Man Mountain's partner

Kant Think

Chaotic Neutral
Aug 30, 2007
1,191
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Gatineau
Even though Jerabek is the biggest unknown here, I actually have a good feeling about him. I don't know if he'll start the season with Weber, but I think he will be the one who ends up next to Weber.

When the biggest unknown is your biggest hope......you know you're going to suck bad.


OUR BEST CHANCE IS A MAYBE!
 

Link67

Registered User
Oct 8, 2016
281
2
I was lookin over and over again for the name Andrei Markov, but then I remember what a sad reality we are actually living.


Alzner Starts the season there for sure, whether he remains there depends on how the Duo look over a period of time. If it fails I can see the experiments begin, but until it fails, Alzner is going to be Weber's partner. There is no doubt it will be one of the best shut down pairs in the league, remains to be seen whether the lack of puck movement will outweigh that positive in the end.
 

Scriptor

Registered User
Jan 1, 2014
7,776
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Funny thing about a PP unless one of the D is forcing the issue on zone entry (probing) there is no odd man advantage. One D has to be able to get up the ice. We struggled with this simple concept for years. Beaulieu was a huge boost in that regard and the results showed.
But... apparently the young man parties on his Bday. :sarcasm:

Streit isn't the answer.
Even way back when;
Souray and a spry Markov were the ones doing the probing.

I heard that every day was his B-Day :sarcasm:
 

1909

Registered User
Jul 6, 2016
20,533
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With Alzner at 5v5 against the opponents' top lines. Alzner can eat up big minutes and block shots.

With Streit, or Jerabek or Drouin on PP.

Jerabek has NO experience at all at NHL level. Not ready for first pairing duties at all.
 

Ohashi_Jouzu*

Registered User
Apr 2, 2007
30,332
11
Halifax
Jerabek. Not because he's that good - just because he seems to have some offensive prowess. Don't see an Alzner - Weber combo being that great at moving the puck. I can't remember who Julien paired Chara with in Boston.

The great Dennis Seidenberg, of course! Almost 28 mins/night in those playoffs, no less. The even greater Johnny Boychuk during the regular season, btw. Not exactly the second comings of Erik Karlsson.
 

Kafka

Registered User
Mar 1, 2002
5,355
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Montreal
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You guys are funny. Do you really think Bergevin didn't try to bring a talented L-d-man to replace Markov?

Beside the Shaw trade, Bergevin has proved to be excellent judging the value of each of his trades, (and yes, I include the Subban-Weber trade in that group because he preserved the Montreal Canadiens branding by trading this player).

I'm I happy with this lineup? No. But I'm convinced it's the best Bergevin could provide us without sacrifying key assets.
 

Scriptor

Registered User
Jan 1, 2014
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You guys have some high standards for Jerabek. Don't know much about him but sounds like he's basically out 2nd best defenseman already.

That's funny. Not at all the sentiment I got from a thread looking to see who can be put alongside Weber like a square peg in a round hole.

I think that everyone is aware that we don't have an established #2D who deserves to be paid 6M and up to play that role.

I'm under the impression that folks are trying to determine who a skilled veteran like Weber can take under his wing and help play a solid enough game.

Of those, the ones with complementary styles, if playing with Weber, are Jerabek, Morrow, Streit and Davidson.

Streit is too old to play those minutes, so, personally, I write him off as an even strength partner for Weber.

I'm not a fan of Davidson because I didn't see the limited flashes that he allegedly showed while playing in EDM and I saw absolutely nothing worthwhile from him when he played in MTL. Mind you, it's a small sample and my impression could be way off.

I haven't paid ANY attention to Morrow, but from what I've read, he was a promising D who could play in all game situations, but never seems to have translated that to the NHL level. Some say it's because he never got a real chance because of the relative depth at D in BOS and a lack of opportunity that affected his confidence. I don't know, but the fact that Julien -- who coached him, and yes, benched him -- must've been in on the Bergevin call to sign him as an UFA must mean that there is still some hope that the kid can turn things around in the NHL. To what level of hockey, who knows?

