Pierre Gauthier''s Year

Apparently today marks the first anniversary of Pierre Gauthier's time as the man officially in charge of the Montreal Canadiens.

Round and about, it seems to be the thing to give some kind of retrospective on him. At first, i thought I had no interest in doing this. That was until I read the glowing reviews he's been getting. I think the internet is calling for some balance.

Trades

The place everyone seems to start is with trades, so I'll start there too. Gauthier has made a total of nine of them in a year. In doing so, he has traded 5 players that were on last year's roster as well as a first, 3 second round picks and a 5th rounder with one prospect for two players on the current roster, 6 prospects, 2 free agents that are gone now, a first rounder, a 4th and a 5th.

Here are the trades:

1) 2nd round pick (TBD) in 2011 traded to Florida Panthers for Dominic Moore

2) Matt D'Agostini traded to St. Louis Blues for Aaron Palushaj

3) Jaroslav Halak traded to St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz

4) 1st round pick (Mark Visentin) in 2010 and a 2nd round pick (Oscar Lindberg) in 2010 traded to Phoenix Coyotes for a 1st round pick (Jarred Tinordi) in 2010 and a 4th Round pick (Mark MacMillan) in 2010

5) Sergei Kostitsyn and future considerations traded to Nashville Predators for Dan Ellis, Dustin Boyd and future considerations

6) Cedrick Desjardins traded to Tampa Bay Lightning for Karri Ramo

7) Ryan O'Byrne traded to Colorado Avalanche for Michael Bournival

8) 2nd round pick (TBD) in 2011 and a conditional 5th round pick (TBD) in 2012 traded to New York Islanders for James Wisniewski. 2nd round pick was NHL compensation for 1st round pick David Fischer not being signed

9) Maxim Lapierre traded to Anaheim Ducks for Brett Festerling and a 5th Round pick (TBD) in 2012


Trades 2) and 6) I'll call neutral. Basic prospect for prospect swaps. Factors like age and popularity of the players might play into this over time.

Trade 1) was a rental that paid off. So that's a victory. A 2nd round pick is steep for Dominic Moore. But a second round pick is cheap for a forward that significantly helps your team knock off two powerhouses and make the best playoff run the franchise has had in near two decades.

Trade 7) is another win for me. O'Byrne was essentially a dead-end prospect. Subban and Weber progressing properly made his worth to the team drop. Add in Picard who is at least as good, if not as big and there wasn't much place for Ryan in the future. Turning this guy into a potentially very exciting Quebec-born first rounder (who narrowly missed making team Canada) was very good for a Canadiens GM.

Trades 5) and 9) are widely viewed as addition by subtraction. As is standard procedure in these trades, the GM went to another conference. The problem is addition by subtraction is ultimately still subtraction. These can't really be viewed as wins, because other GMs have done more with less value. Gauthier needed to be more alert to the good trades out there and hold his cards. Andrej Meszaros was had for a 2nd rounder, Chicago was dumping players like Andrew Ladd. Even if we throw that out the window, the Canadiens GM in making these trades is just continuing the lazy tradition of jettisoning problems as opposed to facing them. 50+ point Ribeiro and 40+ point Grabovski join Kostistyn on the list of talent thrown away of late. Even though I fully subscribe to the idea that these players needed to go, I cannot endorse trading players for just anything. Talent has to be either managed or managed until value can be found in return. These trades are in the needs improvement column.

Trade 8) was a clear win. Wisniewski is a good fit and just what the team needed at the time. The price was OK considering the rental was long, and better if you consider he's auditioning for a future place.

The last two trades are examples of trades gone wrong.

The trade up for Jarred Tonirodi was a miscalculation, I think. For one thing there were more than 5 players of Tinordi's standard out there. And you know how I feel about taking defensive defencemen in the first round. To spend a second rounder for a fourth to get one on top of wasting the pick on one is pretty poor. I understand the scouts liked him and that's how it worked. But tell me, didn't the scouts see anything in say Tyler Toffoli who now has 44 goals in 50 OHL games (47th)? Or other second rounders who they might have been able to take as well as Tinordi if they risked him falling?

