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The time is now for Galchenyuk to be Montreal's #1 centre


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In the off season I caught myself drinking Mr. Bergevin's kool-aid believing that he wouldn't be playing Chucky at centre anytime soon. Perhaps he believed it too or maybe he didn't want to show his hand just yet, who knows. However, if he had no intention of having Galchenyuk at centre then perhaps the bigger, stronger, and more mature version of #27 that showed up at training camp changed his mind.

I think it's time to go all in (another poker analogy) and put Galchenyuk between Pacioretty and Gallagher as the #1 centre. The team is winning and it's early in the season so it seems like the right time for a little experimentation. We all know that for this team to be truly considered a/the favourite we need a true #1 centre and #1 line. As much as I like Pleks, he's not the man for the job. Plekanec is not exactly a playmaker and I think it's starting to show with Pacioretty's lack of scoring lately. Besides, if he slips down to a line with less ice time, the aging Plekanec will be fresher for his special team duties that are so vital for the team and hopefully his playoff performance will improve. I'm thinking Eller, Pleks, and Smith-Pelley would be an awesome shut down line.

Galchenyuk is part of this team's future and he needs the confidence that will come from playing with line mates who can score which is something his current ones aren't capable of providing. As we all can see, that line has been a failure. Semin is probably as bad as most people thought and I never want to hear Eller's name mentioned again in the same sentence with 'scoring forward'. Lars is a decent third line forward, nothing more. But it's not just Galchenyuk that needs the change. The team needs it even more.

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Here's the problem: Tomas Plekanec is tied for fourth among centres in the National Hockey League.

Let me repeat.

Tomas Plekanec sits fourth for all centres in scoring.

You do not break up a successful line featuing a Top 6 Left Winger, Top 5 Right Winger and Top 5 Centre just to push Alex Galchenyuk into a better opportunity to score. At the start of this year, the idea of putting him with Eller and Semin was praised due to their success on the ice. Well Lars Eller has gone invisible and Semin got scratched. As the best team in the NHL, we're not going to break up our two most successful lines (Plekanec and Desharnais lines) just to placate a 21 year old. There is zero rush to do this.

The issue lies in either Eller/Semin/whomever gets on the line or Bergevin. Either Bergevin goes out and acquires some real linemates for Galchenyuk, or the guys on the team need to step up and get it into gear. Maybe in a couple weeks some guys on the currently hot lines won't be so hot and some line shuffling can happen. Until then, breaking up team chemistry when we're so dominant in the league is perhaps one of the worst things we could do.

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No. 1 centre this year? No. But it is time for him to show that he can be a bona fide NHL centre, and he seems to be rising to the challenge, his wingers notwithstanding. I wouldn't worry too much about his stats, other than his faceoff stats. He's had a good start, so let's see if he can build on that. There's no doubt that he's putting in the effort required, and that's all that can be asked of him.

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In the off season I caught myself drinking Mr. Bergevin's kool-aid believing that he wouldn't be playing Chucky at centre anytime soon. Perhaps he believed it too or maybe he didn't want to show his hand just yet, who knows. However, if he had no intention of having Galchenyuk at centre then perhaps the bigger, stronger, and more mature version of #27 that showed up at training camp changed his mind.

I think it's time to go all in (another poker analogy) and put Galchenyuk between Pacioretty and Gallagher as the #1 centre. The team is winning and it's early in the season so it seems like the right time for a little experimentation. We all know that for this team to be truly considered a/the favourite we need a true #1 centre and #1 line. As much as I like Pleks, he's not the man for the job. Plekanec is not exactly a playmaker and I think it's starting to show with Pacioretty's lack of scoring lately. Besides, if he slips down to a line with less ice time, the aging Plekanec will be fresher for his special team duties that are so vital for the team and hopefully his playoff performance will improve. I'm thinking Eller, Pleks, and Smith-Pelley would be an awesome shut down line.

Galchenyuk is part of this team's future and he needs the confidence that will come from playing with line mates who can score which is something his current ones aren't capable of providing. As we all can see, that line has been a failure. Semin is probably as bad as most people thought and I never want to hear Eller's name mentioned again in the same sentence with 'scoring forward'. Lars is a decent third line forward, nothing more. But it's not just Galchenyuk that needs the change. The team needs it even more.

Good post. I want to see that happen too. However with the team off to the start it is, I would assume they will let Chucky get even more games under his belt at the center position. It was the hope of the organization that Chucky would become the number one center, with Max on his wing. Somewhere along the line that became highly questionable. Putting Chucky in a position to succeed is essential. But this is not Calgary or Edmonton. Kid will have to wait. MT does not like Semin and has never been high on Eller. So its was surprising to witness Chucky in his first seasons at center, saddled with those wingers. "Putting your young star in a position to succeed?"

