It’ll be a new season for the Montreal Canadiens, but it also may be Alex Galchenyuk’s last shot to prove to management that he can be a top-line center.
“The Montreal Canadiens need a number one center”. How many times have fans heard that one? What makes it worse is that it’s true. All Stanley Cup winning teams have had a top-line center and overall solid center depth. If the Canadiens ever want to have a real shot, they’ll have to improve in that department.
There’s been constant question marks around the whole thing, especially when it comes to Alex Galchenyuk. The 22-year-old has been on the Montreal Canadiens for the past five seasons. He’s only been giving a legitimate shot as the team’s top center for one of them.
Coincidently, that year Galchenyuk was on the top line, was also the same year he had his best point totals. During the 2015-2016 season, Galchenyuk played with Max Pacioretty and finished with 30 goals and 26 assists. The season as a whole didn’t go as well for the team, but his success was a definite silver lining.
The following season started just as well. If you think back to his first goal of the season, it was everything you’d expect from a center. Galchenyuk had an effective back-check in his own zone to force a turnover which eventually led to a goal.
He was having the season of a life-time with 23 points in 24 games. However, the knee injury he sustained in December derailed the hot streak. The re-aggravation of it didn’t help either.
Related Story: Galchenyuk Will Score 30 Goals Again
Claude Julien Era for Galchenyuk
Claude Julien hired was a great thing for the team overall and the fans were more than happy with the decision. The only one who may not have liked the experience was Galchenyuk. Julien gave him a chance on the top line as the center again in their first game against the Winnipeg Jets. Unfortunately, that “experiment” didn’t last too long and he was taken off.
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That would be a common occurrence for Galchenyuk for the rest of the season. He would rarely play center, and when he did it would be lower in the line-up. In fact, Julien started Galchenyuk on the fourth line in the playoffs, while Phillip Danault was the number one.
This was one of the decisions that Canadiens fans weren’t happy with. However, if you watched the way Galchenyuk played, you could get an understanding as to why it was happening. The defensive coverage wasn’t always best for him. Additionally, his numbers in the face-off circle weren’t very impressive either at 42.7%.
Now obviously the knee injury was still at hand. Perhaps Galchenyuk didn’t give it enough time for it to fully heal, but he was nowhere near the same player that started the season. One thing to keep in mind is that Julien never saw that. He was still with the Boston Bruins when Galchenyuk was in “23 points in 24 games” mode. All he got was, “probably not fully healed yet” Galchenyuk.
Giving Galchenyuk Another Shot
We all remember the infamous words made by management at the end of the season. It was heavily implied that they didn’t see Galchenyuk as a center. Julien continued to emphasize how important being committed to both ends of the ice was to play down the middle.
“Ideally, we’d love to have [Galchenyuk] play center. You have to be good at both ends of the ice and you have to be responsible.” -C.Julien
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 24, 2017
Personally, I think this was done to light a fire under him. There’s too much talent there to not give Galchenyuk one more chance at center. It’s possible that Danault takes another step forward and is able to play top-line minutes effectively, but he lacks the offensive skill that Galchenyuk does.
Related Story: Season Expectations for Phillip Danault
Julien needs to start Galchenyuk at center next season, and he needs to keep him there. It’s going to be a long process, but Julien has to be willing to work with him at it. It wont do Galchenyuk any good for him to be stripped from his position whenever he makes a mistake. That wont help him grow.
The Montreal Canadiens will be getting “23 points in 24 games” Galchenyuk at the beginning next season. If he remains healthy, then hopefully they can get that from him all season.
The ball is in Galchenyuk’s court. It’s up to him to decide where he will play for the next three seasons on the Habs. If Julien can’t get him to where he wants him to be, then Canadiens fans may never see 27 down the middle again.
Next: Past Players Given PTOs on the Canadiens
Do you think Galchenyuk will be given another shot at center? Can he remain there the whole season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!