with promising goals. 2001-02 playoffs were the high point.
9. Tomas Plekanec(Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
Growing into offensive role from solid defensive forward roots. This season gives him a boost.
8. Craig Rivet (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
Stalwart on the Canadiens blueline. A generally reliable character on some shaky back ends.
7. Cristobal Huet (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
One of the best single seasons in Canadiens history and saving 92% of shots the rest of the time.
6. Sheldon Souray (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
Single-handedly revived the PP after years of toil. Never mind that he couldn't play his position very well – this is the 2000s...
5. Patrice Brisebois (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
Tenure gets him consdieration. Despite some very rough seasons, his contribution over nearly 900 games was worthy of recognition.
4. Alexei Kovalev (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
Thrilling skill and some thrilling gamechanging nights. The best offensive player of the decade by a good margin.
3. Andrei Markov (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
The core of the current team. His steady improvement over the years may have seen him reach the pinnacle here with a couple more years time.
2. Jose Theodore (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
Probably the best single stretch of goaltending I've ever seen and may ever see in 2002. Hart trophy, Vezina trophy – the main trophies won this decade by the Habs. Steady in other years (until the flop) with sold dave percentage and good shutout numbers.
1. Saku Koivu (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
Captain for the decade, as well as offensive engine throughout. Played better than his numbers seem to indicate, and his ability to ratchet it up in the playoffs will be missed.
* Awards: H = Hart trophy; V = Vezina trophy; RC = Roger Crozier trophy (save %); BM= Bill Masterton; KC = King Clancy; AS= All-star; SC = Stanley Cup.
In recognition of the occasion, we at Lions in Winter have been doing what we like best – making lists. As a precursor to publishing the definitive LIW top 100, we will be couting down the decades from least successful to most successful and naming our LIW top 10 players for the ten-year span. You should expect a few each day for the next few days.
1999-2009
Sorry young fans, but 1999-2009 has without much doubt the worst decade in the hisory of the Montreal Canadiens. Whether you want to look at Cups, standings, scoring or personal awards, things have been pretty thin on the ground for the Habs. Chalk it up to expanded competition, sure, but this organization has lofty standards and a middling playoff team is bottom of the barrel by most counts.
The decade has nonetheless had some very big and notable highs, and we have been lucky enough to watch some very good players grace the ice in Montreal since the turn of the Millennium. here are the LIW cream of the crop. If you don't do anything else, at least check the profile links out – the Habs have done an outstanding job with their history site.
10. Richard Zednik (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2001-06 | 322 | 98 | 85 | 183 | +2 | 18 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2003-04 | 81 | 26 | 24 | 50 | +5 | 9 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2002-06 | 21 | 9 | 7 | 16 | +10 | 1 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2001-02 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 8 | +7 | 1 |
A stretch of reliable goalscoring peppered with promising goals. 2001-02 playoffs were the high point.
9. Tomas Plekanec(Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2004-09 | 336 | 83 | 125 | 208 | +28 | 9 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2007-08 | 81 | 29 | 40 | 69 | +15 | 6 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2006-09 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2007-08 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -1 | 0 |
Growing into offensive role from solid defensive forward roots. This season gives him a boost.
8. Craig Rivet (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1994-2007 | 653 | 39 | 112 | 151 | -1 | 5 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2001-02 | 82 | 8 | 17 | 25 | +1 | 0 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1997-2006 | 39 | 1 | 10 | 11 | E | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +2 | 0 |
Stalwart on the Canadiens blueline. A generally reliable character on some shaky back ends.
7. Cristobal Huet (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | W | L | GAA | S% | SO | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2005-08 | 117 | 58 | 39 | 2.53 | 0.920 | 11 | RC, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2005-06 | 36 | 18 | 15 | 2.20 | 0.929 | 7 | RC |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2005-06 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2.33 | 0.929 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2005-06 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2.33 | 0.929 | 0 |
One of the best single seasons in Canadiens history and saving 92% of shots the rest of the time.
6. Sheldon Souray (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1999-2007 | 324 | 62 | 98 | 160 | -44 | 11 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2006-07 | 81 | 26 | 38 | 64 | -28 | 6 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2002-06 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -7 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2005-06 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -1 | 0 |
Single-handedly revived the PP after years of toil. Never mind that he couldn't play his position very well – this is the 2000s...
5. Patrice Brisebois (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1990-2009 | 896 | 87 | 284 | 371 | +5 | 18 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 2001-02 | 71 | 4 | 29 | 33 | +9 | 1 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1992-2009 | 89 | 9 | 22 | 31 | -8 | 3 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2007-08 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -3 | 1 |
Tenure gets him consdieration. Despite some very rough seasons, his contribution over nearly 900 games was worthy of recognition.
4. Alexei Kovalev (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2004-09 | 314 | 103 | 161 | 264 | -11 | 20 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2007-08 | 82 | 35 | 49 | 84 | +18 | 5 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2004-09 | 33 | 17 | 14 | 31 | +1 | 2 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 10 | +2 | 1 |
Thrilling skill and some thrilling gamechanging nights. The best offensive player of the decade by a good margin.
3. Andrei Markov (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 2000-09 | 572 | 74 | 255 | 329 | +18 | 11 | AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2008-09 | 78 | 12 | 52 | 64 | -2 | 3 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 2002-09 | 41 | 3 | 11 | 14 | +3 | 2 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | +3 | 1 |
The core of the current team. His steady improvement over the years may have seen him reach the pinnacle here with a couple more years time.
2. Jose Theodore (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | W | L | GAA | S% | SO | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1995-2006 | 353 | 141 | 158 | 2.62 | 0.911 | 23 | H, V, RC, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2001-02 | 67 | 30 | 24 | 2.11 | 0.931 | 7 | H, V, RC, AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1996-2004 | 28 | 11 | 15 | 2.54 | 0.921 | 1 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 2.39 | 0.919 | 1 |
Probably the best single stretch of goaltending I've ever seen and may ever see in 2002. Hart trophy, Vezina trophy – the main trophies won this decade by the Habs. Steady in other years (until the flop) with sold dave percentage and good shutout numbers.
1. Saku Koivu (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | GWG | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1995-2009 | 792 | 191 | 450 | 641 | -10 | 35 | BM, KC, AS |
| Decade best (Season) | 2002-03 | 82 | 21 | 50 | 71 | +5 | 5 | AS |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1996-2009 | 54 | 16 | 32 | 48 | +11 | 1 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 2003-04 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 11 | +1 | 0 |
Captain for the decade, as well as offensive engine throughout. Played better than his numbers seem to indicate, and his ability to ratchet it up in the playoffs will be missed.
* Awards: H = Hart trophy; V = Vezina trophy; RC = Roger Crozier trophy (save %); BM= Bill Masterton; KC = King Clancy; AS= All-star; SC = Stanley Cup.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Part Of My Life Is Over:
Patrice Brisebois And Me
Perhaps you'll think me lazy for re-posting, perhaps not. I just thought that I couldn't do any better, not today, so I'd repost an article I had published as "999 Not Out" in the spring.
Patrice Brisebois and me have had a rocky relationship at times, but it's been a long one. He's been part of my life for more than 20 years if you count me following him in junior. He's been a part of this blog since the beginning too. And together I think we've both grown up a lot since the days he pinched and scored in the playoffs; since the days he fell and I booed. So as you do when an important era of your life passes, I reflect and relook. I hope you enjoy my "tribute" to our newly retired Canadien.
I'm not sure whether you'd call this a tribute, perhaps more of a synopsis.
I am not qualified to do a Brisebois tribute, you see, and I would only mess it up. So, instead I will tell you about my 19 years with Patrice Brisebois – with my memories, my interpretations and my feelings.
Early days
Blue chip beginnings
It must be said that Patrice Brisebois was one more in a long line of bluechip defenceman prospects to come through the Montreal Canadiens system back in 1990. That is the reason, Serge Savard and staff must be forgiven for overlooking no less than 3 superstars in Pavel Bure, Sergei fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom to get Patrice.
