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Vanek traded to Montreal


dlbalr

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You're seriously using plus minus to indicate someone's defensive strength? PK is +1 while killing no penalties. Desharnais is +4 while Patches is -1. Beaulieu is +5 while Tinordi is -2. We could fabricate all sorts of fictional narratives out of a stat that has long been dismissed as useless.

I don't know what killing penalties has to do with +/- since PP goals are not included.

That said you don't need the plus/minus stat to see that Eller isn't helping defensively. He isn't clearing pucks, he isn't taking his man and he is taking dumb penalties. He's had an awful stretch of hockey. Can he turn it around? I hope so. But right now he is a liability.

There isn't much doubt who our two least valuable forwards are at this point... Eller who is still in the lineup and Bourque who seems relegated to the Presser.

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Eller has more than 3x hits as Plekanec and most of any forward.

Most blocks of any forward.

Eller's faceoff % continues to climb and is 53% now, easily best of centres (Plekanec seems to be getting worse as season goes on, but has always been very weak on faceoffs, but his only glaring weakness).

But, yes his hockey 'IQ' may not be, or ever be, his strong suit. But, if he ever gets that in order, he could be a super centreman and I just am not near as down on him as most.

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Eller has more than 3x hits as Plekanec and most of any forward.

When Plekanec is on the ice he doesn't need to hit much because he knows how to cut down angles and cause turnovers. Smart players don't run around trying to hit the puck carrier all the time. When Plek plays, the ice gets smaller. When Eller plays, it gets bigger for the opposition.

But since you value hits like goals, that wouldn't be considered ;)

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  • 4 weeks later...

"They got me here for the stretch run to help them out and hopefully to help evolve their game, which is a good challenge for myself" said Vanek

I caught this quote today on tsn, and as a person who reads between the lines, it seems like he doesn't think he will be back. He refers to the team as "them" and their game as "theirs" and separates himself from the team by saying "myself". Maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe not. I guess we will just hope that he plays well in the playoffs and perhaps can be persuaded into staying.

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"They got me here for the stretch run to help them out and hopefully to help evolve their game, which is a good challenge for myself" said Vanek

I caught this quote today on tsn, and as a person who reads between the lines, it seems like he doesn't think he will be back. He refers to the team as "them" and their game as "theirs" and separates himself from the team by saying "myself". Maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe not. I guess we will just hope that he plays well in the playoffs and perhaps can be persuaded into staying.

ya it doesn't sound too promising does it?

I also read somewhere that his wife and kids are still in Buffalo....thats gotta be hard on him, and bad for his chances to stay in Montreal. Montreal in the spring is a great city and may have persuaded him and his family to give it a try for the long term.

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Guest Stogey24

ya it doesn't sound too promising does it?

I also read somewhere that his wife and kids are still in Buffalo....thats gotta be hard on him, and bad for his chances to stay in Montreal. Montreal in the spring is a great city and may have persuaded him and his family to give it a try for the long term.

His family stayed in Buffalo when he was traded to N.Y. After the Montreal trade I'm pretty sure they moved with him to MTL.
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