xXx..CK..xXx
-
Posts
3738 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
63
Posts posted by xXx..CK..xXx
-
-
15 minutes ago, Commandant said:
This team can not score in transition, when was the last time they scored off the rush.
Pacioretty used to score off the rush, and get breakaways all the time. It doesn't happen now. If you don't think switching Subban (who had more assists on Pacioretty goals than any other player, including forwards)... for Weber (who has done near nothing 5v5) makes a difference there, I don't know what to say.
Its not just Pacioretty though, Galchenyuk scored a bunch off the rush. So did Gallagher, and Plekanec, and others too. But the pairing who plays the biggest minutes for the team has no puck moving and transition.
I completely agree with you. I remember Pacioretry getting a breakaway every game. Despite the hate, however, Markov, Beaulieu, Petry and even Weber and Emelin are all capable of sending decent outlet passes. Even Barberio was really good at that and Nesterov can handle the puck as well. Pateryn and Emelin may be the weakest.
I'm not trying to debate that we have a hole but with the players we have, Markov should be on the top pairing if we're looking to improve our transition on the top pair. Markov is just as good as anyone at setting players free on a breakaway. Some people seem to overlook that we have neither of last seasons top 2 playing in that role this season, not just one. It's just as possible that we get less breakaways because the coaches changed our system; or perhaps more players are actually applying the system. Which, in turn can also be less exciting.
-
I'm just going to add that this team can definitely win it all with a goalie like Carey Price. I know there have been comments about not needing an elite goaltender in the playoffs but one can look at the fact that Price hasn't played his best hockey yet this season in a positive manner as well. I don't see Price as necessarily being the best goalie in the world to completely steal a game, but he can definitely steal a series. So I don't fully share the view of the doomsdayers. We need to make a move, short term, or long term, but this team will go as far as Price takes it. Despite his play so far at times this season, that's a good thing.
-
1
-
-
Our biggest weakness is our forward corps. One can talk all they want about how our defensemen can't carry the puck up the ice but we do have some puck movers on the back end. There was a good discussion about whether or not we should get a #2 defenseman or that elusive top 2 center and for me, the answer is the top 2 center if we can only get one or the other. We've needed that for way too long and it needs to be solved already. It also depends on the player. Shattenkirk would be mighty nice.
-
The trade solved issues but that's besides the point. Why are we talking about this? Because we no longer have Therrien to blame, it's not on all the players or the new coach to take the blame, it's Weber and his lack of leadership that are at question. We have two top 4 caliber left handed defenseman in Beaulieu and Markov. Beaulieu has sucked and Markov can't play those types of minutes apparently. One of which I don't fully agree with in the crunch and the other was worth giving a shot. In addition, neither has really been given an extended look. I like Emelin more than almost everyone on here but there are better options on the current roster than him on the top pairing.
MB stated that he wanted to develop a culture which hated to lose and well that would go hand in hand with Trizzak's point that the culture must be very depressing right now in the locker room. I'm sure Subban throwing out a joke or two in the dressing room would really lighten the mood and solve everything in a jiffy.
-
The lines are different tonight according to the game thread so I agree that it will tie a few games to get everything together. I specifically think Galchenyuk and Gallagher might take a few games to get their chemistry back to peak level. If we're going to try that duo out even once, I'd keep it together for at least 10 games.
I'm on the fence with this one. Feeling pretty good about it but also not overly optimistic at the same time.
-
Galchenyuk is another player I'm not too worried about. His production has increased every year and unfortunately this season he has had to deal with an injury.
I think the reason faceoffs can be important is because you want Galchenyuk to be able to be out there in key situations. Of course you can place him on the wing in the final minute of a game but that defeats the purpose of the argument. Also, if he loses a faceoff in the defensive zone, it makes it easier for his opponents to expose his weaknesses in the defensive end.
Don't get me wrong, it's not the hugest thing in the world but I do think it would be silly to turn a cold shoulder towards the topic because there's no reason we also shouldn't want him to improve in the area if his percentage is indeed low.
I expect Galchenyuk to develop into a bonafide first line center in the NHL as well. He's not going to transform into something completely different but he's almost already there and perhaps the people who don't see it never will because their expectations are surreal.
-
13 hours ago, hab29RETIRED said:
Are you really that clueless??? You do realize subban played 18 games less than Weber because of injuries right and despite that only has 9 less points???? Subban was injured most of December and January with a hernia injury and started the year with food poisoning with the rest of the predators. What's webers excuse for the drop off in his play after???