The Halak trade is being viewed at the moment through some mighty rosy glasses. From all the comments, you'd think that Halak was made of kryptonite to halt Price's superman. Let's assume for a moment that they are in fact separate people, and only made of organic matter that doesn't emit debilitating auras. Price if was going to be good, was going to be good. Halak had just come off an outstanding playoffs that laid to rest a lot of the thought at the time that his previous two seasons were flashes in the pan. He was an asset.

So trading an asset. This is stuff to get excited about? Should be. Could be. Except that Gauthier decided to cut off his own legs. He decided that it was best to trade Halak before signing him to a contract. This decision meant that a) Halak was worth less and b) Price was worth more. Now we can argue about Eller until the cows come home,and  Price's contract looks like every good value now. Heck, Halak's record makes this look rosy too. But all of that misses the point. The GM needed to turn Halak into something much more valuable than Eller and Schultz. If Gautheir really believed that he was picking the right goalie, he needed to open this up to the Eastern conference, where goalies were most required. If the trade wasn't there at that time, he should have signed Halak and played salary games like the two teams that just made the Stanley Cup final did all last season.

This was a mediocre trade with extremely bad timing.


Overall, I have Gauthier down as an average trader who seems like he might be getting better (Bournival, Wisniewski). If trading was all there was to being a GM, then he'd deserve a pat of encouragement. If you're polar opposite on that Halak trade, I can see where the rave reviews are coming from.


Free agents
In terms of new faces, Gauthier did OK last summer. Basically, he added Alex Auld, Alexandre Picard and Jeff Halpern. None of these signings sets to world on fire. Yet none creates a salary mess either. Considering they've all played well, I'd say it's a good record.

If there's a criticism to be levelled with regard to free agents, it has to be about the resigning of the team's own. Pouliot stands out, since he got a 50% raise despite basically taking 25 games off at the end of last season. Halak wasn't signed (before the playoffs?) and we know what problems I think that caused and Price got a very hefty raise despite having 18 pretty average months on a contract that was already paying over the odds.

Again in retrospect these things look OK. I can't rely entirely on retrospect. When a player plays badly, he should not be rewarded with a hefty raise. it sets dangerous precedents for when a) that player plays well and b) other players come off below average seasons. Contract structure is all about internal precedents and one can only rely on so much good will from players who wish to stay. These two contracts netting a few hundred thousand more than they should have will likely mean the loss of a real roster player this summer.


Man management

Perhaps man management is entirely the duty of the GM, but ultimately he's the man who pushes the buttons and he can tell the coaches what he wants them to do as their boss.

A big red light went up this January when Andrei Kostitsyn asked for a meeting with Jacques Martin and finally found out what the coach wanted.

This is indicative of a problem that we thought had gone the way of Carbo. An environment where players and personalities are being managed on a daily basis. It's a problem. It's a problem because players like the ones I mention above as additions by subtraction become those players worth subtracting in these environments.

In a league as competitive for talent as the NHL, it's crazy to allow an environment that consistently puts up these problem players to persist. We've lost the talent held in Ribeiro, Grabovksi, Sergei and Lapierre for little in return, and it looks precarious in Andrei Kostitsyn's case.

I understand that Jacques Martin is a grizzled vet who is set in his ways, and in many ways holds more clout and credibility than Gauthier. However, Gauthier is the man charged with managing this group of talent. When sweeping problems under the rug until a trade comes up is the standard operating procedure, it's the GM's duty to step in and speak for the talent assets of the club.

I was willing to assume this was taken care of. That is until Andrei's recent revelations. Gauthier must do better here. Else more talent (talented guys do tend o have egos sometimes) will pass on by.


Results

ON results, Gauthier looks a star. The team, fighting for the playoffs when he took over, made it there and put in a great run. This season is the team's best since 2008, and probably better when injuries are tallied. Considering that, it's been the best 12 months (Feb to Feb) for the Habs since 1993. Gauthier is reaping the good favour for this in his reviews today.

Problem is, much of this has little to do with Gauthier's reign as sole man at the helm. The core of the team was put together with Gainey in charge (or so we thought). Carey Price is better because of goaltending coaches and better defence, not that contract or Halak leaving.

Gautheir is the GM of a very good team, but let's not make the mistake in thinking that he's the very good GM of an NHL team.

February is a telling time for a GM, as it's one of the few months many of them do any work. Trades made in the next month, or trades no made will give us a fuller picture on Gauthier. Another draft will reveal more about his steel and judgment, as will the contract season.

