by Coach K, AllHabs.net
SAINT-LAZARE, QC.–Over the past several weeks, I’ve been looking at comments made by people in regards to Scott Gomez, the enigmatic centreman of the Montreal Canadiens. Most of the comments are in regards to his sub-par performances to date, and his lofty $8 million salary.
So what can you really do with Gomez to get him back to his glory days with the New Jersey Devils, where he averaged 64.3 points over his 7 seasons?
Well, like any player, deficiencies are the first thing you have to look at. By far, Scott’s biggest is his reluctance to shoot the puck. Gomez has always been a playmaking centreman. The highest number of goals he has scored is 33, during the 2005-2006 season. He added 51 assists that year, for a career-high 84 points. That includes the lockout season of 2004-2005, where he scored 13 goals in 61 games with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces.
Gomez has a tremedous amount of speed. There are very few players on the Canadien’s current roster that can keep up with him step-for-step. Perhaps the only ones are Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta. Remember, Gionta was Gomez’s right winger during his entire stint with the Devils (which explains partly why Bob Gainey made a pitch for him as a free agent in the summer of 2009.) His left wingers were Patrik Elias and Zack Parise.
Finally, Gomez has tremendous vision. This can be an asset or a curse, depending on the situation. Like Wayne Gretzky, arguably the greatest playmaker of his era, he can control the puck after entering the offensive zone, delay and look for things to do with the puck. Part of his problem, however, is not having enough options when he does look up to pass the puck.
The problem, now, is how to get Gomez’s best assets to benefit the Canadiens. Coach Jacques Martin has tried a bunch of things (but not everything, as most people suggest.)
It starts with continuity. Give Scott a pair of wingers that he can pay with for at least 5-10 games. I know this sounds like a long time, but when you have a player of Gomez’s caliber, and cannot maximize his potential, then no timeframe is too long as long as your team in still having a measure of success.
Next, surround Gomez with players of comparable speed. If you expect your team to score in transition (and according to Martin, that’s how his system is structured), your players need to maintain their speed through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. In doing so, Gomez can still go through the zone, to either wing, look up and find options other than a cross-ice pass to a pinching defenseman or trailing forward. Players like Tom Pyatt and Travis Moen don’t fit the bill here. As I remember, during the pre-season, Aaron Palushaj (currently with the Hamilton Bulldogs) looked pretty good on the left side with Gomez and Gionta.
And finally, LET HIM PLAY!! Not every player in the NHL can fit the criteria of a coach’s system. Your roster will NEVER be completely in tune with your system, no matter what your chosen offensive and defensive schemes. Gomez came up with the Devils, and learned to play defensive hockey from the trapmaster himself, Jacques Lemaire. Do you think for a minute that he doesn’t know what needs to be done to be defensively responsible? Allow him to be creative. Let him spread his wings and try a thing or two that doesn’t fit your system. We all remember what happened when Guy Carbonneau took the leash of Alex Kovalev, right? He played some of his best hockey in a Habs uniform.
Like any good craftsman, you need the right set of tools to get the job done. If you only have half of them, you can’t finish the job. All the necessary tools are available to Jacques Martin to find the answers he needs, including video, statistics and the telephone (and yes, although retired, Lemaire still has one.) As an organization that needs everyone to play at their best to succeed, you need to do your best to get the information required about any and all of your players.
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