Breakdown Through 22
Nov 29, 2002 2:17:22 GMT -5
Post by GoMtl on Nov 29, 2002 2:17:22 GMT -5
Well i'm bored and no one seems to around so i'm going to give my thoughts on the team through the first 22 games
Record: 10-8-4-0 (7th in the east)
Games So Far: Montreal has played very inconsistantly so far this season. a 4-1 victory to start the season over the Rangers was followed by two blowout losses at the hands of Buffalo and Philly. This about sums up how the Canadiens have played so far, they'll play good for a game or two, then get HAMMERED and start over again. Very few of the teams players are showing up to play on a regular basis, and their starting goaltender seems to have fallen under the weight of his enormous contract. For a team with a 48 million dollar payroll and talent upfront to spair, the Canadiens shouldn't be getting outshot in nearly every game. Prior to season's start this team was thought to be getting leadership and strong play from many key veterans, most have which of been very non-existant in the teams first 22 games. December could be a make or break month for the habs, and without strong goaltending and leadership from the vets the playoffs could become a long shot by January. It seems every time they go down by a goal or two the flood gates open and they take a shalacking (7-3 loss against Carolina on Saturday is a classic example), defense should come from the whole team, not just the man between the pipes.
The Players: It seems like a lot of the players this year aren't bringing their A game each and every night. Veterans like Doug Gilmour and Randy McKay are supposed to lead this team, but instead are almost invisable on some nights. So far there has been a lot of dissapointments on the habs roster and a few surprises. The super-star play of Saku Koivu and Richard Zednik comes as no surprise to most habs fans, but strong 2-way play from Jan Bulis and Andrei Markov has been a huge surprise in a lot of peoples minds, and is another reason the the lacklustre play of some hasn't effected the teams record as much as it could have. as far as dissapointments there are almost too many to name... Doug Gilmour until recently was definitely not playing with the fire that helped propel the Habs into the second round of last years playoffs, and 2-mill free agent signing Randy McKay has produced very little offensively, granted in a marginal 4th line role. Former 30 goal scorers Donald Audette and Mariusz Czerkawski have been snake bitten for most of the season so far, and with 15 points combined it's no wonder they've been sat a total of 8 games between the two. At seasons start the Habs defense looked average at best, but that has quickly plumitted to awful. Pre season standout, rookie defenseman Ron Hainsey turned out too premature for NHL play and was sent to Hamilton of the AHL to develop, but that was the least of their problems. Veteran blue liners Stephane Quintal and Karl Dykhuis have looked less NHL-ready than Hainsey, which is scary considering they've played a total of over 1500 NHL games combined in their careers. Patrick Traverse has been a mainstay on the Habs blue line so far due to the injury of Sheldon Souray, and poor start of Ron Hainsey, that alone should say enough about the Habs defense, but sadly he hasn't been their worst, that prize is a toss up between Quintal and Dykhuis.
Personnel: Head coach Michel Therrien has been playing musical lines all season long, with players moving from 2nd line to 4th to the press box and back to the 1st in a matter of games. This inconsistancy in lines has tampered with player chemistry and therefore guys like Mariusz Czerkawski (new to the team), have never really been given the opportunity to find their role. Guy Charron who previously coached the Anaheim Mighty Ducks penalty-kill to 7th in the league last season has the habs sitting at 30th in the league, a dismal 73.1% kill rate. Charron has yet to prove to anyone he can come anywhere near stepping into the shoes of the great Guy Carbonneau, who with the same nucleus of players had the habs PK among the top in the league last season. Andre Savard has aquired 3 players since the end of last season; Mariusz Czerkawski, a relatively good pick up for 4th liner Arron Asham on draft day has yet to prove himself in a habs sweater, partially because he's an near clone of two other players who also adorn the CH (Oleg Petrov, and Donald Audette. All small, soft, scoring right wingers), Randy McKay, a free agent signing over the summer (a 2 year deal for over 2 million a year), has 6 points and is far from what was expected considering the price tag, but come playoff time this guy could be of great assistance and was probably one of the main reasons he was aquired, and Sylvain Blouin, an enforcer picked up for a 7th rounder from the Wild a few weeks into the season.
continued in next reply...
