Player Discussion Why does/did everyone hate Desharnais?

[BehindTheTimes]

Desharnais is #4 Habs Scoring Center since the 1999-00 season.

We had some regular season success with him and more importantly, we had some playoff success in 2014 with him.

He has played more playoff games than the Montreal Canadiens franchise has in the last 5 years.

He has a great smile, hes french, our captain Max endorsed him. What a great playmaker and hard worker. What's not to like? What a stud. It is no coincidence that this franchise has gone down hill since his departure.

I bet if his name was David Donaldson and not Desharnais you'd all be in love with him.

This must be a troll thread. I don’t think anyone hated Desharnais. They hated what he represented, which was mediocrity. He was afforded special treatment by the coaching staff in favour of players who were clearly better.

The problem with him was he had to be in a certain role to be successful, favourable zone starts, couldn’t drive a line on his own, I actually thought he was good enough to eat up 3rd lines and if we had of used in that role people would have learned to appreciate him, but that never happened and as a result Eller/Chucky paid the price and with the state of our team at that time it made no sense.

If you think the team has deteriorated because of the absence of DD and not because of the piss poor management of MB/GM then maybe you should follow another sport because you clearly don’t understand this one.

 

[groovejuice]

How a player being better at the age 18-21? He should be better at the age 24-31. Now anyone can say the habs organisation ruined him, well, he came at the same time as Gallagher and Eller and both had better carreer. Putting the blame only on the Habs organisation and not the player is bs.

Galchenyuk has a ton of natural talent. We frequently saw it on the ice. He still is co-holder of the NHL season record for most OT goals in a single season (Toews, Marchand, Stamkos)

I blame his lackadaisical attitude for 1/2 of the failure to reach what I believe is his peak and 1/2 to the Habs for dicking him around persistently. Where is the development?

His dad is also certainly is not the role model that Gallagher enjoyed.

 

[the]

I like le P’ti David and I’m actually happy that he’s getting a bit of a positive response here. I mean I could understand why he wasn’t popular but often people would go way overboard.

He was still a decent player but reading some fans in this board you would think that he was nothing more than a AHL player.

I don’t know but for some reason I like cheering for players who are somewhat talented but are hated by this fanbase. I normally feel bad for the player and want them to succeed and prove the haters wrong. I mean it was always hilarious to read some comments when Desharnais would score a goal.

A lot of people just couldn’t stand him.

 

[Redux91]

Ah come on, This guy was easily one of the worst things that ever happened to this franchise the last 30 years, COMPOUNDED by an even worse thing that happened to the team, the 2nd hiring of michel therrien.

You could see this was going to happen the year he had 2 30 goal scorers on his wings, and we STILL finished dead last...

I was already sick of him...BEFORE his 4 year contract extension kicked in... it was truly a depressing number of years...and uh..doesnt look like its gotten any better since then either. Guys out of the league since a couple years and we still suck.

All this under the reign of a certain someone.

 

[BehindTheTimes]

Ah come on, This guy was easily one of the worst things that ever happened to this franchise the last 30 years, COMPOUNDED by an even worse thing that happened to the team, the 2nd hiring of michel therrien.

You could see this was going to happen the year he had 2 30 goal scorers on his wings, and we STILL finished dead last...

I was already sick of him...BEFORE his 4 year contract extension kicked in... it was truly a depressing number of years...and uh..doesnt look like its gotten any better since then either. Guys out of the league since a couple years and we still suck.

All this under the reign of a certain someone.

I think your reply is supporting the OP, but not intentionally. DD is nowhere close to one of the worst things to happen to this franchise in 30 years. There’s been much, much, much worse done by MB in the last 8 years alone.

I do agree with Buddha that the French players seem to be given less rope and are hated on irrationally, and I think it often stems from the belief that the only reason player X is on this team is because he is French. I find we do that often, and sometimes it is true, but French ppl are good at hockey too.

However I remember Douglas Murray, Scott Gomez, Dany Briere, David Desharnais and many others being hated on and wit was usually for the right reasons, they weren’t very good.

 

[OldCraig71]

If we get Lafreniere by some favor of the Gods and he turns into the superstar that he is projected to be, he will still be hated because he is Quebec born, is that what I am reading here? DD was a marginal player that was disliked because of his use on this team and for the fact that he wasn't good enough but hey, let's play the bigotry card again and say the poor local kid was unjustly critiqued simply because of where he was born. Some of you need to go back to the covid-19 thread.