What was the reason that Weber was brought in??? Leadership. The team completely collapsed and the argument was that the leadership group of maxpac, subban and Gallagher (who was also injured). were ineffective to prevent the collapse that occurred after price went down. There was also a feeling we needed a tougher dman to prevent teams for taking runs at Price. The big feared and fearless leader Weber was supposed to bring leadership and prevent a similar collapse. Guess what he brought didley squat to prevent a similar collapse as last year. The great mark messier leadership award winner did squat to prevent a melt down. He was supposed to exert fear in teams and prevent them for taking runs at Price. Guess what he failed in that regard as well. He was so good at preventing teams at taking runs at Price, that the usually cool, calm and collected Price finally snapped having to fend for himself. And has looked more like red light racicot than the best goalie in the world. Yep, Weber did wonders at helping out price and bringing leadership to this team.
If the trade was petry for Weber, it would have been a decent deal. We would have picked up a guy who could have been a top pairing dman with subban and we would have still had a dynamic puck moving dman that we are now lacking. Instead we have an old declining dman whose contract is going to be an anchor on this team the last 4 or 5 years of his deal. A guy who while still having a cannon for a shot, gets hemmed in almost as badly in his own end as Emelin, and is about as effective as Emelin in transitioning the puck out of his own end. And by the genius that is MT, the two dman have been paired together all year.
all because our idiotic GM didn't do what any other friggin GM would have done - fired a useless fat Fxck who should never have been hired to begin with. He choose his asshole buddy (or fox hole buddy), over a franchise dman. He signed an pleks to an extension and didn't even try to move him at the deadline last year. He signed a 3rd line guy dumb as Sean Avery to a 5 year deal, just because he played for a cup winner.
If you could think a little bit outside your and Subban's own world, my point was that Subban actually had decent numbers compared to Weber a few months ago. Someone said he was playing great two months ago and Subban wasn't and that the reverse was now true; in effect trying to portray a contrast that Weber regresses while Subban progresses as a season wears on. The argument that he's good early on and bad late has no statistical basis yet. After a mediocre December, he bounced back in January with a decent showing. Two weeks into February and we want to jump on him? His defensive play has not regressed as much as some are saying and his offensive numbers don't show any trends either. Everyone knows Subban was injured but I didn't mention it because it's irrelevant.
If anyone's leadership should be brought into question its Price's leadership which has clearly been missing throughout this slump rather than Weber. Price has a mental lapse and it's credited and excused because he hypothetically wanted Therrien gone. Something which was further evidenced by his great game against Winnipeg. But Weber's leadership is in question? Shouldn't you be happy that his "lack of leadership" did you a favor and helped get the coach canned, just like Price's lackadaisical effort did?
What exactly do you expect Weber to do? Do you ask that he physically pick up the other team's player and physically throw him out of the crease? Do you want him to whisper sweet nothings into the opponents ear about how he will commit a crime on their family if they so much as come within an inch of Price? Do you want him to rip their heads off during a headlock which in turn will lead him to a 5, a game and a 22 game suspension, and life in prison?
Is that really what you thought Weber's main strength is? If you want to get on him, get on him for not being more dangerous on the power play as of late. This is a rational thing to be upset about but it's also something he'll likely turn around.
The difference I see here is that while Price has indeed had a recent slump which has been league wide acknowledged, people are looking a little too hard into finding a reason to hate on Weber.
Enjoy and have fun.
-
1
-
-
We need to go on a streak. I'll say it now so it happens.
-
I don't think Weber is the player Subban is. I also don't think Subban is the player Weber is. Our team has very few all stars; Weber is one of those all stars.
I get that the argument is simply about Weber tapering off but without trying to predict the future, I'm going to be very happy that we have Weber come playoff time. It's the players around him who need to step up as well. 80%+ of the players in the league taper off during the long grind of a season so why be on him about an issue that affects most of the players in the league?
Where is Weber's leadership? We can't possibly know what's going on in the locker room, remember? I wouldn't doubt that he's been a great leader throughout this whole process of a season. Perhaps his "leadership" was part of the reason many people got their wish when it comes to Therrien getting fired. It's all speculation.
Bergevin needs to get a puck moving defenseman to play with Weber. Beaulieu is not the answer this season and I was his biggest advocate. In all honesty, it's very possible that all the eyes in the world that matter are missing that we have a potentially elite 1st pairing with Weber-Markov. Markov was on the 1st pair only last season. The only problem is that it's not possible because Markov cannot play those type of minutes. If we can get a younger Markov like player, however, we're gravy. If not, I still won't be complaining about Weber tapering off unless it's painfully obvious. If Subban were on the team, the defense would still need to be addressed. I watch every game and Weber is there around our net for some goals against but he's not getting blown away by the opposition.
