tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28380605665709718932024-03-04T23:35:16.832-05:00HabsWatch - Providing insight on the Montreal CanadiensNews and information on the Montreal Canadiens, their players, prospects and front office. Insight that's useful to Habs fans everywhere.HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-49675128924609814402015-02-24T17:55:00.000-05:002015-02-24T18:09:32.074-05:00Breaking down the Habs road scoring woesCarey Price deserves the Hart Trophy, if only for his play on the road this season, because the Canadiens are 17-9-1… with the 27th best road offense. Having a 5v5 Red Zone (25 Ft) USAT of 49.5% vs. their opposition and just 47.8% on the road means they are still being out chanced too often in-tight, where the league shoots 14.5% 5v5. Fortunately, opponents are shooting 13.4%, thanks almost HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-79506400978673145212015-02-18T17:53:00.000-05:002015-02-19T17:01:19.171-05:00The Possession War: A look at the Habs Inside Game
Carey Price playing the best hockey of his career (Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)
How on earth does a 23rd ranked offense warrant a 37-15-4 record? Well, it sure isn’t because of the power play; the Canadiens offensive crutch of choice for almost 20 years. Even for the last 10 years, the Habs trail only the San Jose Sharks by just 0.19% for being the most PP dependent team in the NHL for HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-80742520090460766752014-06-27T19:26:00.001-04:002014-06-28T01:16:11.510-04:00NHL Draft 2014 - Habs organizational needs
Going into the 2014 NHL Draft in Philadelphia tonight, two organizational areas of weakness for the Montreal Canadiens are Centers and Right Wingers with top 6 potential. Down the middle the Habs only have Connor Crisp, a left-handed shot, who’ll be starting his first full season in Hamilton this fall.
At Right Wing, Montreal has Mike McCarron, Sven Andrighetto and Artturi Lehkonen with topHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-42636746845191622032014-06-23T17:54:00.001-04:002014-06-25T14:03:38.959-04:00It was a mistake to re-sign Andrei Markov for 3 years
Andrei Markov owes P.K. Subban a lot of steak dinners
Count me in the minority who firmly believe signing Andrei Markov to a 35+ contract worth 3 years x $5.75 million AAV was a very bad idea. Simply put, too much term and too much coin for a player who'll turn 36 in December and entering a stage of his career where he's little more than a power play support piece.
Signing such a deal MIGHT HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-44227234651419693552014-03-04T19:01:00.001-05:002014-03-05T11:22:33.524-05:00Should they stay, or should they go?
Andrei Markov - New contract or trade bait?
Marc Bergevin arrived in Montreal on May 2nd, 2012 with a mission; rebuild the Canadiens through the draft. Just two years into restocking the franchise after four straight years (2008-2011) of damage done through a combination of poor drafting and trading high round picks, the Habs were caught between a talent gap coming through their system and a HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-39118451121491367772013-11-27T18:50:00.002-05:002013-11-27T19:16:28.627-05:00Inside Game: The Effects of Net Drive on Special Teams
Welcome back to the PK Alexei Emelin (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
A few weeks ago I wrote about the effects of net drive 5v5 so now it’s time to cover special teams which in an era of declining power plays, now makes up about 23% of total offense. Strong special teams are pretty much wasted on those with a weak even strength game but for teams that do and get home ice advantage in the playoffsHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-69086553600816766492013-11-19T18:50:00.001-05:002013-11-23T12:35:19.438-05:00Habs Q1 Review: Chicken Little Edition
Gallagher knows where goals come from
With the 1st quarter of the Canadiens 2013-14 season now in the books, it’s time to stand back and evaluate what’s working and what isn’t to better understand why the Habs are currently sitting 5th in the Atlantic and clinging to the 2nd Wild Card spot.
The Positives
Only Minnesota, Boston and Los Angeles have given up fewer even strength goals against HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-22496012463208380042013-11-07T14:34:00.000-05:002013-11-07T18:43:37.775-05:00Therrien and Subban: Perception vs. Reality
With news that Habs GM Marc Bergevin will supposedly start contract talks with P.K. Subban in the next couple weeks, coach Michel Therrien couldn’t have picked a worse time to slide into some of the bad habits that ultimately cost him his job in Pittsburgh; namely using the media to send snarky messages to players.