 

[Habs]

because if his last name was Jones or Smith , he would have never had special treatment. Guy was so overused, overplayed and it was painful to watch.

 

[bsl]

Desharnais is #4 Habs Scoring Center since the 1999-00 season.

We had some regular season success with him and more importantly, we had some playoff success in 2014 with him.

He has played more playoff games than the Montreal Canadiens franchise has in the last 5 years.

He has a great smile, hes french, our captain Max endorsed him. What a great playmaker and hard worker. What's not to like? What a stud. It is no coincidence that this franchise has gone down hill since his departure.

I bet if his name was David Donaldson and not Desharnais you'd all be in love with him.

LOL

Desharnais is #4 Habs Scoring Center since the 1999-00 season.

We had some regular season success with him and more importantly, we had some playoff success in 2014 with him.

He has played more playoff games than the Montreal Canadiens franchise has in the last 5 years.

He has a great smile, hes french, our captain Max endorsed him. What a great playmaker and hard worker. What's not to like? What a stud. It is no coincidence that this franchise has gone down hill since his departure.

I bet if his name was David Donaldson and not Desharnais you'd all be in love with him.

This is so idiotic. No one here HATED DD. I actually liked the guy. But he was a symptom of bad management. And years of crappy drafting that could not find a true no. 1 C man. Close thread. We've been over this 1 million times. It's boring.

 

[Treb]

I have said numerous times that it is one potential factor for why many people on this board dislike players. And it's not some conspiracy theory or something, many people have perceived this phenomena (a casual look through this very thread will show 3 or 4 people making that inference). It's been pretty clear to a lot of people that Francophone Quebecois players often receive a lot of hate on this board. The pure vitriol that individuals like Drouin, Brisebois, and Desharnais received during their time here was virtually unparalleled by any other player.

Certainly, there's been lots of players that have received a lot of hate or flack (e.g. Gomez), but it's more common and more profound when it's a Quebecois.

And once again, it's not the only factor driving whether a player is disliked or not, but it's definitely a factor. To suggest otherwise would mean that you are not attune to the trends on this board.

And no, I don't think Danault, Deslaurier and Drouin have ever been positively received on here; especially Drouin.

I'ts funny you targeted Drouin, Brisebois, and Desharnais who have dissapointed in either/both salary and expectation/role wise. You might want to revisit Gomez, Bourque, Alzner, Shaw, Benn, Beaulieu, Gilbert and hell even include Petry sometimes (remember P-3try?)

Deslauriers was loved in 2017-2018 but quickly fell out of favor in 2018-2019.

Danault is appreciated as a middle 6 centre, but many think he is not the top centre he has been for 2 years. This is the DD story repeating itself except with a defensively responsible player. He's basically Eller with top6/PP time.

 

[Grand Admiral Thrawn]

I liked Desharnais!

There I said it!

 

[Genesis76]

I liked Desharnais!

There I said it!

As a fourth liner? yeah sure me too, why not?

 

[angusyoung]

Wow! stepped into the wrong thread at the wrong time,thought it was HORNY day but more like ORNERY day. Must have messed up the memo.

 

[No More Subban]

Looking back now, it's so stupid to hate on him (I was one of his haters) when it wasn't really his decision to be 1C, that was all Therrien's decision to put him in that position. He never really complained if he played on the 4th line or when scratched. He was a complete team player and a good dude.

I wish I could apologize to him..

 

[26Mats]

Looking back now, it's so stupid to hate on him (I was one of his haters) when it wasn't really his decision to be 1C, that was all Therrien's decision to put him in that position. He never really complained if he played on the 4th line or when scratched. He was a complete team player and a good dude.

I wish I could apologize to him..

Ok, but there was a biticabke drop off in his play/compete level after he signed his 10 million dollar contract. The guy worked his balls off fter not being drafted, through the ECHL, then the AHL, then his first few years in the NHL. Then he gets the 10 million dollar contract and stops putting in the same effort.

 

[Perrah]

Drouin had a run where he was the talk of the town. People were saying great things about him. When he reverted to his mean it stopped.

This is no different from any other player in my view. I mentioned Price in an earlier post. No one takes more shit from fans then he. Posters are calling for his castration when a screened, double tipped knuckleball gets by him while an opponent is sitting on his chest.

Fans aren't coherent a great deal of the time. In Montreal, decades filled with Cup wins have affected perception. The players are doing their best most nights. We don't have the best players. They get the flack.

