Line Combos: What happens when Lars comes back?

[InControl]

Why would we move Eller from center? He's had the best possession numbers on the team among forwards in hard assignments. So we move him?

Why?

OK, here is my final position on the matter:

We give Galchenyuk 8 more games at C to see if he can produce not just sizzle, but steak. At least a little steak. If he does, then Eller plays 3C, but double shifts at times for defensive zone faceoffs with another center, especially in the place of Andrighetto if the Swissman plays 2LW with Pleks. Also Eller might play LW in the final minute or two of a game with Pleks, Sekac, Prust, Bournival, Malhotra or Pacioretty.

If after 10 games, it seems like Galchenyuk is not fully ready for 1st line center role...YET... then put him back on LW with Pleks and DO NOT MAKE HIM THE 3C!! Eller will move up to 2C. And Desharnais could be CONSIDERED for 3C if doing well.

If another opportunity arises to give Galchenyuk a shot at Center later, I'm open to another try.

Meanwhile, for the forseeable future, the first wave of PP should probably be Pacioretty, Galchenyuk and either Plekanec, Sekac or Gallagher

 

[Saundies]

We have to at least explore the future without DD right now. Move him to the wing, go with Chucky-Pleks-Eller down the middle for a couple of games, and see the results on display. If it doesn't work, then try something different. If it's magic, then it shows that DD has to be the one moved if there's a decision to be made.

It's the only thing that can be done in my eyes, realistically.

 

[Vern]

patches-chucky-gallager
sekac-pleky-ghetto
bournival-dd-pap
prust-eller-weise
manny (for certain faceoffs/pk)

emelin-subban
markov-gonchar
1 of weaver, beaulieu, tinner , allen depending on opponent and player performance

 

[Sterling Archer]

patches chucky gally
eller plex sekac
prust DD pap
bourni manny weise

That's what I'd go with. I can see MT going with:

patches chucky gally
sekac plex ghetto
eller dd pap
prust manny weise

 

[habitue*]

patches chucky gally
eller plex sekac
prust DD pap
bourni manny weise

That's what I'd go with. I can see MT going with:

patches chucky gally
sekac plex ghetto
eller dd pap
prust manny weise

My lines:

Patches-Plekky-Sekac
Eller-Galchy-Gally
Prust-DD-PAP
Bournival-MM-Weise

 

[Artaud]

Lars Eller: tired many times at wing, never worked. He likes to be the one to drive the possession down the middle. Great defensively, can play tough minutes and has.
David Desharnais: Never tried on the wing, cannot play defensively and thus makes our 3rd line weak
defensively.

If we want to put Chucky in a position to succeed as a first center, we should not give the easier matchups to our 3rd line because the center cant handle the tough ones. Why is there a discussion? I dont want an exploitation 3rd line I want a tough and responsable one. Eller should be that center.

Desharnais has never been tried at wing, he should. I do not want him to pivot a 3rd line, because that changes its purpose. Its ok for a winger to be one dimensional, but im not sure it is for a center you ideally want to have a more defensive role.

To me there is no discussion: if Chucky plays well and can produce after a fair trial, Desharnais goes to the wing. If he cannot play wing.....................

 

[Skip Bayless]

Oh my, it's absolutely ridiculous how RDS is trying to belittle Eller

http://www.rds.ca/vidéos/hockey/lnh/canadiens/l-heure-des-décisions-avec-eller-3.1110289


First, Stephane Leroux on l'antimchambre creates a false story in which Eller told the media yesterday that he prefers to play at centre when he never said that. Then they edit a clip in which Damphousse is criticizing Malhotra's point production by saying it's unacceptable to make it seem like he's talking about Eller not wanting to play on the wing. Their agenda is Eller on the wing or centering the 4th line, but don't touch the third line.

 

[Artaud]

Oh my, it's absolutely ridiculous how RDS is trying to belittle Eller

http://www.rds.ca/vidéos/hockey/lnh/canadiens/l-heure-des-décisions-avec-eller-3.1110289


First, Stephane Leroux on l'antimchambre creates a false story in which Eller told the media yesterday that he prefers to play at centre when he never said that. Then they edit a clip in which Damphousse is criticizing Malhotra's point production by saying it's unacceptable to make it seem like he's talking about Eller not wanting to play on the wing. Their agenda is Eller on the wing or centering the 4th line, but don't touch the third line.

You know there's a problem when Gaston is the most reasonable one... That "he doesnt have good vision he cant play center" is... Well its le baron. Look at contenders, they dont have one dimensional playmakers as 3rd line centers, they have big two way centers. The vision part is about top 6 centers, which we have 2 better ones than Desharnais. You dont judge a 3rd line center purely by its offense ffs what is this?

You're right, RDS is shilling hard for DD. Why would they do that? I hope MB is less bias than they are (even though MT is).

