Alexei Emelin

[Et le But]

Emelin is mistake prone and when he was bad, he was awful, but our D was that much softer without him. His absence took away all balance.

And he definitely improved from the previous year, he looked like a real top 4 defender for the most part and was a good compliment to the high risk, high reward Markov.

 

[yianik]

The hard part is this. We have seen one-and-a half years of Emelin and he will miss 2-3 months anyway of next year. He is UFA after next season. My guess is that on a long term contract he will want to be paid as a top 4 defensive defenceman, who bangs real big, so between $3.5M-$4.0M per year. I say this because Im guessing he could do pretty well moneywise in the KHL, certainly better than $2M. You might say a team would be nuts to offer him that, especially with him having suffered the injury he did. Thing is, despite questions some have about his defensive play, his devastating hits affect play, he can have an impact on a game. I think at least one out of 29 other teams would offer him that kind of money on a 3-4 year deal. Also, the closer you leave him without a contract to UFA status, the more tempted he will be to just become unrestricted. So the question is when do you make him an offer, for how much and for how long.

 

[Victoire HuGo]

I'd give Emelin a 4 year deal for something between 3-3.25 million any day.

 

[TT1]

I'd give Emelin a 4 year deal for something between 3-3.25 million any day.

agreed

 

[MsChanandlerBong]

Last season before his injury, he was one of our worst-performing defensemen imo. His physical play is always needed in our roster, but cannot make up for weak play and mistakes.

 

[Ezpz]

Last season before his injury, he was one of our worst-performing defensemen imo. His physical play is always needed in our roster, but cannot make up for weak play and mistakes.

wat

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[Victoire HuGo]

I do recall a stretch where he was our worst defenseman for like 10-14 days. It was around the time of the blowout loss vs Toronto. Him and Markov would cause many odd man rushes a game (more than they already did anyway).

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Last season before his injury, he was one of our worst-performing defensemen imo. His physical play is always needed in our roster, but cannot make up for weak play and mistakes.

We are talking about the Alexei Emelin who plays for the Montreal Canadiens....in the NHL.

You clearly have him confused with someone else......

 

[Hackett]

Between Subban, and Emelin, the habs can throw out 2 pairings on the ice that will force the opposition to keep their head up at all times. Add Tinordi into the mix at some point, and I like the presence that is being developed on the blueline.

Its a nice mix of size, mobility, and physicality. The only thing I'd like to see is more of that ruggedness in the depth spots that Kaberle, Weber, and Bouillon were/are occupying. Okay, maybe bouillon doesn't belong in that group, but the odds were always against him for the type of game he plays, and he's not getting younger.

 

[yianik]

Between Subban, and Emelin, the habs can throw out 2 pairings on the ice that will force the opposition to keep their head up at all times. Add Tinordi into the mix at some point, and I like the presence that is being developed on the blueline.

Its a nice mix of size, mobility, and physicality. The only thing I'd like to see is more of that ruggedness in the depth spots that Kaberle, Weber, and Bouillon were/are occupying. Okay, maybe bouillon doesn't belong in that group, but the odds were always against him for the type of game he plays, and he's not getting younger.

Fistric.

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

Last season before his injury, he was one of our worst-performing defensemen imo. His physical play is always needed in our roster, but cannot make up for weak play and mistakes.

One of the worse performing D-man... Well he was worse than Subban, I'll give you that.

 

[TRG]

Emelin had trouble when Markov got slower and started to stay in front of his net waiting for Emelin to chase the puck carrier.

 

[PricePkPatch*]

I personally thing Emelin's injury happened because he was on the wrong side, and hit Lucic in an awkward angle.

Emelin should go back on the left side, and thus force the opposition to be aggressive on the other side to avoid meeting the train. So you put either Subban or Gorges near him (preferably Subban). Optimal pairing would be Emelin-Tinordi, but that's only if Jared proves he can bring back the bacon on the top-level.


One thing I really liked this year, tho, was the 1-2 combo Markov and Emelin often pulled of. An opponent's forward was recovering the puck deep in our zone. Emelin would go smash him along the board, and Markov would very quickly pass by, pick up the puck and do a 1-pass clearaway. They had very good coordination for that; until the opposition started rushing down Emelin's side and do a cross-ice shift behind Markov.

