Habs center line 30th in the league in goals for

[OldCraig71]

Hard to be a good productive center when your defense has very liitle puckmoving skills.

Was DD really better than KK and Suz or did he have much better support with Markov and Subban?

How many breakaway/odd man rush goals did Pacioretty get from plays started by Markov and Subban? It seemed like a lot.

 

[Naslundforever]

Hard to be a good productive center when your defense has very liitle puckmoving skills.

Was DD really better than KK and Suz or did he have much better support with Markov and Subban?

Dd only took face-offs in the o-zone. And he was fine at getting the puck to Patch. I think prime DD was better then 20yr old KK. Different potential though. And yes about pmd for sure.

 

[Mrb1p]

How many breakaway/odd man rush goals did Pacioretty get from plays started by Markov and Subban? It seemed like a lot.

A lot for sure, but the biggest difference really is keeping the play alive offensively.

Its crazy how anytime the puck is cycled to the point, the puck is dead. Its either a bad shot to the crest that is saved for a whistle, a poor dump in the corner that ends up on the other stick, a block shot, etc.

This is why I say its the worst defense Ive ever seen from the Habs.

Even when the Habs had guys like Barberio, Campoli, Diaz, Schlemko, etc who were all horrible players, they at least had the minimum IQ to just keep the play alive and not do anything else. Then you couple this with Subban and Markov or Petry and an actually good Weber...

I hate everything about this team.

 

[Mrb1p]

Dd only took face-offs in the o-zone. And he was fine at getting the puck to Patch. I think prime DD was better then 20yr old KK. Different potential though. And yes about pmd for sure.

Lol no way you think that DD was better than KK today...

 

[OldCraig71]

Dd only took face-offs in the o-zone. And he was fine at getting the puck to Patch. I think prime DD was better then 20yr old KK. Different potential though. And yes about pmd for sure.

DD was sheltered and put in every possible position to be successful, see any similarity to king Joffrey here? Half of the minuses attributed to Eller and Plekanec came from each of them having to scramble over the boards to chase the play while DD cruised to the bench, several steps behind the play heading into our zone. He had it about as easy as any NHL player in the history of the league.

 

[Forsead]

We lack the forward elite talent to have a defense squad that would make Derian Hatcher a speedy quick puck mover.

If you have Suzuki and Kotakniemi as your top centers, you need strong strong wingers. Not just top 6 forwards types. Now it's just throwing the young centers to the wolves without proper supports.

 

[HuGo Sham]

20 and 21 Y.O top 6 C's + a shutdown C who can't score more than 10 goals a year + Staal/Evans @ 4 = not surprising

 

[Scintillating10]

I ve been repeating for a while that our center line was just way too weak and was impacting our overall offensive production, now the numbers are there to prove it, 30th in the league in goals for...

Bergevin added Stall who is starting to play better hockey and our young centers have been playing good enough last 2 games, but consistency will be the key for the last part of the season and playoffs in hope to win anything. We are extremmely deep and solid everywhere else, now its time for our young centers to reach the next level.

Offensive centers been our achilles heel for decades

 

[sandviper]

But we say this every 3 years.

Or in this case, the last 25.

 

[Habby4Life]

Or in this case, the last 25.

Last time we had serious strength down the middle was the Damphousse, Muller, Savard, Lebeau, Skrudland days.

How about just get a real #1, its been forever.

 

[ZUKI]

I ve been repeating for a while that our center line was just way too weak and was impacting our overall offensive production, now the numbers are there to prove it, 30th in the league in goals for...

Bergevin added Stall who is starting to play better hockey and our young centers have been playing good enough last 2 games, but consistency will be the key for the last part of the season and playoffs in hope to win anything. We are extremmely deep and solid everywhere else, now its time for our young centers to reach the next level.

May i suggest that Ducharme puts Drouin at center; Trust me, things will change, Habs won't be 30th anymore.
Habs will be last .

 

[Bouboumaster]

Goddamn 21 years old Suzuki!

 

[No More Subban]

FWIW

Stuetzle will benefit starting out with Senators on wing, GM says

If we had another decent C to replace Suzuki temporarily then I'd be open to it. But we're already overloaded with RWs and I was never a fan of them playing on the left.

 

[Miller Time]

I think this will pay off in the long run.

Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Evans are still gaining valuable experience..