Jerabek had an outstanding season in the KHL and isn't wet-behind-the-ears, having played with adults at a level somewhere between the AHL and the NHL, albeit on much larger ice surfaces. He should be more mature than a regular rookie and that will play in his ability to actually adapt to the changes he will face. Will he adapt and perform anywhere close to the level of play that he had in the KHL? Hard to say, but it's possible to find hope in a performance from another such player who played in TOR last season. That' said, it will be hit or miss, but an offensive D playing alongside a stalwart defensive D in Weber will have more opportunity to showcase what he has as offensive skills without exposing the team as much.

No guarantees, no confidence, even, that we are set for the 1st pairing LD position, just an attempt to answer the question of who could play with Weber.

I just don't like the idea of playing Alzner there full time, or Schlemko. IMO Alzner would be a great pairing partner for Petry who could use the security of a veteran defensive D by his side and Schlemko would be a complementary piece alongside Benn. Playing either or both further up in the lineup would be placing them in the wrong seat and the whole D-corps would be out of its element, IMHO.
 

Milhouse40

Registered User
Aug 19, 2010
22,058
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Jerabek is the only actual PMD......so him by default.
If he doesn't pan out, then i don't even wanna answer that question cause i'll hate the answer
 

76

Registered User
Jul 1, 2014
942
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Canada
Habs are certainly high on Jerabek. He is the best scenario for them to play with Weber at even strength and on PP.

Habs want a mobile offensive dman along Weber. Beaulieu didn't work last season and Markov was not the best fit imo, lack of speed and mobility. So I didn't want Markov there this season, and even less at the price he was asking.

Alzner will get minutes with Weber at ES only in key defensive situations, to protect leads, ending periods and games. So at ES, it will leave about 15 minutes to play with Weber.

If Jerabek takes time to adapt, Streit is there to, at least for a period of time, do about the same job Markov did last season for 700K. He was a bit less productive at even strength (0.40 ppg vs 0.58 ppg) last year but he is more mobile, quicker and produced more on PP than Markov did (13 points (5 in 19 games with Pitt) vs 12 points for Markov).

Depending of the results and Jerabek adaptation, Bergevin will look for a trade if necessary, but Julien could also even use Schlemko there for a stretch.

Many fans last season was ok with the idea of Beaulieu with Weber to begin the season. All Jerabek has to be, is a better version of Beaulieu. I'm confident he will at some point during the season if not from the start.
 

MrNasty

Registered User
Jun 13, 2007
3,720
1,889
Nova Scotia
I voted Jerebek. The guy will get his chance.

For those complaining about the defence. The should be reminded that Pateryn, Emelin and Bealieu were in our top 6 this time last year. And guys were hoping Barberio would play.
 

Constable

corona fiend
Mar 17, 2014
3,390
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Who ends up on the first pair in your opinion?

The only two players that would meld well with Weber and not take away from the positives that Weber does have would be Schlemko and Jerabek. End list.

Alzner needs a Petry to look decent, and Benn/Davidson are not good enough to play above 2nd pair minutes (so no Weber) plus Morrow/Streit are simply not good enough for regular, day to day action. Morrow couldn't crack a weakened Bruins defense, and Streit is just too damn slow to be a regular.

Montreal has handicapped them into a position where if one pair is getting beat down they can not rotate their top pair. They simply do not have options on the playstyle of defense that goes well with Weber outside of Jerabek and Schlemko- and Jerabek is a large unknown and the only shot at being a solid #4 and above puck moving defenseman along side Petry. (Schlemko doesn't have a specific area of play as he's a player you can slide up and down the lineup and not see a dip in results.) If Schlemko does not do a proper enough job being that puck moving LHD and Jerabek doesn't show he can be that level, there will be problems on the backend, as for example, Davidson, as stated before, doesn't play the right style needed to go alongside Weber, and every other option is inferior to Schlemko.

If, and big if, Montreal does decide that they need to move yet another core player in Paccioretty, they should not be looking at getting a center in return, but a puck moving, skating, defenseman- and preferably at a young age.
 

Scriptor

Registered User
Jan 1, 2014
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When the biggest unknown is your biggest hope......you know you're going to suck bad.


OUR BEST CHANCE IS A MAYBE!

Unless your biggest unknown ends up working out, but it's still a rather big unknown.

