illWill Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 1 hour ago, Commandant said: While no one could have picked the exact year that Plekanec would decline, the fact he did decline was predictable. I admit I thought he would have been good another year or two, but the fact he got worse with age was predictable. And he never put a possible replacement in place. As for Galchenyuk. For 3.5 years he wasn't allowed to play centre. This year he showed great strides, got hurt, then regressed a bit. We immediately pulled him off centre. show me what young player developped in a linear way. Which guy didn't have peaks and valleys. The moment Chuck has a valley, they panic. Of course Plekanec's decline was predictable but not to the extent that it was one year to the next, no one could predict that. There's no being "allowed" to play center, players earn their spot in the lineup. The way that he surprisingly made the NHL at 18, that's earning a spot. Montreal had no choice but to keep him up with the big club. He has had countless chances to play center dating back years now and he hasn't stuck there. At what point do we say maybe it's the player? It's perfectly okay for a player that was drafted as a center to be more suited for the wing, it happens all of the time. But to blame a GM for his inability to develop as the #1 center he was supposed to be is unfair. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 Until he plays a full season at centre it's on the team. There was no reason in 14-15 and 15-16 that he kept being pulled off centre. There was no better option. Therrien played McCarron there over Galchenyuk. Then he went on fire in the role. This year, again, no better option. It's the defence first coaches don't like his defence last play. Nothing else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 I also point out that his PPG and his advanced Possession numbers are better at C than on the wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illWill Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 So we are just going to blame the GM and the coach for Galchenyuk not making it as a center on a center-starved team? It almost seems crazy to type that. Machine makes a good point about it being a defense first system. So what do we do when a team is all playing a certain way and a player doesn't follow suit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted May 19, 2017 Share Posted May 19, 2017 5 minutes ago, illWill said: So we are just going to blame the GM and the coach for Galchenyuk not making it as a center on a center-starved team? It almost seems crazy to type that. Machine makes a good point about it being a defense first system. So what do we do when a team is all playing a certain way and a player doesn't follow suit? I don't blame Julien so much. it was the last 20 games of the year and then the playoffs... no time to #### around. I want to see him put Galchenyuk at centre and teach him to play the position and work through his october and november mistakes so he's ready for April. I wanted to see Therrien teach him too, but we know Therrien had a weird relationship with youngsters. If he loved you, he'd love you forever, and if he didn't you were always one mistake away from a blasting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 3 hours ago, illWill said: So we are just going to blame the GM and the coach for Galchenyuk not making it as a center on a center-starved team? It almost seems crazy to type that. I don't think he wants to fix centre the way we see it, and if he does, he wants to find a defence first top six centre. He will take a 45-55 point guy that plays responsibly over a 60-70 guy like Chuck who doesn't. And if he finds a two way centre with 60+ point potential he will pay a serious premium. Otherwise expect the Habs to sign two veteran centres to PTOs because Bergevin loves a bargain more than anything. He's the dumpster diving general manager. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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