But I like the way you are thinking. "put Chucky between Max and Gally"

As far as Pleks being "fourth in NHL centers".

He has 4 goals not including empty netters. Chucky has 2.

Put Chucky between Pacs and Gally and his stats equal Pleks. Put Pleks between Eller and a series of fourth liners and his stats equal Chucks.

Can always switch back. Seeing Pleks is the savvy vet with 12 seasons of experience, would he not do well with Eller and whoever MT pencils in. Also I highly doubt that Gallaghers and Max's game goes south with Chucky in the middle.

TrIvia: Who is the last Canadiens center to score a hat trick?

Who assisted on all three goals?

Great thread 70s'

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Here's the problem: Tomas Plekanec is tied for fourth among centres in the National Hockey League.

Let me repeat.

Tomas Plekanec sits fourth for all centres in scoring.

You do not break up a successful line featuing a Top 6 Left Winger, Top 5 Right Winger and Top 5 Centre just to push Alex Galchenyuk into a better opportunity to score. At the start of this year, the idea of putting him with Eller and Semin was praised due to their success on the ice. Well Lars Eller has gone invisible and Semin got scratched. As the best team in the NHL, we're not going to break up our two most successful lines (Plekanec and Desharnais lines) just to placate a 21 year old. There is zero rush to do this.

The issue lies in either Eller/Semin/whomever gets on the line or Bergevin. Either Bergevin goes out and acquires some real linemates for Galchenyuk, or the guys on the team need to step up and get it into gear. Maybe in a couple weeks some guys on the currently hot lines won't be so hot and some line shuffling can happen. Until then, breaking up team chemistry when we're so dominant in the league is perhaps one of the worst things we could do.

Agree wit that. MB acquiring another winger for Chuckys line. That would balance out the wingers the three centers have. Chucky is no doubt getting the short end of the stick with the wingers that are on the team now. Is that really what you want to do with your supposed future star in his fourth season?

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I tend to dislike breaking up lines that are having a lot of success in order to 'help out' a specific player. But obviously, Galy needs wingers.

What I say is that if Eller could be trusted to be productive in a top-6 role as a W, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion. After all, it's quite common for the real organizational unit of a line to be a duo rather than a triad. The issue would then become a minor one of finding a complementary player for that duo, instead of a concern that Galy is bereft of decent wingers altogether.

Unfortunately, L'il Lars has, after some promising early games, wilted. (The early returns thus indicate that the Eller defenders have simply been wrong all along. He has NOT failed to be offensively productive in his career because he's been saddled with crappy linemates or has been denied a top-6 role or has been persecuted by MT. He has failed to produce over the years for the simple reason that he sucks offensively. In any case, for all that I rag on Eller, I actually had some hope for him as a top-6 W. 16 games in, that hope seems to have foundered on the rocks of his mediocrity).

The only real hope thus seems to be to acquire a Michael Ryder type - i.e., someone who can score some goals without costing you your entire farm system.

But here's the real point: I don't see any great urgency in all of this. The team is absolutely kicking ass, and Galy is still getting valuable minutes at C and showing he can perform tolerably well there even with anchors as his wingers. He doesn't have to be the #1 C this season. He just has to be a useful C. So far, so good, by that more limited standard.

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In the off season I caught myself drinking Mr. Bergevin's kool-aid believing that he wouldn't be playing Chucky at centre anytime soon. Perhaps he believed it too or maybe he didn't want to show his hand just yet, who knows. However, if he had no intention of having Galchenyuk at centre then perhaps the bigger, stronger, and more mature version of #27 that showed up at training camp changed his mind.

I'm fairly certain that he was not showing his hand. Him and Therrien told Galchenyuk right at the end of last season that he was going to play center this year, and so he prepared accordingly.

As for designating a certain player as 1st line C or 2nd line C based on their wingers, well, this seems to be the most regurgitated thing around here but it's not necessarily the case.

It's always good to be able to play well defensively but 1st lines and 2nd lines are generally judged based on their offensive potential. In this case, I think it's better to judge what wingers would play better with a North-South type of center and which wingers play better with an East-West guy. Galchenyuk tends to play better in an East-West type of style offensively whereas Plekanec plays more of a North-South style. I see Gallagher, Pacioretty and Eller as more North-South type of styles and Semin as more of an East-West.

