Player Discussion Brandon Montour

[The Midnight Burrito]

If everyone's healthy, Megna really isn't much of a loss.

 

[70sSanO]

If everyone's healthy, Megna really isn't much of a loss.

Hmmm... I'm not so sure about that. A 6'5" 25 year old with 8 NHL games, averaging 16 minutes a game, with solid play, (unlike the Bryan Allen/Andy Sutton type) vs. a couple of over-the-hill 40 year olds.

When he starts checking opposing players into our goalie, I might reconsider.

John

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Hmmm... I'm not so sure about that. A 6'5" 25 year old with 8 NHL games, averaging 16 minutes a game, with solid play, (unlike the Bryan Allen/Andy Sutton type) vs. a couple of over-the-hill 40 year olds.

When he starts checking opposing players into our goalie, I might reconsider.

John

We have zero 40 year olds. He's 8th or 9th on the healthy depth chart, depending on if you pick him over Holzer. We have about a gazillion other decent D prospects.

 

[70sSanO]

We have zero 40 year olds. He's 8th or 9th on the healthy depth chart, depending on if you pick him over Holzer. We have about a gazillion other decent D prospects.

Your right. I should have looked up their ages and not just based my opinion on their play. Megna does need to hit more, especially at 6'5", but he handles the puck well, skates well for a big guy, blocks shots, and doesn't take stupid penalties.

The only issue is if he has more upside or is this his upside. With only 8 games under his belt he hasn't embarrassed himself or looked like he doesn't belong. If he doesn't play with the Ducks, he'll play somewhere.

John

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Your right. I should have looked up their ages and not just based my opinion on their play. Megna does need to hit more, especially at 6'5", but he handles the puck well, skates well for a big guy, blocks shots, and doesn't take stupid penalties.

The only issue is if he has more upside or is this his upside. With only 8 games under his belt he hasn't embarrassed himself or looked like he doesn't belong. If he doesn't play with the Ducks, he'll play somewhere.

John

I think your last sentence is true, but I don't think he has a ton of upside. He's a big guy but he's not physical, has never been physical, so I wouldn't expect him to change his game now.

 

[Duck Off]

With Montour's quick start the Ducks have 5 top 4 D-men.

The question will be who plays on the bottom pairing? Obviously it is a situation every team would like.

Montour seems to have stepped into Vatanen's role on the PP. He is bigger and might be faster on the rush. I don't want to limit his opportunities as he is very much engaged in the offense.

On another note, Megna has filled in quite well. If he were to take the Bieksa/Beauchemin/Holzer spot, we would most likely have the youngest defense in the league. Not saying he is going to do that, but he has not been a liability.

John

Paul's post below is how I'd like to see the pairs eventually.
Lindholm-Vatanen
Fowler-Manson
Megna/Beauchemin-Montour

There's enough PP time to give plenty to both Vatanen and Montour though. I wouldn't mind seeing both on the same unit either. I can't stand having Getzlaf at the point.

Montour was awesome on the PP against Tampa and is finally getting that shot on net. I didn’t like his 5 on 5 game in this particular game though, he’s still inconsistent in that department.

Inconsistent is the way I'd describe his ES play, but it's still pretty good. He's ahead, IMO, of where rookies normally are in their 1st year though. That's why I'd like to see him get sheltered in a 3rd pairing role with ample PP time.

I like the idea of the following pairings when everyone is healthy:

Lindholm Vatanen/Montour
Fowler Manson
Megna Montour/Vatanen

It’s too bad we have both Beauchemin and Bieksa on the team still because there’s not a chance both sit when everyone is healthy. I don’t mind Beauchemin as the 6th/ 7th guy rotates in for Megna but Bieksa is completely redundant now that Vatanen is healthy.

Yeah Bieksa is definitely irrelevant when we're healthy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Holzer waived and us just carry 8 D eventually. A lot depends on how long Bieksa will be out though. Wrist injuries are no joke. Isn't that what ended Souray's career?

I think Beauchemin will retire when everyone is healthy. He was until Murray talked him into helping out.

Bieksa is the one that we will have to sit or buy out, which won't happen, and Murray will want him for insurance and the playoffs.

John

I don't think he retires. I just hope he and Bieksa buy in to the fact that they're not every night players in our lineup though. I like Megna, but I think he's a bit overrated. I would be fine if he and Beauchemin rotate each game.

 

[Duck Off]

If everyone's healthy, Megna really isn't much of a loss.

I agree with this. I like Megna. I think he is a solid #6 guy, but I don't think he's going to be much more than that. The biggest issue I have is I don't want to lose him to waivers because we have Bieksa and Beauchemin on the roster.

