Guest Stogey24 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 This thought became more prevalent when I watched an interview with P.K. He said he thinks it's time for the pressure to be put on this organization to solidify itself as an elite contender. That statement got me thinking, have Bergevin's signings and acquisitions this offseason done enough for the Habs to be considered among the elite in the league? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I think it's a tough question to answer.I think the Habs can compete against the best teams of both conferences and ended up underrated due to some awful regular season performances that Carey Price turned into wins.We have a lot of individual weapons. We have the best goalie in the league, one of the top three best blueliners, a top 20 veteran blueliner, a top five left winger, a top 30 left winger who could move to centre and a top 20 right wing that is finally leaving the "underrated" status and getting noticed around the league. I think we have one of the best fourth lines in the game and a lot of players that balance between top six offence and third line reliability. I can also name around five players I'd rather not see on the club anymore and see their spots taken by other players, be it free agency acquisition, trade or prospect. And their contracts total close to $15 million.The terrible comes in those players coming together properly. The special teams was uncharacteristically weak, the lines were constantly hot and cold and the club had trouble overcoming certain coaching strategies, which all together exposes the coaching to concerns. That said, I don't think our coaching is broken. It simply hasn't been to the level we need it to be, and the level it could be. Do I think the Habs are a top five team? I do. Do I think the gap between being the 4th best team and being the 14th best team is minuscule in the days of parity? Yes. I don't know if anyone is elite anymore after the Blackhawks had so much turnover. But being a top team in the league today is no guarantee to anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICEWATER77 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 PK: Yo Marc, we're good, but not good enough my man MB: I'm working on it, we'll get there sometime this season PK: Aight dawg, 25 here we come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalhabs Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Maybe it is time to really put alot more pressure on the coach. Set the goal to at least the ECF or concider the year a failure and maybe fire coach (depending on how good/bad the team play. Going down 0-3 in 2nd round like against Tampa this year should be concidered a nono and a new coach). This is not a hate Therrien post. Just meaning that the pressure should be increased on him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Maybe it is time to really put alot more pressure on the coach. Set the goal to at least the ECF or concider the year a failure and maybe fire coach (depending on how good/bad the team play. Going down 0-3 in 2nd round like against Tampa this year should be concidered a nono and a new coach). This is not a hate Therrien post. Just meaning that the pressure should be increased on him. I've defended Therrien a lot here and I agree that the pressure should be on him and especially his coaching staff. I've commented on how the difference between a great PP and a mediocre PP was only percentage points but we should still have a stronger PP (it was sad in the playoffs). We should have also scored more ES goals based on having some of the best ES goal scorers in the league. Our PK was Top 10 but we've almost always had a strong PK, either statistically or just by eye test. There was stuff last year like our goals per period that doesn't seem coachable. We were 29th in first period goals, 11th in second period goals and fifth in third period goals. How do you coach players to score more goals based on the period? Maybe it's a preparation issue. Why were the Habs looking unprepared every game and getting peppered by shots in the first so hard? Worse is that I feel the Habs tried to "retain their energy" in the regular season and then play full offence in the playoffs. Our puck control was very high. The problem is that the club didn't play that way in the regular season so the finish wasn't there. Again, I think this comes down to the coaching. It needs to be better so we don't have to keep feeling like it's our whole team against one goalie and losing that match-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 If Le Genius didn't have that shiny new contract in his pocket, I would say he will be fired this year. But he does have it so he gets fired next year. I don't hate Le genius I just don't think we are going to the cup with him. The blender system has not really worked so good. Carey Price has worked good. Yes we have a good defensive club, but we need goals, Semin may be able to provide some of that I certainly hope so. Has MB done enough? I think he has done everything humanly possible to improve the level of the players. He now has to take a serious look at the coaching staff. Can this staff get more goals and a better P/P? We will have to wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Montreal's possession numbers were much better in the playoffs, but this grinding style of hockey that Therrien refuses to alter, seriously hurts this team's scoring chances. Look at when he coached Pittsburgh, that teams possession numbers were in the basement. He gets fired, Byslma comes in, and the possession numbers jump to tops in the league and they win a cup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Montreal's possession numbers were much better in the playoffs, but this grinding style of hockey that Therrien refuses to alter, seriously hurts this team's scoring chances. Look at when he coached Pittsburgh, that teams possession numbers were in the basement. He gets fired, Byslma comes in, and the possession numbers jump to tops in the league and they win a cup... And in 12-13 we had very good possession numbers with Therrien coaching. Why did the team change gears? