• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Subscribe
  • Log In

Recrutes

Recrutes: Hockey scouting from a professional perspective from Grant McCagg and Habs coverage from a 33 year veteran covering the NHL from Brian Wilde.

  • Home
  • Habs Content
  • Rocket Content
  • Draft
    • 2023 NHL Draft Rankings
    • 2022 Recrutes NHL Draft Guide
    • Recrutes’ First Round NHL Draft Study
    • Draft News
    • Past Draft Guides
  • News & Notes
  • Video
  • Archives

Proudly Sponsored By

Call Of The Wilde: Pressure Mounts

October 19, 2017

By Brian Wilde

Wilde Horses

– Victor Mete is simply a revelation that you can’t say you’ve seen going back 38 years in the NHL. That’s as far as Grant McCagg went in his research to try to find another player taken in the late rounds who made an impact as a 19 year old in the NHL. You had players like Drew Doughty but he was a high pick. Someone making the league at 19 drafted around 100th? Doesn’t happen. Until this kid. First period and he was simply text book on the 2 on 1 rush. He lays his stick down. He keeps the forward to the outside. Takes the pass away and offers the bad angle shot. Simply perfect. Another moment he goes back and dummies the forward he’s going to take it behind the net. Instead he moves to the corner and with his skating leaves the forward in the dust. He’s incredibly smart. He’s better than most veterans intelligence wise. The odd time you see a strength issue on the cycle but it isn’t anything you don’t see other defenceman have trouble with. Add to that, the Kings are probably the heaviest team in the league or maybe the Ducks who are up next and if Mete were to struggle with physical issues, it’s right here in California. So far so good. The odd moment he’s lost battles but not in any meaningful way. His final totals in a 5-1 loss was an Even night as he was not on the ice for any one of the goals and some 22 minutes of ice. Impressive.

– Alex Galchenyuk took two penalties in the first but let’s not worry about what he can easily change. Instead let’s concentrate on the move to the right wing with Pacioretty and Drouin. Excellent from Galchenyuk as he saw the puck in the first a number of times. He had two quick chances but didn’t convert. Drouin seemed to have some vision with him. He had some low moments but so much better overall from Galchenyuk and the line was better too. Listen, let’s keep this all simple. If you think the Habs are going to find success with him on the fourth line, you’re crazy. They’ve signed him and he’s one of the key players who has any natural offensive abilities. If you leave him to die on the vine, you die with him. You won’t as a team score enough goals this season to make the playoffs, if he has six goals at the end of the year playing on average nine minutes a night.

– Danault with Byron and Shaw was a line that was so good that Shaw looked better than he has all year. Engaged and aggressive, this is the Shaw who is hungry to get to the dirty zones. If he’s worried, he can’t play. He needs to be on the edge and dangerous. Shaw with his best this season.

– Paul Byron with a huge effort in this game. You could just feel his hunger. He dove to strike the first goal in the game. He must have gained 15 feet on his opponent to get a partial breakaway.

– Charles Hudon was good again. Seems he should have broken through by now. I like his courage around the net. He’s not a big man but he doesn’t play timid. He’s getting smacked around quite a bit when he fights for positioning near the crease. He’s creating so well. It will come.

– Joe Morrow may be an answer on the power play second unit. Morrow was good on the entry. He was a first round draft choice and you can see it was that skating speed and ability to carry the puck that carried him to that top selection.

– Al Montoya with a solid start. He was calm and ready. He was still like you usually see Carey Price but not right now.

 

Wilde Goats

– Max Pacioretty needs to get more looks. The puck is not finding him. He is not finding the puck. An entire game without Pacioretty getting even a sniff at the goal is common this season. That can’t continue. Pacioretty has had fewer looks than I can ever remember. If he is around the goal and firing, you know there’s no issue. This isn’t that. Pacioretty is not around the goal. He’s not taking shots. He’s not even touching the puck. That’s what I know. Here’s what I don’t know. Why? One take is that he is best off the rush and that is now a problem because the defenceman who could feed him on the rush are gone to other teams. I don’t know. They don’t either and they will need to figure it out. You can’t do this without Pacioretty.