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, Commandant said:
You're missing the point.
Weber played better 2 months ago.
Subban is playing better right now.
The concerning thing is that this has been a recurring pattern with Weber, getting worse later in the season. It was something mentionned around the time of the trade.
Subban's point total by month:
October 5
november 10
December 2
January 1
February 4
Weber's point total by month:
October 10
November 8
December 3
January 10
February 1
Two months ago would put us in mid December. Are we talking about when Weber got a whopping 3 points to Subban's 2? Or are we talking about November when Subban got 10 points to Weber's 8? Or are we just trying to create a narrative. Based on stats alone, Subban's arguably had a better February, I agree. I guess that's what people have been waiting for. It looks to me like Weber was able to bounce back after a mediocre December as well though.
We're not talking about stats? Oh okay, Weber's defensive play has been the cause of our slump and the reason our coach got fired, while Subban has been exquisite in his defensive play. That's what I was missing.
-
1
-
-
9 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
For the record, I didn't think MT was a terrible coach, but he should have been fired after last year in lieu of trading our franchise defenceman in order to please him; and besides that, the team - supposedly built to win NOW- has been uninspired and uninspiring over a span of almost three months. It was, simply put, time for a change. It's just a shame it didn't happen nine months earlier, which is what any normal organization would have done.
That's the thing. For me, this doesn't really feel like a huge change. In my lonely opinion, we've cut one of the main reasons to fire a coach in half by reinstating a coach who has already been down that road on this team. I was alright with Therrien for the most part but I'm not at all up in arms about him leaving. I just wish we had hired some completely fresh new blood into the organization after already having recycled a coach.
What I will admit is that I'm looking at it from a fan's perspective. All but 2 of the players on the team weren't playing for Julien last time around, so for them, it is a little bit of a shock to the system. I still stand by what I said though and this coaching change feels different to me than every other coaching change in the league this year so far. Julien may do well because he can coach but I don't see the change as having as much of an immediate impact as some of the other changes made for this season.
6 hours ago, Machine of Loving Grace said:Subban has had an injury plagued season while Weber has been healthy. Subban has admitted his legs aren't doing what he wants them to do and it's hurting his game since he's not 100% in tune with his game yet. Post-major injury seasons are common for drops in performance (you know, like what Price is going through right now).
They both have 0.55 PPG, even after Weber's dominant October performance. Weber has a goal advantage at 0.22 GPG but Subban is not far at all behind with 0.18 GPG.
When you check the splits, Subban's +/- completely comes from injury months in October and December (-7 and -5). Weber meanwhile posted a +12 and +6 in October and November but afterwards is carrying a -5, and has been a -6 in February (if you care about +/-).
The one point I won't argue is "IMO", since that's really Shea Weber's advantage in a debate. In only opinion does Weber have a clear advantage over Subban as a defenceman.
If Subban gets injured it's an excuse but if Weber is hurting he's old. So this season doesn't count? Alright well if Weber gets injured in 3 years due to his age, let's just not count that year in our assessment.
-
I can't go against my prediction of 106 points prior to the season so 16-4-4
-
1
-
-
22 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
Fleury is and always was a joke. I never understood the Pens' irrational allegiance to that choker. It's no surprise to me at all that they finally won a second Cup once they ditched him. They should have won more, and likely would have done without him.
On the other hand, there IS a coldly rational case for trading Price - but you'd better get a legitimate #1 G in return along with substantial additional assets. (Based on the Subban trade, we can expect to see Price traded for Ryan Miller
Just joking).
I am 99% certain Price will be our guy for the next decade. And it IS worth remembering that many fans were deploying a similar logic in calling on the Habs to trade Roy, both during the regular season in 1993 and before he actually was traded in 1995. Maybe we should just be grateful we have this superstar and ride it out with him.
It is true, because when you look at it from the other side of the coin, it is hard to believe that a goaltender of Price's general caliber, potentially one of the greatest of all time, will never win at least one Stanley Cup. If you go by that logic, which I sincerely agree with, then well, we've got him. I agree that our team on paper is certainly weaker than some others but my preference would still be to keep him for the long run. He may eventually get traded but I'd imagine it would be at the tail end of his career if there really still is no cup for the Montreal Canadiens and even at that point he'll still hold some value.
-
3 hours ago, KoRP said:
I haven't been a big Julien fan, and I remember saying I thought Therrien was the better behaved behind the bench, less of an idiot, less caveman and old school than Julien.