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 And in 12-13 we had very good possession numbers with Therrien coaching. Why did the team change gears? That's a good question... The team had the most power play opportunities in the league that year, but 5 on 5, I don't know what the difference is. More controlled zone entires.. The team didn't lean on Carey even close to as much as they do now either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Bergevin has done 'enough' this summer. Petry signing was best move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Very good, interesting analysis here. Good stuff, gents! Everyone said going into the off-season that the team needs more goals. We added Kassian and Semin. Both are low-risk, high-ceiling acquisitions, and if Kassian in particular works out, MB will look like a genius. But come on. Simply in terms of personnel, we did not really address the major team weakness from the playoffs; rather we crossed our fingers on some talented cast-offs. Finger-crossing is not, prima facie, doing enough. However, as Machine and others are pointing out, having the team get that extra fraction better isn't just about personnel. It's about the power-play, about execution, about coaching. It's very hard to argue that the team would do hugely better in the standings without MT; saying that amounts to saying that this team is already a powerhouse, just being kept back by the coach, which seems implausible to me. But it IS valid to ask whether MT is an elite coach (I say, no) and whether this team can win without an elite coach (I don't know). I'd boil it down to this, in the end. If the team can fix the PP, hey presto, we're elite. If it can't, then we're in the outer circle of contenders, like last season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 16.5% power play this past season is just brutal. Lacroix should have been replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWO4LIFE Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Bottom Line MB has done a great job simply by maintaining the cap with many cap friendly deals not making stupid trades Have other teams done better YES but out of the 30 GM MB is clearly top 10 and the future may hold he is higher then that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 What % of talking heads and fans will predict the Habs making playoffs this year, 99%? Adding Petry, Semin & Kassian can only be a plus for top-4 d, as well should be bit more offense than what Prust & Paranteau added last year. Seeing that Charles Hudon was the only hab-prospect at Therrien's golf tournament, does that up the likelihood he can crack roster in Oct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 16.5% power play this past season is just brutal. Lacroix should have been replaced. It's incomprehensible that a PP coach that inept should have been retained. And if the results don't improve, it will morph to inexcusable: throwing away a year in which the Cup window is open, just because you didn't want to fix the PP. That's a firing offence in my book and MT should hang for it. Petry is a great addition. However, we did not have enough even with Petry last playoff, so I don't rate him as an addition to last year's roster, nor is he likely to be 'enough' to put us over he top for 2015-16. And as I keep saying, anyone pinning hopes for significant contributions from Kassian and Semin is working from best-case scenarios. Realistically, we should not pencil them in for much - although surely they will indeed combine for more than Parenteau contributed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Some interesting statistics to chew on from last season: One Goal Games Wins: 20 Losses: 6 OT/SO Loss: 10 Percentage: .556 (8th) Two Goal Games Wins: 14 Losses: 5 Percentage: .737 (1st) Three Goal Games Wins: 16 Losses: 11 Percentage: .593 (11th) We won a ton of games by two and three goals but we also lost a lot of three goal games. The "dreaded two goal lead" was good to us. Season Shooting Win Percentage: .611 (6th) Playoff Shooting Win Percentage: .556 (7th) Season Shots For Per Game: 28.5 (25th) Playoff Shots For Per Game: 34.7 (3rd) Our shots per game in the season looks ugly. Teams like the Rangers averaged three more shots per game. But then look at us in the playoffs! Almost six shots difference. Season Outshot Win Percentage: .585 (8th) Playoff Outshot Win Percentage: .333 (9th) Season Shots Against Per Game: 30.1 (21st) Playoff Shots Against Per Game: 29.4 (6th) 21st in the season looks ugly, but the Blackhawks are right beside us. It doesn't look like a big difference for the playoffs but we were nearly a top five team for allowing the least amount of shots. A lot of other teams allowed more shots. This is what makes it so hard for me to evaluate Michel Therrien. The Habs play very different in the playoffs compared to the season. It's that 5.6% PP that puts it in perspective. Would we have lost less games with a 15.6% PP? Would he have beaten the Lightning with just a 10% better PP? That puts so much of it on Lacroix for me, as well as Therrien. When I argue about PP not being as important as