Plekanec ©, Pacioretty (LW), Eller (LW), Gallagher (RW) = North/South

Galchenyuk ©, Semin (RW) = East/West

Byron, Smith Pelly, Flynn? You guessed it, all North-South

I didn't start this post in order to create lines of my own but if you look at it that way, there's actually a missing piece on the LW, not on the RW as most people see it.

Gallagher is the only one there capable of playing more of an East-West game but he's a RW as well.

Semin-Galchenyuk-Gallagher

Eller-Plekanec-Pacioretty

Meh... If it aint broke don't fix.

In the end, I have no qualms about Galchenyuk playing 1st line center, but I don't think he necessarily instantly gels with Pacioretty "just because they should both be on the first line".

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What I say is that if Eller could be trusted to be productive in a top-6 role as a W, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion. After all, it's quite common for the real organizational unit of a line to be a duo rather than a triad. The issue would then become a minor one of finding a complementary player for that duo, instead of a concern that Galy is bereft of decent wingers altogether.

Unfortunately, L'il Lars has, after some promising early games, wilted. (The early returns thus indicate that the Eller defenders have simply been wrong all along. He has NOT failed to be offensively productive in his career because he's been saddled with crappy linemates or has been denied a top-6 role or has been persecuted by MT. He has failed to produce over the years for the simple reason that he sucks offensively. In any case, for all that I rag on Eller, I actually had some hope for him as a top-6 W. 16 games in, that hope seems to have foundered on the rocks of his mediocrity).

It makes zero sense for anyone to make the "Lars needs better linemates/PP/less defensive starts" argument this season when Torrey Mitchell has the same amount of goals as Lars with three more points despite being a fourth line centre. He averages less minutes, has definite bottom six grinders and takes a ton of defensive zone faceoffs yet there he is, outscoring Eller.

I'd still like to see Semin draw in over Flynn. Flynn had a near goal last night but boy does he feel underwhelming to me in every aspect. Reminds me too much of Michael Bournival. He's a 6.0 guy every day. Semin is a 4.0 on a bad day, 9.0 on a great day. I'll take the unpredictability. I also like DSP with his extra minutes though. Hey, maybe Byron - Mitchell - Semin plays like a scoring line.

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I tend to dislike breaking up lines that are having a lot of success in order to 'help out' a specific player. But obviously, Galy needs wingers.

What I say is that if Eller could be trusted to be productive in a top-6 role as a W, we probably wouldn't be having this discussion. After all, it's quite common for the real organizational unit of a line to be a duo rather than a triad. The issue would then become a minor one of finding a complementary player for that duo, instead of a concern that Galy is bereft of decent wingers altogether.

Unfortunately, L'il Lars has, after some promising early games, wilted. (The early returns thus indicate that the Eller defenders have simply been wrong all along. He has NOT failed to be offensively productive in his career because he's been saddled with crappy linemates or has been denied a top-6 role or has been persecuted by MT. He has failed to produce over the years for the simple reason that he sucks offensively. In any case, for all that I rag on Eller, I actually had some hope for him as a top-6 W. 16 games in, that hope seems to have foundered on the rocks of his mediocrity).

The only real hope thus seems to be to acquire a Michael Ryder type - i.e., someone who can score some goals without costing you your entire farm system.

But here's the real point: I don't see any great urgency in all of this. The team is absolutely kicking ass, and Galy is still getting valuable minutes at C and showing he can perform tolerably well there even with anchors as his wingers. He doesn't have to be the #1 C this season. He just has to be a useful C. So far, so good, by that more limited standard.

Dont think anybody see's or implies great urgency in this. Just another topic on a site that has thousands upon thousands of posts on the Habs is all. Interesting ? Yes. Urgent . absolutely not.

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It makes zero sense for anyone to make the "Lars needs better linemates/PP/less defensive starts" argument this season when Torrey Mitchell has the same amount of goals as Lars with three more points despite being a fourth line centre. He averages less minutes, has definite bottom six grinders and takes a ton of defensive zone faceoffs yet there he is, outscoring Eller.

I'd still like to see Semin draw in over Flynn. Flynn had a near goal last night but boy does he feel underwhelming to me in every aspect. Reminds me too much of Michael Bournival. He's a 6.0 guy every day. Semin is a 4.0 on a bad day, 9.0 on a great day. I'll take the unpredictability. I also like DSP with his extra minutes though. Hey, maybe Byron - Mitchell - Semin plays like a scoring line.