A year is far too little time to judge a GM properly. I've been hard, but not down on Gauthier. I felt some of the stuff glossed over by others needed to be brought to light. Until now, I'd say he's been adequate, doing little to indicate he'll separate from the pack. It could be worse. But in a thirty team league with only one team winning the prize each year, being adequate might not be enough.

First Half Check-Up Defence

20 games in, this was a well above average crew sitting near the top of the league in goals against and near the top of the standings for it.

Let's see where the defenders are now at the midway point.

Legend:

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

Roman Hamrlik

Grade:

B+

The Hammer went from being a plus player with sketchy supporting stats to a player just under neutral at ES, but with much improved Fenwick, Cosi and chance differential. His second twenty games included a 7-game span that he'd probably rather forget (as would Habs and fans in general), but it also contained a stretch where he was fully outstanding.for 11 games. Given his new brief to carry the biggest load on D, he has done remarkably well. And under the radar has been his steady point production that gives him the pace of a true offensive defenceman.

Jaroslav Spacek

Grade:

B

Spacek's had his ups and downs as well, yet I admire the way he recovers from his low points to return good efforts. If B is a nice solid, round, average grade, then that's what i give Spacek. He has been a steadying influence for the team and an important player for shadowing some top stars. he has shown more toughness than he gets credit for (have you ever seen anyone go face first into the boards so many times?), and he has done it performing an expanded role. I'd like to see him alter the play so that his Fenwick number soars a bit more, but -5 isn't all that bad.

Josh Gorges

Grade:

B+

Josh had a great great start. It definitely tapered off, and the surgery to the knee tells us why. Full credit to him for playing a career so far on a damaged joint, but I am wont to deduct points for pushing the envelope to the point that he was making the team suffer and that now his recovery date falls squarely in the summer. At his best this year, he could have laid his hands on the #1 mantle for the team, but he was too many games below his absolute top to warrant an A grade. The improvements must now wait till next year, next contract. They should include more care to chances being allowed and perhaps a little more courage to participate in the offense.

Hal Gill

Grade:

B+

Hal's often been the poorer cousin in his partnerships, but since Gorges started feeling the pain, I feel he has stepped up. And then there has been another step since Gorges went down. Gill has his limits, but the good thing with him is that he knows them well and has with experience worked out how to deal with many of them. I used to look at Hal Gill as a massive liability, but these days I look at him as a useful weapon, one that creates an advantage if deployed correctly. Penalty kill is the best example of his special skill, and he more than any player is responsible for the Canadiens excellence in this category.

PK Subban

Grade:

A

PK has been bitten with some goals against in the last 20 games, and a couple of those were due to some silly errors in judgment. Despite this, he continues to rampage in the new stats categories. It's truly impressive that a rookie can tip the ice surface so squarely in favour of his team as PK has done. For that he earns the top mark among defenders. It will be interesting to see how he copes with his expanding workload. So far so good, as he curtailing his search for the big hit a bit and beginning to skate again.

Alexandre Picard

Grade:

B+

Picard gets a lot of his impressive numbers courtesy of his smooth skating partner. But it would be unfair not to at least admit he provides the backing solid enough from which the assaults the other way can be launched. As time goes by, I consider the Picard acquisition more and more important in the scheme of things. After losing Markov again, and Gorges, it's a very good thing Gauthier made this acquisition in the summertime. Perhaps the biggest surprise with Picard is that he's not really an offensive defenceman at all. perhaps that's due to the energy it takes him to fulfill Martin's requests of him. Either way, I like him on the blueline at the moment.

James Wisniewski

Grade:

N/A

Whoknewski? I have to say it again. Replacing Markov was going to be impossible. But other than that the Canadiens needed to replace MA Bergeron. So far Wisniewski has done just that, and with a much more comforting style in the back end. I reserve the right not to rate him for 4 games in the first half. A continuation of his current play will ensure something quite generous, I'm sure. 5 points with an OT gamewinner is icing on the cake in this trade.

Yannick Weber

Grade:

B

Weber's another player who probably hasn't done exactly as expected. I'm sure he was brought in to provide seeing eye shots for the PP, but he hasn't done that. Even so, he's a much improved defender to the Weber of last season or the playoffs previous. His play to this point has been adequate for his role, and occasionally very good. I'd like to think he can improve even more and gain the confidence to become an offensive contributor. I'd like to think he can improve even more and gain the confidence to become an offensive contributor.