In 1989, Patrice was the Canadiens dream come true: a French Canadian, goalscoring defenceman who was winning competitions. By the end of that season, he had racked up 30 goals and 109 points in 98 junior games and had competed for the Memorial Cup for the first time with the Laval Titan.
I have to admit that even I was a big fan back then, and I still have his QMJHL rookie card signed in a case somewhere, I think.
Excellent progression
The good times didn't stop at the draft for Patrice, as he would go on to play for Team Canada twice in the next two years, winning 2 gold medals – beating Jagr's Czech team and Pavel Bure's USSR no less. After the two stints for Canada, he also played in 10 NHL games as a 19-year old (which, if you remember Serge Savard's model of player development, was quite a feat). To top it off, there were two Memorial Cup finals in 2 years, the second one with him as a tournament all-star. If that's not enough to impress the socks off any scout, he raked in the CHL defenceman of the year award in 1991 as well. Just a quick run-down for those who prefer bullets:
– 2 WJC gold medals
– 3 Memorial Cup finals
– 1 CHL defenceman of the year
– 1 Memorial Cup All-Star team
– 65 goals and 258 points in 208 junior games
– 11 points at both WJCs and Memorial Cups in 13 and 14 games, respectively
This guy was the Carey Price of his age – a shoe in to be a star...
NHL debuts
Following his tour with Montreal in 1990-91, he saw a bit more replacement work in 1991-92. In all, there were 26 regular season games, and more importantly, Patrice featured in all 11 playoff games that spring for the Habs as they lost to the Bruins in round 2. As the Canadiens 6th scorer that post-season, it seemed as if he was about to leap-frog Mathieu Schneider and JJ Daigneault in the depth chart.
The next season, Patrice did make the team and had a good season. However, he did not make the immediate jump into the limelight, as Schneider and Eric Desjardins became the pair to carry the Canadiens when the going got tough. Nonetheless, Brisebois played 70 games in 1992-93, chipping in 10 goals and 21 assists. He was an integral player in the Cup run (playing in all 20 playoff games), taking his new backseat role in stride, it seemed.
The graduation
The Stanley Cup run of 1993 (in Patrice's rookie season) has been the pinnacle of his NHL achievements to date. As so many a veteran will tell you – the thought that Cups would be so hard to come by after that first one didn't cross the mind at the time. It was perhaps fitting, that Patrice was at his best though, at that time, in a system where he could use his talents without being overstretched. On a team with 4 defencemen ahead of him in playing time, a goalie that could stop seemingly anything – Patrice could play at forward from the back as he had done so well in junior.
As things started to go wrong for the Canadiens, things looked quite rosy for Patrice. He played a lot, despite some injuries. A pivotal moment in his career would come in the spring of 1995. February 9th of that year, Serge Savard made an infamous trade that sent Eric Desjardins, John Leclair and Gilbert Dionne away for Mark Recchi. April 5th, Savard would trade his other defensive stud as Mathieu Schneider and Muller were swapped for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov. Those trades had two impacts for Brisebois. Out Desjardins, Schneider and Haller (summer 1994) in Malakhov, Racine and other spare parts meant that Brisebois was being entrusted with a new brief as top 3 defender. He handled the brief OK for a while. But it was a lot to ask of a forward playing on D (essentially) to fill out major minutes after what happened that next December – when the man who masked so many defensive deficiencies was traded for Jocelyn Thibault, Rucinsky and Kovalenko.
Once Patrick Roy departs, the Canadiens become a bit of a mish mash for the next few years. They still had the offensive firepower with Damphousse, Turgeon, Recchi and belatedly Koivu, to carry some wins – and there were good seasons in 1996 and 1998; but their defence was buckling. Brisebois continued to contribute offensively, but began to struggle to protect a net not filled by Patrick Roy.
By 1998, after all Rejean Houle's other inane moves, Brisbois was left as the major star player from La Belle Province. This pressure brought pressure sure, but perhaps more significantly it brought ego to the year-on, year-off Brisebois.
Highlights of the rest of the decade for Brisebois included several 30+ point seasons (every other year, really) and numerous game-winning goals, despite few meaningful wins. Patrice was a plus player over this time as well, no small feat.
Of these ten years, this is all the NHLPA Legends site had to say:
It's a telling quote, given the site is trying to position each player in the most positive light. There's just not much to say. Not much we'd like to recall... In preparation for this piece, I also read some of the books I have on the shelf. One, Canadiens Legends, even has an entry for Brisebois. After reading it, I almost felt sorry for the guy as it showcased how the sweet ride of his career was over after year one, and has been filled with trouble ever since.
If you think about it, though, Serge Savard drafted Brisebois to fit in behind Desjardins, Schneider and other solid defenceman; and he had the best goaltender to ever play the game. Things looked solid, and a gamble on a defenceman who was much better going forward than skating backwards was a worthwhile gamble. Who knew he would be the last man standing on this defence stood in front of two projects learning to play goal?
Based on a mercurial junior career and rise to success in the big league, there was hope that Brisebois could fill in the position of top defenceman on a top team. Alas, he was never able to reach those heights. He probably should never have been asked or expected to do so.
The contract
No discussion of Brisebois' career would be complete without talk of the contract that came late in his first Montreal stint.
It was the winter of 2001, that new GM Andre Savard decided to make his mark on the Montreal Canadiens for brand new owner George Gillett. Patrice was taken aside and offered an extension on his current offer. probably surprised enough to receive any offer after his -31 season, Patrice jumped on a fully out-of-whack biggest Canadiens contract offer in history ($12 million over 3 years). At the time it was an absurd move for a defenceman that had just been given a raise to $2.5 million a year the spring before following his worst ever season. To add insult to fans' injury, he was also given a no-trade clause.
If ego was a problem before, it was getting out of control not long after. There were incidents off the ice (like urinating at the Canadiens golf tournament and nearly running over Jack Todd), but on the ice Patrice seemed to lord his money over people. Mistakes he made were met with shrugs, and mistakes from others with scolding.
Patrice played out 2002 as more of a bit-part player once Jose Theodore took over. 2002 will certainly never be remembered for defensive play and his 2 goals in the 24-game final push showed how the Canadiens had learned to live with him in the defensive zone and without his contributions up front. So when Patrice came back the next season with less than stellar play, and his customary year off in his 2-year cycle; people were starting to be a little less than impressed with the highest paid player on the team.
By this point, Patrice was being booed every game. Whether it was the booing or the years catching up with him, one thing was abundantly clear – the offensive defence star from 1991 was gone. By February, the pressure had taken its toll. Brisebois took leave for heart problems brought on by stress. No one could forget his ill-advised trip to France against doctor's orders in that time.
The final year of his no-trade clause opened with a condemnation of the general booing from Bob Gainey. It initially stopped the booing and seemed to lift a weight from Patrice's shoulders. I wouldn't say he suddenly fulfilled all the promise of 15 years earlier; but in the least he proved less of a constant distraction and managed to minimise the damage he did so the Canadiens could make the playoffs.
Those playoffs would be the last time (or so we thought) that Patrice would step on the ice for the Canadiens. In a rather anti-climactic end, Patrice was told the Canadiens would rather not pick up their option for the next season. The untradeable defenceman was gone, for a while anyway.
The Canadiens dollar
More Canadiens dollars have ended up in Patrice Brisebois' garage than probably should have. In fact, he is among the best compensated (by the Canadiens) players of all time. If estimates from 2004 are to be trusted (and I don't see why they wouldn't be), together with his $2.9 million from the past two seasons, Brisebois will have cost the Habs over $22 million for a career. Only Saku Koivu has made more.
The returns
A more recent history of the Patrice Brisebois stories is highlighted by his re-signing and re-signing again with his Canadiens. In fact, the Canadiens rescued him from outright retirement as another team had run out of patience and use for him in 2006.
It has been a nice story for the player, but I think many of us wonder whether the Canadiens exist to please the alums of the team, or indeed to win. Signed both times ahead of younger and more intriguing options, he was sold to us as a cheap 8th defenceman. Yet both times, he was given bonuses to negate any notion of value for money. And both times he has been deployed as a 5th or 6th when push came to shove.
