Rivet on the Habs "Passive" Defensive Style

[JLP]

"I'm playing a very different system. In Montreal it was very, very passive — defensive, but not aggressive on the puck. Here, it's constant pressure on the puck, guys always in good position. They want the (defence) to stand up in the neutral zone and make the other team dump it in."

Stubbs

[Easy Ryder]

Good find Jean-Luc !

He is licking for a big contract in San Jose, i wonder how can he come back in time in his zone with his slow feet id he covers the central zone.

But Rivet has a point there, the Habs d is always backing down and positionning instead of putting pressure on the puck.

But there is a reason for that, last season no D except Markov and Streit had the stickhandling habilities to have a success in the middle zone.

Example if Souray goes to the man with the puck, the opposite player easily dekes him and there is a 2-1 or breakaway on the goalie.

Same for Dandenault, Bouillon, Rivet,Komo.

Why that because they do not practice this with a good defense coach.

Don't get me wrong Jarvis is one of the most experience assistant coach in the league but he is not a defense coach, he is good with special units and would be a legitimate head coach.

Muller had no experience and is good with the kids on effense, but he is not a defense coach either.

The habs need a d coach with experience and some new defenseman to work with. Somebody who can convince Markov to rush in more often, somebody who would tell Komo go ahead in the middle zone and crush the guy with the head down.

So the only guy with experience that i can think of that can do that and take Carbo place when he will replace Gainey is Mario Tremblay. He is the D coach in Minnesota and they play that style at the blue line.

Thoughs?

Green was a steady defense coach on the old NHL

[MAK]

they way rivet played Defense at times, they HAD to play a more passive style. suddenly, RIvet has a loud mouth...as he become a neidermayer or a lidstrom ??

[PB]

Two rooky coachs and a GM who minded is own buziness was not a serious combination altogether,

some serious proplems plagued our game all season long, there was not enought competence availlable and the game as played was flawed I fell,.... and really su..ked at time.

Rivet's experience is interesting, the transplantation from one system to the other has him feeling that the

job gets done more efficiently over there.......I am not surprised, we lacked cohesion and efficiency

in our zone all season long until our apocalyptic first period in Toronto.

Gorges too was transplanted, but in the opposite direction, he too must have had vivid impressions of the experience.......of course our journalistes forgot to ask him about his first impressions......just too good a question I suppose.

I remember writing here my first impressions about Gorges on his first game with us..........I spoke with anthousiasme about Gorges offensive instinc, speed and spontaneity and warned everyone to enjoy his play before Carbo isolate him from the forwards and turn him into an impotent and boring defenceman.

Carbo then isolated Gorges not only from the forwards but from the game altogether.........instead

he gave us NIINIMA,][';yes, thats it=NIINIMA"":yesL{>NIINIMA......

Edited April 13, 2007 by PB

[Easy Ryder]

Two rooky coachs and a GM who minded is own buziness was not a serious combination considering the scale of the enterprise, there was not enought competence availlable and the game has played this season was in large part the result of it.

Same thinking there, that's why i think they should bring a new d coach.

Not necessarely Tremblay like i said but someone from outside of the group of friends that are the coaches. That would benefit them.

[MFT77]

Agreed. I would love to see the Habs play a more up tempo game with a much better forecheck. Let some of the younger forwards use their speed to play a game more suited to their skill level. Our D may not be fully equiped for this game yet, but Gainey could bring in better skilled ones. The forwards still must be denfensively responsible, but with more offensive freedom. So many times this year, opponents walked out of their zone with ease after just one pass, mostly cause the Habs team was always retreating backwards. Puck pressure would be the key.

[PB]

Same thinking there, that's why i think they should bring a new d coach.

Not necessarely Tremblay like i said but someone from outside of the group of friends that are the coaches. That would benefit them.

Gainey fired Green with Julien last season, Green had been the D coaching specialist with the CH quite a while prior is firing, many peoples have question the substraction......specially those that felt uneasy watching the D

and thought that they could do better.

Yaa its funny the friend thing......Gainey got his friend Carbo a job.......Carbo got his friend Muller a job, I hope they are not like me who prefered hiring a good friend instead of a more appropriate person when I had a little compagny in the past.........as suspected I had lots fun working with the friend....but the compagny didn't prosper as it should have....it was a trade-off which I prefered and the consequence didn't affect any other one than me.

[MAK]

the problem is tha Laperriere has never been replaced. I'm sure with proper instruction form a former Dman, a guy like souray would become les of a liability on D without being detrimental to his offense instinct. In the next few years or two, we'll have young Dmen coming in and I would love to have a full time Dmen coach grooming them. I'm sure jarvis can be a usefull assistant coach but, to me he hasn't done the job with the Dmen.