Fear of the unknown isn't the only way to face life. I'm not saying to assume only good things will evolve from uncertainty, but systematically assuming only the worst of any unresolved question is getting a little heavy on these boards, IMO.

We don't have a 50-Goals scorer means the team won't score any goals.

We have one of the best Gs in the league means that we are only banking on our G saving us.

We don't have an all-star D that can carry the puck and sidestep every opponent on his way up the ice means that we won't be able to create any Offense.

The team lacks depth at C and elite puck-moving depth on D. Nobody is denying that and it certainly doesn't make it a certified Cup contender. The 'anything can happen' way of being a contender is not a worthwhile motto either, IMO, but saying that the team will suck is like saying you automatically suck if you fall short of winning the Cup. :help:

Habs have sucked for a long time, then (25 years this season). So have 29 teams every year. Now, it will be 30 and soon, hopefully, 31 teams, with one back in Quebec City, sucking every year. :handclap:

I know that most don't think that we need to win the Cup to be a team worth supporting. Having a plausible chance to regularly go deeper than one round in the playoffs is all that some ask for with then -- maybe -- there being a chance to surprise a team on a given year, or have Price steal a series and go to the finals.

for me, it's just the fatalistic tone of the interventions that drag down on me. When talking points get reduced to school yard banter like Bergevin sucks or the coach sucks, or this player sucks and opposing views result in posts like "how can you even think like that" which basically mean "if you don't agree, then you suck as well", there's little enjoyment to gain and we all end up reducing our interventions to this level.
 

Scriptor

Registered User
Jan 1, 2014
7,776
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Habs are certainly high on Jerabek. He is the best scenario for them to play with Weber at even strength and on PP.

Habs want a mobile offensive dman along Weber. Beaulieu didn't work last season and Markov was not the best fit imo, lack of speed and mobility. So I didn't want Markov there this season, and even less at the price he was asking.

Alzner will get minutes with Weber at ES only in key defensive situations, to protect leads, ending periods and games. So at ES, it will leave about 15 minutes to play with Weber.

If Jerabek takes time to adapt, Streit is there to, at least for a period of time, do about the same job Markov did last season for 700K. He was a bit less productive at even strength (0.40 ppg vs 0.58 ppg) last year but he is more mobile, quicker and produced more on PP than Markov did (13 points (5 in 19 games with Pitt) vs 12 points for Markov).

Depending of the results and Jerabek adaptation, Bergevin will look for a trade if necessary, but Julien could also even use Schlemko there for a stretch.

Many fans last season was ok with the idea of Beaulieu with Weber to begin the season. All Jerabek has to be, is a better version of Beaulieu. I'm confident he will at some point during the season if not from the start.

I share this sentiment, overall. IMO, Jerabek, though, will be looked at to help improve the 2nd PP wave, maybe along with the veteran Streit, on some nights. I wouldn't be surprised for Drouin to be the designated driver of the first PP wave at the point. He has experience and the skill to do so effectively, plus it allows an extra skilled forward who might otherwise miss out on PP time to get some.
 

Scriptor

Registered User
Jan 1, 2014
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The only two players that would meld well with Weber and not take away from the positives that Weber does have would be Schlemko and Jerabek. End list.

Alzner needs a Petry to look decent, and Benn/Davidson are not good enough to play above 2nd pair minutes (so no Weber) plus Morrow/Streit are simply not good enough for regular, day to day action. Morrow couldn't crack a weakened Bruins defense, and Streit is just too damn slow to be a regular.

Montreal has handicapped them into a position where if one pair is getting beat down they can not rotate their top pair. They simply do not have options on the playstyle of defense that goes well with Weber outside of Jerabek and Schlemko- and Jerabek is a large unknown and the only shot at being a solid #4 and above puck moving defenseman along side Petry. (Schlemko doesn't have a specific area of play as he's a player you can slide up and down the lineup and not see a dip in results.) If Schlemko does not do a proper enough job being that puck moving LHD and Jerabek doesn't show he can be that level, there will be problems on the backend, as for example, Davidson, as stated before, doesn't play the right style needed to go alongside Weber, and every other option is inferior to Schlemko.

If, and big if, Montreal does decide that they need to move yet another core player in Paccioretty, they should not be looking at getting a center in return, but a puck moving, skating, defenseman- and preferably at a young age.