Hmmm... I'm not so sure about that. A 6'5" 25 year old with 8 NHL games, averaging 16 minutes a game, with solid play, (unlike the Bryan Allen/Andy Sutton type) vs. a couple of over-the-hill 40 year olds.

When he starts checking opposing players into our goalie, I might reconsider.

John

I don't agree with you here personally. For one, listing his size doesn't mean much to me because, as you pointed out, he doesn't really use it. Also, in a bottom pairing role those players you mentioned weren't horrible. The issue is Murray overvalues (overvalued if he's broken that stupid habit) them and overpaid them. If they were paid 1 million, then we probably never have much complaints about them.

That all said, I do agree that it would suck losing Megna because of guys like Bieksa and Beauchemin.

We have zero 40 year olds. He's 8th or 9th on the healthy depth chart, depending on if you pick him over Holzer. We have about a gazillion other decent D prospects.

I'd definitely have him over Holzer. He's probably 8th though. I'd be fine with he and Beauchemin rotating each night when the team was healthy though. Bieksa has no spot at all though.

Your right. I should have looked up their ages and not just based my opinion on their play. Megna does need to hit more, especially at 6'5", but he handles the puck well, skates well for a big guy, blocks shots, and doesn't take stupid penalties.

The only issue is if he has more upside or is this his upside. With only 8 games under his belt he hasn't embarrassed himself or looked like he doesn't belong. If he doesn't play with the Ducks, he'll play somewhere.

John

Obviously it's early, but I have my doubts that he'll ever be more than a 5/6 guy. Nothing wrong with that, but I wouldn't sweat it too much if we traded him when the backend got crowded. It'd be frustrating because we'd be doing it because of Beauchemin and Bieksa, but not the end of the world. I think everyone here agrees that Larsson will probably be here next season. Assuming he is, where does Megna slot in at?

 

[bsu]

Bieksa hasn't been THAT bad this year tbh.

 

[70sSanO]

I agree with the assessments about Megna. He will probably always be a 3rd pairing. And Beauchemin is playing a little better now than the beginning of the season; although he is still slow and the minutes really take a toll. But I would take Beauchemin any day over Bieksa. The problem is there is no way to keep Beauchemin and get rid of Bieksa short of a buy-out or LTIR.

As for Larsson, I suspect Vatanen will be moved. Larsson/Megna cap hit is $1.5m combined. Losing Vatanen & Bieksa frees up some needed $$$.

John

 

[Duck Off]

Bieksa hasn't been THAT bad this year tbh.

He hasn't, but he's clearly the odd man out and is not needed anymore. We have 3 top 4 RHD in Manson, Vatanen, and Montour. None of these three should ever not be in the lineup or have to play on their offside. On the left we have Fowler and Lindholm who should never come out. Beauchemin is probably better than Megna (although it's close), but I'd rotate those guys each night.

Add in the fact that Bieksa to Holzer isn't much of a downgrade and it's easy to see that Bieksa isn't needed anymore.

 

[Duck Off]

I agree with the assessments about Megna. He will probably always be a 3rd pairing. And Beauchemin is playing a little better now than the beginning of the season; although he is still slow and the minutes really take a toll. But I would take Beauchemin any day over Bieksa. The problem is there is no way to keep Beauchemin and get rid of Bieksa short of a buy-out or LTIR.

As for Larsson, I suspect Vatanen will be moved. Larsson/Megna cap hit is $1.5m combined. Losing Vatanen & Bieksa frees up some needed $$$.

John

I agree that Vatanen will likely be moved, but I don't think that helps the Larsson/Megna situation since both guys play the left side. Next year's D (assuming Vatanen is dealt):

Fowler-Manson
Lindholm-Montour
Larsson-Holzer
Megna

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to lose Megna (especially to waivers). I just agree with Booger that it wouldn't be that big of a deal if we did.

 

[duxfan1101]

Bieksa hasn't been THAT bad this year tbh.

I think he's been much better than Beauchemin has been

 

[KickHisAssZegrass]

Might as well just throw Bieksa on the 4th line RW. He can get the puck deep and cycle atleast. Also would be able to slot him in during in-game injuries.

 

[Duck Off]

I think he's been much better than Beauchemin has been

I think Beauchemin gets more criticism than he deserves. He hasn't been great, and he's not the Beauchemin that was here last time, but if he's played as a #5 like he should be, he's solid in that role. Much better than Bieksa IMO. Not really fair to compare those two though as Beauchemin averages 3 mins more a game and has a lot more difficult mins than Bieksa does.

 

[bsu]

I think Beauchemin gets more criticism than he deserves. He hasn't been great, and he's not the Beauchemin that was here last time, but if he's played as a #5 like he should be, he's solid in that role. Much better than Bieksa IMO. Not really fair to compare those two though as Beauchemin averages 3 mins more a game and has a lot more difficult mins than Bieksa does.