[Punkned]

Edit : oups

Edited April 13, 2007 by Punkned

[alexstream]

Good find Jean-Luc !

He is licking for a big contract in San Jose, i wonder how can he come back in time in his zone with his slow feet id he covers the central zone.

But Rivet has a point there, the Habs d is always backing down and positionning instead of putting pressure on the puck.

But there is a reason for that, last season no D except Markov and Streit had the stickhandling habilities to have a success in the middle zone.

Example if Souray goes to the man with the puck, the opposite player easily dekes him and there is a 2-1 or breakaway on the goalie.

Same for Dandenault, Bouillon, Rivet,Komo.

Why that because they do not practice this with a good defense coach.

Don't get me wrong Jarvis is one of the most experience assistant coach in the league but he is not a defense coach, he is good with special units and would be a legitimate head coach.

Muller had no experience and is good with the kids on effense, but he is not a defense coach either.

The habs need a d coach with experience and some new defenseman to work with. Somebody who can convince Markov to rush in more often, somebody who would tell Komo go ahead in the middle zone and crush the guy with the head down.

So the only guy with experience that i can think of that can do that and take Carbo place when he will replace Gainey is Mario Tremblay. He is the D coach in Minnesota and they play that style at the blue line.

Thoughs?

Green was a steady defense coach on the old NHL

Muller is the defense coach

They should just do things as they should be done... Muller as fwrd coach, Jarvis... hmmm, in New Jersey and Larry Robinson as our defense coach.

[House11]

"I'm playing a very different system. In Montreal it was very, very passive — defensive, but not aggressive on the puck. Here, it's constant pressure on the puck, guys always in good position. They want the (defence) to stand up in the neutral zone and make the other team dump it in."

Stubbs

The habs don't play this system because Carbo i'm sure does not trust the forwards to get back in time.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Rivet is starting to get on my nerves. If a player wants to go on about Montreal after he has left, that is one thing but Rivet is contradicting what he had said while here.

I guess he wants to remind us of how we missed the playoffs and how he feels reborn and happy. Well, here's one thing he can be sure of; we are happy that you are not around deflecting Carolina shots past Huet. TWO playoff game winners last year

SHUT UP HOSER

TAKE OFF EH?

Edited April 13, 2007 by ATHLÉTIQUE.CANADIEN

[ShortHanded]

Rivet is starting to get on my nerves. If a player wants to go on about Montreal after he has left, that is one thing but Rivet is contradicting what he had said while here.

I guess he wants to remind us of how we missed the playoffs and how he feels reborn and happy. Well, here's one thing he can be sure of; we are happy that you are not around deflecting Carolina shots past Huet. TWO playoff game winners last year

SHUT UP HOSER

TAKE OFF EH?

unfortunately, he really has a point. And at least he's being diplomatic. I WISH we'd a) get a D coach, and B) change the system to allow more puck pursuit and less passivity.

[Athlétique.Canadien]

unfortunately, he really has a point. And at least he's being diplomatic. I WISH we'd a) get a D coach, and B) change the system to allow more puck pursuit and less passivity.

That's fine. I don't mind him questioning the system so much as I'm annoyed that he said he was happy here (when he was here) and now he says he wasn't.

Then, when he says something legit I have a hard time accepting it.

What is he going to say tomorrow? If you say something dumb, then legit, dumb, legit etc, after a while I get tired of the legit too regardless of how true it is.

Edited April 13, 2007 by ATHLÉTIQUE.CANADIEN

[MAK]

Muller is the defense coach

They should just do things as they should be done... Muller as fwrd coach, Jarvis... hmmm, in New Jersey and Larry Robinson as our defense coach.

I believ muller runs special units.

I would love for robinson to come back but it won't happen.

[ShortHanded]

That's fine. I don't mind him questioning the system so much as I'm annoyed that he said he was happy here (when he was here) and now he says he wasn't.

Then, when he says something legit I have a hard time accepting it.

What is he going to say tomorrow? If you say something dumb, then legit, dumb, legit etc, after a while I get tired of the legit too regardless of how true it is.

You know, from a psychology perspective, he could easily have meant that he liked it here when he was here, and now that he's gone and he has something else to compare it to, and a different perspective / experience, his feelings and his opinion changes. As much as I wasn't really a fan of his on-ice play, I don't think he actually meant to be lying at one point.

[simonus]

rivet's point is well taken and hopefully gainey's retooling of the D-corp will be commesurate with a change in D philosophy.

