Habs Blue Line Will Be Better This Season

After a deep cup run this past spring, many pundits were speculating that this team would have to “take a step back in order to move forward.” They expected the coming 2014-15 season to be a period of growing pains as the organization’s promising young defense prospects fully integrated into the lineup. I do not think this will be the case. With a few roster moves, Habs GM Marc Bergevin has left opportunities for the young guns to make an impact, while achieving an ideal balance on the blue line roster.

Right-handers and left-handers – equilibrium

The Habs started the 2013-14 season with just two right-handed defensemen on roster: P.K. Subban and Raphael Diaz. That meant that at least one of the left-handed players had to play out of position on the right side. The depth chart would have looked like this:

Nov 16, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) talks with teammate Andrei Markov (79) during the first period against the New York Rangers at the Bell Centre. The Rangers defeated the Canadiens 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Left Defense Right Defense

Markov Subban

Emelin Diaz

Gorges

Bouillon

Murray

This is a disaster in terms of balance. Diaz was hardly a top 4 defenseman, and Bouillon and Murray are hardly top 6 caliber. This imbalance forced coach Therrien to play Emelin on the right side, Gorges on the top pairing, and sub-par players in the bottom pairing. While Gorges and Bouillon brought all kinds of “intangibles” into the line-up, like leadership and fearless shot-blocking, the team is in trouble when those two make up your second power play unit. Then, there’s Alexei Emelin. Many observers found that Emelin lost a few steps last season and they wouldn’t be wrong. However, he was still reeling from that knee injury and off-season surgery in the summer of 2012. Add to that the fact that this imbalanced roster forced Emelin to play on the right side and one can begin to see why he seemed so average last season.

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A bright – and balanced future

I for one, expect to see Emelin provide a much stronger presence on the blue line this season, as he should be more comfortable back on his natural left side. We should see less positional errors from him, and more of those bone-jarring hip checks he impressed us with back in 2011, when he first donned the CH. With shiny new contracts in place for both Markov and Subban, and the acquisition of the offensively-capable Tom Gilbert, the Habs look to have a solid top 4 defense for the coming seasons. The team no longer has to rely on Markov and Subban to do all of the heavy lifting on the power play and in the offensive zone. With Mike Weaver returning to the roster (another right-hander), the team still has experienced defensive and penalty kill depth to make up for the loss of Gorges. Left-handed youngsters Beaulieu and Tinordi each still have a good shot at the roster for the start of the season. This means good, healthy competition for the sixth roster spot, guaranteed to be on a pairing with an experienced player who can help them through their rookie year. The depth chart now looks like this:

Apr 4, 2014; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center Zack Smith (15) is checked by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin (74) in the third period at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Canadiens defeated the Senators 7-4. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Left Defense Right Defense

Emelin Subban

Markov Gilbert

Beaulieu/Tinordi Weaver

In just one off-season, Bergevin has managed to cut loose some dead weight, retain his star players, provide competitive opportunities for future stars, and achieve perfect balance from right to left. The future is bright for the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge!

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