The problem Therrien creates for himself is the disconnect between his public HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-9608222097838250492013-11-01T17:04:00.003-04:002013-11-04T11:59:34.697-05:00Inside Game: The Effects of Net Drive 5v5
Gallagher, Eller and Galchenyuk lead the Habs in Net Drive 5v5
Like moths to a flame, stats-folk are drawn to numbers and even when there are seemingly obvious reasons to be cautious, the temptation can often be too difficult to resist. So when it comes to drawing nectar from the NHL’s play-by-play game data, just how close can you get to shot distance and location without getting burned?
HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-8729641945222270762013-10-01T18:44:00.000-04:002013-10-18T17:45:19.166-04:00Habs 2013-14 Season Preview
The Montreal Canadiens have gone through 5 General Managers
and made 9 Head Coaching changes in the last 15 years but something unusual
happened with the latest regime change; the philosophical iceberg that has been their over-reliance on the power play to win hockey games appears to have finally changed course.
While the disingenuous might credit last season’s success on
the Habs stayingHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-39265677874786067502013-09-30T19:31:00.002-04:002013-10-02T14:08:31.873-04:00Fighting Season: In like a lion, out like a lamb
Photo Credit: Errol McGihon/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency
An unexpected side effect of the NHL lockout-shortened
season last year with short camps and no preseason games has been the
realization many fans and observers of the game simply forgot how much fighting
there actually is in preseason hockey.
Generally speaking, there’s at least twice as much fighting over
regular season hockey and yes,HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-51456482792935482182013-06-29T17:28:00.000-04:002013-06-30T02:22:24.102-04:00Habs 2013 Draft Preview
It’s that time of the year when teams and fans alike have
the highest hope for the future so now is probably a good time to remind
readers about the importance of managing expectations.
In a typical draft year,
the talent drops off the table after pick 25 and then again after 30 where
70-75% of all 2nd and 3rd Round picks will ultimately fail to play at least 2
years in the NHL.
I’m sureHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-85840769916786948902013-06-19T03:15:00.002-04:002013-06-19T03:51:51.179-04:00Subban wins Norris: 2012-13 Report Card - Defense
Congratulations to P.K. Subban on winning his 1st James Norris Memorial Trophy and for being the 1st Montreal Canadiens defenseman to win the award in 24 years.
When I tweeted 2.5 years ago that Pernell Karl Subban was the best home-grown Canadiens defenseman I’d seen since Chris Chelios, much to the dismay and criticism of his staunch critics, the Norris win was made all the sweeter knowing HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-71103545856022091692013-05-16T16:43:00.000-04:002013-06-01T18:57:52.827-04:002012-13 Season Review: Goaltending - Average Won't Do
The average age of an NHL starting goaltender this season was 29.1 years so yes, people are right to say that soon to be 26 year old Carey Price is young. In term of years on this planet, Price tied for 23rd youngest among starters with just 3 goalies 1 or more years his junior.
Marc Bergevin was also right to say that goaltenders develop later than all other positions but the age issue HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-1868862769932050222013-04-29T14:23:00.002-04:002013-04-29T14:37:36.956-04:00The Era of Declining Power Plays
I've been discussing the decline in power play opportunities
and the rise of even strength play on Twitter for a couple years now and wrote
a piece about the impact last March, so the main questions I had going into the 2012-13
season was what, if any effect, the lockout and a shortened schedule would have.
In a typical year, team discipline starts off poor and power
play units have a HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-41071223582593654772013-04-11T14:38:00.003-04:002013-05-09T11:33:01.620-04:00In-depth: Lars Eller vs. David Desharnais
It’s difficult to talk about who’s a better top 2 center for
the Montreal Canadiens; David Desharnais or Lars Eller without being labelled a
hater of one or both. Fact of the matter is, I’ve long stated that David
Desharnais isn’t suited to be a top 2 center on an upper echelon team and
fortunately for Habs fans, he isn’t being paid like Marc Bergevin thinks he is.
$3.5 million AAV over the HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-65187858146149198642013-04-09T12:30:00.000-04:002013-04-10T09:15:05.163-04:00Paradigm shift: Even strength play makes Habs a Stanley Cup contenderIn my preview of the Montreal Canadiens 2012-13 season, I discussed the path the Habs needed to take if the days of 6th to 8th place finishes with "Anything can happen!" playoff marketing were to be no longer considered successful campaigns.