As to Rivet's apparent continuing criticisms of MTL, I think it has a lot to do with

a: him feeling a bit betrayed by being moved; and

b: reporters calling him a ton and soliciting criticism; and

c: living in California and feeling separate from whatever media pressure he used to be under

I mean, it must be liberating for Rivet, after 12 yrs in MTL, to be able to say whatever he wants and not get in trouble for it.

EDIT: for spelling

Edited April 13, 2007 by simonus

[PB]

Last season under Gainey the CH where asked to play a more agressive type of game

than they had under Julien,.....the checking line was dismantle and all lines where balance to acheived

maximun pressure and to play the puck pursuit style that Carolina had so much success playing........the CH

was reborned and finally made a qualification out of it.

When playing the serie against Carolina we never had it so good hockey wise, I mean the pace was

just incredible......I actually remenber the TSN commenting about it as being the best of all

the series hapenning at that time and suggesting that a tape should be made and send all over the league to show how the game should be played.

At the beginning of THIS season questions where asked about how defensive a system for the Club Carbo had in mind........he reassuringly answered that he would ask the CH to play the same style as they did

during that serie,....agressive puck pursuit,....playing hard on the puck...etc.

That never happens,......the style was different from the start,......the pace wasn't there,......puck possession time and forecheking where almost non-existant........this team had no identity, no force to be reckoned with and the lousiest 5-on-5 of the league.

My verdict is that Carbo is no coaching genius and that Gainey failled to supervised and interfered.

No coaching genius because he lost sight of the '' big picture '' and because he left his turnover paranoid

stance design and influence the game in a way that stiffled the players, their puck possession, their speed, creativity and ultimatly their offensive capability.

The step we made last season was lost because of this backward scenario......I felt.

[ShortHanded]

Last season under Gainey the CH where asked to play a more agressive type of game

than they had under Julien,.....the checking line was dismantle and all lines where balance to acheived

maximun pressure and to play the puck pursuit style that Carolina had so much success playing........the CH

was reborned and finally made a qualification out of it.

When playing the serie against Carolina we never had it so good hockey wise, I mean the pace was

just incredible......I actually remenber the TSN commenting about it as being the best of all

the series hapenning at that time and suggesting that a tape should be made and send all over the league to show how the game should be played.

At the beginning of THIS season questions where asked about how defensive a system for the Club Carbo had in mind........he reassuringly answered that he would ask the CH to play the same style as they did

during that serie,....agressive puck pursuit,....playing hard on the puck...etc.

That never happens,......the style was different from the start,......the pace wasn't there,......puck possession time and forecheking where almost non-existant........this team had no identity, no force to be reckoned with and the lousiest 5-on-5 of the league.

My verdict is that Carbo is no coaching genius and that Gainey failled to supervised and interfered.

No coaching genius because he lost sight of the '' big picture '' and because he left his turnover paranoid

stance design and influence the game in a way that stiffled the players, their puck possession, their speed, creativity and ultimatly their offensive capability.

The step we made last season was lost because of this backward scenario......I felt.

Very Very well said

[Partisan]

yea and did Rivet went down to took a shot? i,ve watched so many games, i dont remember him being that proactive on his own....

[Athlétique.Canadien]

Rivet is still getting on my nerves. They are in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Where he finds the time to still blah blah about us is interesting. I suggest Craig concentrate on SJ and stop answering silly reporters on this.

That is unless his little ranting and raving is contributing to his success recently. I doubt it though.

Rivet - drop it!

[InsaneHABSfan]

Rivet is still getting on my nerves. They are in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Where he finds the time to still blah blah about us is interesting. I suggest Craig concentrate on SJ and stop answering silly reporters on this.

That is unless his little ranting and raving is contributing to his success recently. I doubt it though.

Rivet - drop it!

2 goals and 1 Assist for the sharks in 2 playoff games so he must be concentrating.

-3 rating = Success?? Well he is in the playoffs...and that cannot be all bad.

[tokyohabs]

On a side note...

Is this the Carey Price Avatar page???

[InsaneHABSfan]

On a side note...

Is this the Carey Price Avatar page???

Good one!

I believe with him and Chipchura as future Habs, I feel at ease about the future.

Price is going to be one of the next great goalies and was a fantastic pick by Gainey and company. The way Montreal plays passive defence according to Mr. Rivet, they are really going to need Price's talent.

Edited April 17, 2007 by InsaneAVSfan

[MFT77]

Nice game 6 by Rivet tonite. He's a -2 with a bad pinch on the second goal and shot the puck wide on a wide open net in the 2nd. -5 for the playoffs. Wonder why SJ top ranked PP unit has sucked lately. Too much Rivet. Why he is on the first unit is beyond me.