By CoachK, AllHabs.Net
SAINT-LAZARE, QC — Canadiens’ General Manager Pierre Gautheir is as spineless as they come. “We have a competent team,” was one quote he made in his post-trade deadline press conference. Another was “The nucleus of players on this team made a significant impact in last year’s playoffs.” We’ve all heard the cliches before. They are the words spoken by general managers around the NHL who don’t have the guts or the knowledge to make deals when they need to.
While we can’t blame the players for the team’s recent failures, it is apparent to me that we don’t have the type of roster that fits Coach Jacques Martin’s “system”. Come to think of it, who does? In this newest era in the NHL’s illustrious history, the majority of teams in the league have put away their trapping playbooks, and have been using a more open style of play. Even New Jersey Devils’ coach Jacques Lemaire, the godfather of the Trap, has found a way to combine offense with defense. Why can’t Martin do it with the type of offensive firepower we have in our top six forwards?
That being said, Gauthier has to remember while his team was on their magical run just less than a year ago, the primary reasons were the short blocking mastery of Hal Gill and Josh Gorges, the incredible offense supplied by Michael Cammalleri and the stellar goaltending of former Hab, now St. Louis Blues netminder, Jaroslav Halak. And since we’re on the subject, doesn’t Gorges count as being part of the nucleus of this team? His warrior-type mentality was the driving force behind the solid play of the Canadiens’ defensive core last season.
Gauthier also went on the say that he used up all of the team’s available resources to address the plethora of injuries sustained on the Habs’ blue line, and did have much to deal with. Really? Since when is another small, talented offensive forward like David Desharnais not worth anything? If you package him with someone like Andrei Kostistyn, who’s been completely lost in Martin’s “system” this season, couldn’t you land a player who could help bolster your current roster? Has this city become so desperate, that they are willing to start rumors about players like J.P. Dumont of the Nashville Predators, who has been a healthy scratch since the birth of the new NHL? Do we really need to hang onto the same type of players? The small, speedy type who can’t move a fly, let alone defensemen like Zdeno Chara and Chris Pronger?
All this to say, the problem isn’t one that just happened. It is an issue that began with a useless amateur scouting department, who drafted a ton of US born defenseman from the high school and college rank and never saw the light of an AHL arena, let alone an NHL rink. For years, this organization has pissed away draft picks on second rate players, while other “Good Canadian Boys” as Grapes calls them, were picked up by other teams, only to succeed. Stop wondering why we can’t do anything at the trade deadline. So long as our scouting department as a whole is run by Pierre Gauthier, the team will, as the cliche goes, “Be happy with what we have!”
(Photo courtesy: Reuters)
Spineless? That’s a tad harsh and insulting isn’t it?
Who are the American defensemen who have never seen the light of NHL/AHL arena?
I am assuming you’re referring to Mac Bennet, David Fischer, Scott Kishel, Jon Gleed, Cameron Cepek, Joe Stejskal, as well as Ron Hainsey and Ryan McDonagh.
We can scratch Hainsey and McDonagh off the list, as they are plying their trade in the NHL. Let’s take Mac Bennett off the list as well because you’d be hard pressed to find anyone from rounds 3-7 in the 2009 draft that is making an impact in the NHL. Bennett’s still a prospect and still in play. Not saying that Bennett is some heaven sent prospect, but there’s certainly no D drafted after him that’s making a sizeable impact in the NHL.
So now we have Kishel, Fischer, Gleed, Cepek and Stejskal. All of these guys, with the exception of David Fischer, are late round picks. Each of them were drafted in the fifth round or later.
In 2004, the Canadiens could have drafted Campoli, Clitsome, Hunwick or Streit instead of Jon Gleed. That’s it for NHL regulars. Clitsome only just became a regular in 2011.
In 2006, the Habs picked Cameron Cepek at 199th. They could have drafted Artus Kulda. He’s play 6 NHL games. He’s the only D drafted after Cepek to appear in the NHL. Maybe they should have drafted Michigan native, Erik Condra instead.
Instead of drafting Fischer, the Canadiens could have drafted any number of players from Giroux to Corrente to Berglund to McBain or Peckham. The Habs would have been best served drafting a forward with that first round pick. Not a great draft for defensemen aside from Erik Johnson. Fischer was a pretty big error in judgment.
In 2007, the Habs took Kishel and Stejskal. Both are still Habs property and still developing (in theory). They’re mid to low level prospects. Of the defensemen drafted in the later rounds of the 2007 draft, only Carl Gunnarson is an NHL regular.