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

****ing pathetic.

 

[Big Lurk]

You know there's a problem when Gaston is the most reasonable one... That "he doesnt have good vision he cant play center" is... Well its le baron. Look at contenders, they dont have one dimensional playmakers as 3rd line centers, they have big two way centers. The vision part is about top 6 centers, which we have 2 better ones than Desharnais. You dont judge a 3rd line center purely by its offense ffs what is this?

You're right, RDS is shilling hard for DD. Why would they do that? I hope MB is less bias than they are (even though MT is).

Same thing happened with Bouillon. They created false extended negotiations and gave everyone the sense that he might get signed sooner than later.

When it was coming down to who was the best center between Plekanec and Desharnais, Pleks was getting the same treatment.

Its sickening. The way RDS is fapping away on the air when we play against other Quebecers is awful, too. If Desharnais' name was Desharnhov like one said, he would be labeled enigmatic and lazy and soft. No way they let a russian player who has a 50 game goalless drought off that easily.

 

[DAChampion]

Business is business guys.

Having a local boy success story like Desharnais on the team is good for ratings.

Meanwhile, Eller is a foreigner, he's from Denmark, makes him easier to scapegoat.

Most RDS viewers would not be able to name the capitol of Denmark nor locate the country on a map.

 

[Smokey Thompson]

Yep RDS also trying to convince everyone that winning teams are going with offensive / exploitation 3rd lines... yet the best teams in recent memory had 3rd line centres like Stoll, Bolland, J. Stall, Peverley, etc. Eller is the same type of player as these guys and is a prototypical 3rd line centre.

Eller's the type of 3rd line centre you want in a tight checking playoff series. The guy that can centre a line that gives your team an edge and can play tough minutes on the PK, vs top lines, or in the dying minutes of a game where you hold a 1 goal lead.

Two-way centres win every year in the playoffs.

 

[ECWHSWI]

Business is business guys.

Having a local boy success story like Desharnais on the team is good for ratings.

Meanwhile, Eller is a foreigner, he's from Denmark, makes him easier to scapegoat.

Most RDS viewers would not be able to name the capitol of Denmark nor locate the country on a map.

what is even better for ratings is people watching, even if only to crap on the show

think you can add a lot more people than just RDS viewers to the "we dont know much outside our little world" list

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Business is business guys.

Having a local boy success story like Desharnais on the team is good for ratings.

Meanwhile, Eller is a foreigner, he's from Denmark, makes him easier to scapegoat.

Most RDS viewers would not be able to name the capitol of Denmark nor locate the country on a map.

Here's the real issue: There is a lack of Quebec talent in the NHL and there are a lot of teams.

Forever it seemed that Quebec produced the best players in the world: Richard, Beliveau, Lafleur, Dionne, Bossy, Lemieux, Bourque, Roy.... Just went on and on. Now we've got a handful of guys on the team who are local.

I get the desire to promote local players and I get that the team wants a French flavour. It only stands to reason that we'd want this. But putting a guy in a role he's not suited for just because of his language only serves to undermine that player. DD isn't good enough for the 1st line and he never was. But we heard the same BS over and over and now we're hearing it again.

What Montreal needs is a true French Canadian superstar. If and when that happens you won't see this kind of nonsense. And because we don't have one we have people trying to force one to be here no matter how good he is.

I'm not including MT in this btw. I don't know why he's done what he's done. Maybe its language and maybe not. No idea.

But as far as RDS goes, there's a real insecurity here when you watch so called analysts come out with garbage like they're doing right now. RDS is absolutely pitiful with the tripe they've come up with and it's a shame nobody from the hockey club has had the balls to publicly call them on it. For all that is good and Holy in this world it would be awesome to hear Bergevin tell these guys to just shut the **** up with this crap. Just too bad we didn't draft Giroux because then DD wouldn't have been signed to this deal to begin with and we wouldn't have these morons calling for guys like Bouillion and other lesser players to get prominent roles.

The problem is... there's just not enough Quebec talent in the league anymore. And there's 30 teams vying for the few that are top flight players. It's not going to change for the better anytime soon either.

Yep RDS also trying to convince everyone that winning teams are going with offensive / exploitation 3rd lines... yet the best teams in recent memory had 3rd line centres like Stoll, Bolland, J. Stall, Peverley, etc. Eller is the same type of player as these guys and is a prototypical 3rd line centre.

Eller's the type of 3rd line centre you want in a tight checking playoff series. The guy that can centre a line that gives your team an edge and can play tough minutes on the PK, vs top lines, or in the dying minutes of a game where you hold a 1 goal lead.

Two-way centres win every year in the playoffs.

They are spewing a bunch of nonsense. That should be clear for anyone to see.

