It’s Time for Lars Eller to Answer the Bell

by Ryan Skilton, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

PHILADELPHIA, PA. — Just months after leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2010, Jaroslav Halak was involved in a deal that sent shockwaves coursing through the city. The Slovakian goaltender was heading to the St. Louis Blues.

Fans took to Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets to vent their frustrations on what was quickly deemed an abominable trade. As far as Habs Nation was concerned at the time, their playoff hero was traded, and the team had nothing but a bag of pucks to show for it. The two young players Montreal received in return had played a combined seven games in the NHL and, quite frankly, not many people knew who they were.

One of them was Ian Schultz, a sizable right winger who bounced from the AHL, to the ECHL, to the CHL. The 24-year-old was touted as being a strong, physical presence capable of driving the front of the net and scoring garbage goals; the type of goals that win playoff games. However, things did not go as planned. Despite his size, Schultz struggled to produce offensively in Hamilton and his lack of speed hindered his ability to defend effectively. The Canadiens eventually let the young forward go in 2013 when Marc Bergevin did not tender him a qualifying offer.

Needless to say Schultz was a complete bust, but there was another player involved in that infamous trade and, a few summers later, is now considered an important asset on Montreal’s depth chart. If you guessed Lars Eller, give yourself a pat on the back.

Eller has been a member of the Habs for four seasons. In that time, he has racked up a steady 43 goals and 58 assists in 279 games with the team. These are not earth-shattering statistics by any means, but what Eller brings to the table is a whole lot more than that.

The 25-year-old has been described as Montreal’s future two-way center, capable of excelling in all game situations against the opposition’s toughest competition. Eller has undoubtedly shown flashes of brilliance and when he’s on the top of his game, he’s very frustrating to play against. The young Dane possesses the size and hands needed to deliver an offensive punch; not to mention his exceptional skating ability enables him to be that reliable back-checking forward when needed.

From shot blocking, to winning critical faceoffs, to delivering booming hits, Eller has the makings of a dependable role player with a solid all-around game; a game that could potentially win him the Selke Trophy one day.

There’s only one problem. In fact, there are two problems: consistency and confidence.

Eller has shown signs of dominance in his brief stint in Montreal, and has even drawn comparisons to Tomas Plekanec.

Most players would be honored to be compared to No. 14. Plekanec brings a unique skill set to the Canadiens; one any team would love to have. He can be relied on to score 20 goals a season, shutdown tough opposition and even quietly lead a team bursting with youth and inexperience. Plekanec can be relied on for a lot of things, which begs the question: is it not only fair, but reasonable to expect the same of Eller?

At the moment, Eller can’t, and perhaps won’t ever match what Plekanec continues to bring to the team offensively. He has not demonstrated the scoring instincts or shot needed to put up 20-plus goals in a season. He does not possess the same natural playmaking ability as Plekanec. Heck, he’s not even as fast as the ‘Turtleneck Gangster.’ In short, Eller is not the type of player a coach can count on to be on the scoreboard regularly right now. He’s just not consistent enough.

Part of the reason for that has been No. 81’s revolving door of linemates courtesy of Michel Therrien. The 25-year-old Dane has had the fortune, or misfortune, of centering lines with the likes of Brian Gionta, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Michael Bournival, Daniel Briere, and Rene Bourque, among others.

Some of Eller’s linemates had below-average years, and others were downright atrocious. Naturally, when you’re centering a line with wingers like Briere and Bourque, you can’t expect much, especially on the defensive side of things; hence the team-worst minus-15 rating Eller accumulated over the course of the year. This inconsistency and inability to generate long-term chemistry not only prevents a player from playing to their full potential, but kills any and all confidence.

That is what happened to Lars Eller in the 2013-14 season.

Eller went on long stretches of anemic offense, at times not scoring for weeks on end. When players go on extreme cold streaks, it’s important they don’t get down on themselves and continue to focus on doing the little things right. Unfortunately, Eller did not. He was often found fighting the puck, made uncharacteristic giveaways in the defensive zone and ultimately lacked the confidence needed to compete at a high level. He was not the Eller Canadiens fans had come to know.

As stated, some of that is on Therrien, but there comes a point in time when a player needs to take responsibility for not performing up to their own capability and to the coach’s expectations. Every player goes through bad stretches of hockey, Sidney Crosby included. How a player handles those stretches is what separates the good from the great.

You don’t have to look too far for an example of that. Brendan Gallagher is the energizer bunny on the Habs. He is an incredible personality and seems to always pick his teammates up when they’re down. Not to mention, when No. 11 goes through tough times himself, it never seems to faze him. The 22-year-old can always be relied on to crash the crease, making the goalie’s life a living nightmare and frustrating the opposition to no end. What’s great about Gallagher is, regardless of which hand he’s dealt —in other words, who his linemates are—the team can count on him to make everyone around him better.

Now, some may argue Eller’s role does not involve crashing the crease, and that’s certainly true. That’s not the point, though. The point is, regardless of the role he has—or the linemates he’s given—Eller needs to stick to his game plan and not worry about what his teammates are doing. Once he’s able to forget who he’s playing with and concentrate solely on doing his job well, everything else will fall into place.

Many debates will continue to take place on whether Eller is a second- or third-line center. Right now, he’s a third-liner, and will remain a third-liner until he can prove he has the offensive game to be a top-six forward—and fans should temper their expectations as such.

However, all that does not matter.

What Eller can bring is not defined by whether he’s on the second or third line; it’s defined by his sound two-way game. It’s defined by his ability to carry the puck. It’s defined by his positional awareness and hockey I.Q.

Teams like the Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings do not find themselves competing for the Stanley Cup year after year because they’re stacked with offensive superstars. They’re contenders because they have the depth to run four dangerous lines at will. Depth throws opponents off and Marc Bergevin is slowly building that in Montreal. If Lars Eller regains his confidence and plays to the level he’s capable of, the Canadiens could potentially have one of the most feared third lines for a very long time; the type of third line that can help carry a team deep into the playoffs.

Eller’s arbitration date is set for July 25. Regardless of how negotiations go down, his play during the next contract period will likely determine how much time No. 81 has left in Montreal.

It’s time for Eller to answer the bell.