If anything, our defense this season was a great case study in what happens when you move forward with inexperienced players and prospects. Plekanec is far from untouchable but the centers were the least of our problem this year.
I don't get it...do you think the Habs have a realistic shot at winning the Cup next year?
Whats the worst that can happen? Habs finish last in the Conference?
As for the centers being the least of our problems...not sure I agree with that, I think the fact our centers are basically all the same to varying degrees, is one of our biggest issues.
I perfer Eller to play C. He look lost playing wing. He needs to get a real number rather than 81. Like #20 or #11 after Gomez is bought out.
We have the pieces in place. Pacioretty, Price, Eller, Subban, Emelin and our top 5 pick this summer. Guys like Plekanec, Gionta, Cole will give this team leadership. We just need to eliminate stupid players like Campoli, Weber, Kaberle, Nokelainen.
We don't have to bring our top #5 pick in next year. No need to rush. We could suck and get a top pick in 2013. The core guys we have right now are similar age (Pac, Price, Elly, Subby and Emel are around 22-24.
Like others have said if we draft Galchenyuk, he goes back to the OHL because he has missed a year of hockey.
If Grigs is drafted & is ready for the NHL, he can always be moved to the wing. Eller seems to be developing a scoring touch, so Grigs can always play with him on our 3rd line. Moen would offer him protection too. Moen - Eller - Grigs. Our very own GEM line!
Draft Grigorenko and let him play one full season to develop in Hamilton.
Next year:
Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole
Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta
Moen - Eller - Leblanc
Geoffrion - White - Staubitz
Markov - Emelin
Gorges - Subban
Kaberle - Weber
Price
Budaj
Do not rush this years lottery pick! This city is tough enough to play in as it is, we need to learn from the experiences of Price, Latendresse and even Subban.
This a pretty much a counting unhatched chickens situation. No concrete idea where Montreal will draft and who will be available at that point and who the organization will prefer with that choice.
They could easily end up with a winger (especially with a lottery win for Yakopov) or a defenseman. Also the time on a putative center being a good NHL player is also up in the air. This may be a conversation for 2 years from now for example.
In any event, having extra at the most coveted position in the league is never a bad thing.
Boston gave us the perfect example of how to handle this problem last season with Seguin. Play the rookie on the wing on the 3rd line and let him adjust to the NHL for a season with limited minutes. There's no need to rush him into a top position with the depth that we have at center.
Then by the end of the season, or even the trade deadline if needed, we'll have a better idea of what changes need to be made.
Draft Grigorenko and let him play one full season to develop in Hamilton.
Next year:
Pacioretty - Desharnais - Cole
Bourque - Plekanec - Gionta
Moen - Eller - Leblanc
Geoffrion - White - Staubitz
Markov - Emelin
Gorges - Subban
Kaberle - Weber
Price
Budaj
Do not rush this years lottery pick! This city is tough enough to play in as it is, we need to learn from the experiences of Price, Latendresse and even Subban.
Replace Leblanc by Palushaj then play Leblanc Grigorenko Gallagher in Hamilton !!! or sign one of Moss, Kostopoulos, Tootoo or Stempniak to play with Eller and Moen !!
Hamilton can have :
Leblanc Grigorenko Gallagher
Nattinen Engvist Palushaj
Archambeault Bournival Holland
Schultz Dumont Berger (Conboy)
Habs :
Pacioretty Desharnais Cole
Bourque Plekanec Gionta
Moen Eller Kostopoulos (Tooto,Hagman,Stempniak)
Geoffrion White Staubitz
Trade Pleks for top 6 winger or a top 4 D. DD as your 1st line center for next year Eller is ready for number 2, Grigs for your number 3 for 1 year. The year after reverse the roles of DD and Grigs
If we do manage to get Grigs which I think we will as Edmonton desperately needs a blue chip defenseman and this is the draft to get one. I'd see Grigs (if ready for the NHL) starting on the 3rd line behind dd and Plex.
Eller 4th line or winger as he's the weakest player at centre IMO.
Patches DD Cole
Bourque Plex Gionta
Leblanc Grigs Eller
Moen White Darche/staubitz etc.