Mitchell has the same amount of goals as Eller (3) with less ice time. Yes, and not counting empty netters Pleks has one more than both of them. (4) I have never expected Eller to be sniper or major offensive threat. If he had that in his make up the Habs would not have got him for the bargain price of Halak. However I do think he delivers well in the role he has been given. 14 even strength goals last season playing wing/center on mostly third line/pk duty. He leaves you wanting more at times? Yes. But you can say that about a lots of players. Larry is ok. Besides, come play off time it's the habs top six that have to be a lot better this time....not the bottom six. Larry is not a huge concern.

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Galchenyuk is 3rd Hab centre in icetime and Weise-Flieshman-Desharnias play more shifts/gm.

Hmmm... wonder why that is.

Checks team scoring leaders.

Don't change a winning formula.

Exactly... you don't make the team worse to help one player....

Find chucky a RW via trade or by calling up Holloway. Don't mess with the lines that are working.

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Hmmm... wonder why that is.

Checks team scoring leaders.

Exactly... you don't make the team worse to help one player....

Find chucky a RW via trade or by calling up Holloway. Don't mess with the lines that are working.

Well true. But we were winning with Semin and that "winning formula" was changed. We kept winning.

We had a winning formula with Price and unfortunately that changed. We kept winning.

I dont expect to see Chucky moved to Maxs line anytime soon................ but it aint because the team does not like to "mess with a winning formula"

Teams tweak, experiment and adjust all the time. However I must say I am glad that someone pulled the plug on Therriens blender. Not a moment too soon!

GO HABS

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Semin was scratched after a game we lost.... he likely gets back in the lineup after our next regulation loss.

That said, its not just the wins and losses... its the fact that those two lines are two of the highest scoring lines in the NHL right now. You don't mess with that.

Later in the season, when they slump, okay maybe i experiment with Galchenyuk and Pacioretty, but not now.

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Semin was scratched after a game we lost.... he likely gets back in the lineup after our next regulation loss.

That said, its not just the wins and losses... its the fact that those two lines are two of the highest scoring lines in the NHL right now. You don't mess with that.

Later in the season, when they slump, okay maybe i experiment with Galchenyuk and Pacioretty, but not now.

Yep.

But me thinks if Chucky was first line center and pleks was second line center for the last month............we are still in first place. So change , don't change. Six in one, half dozen in the other.

But I am a believer in what one legendary coach said "everything we do all season long is to prepare for our 83rd game". Mike Keenan

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I'd still like to see Semin draw in over Flynn. Flynn had a near goal last night but boy does he feel underwhelming to me in every aspect. Reminds me too much of Michael Bournival. He's a 6.0 guy every day. Semin is a 4.0 on a bad day, 9.0 on a great day. I'll take the unpredictability.

This!

Semin on Chucky's line will give him the skill to play with that he needs, hey maybe Lars will catch fire as well.

Commandant said... call up Holloway, not bring Semin back in, but also not mess with a winning formula? Get off da pipe dude... can't have it both ways.

Semin needs to draw in over Flynn, he is not as noticeable as Byron in any good way...

4th line was great with Mitchell centering DSP and Byron/Flynn...

That's all I got. :ph34r:

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Considering that Plekanec has been matched up against every other team's top line, and there is no way that Chucky is ready to handle that matchup, I don't think they interchangeable in the top line.

Would love to see his development get the chance and the growth. Could always switch back.

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This!

Semin on Chucky's line will give him the skill to play with that he needs, hey maybe Lars will catch fire as well.

Commandant said... call up Holloway, not bring Semin back in, but also not mess with a winning formula? Get off da pipe dude... can't have it both ways.

Semin needs to draw in over Flynn, he is not as noticeable as Byron in any good way...

4th line was great with Mitchell centering DSP and Byron/Flynn...

That's all I got. :ph34r:

Semin hasn't played in six games, how is replacing him with HOlloway going to mess with a winning formula?

Clearly their are 3 lines that are working and one that isn't.... making changes on that one line, without breaking up the other 3, isn't messing with the formula.

This is nowhere close to the same as breaking up the top line....

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Some see it that we were what 10-1 sitting in first place and Chuckys line got broken up?

But i think we will get to see Chucky have a shot with Max and Gally as wingers for a stint. Be it from injury, slumping line, shake up ...whatever.

But not yet.

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Just putting Holloway in the lineup over Flynn or Byron would be messing with a winning lineup I guess?

And yeah, I wasn't condoning the breaking up of the top line, although Patch looks lost, injury maybe? That line is still strong, so no matter.

Semin on Chucky's wing is all I'm sayin'...

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