– Drouin and Pacioretty together doesn’t seem to work. They don’t see each other for whatever reason. They don’t hook up. They don’t connect on passes. Pacioretty was with Danault last year and that seemed a better match than this. Drouin has been quite surprisingly good defensively but surprisingly average offensively. He’s got some points on the board but I expected a little more. But my expectations are on me I suppose.

– The game was lost on a terrible pinch from Jordie Benn to allow a 2 on 1. The pinch was such a high risk-low chance attempt that it shocks me that he tried it. The chip off the boards by the Kings was way before he arrived on the scene so it was just Morrow trying to save the day. The Kings took the lead and that’s all she wrote these days for the goalless Habs. Benn shouldn’t have been in. Davidson was playing great. Benn has not been. Simple.

 

Wilde Cards

– David Schlemko’s problem with his hand never made sense to him, the organization or anyone paying attention. It was said it was a bruise and they kept thinking that it was going to be soon that he returned to practice. He tried a game in Laval last Friday and played well but the next day there was a problem again. Clearly they hadn’t found something bothering him that kept flaring up. He missed the road trip suddenly and there was no word on his joining his team. Wednesday all of that ended with an important discovery – a bone fragment was loose in his hand. He needed an operation. They didn’t see it in the beginning. It happens. I understand it. You have to have had a mystery ailment that doctors couldn’t find like I had for years to know it is great news when they finally find something and they’re going to have surgery to take care of it. A much worse scenario is constant pain for months, even years, and a knowing that something isn’t right. In that scenario, you can’t play up to your level and no one ever believes that there’s a problem. You keep hearing you’re fine and you go get out there and you know that you couldn’t possibly be fine. For Schlemko now, this is a second lease on life. The operation sets him back only three weeks and when he returns he actually will feel good again. He can be at his best. It’s not uncommon to not find the health problem right away. Don’t place any blame on Habs doctors thinking modern medicine is so advanced that everything is always revealed in a moment. Some problems hide and only in time can they be isolated. Be thankful this player can be at his best in three short weeks. It could have been a season of frustration instead coming in and out of the line up managing pain and playing poorly with reduced mobility. Three weeks. This is a Godsend instead. Problem solved. Carry on.

– The chorus is getting louder to fire Marc Bergevin. Personally, I think this is ridiculous as he has had four seasons of five over 100 points. That puts him eighth in the NHL over that span. He took over a team that had the third worst record in the league. However, fans want results. They want a cup. They recite that the Habs have a horrible record of no cups since 1993. This is also true of 20 other NHL clubs who also gone 24 years without a cup, including all Canadian teams. The Blues joined the NHL in 1967 and they’re still waiting in Missouri. That’s my take. It’s hard. There are no guarantees. He’s made some blunders, of course, as every GM has. However, his blunders aren’t Scott Gomez or Marian Gaborik. They’re fourth line experiments that often flop and you move on with no big loss. When it works you get Paul Byron and you look pretty good. That’s my take. That there is no way that a 103 points GM gets fired. However, others see a roster mistake like Streit and Hemsky and think it is a fireable offence. Which is the truth? Is Bergevin close to being fired? If someone says he is, don’t believe them. Only one person knows and he’s not talking in a true honest way to anyone about it. If you’re not Geoff Molson’s friend then you do not know. Only he makes this decision on the GM along with his close allies. Does Molson watch the game and have a short fuse or does he have a pragmatic attitude that winning is hard and the Habs have been pretty successful the last five years? I have zero clue. I don’t even want to guess. There’s no way you can get inside Molson’s head to know. If you start making predictions, you’re inside your own head projecting your own beliefs. One man’s decision; the rest is noise – a lot of useless noise.

– Three points out of a possible 14 these season. It’s way too early to write even the first line of an obituary but if it is American Thanksgiving and they’re not in the playoff picture the Draft portion of our web site will be getting a lot of new traffic wondering which high pick is coming to Montreal. It’s the year of the defender. The Habs could use one or three.

About Brian Wilde

Brian Wilde has worked in hockey since he was 20. He was the rink side host for the Edmonton Oilers at CTV and Ottawa Senators for Sportsnet. He was also lead reporter on the Montreal Canadiens for 17 years at CTV Montreal.

View all posts by Brian Wilde

  • Marvin Matthews says

    October 19, 2017 at 1:45 am

    The team is looking like “the great pretender” in the “year of the defender.”