If we got a little further back and look at the other Habs picks that fit your description, we get Brett Clark (1996 draft) and Chris Dyment (1999 draft). Brett Clark would be the type of guy who’d look good on this Habs team. Chris Dyment? Not so much. If they had passed on Dyment they could have came up with Khavanov, Martinek, Douglas Murray, Jeff Finger or Garnet Exelby (a Maple Leafs fan’s nightmare perhaps?). Funny enough, Exelby’s the only one who is Canadian and damned if he isn’t seeing the inside of a lot of AHL rinks.
You’re not thinking geometrically, Mark.
While your analysis is dead on, what about all those first and second rounders who never made it to “the show”. First and second round picks who were passed over, an afterthought in the Canadiens’ scheme of things.
I agree that 3-7 rounders rarely get to the NHL, but isn’t that where players like Henrik Zetterberg were picked?
At a time when defense was deemed the highest priority in order to build this team from the net out, the scouting staff continued to draft forwards with their higher draft picks. Not that it was a bad pick, but Timmins drafted Louis Leblanc in 2009 just to shut the fans and media up. And I like the kid, having met him on several occasions.
All this to say, this team needs to establish an identity and remain with it. They can’t keep bouncing from offense to defense and confusing the hell out of everyone, especially the players.
I am not sure if I understand your point.
At first you said that the Habs wasted picks on US defenseman who didn’t amount to anything. You state that “While other “Good Canadian Boys” as Grapes calls them, were picked up by other teams, only to succeed.”
I haven’t found much evidence to support that. The Habs didn’t bypass any outstandingly good defensemen as I pointed out.
It seems like your biggest problem is with the drafting of a player like David Fischer – which I agree on, but I don’t feel like it’s part of a larger trend. 2 US born defensemen that were drafted by the Habs look to be NHL regulars. The jury is still out on Bennett and the other four were late round picks. The Habs didn’t miss out on anyone outstanding in those drafts.
Players like Zetterberg do get picked in those rounds, but the Habs didn’t miss out on anyone like Zetterberg in those drafts.
The Habs grabbed some D with high picks in the first two rounds Tinordi, Subban, McDonagh, Carle and Fischer. Tinordi is still a couple of years away from playing in the NHL. Subban has been as advertised. McDonagh was the only thing of value the Habs gave up in the Gomez trade, Carle hasn’t been as advertised, but still has time to turn it around and we all know the woeful tale of drafting Fischer.
Since 2005 when they drafted Carey Price, the Habs have had 11 first or second round picks. They have used those picks to draft one goalie and five defensemen and five forwards.
Their first round picks have been: 2010 – 22 Tinordi(D), 2009 – 18 Louis LeBlanc (C), 2007 – 12 – McDonagh (D), 20 – Max Pacioretty (L) 2006 – 20 – David Fischer (D), 2005 – Carey Price (G). It looks to me like they’ve been using their higher picks on building from the net out.
I am curious as to who you would have picked in 2009 instead of LeBlanc on defense. Chances are if the Habs had picked a defensemen instead of LeBlanc it would have been a US defenseman (John Moore), a player who went the NCAA route (Dylan Olsen) or Simon Despres.
Maybe they should have traded up and targeted Ryan Ellis.
It’s just hard to get an idea of what you’re trying to say without examples.
That’s the “Out of the Box” thinking I’m referring to. Why is it that the Habs can never trade up to get better available talent?
If not one to follow draft picks too much, which is why my examples aren’t up to snuff. What I do follow are the players that get through the system, and make an impact come rookie camp. The others really aren’t worth following, since this administration’s philosophy has been to use veterans to plug holes, for the most part.
That’s why this is so confusing. They claim they want to build through the draft and use well-placed veterans to insulate their youth. That thinking is contradicted by Coach Martin, who continues to lean more on his vets to achieve success.
Hence. the question of the inactivity at the deadline. If the Canadiens continue to use high-priced, experienced veterans to achieve mediocre success, Mr. Gauthier’s promise to get the Habs to the elite level of the league will continue to be what we have gotten in the past. Broken!
The Habs did trade up this past draft to get Tinordi, so there you go.
Guys like Subban and Gorges (until he was injured) are playing a lot of minutes each game. Pacioretty is playing the fifth most amongst forwards. Pyatt is logging a fair amount of short handed minutes and Weber and Desharnais along with Subban are logging key power play time. Young players are a major part of the Habs. And this is all without mentioning Price.
Pacioretty and Desharnais have been great for the Habs. Weber has been solid and Subban has been fantastic. Price has been everything we could hope for. That’s five young players all making big contributions and all developed by the Canadiens. It’s seven if you include Plekanec and Kostitsyn.
The Habs aren’t an elite team, though they have had some great recent success. I’m prepared to reserve judgment until after the playoffs.
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