Jump to content

2016-17: a season of pleasant surprises


Recommended Posts

I just wanted to start a thread acknowledging the impressive number of Canadiens this season who have stepped up and exceeded expectations.

 

1. Philip Danault. Most of us had him pegged as a generic, forgettable, marginal NHLer, one of those guys who eke out a career playing 8 minutes a night on the grounds that they don't hurt the team; a place-holder. Instead, he's played as a legit second-line C, bringing a staunch defensive game and serious 'compete' to boot. He has made it possible for this team to not just survive, but thrive, despite the regression of Tomas Plekanec. Outstanding. Can he keep it up? It seems unlikely, but no one can doubt that we have a real asset here who will help us for years to come.

 

2. Paul Byron. What a story. I believe he is a legitimate top-6 W in today's NHL - something I never would have said before this season. Another guy who saw his chance and came up clutch.

 

3. Alex Radulov. He was always known to be an elite talent, but who knew that he would descend upon us and play like Peter Forsberg, being THE key contributor to the forward unit? An astonishing pick-up by Bergevin. The coup of the year.

 

4. Nathan Beaulieu. Has he turned the corner and become the bona-fide top-4 defenceman we all hoped he could be? It's looking like it. And that is huge for the organization.

 

5. Alexei Emelin. Unlike with the other names here, no one ever doubted Emelin's NHL credentials. But who saw him playing on the top-pairing and doing so well? While it's quite possible his excellence has been a side-effect of being Weber's partner, the fact is that Emelin has not been this impressive since 2013, and looks like the guy that everyone was so excited about way back when.

 

If I'd told you in September that this team would have the injuries that it has, that Plekanec would be offensively useless, and STILL the Habs would pile up lots of wins and score lots of goals, you'd have laughed me off this forum, and rightly. It's thanks to unexpected contributors like these that the team is not just surviving, but thriving.:thumbs_up:

 

And I think Therrien deserves a lot of credit. Danault, Byron, and Beaulieu - that's three key cogs who have exceeded their career profiles under his tutelage. Not bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

I just wanted to start a thread acknowledging the impressive number of Canadiens this season who have stepped up and exceeded expectations.

 

1. Philip Danault. Most of us had him pegged as a generic, forgettable, marginal NHLer, one of those guys who eke out a career playing 8 minutes a night on the grounds that they don't hurt the team; a place-holder. Instead, he's played as a legit second-line C, bringing a staunch defensive game and serious 'compete' to boot. He has made it possible for this team to not just survive, but thrive, despite the regression of Tomas Plekanec. Outstanding. Can he keep it up? It seems unlikely, but no one can doubt that we have a real asset here who will help us for years to come.

 

2. Paul Byron. What a story. I believe he is a legitimate top-6 W in today's NHL - something I never would have said before this season. Another guy who saw his chance and came up clutch.

 

3. Alex Radulov. He was always known to be an elite talent, but who knew that he would descend upon us and play like Peter Forsberg, being THE key contributor to the forward unit? An astonishing pick-up by Bergevin. The coup of the year.

 

4. Nathan Beaulieu. Has he turned the corner and become the bona-fide top-4 defenceman we all hoped he could be? It's looking like it. And that is huge for the organization.

 

5. Alexei Emelin. Unlike with the other names here, no one ever doubted Emelin's NHL credentials. But who saw him playing on the top-pairing and doing so well? While it's quite possible his excellence has been a side-effect of being Weber's partner, the fact is that Emelin has not been this impressive since 2013, and looks like the guy that everyone was so excited about way back when.

 

If I'd told you in September that this team would have the injuries that it has, that Plekanec would be offensively useless, and STILL the Habs would pile up lots of wins and score lots of goals, you'd have laughed me off this forum, and rightly. It's thanks to unexpected contributors like these that the team is not just surviving, but thriving.:thumbs_up:

 

And I think Therrien deserves a lot of credit. Danault, Byron, and Beaulieu - that's three key cogs who have exceeded their career profiles under his tutelage. Not bad.

You forgot Weber, who supposedly wouldn't score any PP goals with the Habs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great post Cuke!