No, there is no Gomez on this team.
Suppose Edmonton drafts Grigorenko. Should the Habs overlook the fine defensive prospects to reach down for a center? If they're going to do that they might as well trade down and get and extra pick.
Suppose Edmonton drafts Grigorenko. Should the Habs overlook the fine defensive prospects to reach down for a center? If they're going to do that they might as well trade down and get and extra pick.
If the Habs decide they are taking a D with their pick then I would hope they trade down to 5, 6, 7 and puck up am extra pick.
Suppose Edmonton drafts Grigorenko. Should the Habs overlook the fine defensive prospects to reach down for a center? If they're going to do that they might as well trade down and get and extra pick.
I think one can argue that a 3rd overall and top defensive pick could either render one of our existing defensive prospects obsolete and allow for a trade to get a top line centre using them or the 3rd overall pick as collateral for the trade.
I don't think you draft down but rather draft the best possible player in that spot. Worse comes to worse, you can flip that pick/prospect to address your need.
I think the biggest issue with doing that is that you never know what your need will be in a year or two after the draft. Price was drafted when we had Theodore firmly entrenched as our number one. At the time it was unanimously considered a huge mistake when in fact, it's been arguably our best pick and saving grace. That's why you have to pick the best possible player and not just for need.
Back to Edmonton picking a defenseman. Could they draft Grigs? Definately. But in the #2 spot they will not get the best player in the draft (Yakopov) but they can get the best defensman which is also their biggest need. They're stacked up front now and their back end is abysmal. The chance to draft a franchise defenseman is too great not to do it, especially when considering the depth of defensemen in this draft. It would be a humiliation for them to draft a centre or other forward only to have him fight for ice time with any of their other forwards. Besides, if need be, I'm sure Montreal would trade up if they had the feeling Edmonton would take Grigs. At this point in our franchise, we're too close to finally drafting the player who we've been long waiting for to let have it slip past us. Not to sound overly dramatic, but we need Grigs badly. He's the largest missing piece to the future of our franchise and he can be had for free. This opportunity doesn't come by very often.
If it's between a 1st paring defenseman vs a top-6 forward and no trade down scenario works, you take the defenseman. Yes, we really need a forward. But when you see elite, you always take elite. PBA all the way.
Folks the midget is a bandaid for us , he is not top 6 material on any good team
what good team would the midget be the #1 center ????
he lacks size, speed and top end skill like a Fleury , or St.Louis
Pleks has to get moved , period this summer
If we dont draft Grigs , Leblanc should be groomed as on of our top 2 centers
he was a center when drafted and now he is a right winger in the minors
the dude has a very high hockey IQ
as good as the midget has played ...we are 15th folks
are you guys going to tell me that Leblanc and Eller is any worse
than the the Pleks/DD combo at center
give them top 6 minutes , pp time and the same wingers what drop off would you see for a 15th place team ? at least they have upside
Where to start on such a mess?.....decisions.....decisions
OK...I'll give it my best.
So you're going to take the 17th and 29th highest scoring centers in the entire NHL and replace them with a guy who has 7 career NHL points (Leblanc) who has been slotted as a winger in his professional career and a guy who has averaged .3 ppg in his career (45 points in 149 NHL games) and wins a putrid 45% of his face offs in Eller? That's a perfect recipe......for last place.
DD has no upside? I guess if you base that on his last 31 games (31 points in those games), I'll have to agree with you. PPG producers are very rare in today's NHL, so it's doubtful that he'll improve much on that. Only problem with replacing him with Eller is that Eller will have to improve his ppg average by 233% to match DD's potential (which is actually being realized already).
While Plekanec doesn't have much upside, there's no reason to believe that he doesn't have a few 55-60 point seasons left in him.
Eller could make a very good 3rd center...maybe even a 2nd. That's only if he improves dramatically on his face offs. He's probably a 20/20 type with some PP time. Maybe 25/25. He's not a first line center. He simply doesn't distribute the puck well enough.
Leblanc may develop into a very nice player. But he has done absolutely nothing to deserve a spot over Plekanec or DD. It's ludicrous to suggest so.
