Thank you for your input, CA. I agree with nearly everything you wrote. However, our opinions differ in a couple of cases:
-I can't see Galchenyuk playing center. He is not a playmaker and holds on to the puck way too long, which is very frustrating for the rest of the players on the ice. I believe the mistake was keeping up with the big club the moment they drafted him. I said so at the time. I felt he was too young to start his career immediately with the big club and especially in Montreal. He had also barely played in his last season of junior to a serious knee injury. I would have sent him back to junior for more seasoning.
-I was never a big Paccioretty fan. I never liked his skating and felt he scored too many lucky goals (and many empty-netters) which overshadowed his actual play. I never saw him as 'captain' material. But who else?? Gallagher is regarded as being more of a third-line player and doesn't seem very talkative. He's also still young. I'm also not sure about his longetivity considering the style he plays and his small stature.
-David Desharnais. Would he still be with the habs had his name been Joe Smith?
-Tomas Plekanec. Le Col Roule. Mr. Turtleneck. I can't fathom why Bergevin signed him to a two-year extension for $12 million. This was a ridiculous move! I wonder if Bergevin was sober when he made that decision. Same thing with Markov.
-PK Subban. I still believe this guy is overrated and he's become a liability on the ice. He's no longer a factor on the powerplay. He has yet to learn that you don't need to shoot the puck 140 miles an hour in order to score a goal. He always misses the net. His backswing on his slapshot is too high and that's why he misses the net so many times and why opposing players have the time to move on him in order to block his shot or prevent him from shooting. He needs to keep it simple. He also needs to get off the ice after one minute and not play the entire powerplay. I'd bet you that taking him off the powerplay and putting the likes of Barbario and Petry (or Beaulieu) instead would bring some results. I also firmly believe he's a distraction off the ice and that half the team would love to shut him up and beat him up.
-Michel Therrien. I just don't get some of his moves. Dale Fucking Wiese on the powerplay?? Why??? I don't have time to mention all the other questionable moves he's made lately.
-Marc Bergevin. What exactly has he done to improve the habs since his hiring? This guy is lucky he replaced Pierre Gauthier, who was literally driven out of town by the media. What were Bergevin's best moves so far? Tomas Vanek comes to mind. But he was lucky when he got Vanek since he had been traded to the Leafs previously, but the Leafs couldn't free any cap space in order to get him on their roster. The Isles then panicked at the last minute of the deadline and quickly sent him to Mtl instead of winding up with nothing. The other move was getting Petry from Edmonton. Now people aren't so sure re-signing him to that long and expensive contract was a good idea. He's back to playing like Jeff Petry. The "Jeff Petry" very familiar to Oilers fans. A very low-scoring, mistake-prone and soft 'average' defenceman. I could also name you a dozen questionable moves that Bergevin has made. The recent John Scott/Jarred Tinordi debacle is a most recent example.
-Geoff Molson. He needs to put more pressure on his GM in order to force him into improving the team. Bergevin acts like he's got a job for life. Bergevin has also put himself in a corner by telling the world recently that there is no way he'll fire Michel Therrien this season.
And finally, i'm tired of the 'Carey Price' excuses. Price is likely past his prime and every season his knees have been troublesome. He'll likely have to undergo knee surgery. How will he be when he comes back? And since he'll be 30 in a couple of seasons, the team will have to stop counting on him so much. On top of that, there is no guarantee he'll re-sign with the habs once he becomes UFA. I'm not even sure the habs will be able to re-sign him considering they're paying PK Subban an average of $9 million US a season and Paccioretty will also be due for a raise in a couple of years.
-I can't see Galchenyuk playing center. He is not a playmaker and holds on to the puck way too long, which is very frustrating for the rest of the players on the ice. I believe the mistake was keeping up with the big club the moment they drafted him. I said so at the time. I felt he was too young to start his career immediately with the big club and especially in Montreal. He had also barely played in his last season of junior to a serious knee injury. I would have sent him back to junior for more seasoning.
-I was never a big Paccioretty fan. I never liked his skating and felt he scored too many lucky goals (and many empty-netters) which overshadowed his actual play. I never saw him as 'captain' material. But who else?? Gallagher is regarded as being more of a third-line player and doesn't seem very talkative. He's also still young. I'm also not sure about his longetivity considering the style he plays and his small stature.
-David Desharnais. Would he still be with the habs had his name been Joe Smith?
-Tomas Plekanec. Le Col Roule. Mr. Turtleneck. I can't fathom why Bergevin signed him to a two-year extension for $12 million. This was a ridiculous move! I wonder if Bergevin was sober when he made that decision. Same thing with Markov.
-PK Subban. I still believe this guy is overrated and he's become a liability on the ice. He's no longer a factor on the powerplay. He has yet to learn that you don't need to shoot the puck 140 miles an hour in order to score a goal. He always misses the net. His backswing on his slapshot is too high and that's why he misses the net so many times and why opposing players have the time to move on him in order to block his shot or prevent him from shooting. He needs to keep it simple. He also needs to get off the ice after one minute and not play the entire powerplay. I'd bet you that taking him off the powerplay and putting the likes of Barbario and Petry (or Beaulieu) instead would bring some results. I also firmly believe he's a distraction off the ice and that half the team would love to shut him up and beat him up.
-Michel Therrien. I just don't get some of his moves. Dale Fucking Wiese on the powerplay?? Why??? I don't have time to mention all the other questionable moves he's made lately.
-Marc Bergevin. What exactly has he done to improve the habs since his hiring? This guy is lucky he replaced Pierre Gauthier, who was literally driven out of town by the media. What were Bergevin's best moves so far? Tomas Vanek comes to mind. But he was lucky when he got Vanek since he had been traded to the Leafs previously, but the Leafs couldn't free any cap space in order to get him on their roster. The Isles then panicked at the last minute of the deadline and quickly sent him to Mtl instead of winding up with nothing. The other move was getting Petry from Edmonton. Now people aren't so sure re-signing him to that long and expensive contract was a good idea. He's back to playing like Jeff Petry. The "Jeff Petry" very familiar to Oilers fans. A very low-scoring, mistake-prone and soft 'average' defenceman. I could also name you a dozen questionable moves that Bergevin has made. The recent John Scott/Jarred Tinordi debacle is a most recent example.
-Geoff Molson. He needs to put more pressure on his GM in order to force him into improving the team. Bergevin acts like he's got a job for life. Bergevin has also put himself in a corner by telling the world recently that there is no way he'll fire Michel Therrien this season.
And finally, i'm tired of the 'Carey Price' excuses. Price is likely past his prime and every season his knees have been troublesome. He'll likely have to undergo knee surgery. How will he be when he comes back? And since he'll be 30 in a couple of seasons, the team will have to stop counting on him so much. On top of that, there is no guarantee he'll re-sign with the habs once he becomes UFA. I'm not even sure the habs will be able to re-sign him considering they're paying PK Subban an average of $9 million US a season and Paccioretty will also be due for a raise in a couple of years.
Hope they show up and play tonight! GHG!