 

I must admit that this team is surprising. I had high hopes at the beginning of the year (seeing as Carey was back + acquisitions of Weber and Radu) but with all these injuries, I was afraid we would go through what happened last year! Not so! What I find really impressive is that our boys are keeping up with the best teams in the league, even though Carey has been struggling for the past month. Carey hasn't had to steal too many games this year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
2 hours ago, Commandant said:

 

Please find someone who actually said that.

Don't engage him, he's obviously in one of his menopausal moods today

No, don't want to embarrass anyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To me Paul Byron is the biggest surprise so far this season. I didn't believe in him whatsoever and have dumped on him since he was acquired. I suppose most of it was frustration because he was being used on the 2nd and 3rd line last year when I felt that a player of his caliber didn't deserve it. However I'm more than happy to say I was wrong and he totally deserves all the ice time and quality line mates he has been getting. It seems like every goal or assist he gets is clutch. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

.:thumbs_up:

 

And I think Therrien deserves a lot of credit. Danault, Byron, and Beaulieu - that's three key cogs who have exceeded their career profiles under his tutelage. Not bad.

You had to mention Le Genius, the best move he made all year was getting Kirk hired. That was brilliant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Prior to tonight's game, the Habs collected 22 of a possible 34 points in the games played since Galchenyuk went down.  That alone, even without any other injuries, would have seemed a highly unlikely result.  But with the slew of additional injuries, it's downright remarkable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Price is 24th in the league for sv % since Dec. Saw that during the game tonight.  To pull off the wins when he is underperforming is a good sign as well. I'm also in the camp that a number 4 defenseman is critical this deadline. More important than a top 6er for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, BCHabnut said:

Price is 24th in the league for sv % since Dec. Saw that during the game tonight.  To pull off the wins when he is underperforming is a good sign as well. I'm also in the camp that a number 4 defenseman is critical this deadline. More important than a top 6er for me.

Am on the fence which could use an upgrade  more, but don't see either as critically lacking once get healthy lineup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Stogey24

Defensive break downs have been a major issue for this team. Possession numbers are up, but the lapses in their own end have been brutal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Stogey24 said:

Defensive break downs have been a major issue for this team. Possession numbers are up, but the lapses in their own end have been brutal. 

But gotta love the 3+ goals for/game this year.:thumbs_up:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Stogey24 said:

Defensive break downs have been a major issue for this team. Possession numbers are up, but the lapses in their own end have been brutal. 

 

goals against are up over 1.5/game since Markov got hurt

 

Markov alone doesn't account for all of that, but its a factor. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Commandant said:

 

goals against are up over 1.5/game since Markov got hurt

 

Markov alone doesn't account for all of that, but its a factor. 

Johnston!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with BCHabnut and Stogey24. I'm starting to think that our defense is a little suspect. I know that things will get better when Markov get'S back, but I still think we might need some help on the blue line!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice thread Cucumber

 

Yes, Habs need a legit #3/4 D man, or a lot better bottom pairing than they have had all year at the very least.

 

A couple of my fav things I've seen this year is of course Rad and Weber,

 Lehkonen is a good hockey player, and Danault sure has had a great 1st half. Both these young guys are sound both ways, so eliminates the panic for depth acquisitions imho.

 

Crazy or not, I like Shaw, and Byron is the biggest playing smurf I've seen since Mats Naslund :)

 

Also I have a new appreciation for Brian Flynn as a utility player, with that speed, and you have to admit he has good hands sometimes too.

 

All in all I'm pleasantly surprised so far, and like this team a lot compared to recent versions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7th in NHL in goals for/game, surprise to me anyways.

Hopefully 27-67-47 line starts to click, but is likely about time for Pacioretty to go into a bit of a 'lull' in scoring...for whatever reason, snipers all seem very streaky?

 

9th best PP is a nice stat and assume Muller has been huge positive for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2017-01-13 at 0:11 AM, BCHabnut said:

Price is 24th in the league for sv % since Dec. Saw that during the game tonight.  To pull off the wins when he is underperforming is a good sign as well. I'm also in the camp that a number 4 defenseman is critical this deadline. More important than a top 6er for me.

 

I agree.  I'm starting to wonder if packaging Beaulieu, a prospect and a high draft pick to get a bonafide top 3 dman is the way MB should go?  Going into the playoffs with Weber/Emelin, Petry/Markov as our top four scares me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...