I agree about Schlemko. Without pretending that this is a D destined to play a first pairing role, he can't be really worse than Emelin alongside Weber, IMO. He's a little more mobile than Emelin and quicker at making better decisions than the Russian D as well. He just won't hit as hard, but that's not essential when you play on a pairing with the Man Mountain. I still think that he'd be out of his element in that seat, though, in the end, but more on that...

I don't agree that, if Montreal decides to trade Pacioretty (essentially giving up an average 35 Goals on the wing in the process and a steady mid-60s point getter), they shouldn't try and parlay that into a genuine top-6 C.

The need at C is too glaring and long-standing to trade a player with consistent yearly production (albeit regular season consistency) and two years left on a contract at such a small Cap impact without addressing the weakness at C, IMO.

I'd rather go with a D at even strength that may not have an elite offensive pairing and generate goals from the point as much, rely on a system to transition to offense and use the forwards as the catalyst and have a C that can also help improve production from specialty teams, both PP and PK.

Eventually, Montreal will keep looking to fill that #2D need (from within or from without), but at least, it will be closer to solving the more pressing need at C long term, especially if the acquired C allows Galchenyuk, for example, to thrive in a 2C role without the pressure heaped on his shoulders to be the team's #1C at 23. Having depth with Danault playing a 3rd line C role (able to move up in case of injury) would also be a lot more securing for the Habs, depth wise, in terms of an ability to regularly generate precious goals that we havn't been able to generate.
 

Price is Wright

Registered User
Feb 5, 2010
12,494
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essex
Something hilarious to me about so many of the "Sergachev probably isn't ready" folks are good with Jerabek being ready for 20+ minutes with Weber against the Penguins on the road.
 

DangerDave

Mete's Shot
Feb 8, 2015
9,732
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T.O
Something hilarious to me about so many of the "Sergachev probably isn't ready" folks are good with Jerabek being ready for 20+ minutes with Weber against the Penguins on the road.

To be fair, we saw a bit of Sergachev last year but we've yet to see what Jerabek can do. Sergachev didn't look good but he may have improved idk. Jerabek could surprise but we're asking a lot if were banking on him playing on the top pairing.
 

Habs

We should have drafted Michkov
Feb 28, 2002
20,953
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Are there any 1st pairing dmen available or has that ship sailed? Don't read many rumours about dmen out there.
 

Scriptor

Registered User
Jan 1, 2014
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To be fair, we saw a bit of Sergachev last year but we've yet to see what Jerabek can do. Sergachev didn't look good but he may have improved idk. Jerabek could surprise but we're asking a lot if were banking on him playing on the top pairing.

At this point, the knock on Sergachev last year was similar to the knock on Scherbak. Lots of talent, but a tendency to stop moving their feet and take themselves out of plays they should be all over and initiating rather than reacting to flat-footed. I know that the positions are different, but the end result is the same. At this time last year, with these players were playing in a way that would make them vulnerable at the NHL level.

Have they improved this facet of the game since then. Quite possibly. Are they aware of this. Most certainly, so, if they were intent on improving, they must've worked on it.
 

DangerDave

Mete's Shot
Feb 8, 2015
9,732
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T.O
At this point, the knock on Sergachev last year was similar to the knock on Scherbak. Lots of talent, but a tendency to stop moving their feet and take themselves out of plays they should be all over and initiating rather than reacting to flat-footed. I know that the positions are different, but the end result is the same. At this time last year, with these players were playing in a way that would make them vulnerable at the NHL level.

Have they improved this facet of the game since then. Quite possibly. Are they aware of this. Most certainly, so, if they were intent on improving, they must've worked on it.

I was getting a little worried about Sergachev last year. He was often in a vulnerable position and his head was always down. With what I saw, I doubt he's ready now.

Jerabek will no doubt get a chance with Weber but I'm not holding my breath that hes going to remain there.
 

Price is Wright

Registered User
Feb 5, 2010
12,494
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essex
To be fair, we saw a bit of Sergachev last year but we've yet to see what Jerabek can do. Sergachev didn't look good but he may have improved idk. Jerabek could surprise but we're asking a lot if were banking on him playing on the top pairing.

You're banking on him to have a Zaitsev year.
 

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