The anger and frustration should be aimed off the ice. That's the source and the incubator for this perennially disappointing team.

Drouin's stock was pretty high after that Jets game that he had 4 points during the 2018-19 season. Looked like everything he was supposed to be, he was dynamic and was easily the best player on the ice. Then he had 3 points in 26 games or something of that matter. Moping around the ice, being lazy, etc, etc. Drouin got his fair share of criticism, deservedly so that season and of course there are always some that go over board. This past season same thing, plays well until injury and people are reluctant to give him credit due to how the previous season went. He was clearly still injured when he came back so hard to know what could have been if not and he hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt.

The rest of this post is just my comments on themes through the thread.

IIRC Begin was the king of absolutely mind boggling penalties at poor times, that earns you hate in a fan base no matter where you are from. Pretty sure a lot of teams fan base hate guys like Zac Rinaldo for the same reason, he has his endearing qualities but does absolutely mind boggling things.

Perhaps the Quebecois players typically arent put in a position to succeed and they get hate for that reason but lets blame discrimination.
-Drouin brought in to be #1C when he wasnt a C, ridiculous right. Then he follows that up with a great 50+ games and disappears when it matters for 26 games.
- Desharnais played as a top C without a lick of accountability, even when promising younger players were coming up. I believe that is the root of issue there.
- Danault seems to get praise from quite a few, others hate his usage and are vocal (MrB1p). MrB1p is a native of Quebec so I dont see him discriminating on his own "people". I think what happens is things start as usage discussion and turns into what seems to be attacks on the player as the discussion drags on as people attempt to prove their points.

 

[JoelWarlord]

I don't know that there was widespread "hate" for Desharnais, at least not at first. For a while it was a really fun underdog story and no matter what annoyances I might have with his deployment it's still pretty cool that a guy went from going undrafted out of the QMJHL to the ECHL, then AHL, to being the first line centre for the Montreal Canadiens. Early on especially I think he was pretty popular, the line with Pacioretty and Cole was the main bright spot in a bad 11-12 season.

The narrative started to turn once we got into 12-13 and beyond and had two centres on the roster which cost a playoff hero in trade and a 3rd overall pick at the draft, yet there seemed to be no long term vision that it was in the team's best interests to work with those players with better tools and higher ceilings, instead of Desharnais who was a middle six offence only playmaker who needed significant help to stay afloat. People conflate him with Danault but I think that's wrong, the Danault line is a more than the sum of its parts thing, Desharnais didn't provide the same defence + possession value and wasn't nearly as impactful as Danault is with similar point totals.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I'ts funny you targeted Drouin, Brisebois, and Desharnais who have dissapointed in either/both salary and expectation/role wise. You might want to revisit Gomez, Bourque, Alzner, Shaw, Benn, Beaulieu, Gilbert and hell even include Petry sometimes (remember P-3try?)

Deslauriers was loved in 2017-2018 but quickly fell out of favor in 2018-2019.

Danault is appreciated as a middle 6 centre, but many think he is not the top centre he has been for 2 years. This is the DD story repeating itself except with a defensively responsible player. He's basically Eller with top6/PP time.

Do you realise that people against the use of DD say Therrien should have given that role to Eller. It means that at that time Eller would have receive the same treatment Danault is receiving today. And if Therrien would have used Galchenyuk as 1C he would have developped into a legit 1C, witch I highly doubt, because of his off ice life and the bad influence of his dad. Someone wrote Galchy read textos between the periods from his dad complaining about how his stupid coach is using him in Arz. Do you think any coach can live with such a boat anchor with his team?

And for Eller, I liked how he played in Mtl but in no way I was thinking he would have done a great job at #1C. He was a perfect #3C. Plekky was better suited for a #2C. The problem of the #1C was because of bad drafting and MB unable to sign a C of trade to get one. I was hoping MB could trade to get Duchene or Stastny but he didn't. And I think those two players were not impossible to get. They have been traded so ...

 

[Rosso Scuderia]

What I found funny in this thread is most people, like me, don't hate DD personally. Yes we criticized him, yes we did talk negatively about his game because he wasn't good enough to be our 1st center which is a fact but that doesn't mean that we hate him. Same for Drouin. If I see DD or Drouin on the street, I wouldn't call them name or anything like that. Yet some people try to convince us that we hate them and not only that, they know why we hate them.

