Montreal Canadiens: The importance of roster stability
By Omar L
Ensuring a player has a role is a good way to ensure a team is getting the best out of them and the Montreal Canadiens saw some of that this season.
The Montreal Canadiens saw some of its players have improved seasons around its end. Alex Galchenyuk would raise his hand here. Instead of being bounced from centre to wing, the 24-year-old was being pulled up and down the roster. At times starting games on the fourth line, Galchenyuk seemed to be on the verge of having a bad year.
However, his play improved and he earned his spot in the team’s top-six.
There’s been plenty of evidence over the years on how important it is for a player to feel stable on their team. Knowing what their role is instead of fighting to find one brings out their best. Michael McCarron has been struggling to do that since being drafted and looked better, relatively-speaking, once he knew what his purpose was.
Victor Mete to an extent had issues there. After making the team from camp and debuting on the top-pair, Claude Julien bumped the 19-year-old to bottom pair. Facts or no facts, playing with Shea Weber is a lot better than Jordie Benn or David Schlemko. It made it worse when he would be made a healthy scratch.
This may be rubbing salt into the wound, but what Lars Eller said on his growth as a player is true.
"I feel at home with this team. I've had a clearly defined role. I've enjoyed playing in Barry's system. There are a lot of things that have come together for me... I have good support all around me and good stability." -#ALLCAPS Lars Eller on why he's enjoyed success w @Capitals
— Ben Raby (@BenRaby31) May 14, 2018
Then there’s this one…
Lars Eller yesterday, not exactly blowing a kiss to Therien and Bergevin:
— Arash Madani (@ArashMadani) May 14, 2018
“I definitely found my identity as a player that I maybe, when I was in Montreal, had kind of lost... I was just bounced around a lot — and I mean a lot — whereas I had a lot more stability here.”
However, it was two years ago when Eller was with the team. There shouldn’t be too much insta-switches on the roster as far as who is locked on the roster. The concern will be with the new faces in the organization such as Jake Evans or Lukas Vejdemo if they make it.
Moving them around, or any other young player who joins the team, will have negative effects on their development. Some need that once chance to show what they can do and it’ll be hard if they’re constantly moved around.
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