Last season, this was met with stoicism – one season, we can bear it. This season, I can't tell you how many times I've read "1000 games, can we get it over with?", or "Can we get this retirement pushed forward?".
In fairness to the player, he has done what the coaches asked and can't be blamed for their weaknesses. He has also tried his utmost (I think) to keep his game simpler and limit the flashbacks of 1996-2004 to a minimum. One highlight was a playoff game with a timely winning goal. There have been lowlights too.
The booing
It is a very common misconception nowadays that Brisebois started getting booed after he was awarded the biggest (and most ridiculously out of whack) contract in Montreal Canadiens history. This is simply untrue. And it does nothing but attempt to gloss over the fact that people were booing Brisebois for his mistakes (presumably in hopes that a GM might trade him?) long before he made $4 million a year. The booing began before that point, for certain, in a futile effort to get incapable GMs to do something about our number one defenceman position. It was only intensified by that ridiculous contract.
In fact, in 1998-99, when awarded a whopping $1.8 million a year, he was already the second best compensated defenceman on the team. That contract was three years in length at a nice $6 million in all. If being overpaid was the source of the boos, it had its origin in that contract of 1998.
As I pointed to above, Brisebois' play and his ego were on separate courses from about 1995 (post-Roy). It could be said that he was thrust unfairly into both ice time and spotlight he couldn't handle. And perhaps it would have been something to be forgiven given a show of a little humility. No show was ever forthcoming, not back then anyway. The booing he received was as much due to the response he gave to errors (both his and others) as it was to his play.
The situation as it currently stands is completely different. Brisebois to his credit has been knocked down a few notches. Humility is now part of his vocabulary, at least some of the time. Any booing (or hand wringing at this blog, for example) is probably more frustration for Bob Gainey at having signed the veteran in place of other more attractive or forward-looking options.
Awaiting the 1000th
It was clever how Carbonneau sat Brisebois for this road trip. How clever will it be to bring him back just when O'Byrne has started to play well? He'll be back though, as sure as Carey Price will be the only one to reap the benefit of the win-you're in policy...
When he plays in Montreal, he will receive thunderous cheers. Why not? His achievement is monumental (consider this player and then consider how few players reach 1000 games – monumental doesn't even do it justice).
Many will be cheering in hope that it will be the end. However, I think we're deluded if we think that. Has he already played his last playoff game? Will he be satisfied with 1000 regular season games, when 1000 with the Canadiens is so close? (he's at 974 right now!)
If he reaches that milestone he will be the 12th player in the history of the team to do so. His company would include 9 players whose numbers are retired along with 2 whose were not:
1436 – Henri Richard
1405 – Larry Robinson
1342 – Bob Gainey
1287 – Jean Beliveau
1131 – Claude Provost
1115 – Yvan Cournoyer
1111 – Maurice Richard
1073 – Guy Carbonneau
1040 – Serge Savard
1025 – Guy Lafleur
1013 – Doug Harvey
Will I cheer Brisebois? Probably. 1000 games is nothing to sneeze at. Oh, go on, you'll cheer too. It'll be a strange feeling...
Patrice Brisebois and me have had a rocky relationship at times, but it's been a long one. He's been part of my life for more than 20 years if you count me following him in junior. He's been a part of this blog since the beginning too. And together I think we've both grown up a lot since the days he pinched and scored in the playoffs; since the days he fell and I booed. So as you do when an important era of your life passes, I reflect and relook. I hope you enjoy my "tribute" to our newly retired Canadien.
I'm not sure whether you'd call this a tribute, perhaps more of a synopsis.
I am not qualified to do a Brisebois tribute, you see, and I would only mess it up. So, instead I will tell you about my 19 years with Patrice Brisebois – with my memories, my interpretations and my feelings.
Early days
Blue chip beginnings
It must be said that Patrice Brisebois was one more in a long line of bluechip defenceman prospects to come through the Montreal Canadiens system back in 1990. That is the reason, Serge Savard and staff must be forgiven for overlooking no less than 3 superstars in Pavel Bure, Sergei fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom to get Patrice.
In 1989, Patrice was the Canadiens dream come true: a French Canadian, goalscoring defenceman who was winning competitions. By the end of that season, he had racked up 30 goals and 109 points in 98 junior games and had competed for the Memorial Cup for the first time with the Laval Titan.
I have to admit that even I was a big fan back then, and I still have his QMJHL rookie card signed in a case somewhere, I think.
Excellent progression
The good times didn't stop at the draft for Patrice, as he would go on to play for Team Canada twice in the next two years, winning 2 gold medals – beating Jagr's Czech team and Pavel Bure's USSR no less. After the two stints for Canada, he also played in 10 NHL games as a 19-year old (which, if you remember Serge Savard's model of player development, was quite a feat). To top it off, there were two Memorial Cup finals in 2 years, the second one with him as a tournament all-star. If that's not enough to impress the socks off any scout, he raked in the CHL defenceman of the year award in 1991 as well. Just a quick run-down for those who prefer bullets:
– 2 WJC gold medals
– 3 Memorial Cup finals
– 1 CHL defenceman of the year
– 1 Memorial Cup All-Star team
– 65 goals and 258 points in 208 junior games
– 11 points at both WJCs and Memorial Cups in 13 and 14 games, respectively
This guy was the Carey Price of his age – a shoe in to be a star...
NHL debuts
Following his tour with Montreal in 1990-91, he saw a bit more replacement work in 1991-92. In all, there were 26 regular season games, and more importantly, Patrice featured in all 11 playoff games that spring for the Habs as they lost to the Bruins in round 2. As the Canadiens 6th scorer that post-season, it seemed as if he was about to leap-frog Mathieu Schneider and JJ Daigneault in the depth chart.
The next season, Patrice did make the team and had a good season. However, he did not make the immediate jump into the limelight, as Schneider and Eric Desjardins became the pair to carry the Canadiens when the going got tough. Nonetheless, Brisebois played 70 games in 1992-93, chipping in 10 goals and 21 assists. He was an integral player in the Cup run (playing in all 20 playoff games), taking his new backseat role in stride, it seemed.
The graduation
The Stanley Cup run of 1993 (in Patrice's rookie season) has been the pinnacle of his NHL achievements to date. As so many a veteran will tell you – the thought that Cups would be so hard to come by after that first one didn't cross the mind at the time. It was perhaps fitting, that Patrice was at his best though, at that time, in a system where he could use his talents without being overstretched. On a team with 4 defencemen ahead of him in playing time, a goalie that could stop seemingly anything – Patrice could play at forward from the back as he had done so well in junior.
As things started to go wrong for the Canadiens, things looked quite rosy for Patrice. He played a lot, despite some injuries. A pivotal moment in his career would come in the spring of 1995. February 9th of that year, Serge Savard made an infamous trade that sent Eric Desjardins, John Leclair and Gilbert Dionne away for Mark Recchi. April 5th, Savard would trade his other defensive stud as Mathieu Schneider and Muller were swapped for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov. Those trades had two impacts for Brisebois. Out Desjardins, Schneider and Haller (summer 1994) in Malakhov, Racine and other spare parts meant that Brisebois was being entrusted with a new brief as top 3 defender. He handled the brief OK for a while. But it was a lot to ask of a forward playing on D (essentially) to fill out major minutes after what happened that next December – when the man who masked so many defensive deficiencies was traded for Jocelyn Thibault, Rucinsky and Kovalenko.
Once Patrick Roy departs, the Canadiens become a bit of a mish mash for the next few years. They still had the offensive firepower with Damphousse, Turgeon, Recchi and belatedly Koivu, to carry some wins – and there were good seasons in 1996 and 1998; but their defence was buckling. Brisebois continued to contribute offensively, but began to struggle to protect a net not filled by Patrick Roy.
By 1998, after all Rejean Houle's other inane moves, Brisbois was left as the major star player from La Belle Province. This pressure brought pressure sure, but perhaps more significantly it brought ego to the year-on, year-off Brisebois.
Highlights of the rest of the decade for Brisebois included several 30+ point seasons (every other year, really) and numerous game-winning goals, despite few meaningful wins. Patrice was a plus player over this time as well, no small feat.