ES, it doesn't mean PP is not important at all. Chicago was 4th in the playoffs for PP scoring but we scored as many PP goals as the four game swept Winnipeg Jets. It's not enough. Bottom line, we hit the playoffs and our combination of forwards and defencemen struggled against Craig Anderson and Ben Bishop. We didn't, however, struggle against the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. The objective of the coaching staff is to ensure the team starts alert, scores on special teams and finishes against goalies that struggle on rebounds but are strong on long range shots. That's where I think Semin and Kassian could be useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Good post Management maybe a little too chummy with each other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Some interesting statistics to chew on from last season: One Goal Games Wins: 20 Losses: 6 OT/SO Loss: 10 Percentage: .556 (8th) Two Goal Games Wins: 14 Losses: 5 Percentage: .737 (1st) Three Goal Games Wins: 16 Losses: 11 Percentage: .593 (11th) We won a ton of games by two and three goals but we also lost a lot of three goal games. The "dreaded two goal lead" was good to us. Season Shooting Win Percentage: .611 (6th) Playoff Shooting Win Percentage: .556 (7th) Season Shots For Per Game: 28.5 (25th) Playoff Shots For Per Game: 34.7 (3rd) Our shots per game in the season looks ugly. Teams like the Rangers averaged three more shots per game. But then look at us in the playoffs! Almost six shots difference. Season Outshot Win Percentage: .585 (8th) Playoff Outshot Win Percentage: .333 (9th) Season Shots Against Per Game: 30.1 (21st) Playoff Shots Against Per Game: 29.4 (6th) 21st in the season looks ugly, but the Blackhawks are right beside us. It doesn't look like a big difference for the playoffs but we were nearly a top five team for allowing the least amount of shots. A lot of other teams allowed more shots. This is what makes it so hard for me to evaluate Michel Therrien. The Habs play very different in the playoffs compared to the season. It's that 5.6% PP that puts it in perspective. Would we have lost less games with a 15.6% PP? Would he have beaten the Lightning with just a 10% better PP? That puts so much of it on Lacroix for me, as well as Therrien. When I argue about PP not being as important as ES, it doesn't mean PP is not important at all. Chicago was 4th in the playoffs for PP scoring but we scored as many PP goals as the four game swept Winnipeg Jets. It's not enough. Bottom line, we hit the playoffs and our combination of forwards and defencemen struggled against Craig Anderson and Ben Bishop. We didn't, however, struggle against the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. The objective of the coaching staff is to ensure the team starts alert, scores on special teams and finishes against goalies that struggle on rebounds but are strong on long range shots. That's where I think Semin and Kassian could be useful. I agree and just to add 1 thing, we have 1 guy going to the net, he is about the size of my Jack Russell, same kind of fight in him to. BUT we need a guy like Kassian going to the net and getting the defence/goalie off their game. Gallagher is a great player but he can't do it by himself. Lars is big enough to be causing trouble in front of the net. Get these guys crashing the net and Semin shooting and maybe now we got something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 I agree and just to add 1 thing, we have 1 guy going to the net, he is about the size of my Jack Russell, same kind of fight in him to. BUT we need a guy like Kassian going to the net and getting the defence/goalie off their game. Gallagher is a great player but he can't do it by himself. Lars is big enough to be causing trouble in front of the net. Get these guys crashing the net and Semin shooting and maybe now we got something. Keep dreaming, my friend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 I agree and just to add 1 thing, we have 1 guy going to the net, he is about the size of my Jack Russell, same kind of fight in him to. BUT we need a guy like Kassian going to the net and getting the defence/goalie off their game. Gallagher is a great player but he can't do it by himself. Lars is big enough to be causing trouble in front of the net. Get these guys crashing the net and Semin shooting and maybe now we got something. But we have Desharnais to screen the goalie, duh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted August 13, 2015 Share Posted August 13, 2015 Keep dreaming, my friend Oh yee of little faith. I dream in technicolor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Oh yee of little faith. I dream in technicolor. The thought of Lars Eller 'crashing the net' isn't a dream...it's a delusion that can only be explained by a Herculean drug overdose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habs rule Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 The thought of Lars Eller 'crashing the net' isn't a dream...it's a delusion that can only be explained by a Herculean drug overdose Ahhh you could be right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Larry & Pernell both will get 20 this year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Price (no relation) Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Has Bergevin Done Enough? Not as long as we still have 8 defensemen on our 23-man roster, none of whom can be sent down to the AHL without clearing waivers. Gilbert and/or Emelin need to be moved, even if just for pics and prospects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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