Andrei Markov

Grade:

B

No games. So I reinsert what I wrote at 20 games:

Markov's game time doesn't allow much analysis either. Still, in seven games he gave enough impression to earn a grade. While Markov left the ice hobbling as the best Canadiens Dman, his seven games were a build to that point. When first back, he was quieter. 3 games in he was ambitious, even dangerously so. And against Carolina, he wasn't starting to conduct the orchestra again.

It is a shame that he leaves as his impact was just beginning to be felt. You will note there has only been one 7 goal effort for the Habs this season, and though they've won an impressive number, few wins have left the lingering feeling of offensive juggernaut. That is probably the biggest loss with this injury. The defenders (as seen above) have all been working out how to defend, but few can put it together with the extracurricular offence the way Andrei does.

Ryan O'Byrne

Grade:

N/A

Smae with O'B. The 20 game take:

Not very much to judge him on, so I won't. He may thrive in Colorado and may yet be missed here.

Defenders At The Quarter Pole

20 games into the season is as good a time as any to look at some stats accumulated.

I present to you here the rundown of the defence as I've seen it so far, complete with expanded gamelog statistics. Green means good and blue means bad. Note how good in the goals, assists, and points scored does not always correspond with the rest -- hence the need for a gamelog that tells us more...

And just a quick recap for the legend:

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

Jaroslav Spacek

Grade:

B

Spacek has been plenty maligned for his play up to this point. Yet, for the most part, it must be said he is meeting expectation. He is often on the top defensive pairing for an improved defence and has chalked up 8 points already.

If you look at his gamelog, it doesn't show giveaways, but it does show that he's mostly been having good games with about 5 in 20 worth questioning. He has really turned it on lately as well, a timely spurt given the injury situation.

Ryan O'Byrne

Grade:

N/A

Not very much to judge him on, so I won't. He may thrive in Colorado and may yet be missed here.

Josh Gorges

Grade:

A-

Josh gets some hard assignments and comes through with flying colours most of the time. But if he wants an A+, then he has to find a way to avoid big blue patches on his even strength gamelog (see below). Still, over the first quarter, he has been the best defender on an improved defence, so that's worthy of praise.

Roman Hamrlik

Grade:

B+

Hamrlik is viewed as Spacek's babysitter at times, but the partnership actually seems more mutual than that. Hammer has lived up to all expectation of himself so far and has had a a few standout games. What this even strength gamelog doesn't show is PP and PK, where Hammer is actually quite a talent. I'd say a good quarter, and looking solid as we move ahead.

Alexandre Picard

Grade:

B+

Yes, Alex has had all the easier assignments at ES, but he's made a mockery of those he's faced at times (see Game 9). He's really been a pleasant surprise in the line of French Canadian Brisebois aspirants, as he gels better with his partners and makes less ridiculous passes. He too could have a higher mark, but for his pretty ineffective PP work to date.

Yannick Weber

Grade:

N/A

He's been a Hamilton stud so far, and last night he played well enough. There's nothing here to base a mark on, but keeping his record from last night will result in two changes: a move to the forward list, and a higher than average mark.

Hal Gill

Grade:

B

Gill really has taught us to think of defence differently, and Martin too, I think. The barely ambulatory lug is very effective when he's doing what his skills are built for. PK and playing obstructive ES D is where he thrives. A higher mark? Well, his limits as a defender do still hurt the team. His slow feet cost odd-man situations and his passing is not always Markovian. Gill has a ceiling, and so a B is more than it might be for others.

PK Subban

Grade:

A

Subban has been extremely impressive in his first NHL season. No hesitation, no fear, no reluctance to show people up. You can see from his outstanding gamelog what an asset he is on the 3rd pairing -- it gives those opponents hardly a chance to move as he cleans up and sets up offense with aplomb.

Things to work on for Subban are shooting without a 3 second back swing (too many attempts blocked) and even trusting his partner a bit more. To be saying only this about a 21-year-old defender is astounding.