Of these ten years, this is all the NHLPA Legends site had to say:
"As the franchise struggled in the late 1990s, Brisebois was a constant on the defensive brigade. He set a personal high with 15 goals in 2000-01 and was an integral part of the club's playoff hopes in 2001-02."
It's a telling quote, given the site is trying to position each player in the most positive light. There's just not much to say. Not much we'd like to recall... In preparation for this piece, I also read some of the books I have on the shelf. One, Canadiens Legends, even has an entry for Brisebois. After reading it, I almost felt sorry for the guy as it showcased how the sweet ride of his career was over after year one, and has been filled with trouble ever since.
If you think about it, though, Serge Savard drafted Brisebois to fit in behind Desjardins, Schneider and other solid defenceman; and he had the best goaltender to ever play the game. Things looked solid, and a gamble on a defenceman who was much better going forward than skating backwards was a worthwhile gamble. Who knew he would be the last man standing on this defence stood in front of two projects learning to play goal?
Based on a mercurial junior career and rise to success in the big league, there was hope that Brisebois could fill in the position of top defenceman on a top team. Alas, he was never able to reach those heights. He probably should never have been asked or expected to do so.
The contract
No discussion of Brisebois' career would be complete without talk of the contract that came late in his first Montreal stint.
It was the winter of 2001, that new GM Andre Savard decided to make his mark on the Montreal Canadiens for brand new owner George Gillett. Patrice was taken aside and offered an extension on his current offer. probably surprised enough to receive any offer after his -31 season, Patrice jumped on a fully out-of-whack biggest Canadiens contract offer in history ($12 million over 3 years). At the time it was an absurd move for a defenceman that had just been given a raise to $2.5 million a year the spring before following his worst ever season. To add insult to fans' injury, he was also given a no-trade clause.
If ego was a problem before, it was getting out of control not long after. There were incidents off the ice (like urinating at the Canadiens golf tournament and nearly running over Jack Todd), but on the ice Patrice seemed to lord his money over people. Mistakes he made were met with shrugs, and mistakes from others with scolding.
Patrice played out 2002 as more of a bit-part player once Jose Theodore took over. 2002 will certainly never be remembered for defensive play and his 2 goals in the 24-game final push showed how the Canadiens had learned to live with him in the defensive zone and without his contributions up front. So when Patrice came back the next season with less than stellar play, and his customary year off in his 2-year cycle; people were starting to be a little less than impressed with the highest paid player on the team.
By this point, Patrice was being booed every game. Whether it was the booing or the years catching up with him, one thing was abundantly clear – the offensive defence star from 1991 was gone. By February, the pressure had taken its toll. Brisebois took leave for heart problems brought on by stress. No one could forget his ill-advised trip to France against doctor's orders in that time.
The final year of his no-trade clause opened with a condemnation of the general booing from Bob Gainey. It initially stopped the booing and seemed to lift a weight from Patrice's shoulders. I wouldn't say he suddenly fulfilled all the promise of 15 years earlier; but in the least he proved less of a constant distraction and managed to minimise the damage he did so the Canadiens could make the playoffs.
Those playoffs would be the last time (or so we thought) that Patrice would step on the ice for the Canadiens. In a rather anti-climactic end, Patrice was told the Canadiens would rather not pick up their option for the next season. The untradeable defenceman was gone, for a while anyway.
The Canadiens dollar
More Canadiens dollars have ended up in Patrice Brisebois' garage than probably should have. In fact, he is among the best compensated (by the Canadiens) players of all time. If estimates from 2004 are to be trusted (and I don't see why they wouldn't be), together with his $2.9 million from the past two seasons, Brisebois will have cost the Habs over $22 million for a career. Only Saku Koivu has made more.
The returns
A more recent history of the Patrice Brisebois stories is highlighted by his re-signing and re-signing again with his Canadiens. In fact, the Canadiens rescued him from outright retirement as another team had run out of patience and use for him in 2006.
It has been a nice story for the player, but I think many of us wonder whether the Canadiens exist to please the alums of the team, or indeed to win. Signed both times ahead of younger and more intriguing options, he was sold to us as a cheap 8th defenceman. Yet both times, he was given bonuses to negate any notion of value for money. And both times he has been deployed as a 5th or 6th when push came to shove.
Last season, this was met with stoicism – one season, we can bear it. This season, I can't tell you how many times I've read "1000 games, can we get it over with?", or "Can we get this retirement pushed forward?".
In fairness to the player, he has done what the coaches asked and can't be blamed for their weaknesses. He has also tried his utmost (I think) to keep his game simpler and limit the flashbacks of 1996-2004 to a minimum. One highlight was a playoff game with a timely winning goal. There have been lowlights too.
The booing
It is a very common misconception nowadays that Brisebois started getting booed after he was awarded the biggest (and most ridiculously out of whack) contract in Montreal Canadiens history. This is simply untrue. And it does nothing but attempt to gloss over the fact that people were booing Brisebois for his mistakes (presumably in hopes that a GM might trade him?) long before he made $4 million a year. The booing began before that point, for certain, in a futile effort to get incapable GMs to do something about our number one defenceman position. It was only intensified by that ridiculous contract.
In fact, in 1998-99, when awarded a whopping $1.8 million a year, he was already the second best compensated defenceman on the team. That contract was three years in length at a nice $6 million in all. If being overpaid was the source of the boos, it had its origin in that contract of 1998.
As I pointed to above, Brisebois' play and his ego were on separate courses from about 1995 (post-Roy). It could be said that he was thrust unfairly into both ice time and spotlight he couldn't handle. And perhaps it would have been something to be forgiven given a show of a little humility. No show was ever forthcoming, not back then anyway. The booing he received was as much due to the response he gave to errors (both his and others) as it was to his play.
The situation as it currently stands is completely different. Brisebois to his credit has been knocked down a few notches. Humility is now part of his vocabulary, at least some of the time. Any booing (or hand wringing at this blog, for example) is probably more frustration for Bob Gainey at having signed the veteran in place of other more attractive or forward-looking options.
Awaiting the 1000th
It was clever how Carbonneau sat Brisebois for this road trip. How clever will it be to bring him back just when O'Byrne has started to play well? He'll be back though, as sure as Carey Price will be the only one to reap the benefit of the win-you're in policy...
When he plays in Montreal, he will receive thunderous cheers. Why not? His achievement is monumental (consider this player and then consider how few players reach 1000 games – monumental doesn't even do it justice).
Many will be cheering in hope that it will be the end. However, I think we're deluded if we think that. Has he already played his last playoff game? Will he be satisfied with 1000 regular season games, when 1000 with the Canadiens is so close? (he's at 974 right now!)
If he reaches that milestone he will be the 12th player in the history of the team to do so. His company would include 9 players whose numbers are retired along with 2 whose were not:
1436 – Henri Richard
1405 – Larry Robinson
1342 – Bob Gainey
1287 – Jean Beliveau
1131 – Claude Provost
1115 – Yvan Cournoyer
1111 – Maurice Richard
1073 – Guy Carbonneau
1040 – Serge Savard
1025 – Guy Lafleur
1013 – Doug Harvey
Will I cheer Brisebois? Probably. 1000 games is nothing to sneeze at. Oh, go on, you'll cheer too. It'll be a strange feeling...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Canadiens Season Preview:
Second Pairing Defence
Now that for all intents and purposes, I've put the two best defenders on the top pairing, anyone who plays with Hamrlik will have the honour of being on the second paring, though it's not to say he won't be the 6th defenceman. As you know, I've looked at many things here, and the conclusion I've come to on the second pairing is this:
Hamrlik – O'Byrne
Roman Hamrlik
Legend
Stats notes
Hamrlik must have had a heck of a first half for him to end up with such respectable stats and yet to be found wearing the ring of shame from Habs fans. Those of fickle memories won't remember (or give credit) for work well done in the first 50 games though. Take this forgotten report, for example:
To note:
1) Gentle giant
Perhaps it's because he came through as an offensive prodigy, but Roman Hamrlik has never been counted among the feared defencemen in the league. But as we know, being feared doesn't always equate to good defence. Roman, while being gentler than most men his size, is actually an acolyte of the Markov takeaway style over the Komisarek hit style. His 41 takeaways aren't Markov level, but they do put him in the top 10% of defencemen.