When they're 23-22 (realizing Evans is older), they'll be young veterans.

totally agree... and frankly would not have wanted us to take a different approach to start the year.

The issue is that MB created false expectations (ones that, sadly, i think he actually believed, reflecting how poor his grasp on roster building and player development is) for fans and media alike, and the very predictable results of this roster and of these players is creating for some major disappointment when, in reality, we have every reason to be quite optimistic.

All 3 of JKO/Suzuki/Evans have shown progress (vis-a-vis last season as a whole), and all three give good reason to expect even more progression next year. That's a great "spine" to have in place that a competent GM could do a lot with over the next 3-5 years, given the RFA benefits to the cap that could be optimized.

 

[26Mats]

If we had another decent C to replace Suzuki temporarily then I'd be open to it. But we're already overloaded with RWs and I was never a fan of them playing on the left.

Yeah I was only the speaking of in the highly unlikely case we landed a number 1c... I think Toffoli and Caufield are comfortable at LW and can benefit from being there, at least on the offensive end, because it gives them a better shooting angle. That would allow Gallagher, Anderson and Suzuki to play RW. Anyways, that we get a number 1 center is highly unlikely.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Our centers are green. Nothing surprising here. No biggie.

 

[robert ethan]

None of the centres except for Staal have ever scored more than 13 goals in a season, so the current situation shouldn't be surprising. They're all playmakers first.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

A lot for sure, but the biggest difference really is keeping the play alive offensively.

Its crazy how anytime the puck is cycled to the point, the puck is dead. Its either a bad shot to the crest that is saved for a whistle, a poor dump in the corner that ends up on the other stick, a block shot, etc.

This is why I say its the worst defense Ive ever seen from the Habs.

Even when the Habs had guys like Barberio, Campoli, Diaz, Schlemko, etc who were all horrible players, they at least had the minimum IQ to just keep the play alive and not do anything else. Then you couple this with Subban and Markov or Petry and an actually good Weber...

I hate everything about this team.

This defense would have been phenomenal about two decades ago, alas in an era where forwards are asked to be more responsible all over the ice, defenders need to be better at supporting the attack to balance things out. Sergachev is everything this team needs right now, what a waste.

As much as this team could use a singular talent up front, I agree in thinking the lack of scoring consistency comes from the backend. It's no wonder why Colorado always looks primed to make opposing goalies sweat, that defense is loaded with elite transitional players when healthy.

 

[Habs]

Last time we had serious strength down the middle was the Damphousse, Muller, Savard, Lebeau, Skrudland days.

How about just get a real #1, its been forever.

Trades are hard, just ask Bergy, he will tell you. Year 10 of looking for a Center, I guess they don't make them , the 29 other teams who claim to have them are fake news

 

[Habby4Life]

Trades are hard, just ask Bergy, he will tell you. Year 10 of looking for a Center, I guess they don't make them , the 29 other teams who claim to have them are fake news

They should have been all over PLD

 

[McGees]

Give kk another year.
Let Suzuki get a better diet.
Poehling looking good for next year.
Danault...well he is what he is.

 

[Habs]

They should have been all over PLD

Yeah, Bergy overvalues his assets and figured Suzuki was better. Either way, when was the last french player to come here and have success as a forward? Turgeon? Everyone else crumbles.

 

[Habby4Life]

Yeah, Bergy overvalues his assets and figured Suzuki was better. Either way, when was the last french player to come here and have success as a forward? Turgeon? Everyone else crumbles.

Don’t care about French, and I wouldn’t have moved NS for him, KK would be the one I offered.

 

[SirClintonPortis]

This defense would have been phenomenal about two decades ago, alas in an era where forwards are asked to be more responsible all over the ice, defenders need to be better at supporting the attack to balance things out. Sergachev is everything this team needs right now, what a waste.

As much as this team could use a singular talent up front, I agree in thinking the lack of scoring consistency comes from the backend. It's no wonder why Colorado always looks primed to make opposing goalies sweat, that defense is loaded with elite transitional players when healthy.

Shea Weber could not hold a candle to Brian Rafalski, much less Stevens or Niedermayer.

 

[Habs]

Don’t care about French, and I wouldn’t have moved NS for him, KK would be the one I offered.

It was reported they wanted NS, nobody is trading a franchise C like PLD ,for crazy legs Kotkaniemi.