I've never hated any Habs player. The only person that is related to the Habs that I can really use the word hate is Bergevin because I think he's condescending and arrogant on top of being incompetent.

 

[BLONG7]

What I found funny in this thread is most people, like me, don't hate DD personally. Yes we criticized him, yes we did talk negatively about his game because he wasn't good enough to be our 1st center which is a fact but that doesn't mean that we hate him. Same for Drouin. If I see DD or Drouin on the street, I wouldn't call them name or anything like that. Yet some people try to convince us they we hate them and not only that, they know why we hate them.

I've never hated any Habs player. The only person that is related to the Habs that I can really use the word hate is Bergevin because I think he's condescending and arrogant on top of being incompetent.

Well said.
There are some on here, that have this foolish way of thinking, that only the franco players get criticized.....absolute nonsense. What gets talked about is in some of those cases, players are used in certain roles they are not talented enough for, or don't deserve. This is fair game.....there are also all kinds of players from Russia, Sweden, US or anywhere in Canada, that also get that treatment from fans.
One of the most frustrating things about this board, is the childish behavior of some posters, and the notion that anglo posters dislike franco players.................NOTHING could be farther from the truth.
These are the posters that make a hockey discussion board, a language battlefield, and it's WRONG.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

I saw that people compared Plekanec and Desharnais' point totals earlier. Here is a stat that is even more frustrating, if you count only ES, you know, the stat that is more valuable.

Plekanec: 129 ESP in 292 GP.
Desharnais: 119 ESP in 274 GP.

They had a comparable ESPPG despite one playing with inferior players and facing tougher competition. Desharnais was mediocre and there's a reason why he's no longer in the league. Great success story for the individual but terrible story for the team.

 

[OldCraig71]

Well said.
There are some on here, that have this foolish way of thinking, that only the franco players get criticized.....absolute nonsense. What gets talked about is in some of those cases, players are used in certain roles they are not talented enough for, or don't deserve. This is fair game.....there are also all kinds of players from Russia, Sweden, US or anywhere in Canada, that also get that treatment from fans.
One of the most frustrating things about this board, is the childish behavior of some posters, and the notion that anglo posters dislike franco players.................NOTHING could be farther from the truth.
These are the posters that make a hockey discussion board, a language battlefield, and it's WRONG.

Partly right but I will take it a step further. There are some here that have this foolish way of thinking and it only matters to them that franco players get criticized! The same people ridicule Carey Price on a game in game out basis and yes, I am talking about even before he got his elephant in the room contract.

 

[Et le But]

Desharnais was probably underrated if anything by the end of his time here, I think he was being in the unfortunate position of being boosted as the Habs primary playmaker despite being an average player. I don't think it was ever just about being Quebecois - Danault for instance doesn't even get the same level of attention despite being a better and more well rounded player.

The problem with Desharnais was that he was not only Quebecois, but a Quebecois underdog and one of the few "skilled" players that Therrien didn't force into a grinder. It was the perfect storm to make the Francophone media love him at first, and create a disproportionate backlash especially as the Habs were mostly mediocre in his best years.

He didn't deserve the hate and he was an intelligent player who deserves credit for making it this far with physical disadvantages, but it's hard to separate him from the Therrien years.

 

[Andy]

Desharnais was probably underrated if anything by the end of his time here, I think he was being in the unfortunate position of being boosted as the Habs primary playmaker despite being an average player. I don't think it was ever just about being Quebecois - Danault for instance doesn't even get the same level of attention despite being a better and more well rounded player.

The problem with Desharnais was that he was not only Quebecois, but a Quebecois underdog and one of the few "skilled" players that Therrien didn't force into a grinder. It was the perfect storm to make the Francophone media love him at first, and create a disproportionate backlash especially as the Habs were mostly mediocre in his best years.

He didn't deserve the hate and he was an intelligent player who deserves credit for making it this far with physical disadvantages, but it's hard to separate him from the Therrien years.

Dang, haven't seen you post in a while.

 

[Et le But]

Dang, haven't seen you post in a while.

I pop in from time to time, mean to do it more but have been too disillusioned to post more regularly.

 

[MaxDummy]

Whatever. Take out Rivet, insert PAP and Begin. That's not the point. I wrote the post in 1 second.

Nobody hated Steve freakin Bégin. He was a warrior. No talent, but a freak. Gave his all each game.

Never saw anyone bash Steve Begin. 4th line plug was all he was and he knew it.