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Roundtable: Several candidates who have a lot more to give on the Montreal Canadiens

By Omar L

BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 9:Ben Chiarot #8 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his third period goal during an NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on October 9, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - OCTOBER 9:Ben Chiarot #8 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his third period goal during an NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on October 9, 2019 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Montreal Canadiens
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 10: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Discussing who on the Montreal Canadiens has more to put out there, the state and performance of the powerplay, and whether Cale Fleury should be sent down.

1. Which Montreal Canadiens player would you like to see more out of so far this season?

Ken MacMillan: I would like to see more out of Ben Chiarot. He was a big free-agent signing and was supposed to step in and play a shutdown role next to Jeff Petry on the second pairing. He has that in common with Karl Alzner, who was supposed to do the same thing.

Unfortunately, he skates a lot like Alzner and has struggled to mesh with the fast pace at which the Canadiens play the game. I’m hoping a few more games lead to more comfort and confidence, and he can be a reliable second pairing defenseman.

Dillon ‘Dom’ Dominique: The first player that comes to mind would be Paul Byron. He hasn’t played horribly but doesn’t have the same spark, as he did last season. He is still very effective in the defensive zone, an area he excels in, but he could stand to improve offensively. He currently has one assist and is a minus one through five games.

Part of the reason could be the role in which he has been deployed. He is averaging only 13:34 minutes a game in a 4th line role, the lowest average since joining the Montreal Canadiens back in 2015. It’s early, so I don’t expect this funk for lack of a better term, to last too long.

Sebastian: There are a few contenders for this one. Tomas Tatar has scored two goals but needs to get a grip and take fewer penalties… I guess I want to see less of him in that sense. Nick Suzuki looked primed to break out after an excellent preseason but has been unable to create much offense, and Paul Byron has seemed slightly off. However, it is Victor Mete who needs to step up more than anyone else right now.

He is – yet again – being given a golden opportunity: playing alongside Shea Weber. Unfortunately, Mete just does not seem to be a top-four defenseman at this point in time. I am not asking him to explode offensively, or even to score that long-awaited goal, I just want him to prove me wrong when I say that he may need another conditioning stint in Laval.

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