I'm not going to say now that I think this is the best hiring possible, but it's probably the best hiring the Montreal Canadiens could make with their "need a French speaking" thing, before he was snatched up by another team.
As someone(maybe Lovett's) said, it's obvious the team needed a coaching change, and Julien has a lot of great hockey people, say great things about him, he has a recent cup, and his Bruins although lacking depth, could play against anybody, and be in the game.
I have been a Therrien supporter all through this last tenure, but said to my lady after Sunday's game, that I had all I could take of Therrien's coaching, it's obvious the team has dialed out.
I will say that I have an open mind about Julien, maybe I disliked him because it was the Bruins he coached? But I cringe when I think of the things that iLLWiLL reminded us of.
Bottom line is, Habs needed a coaching change, and Julien is a highly regarded NHL coach by his peers, and he speaks French, so not a bad move in my books.
I feel the same way but I think deep down when one reads between the lines, it means that neither of us actually do love the decision making process. Julien can be a good coach but he has peaks and valleys rather than a high level plateau.
It boggles the mind when you think about one team having rehired two seperate coaches within a couple of decades. How many teams have rehired the same coach within a few years even once?If people don't think there's something wrong with the system regardless of Julien's credentials, then I can't agree.
I thought the argument could be made for Therrien that he had evolved as a coach and had learned from his previous mistakes. Are we really going to argue the same thing for Julien? Or are we proving the reality that the only reason to fire a coach is to shake up the team rather than necessarily finding the greatest coach possible. (Julien's good but besides the point)
I can tell from your sentiments as well as mine, however, that we will at least be willing to give Julien a chance. Here's to hoping.
-
If we were to trade price (which should not happen) it would need to be for a more proven goalie than the ones listed here and an additional player. I think people are being a little too hard on Fleury but in reality it is true that he's been a weak spot for them. They've won a couple of cups but they've had Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (Kris Letang). I'm not sold on Matt Murray as well. Sure, he played well but the same comments that argue against Fleury and his playoff success with the Pens should apply to Murray as well.
If I were to trade Price (which should not happen) it would have to be either for...
Lundqvist & Nash or...
Quick & Kopitar
Holtby & Backstrom
Dalhabs, your trade should be considered but in a few years one has to understand that it becomes a Price for Tavares trade straight up, which isn't absolutely terrible. For whatever reason, it seems that Halak has a shelf life with every team he plays for.
I would also consider Murray & Malkin because Malkin is awesome and obviously Murray/Crosby as well.
-
I'm not in the mood to feel like a complete outcast but for the first time, I'm not entirely happy with our coaching candidate process. This was great timing and I can completely agree that Therrien's message was wearing thin, but it's obvious that our selection pool forces us into making decisions (sometimes rushed) based on our limited pool of options.
In a moment like this, I think it would be great to be able to interview every available coach out there. Instead, we're forced to have only one option.
Thankfully our new coach knows a lot about our only true rivals and I do expect the team to have a lot of respect for Claude Julien. I don't have so much against Julien (although I did feel like the Habs had his number in general), just the process.
-
2 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
Weber's offensive production has been mediocre since December 1. No one is denying that his first quarter of the season was absolutely incredible. But just citing his numbers overlooks the point Stogey24 made about his last 40 games . He has been a workhorse but hardly a top-level, impact NHL defenceman over that span.
As for Subban, his season had been compromised by injury. This is damned fortunate for those clinging to the Weber is God narrative.
Then there's the ever-popular 'intangibles' argument. As though the 2014 team did not have player after player praising the team chemistry, and as though Weber's team had not played well below potential for weeks now.
Like I say, we have to hope he comes out of the bye week rejuvenated. What worries me us that he will come back rested and strong and then start fading again. Hopefully not, but all the signs are there of a player who can no longer play massive minutes at a peak level for 82 games + playoffs.
Frankly, every player gets tired over an 82 game season. Why is is that young, talented prospects often come into the league with a fire under their belly for 10 games before finally coming back down to earth? First of all, because other teams start paying more attention to them and second of all because they get hit by the intense grind of an 82 game schedule.
It doesn't matter if one is 19 years of age or 35, it happens to the best of them. In 3 years, if we are going to look at Weber's stats, we are going to look at the grand totals he put up, not nit pick which months he did and did not do well. IF he does do well in the month of March but has a terrible January, then the hypothesis goes out the window. Even if he doesn't have a great March, there could be other reasons.
