Habs fans have a few whipping boys on the team. Enemy #1 seems to be Michel Therrien and although I am a Therrien fan today, I will be concentrating on the guys who actually play the game and specifically everyone’s favourite player to hate: David Desharnais. Most of my blog will consist of one major theme. You can’t ask a player to be something that he is not. And in this case, it seems like everyone would like DD to be a bit faster, a bit stronger, score more and play less. Here are some of your complaints and more importantly why they are wrong.

1) “He is not a #1 center”

Let’s focus on this for a minute. Is he not a #1 or #2 center or is he not an “elite” #1 or #2 center? In his last two seasons, he has put up 52 and 48 points respectively. He was also a plus 11 and plus 22. Now while those are not elite numbers, those are pretty solid numbers. He was 40th in points for centers last year. This not elite, but let’s keep in mind that you do not get an elite center for $3.5 million per year. Double that and you will get someone in the top 10. In a league with 30 teams, simple math says you want your #1 center to be in the top 30 and your #2 center to be in the top 60. DD is definitely in this range and for the price tag, you are definitely getting value. Oh yeah and one more thing, our undisputed best forward Max Pacioretty likes him as his center.

2) “The coach plays him too much”

I will give you one tip about coaches at any level, and that is not exclusive to Michel Therrien whether you believe it or not. A coach will always give more ice time to a player he trusts than to a player who he doesn’t trust. As stated above DD was a plus 22 last season which simply boils down to when he is on the ice his team scores more goals then they allow. You can debate whether a defense-first system is what’s best for the team, but this is a coach issue not a DD issue. When he is sent on the ice, his team scores more than the other team does and last time I checked, that was the point to the game.

3) “He’s too small to play center”

OK Don Cherry, thanks for weighing in on the debate. Yes, in a perfect world, DD would be 6’3″ and 225 lbs but guess what, he is not and most skilled players in the NHL are not. These guys are very hard to come by and teams that get them tend to keep them because they are such a rare commodity. To say that someone who has put up an average of 50 pts in his last two seasons is not a very good NHL player is absurd. Just check out some of the contracts that were given out this summer to players with similar numbers and you will realize that DD gives an output very comparable if not better than the average player making his money.

Conclusion:

Now I am not expecting to change the DD haters because in their minds everything he does is wrong and he is responsible for everything that is questionable with the Habs. But, the facts are simple. You can’t ask a player to be something he is not and DD is giving you exactly what he is paid to give you. A solid center who puts up points and keeps the puck out of his own net. Sorry DD haters, but facts are facts.

Go Habs Go!

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