Lars and the real Habs

[Machine of Loving Grace]

I didn't see a thread for Lars Eller so I thought I'd just post a new thread.

This season was Lars Eller's coming out party. He started the season getting scratched and ended it fifth in team scoring.

Some might appropriate this to playing a lot of the season with Galchenyuk and Gallagher. What's more important is looking at Eller's time compared to Plekanec and Deshanrais. Eller received only 0:48 PP TOI/G compared to Plekanec (2:58) and Desharnais (2:53). He was however relied on to play shorthanded (1:28 SH TOI/G, Plekanec was 2:06) unlike Desharnais (5:44 total SH ice time). His total TOI:G was 14:49 compared to Desharnais at 16:27 and Plekanec at 19:12. When you look at his average ice time for the year for forwards, he lands at 8th on the team. That's behind Plekanec, Gionta, Pacioretty, Desharnais, Bourque, Ryder and Cole. This despite being fifth overall in team scoring, third for all forwards (behind Pacioretty and Plekanec). His 30 points was two more than Desharnais with two less games played (there's fourth line ice time included in his numbers unlike DD) and only three less than Plekanec (Plekanec of course faced tougher competition on the road).

Just as interesting is comparing his numbers to the St. Louis Blues, who some here still believe laughed their way to the bank in acquiring Halak for him and Ian Schultz. Eller would have been second in Blues team scoring at 30 points behind only Chris Stewart. David Backes and Patrik Berglund both played the entire season with the Blues and had 28 and 25 points respectively. Their ice time was 19:36 and 16:49. Even third line center Vladimir Sobotka received more ice time than Eller at 15:27. I should also mention David Perron, the French Canadian winger that many Canadiens fans wanted over Eller. Perron, a 5'11" left winger for the Blues, had only 25 points in 48 games for the Blues after some pretty decent seasons. Aside from his rookie season and 2010-2011, Berglund doesn't seem to be trending very well into becoming a better player than Eller either and the two compare well in size and age.

If Eller's injury doesn't hinder his play, Eller should be a 50-60 point centerman with the right amount of ice time for Montreal next season. He's unquestionably better than Desharnais at pretty much every facet of the game except scoring goals. He's a better playmaker, better defensive forward and the two are pretty comparable on the draw (both need to get better). He's a good compliment with Plekanec. He's exactly what we were hoping for out of trading for Halak and with the cost of goalies dropping, getting a top six forward for a streaky goaltender who can carry a team in his hot points but can barely play 50 games in a season for his low points is excellent value.

Going forward, Therrien would be costing his own job by not playing Eller more. Playing Desharnais over him in ES/PP situations is only going to hinder the team moving forward, even if Desharnais bounces back and plays better next season. When facing teams like Pittsburgh, I'd rather see Plekanec/Eller playing top center minutes against Crosby/Malkin, not Plekanec/Desharnais. For a lot of people, Plekanec is the odd man out due to the similarities in play between Eller and him. For me, when Galchenyuk becomes a true top six center in the league, it'll be Galchenyuk, Eller and Plekanec. That's the kind of depth down the middle that can win you a Stanley Cup.

Probably won't post too much from now until the draft (because of reasons) but I thought I'd gush a bit about Lars Eller.

[Commandant]

Eller should get some of Desharnais PP time.

Also I disagree that DD is the better goal scorer and Eller the better playmaker.... I'd go opposite on that, Eller needs to correct his habit of holding on to the puck too long, and once he does that he'll be the better playmaker, but he's not there yet.

Interesting though is that Eller is better than Plekanec was at the same age. If he can be as good and as valuable as Plekanec is, but with his added size, we got a real gem.

[TurdBurglar]

I'd like to add the Eller has the second best hands on our team, only behind Galchenyuk. While I agree he needs to hold the puck less, he adds something to center that we don't have at center, the ability to stick handle as well as shoot or pass. I also don't believe he should be played over DD, but should be played as much and the center that is playing better should get the better wingers.

[Commandant]

I'd like to add the Eller has the second best hands on our team, only behind Galchenyuk. While I agree he needs to hold the puck less, he adds something to center that we don't have at center, the ability to stick handle as well as shoot or pass. I also don't believe he should be played over DD, but should be played as much and the center that is playing better should get the better wingers.

"the center that is playing better should get the better wingers":

Sounds simple enough, but its a delicate balance. The guy who is playing better is likely doing so, at least in part, due to the chemistry with those wingers. So the question is twofold

1) How long does one of the two need to be "playing better" in order to justify messing with the lines.

2) How do you change the lines to break up one that is working to give the "better wingers"

[JoeLassister]

"the center that is playing better should get the better wingers":

Sounds simple enough, but its a delicate balance. The guy who is playing better is likely doing so, at least in part, due to the chemistry with those wingers. So the question is twofold

1) How long does one of the two need to be "playing better" in order to justify messing with the lines.

2) How do you change the lines to break up one that is working to give the "better wingers"

This. And what do you want as a team?

Top C playing with top W. Or balanced lines that will give opposition a hard time playing against ?

[Machine of Loving Grace]

This. And what do you want as a team?

Top C playing with top W. Or balanced lines that will give opposition a hard time playing against ?

In a funny way, Eller was playing with the best wingers. My issue pertained more to ice time. Galchenyuk, Eller and Gallagher shouldn't be playing under 15 minutes next season even if they make a few mistakes.

When it comes to balancing lines, Montreal used to always separate Koivu and Kovalev despite the fact they played pretty good with each other. It usually led to having to rely on one line being hot because two players were expected to anchor two lines. I like the balanced lines strategy but sometimes you have to consider the best possible line to win. This is why it bugs me that Pacioretty never plays with Plekanec. It would make both players better. Tired of this insulation of Desharnais with the best possible wingers to hide his negatives. Toronto did the same thing with Bozak and Stajan. At least Toronto was able to turn that into a high quality flip when it came to Stajan.

[TheDriveFor25]

Eller starts the season with Gally and Chucky as his wings... Montreal's #1 line.