Montreal Canadiens: Salvaging Joseph Morrow’s Game

Joseph Morrow has been an interesting presence on the Montreal Canadiens and has made his mistakes, but obviously there’s something the team sees in him.

You may have come to this post thinking, “This guy is just going to tear Joseph Morrow to shreds in 1000 words or less”. That thought did cross my mine once, twice, or five times. Morrow’s time on the Montreal Canadiens has had a few positives, but many negatives.

That’s what makes it worse for him actually. It’s not like he’s making the random out-of-the-blue errors, but they are significant game changing ones. Because of that, the good things he has done are being overlooked and for many disregarded.

Morrow made a great play to the front of the net during the Boston Bruins game. Him sending the puck there allowed Brendan Gallagher to score and get the Habs on the board. Unfortunately, that was ruined with a turnover behind the Canadiens’ net which led to a goal.

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He also had the primary assist on Eric Gelinas‘ power play goal against the New Jersey Devils. Morrow may have held on to the puck for a little too long, but he was able to get it to Gelinas on the point for the blast. Again, that was overlooked because of a series of turnovers he had both in the defensive and neutral zones.

The past game against Ottawa was worse for him. There was no offensive feat to help ease the pain of an overall terrible game. Montreal was being outplayed as it was, it didn’t help that Morrow had dangerous turnover in front of the net that thankfully was stopped.

So we have a young, former 1st round pick that is gifted with offensive ability but has a tendency to make a couple of mistakes every night. Not really what you’d want in an NHL defencemen. As it stands now, some, if not most, of the Habs fan base don’t want Morrow either.

Helping Morrow Get Better

Despite all of his mistakes, Claude Julien still seems to be optimistic that he can improve. He’s mentioned before that he believes Morrow has untapped potential. If anyone would know, it would be him considering he’s coached him in the past.

So playing devil’s advocate, can we say that Morrow might be doing too much? He’s trying to make plays and generate offence, but at the same time attempting (emphasis on attempting) to stay committed to the new system. Obviously at the moment it’s failing, but there’s a chance that he can improve.

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It’s the simplest thing really, and it the best way for Morrow to get better lies in a word I used in this sentence: Keep it simple. One of the main reasons why high drafted defenceman have to spend a lot of time in the minors is because they struggle finding a balance between offence and defence.

Obviously some stand out and don’t require so much time, but it is a trend to be patient with developing blue-liners. As of right now, Morrow will be cut from camp soon and hopefully play with the Laval Rocket. The best way for him to do better there is to play with a defensively responsible player to help get the confidence to play effectively.

Once that is set, there may be room for him to use his offence more. The same goes for if he’s ever called up to play. Pairing him with a guy that screams defence is the only way to go.

It’s too bad that he doesn’t have a lot of time. The Montreal Canadiens only signed him to a one-year deal. Either he gives the Habs a reason to keep him around, or he becomes a free agent again in July.

Anyway you look at it, there’s a reason why he was drafted in the 1st round. He hasn’t been able to unlock whatever that reason is at the NHL level, but hopefully time in this organization can help with that. It wouldn’t be the first time a diminished prospect found success on a new team.

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Do you still have hope in Morrow? Is there anyway his game in the Montreal Canadiens organization can be saved? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.