Andrei Markov

Grade:

B+

Markov's game time doesn't allow much analysis either. Still, in seven games he gave enough impression to earn a grade. While Markov left the ice hobbling as the best Canadiens Dman, his seven games were a build to that point. When first back, he was quieter. 3 games in he was ambitious, even dangerously so. And against Carolina, he wasn't starting to conduct the orchestra again.

It is a shame that he leaves as his impact was just beginning to be felt. You will note there has only been one 7 goal effort for the Habs this season, and though they've won an impressive number, few wins have left the lingering feeling of offensive juggernaut. That is probably the biggest loss with this injury. The defenders (as seen above) have all been working out how to defend, but few can put it together with the extracurricular offence the way Andrei does.

O'B-ournival Big D Traded For Q Prospect

A mere week ago I asked if it was the end for Ryan O'Byrne. And with the amount of times I'm willing to but heads with certain adamant commenters, you must surely all be wondering if you are reading Pierre Gauthier's blog.

Well, that was all just luck and hard-headedness. However, today O'Byrne was indeed at the end of his Canadiens career as he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche (Quebec's other team) for a prospect from the QMJHL.


The positive

There's little to be positive about in O'Byrne's loss. He was a decent defender who was never given a proper chance. But as they didn't just outright lose him, this trade does offer a lot of positive.

The player they received in return, Michel Bournival of the Shawinigan Cataractes, is a proper prospect. He is only 18, he plays in the Quebec league and he is adept enough at scoring to have been taken in the first three rounds of the latest NHL draft. Being as he is from the home province, that bumps him to second round value for the Habs who may be getting a bit worried about their hometown content for future seasons as Mathieu Carle sputters, Olivier Fortier slips, Gabriel Dumont is still small and Maxim Lapierre shows last year's regular season was not a one-time thing. Bournival isn't the future saviour of the Canadiens. The scouting report dug up by Mike Boone says:

"He hasn't been on the radar a whole lot but everybody has the same opinion of him, he's just an excellent hockey player," veteran scout Kevin Prendergast said. "He's not great at anything, but he's good at everything. I think we'll probably want to have a look and see if he's versatile. Can he play the wings as (well) as playing centre too? We think the centre situation is going to be taken, but he's got the kind of hockey sense and the grit that we think he has a chance to maybe be part of the camp."

Not great at anything is never something you want to read, yet it may be the scout's manner, as he also reveals him as an excellent hockey player.

It's almost always the case with prospects anyway that what came before only gives a trend, an idea. Some big-time scorers flop and some small-time scorers soar. You never know. I'd say that at least at this point he is scoring, because if you can't do that in the QMJHL, then where can you? Mentions of work ethic and dedication are encouraging and sometimes mean as much as the scout's read on skating at the end of the day.

Overall, it's a let's see approach. O'Byrne was in the let's not see situation, so we get a prospect for a player whose ticket was already punched. A positive.


The negative

Well, I liked O'Byrne and he wasn't tried or given chance to thrive. It may be seen as another indictment, but then again, maybe the team thought it needed to make place for others it was developing (just don't ever mention Alex Henry, please, please).

The immediate negative is significant, however. If there is an injury or two, then the call-ups are less capable than O'Byrne. Picard has proven he can manage the load for now, which is great. Beyond him, questions arise. I mention Henry. He's not an option in my book. Weber is great going forward, but if he could play D, he'd be on the big team already. Matt Carle? St Denis? Maybe they'll be fine, but I'd expect them to take time that O'Byrne has already taken to learn.

The other drawback may be that 6'5" Dmen are hotter commodities than small forwards who work hard and are good at everything, but great at nothing. Comparing this to raw ores, Gauthier may have just traded the rarer ore for some nickel. We know the Canadiens have been poor to atrocious at developing players. Their reluctance to put extra work into O'Byrne because he could have become a rarity is unfortunate. If the Canadiens ever had the Islanders era Chara, you know he'd have been benched and shipped out for Andre Roy or something.


Overall, I can be happy with the trade. I had reconciled that O'Byrne may have ceased to exist as a Hab at least a week ago, if not earlier. As such, the chance to add to the larder from his trade is good. The fact that player could become a decent player, an interviewee and a media-attention deflector is of some serious value to in this town.

Meeting At The New Igloo: A Preview

A preview for Game 2. As before, we steer clear of lines and pairings and other news from Brossard and look to more important things for this match-up with the Penguins.


