Three Montreal Canadiens players quietly excelling

While the Suzukis and Kovalchucks of this world have all the media attention this season, three of the Montreal Canadiens are subtly excelling.

The vast majority of articles concerning the Habs published in the past few weeks have focused on the three biggest storylines of the 2020 Habs: Ilya Kovalchuk‘s renaissance, Carey Price‘s resurgence and whether the Canadiens should be sellers come deadline day. This is all well and good since the topics are all very much worth exploring and analyzing. However, the sheer amount of such articles can make them bland and repetitive.

This got me thinking as to how I could do my small part in combatting the barren landscape that is Habs news during the bye week. I came to the conclusion that a few of the less flashy but thriving members of the CH deserve a shout out for their hard work.

I published a similar article around this time last year, and the players I went over were: Joel Armia, Brett Kulak and Andrew Shaw. Armia truly broke out this season, and were it not for two minor injuries, he could very well be at the top of the team’s goalscoring charts. Kulak has struggled to replicate last year’s performance and has found himself watching his teammates from the press box on 15 occasions.

Shaw was traded back to the Chicago Blackhawks right before free agency along with a 7th round pick in exchange for a 2nd, a 3rd and a 7th. Since then, he has played in 26 games, recording 10 points. Unfortunately, he suffered yet another concussion and is unlikely to return this season. I, for one, hope he focuses on recovering and takes some time away from the game; health is more important than hockey.

First up, we have the Dutch Gretzky.

Dale Weise made a name for himself during his first stint as a Habs and became a fan-favourite due to his speed, playoff production and a series-long feud with then Bruin Bruiser Milan Lucic. Since then, he has been traded to the Hawks along with PTO Tomas Fleischmann for a certain Philip Danault and a 2nd round pick, which would eventually turn into Alexander Romanov. However, Weise failed to see the same success in Philadelphia – where he signed as a free agent following his stint in the windy city – only scoring 34 points in his three-year tenure.

Weise returned to Montreal in a trade last season and was held pointless in his nine appearances in the Tricolore during the playoff race. He started this season with the Laval Rocket and scored just 7 points in 27 AHL games. He only received a call up because the Canadiens’ winger corps has been decimated by injuries this season with Jonathan Drouin, Paul Byron, Joel Armia and Brendan Gallagher all missing significant time.

However, despite his unproductive season in Laval, he has looked right at home on the right-wing of the Claude Julien‘s fourth line alongside Nate Thompson and Nick Cousins. The 6’2″ Winnipeg native is by no means the same 29 point scorer he was five years ago, but he has retained the same work ethic that made him beloved amongst Habs faithful. Furthermore, Weise demonstrated his passing ability against the Vegas Golden Knights by assisting both of Nick Cousins’ tallies, the first of which featured a beautiful no-look backhand pass to the slot.

Weise has 3 assists in his 9 NHL games this season and has surprisingly good possession metrics as well, with 52.1 CF% and 53.3 FF%. This is impressive since his centreman for those 9 games has been Nate Thompson, whose possession metrics are underwhelming: 47.8 CF% and 49.8% FF%. What all these stats reveal is that the fourth line has been better since Weise joined it than it had been without him.

While Dale Weise is in no way a flashy player who will tally double-digit goals or dazzle you with his stickhandling ability, he went from being an NHL reject to thriving as a fourth-line winger in the matter of a few weeks. Of course, the sample size is small, and he may fall off soon, but I, for one, am happy to have the Dutch Gretzky back in our lineup!

Marco Scandella was acquired from the Buffalo Sabres on the 2nd day of the new decade for a 4th round selection. This trade was paired with a deal seeing Mike Reilly head down the Trans Canada highway to Ottawa for a 5th and an AHL body.

The Montreal native stepped right into a top-4 role with the Habs and has been a stabilizing presence. While his stats are as unimpressive as an NHL referee turning a blind eye to a blatant high-sticking call (0 pts, 8 PIMs, minus-2, 48.9 CF%, 46.7 FF% in 9 games), the eye test tells a very different story.

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Firstly, Scandella has not had lady luck on his side, hitting the post with a surprisingly powerful slapshot on two occasions since his arrival in La Belle Province. More importantly, however, he has helped organize this team defensively. He is replacing potentially the most defensively challenged Canadiens defenseman of the past decade, which could make just about any NHL-calibre defenseman look good. With Scandella, Claude Julien finally has a #4/5 defenseman he can trust with defensive zone starts and against bigger opponents (he’s 6’3″).

Scandella’s most important contribution to the team is on the penalty kill, however. Since his arrival, the Canadiens have taken 26 penalties; the opposing team has managed to score on just two of those occasions, meaning the penalty kill has operated at 92.3% efficiency since Scandella’s insertion to the lineup.

Given the fact that our penalty kill had been successful, a measly 76% of the time before Marco Scandella’s arrival, this is quite the accomplishment. Our penalty kill now ranks 21st in the league at 78.9%, nearly three full percentage points higher than it was on January 2nd. While the acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk rightfully holds the spotlight, Scandella has been very effective during his short time in a Habs sweater.