2) Sacrificed defence for offense
At least last season, it seems to me that Hamrlik sacrificed what was previously a very sound defensive contribution for a few more points. My advice to him would be to cut that out, for he's a far more valuable player to use if he can be our defensive lynchpin rather than a poor man's Markov. Keep the good passes coming, but full flight down the wing for shots? Let's curtail that where possible.
3) Too many PIMs
Last season Roman also took too many penalties for a player of his importance. Because of his strengths (takeaways, size and positioning), he is probably first choice for the PK. Well you can't kill a penalty if you're in the box. Cutting out the silly pens should help him regain his game and his stature with fans.
Things may have gone downhill, but the stats say Hamrlik slipped below our expectations of him, yes; but our expectations (based on that first half) were very high. In the end, his season was a decent one on average, and he was 2nd best at the back by a fairly clear margin.
Tobalev on Hamrlik:
There are conflicting sentiments out there amongst Habs fans. Some people really value the former #1 pick yet others see him as a waste of space and as a liability. I’ll tell you this though, at his best Roman can be an outstanding defenceman and can easily look like a #1. In his first year with the Habs, he was solid each and every game in his own end and even contributed quite nicely to the offence. Last year, however, it seemed that his play was much more unpredictable and it wasn’t unusual for him to have an off night on the nights we were racking up the Ls. All in all last year, I think, was still a good year, just maybe not great. He picked up 33 points (not bad for our third choice) and finished the year at +4.
He seemed to do well last year with Gorges, but I wouldn’t hold Martin to that pairing. I am not too concerned about who he’ll play with and even think it is conceivable that he partners anyone on the team. I am not worried about stats in Hamrlik’s case this year as all I hope for is a return to ’07-’08 form. If he can be a defensive force for 82 games then the season will be a success. I still, however, expect him to post at least 25 points (4-8 of which should be goals). If he plays the way we all know he can then his career -60 rating can only improve. In addition, don’t be surprised to see Hammer wearing a letter of some shape this year as he will likely take on quite a big leadership role now that Komi has gone.
Where Hamrlik will start 2009-10: Facing the Leafs best line of ... I'll get back to you after I've read my ECHL media guide from 2007.
Where Hamrlik will end 2009-10: With renewed faith from Canadiens fans
Points: 6 G, 20 A, 26 Pts
Ryan O'Byrne
Legend
Stats notes
We all know O'Byrne had a rough year in 2008-09, but from all signs he's eager to put it behind him. ONe can't ignore all the negatives, but nor should we overlook some of the positive things:
1) Will replace Komisarek's hits
In what amounts to a single season's worth of games, the "rookie" Dman showed he wasn't afraid to throw his weight around. With more playing time, 8+ hits per 60 minutes will see him flirt with league leaders here.
2) Not completely inept offensively
We'll never see him on the PP, but O'Byrne has put up a respectable 11 assists in his first 70 NHL games. When you consider that he has been playing less with top line forwards than perhaps he has with lesser lights, it's not bad. The reason to hope here is that Martin's game will call for better passes from all defenders to forwards, and Ryan has shown glimmers of hope in that regard.
3) Giveaways not the entire problem
Sometimes giveaways stand out more than any other plays. Sometimes they become the only thing you can see in your mind's eye when you hear a player's name. I think this might be the case for Ryan. But while he's certainly flirting with the bottom of the table with his giveaways, he's still better than half the TO corps (Schenn, Van Ryn and Komisarek). Though I don't have a stat to prove it here, it was Ryan's other problem – positioning – that led to that nasty deep turquoise stain on his pie chart. Luckily, positioning is something Jacques Martin is teaching each day this fall, so Ryan, with an open mind, will benefit.
There you have it, Ryan O'Byrne, blemishes, scars and all. Of all the players previewed, I don't think I have had to suspend the belief in stats as much as I have in putting O'Byrne on the second pairing. Call it giving him a second chance. In his round-about way (trying to rescue Brisebois' reputation along the way), even Bertrand Raymond agrees with me that Ryan deserves another chance on the merry-go-round. If you can read French, then you should have look at the article on O'Byrne, it's a very good read (whatever you make think of Raymond).
Tobalev on O'Byrne
No player took a bigger step back last year than Ryan. Not even Carey Price himself was able to blow his stock as badly as this kid. It just seemed that his season went from bad to worse. The defensive blunders, own goal and lack of offence became intolerable for all of us and the coaches alike. In the end, he only saw 37 games of action in which he seemed to make no positive impact at all. It appeared, at times, that the once confident and smooth-skating giant had lost all hockey-sense – he even managed to look worse than Brisebois on multiple occasions.
Ryan must be able to see the writing on the wall this year and it certainly isn’t pretty. He is obviously no longer being looked upon as a can’t miss prospect, since Gainey went out and got two similarly sized defencemen. With minimal offensive upside, it wouldn't be surprising if Ryan didn’t see much time with Montreal this year. Injuries, though, provide his lifeline. If one or two of Gill, Mara or Hamrlik miss, it'll mean playing time and a chance for the 25 year-old to prove that he belongs at this level. I said last year that if a 6’6” guy is unwilling to play a solid, physical game then he really is just a waste of space. His game has to be hitting, possession and board-battles, otherwise we may as well call anyone up from the farm instead; at least that player might score a goal or two. Time will tell if he plays or not – he could play more than seasons past or he could play very little. When he plays in Montreal he must make it count, if not his time may be short-lived and may even be his final stint in the bleu, blanc, rouge.
Where O'Byrne will start 2009-10: In the pressbox most likely
Where O'Byrne will end 2009-10: Waving up at Hal Gill from the ice
Points: 2 G, 10 A, 12 Pts
As a pairing
As agreed at the beginning, this pairing is Hamrlik's. The decision then is who to play beside Roman. The choices: Gorges, Mara, Gill, O'Byrne, Weber or Carle.
Like me, your first thoughts here probably jumped to Josh Gorges. He's probably our 4th best defenceman with Mara, and he has played with Hamrlik before. But I tell you what, it doesn't play out for me. Here's why. Hamrlik played about equal time (300-400 minutes) with 3 different players last season: Ryan O'Byrne, Josh Gorges and Patrice Brisebois. Hamrlik was at his best defensively with O'Byrne (marks for that), even though his offense suffered. Hamrlik was at his best offensively with Gorges, but was much poorer when they were together on D, as was Josh. And, predictably, Patrice Brisebois made worse Hamrlik's averages on both offense and defence.
I then add that he played pretty badly with Markov, Bouillon, Schneider and Weber; but very well with Komisarek – and I start to see what makes Roman tick. Unlike Markov, he seems to like a big guy who hits and pushes forwards outside. Last year that meant O'Byrne and Komisarek, this year it means O'Byrne, Mara and Gill. It rules out Josh Gorges, Spacek and Markov altogether for me.
Now let me tell you why I choose O'Byrne from that group. First, though the other guys are big, they don't hit like O'Byrne (who hits twice as frequently). Gill, I excluded (though Martin probably won't) because his giveaway to takeaway ratio even in a good year for him was worse than a bad year for O'Byrne. Thirdly, O'Byrne was actually THE guy who got the best defence out of Hamrlik last year – to the tune of 2.1 GA/60 in their 365 minutes together last season. I wonder what O'Byrne's own stats might have looked like had he only played with O'Byrne and avoided his misadventures with Bouillon, Gorges and Markov.
Mara? Well, I had to consider Gorges as well. You'll hear about that tomorrow.