I don't think Weber is a god but I do think he's been our best defenseman and one of our best players overall along with Pacioretty and Radulov.
-
I honestly don't see Weber's game as being that much different than it was at the beginning of the year. He's just not potting in as many goals as he was at the beginning of the year since other teams are naturally keying in on him more.
I don't know what to say. The second most goals in the league as a defenseman is not impressive? Sure, the team sucks right now, but why choose to key in on him? I don't know many teams in the league that would be able to have Emelin on a top pairing.
It's clear that it's not Weber per se that people are disappointed with, it's rather comparing him to Subban and expecting him to be something he's not. I'm sure Subban will have better seasons in the future but stating that he's been better this season is laughable and shows an inability to be malleable in thought process.
It's not like Weber is a team
best +13 while Subban is a team worst -9 or anything. I know, team stats. Well, I'm comparing them to the rest of their respective teammates.
-
1
-
-
What about the fact that Carey has a smile on his face half the time he freezes the puck? That doesn't look like someone who is unhappy with his teammates or even the coaching staff.
To me, Price looks like he did early in his career with us. Those puck handling mistakes used to happen all the time with him and he would also often let a soft goal in during games, despite playing fairly well in other moments.
The most likely thing to me with the way he looks, is that he continues to play through a slight injury. Maybe I'm wrong, but it would be disappointing if this were the case, because he either isn't being honest with the caching staff, or the team is letting him play through it all since they don't want to go through something similar to last year. I like Therrien, but in my opinion, he does not handle the goalie situation very well.
Having a kid is definitely a life changing experience and I'm sure it can be exhausting but I've been waiting for Price to have even one solid game and it just hasn't happened in the past while. Even in games where we completely dominate, he still lets in a goal and I can guarantee that in some of those games (Colorado, Calgary) other goalies would have gotten a shutout. I'll admit Calgary was very unlucky but there are a few other examples where the best goalie in the world should have shut down the door. If it is indeed because of the kid, one would have to think that there would be the spontaneous game where he would be energized, especially when on the road. With a child, you will have your good days as well as your bad days.
I have all the confidence in the world that Carey will be fine but when you look at our team on paper, it does not match up offensively with other elite teams. For awhile now, I've thought our defense was quite good but even that is showing sign of deficiencies as well. The reason for our slump is mainly due to our goaltending in my opinion. I'm completely aware that we cannot win scoring 0 goals but I have often said that our team plays differently in front of Carey Price. We have gone through month long stretches where teams headed into our games knowing they would be lucky to beat Carey Price. At this very moment, Carey does not have that league wide aura and it is affecting both our team, as well as our opponents in exponential fashion,
-
Alright, no more good feelings coming from me. The slump is strong with this team. Habs usually play the Bruins well so I didn't even feel as though it was a bold statement...
-
1 minute ago, dlbalr said:
Another boneheaded decision by Beaulieu late in the period. Down 3-0 with the team struggling badly and he thinks the right move is to spear someone nowhere near the puck? He's lucky he didn't get tossed. Personally, I'm hoping he's benched the rest of the night as that is completely stupid and unacceptable.
I hope he gets 3 points in the 3rd.
-
9 minutes ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:
Well, it won't be grumbling by Anglo fans that makes any difference...when a critical mass of francophone fans start criticizing the policy, then we'll see a change.
All I know is that as a bilingual Anglo, I wouldn't be listening to any more coach post game press conferences just as a result of it being conducted by a purely English speaking individual. I'm not here to argue about the policy, bu I would certainly be surprised if a lot of francophones out there actually really do care. If they do, it's certainly based more on their principles, rather than actually wanting to hear what the coach has to say in their native tongue.
-
Confused me with the time in the thread title. Game's at 7:30 EST!
-
Hopefully I don't fall into the trap of saying this too often but I once again have a good feeling about this game. Hopefully the boys prove me right.
Feb. 23, Islanders vs Canadiens, 7:30 PM
in Habs & Hockey Talk
Posted
I'd like to see Markov against Emelin in a foot race because I bet it would be pretty close. The speed thing would be a factor if we weren't comparing Markov to Emelin. The minutes thing is valid and as you know something I've said as well but you have to play the cards you are dealt. If you have to reduce Weber's minutes or have Weber play with another partner in different situations in order to reduce Markov's minutes, then so be it. I really like Markov on the power play with Weber but if Beaulieu is anything at all, he's quietly a power play specialist compared to the rest of his skill set. Half his points are on the power play. If you need to limit Markov's minutes, find a way to pair Beaulieu with Weber on special teams or some other situations.