PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS

15-4-2 after 21 games played. That is the Montreal Canadiens’ record at this quarter mark of the 2016-2017 season. It’s good enough for 1st place in the league but somehow, it is not good enough for the fans. This beginning of the season has had glimpses of greatness as well as blemishes. I like to think of myself as a non-biased fan that gives credit where it is due as well as criticism where I see fit. It may still be early in the season, but I can see some trends that could create a downward spiral for the Montreal Canadiens if the issues are not addressed. Let’s take a look at all the positives and negatives of the 2016-2017 campaign thus far.

 THE POSITIVES

Galchenyuk and Radulov have Chemistry Early on

The biggest surprise (to some) has been the excellent play of the robust Alexander Radulov. He does not take a shift off, he wants the puck constantly, he protects the puck with ease and he makes everyone on the ice with him better. Speaking of which, when head coach Michel Therrien made a great coaching decision (for once) to place Radulov on Galchenyuk’s wing, it seemed as though a spark had ignited. It may be too early to say this but it looks like this duo can stick together all season long. The great results so far can be seen by the table below, provided by the nhl.com/canadiens website.

Player	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	PPP	SHG	SHP	GWG	OTG	S	S%	FO%
Alex Galchenyuk	21	8	13	21	10	12	3	7	0	0	1	0	41	19.5	39.34
Shea Weber	21	8	9	17	17	10	7	10	0	1	3	0	55	14.5	0
Alexander Radulov	19	4	13	17	6	18	1	5	0	0	0	0	31	12.9	100
Andrei Markov	21	2	15	17	5	6	0	7	0	1	0	0	31	6.5	0
Max Pacioretty	21	5	9	14	6	14	1	2	0	1	3	0	56	8.9	0
Paul Byron	21	7	5	12	5	8	0	0	1	1	2	0	27	25.9	100

 

Paul Byron Starts Red Hot

Early in the 2015-2016 season, the Flames had a choice to make regarding who will be sent down in order to make room for the return of the injured Monahan. They ultimately decided to place Paul Byron on waivers for the purpose of sending him down to the AHL. He never made it to Stockton, as GM Marc Bergevin jumped on the chance to claim the small but skilled and speedy forward. It wasn’t until the Canadiens were in Calgary that Byron got his chance to crack the lineup but boy did he ever impress in his Canadiens debut with this speedy goal.

We have seen many breakaways goals created by Byron since then and even with the terrible end to last season, Byron was rewarded with a three-year contract and has solidified his spot in the lineup. With his continued great play this year, he was rewarded by getting to play alongside Galchenyuk and Radulov. This has certainly payed dividends for the Habs as Byron already has 7 goals in 21 games to start the season. It would be unwise to assume that he can keep up this pace but there is no reason why he couldn’t have a 20 goal, 35+ point year. Not bad for a waiver claim, eh?

 

The Powerplay Clicks

For the last few years, the Canadiens’ powerplay has been subpar at best. There was a time where fans were spoiled by the likes of Alex Kovalev, Sheldon Souray and Andrei Markov quarterbacking the Habs man advantage. As the years went on, their terrifying powerplay unit diminished. After 21 games played, the Canadiens are 5th in powerplay conversion with a 22.7% success rate as seen in the table below, provided by NHL.com.

 

1.	Columbus Blue Jackets		18	10	5		3	23								28.6%
2.	Philadelphia Flyers		22	9	10		3	21								25.7%
3.	Tampa Bay Lightning		21	13	7		1	27								24.4%
4.	Nashville Predators		19	9	7		3	21								22.9%
5.	Montréal Canadiens		21	15	4		2	32								22.7%

 

I can safely say that the Canadiens’ frightening powerplay is back. But what caused this? What is making this powerplay unit as good as it once was? Maybe it was the rehiring of Kirk Muller, the coach that used to run the team’s powerplay. Maybe it was bringing in a player(Alex Radulov) that can handle and protect the puck as well as Alex Kovalev did. Maybe it was bringing in a player(Shea Weber) that could really shoot the puck like Sheldon Souray did. Or maybe it was the continued great vision and Hockey IQ of the General Andrei Markov that has sparked this powerplay. Or maybe it is all of the above. Contrasting the 2015-2016 powerplay and the 2016-2017 power, is the amount of movement. This year’s iteration of the powerplay displays a lot more shiftiness. The frequent movement of not only the player but the puck as well has made the opposition’s life very difficult. I am no Nostradamus but if the Habs can keep this type of movement up on the powerplay as well as acquire more weapons for the 2nd unit, their spot among the league’s top powerplays should be safe.