    • Jr says

      October 19, 2017 at 12:02 pm

      The team management dresses well and Price got those points for Marc Bergevin. Without Price his at best below. .500. Every year since he took over he has made the team worse… playoffs do not lie…

  • lamoroso says

    October 19, 2017 at 2:33 am

    thanks for your COTW! The situation is slowly getting embarrasing but I still have faith in the team! Once they come back from this trip, it is time to make some changes in the roster. I’m sure that a couple of AHLers are willing to play for the Habs (and bring more offense/defense).

  • Patrick Moss says

    October 19, 2017 at 2:40 am

    Fire Bergy? Maybe not. That wouldn’t be fair. And he has had some successes for sure. But let’s not mince words. His last 18 months have been awful. AWFUL. The PK trade was awful (sorry Grant and Brian, but it is. No matter how good Weber is, no matter how you want to spin it, he’s not as good for the young, fast, modern, puck-moving game as PK, and he doesn’t give what the Habs need). The Shaw trade was awful (sorry again Brian. You touted this one early on, but the 2nd rounders Timmins wanted in 2016 – Girard and DeBrincat – would fill high-end skill needs that the Habs are crying out for right now). The ‘Ghetto trade was awful. Letting Radu and Markov go for nothing was awful. Replacing them with Hemsky and Streit was even worse. Laying waste to his D and saying it’s better this year than last year is both awful and cynical / arrogant. The ONLY moves he made that might turn in his favor are firing Therrien (too little too late) and trading for Drouin (we shall see). And I’m sorry Brian, but it’s disiningenuous for you to say Bergy’s failures are just 4th line experiments that often flop. Bergy has some pretty big failures IMO, all in the past 18 months. No Gomez? That’s a low bar. Now his team is stuck.

  • tprigi says

    October 19, 2017 at 6:56 am

    Team is not going to recover from this nightmare October. Playoff hopes fading and fading fast. Habs are a lottery team. that 9 mil on the cap will not save this season. This roster is small. Soft and washed up. 5 more months of misery forthcoming

  • Chris Loreto says

    October 19, 2017 at 7:28 am

    I am not a GM or have any experience in that area but I play the game and I have played it all my life and even to my untrained eyes, MB’s plan had flaws.
    First he never seemed to have a fixed plan, like Shanahan with the Leafs. It was about youth and draft picks and then it became all about Carey.
    However any Cup contending team has more than just the goalie to rely on, there is the need for offense and just as importantly a strong puck moving D.
    I will not dwell on the Subban- Weber trade but since the trade Montreal has lost all its puck moving D and have replaced them with slower, more immobile personnel. This has affected the breakout, the transition game and the end result scoring. Replacing stallions with mules in a league that is getting faster and faster was a ridiculous thought. Compound this with an offense that was never a bright spot in the past and you have what we have today.
    I am glad we did not re- sign Radulov but his puck carrying ability helped Max, because he did all the heavy lifting. MB did not replace that and although Drouin is an upgrade, he is not that type of player and he can’t do it alone. So MB has to stop telling us how hard it is to be a GM and just go do it. To me this team , unless drastic changes are made this team is going nowhere. Why not try the youth- it is working elsewhere – and what do we have to lose?

  • Stewart Dowbiggin says

    October 19, 2017 at 8:34 am

    Bergie is a problem and possibly only because the NHL game has continued to change so quickly since he took over and he refuses to move with it. I know I sound like a spoiled Habs fan but 100 point seasons are not hallmarks of worthwhile seasons any more….Blues, Capitals etc…especially when you have the resources the Canadiens put at the disposal of their GM. I say he is “A” problem because, as you say, the Gauthier era set a pretty low standard and that may make Bergevin’s work look better. The fact is he’s known for quite a while–three years or more–scoring has been a problem which he’s tried to solve with patchwork. He’s also ignored a glaring issue with player development; Galchenyuk, Beaulieau stand out, but it’s obvious in general that players with up side on offence don’t bloom with his regime.
    Loving the site, wish we’d have been able to see your work with a winning team and hoping for that November bounce back you predicted!

    • Brian Wilde says

      October 19, 2017 at 12:10 pm

      Great comments everyone and while I don’t agree with everything I sure do appreciate the maturity and spirit that these comments are presented with.