 

[yianik]

Yeah, and because Lucic brought up his knee, like he does when he knows he is about to get hit in order to make the other guy think twice.

 

[Dr Gonzo]

Last season before his injury, he was one of our worst-performing defensemen imo. His physical play is always needed in our roster, but cannot make up for weak play and mistakes.

You're confusing #74 and #51.

 

[25get]

Yeah, and because Lucic brought up his knee, like he does when he knows he is about to get hit in order to make the other guy think twice.

I still blame Chara for criminally injuring Pacioretty but Lucic can not be blame for the injury on Emelin.

 

[Et le But]

There was definitely nights where Emelin was the worst player on the ice. While he can still get even better in North America, he's been somewhat erratic his whole career so at this point bad games comes with the territory and so he is what he is. But he's good more than bad IMO and certainly brings an element that's needed because he's pretty fearless.

Also, his injury was a fluke IMO.

 

[yianik]

I still blame Chara for criminally injuring Pacioretty but Lucic can not be blame for the injury on Emelin.

I am not saying Lucic committed a foul by doing this, wasn't like he brought up his stick to butt end him or anything, just that I have seen him do this and I think he does it for a reason.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

His presence wouldn't have changed the outcome of the Habs' first round loss to the Sens but getting Emelin back a month or two after the start of the 2013-14 season will be the equivalent of signing a new player. It will mean one less gap to fill.

 

[Habsurdities]

MB's overall job, culture change, and modus operandi has impressed me so far, except for his contract signings (Price, Moen, DD). We should be careful with Emelin as there are a few concerns:

Can he play at the same level without Markov?;
Will he have the same presence after this injury?;
Can he perform in the playoffs? (Had Bergevin asked himself that one about Price he probably would not have signed him for more than 3 years).

Also, we have a few prospects that do bring some significant physicality at D, such as Tinordi who should make the team this year and Dalton Thrower (ETA 2 years)...plus this year's draft.

This said, I would think and analyze seriously before rushing in and offering a long term contract to Emelin.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

I always find it hard to judge defensive play but I always saw it as Emelin covering for Markov.

How many times did you see Markov let Emelin or instruct Emelin to get to a loose puck?

Emelin makes some bad blind passes or bad clearing attempts at times but his pros outweigh his cons by a pretty big margin IMO. Plays with a lot of heart and can make some damn right heroic defensive plays every now and then. Mobile, good with the puck.

The only thing I'm worried about is if he turns into Komisarek after being emasculated by Lucic.

Also him fighting is borderline stupid but its also pretty awesome even though he's not particularly good at it. I still can't believe he went with Chara. Saying that took cajones is the biggest understatement ever.

We'll see how he plays this year but so far so good IMO.

 

[habtastic]

I see an overwhelming majority of people saying that Emelin was brutal before the injury, but IMO he wasn't nearly as bad as people are making out and in fact I saw a lot of progression from him in his skating, his stickwork, his passing, and other areas. In my mind, we need to lock him up for several years along the lines that Chris Cutter suggested (post 53). Tinord has played great, and I do mean great, but I would love to have both of them + Subban and then just think of how we could round out our D going forward. I'm a huge fan of Emelin's.

 

[Ezpz]

Emelin is mistake prone and when he was bad, he was awful, but our D was that much softer without him. His absence took away all balance.

And he definitely improved from the previous year, he looked like a real top 4 defender for the most part and was a good compliment to the high risk, high reward Markov.

Still don't understand why the coaching staff insist on playing Emelin on the right. Almost any defensive gaff he has can be chalked up to his stick being on the wrong side or Markov pinching or Emelin himself pinching thinking Markov can win a footrace against the opposite side winger.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

Brutally bad? Put him on waivers and he'd be gone almost instantaneously.

 

[FlyingKostitsyn]

Brutally bad? Put him on waivers and he'd be gone almost instantaneously.

Hyperboles are very popular in arguments these days.

''Emelin was struggling slightly at the time'' doesn't sound nearly as convincing as ''Emelin was outrageously brutal and a disgrace to the Habs jersey''.

Emelin is still a work in progress but he's already a very important D on our squad and a guy other teams respect and fear for his crushing hits. I'm sure he'd be worth quite a lot on the trade market and a lot of teams would be interested.