 

THE NEGATIVES

Pacioretty, Gallagher and Plekanec are Struggling

You all knew it was coming. It pains me to put these players in the category of “negatives” however, every habs fan is talking about how they have simply not played up to par in terms of putting up numbers on the scoresheet. I do however, believe that 2 of these players’ seasons can be salvaged.

Pacioretty: As we all know, Pacioretty has still been putting up the points for the Canadiens. As seen in the table above, he is 5th in team scoring with 14 points in 21 games. However, the argument isn’t with the point column but rather the goal column which sits at 5. Everyone seems to be frightened that he has lost his scoring touch but history will tell you two things. The first would be that Pacioretty has always scored in bunches. The second would be that in the last 5 seasons, Pacioretty has been one of the leagues most prolific goal scorers and never fails to put up a minimum of 30 goals annually. For these two reasons, I am not worried that Pacioretty will begin to contribute in terms of goal scoring.

Gallagher: This relentless warrior has not changed his style of play or level of compete since entering the league a few years back. In fact, he isn’t receiving anywhere near the amount of criticism that Pacioretty and Plekanec are facing because everyone is well aware that he gives 110% on every shift. He doesn’t need to change anything in order to start scoring again; all he needs is a fortuitous bounce or two.

Plekanec: It’s really hard to speak ill of Plekanec as he takes great pride in being a hard working player that can play very well offensively as well as defensively. He has been leaned on in many different situations in the past from playing on the powerplay and scoring key goals to penalty killing as well as shutting down some of the league’s best forwards such as Crosby, Bergeron and Ovechkin during the season and in the higher tempo playoffs. It just seems as though father time has finally caught up with him. In terms of scoring, Plekanec has significantly declined. However, even with the offensive decline, I believe that he can still be very useful especially in the playoffs in a 3rd line shutdown-centre role.

Offensive and Defensive Holes

Offensive holes

It has become abundantly clear that the Habs are lacking an offensive 2nd line centre. It is very possible that the Canadiens will do fine without that 2nd line centre during the season however, it will be an obvious weakness when the playoffs roll around. In order for the Canadiens to truly contend for the Stanley Cup, they will need to fill this vacant hole prior to the trade deadline. The issue here isn’t whether or not Marc Bergevin will try to acquire an offensive 2nd line centre but rather if there is even one available. Teams don’t generally trade them away as aside from the goaltending position, the centre position is the most important in hockey.

According to Eric Engels, the Canadiens are reportedly interested in Arizona Coyotes’ big centre Martin Hanzal.

GLENDALE, AZ – NOVEMBER 25: Martin Hanzal #11 of the Arizona Coyotes during the NHL game against the Anaheim Ducks at Gila River Arena on November 25, 2015 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Ducks 4-2. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Told this morning Martin Hanzal could be on the move soon from Arizona. Activity heating up. Canadiens among a few teams in the hunt.

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) November 17, 2016

Hanzal is said to be a good addition but there are a few things that tell me otherwise.

Pros:

• His size is great at 6’6, which is definitely an asset to have in the playoffs.
• He would come in at a great cap hit at 3.1M AAV with one year left on his contract, making him a perfect rental as seen in the table below provided by hockeybuzz.com.

Cons:

• I believe that the cost would be too steep; I would hate to see Hudon, Scherbak or McCarron being sent the other way in order to facilitate a deal.
• I don’t believe that he is a legitimate 2nd line offensive centre, he has never eclipsed the 20 goal mark in his career and has never gotten more than 41 points in a single season. At best, I see him as an extremely good 3rd line centre.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The season is long and will be filled with both ups and downs so it’s up to the players to fight through it even when they are not producing and playing poorly. I am sure that the players like Pacioretty and Gallagher will turn the corner and begin to produce. I also believe that if Plekanec accepts his new role as 3rd line shutdown centre, he will find success. In terms of holes on this team, if GM Marc Bergevin is truly going all in for a Cup Run as Elliotte Friedman wrote in his 30 Thoughts as seen below, then we can be sure to experience one hell of season, trade deadline and playoff run.

“14. The Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues are a little different. They have legit championship aspirations and search for more pieces of that puzzle. I’ve mentioned before the Canadiens are looking at their blue line, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if GM Marc Bergevin eyed a powerful forward or two as well. It’s “all-in” for Montreal.”