Statistics adapted from nhl.com, behindthenet.ca, Olivier
Hamrlik – O'Byrne
Roman Hamrlik
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (MTL) | 81 | 6 | 27 | 33 | +4 | 3.52 | 6.59 | 2.64 | 1.39 | -1.25 | 62 |
| 07-08 (MTL) | 77 | 5 | 21 | 26 | +7 | 4.65 | 6.30 | 2.36 | 1.21 | -1.14 | 38 |
| 06-07 (CGY) | 75 | 7 | 31 | 38 | +22 | 2.96 | 4.02 | 2.32 | 1.58 | -0.74 | 88 |
| Even-strength profile | |
 |
|
Stats notes
Hamrlik must have had a heck of a first half for him to end up with such respectable stats and yet to be found wearing the ring of shame from Habs fans. Those of fickle memories won't remember (or give credit) for work well done in the first 50 games though. Take this forgotten report, for example:
2. Roman Hamrlik: A
Teams can't win with just one great defenceman. There have to be options. Hamrlik is the perfect option. Like Andrei, he takes care of defence first. His calming influence on everyone, including O'Byrne, Brisebois, Bouillon and the viewers, is invaluable. When he plays well the team plays well, too – hence a good first half. The transformation of the Canadiens from playoff outsider to this could be traced to Souray for Hamrlik without too much reaching, you know.
To note:
1) Gentle giant
Perhaps it's because he came through as an offensive prodigy, but Roman Hamrlik has never been counted among the feared defencemen in the league. But as we know, being feared doesn't always equate to good defence. Roman, while being gentler than most men his size, is actually an acolyte of the Markov takeaway style over the Komisarek hit style. His 41 takeaways aren't Markov level, but they do put him in the top 10% of defencemen.
2) Sacrificed defence for offense
At least last season, it seems to me that Hamrlik sacrificed what was previously a very sound defensive contribution for a few more points. My advice to him would be to cut that out, for he's a far more valuable player to use if he can be our defensive lynchpin rather than a poor man's Markov. Keep the good passes coming, but full flight down the wing for shots? Let's curtail that where possible.
3) Too many PIMs
Last season Roman also took too many penalties for a player of his importance. Because of his strengths (takeaways, size and positioning), he is probably first choice for the PK. Well you can't kill a penalty if you're in the box. Cutting out the silly pens should help him regain his game and his stature with fans.
Things may have gone downhill, but the stats say Hamrlik slipped below our expectations of him, yes; but our expectations (based on that first half) were very high. In the end, his season was a decent one on average, and he was 2nd best at the back by a fairly clear margin.
Tobalev on Hamrlik:
There are conflicting sentiments out there amongst Habs fans. Some people really value the former #1 pick yet others see him as a waste of space and as a liability. I’ll tell you this though, at his best Roman can be an outstanding defenceman and can easily look like a #1. In his first year with the Habs, he was solid each and every game in his own end and even contributed quite nicely to the offence. Last year, however, it seemed that his play was much more unpredictable and it wasn’t unusual for him to have an off night on the nights we were racking up the Ls. All in all last year, I think, was still a good year, just maybe not great. He picked up 33 points (not bad for our third choice) and finished the year at +4.
He seemed to do well last year with Gorges, but I wouldn’t hold Martin to that pairing. I am not too concerned about who he’ll play with and even think it is conceivable that he partners anyone on the team. I am not worried about stats in Hamrlik’s case this year as all I hope for is a return to ’07-’08 form. If he can be a defensive force for 82 games then the season will be a success. I still, however, expect him to post at least 25 points (4-8 of which should be goals). If he plays the way we all know he can then his career -60 rating can only improve. In addition, don’t be surprised to see Hammer wearing a letter of some shape this year as he will likely take on quite a big leadership role now that Komi has gone.
Where Hamrlik will start 2009-10: Facing the Leafs best line of ... I'll get back to you after I've read my ECHL media guide from 2007.
Where Hamrlik will end 2009-10: With renewed faith from Canadiens fans
Points: 6 G, 20 A, 26 Pts
Ryan O'Byrne
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (MTL) | 37 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -7 | 8.27 | 4.40 | 2.90 | 1.18 | -1.72 | 58 |
| 07-08 (MTL) | 33 | 1 | 6 | 7 | +7 | 8.81 | 6.78 | 2.58 | 1.36 | -1.22 | 45 |
| Even-strength profile | |
 |
|
Stats notes
We all know O'Byrne had a rough year in 2008-09, but from all signs he's eager to put it behind him. ONe can't ignore all the negatives, but nor should we overlook some of the positive things:
1) Will replace Komisarek's hits
In what amounts to a single season's worth of games, the "rookie" Dman showed he wasn't afraid to throw his weight around. With more playing time, 8+ hits per 60 minutes will see him flirt with league leaders here.
2) Not completely inept offensively
We'll never see him on the PP, but O'Byrne has put up a respectable 11 assists in his first 70 NHL games. When you consider that he has been playing less with top line forwards than perhaps he has with lesser lights, it's not bad. The reason to hope here is that Martin's game will call for better passes from all defenders to forwards, and Ryan has shown glimmers of hope in that regard.
3) Giveaways not the entire problem
Sometimes giveaways stand out more than any other plays. Sometimes they become the only thing you can see in your mind's eye when you hear a player's name. I think this might be the case for Ryan. But while he's certainly flirting with the bottom of the table with his giveaways, he's still better than half the TO corps (Schenn, Van Ryn and Komisarek). Though I don't have a stat to prove it here, it was Ryan's other problem – positioning – that led to that nasty deep turquoise stain on his pie chart. Luckily, positioning is something Jacques Martin is teaching each day this fall, so Ryan, with an open mind, will benefit.
There you have it, Ryan O'Byrne, blemishes, scars and all. Of all the players previewed, I don't think I have had to suspend the belief in stats as much as I have in putting O'Byrne on the second pairing. Call it giving him a second chance. In his round-about way (trying to rescue Brisebois' reputation along the way), even Bertrand Raymond agrees with me that Ryan deserves another chance on the merry-go-round. If you can read French, then you should have look at the article on O'Byrne, it's a very good read (whatever you make think of Raymond).
Tobalev on O'Byrne
No player took a bigger step back last year than Ryan. Not even Carey Price himself was able to blow his stock as badly as this kid. It just seemed that his season went from bad to worse. The defensive blunders, own goal and lack of offence became intolerable for all of us and the coaches alike. In the end, he only saw 37 games of action in which he seemed to make no positive impact at all. It appeared, at times, that the once confident and smooth-skating giant had lost all hockey-sense – he even managed to look worse than Brisebois on multiple occasions.
Ryan must be able to see the writing on the wall this year and it certainly isn’t pretty. He is obviously no longer being looked upon as a can’t miss prospect, since Gainey went out and got two similarly sized defencemen. With minimal offensive upside, it wouldn't be surprising if Ryan didn’t see much time with Montreal this year. Injuries, though, provide his lifeline. If one or two of Gill, Mara or Hamrlik miss, it'll mean playing time and a chance for the 25 year-old to prove that he belongs at this level. I said last year that if a 6’6” guy is unwilling to play a solid, physical game then he really is just a waste of space. His game has to be hitting, possession and board-battles, otherwise we may as well call anyone up from the farm instead; at least that player might score a goal or two. Time will tell if he plays or not – he could play more than seasons past or he could play very little. When he plays in Montreal he must make it count, if not his time may be short-lived and may even be his final stint in the bleu, blanc, rouge.
Where O'Byrne will start 2009-10: In the pressbox most likely
Where O'Byrne will end 2009-10: Waving up at Hal Gill from the ice
Points: 2 G, 10 A, 12 Pts
As a pairing
| Pairing #2 | Effect O/D | |
| D – Roman Hamrlik |  |
|
| D – Ryan O'Byrne |  |
|
As agreed at the beginning, this pairing is Hamrlik's. The decision then is who to play beside Roman. The choices: Gorges, Mara, Gill, O'Byrne, Weber or Carle.
Like me, your first thoughts here probably jumped to Josh Gorges. He's probably our 4th best defenceman with Mara, and he has played with Hamrlik before. But I tell you what, it doesn't play out for me. Here's why. Hamrlik played about equal time (300-400 minutes) with 3 different players last season: Ryan O'Byrne, Josh Gorges and Patrice Brisebois. Hamrlik was at his best defensively with O'Byrne (marks for that), even though his offense suffered. Hamrlik was at his best offensively with Gorges, but was much poorer when they were together on D, as was Josh. And, predictably, Patrice Brisebois made worse Hamrlik's averages on both offense and defence.
