Player Study:Erik Cole

Before I start, I must address my scheduling. In the “3 Things. Volume IV” post I said I’d be posting three times a week. Tuesday, Sunday and Friday. I soon realized those days are bunched up in the week, so in an attempt to space out the posting days, I moved the Tuesday post to Wednesday (hence, I’m posting on Wednesday instead of Tuesday) After consulting with Steven, he said It’d be better if I posted on Tuesdays because he doesn’t post on Tuesdays and there are always top 5’s on Wednesdays. So furthermore, I’ve decided to post Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. I will implement this change after the regularly scheduled Sunday post. (meaning my next post will be on Friday) I hope that cleared up any confusion. Now, let’s get this Player Study started.

Today, we study a new guy, not some one I know too much about. Mostly because he has never played a game as a Canadien, so the most I can do is read up on him. Even then, I wouldn’t be forming my own opinion of him. What I do know is that, he is a good 2 way faorward with decent size and offensive ability. Today we study one of the lone off-season acquisitions, Erik Cole.

As I said before, I don’t have a very solid opinion on Erik Cole, so I decided to get a second opinion. I asked the lead writer, Steven some very basic questions on Erik Cole here is what he replied with.

When I say “Erik Cole”, what comes to mind?

“Inconsistent…power forward…strong…Hurricanes.”

What will his role be in Montreal?

“He will probably compete with Andrei Kostitsyn for a spot on the second line.”

How effective will Cole be this season?

“He will make less of an impact than everyone thinks he will. I predict that his point total will be almost identical to that of Andrei Kostitsyn.”

Are you content with his contract?

“No, not at all. I think he should be somewhere around $3.5M. If he puts up points like Kostitsyn, then they should make about the same amount of money.”

Not exactly thought invoking questions, so please forgive me. I have to say, like Steven, I’m not exactly sure why Cole is worth a $4.5M/year cap hit, when out top players, like Plekanec and Cammaleri are worth $5M. (In case your wondering Cole’s contract is worth $18M over 4 years, which also see him making $6M this upcoming season) If only he had an amazing 70+ points season, then we’d have nothing to complain about.

Although I don’t agree with his contract, I am most definitely not saying he was a bad pickup. He is a player who has qualities Montreal desperately needs. He is a big power forward who hits anything that moves, and to boot he has great offensive instincts, allowing him to score 50+, potentially 60+ points in a season. It’s more than safe to say that Cole is very welcome in Montreal. At least now he can help to balance out all of the shrimps.

Unfortunately, no matter how many positives any one player could have, there will always be at least one downfall to their game. In Erik Cole’s case, he is plagued by a history of injuries, including a very serious neck injury similar to that of Max Pacioretty. In this negative, a positive can certainly be found. Because Cole successfully returned from a major neck injury, he could potentially act as a mentor to Max Pacioretty.

Injury seems to be a very common theme in Montreal these days. “If they stay healthy…” can be heard a lot. Even if it’s been said countless times before, it is still so true: If the major players on Montreal stay healthy (Cole, Markov, Gorges etc.) We’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

Even if Cole doesn’t put up stellar numbers, just having his size and strength present, will give Montreal a better chance at winning this year. I’d love to know what my fellow Habs fans think of this off season pickup. So tell me what you think of Cole in a comment or you can tweet me @JScaresHabs