The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Yeah, I never understood that about Muller. 37 goals, 94 points. What would you pay for a guy like that today? Hmm. Let's ask Chicago... Well, totals were higher back then. I guess Muller in his prime would be more like an 80-point man today; but he would also be widely praised for his incredible physicality and ferocious 200-foot game, something that wasn't valued to nearly the same extent at that time. In that era everyone was dazzled by Lemieux and Gretzky, and the standard wisdom was that unless you had mega-stars like that you weren't a "real" contender. As has happened every now and then, the Habs were actually ahead of the curve; within a few years it had become accepted wisdom that teams like the Devils - who resembled the Habs 1993 model in many ways - were legitimate, much-feared contenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsfan Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 The situation with Galchenyuk for me is this. Let's say you had to make two choices for Galchenyuk this season: Choice A: Galchenyuk plays top six LW, logs an average of 14-15 minutes of even strength ice time a game along with always being the PP2 left winger. Therrien plays him against top competition all season long, especially on the road. Galchenyuk comes out with not exceptional numbers but decent for a second line left winger. Choice B: Galchenyuk plays third line center, logs an average of 12 minutes of even strength ice time a game but is taken off PP because he can't win an offensive zone faceoff as well as Desharnais or Plekanec. Therrien plays him against soft competition at home which allows him to score a lot but he gets out-grinded by lines on the road. Galchenyuk comes out with strong numbers for a third line center but we all knew he didn't face the kind of competition he was facing last season when playing on Plekanec's wing. Which is the better route for Alex? I'd go with option A. Get Galchenyuk playing as many minutes as possible at center and give him as many PP opportunities to boost his confidence (playing all those minutes as the 2nd line center might be a little depressing for him if he gets off to a bad start). The more he plays, the more face-offs he,ll take and the better he,ll become at that aspect of the game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 1993 specifically was an inflated year for scoring. Same to 95-96. Muller was still looked at as a Top 20 center. He just wasn't a superstar like Gretzky or Lemieux. Remember that prior to 93, you had Lemieux winning back to back Cups with the Penguins and all of the Oilers/Gretzky/Messier dominance years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 1993 specifically was an inflated year for scoring. Same to 95-96. Muller was still looked at as a Top 20 center. He just wasn't a superstar like Gretzky or Lemieux. Remember that prior to 93, you had Lemieux winning back to back Cups with the Penguins and all of the Oilers/Gretzky/Messier dominance years. Agreed. And that's what caused people to grossly underrate the 1993 Habs (who had, after all, been in a dogfight for first place overall all season long until a late skid bumped them down to 6th overall - still not too shabby). What I'm suggesting is that the Habs were a precursor to the pattern of team-building that came to be widely accepted as Cup-worthy in the ensuing decade. Had that exact team been in the playoffs five or six years later, this rhetoric of how they were some sort of mediocre club would probably never have taken root in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 The biggest reason at the time people underrated that Habs team was age. They were really, really young. Today people see the OT wins and think it was all Roy. Montreal was actually built a lot like the Kings first Cup win. Tons of depth, youth and just about everyone could skate and score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueKross Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 A washed up Joe Niewendyk was the top center for the Devils in 03. Their leading scorer at center for the playoffs ended up being John Madden. Good for you , you found one in the last twenty years. Maybe the other 19 years might suggest a trend. You think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Good for you , you found one in the last twenty years. Maybe the other 19 years might suggest a trend. You think! You asked to find one. I did. Before the season ended people were asking how far Montreal could get. Most said nowhere due to our center depth. I said we could be an Eastern Conference finals team because of the East being weak. I was right. I never said we were gonna win the Cup. This season we should make the Eastern Conference finals again and maybe we win and goto the finals. In two years? We should be a lot closer to a Cup champion and by that time, Galchenyuk is going to be at full power. It's all a progression. As long as we continue to trend upward (like Chicago and LA and New York) instead of trending downward (San Jose, Pittsburgh, Philly) I'm fine with the team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Bob McKenzie @TSNBobMcKenzie Just finished my interview with MTL GM Marc Bergevin, some interesting revelations incl moving Alex Galchenyuk to centre to start camp. Bob McKenzie @TSNBobMcKenzie If Galchenyuk can handle the defensive responsibilities at C, that's where MTL would like to see him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Interesting, but not all that big a surprise, is it? The kid's a natural C and projects to be among the very best pros from his draft year, i.e., a star. However, Bergevin's "if" seems like a pretty massive one to me. I don't think Pleks or DD need to pack their bags just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Why is Galchenyuk a natural centre? Does he have elite vision, playmaking type of game? (serious questions, not being sarcastic) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Why is Galchenyuk a natural centre? Does he have elite vision, playmaking type of game? (serious questions, not being sarcastic) Remember Gomez in his prime ? Galchenyuk is the only one not named Subban who comes close to enter the offensive zone like Gomez was in his prime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stogey24 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Why is Galchenyuk a natural centre? Does he have elite vision, playmaking type of game? (serious questions, not being sarcastic) Watch some videos of him when he played in the O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoRP Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I believe Galchenyuk does indeed have elite vision, hence elite playmaking ability, and he has a wicked shot as well. Given time to adjust and plenty of ice time, he will put up good numbers and be a #1 C, I'm sure of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Never paid Gomez any attention, New Jersey was as boring as it got. Didn't Galchenyuk play more wing in OHL then centre? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Never paid Gomez any attention, New Jersey was as boring as it got. Didn't Galchenyuk play more wing in OHL then centre? He rarely took faceoffs but would switch positions. He took the responsibilities of a center with exception to faceoffs. He took 138 faceoffs in 12-13 for a 42.8% rating. That was a good season to give him the faceoffs because we were quite decent on the dot that year with DD, Plek, Eller and Halpern all floating at 50% or better. He only took 15 faceoffs last season and won 5, lost 10. We didn't have a Halpern type with a great record so everyone was floating at 50% or less. This upcoming season we got Malhotra who you can almost guarantee to have a 60% or better faceoff %. That means the team will have a little more time to experiment because we know exactly who takes crucial faceoffs in the D zone. We were generally terrible on the dot in the playoffs. Eller went from one of our best faceoff men despite being unable to score to being one of our best scorers at a 43% faceoff rating. Seriously, Eller was an enigma last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Habs have sucked at faceoff forever and have been bottom half/third of NHL for a decade or more. Maybe Galchenyuk can have Malhotra teach him a few tricks, some guys improve as they gain experience and some dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovett's Magnatones Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Galchenyuk just needs to learn how to cheat. Classy Bergeron cheats on every single faceoff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Just win em baby! Some may call it cheating, others call it just wanting it more and if he can become a Bergeron we will be darn lucky. Not allowed to fight in hockey neither LM. Should you be able to cherry pick which rule breaking is cheatin/bad and which one is OK/good to break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zumpano21 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Call me crazy. But alot of people seem to think that Eller would never accept a 4th line C position. It seems to me that next year we'll have Chucky - Desharnais - Plex - Eller for centremen and the mindset is that we'll trade one of those pieces, exception being Chucky. Does that kind of depth not win Cups? Isn't that something that we should be anticipating with foaming mouths? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Yup, if DD or Plekanec get knocked silly/injured and gone for couple months, centre depth will instantly be tested and Galchenyuk would need to play 3rd line (but Eller would get 2 solid wingers). 5 centres on roster is by no means too many. Having one centre play easiest position, on the wing, isn't a big issue, but many want Galchenyuk at centre ready or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JGC21 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Call me crazy. But alot of people seem to think that Eller would never accept a 4th line C position. It seems to me that next year we'll have Chucky - Desharnais - Plex - Eller for centremen and the mindset is that we'll trade one of those pieces, exception being Chucky. Does that kind of depth not win Cups? Isn't that something that we should be anticipating with foaming mouths? Call me crazy.. But with Malhotra's ability to win faceoffs, I'd rather have him in the lineup than Eller. I'm still shocked at the contract/committment the Habs have given Eller. He better prove me wrong or I think he's the one that goes to make room for Galchenyuk at centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovett's Magnatones Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Just win em baby! Some may call it cheating, others call it just wanting it more and if he can become a Bergeron we will be darn lucky. Not allowed to fight in hockey neither LM. Should you be able to cherry pick which rule breaking is cheatin/bad and which one is OK/good to break. If Galchenyuk could cheat to win a faceoff against Bergeron, then pummel him into the ice, that would definitely be the best of both worlds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Call me crazy. But alot of people seem to think that Eller would never accept a 4th line C position. It seems to me that next year we'll have Chucky - Desharnais - Plex - Eller for centremen and the mindset is that we'll trade one of those pieces, exception being Chucky. Does that kind of depth not win Cups? Isn't that something that we should be anticipating with foaming mouths? Last year, there were frustrations that the Habs were paying a fourth line centre (Briere) $4 million. At $3.5 M, those same issues are going to exist. They're not paying him that type of money to play 10-12 minutes a night on the fourth line on a regular basis. The more likely scenario should Galchenyuk stick at C is to shift Eller to the wing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine of Loving Grace Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 LA had great depth with Mike Richards as a fourth liner. They then almost bought him out because of it. LA didn't consider it a plus. They considered it a well paid player expected to be top six underperforming because of being out of shape. If Eller is on the fourth line, something is wrong. Besides, I'd rather have Malhotra on that fourth line than Eller. Malhotra will win a D-zone faceoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DON Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Eller is top hitting Hab forward, good on PK and good on faceoffs, so could easily be a super 4th line centre, but cant see it happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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