The path was simple but it required a paradigm shift in Montreal: 1. Stop playing passive and start pressuring the opposition all over the ice andHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-85418478522585137082013-04-08T17:22:00.001-04:002013-04-09T02:15:23.212-04:00Q3 Report Card - Consistency has arrived
Three-quarters through the Habs 2012-13 season,
there’s a lot to like about what they’ve achieved so far. Part of that achievement,
which cannot be ignored, is the result of staying remarkably healthy as only 3
teams had less salary cap sidelined due to injury than the Canadiens after 36
games; Minnesota, NY Islanders and Anaheim.
Rene Bourque is close to returning to the lineup while HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-1953273442264337372013-03-27T18:00:00.000-04:002013-03-27T18:05:56.179-04:00Bergevin's trade deadline cheat sheet
Can Bergevin balance immediate need with Habs long term goals?
Heading into the April 3rd trade deadline, there
are 2 areas of concern for Marc Bergevin to address so we’re about to find out just
how focused he is on the long term retooling of the Habs with the playoffs crowding
his field of view.
With the waiver claim of Jeff Halpern we saw a measured, low
risk attempt to improve the 2ndHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-85463987662850627572013-03-25T19:11:00.000-04:002013-03-26T12:18:37.885-04:00Why the Habs claimed Jeff Halpern off waivers
Jeff
Halpern was claimed off waivers from the New York Rangers this past Saturday
for one reason; do a better job than Lars Eller and Ryan White centering the
2nd PK unit and stop the bleeding that is the Habs 18th ranked penalty kill.
Halpern played 60:54short handed minutes with the Rangers, 2nd
among forwards and was on ice for 7 power play goals against. By comparison, Tomas
PlekanecHabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-6377199150956354412013-03-15T13:22:00.000-04:002013-10-11T10:59:58.376-04:00David Desharnais signs sweet deal
If Desharnais wasn't smiling, he'd be laughing
I’m not surprised Marc Bergevin awarded
David Desharnais with a contract worth $3.5 million a season as I am
disappointed it took a 4th year to get him under $4 million. Am I
outraged at the contract? No. Disappointed? Yes. Now let me explain why.
First off, my concerns about David
Desharnais have nothing to do with politics or quota desires HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-16655761921427275962013-03-13T15:24:00.002-04:002013-03-13T18:45:44.196-04:00Habs mid-season report card (A)
How ya like me now?
We’ve reached the mid-way point of the Habs 2012-13 shortened
season and the time has come to give Michel Therrien and Marc Bergevin full
marks for orchestrating a turnaround on an order of magnitude not seen in
Montreal for decades.
My initial reservations about Therrien centered on his
temper and past use of the media to embarrass players but so far, thanks in
large HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-63156327276687320342013-02-27T14:57:00.000-05:002013-02-27T14:57:06.440-05:00The Erik Cole trade: Positive signs
Habs fans are finally starting to see what kind of GM they
have in Marc Bergevin and so far, there is a much to like. Now he just needs to
execute on the opportunities he’s creating for the team.
Bergevin was proactive on two fronts yesterday when he traded Erik
Cole to the Dallas Stars for the expiring contract of Michael Ryder and a 3rd round pick in 2013. The goal? Help the Canadiens now HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-5076046837415559782013-02-14T14:38:00.001-05:002013-02-14T14:38:31.588-05:00Q1 Report Card – Habs winning on borrowed time (C)
Brendan Gallagher - Living in the blue paint
So long as the Habs remain somewhat healthy, they’re on pace
to once again challenge for a playoff spot as a bubble team. Yes, the old
stomping grounds for the “Eighth is the new first" mantra, the result
of 20 years of reduced expectations.
My expectations going into the season was a 9th
place finish in the East, with a tie-breaker’s HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2838060566570971893.post-89564600010772773472013-01-31T19:59:00.000-05:002013-02-04T13:17:00.810-05:00First Impressions
Desharnais, Pacioretty & Cole must be better on the road
Working out the kinks in regular season games with just 6
days of practice and no pre-season has created a bubble industry for special
teams early in the 2012-13 season.
As the second week draws to a close, players
and referees alike have been undisciplined, generating a surge in power plays with poor penalty killing to match.
HabsWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733030331100513408noreply@blogger.com