I then add that he played pretty badly with Markov, Bouillon, Schneider and Weber; but very well with Komisarek – and I start to see what makes Roman tick. Unlike Markov, he seems to like a big guy who hits and pushes forwards outside. Last year that meant O'Byrne and Komisarek, this year it means O'Byrne, Mara and Gill. It rules out Josh Gorges, Spacek and Markov altogether for me.
Now let me tell you why I choose O'Byrne from that group. First, though the other guys are big, they don't hit like O'Byrne (who hits twice as frequently). Gill, I excluded (though Martin probably won't) because his giveaway to takeaway ratio even in a good year for him was worse than a bad year for O'Byrne. Thirdly, O'Byrne was actually THE guy who got the best defence out of Hamrlik last year – to the tune of 2.1 GA/60 in their 365 minutes together last season. I wonder what O'Byrne's own stats might have looked like had he only played with O'Byrne and avoided his misadventures with Bouillon, Gorges and Markov.
Mara? Well, I had to consider Gorges as well. You'll hear about that tomorrow.
Statistics adapted from nhl.com, behindthenet.ca, Olivier
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Canadiens Season Preview:
Outgoing Defencemen
Finished with the forwards, it's time to move on to the important parts of the team. First up the defenders.
As I mentioned with the forward group, evaluating this year's team requires a bit of a retrospective glance. As such, I've put together a brief piece all about the outgoing defencemen from the 2008-09 season.
I should note that I am using the same pie charts to pick apart the defencemen as I did for the forwards (the legend can be found here). However, in the place of breakdowns of goals and assists and things by time, PPG and GWG, I decided to take a look at some statistics I cooked up from more raw numbers at NHL.com that better reflect the skills I would like my defencemen to aspire to (Hits/60, Blocked shots/60, Giveaways/60, Takeaways/60 and the difference between those last two). Hope you enjoy.
Mathieu Schneider
Legend
Losing Schneider is a funny feeling. Although the statistics do tell me that he played for the Canadiens last season, it was such a short stint, at such a weird time, that it almost seems hard to believe. He will certainly be missed as an offensive producer (his 30+ points season in, season out) for his age is impressive.
The other part of Schneider's game, the defence, is something that is harder to assess. While he had more takeaways than giveaways last season, and is consistently respectable in that regard, he nevertheless stood on the ice for nearly 3 goals for every 60 minutes of play (or a goal a game). The likely story is that Mathieu gets caught up the ice, just like many a forward, while trying to maintain his impressive offensive out put.
If Schneider weren't 40 years old, I feel that he would definitely be back. Instead, Gainey opted for a similar player with a few years to spare in Spacek. At the very least, Schneider taught Gainey that he needed a player like him.
Mike Komisarek
Legend
I've been giving Komisarek some flak recently, and I've been feeling some resistance from his fans. But you know what? This off-season, I have the stats on my side. Komisarek had a truly awful 2008-09 campaign, and it's a wonder he got a raise, let alone two offers for him to be paid among the defensive elite of the league.
On the surface, much of Komi's stats were quite rosy. After all, he was in the league leaders for hits and blocked shots again. Though he didn't contribute offensively, his +/- was even. What's my problem, right? Well, it's when you delve a little that you find the truth. To start with, the basic stat we've been trotting out (the Corsi number, which shows total chances for minus those against) is negative, and not hovering around zero either.
His giveaway numbers from last season were atrocious, as well. In all he gave away the puck 89 times, which made for nearly 4 giveaways for every 60 minutes on the ice – the worst among all defencemen with more than 15 games of play. As if to show just how bad a season he was having, he did not make up for his giveaways at all. His paltry 21 takeaways amounted to less than one every three games for him. The difference between the two was again league worst for players with more than 15 games. Maybe I am wrong, but I expect the occasional positive turnover to come from a hit he makes, to see hundreds of hits result in so few takeaways confirms what I'd been saying all along – he started merely hitting for the sake of it.
Perhaps the most telling thing is how he made his partner into a worse player at both ends. Markov with any other partner (mostly Gorges) last year was a 2.8 GF/60 and a 2.3 GA/60 player. With Mike, his numbers suffered significantly to make him a 2.4 GF/60 and 2.7 GA/60 player (a negative plus/minus to boot).
Well that was last year. A bad one indeed. But players have come back from worse, haven't they? And, Mike did have a good season the year before. His hits and blocked shots stats reaching impressive double digits in average.
Can he be replaced? Well the 2008-09 Komisarek does not need replacing, thank you. His influence on the team (certainly on the ice) was not something to cling to. If you mean the 2007-08 Komisarek, then it's harder. I certainly think that in bringing Paul Mara who steadily occupies the middle ground of Komisarek's wild fluctuation should help us see off our memories of #8.
Francis Bouillon
Legend
While others were grabbing the headlines for their futility, Francis was turning in a quietly terrible season last year as well. 3.00 GA/60 is never something you want to see from any player, let alone one who spent significant time as a 4th/5th defenceman on the team. And his negative plus/minus and Corsi did not offer any excuses for the little man.
While we should definitely miss his spirit and his hitting, I think that for this time, Frank's trip to Nashville from Montreal should be permanent. I think that Bouillon, despite that nice blip in 2007-08, is indeed going in to the twilight of his career. No longer can he win the foot races, no longer does he surprise with his hip checks. Replacing Frank emotionally may be hard, but the play he was bringing to the team? O'Byrne should handle it.
Patrice Brisebois
Legend
Ding, dong, the witch... There won't be too much gloating this time, because look where it got us before. When it comes to Brisebois, I have learned never to underestimate his deft ability to convince Bob Gainey he is not a waste of cap space.
To be fair to Brisebois, the last two seasons he actually played like a semi-adequste 6th/7th defenceman. His offensive contributions were above average and his defensive blunders were strategically limited through selective deployment. He can be proud of his reclamation in Montreal too, where he proved upon his comeback that he actually was in the group of 170-210 best defencemen in the NHL. It was a conclusion we would not have accepted back in 2007.
Even so, replacing him is something I will relish as a fan because whereas Patrice's best gift to us was not to make a huge mistake on a shift, we now get a chance to look at players who aspire to more. With all those defencemen in the pipeline, another season of Patrice would have been unforgivable.
Doug Janik
Doug Janik, we hardly knew thee. Even putting Doug Janik in here was a last minute decision. as you can see, I didn't bother making him a chart.
While Janik was not really a Hab for more than a few days, he was a contributor. IN his final act, Doug helped the Habs by having his rights act as a trade piece in the Scott Gomez deal. I'm not sure who asked for that, Gainey or Sather, but it'll be on the trivia for years to come if the Alaskan were ever to lead this team past the second round.
Janik, for his part is actually quite a good player. As you can see from his stats he runs a tighter ship than say Komisarek (though with less hits). A depth defender he is though, and he's already moved onto his next stop in Detroit. We wish him luck.
Unlike the departing forwards, the departing defencemen don't have that whole "rip the heart out of the team" feel to them. Yes, they were part of the upheaval, but 2 were never really here, 2 were past their due date and the other – well he was offered the same money and left, so sod him.
In the end, nothing that was lost from the back end of the 2008-09 team was irreplaceable. In fact, many of the subtractions in and of themselves are positive. And, considering the signings, it looks like Gainey has upgraded here. I'll let you in on what we got in the upcoming days from the statistical side of things.
Statistics adapted from nhl.com, behindthenet.ca, Olivier
As I mentioned with the forward group, evaluating this year's team requires a bit of a retrospective glance. As such, I've put together a brief piece all about the outgoing defencemen from the 2008-09 season.
I should note that I am using the same pie charts to pick apart the defencemen as I did for the forwards (the legend can be found here). However, in the place of breakdowns of goals and assists and things by time, PPG and GWG, I decided to take a look at some statistics I cooked up from more raw numbers at NHL.com that better reflect the skills I would like my defencemen to aspire to (Hits/60, Blocked shots/60, Giveaways/60, Takeaways/60 and the difference between those last two). Hope you enjoy.