Key match-ups

Crosby and Plekanec
In May, Halak handed the penguins their walking papers, but it was Plekanec who handed Crosby his lunch. The Stanley Cup champ was hounded and humbled to a single goal and a minus contribution to his team. Though I'm sure we're all very worried that Letang is motivated by hate, it's Crosby's dislike of Plekanec that might be of most interest. Plekanec is ready for the season as always and is probably more than ready to replicate his form.


Fleury and Price
Two goalies who started young. One has won a Cup and so is held up as a standard for the other. Both had average numbers in 2009-10, both are looking to get above 0.900 in save percentage this year. Should be interesting to see who makes the important stops.


Letang and Subban
Two young offensive defencemen ready to accept new roles on their teams. I'm actually more interested to see if Letang's hatred can help him to defend a Subban rush.


Cooke and O'Byrne
Matt Cooke has a lot to answer for with Josh Gorges. When Matt Cooke injured Andrei Markov, it was a chance for Martin to humiliate Ryan O'Byrne by choosing to bench him in the playoffs. To start this season, O'Byrne has to suffer playing with Picard because Markov's injury lingers on, and when Markov returns will probably have lost his job to Picard. Man, he must want to pummel Cooke. Cooke, of course, doesn't know O'Byrne because the 6'5" Dman is usually hiding when the rough stuff that Cooke instigates gets under way.


Momentum

Backwards. Both teams have opened their seasons with losses. Both teams made their goalies look beatable. And both teams stars were on for important goals against. The Penguins were expected to storm and now might be downgraded to cruise through the East. The Habs didn't win when they could've, should've, would've.

On the bright side, there are no ties in the NHL anymore, so someone will get a win.


Penguins the Habs covet

Sydney Crosby
Makes things happen all on his own. He could probably even make a scorer out of a Pouliot with disinterested positioning.

Maxime Talbot
A French Canadian sure thing. He's like the Lapierre who doesn't take half seasons off. This Canadiens management would dearly love a player like Talbot.


Habs the Penguins covet

Mike Cammalleri
A winger.

Brian Gionta
A winger.

Andrei Kostitsyn
A winger.

Benoit Pouliot
A winger.

Tomas Plekanec
Can play wing.


Ready-made excuses

Michel Therrien's not in either city anymore, so honest indictments of goalies are unlikely after this one. More likely, one of these excuses for a loss:

If Montreal lose:
- Markov is injured
- Crosby plays for them
- French Canadian goalies always shut us out
- We played Thursday
- Our defensive strategy relies on a lot of luck, sorry

If Pittsburgh lose:
- We're tired from delivering season tickets all day
- We thought Paul Martin would mask all our defensive deficiencies
- Fleury is still young
- They forced us to play the puck to wingers


Impact of this result

Pittsburgh will make the playoffs this year, so this game is for positioning. The impact of a win or a loss is little really, since the President's trophy is meaningless and playoff winning will depend so much more on which wingers are added at the trade deadline than those playing tonight.

If Price loses again, I think there will be some kind of exorcism, as he will start to believe there's a cloud over him again and thereby resign to not moving his left arm all season. If the Habs win, all will be forgotten and euphoria will sweep the city until the next practice when lines are revealed.

On a serious note, Pouliot is on thin ice. As coaching decisions are made on a shift-by-shift basis in this city now, he must out-perform Eller tonight or start seriously considering community college.

Food For Thought: 2008-09 vs. 2009-10 (Returning Players)

With the season around the corner, it's just about time to be talking previews. Last season, part of our previews was a graphic look at how each player stacked up compared to the rest of the league in terms of GF and GA, chances for and chances against.

A year on, I have done the same analysis for all the players that played in 2009-10, even those on other teams. I'm not sure what the colours and numbers tell us this time. They may say more about Jacques Martin than about any single player. In any case, I thought you'd all enjoy.


The players have been divvied up into four groups: returning players (those that were here before the house cleaning), new acquisitions, departed players and rookies (first analysis). I begin with returning players.

Returning players

Legend

You can find a longer explanation of the charts here.







Tomas Plekanec

2008-09	2009-10

Pleks had better results from a worse balance in shots. Whereas last year, he was a near neutral in chances for and against, he allowed five more shots per 60 minutes last year. As the team goes, though, this was a good result.

