Who cares if it was an ugly win? This isn't figure skating, so we don't have to worry about artistic interpretation. The important thing is that the Canadiens got two points while not allowing a conference rival to gain a point.
It doesn't excuse his total lack of defensive responsibility and his non-shot. Or his terrible start to the year which contributes to Plekanec being overworked and underperforming later (namely, recently).
Unless he maintains a PPG pace until the end of the season, this will be a very disappointing year for Gomez and Habs fans.
His non-shot? He is among the league leaders in assists this decade, he's never been known for his shot, why would you expect anything different at this stage of his career?
He started off slow for sure, but for me, I personally don't have high expectations for him, as I find a PPG pace to be unrealistic despite his insane contract (wtf was slather thinking giving this guy 8M in salary) but if he can put up 50-60 pts and do well in the playoffs then I'm happy enough even though I want to throw up when I think about how much money he's getting paid.
I just think that the right thing for the team to do is to assume that he isn't going to be the same. We should be prepared for this.
I think the right thing for the team to do is to assume that he'll put in the work required to re-hab his knee and be ready for next year. No reason to think this won't be the case...
His non-shot? He is among the league leaders in assists this decade, he's never been known for his shot, why would you expect anything different at this stage of his career?
He started off slow for sure, but for me, I personally don't have high expectations for him, as I find a PPG pace to be unrealistic despite his insane contract (wtf was slather thinking giving this guy 8M in salary) but if he can put up 50-60 pts and do well in the playoffs then I'm happy enough even though I want to throw up when I think about how much money he's getting paid.
It's as if Sather ignored all seasons of Gomez's career except 05-06 (from which he was already 1 year removed at the time) where he had 33 goals and 84 points. Never mind that his next highest goal total was his rookie year (19) and after that a couple of 16 goal seasons, or that he never had more than 70 points in any other year.
Gomez is a fine player. At $5M, people would have far fewer complaints about him (though certainly there would still be some).
Let's just hope for the team's sake that he DOES keep his pace of the last little while up, or at least the calibre of his game.
It's as if Sather ignored all seasons of Gomez's career except 05-06 (from which he was already 1 year removed at the time) where he had 33 goals and 84 points. Never mind that his next highest goal total was his rookie year (19) and after that a couple of 16 goal seasons, or that he never had more than 70 points in any other year.
Gomez is a fine player. At $5M, people would have far fewer complaints about him (though certainly there would still be some).
Let's just hope for the team's sake that he DOES keep his pace of the last little while up, or at least the calibre of his game.
agreed, it's too bad he is grossly overpaid cause at 5M at least it's a more reasonable. I'm not a huge stats fan, so I can overlook his numbers as long as he excells in the playoffs when it matters most.
He has 6 points in 13 games and 8 points in his last 5 games. There. Don't want you misguiding people into thinking he's been a near PPG player for the entire stretch.
I don't get people *****ing about Picard. I thought he played a very decent game. Nothing too fancy. I think JM is coaching him very well and he's keeping his game simple. He's not an amazing player, he's not a superstar, but he's part of the solution, not the problem.
Kinda reminds me when Gorges or Streit got here. People were *****ing whenever they were in the line-up, wishing Hainsey or some other "younger" guy with more "potential" was in the line-up instead, even though they were most likely worst options at that point.
Subban is playing his first season in the NHL. He doesn't have to play EVERY game. Him and Weber can alternate. With the way Subban has been playing lately, I wouldn't want him paired up with Weber.
As for the whole defense not being as good as they used to... I admit, they haven't looked as stellar lately. I think Gorges is hurt, and he's really the heart and soul of this defense. Hamrlik and Spacek have been kind of up and down lately too. Let's hope this break does a lot of good to the team and they come back fresh and more focused on the 26th (I wish the break was longer).
He has 6 points in 13 games and 8 points in his last 5 games. There. Don't want you misguiding people into thinking he's been a near PPG player for the entire stretch.
Or you could say he has 14 pts in the last 18 games.
It's as if Sather ignored all seasons of Gomez's career except 05-06 (from which he was already 1 year removed at the time) where he had 33 goals and 84 points. Never mind that his next highest goal total was his rookie year (19) and after that a couple of 16 goal seasons, or that he never had more than 70 points in any other year.
Gomez is a fine player. At $5M, people would have far fewer complaints about him (though certainly there would still be some).
Let's just hope for the team's sake that he DOES keep his pace of the last little while up, or at least the calibre of his game.
Well while we're closing up on Gomez's tendencies, might as well look at the positive side of it. Gomezseems to be a second half kind of player as far as production goes. That's exactly what happened last year. There's no reason to think it won't be the same this year. Annoying, maybe, but reassuring in the fact we know the pattern, so we can expect good production for the remainder of the year. That's good news for Pacioretty and for the team's overall offense if Plekanec's line can get into a groove as well.
Last edited by Munchausen: 12-24-2010 at 11:42 AM.
Well while we're closing up on Gomez's tendencies, might as well look at the positive side of it. Gomezseems to be a second half kind of player as far as production goes. That's exactly what happened last year. There's no reason to think it won't be the same this year. Annoying, maybe, but reassuring in the fact we know the pattern, so we can expect good production for the remainder of the year. That's good news for Pacioretty and for the team's overall offense if Plekanec's line can get into a groove as well.
Agreed. I also really really hope that we can get two lines going at once, for once! Based on Martin's pre-game comments yesterday, it sounds like he's finally planning on sticking with a consistent top 6 for now.
Looks fine to me! Just let them at it, don't split them apart after 1-2 bad games. Now if only we can settle on a solid third line, JM can do whatever manipulations he'd like on the fourth.
Pouliot - Eller/Halpern - Darche
Honestly, I don't care which of those 2 guys center the third. Personal preference would be for Eller to get more time there, but I'm fine either way. I just want to see one of them centering Pouliot and Darche, and leave the line that way!
At this point I'd take Ribeiro at 7.3 over Gomez at 5. At least Ribs can carry the puck and make a play instead of dump it against the weakside boards. Every. Friggin. Time.