Mathieu Schneider
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (ATL/MTL) | 67 | 9 | 23 | 32 | -12 | 3.03 | 5.03 | 1.75 | 2.09 | +0.34 | 64 |
| 07-08 (ANA) | 65 | 12 | 27 | 39 | +22 | 3.23 | 2.32 | 1.41 | 1.45 | +0.04 | 50 |
| 06-07 (DET) | 68 | 11 | 41 | 52 | +12 | 2.92 | 3.07 | 2.32 | 0.67 | -1.65 | 66 |
| Even-strength profile | |
 |
|
Losing Schneider is a funny feeling. Although the statistics do tell me that he played for the Canadiens last season, it was such a short stint, at such a weird time, that it almost seems hard to believe. He will certainly be missed as an offensive producer (his 30+ points season in, season out) for his age is impressive.
The other part of Schneider's game, the defence, is something that is harder to assess. While he had more takeaways than giveaways last season, and is consistently respectable in that regard, he nevertheless stood on the ice for nearly 3 goals for every 60 minutes of play (or a goal a game). The likely story is that Mathieu gets caught up the ice, just like many a forward, while trying to maintain his impressive offensive out put.
If Schneider weren't 40 years old, I feel that he would definitely be back. Instead, Gainey opted for a similar player with a few years to spare in Spacek. At the very least, Schneider taught Gainey that he needed a player like him.
Mike Komisarek
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (MTL) | 66 | 2 | 9 | 11 | E | 8.42 | 9.13 | 3.92 | 0.93 | -3.00 | 121 |
| 07-08 (MTL) | 75 | 4 | 13 | 17 | +9 | 10.06 | 10.47 | 2.57 | 1.51 | -1.06 | 101 |
| 06-07 (MTL) | 82 | 4 | 15 | 19 | +7 | 9.42 | 5.58 | 3.46 | 1.67 | -1.79 | 96 |
| Even-strength profile | |
 |
|
I've been giving Komisarek some flak recently, and I've been feeling some resistance from his fans. But you know what? This off-season, I have the stats on my side. Komisarek had a truly awful 2008-09 campaign, and it's a wonder he got a raise, let alone two offers for him to be paid among the defensive elite of the league.
On the surface, much of Komi's stats were quite rosy. After all, he was in the league leaders for hits and blocked shots again. Though he didn't contribute offensively, his +/- was even. What's my problem, right? Well, it's when you delve a little that you find the truth. To start with, the basic stat we've been trotting out (the Corsi number, which shows total chances for minus those against) is negative, and not hovering around zero either.
His giveaway numbers from last season were atrocious, as well. In all he gave away the puck 89 times, which made for nearly 4 giveaways for every 60 minutes on the ice – the worst among all defencemen with more than 15 games of play. As if to show just how bad a season he was having, he did not make up for his giveaways at all. His paltry 21 takeaways amounted to less than one every three games for him. The difference between the two was again league worst for players with more than 15 games. Maybe I am wrong, but I expect the occasional positive turnover to come from a hit he makes, to see hundreds of hits result in so few takeaways confirms what I'd been saying all along – he started merely hitting for the sake of it.
Perhaps the most telling thing is how he made his partner into a worse player at both ends. Markov with any other partner (mostly Gorges) last year was a 2.8 GF/60 and a 2.3 GA/60 player. With Mike, his numbers suffered significantly to make him a 2.4 GF/60 and 2.7 GA/60 player (a negative plus/minus to boot).
Well that was last year. A bad one indeed. But players have come back from worse, haven't they? And, Mike did have a good season the year before. His hits and blocked shots stats reaching impressive double digits in average.
Can he be replaced? Well the 2008-09 Komisarek does not need replacing, thank you. His influence on the team (certainly on the ice) was not something to cling to. If you mean the 2007-08 Komisarek, then it's harder. I certainly think that in bringing Paul Mara who steadily occupies the middle ground of Komisarek's wild fluctuation should help us see off our memories of #8.
Francis Bouillon
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (MTL) | 54 | 5 | 4 | 9 | -7 | 8.22 | 3.71 | 2.16 | 1.01 | -1.15 | 53 |
| 07-08 (MTL) | 74 | 2 | 6 | 8 | +9 | 7.85 | 5.42 | 1.68 | 1.03 | -0.65 | 61 |
| 06-07 (MTL) | 62 | 3 | 11 | 14 | -10 | 7.82 | 4.81 | 3.43 | 1.32 | -2.11 | 52 |
| Even-strength profile | |
 |
|
While others were grabbing the headlines for their futility, Francis was turning in a quietly terrible season last year as well. 3.00 GA/60 is never something you want to see from any player, let alone one who spent significant time as a 4th/5th defenceman on the team. And his negative plus/minus and Corsi did not offer any excuses for the little man.
While we should definitely miss his spirit and his hitting, I think that for this time, Frank's trip to Nashville from Montreal should be permanent. I think that Bouillon, despite that nice blip in 2007-08, is indeed going in to the twilight of his career. No longer can he win the foot races, no longer does he surprise with his hip checks. Replacing Frank emotionally may be hard, but the play he was bringing to the team? O'Byrne should handle it.
Patrice Brisebois
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (MTL) | 62 | 5 | 13 | 18 | -3 | 2.74 | 4.20 | 3.28 | 0.85 | -2.43 | 19 |
| 07-08 (MTL) | 43 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -2 | 2.40 | 3.32 | 3.07 | 1.24 | -1.82 | 26 |
| 06-07 (COL) | 37 | 1 | 10 | 11 | -5 | 2.34 | 3.28 | 2.06 | 1.41 | -0.65 | 22 |
| Even-strength profile | |
 |
|
Ding, dong, the witch... There won't be too much gloating this time, because look where it got us before. When it comes to Brisebois, I have learned never to underestimate his deft ability to convince Bob Gainey he is not a waste of cap space.
To be fair to Brisebois, the last two seasons he actually played like a semi-adequste 6th/7th defenceman. His offensive contributions were above average and his defensive blunders were strategically limited through selective deployment. He can be proud of his reclamation in Montreal too, where he proved upon his comeback that he actually was in the group of 170-210 best defencemen in the NHL. It was a conclusion we would not have accepted back in 2007.
Even so, replacing him is something I will relish as a fan because whereas Patrice's best gift to us was not to make a huge mistake on a shift, we now get a chance to look at players who aspire to more. With all those defencemen in the pipeline, another season of Patrice would have been unforgivable.
Doug Janik
| NHL Season | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | Hits/60 | BkS/60 | GvA/60 | TkA/60 | Gv:Tk | PIM |
| 08-09 (DAL/MTL) | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 3.10 | 6.20 | 2.33 | 1.94 | -0.39 | 10 |
| 07-08 (TB) | 61 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -3 | 3.48 | 4.64 | 1.79 | 0.84 | -0.95 | 45 |
Doug Janik, we hardly knew thee. Even putting Doug Janik in here was a last minute decision. as you can see, I didn't bother making him a chart.
While Janik was not really a Hab for more than a few days, he was a contributor. IN his final act, Doug helped the Habs by having his rights act as a trade piece in the Scott Gomez deal. I'm not sure who asked for that, Gainey or Sather, but it'll be on the trivia for years to come if the Alaskan were ever to lead this team past the second round.
Janik, for his part is actually quite a good player. As you can see from his stats he runs a tighter ship than say Komisarek (though with less hits). A depth defender he is though, and he's already moved onto his next stop in Detroit. We wish him luck.
Unlike the departing forwards, the departing defencemen don't have that whole "rip the heart out of the team" feel to them. Yes, they were part of the upheaval, but 2 were never really here, 2 were past their due date and the other – well he was offered the same money and left, so sod him.
In the end, nothing that was lost from the back end of the 2008-09 team was irreplaceable. In fact, many of the subtractions in and of themselves are positive. And, considering the signings, it looks like Gainey has upgraded here. I'll let you in on what we got in the upcoming days from the statistical side of things.
Statistics adapted from nhl.com, behindthenet.ca, Olivier
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