  • robert watson says

    October 19, 2017 at 10:14 am

    Molson signed him too early to an extension so he won’t fire him and eat the contract and Therrien’s.But we can do better than Bergevin and if decision to rebuild do you want him to do it?
    Don’t think so.

  • Serge Levy says

    October 19, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    Habs schedule is rough (10 road in first 15) Road games are not easy, shooting % is abnormally low, Save % also not where it should be, but still results should be better.
    There is a point where the coach has to make decisions, choose his best players, put them in the Top 6 and play them a lot. as of now who is in the top 6? no one knows! Its like pre season has not ended.
    Morrow, Davidson, Streit, Hemsky FAILED to make the team on merit. Yet they made the team. Where is the accountability? Are players getting ice time based on their hockey ability or their whining ability?
    Seems Claude Julien is more interested in being liked than COACHING. Claude, get a spine! Play your best players, F… the feelings of the others!

  • Nick Jurich says

    October 19, 2017 at 7:30 pm

    Quite a bit of online chatter about firing Bergevin however I’ve yet to see any suggestions regarding a replacement GM. Unlike a midseason coaching change, switching GMs in Oct. won’t have an immediate impact on the on-ice results, that’s on the players/coaches to figure out.

    At the end of the day I’m guessing it’ll take team direction philosophical differences between Molson and Bergevin for a managerial change to take place, not a slow start. There was an unconfirmed report about 3 years ago saying Molson overruled Bergy on PK’s contract during the arbitration hearing, stepping in and advising Marc to get the contract signed. I don’t think it was proven either way but I tended to lean towards the rumours being true. Fast forward a year and a half later before the no-trade clause kicked in and I pictured Marc saying to Geoff “we’re about to be locked into a 9 million dollar player for the next few years, are you still sure about this” and Geoff replying “oh boy, 9 mil is too steep for that kind of commitment, I shouldn’t have stepped in during your previous negotiation, see what you can get done…” I always got the impression, since that rumour, that Molson wasn’t the kind of owner that meddled. Who the heck knows though, at the end of the day it’s all pure conjecture.

  • GMan says

    October 19, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    On offense, it sure doesn’t look like Julien has found the best combinations… so change things around until you have.

    You mentioned Danault seemed to have some chemistry with Pacioretty, but Radulov was the guy hanging onto the puck & being the playmaker on that line. The one guy who can take on that type of role, even if with a completely different style, is Hudon. Hudon & Danault are also very tight and showed some chemistry. Put Pacioretty on RW, will be in a better shooting position IMO.

    Hudon-Danault-Pacioretty

    Try 2 creative guys together, see if their creativity clicks. Both guys are suspect defensively, give them Lehkonen who can play the 200-ft game.. Galchenyuk and Lehkonen can play both wings, whichever side left-right allotment works best.

    Galchenyuk-Drouin-Lehkonen

    Play around with the bottom 6, but time to waive/release Hemsky and bring up Deslauriers.. which will inject some fight/passion in the lineup. Also, time to use DelaRose regularly.. and really only use Mitchell sparingly.
    I would also consider using Morrow on the wing at some point, he has skill & speed.. just no defensive awareness playing the D position.

    Byron-Plekanec-Gallagher
    Deslauriers-DelaRose-Shaw

    On defense.. seems we have our 1st pairing. What is killing us right now is the 2nd 10M$ pairing, they really need to get it together, it’s on them to work themselves out of it.. if they like they’re capable of we suddenly have a solid top-4. Then once Schlemko is back, use him with who is playing best. (hint for Claude: right now that’s Davidson, not Benn).
    If #6-7 falter mightily.. bring up Lernout.

    Mete-Weber
    Alzner-Petry
    Schlemko-Benn/Davidson

    And Price, like many of his teammates.. is simply better than he’s shown so far, he’ll bounce back too.

  • Primary Sidebar

    Recent Articles

    Recrutes Mid-Term Rankings

    Mailloux Having a Blast

    Sawchyn Shines at Top Prospect Game

    Mesar, the Playmaking Tsar

    A Swiss Army Knife Defender

    InStat
    Please visit our sponsor!

    2022 Draft Guide

    Valley Snapshots

    Click Above To Order!

    Valley Snapshots

    Valley Snapshots

    Click Above To Order!
    • Home
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us

    Copyright © 2023 · Recrutes.ca. All rights reserved