Roundtable: Several candidates who have a lot more to give on the Montreal Canadiens
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.
Omar White: Will have to go with Victor Mete for this one, but I also blame these on expectations. For the record, Mete hasn’t necessarily been bad, and this has nothing to do with the fact that he still hasn’t scored a goal for the Montreal Canadiens.
He has, at times, looked overwhelmed playing against top NHL competition. There are also some instances where he could be stronger on the puck.
Mete just hasn’t looked dangerous; however, his game on Saturday was a step in the right direction. He was getting shots on net and driving the net on offensive rushes. This is where Mete is at his best. I’m not sure if Claude Julien is telling Mete to cool that side of his game or perhaps he feels he has to do that while playing with Weber, but that’s a critical strength.
It’s alright to be selfish and Mete doesn’t have to be the Andrei Markov here and consistently try to set up Weber. He needs to shoot more and not second-guess his decisions, which happens enough to make a note of.
E: If I was writing this before the game against the St. Louis Blues, I would be saying Max Domi. Aside from collecting a small handful of points, I didn’t see that same spark that was there for most of last season. I changed my mind after the Blues game. A fired-up Domi is a threat to the opposition.
A player I would like to see more from and less in some ways is Tomas Tatar. The Tatar-Danault-Gallagher line was a top line in the NHL last season, but I think Tatar looked a bit off in some instances and was taking way too many penalties for a player of his role. That line looks like its finding its groove again, so I think that would help him get back to his playstyle from last season. The offense is there, he just needs to get the summer rust off.
2. Regarding the powerplay and the goals scored on it in the past 5 games, has it actually looked better or will it simmer down as the games get more intense?
KK: If you look back at all four of the Habs powerplay goals, they seem more like good fortune than excellent special teams play.
Tomas Tatar scored their first one against the Carolina Hurricanes, but he was gifted the puck in the slot thanks to an errant clearing attempt by a Canes defender. Jeff Petry was credited with a powerplay goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it came on a penalty shot. Joel Armia scored a PP goal against the Buffalo Sabres, but again, it was an awful turnover by a Sabres defender that gave him a chance from the top of the goal crease.
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Max Domi scored the fourth PP goal, and it was off a wild bounce against the Detroit Red Wings. Petry took a point shot that was deflected, bounced off the glass and landed in the crease. Domi found it before Wings’ goaltender Jonathan Bernier knew where it was and tucked it into the net.
Not one of their powerplay goals came from a classic setup and puck movement in the offensive zone. Until they can score a few off one-timers across the ice and pucks getting through from the point and tipped in or knocked in on a rebound, I’m not going to be too optimistic about their man advantage.
DD: We are currently converting at a 25% clip, good for 13th in the league, as opposed to last season, which saw us convert on only 13.2% of our power plays, placing us second to last in the league. Is this real? I have no idea, but I hope so. There’s no doubt that the man advantage looks improved. There is more movement, more chemistry and the coaching staff seems hell-bent on improving it this season, and so far, they have done just that.
It’s still a work in progress, but definitely, something to be happy about. The biggest issue last year was, without a doubt, our power play. A league-average power play would’ve seen us make the postseason. Just something to think about.
SH: The powerplay has definitely looked better this season than it did at any point in time last year. There is a lot more movement and unpredictability. However, it would be naive to assume that it can maintain a 30% success rate, it hasn’t looked quite that good. However, I would not be surprised if it were to end up in the 18-22% range, which is a nice upgrade over last season.
OW: Call me a nitpicker, but even though the Montreal Canadiens have managed to score on the man advantage here and there, I haven’t liked how it’s looked. They struggle to enter the zone and get into their formation, and when they do, it’s the same thing over and over.
The only player on the top planet who is a serious threat to shoot is Shea Weber. You can throw Max Domi into that hat as well, but the whole league knows what the Habs are trying to do. Because of the predictability of it, they know to block passing lanes getting to Weber while the penalty killers as a whole slowly move as a four-person unit towards the puck carrier.
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They know no one else on the ice is going to take a shot. That is a massive problem. The Montreal Canadiens need to start preaching more shots from everyone and from multiple locations in the offensive zone. And if they do choose to play hot potato, the passes have to be quicker and shorter to keep everyone, especially the goaltender, moving.
Watching the Buffalo Sabres powerplay almost brought tears because that’s what the Habs need to start doing. They have a number of finishers on those units who choose to pass, so the puck gets to Weber instead of trying to create something themselves. At this point, I wonder if taking Weber off the powerplay will help (half-joking).
E: I’m seeing more fluidity than there was during all of last season. The players are moving the puck well most of the time, and it leads to some good chances. However, I still see that overreliance on Shea Weber at times, which is worrying because the opposition is always expecting that. The worst instance of this was against the Buffalo Sabres in overtime. I could 5 passes back and forth to Weber, which eventually lead to a loss.
I think it has looked better and they should keep doing what works, but they should be careful not to slip into old habits. There improved possession during the powerplay can help them have more creative chances
On a side note, I think they should consider using Jesperi Kotkaniemi was the RW on one of their units. Shooting on his off-wing could be deadly.
3. What do you think the Habs should do with Cale Fleury after being scratched for three straight games?
KK: Cale Fleury should be sent down to the Laval Rocket if he is going to continue to sit in the press box. Sitting for a game or two is fine for a 20-year-old defender, but if they aren’t going to use him in the NHL lineup, let him suit up in the AHL lineup.
DD: It’s unfortunate to see Fleury not succeed in the limited games he’s played after having such a great yet surprising preseason. I think he deserves a chance to earn a spot on this roster and prove to the coaching staff that he has learned from his mistakes. With the pressure cooker on in the city of Montreal to not only perform up to standards game in and game out but also to make the playoffs, the margin for error is minuscule.
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Hopefully, he gathered his thoughts during these last few games and is ready to make a difference when reinserted into the lineup. We could use a young puck-moving defenseman with physicality on the right side of the bottom pairing, and he fits the bill. The time to prove his worth is now.
SH: There is no doubt in my mind that Fleury is better than both Mike Reilly and Christian Folin at this point in time and I believe he should play next to Chiarot on the third pairing as things stand, what a bruising pairing that would be! However, I also believe that Noah Juulsen is better than Cale Fleury right now, which condemns Fleury to be sent down once Juulsen regains his stride.
OW: There’s no use keeping a 20-year-old defenceman in the NHL to have him practice and watch games from the rafters. Regardless of the benefits of being around pros and all that jazz, Cale Fleury needs to be playing. He was taken out of the lineup in the first place due to issues he needs to work on, and he’s not going to improve in a suit and tie.
Fleury got a sniff of the NHL, but they should send him down to the Laval Rocket if this is going to continue. Let Reilly and Folin battle for a spot while Fleury gets key minutes on a Rocket team looking to do something special this season. That way, he’ll be even better next year.
He’s still a developing player, and the Montreal Canadiens need to understand that keeping him up in these circumstances will do more harm than good.
E: I have an underlying hope that the Habs are showcasing Christian Folin for a potential trade, as it’s the only plausible to be sitting Cale Fleury. On the hand, if Fleury is just sitting cause the coaching staff thinks Christian Folin is the best option, it would be best to send Folin to the AHL and give him some top minutes with the Rocket
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He had a solid preseason, and it’s a shame that we have only seen him play two games so far against tougher opponents and then sit for the home opener.