This is true but Beauch also has the luxury of playing with a player that wants the puck on his stick compared to people that treat it like a grenade.

 

[Duck Off]

This is true but Beauch also has the luxury of playing with a player that wants the puck on his stick compared to people that treat it like a grenade.

I'd agree with that if Bieksa didn't suck 99% of the time whenever paired with guys like Fowler, Lindholm, etc.

I agree that it helps Beauch having Montour, but I don't think that's too relevant because Bieksa sucks regardless of who he's paired with. He seems to simplify his game in the playoffs though. Not sure why he likes to pretend he's Orr during regular season. To be fair though, he hasn't been near as bad this year as he was last year (granted he's only played 7 games).

 

[JabbaJabba]

I just want everyone to get healthy so we can see the full potential of this defense. Fowler, Lindholm, Montour, Vatanen, Manson + one of Bieksa, Beauchemin, Megna, Holzer.

 

[bumperkisser]

i actually wouldn't mind seeing bieksa slot in at 4RW tbh... he clearly doesn't mind being deep in the o-zone so why not just play him there. but i imagine he'd be decent at hitting/forechecking

 

[bsu]

Didn't we use sbisa like that lol

 

[Arthuros]

I'd like to think that was out of desperation to get Sbisa to do anything useful without messing it up.

Seems like he's doing okay in Vegas, but man, the guy was a mess.

 

[Trojans86]

I cant imagine any other team in the league with this many quality young defensemen. Good problem to have.

 

[duxfan1101]

Friedman wrote a good portion of his 31 Thoughts on Montour: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-rangers-roster-decisions-huge-impact-nhl/

Here is what he said:

Growing up, Brandon Montour was a huge fan of the Detroit Red Wings. His father, too. So, as you can imagine, when he got into a game against them, he was pretty excited.
“It felt weird playing against Henrik Zetterberg,” he said Tuesday.
Did you say anything to him?
“I was too nervous to say anything. Well, we got into a battle and I caught him with a high stick. As we skated up ice, I told him I was sorry,” he laughed.

You can see how comfortable Montour is getting. He says he’s picking his spots better. He did admit that in their last game against Carolina, when they were down 3-2 going into the third period, he got reigned in a little.
“On an early shift, I made a rush, then another rush. I got back to the bench and (coach Trent Yawney) was looking at me. He said, ‘You will have the green light in a bit, just tone it down now.’”
His story is pretty well known now — he was a good lacrosse player who went undrafted in the OHL. While playing with the Greater Ontario Junior League Caledonia Corvairs in 2012-13, he’d been discovered. NCAA Massachusetts was on to him, as was USHL Waterloo.
“It’s kind of a weird story,” Montour said. “(Waterloo head coach PK O’Handley) called me and asked me to come, and I asked, ‘Why would you guys want me to come there? I play against you.’”
Montour didn’t realize the call was from Iowa, not Ontario.
“I didn’t know about (the USHL).”
Did he doubt his ability?
“No, I thought I could do it.”
He sure could. Eighteen months later, he was at UMass, and on everyone’s radar.

Montour has told the story about how a Ducks scout made eye contact with him a few picks before he was taken 55th overall in 2014, giving him the thumbs up to know his selection was coming. Did he know it would be Anaheim?
“I’d talked to them a couple of times. There were a handful of teams that seemed interested. I thought there was a good chance Winnipeg would take me. I talked to them a lot. Toronto and Chicago, too.”
I’ve been told Anaheim knew the other interest and wasn’t risking his availability any longer. Looks like a great decision.

 

[Opak]

Friedman wrote a good portion of his 31 Thoughts on Montour: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/31-thoughts-rangers-roster-decisions-huge-impact-nhl/

Here is what he said:

...

"I’ve been told Anaheim knew the other interest and wasn’t risking his availability any longer. Looks like a great decision."

That is extremely interesting. How did they come up with that information?

IIRC, there was a rumor that the Ducks didn't want to trade down from the 6th spot in 2012, because they somehow "knew" that Minnesota would've taken Lindholm at 7. I have no source for that though.

 

[Gliff]

That is extremely interesting. How did they come up with that information?

IIRC, there was a rumor that the Ducks didn't want to trade down from the 6th spot in 2012, because they somehow "knew" that Minnesota would've taken Lindholm at 7. I have no source for that though.

I heard that too.
Stuff like that gets around. Either intentional or not.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Montour's development curve has been astronomical. Reminds me a bit of Penner coming out of nowhere, in the beginning there was this sense of, who knows how good he could be?