But no more ludicrous than me taking the time to respond to this ridiculous post.
Last edited by Cyclones Rock: 03-09-2012 at 10:30 PM.
At this point in our franchise, we're too close to finally drafting the player who we've been long waiting for to let have it slip past us. Not to sound overly dramatic, but we need Grigs badly. He's the largest missing piece to the future of our franchise and he can be had for free. This opportunity doesn't come by very often.
Apparently Timmins doesn't like him. But then, it could just be a lure
Apparently Timmins doesn't like him. But then, it could just be a lure
I can easily see us drafting Grigs, hiring Roy as coach and Pierre Mcguire as GM. The 2 latter would guarantee Grigs being drafted. In any case, I've never seen Grigs play but I'm aware of the kicks on him and they're all about working hard. IMO that's easily addressed with a team that has a culture of winning and working hard which should be priority number one this off season.
«Si ça se trouve, on pourrait aussi insérer Scott Gomez sur ce trio-là à l'occasion, a-t-il dit. Nous avons trois joueurs de centre créatifs capables de générer de l'attaque.» Cunneyworth
Originally Posted by onemorecup View Post
Eller should be #2 and Grigs #1
Folks the midget is a bandaid for us , he is not top 6 material on any good team
what good team would the midget be the #1 center ????
he lacks size, speed and top end skill like a Fleury , or St.Louis
Pleks has to get moved , period this summer
If we dont draft Grigs , Leblanc should be groomed as on of our top 2 centers
he was a center when drafted and now he is a right winger in the minors
the dude has a very high hockey IQ
as good as the midget has played ...we are 15th folks
are you guys going to tell me that Leblanc and Eller is any worse
than the the Pleks/DD combo at center I will tell you YES, Eller/Leblanc is definitely worse than Plekanec/DD. Unequivocally and without any doubt.
give them top 6 minutes , pp time and the same wingers what drop off would you see for a 15th place team ? at least they have upside
Please tell me you are joking about DD. He is doing terrific for us. Have you noticed that he, Cole, and Pacioretty have this thing called "chemistry" and are our #1 line because of it? Have you missed the fact that Pacioretty will probably get 35 goals and Cole could possibly reach 30? Who do you think has been feeding them the puck? David Desharnais. So, of course, you want to replace him with Leblanc?? Leblanc who is so great at center our organization has shifted him to the wings because he is such a great center. Our organization that has been looking for size at center desperately but shifted LeBlanc to the wings because he is NOT a capable center, is now supposed to throw away Desharnais, our #2 point producing player who leads the team in assists, and move Leblanc back to a position he has proven to be weak at???
Wow, you really need to learn about what it takes to build a winner at the NHL level in reality rather than based on video games. You do NOT destroy the chemistry of your top scoring line because you hope that one of two other guys might be able to outproduce the guy who is leading your team in assists in his first full year in the NHL!!! You do realize that DD is only playing his first full NHL season, right?
Maybe, MAYBE, you trade Plekanec to get something we need and see if Eller can produce with Bourque and Gionta. Only if you are getting something significant in return, though.
I know our team is in last in the East, but that certainly isn't DD's fault. I don't know, maybe it had to do with our #1 defenceman and our team Captain being out for the season. It might have been due to the poor play of Cammy and his inability to continue to produce with his linemates. It might have been due to a lot of things other than David Desharnais. Heck, why not trade away Paciorety and Cole and move Leblanc and Geoffrion up to Desharnais' line. We are in 15th, certainly Geoffrion and Leblanc could do at least as much as Pacioretty and Cole with the increased top 6 minutes , pp time and the same center that Cole and Pacioretty had. Right? Right?
Let's say we draft either Grigorenko or Galchenyuk.
Let's say they're ready to play as soon as next year.
We have : David Desharnais, Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller.
Plekanec on the third line? I can see it, but Eller on the fourth line? No.
If we do draft a center, he will not start next year. The Habs should hold steady, and go for an effective and versatile 4th line UFA center, that's all.
The only other possibility is that we finish 29 or 28, and trade the pick and Subban to Florida for Huberdeau. I would do that, but most guys here would probably not. And not sure Florida would do it.