Record: 10-8-4-0 (7th in the east)
Games So Far: Montreal has played very inconsistantly so far this season. a 4-1 victory to start the season over the Rangers was followed by two blowout losses at the hands of Buffalo and Philly. This about sums up how the Canadiens have played so far, they'll play good for a game or two, then get HAMMERED and start over again. Very few of the teams players are showing up to play on a regular basis, and their starting goaltender seems to have fallen under the weight of his enormous contract. For a team with a 48 million dollar payroll and talent upfront to spair, the Canadiens shouldn't be getting outshot in nearly every game. Prior to season's start this team was thought to be getting leadership and strong play from many key veterans, most have which of been very non-existant in the teams first 22 games. December could be a make or break month for the habs, and without strong goaltending and leadership from the vets the playoffs could become a long shot by January. It seems every time they go down by a goal or two the flood gates open and they take a shalacking (7-3 loss against Carolina on Saturday is a classic example), defense should come from the whole team, not just the man between the pipes.
The Players: It seems like a lot of the players this year aren't bringing their A game each and every night. Veterans like Doug Gilmour and Randy McKay are supposed to lead this team, but instead are almost invisable on some nights. So far there has been a lot of dissapointments on the habs roster and a few surprises. The super-star play of Saku Koivu and Richard Zednik comes as no surprise to most habs fans, but strong 2-way play from Jan Bulis and Andrei Markov has been a huge surprise in a lot of peoples minds, and is another reason the the lacklustre play of some hasn't effected the teams record as much as it could have. as far as dissapointments there are almost too many to name... Doug Gilmour until recently was definitely not playing with the fire that helped propel the Habs into the second round of last years playoffs, and 2-mill free agent signing Randy McKay has produced very little offensively, granted in a marginal 4th line role. Former 30 goal scorers Donald Audette and Mariusz Czerkawski have been snake bitten for most of the season so far, and with 15 points combined it's no wonder they've been sat a total of 8 games between the two. At seasons start the Habs defense looked average at best, but that has quickly plumitted to awful. Pre season standout, rookie defenseman Ron Hainsey turned out too premature for NHL play and was sent to Hamilton of the AHL to develop, but that was the least of their problems. Veteran blue liners Stephane Quintal and Karl Dykhuis have looked less NHL-ready than Hainsey, which is scary considering they've played a total of over 1500 NHL games combined in their careers. Patrick Traverse has been a mainstay on the Habs blue line so far due to the injury of Sheldon Souray, and poor start of Ron Hainsey, that alone should say enough about the Habs defense, but sadly he hasn't been their worst, that prize is a toss up between Quintal and Dykhuis.
Personnel: Head coach Michel Therrien has been playing musical lines all season long, with players moving from 2nd line to 4th to the press box and back to the 1st in a matter of games. This inconsistancy in lines has tampered with player chemistry and therefore guys like Mariusz Czerkawski (new to the team), have never really been given the opportunity to find their role. Guy Charron who previously coached the Anaheim Mighty Ducks penalty-kill to 7th in the league last season has the habs sitting at 30th in the league, a dismal 73.1% kill rate. Charron has yet to prove to anyone he can come anywhere near stepping into the shoes of the great Guy Carbonneau, who with the same nucleus of players had the habs PK among the top in the league last season. Andre Savard has aquired 3 players since the end of last season; Mariusz Czerkawski, a relatively good pick up for 4th liner Arron Asham on draft day has yet to prove himself in a habs sweater, partially because he's an near clone of two other players who also adorn the CH (Oleg Petrov, and Donald Audette. All small, soft, scoring right wingers), Randy McKay, a free agent signing over the summer (a 2 year deal for over 2 million a year), has 6 points and is far from what was expected considering the price tag, but come playoff time this guy could be of great assistance and was probably one of the main reasons he was aquired, and Sylvain Blouin, an enforcer picked up for a 7th rounder from the Wild a few weeks into the season.
continued in next reply...