Other things to note are that his GF/60 at ES is a bit low for a top centre, even with the growth from the year before. Goes to show how effective Pleks is for the PP, and the PP for his points totals.


Andrei Kostitsyn

2008-09	2009-10

Andrei gets a bad rap. He's termed lazy, yet returns good defensive numbers. He improved immensely defensively at ES, but unfortunately like many a young player, it came at the expense of his offensive numbers. If anything, a little bit more cherry picking might be welcome for guy with the shot he does. His decline in ES scoring average was reflected in goals last season, so no surprise. No surprise either in him not bucking the shot deficit trend that went across the whole team.

Maxim Lapierre

2008-09	2009-10

From average offensive threat to non-existent one. The story of his season. And though he's still a good bet to be on for few goals, he declined there too. 2009-10 was a nightmare for Lapierre. This was easily forgotten by fans of the playoff run, though. Lapierre turned a corner there and probably saved his Habs skin in the process.


Sergei Kostitsyn

2008-09	2009-10

Can we say Mr. Consistency? Slight improvements, but largely the same results. Once again, it was solid defence despite a large shot deficit at ES. With this chart, and those of his peers, it's easy to see how Sergei gets a bit uppity about minutes.


Glen Metropolit

2008-09	2009-10

Metro played the same shot-surrendering game as he did in 2009 and continued to bore us with little action on the ice. If people are worried about having lost 16 goals, they needn't be concerned about ES, where Metro was among the league's worst. Defence was a strong suit again, but then again, he isn't facing great players every night either.


Georges Laraque

2008-09	2009-10

The Habs' gift to the rest of the league. His gun-shyness was well documented in the fights, but less well documented was how Georges was league worst at everything he did by the time he "retired". Can you imagine allowing 25 more shots an hour more than you take? Georges can and did.


Andrei Markov

2008-09	2009-10

Markov actually improved on his ES results by a significant margin last season (half a season can do that). Like the rest of the team, though, he tested his luck and relied on goalies both letting in more shots than they should (at the opposition end) and saving more than they should (at his end). This season might be easier to watch if Markov can find a way out of the basement in shots allowed at ES.


Roman Hamrlik

2008-09	2009-10

Steadiness. Unappreciated. Hamrlik had a tough finish and the memory lingers long. But on average, he had a good season (relatively speaking). He's average at GF and GA at ES as well as shots for. His flirting with average in shots against is a stand-out performance for this team last year.


Josh Gorges

2008-09	2009-10

The story of Josh Gorges is perhaps incomplete without the story of Hal Gill. Declines in shots for and against and GF reflect his new partner more than him. The fact he improved by a good margin in goals allowed at ES speak to the strange way that style helped the goalies to post superior numbers to the previous year. I'm not sure a gamble on allowing nearly a shot a minute at ES will turn out as well if tried again.


Ryan O'Byrne

2008-09	2009-10

Regression or progression? O'Byrne didn't dig his way out of the league basement in offensive awareness, but at least he was on for less goals at ES. I think the fact he was static in 3 of 4 categories was viewed as a big negative thought from the organization that desperately needs him to progress.

Game #1-4Caps Feast On Nervous Habs

Details

Date: 21/04/10
Opponent: Capitals
Location: Montreal

Loss: 3-6

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

Habs goalscorers: Cammalleri, Gionta, Moore
Opposition goalscorers: Ovechkin (2), Knuble (2), Chimera, Backstrom

Play of the game

The Habs were down by one, but had a quick answer for the Caps and it came in the form of a goal from #13. It was Mike who did well to win an offensive zone face-off before he found his way to the net. Hammer threw the puck around the boards and Sergei made a great play to let it go through to Metro who was behind the net. Glen showed his touch around the goal by getting the puck out to Pyatt's 4th line replacement; all of a sudden the Habs were right back in the game, in the blink of an eye.

Dome hockey team

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

Forwards

Dominic Moore
Sub-par showings from Pleks and Gomez meant that the door was open tonight for Moore. He certainly didn't run away with the title of top pivot-man, but I couldn't help but notice his strong defensive play throughout the game. He added to that with a great effort on our 3rd goal (even if it didn't matter for tonight's game, it may set the tone for Friday) and was our only centre to be above 50% at face-offs.