 

[DAChampion]

Yup, how many Quebecois made Team Canada?

I'm not sure why that is.

The best French Canadian players are St-Louis, Vlasic, Letang, Bergeron, and the Habs are not getting them.

Hopefully Hudon can turn out good.

 

[Skip Bayless]

You know there's a problem when Gaston is the most reasonable one... That "he doesnt have good vision he cant play center" is... Well its le baron. Look at contenders, they dont have one dimensional playmakers as 3rd line centers, they have big two way centers. The vision part is about top 6 centers, which we have 2 better ones than Desharnais. You dont judge a 3rd line center purely by its offense ffs what is this?

You're right, RDS is shilling hard for DD. Why would they do that? I hope MB is less bias than they are (even though MT is).

Good point.

Eller is a rare breed of centre because he plays a power game, so a lot of people see him playing the wing because of it. Some people yell at their TVs when they see Eller "snobbing" his linemates in the offensive zone when they've established their forecheck, but a lot of it has to do with the role a defensive line is asked to play. If your third line keeps the puck away from his own end and keeps it in the offensive zone as much as they can, that's good defensive hockey, they'll get their opportunities when the other team gives it to them. Cross crease passes often result in turnovers and counter-attacks for the other team, so that's definitely not something you want out of a third line. You want to see those risks taken by your top 6 players because they're supposed to be better at executing those plays. He does many things that go unnoticed because it's effective rather than spectacular. Which is integral part of the mindset that is needed to succeed in that role.

 

[Andrei79]

I'd give Malhotra's spot to Eller. Malhotra's not doing much of anything.

 

[Artaud]

Same thing happened with Bouillon. They created false extended negotiations and gave everyone the sense that he might get signed sooner than later.

When it was coming down to who was the best center between Plekanec and Desharnais, Pleks was getting the same treatment.

Its sickening. The way RDS is fapping away on the air when we play against other Quebecers is awful, too. If Desharnais' name was Desharnhov like one said, he would be labeled enigmatic and lazy and soft. No way they let a russian player who has a 50 game goalless drought off that easily.

I dont think its because their French, Its just that since they are in the Quebec hockey community, they all know each other. I mean they all play golf with each other, they've coached/been coached by each other and all. They just like to help their buddies, like a clique.

I mean some are ok, they stay more neutral (think Dubé or Cantin) who for the most part are journalists, and then there are the "experts" like Gaston, who are just ex-players/coaches with no journalism credentials, who are there to prime their friends from the same Quebec hockey community.

Perfect examples: Gaston rating every players and the coach, giving MT (ex RDS) 97%. Or, every time they play against Calgary and go on about the amazing work Hartley (ex RDS) is doing.

That's why its so fun to see PJ Stock on l'antichambre, Its like their narrative is confronted by someone with an outside view.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

I'd give Malhotra's spot to Eller. Malhotra's not doing much of anything.

If I did that I might put Malhotra on the wing and send Bournival down. It's one thing to say Malhotra isn't doing anything offensively, but it's another to totally discredit what he has been doing defensively.

 

[habitue*]

Business is business guys.

Having a local boy success story like Desharnais on the team is good for ratings.

Meanwhile, Eller is a foreigner, he's from Denmark, makes him easier to scapegoat.

Most RDS viewers would not be able to name the capitol of Denmark nor locate the country on a map.

And how many Danes know the capital of Canada ?

 

[sharks9]

Pacioretty and Galchenyuk on the top line. I can bear Therrien's tinkering with the other lines as long as that duo stays together!

 

[SnapVirus]

Trade the bum

 

[ROSSter]

I has to be that quebec players give RDS more air time so they pump their tires. Cause it's far from objective journalism.

 

[Intangiblezz]

Max Pacioretty - Alex Galchenyuk - Brendan Gallagher
Sven Andrighetto/Michael Bournival - Tomas Plekanec - PA Parenteau
David Desharnais - Lars Eller - Jiri Sekac
Brandon Prust - Manny Malhotra - Dale Weise
Andrigetto/Bournival

 

[habitue*]

I dont think its because their French, Its just that since they are in the Quebec hockey community, they all know each other. I mean they all play golf with each other, they've coached/been coached by each other and all. They just like to help their buddies, like a clique.

I mean some are ok, they stay more neutral (think Dubé or Cantin) who for the most part are journalists, and then there are the "experts" like Gaston, who are just ex-players/coaches with no journalism credentials, who are there to prime their friends from the same Quebec hockey community.

Perfect examples: Gaston rating every players and the coach, giving MT (ex RDS) 97%. Or, every time they play against Calgary and go on about the amazing work Hartley (ex RDS) is doing.

That's why its so fun to see PJ Stock on l'antichambre, Its like their narrative is confronted by someone with an outside view.

Just the opposite but as bad.