Sergei Kostitsyn - Game Puck
Is it a good feeling or a bad feeling for a coach when you can re-insert a player who then, in turn, is your best? On the one hand, maybe he was motivated by his benching and, therefore, wanted to prove something. On the other hand, however, is the possibility that Martin sat a very useful player for no good reason at all. Sergei showed tonight that he is a valuable tool in the coach's toolbox as he was very involved at both ends. Martin only used him for 8 minutes (maybe fearing that people would question the benching), but that didn't stop Kostitsyn from ending the game at a team-high +2.

Mike Cammalleri
Maybe the only top-6 who played like one tonight, Mike actually did quite well. He scored a goal early and, while he did fade as the game went on, had other moments of greatness. I felt that he represented our best chance at a goal and my only wish was that he would have played for more than 18 minutes. Despite it all, however, he led the team in shots (5) and out face-offed all of our centres by posting a 60% winning percentage.

Defencemen

Ryan O'Byrne
Another player that wasn't being used was able to step in and play well tonight. I can say with certainty that he was better than Hamrlik and Bergeron and it is debatable whether he out-played the others. What I do know, though, is that this shouldn't happen. Your #6/7 should not be able to come in and be one of your top D-Men. The rest of the D has a lot to think about over the next two days as they really have to be better. I don't, however, want this to overshadow the fact that Ryan played well, stayed out of the box, led the team in hits (7) and blocked-shots (4) and was our only D better than even (+1)

Josh Gorges
Again, why can't all players just play like Josh? Maybe it wouldn't be exciting, maybe we'd never score, but don't you think if everyone played near mistake-free hockey for 60 minutes that we would have a chance, a very good chance, in every game? Like O'Byrne, Gorges was big on hits and blocked-shots tonight and kept the chances down to a tolerable level.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
Is this 2008? Are we really still be cursed for trading away an All-Star for nothing? I don't expect our goalies to steal these games for us, but they both have to be miles better if we are to win. It is an uphill battle against the Caps and the time for 4+ goal-against games has to stop. The Habs aren't a team that will score 5+ goals a game, so we must be stronger from the back. Carey had a good first 39:53, but really seemed rattled for the remainder as he let in 3 goals and took 4 minutes in penalties. Halak probably wouldn't have done better, and that may be our problem, but, somehow, one of them has to find a way to be their best.

Comments

I am sure that you are all reading that this series is over, that summer is coming and you are probably all thinking about what players we can get. Maybe we can get Crosby and Ovechkin, oh wait, I'd actually prefer Datsyuk and Malkin. Who's kidding who, though, this is it, this our team. Who knows if we'll be in the playoffs next year or in the next 5 years. Who knows if we'll improve this summer at all. The time for worrying about the summer is, well, in the summer. We are down, but not out. I, for one, am focused on one thing only, our only option, a game #5 win. Who cares what players miss practice, who cares what the lines will be, who cares what the predictions are. All we should be caring about is getting one win, just like we do when we have lost 3 straight in the regular season.

There are 2 huge positives that I must call on and that are certainly giving me hope. The first is that we have outplayed the Caps for extended periods during this series and have led in 3 games. Washington is a team that we can beat in one game and that is all it is, one game. The second big positive has to be that we have the potential. While Varlamov, Backstrom and Ovechkin are all playing up to their potential we still have players like Halak, Markov, Pouliot, Plekanec and Hamrlik that can be better, much better. Halak may not be Brodeur, but the Olympics and regular season taught us that stealing games is something that he knows how to do. Markov didn't ignite a PP by chance, he can be better and rarely plays this far below his standard for too long. Pouliot may not be the scorer that he was in December, but he also isn't the scorer that Gui was(n't) in October/November - he has to find a way to be average, or better, and to contribute. Pleks led this team in scoring by playing with passion and determination throughout the season, let's hope that he remembers why some (me) were calling for him to be captain. Hammer has been better, much better, in his career (even this year), but has rarely been much worse. Focus and drive from him can mean there is only one way to go. The rest of the players, too, must find that extra gear as any little mistake or break in concentration often ends with a puck in our net.

Friday will be hard to watch as no one wants to see the season end, but now we finally know that there is no tomorrow, now we can see what this team is really made of. I have seen enough losing, and subsequent winning, streaks from the Habs to know that we are still in it. If our group can believe and the Caps can, somehow, not be at their best then we certainly have a shot.