Tag: Dallas Stars

Focussing On The Silver Linings

Published on by rwtrask107532 Comments

By Bob Trask – A glance at the scoreboard after Montreal’s 5-2 loss to Dallas last night would seem to indicate a blowout. The last place team from last season had finally come crashing back to earth after a solid start to the season. But game scores don’t always paint a true picture of the game.

Slow Start – Strong Finish

After spending a lot of time in their own end early in the first period, the Canadiens continued their never-give-up attitude that has been a trademark of the team since Marty St. Louis arrived as head coach. While Dallas undoubtedly led the game in high danger scoring chances, Montreal had their fair share of puck possession and shots on goal.

The silver lining is that the team continues to play 60 minute hockey; their effort only ends at the final buzzer.

Follow the Bouncing Puck

My biased eye came to the conclusion that if a puck was going to bounce in favour of one team, that team would be Dallas. More than once, Montreal players could not seem to get a handle on the puck as in bounced around in the proximity of goaltender Jake Allen. It often seemed to find its way onto the stick of a Dallas forward and nowhere was that more evident than on the last goal by Joe Pavelski. At the other end of the ice, the Canadiens were a split-second late or slightly out of position to take advantage of the bounces. Give Dallas credit though, they made the bounces happen.

The silver lining is that not every bounce will go to the opposition in the future. I am sure the coaching staff will study all of these plays and help the players, particularly the young defenseman, how to improve their odds of making the safest play when the bounces go against them.

Rookie Mistakes

Arber Xhekaj

There was more than one rookie mistake on Saturday night and the one that stands out for many was the incident where Arber Xhekaj tried to engage Jamie Benn behind the Montreal net. It left Montreal at a disadvantage in front of Jake Allen and was one of the reasons Dallas scored on the play.

The silver lining to this is that the coaching staff uses these situations as teaching moments rather than benching moments. Xhekaj will either learn to play with a little more discipline or he will see reduced ice time if the trend continues. This is not picking on Xhekaj, who brings a lot of intangible to the Habs; the same applies to every player on the team when poor decisions are identified by the coaching staff.

Team Play

There is more than one way to win or lose a hockey game. One team can completely dominate another team, leaving the coaching staff (and the fans) wondering where to begin in an effort to become more competitive. Think of where the Montreal Canadiens were last year at this time, a team in total disarray. Teams can also lose by giving up a handful of scoring opportunities due to occasional poor decisions and/or unlucky breaks even though territorial play is somewhat even. In this case the breakdowns, where players strayed from their responsibilities, can be more easily identified and corrected. To me, that is what happened against the Dallas Stars.

The silver lining here is that, except for occasional lapses in play, the Canadiens held their own. For a team that did not have a lot of playing time together from previous seasons, a lot of good things happened and, for the most part, they played as cohesive units. It is now up to the coaches to identify the problem situations and help the players make the necessary corrections.

Still Some Tarnish

As much as I like to be optimistic, the silver lining still has some tarnish. The power play has been a non-factor and the penalty kill was exposed after Jake Allen couldn’t bail them out against the Stars. The young defense has had difficulties against a heavy hard forecheck and scoring remains a problem whether it is on the PP or at 5v5.

These are all things to work on as the team continues to develop and the coaching staff evaluates what they have to work with. Behind the scenes, Jeff Gorton, Kent Hughes and company are undoubtedly scouring the hockey world for talent and trade possibilities. On the ice, Martin St-Louis and his staff are working with the players to develop their individual and team skills while trying to build their confidence.

Going forward there will have to be some lineup changes as players begin to come off the injury list. As that happens the direction that Kent Hughes takes may help to remove some of the tarnish and allow the silver linings to shine through.

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What A Petry To Dallas Trade Could Look Like

Published on by JD Lagrange3 Comments

By JD Lagrange – As we are only two weeks away from the NHL Draft, rumours are picking up momentum. One of the hottest ones around Montreal is the one sending Jeff Petry to the Dallas Stars. This is not the first time that the Stars are linked to the Canadiens to get the veteran defenseman. And unless there’s an unexpected turn of events with John Klingberg, those rumours should persist until Petry is traded somewhere, anywhere.

Back in February, we reported the rumours of Dallas’ interest in the 34 year old Petry. Back on June 11th, Stars’ GM Jim Nill threw oil on the fire to make things flair up again, and the Pittsburgh Penguins entered the race as well. And just a couple of days ago, news came out that the Stars were also looking at replacing Alexander Radulov, who will be returning to the KHL, and Mike Hoffman could be added to the Petry deal. According to NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, five or six teams are talking to the Canadiens about Petry. Enter the Detroit Red Wings as well.

Cap situation

So what could the Stars and Canadiens be discussing? There are several variances of a few scenarios possible, of course. But there are only a few pieces of the puzzle that would fit into what both teams are trying to accomplish. For one, we know that the Stars are in a “win now” mode. Their core is aging with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin getting up there in age. The Canadiens are at the other end of the spectrum, having the first overall pick and trading away some veteran players.

Then, there’s the cap situation. As we know, the Canadiens are close to the cap, which is one of the reasons why they are looking at trading a few veterans. According to capfriendly.com, the Stars have a projected cap hit of approximately $63 million for 17 players for the upcoming season. That does not include pending RFAs starting goaltender Jake Oettinger and 40-goals’ scorer Jason Robertson. They do have cap space but not much, depending if they sign those players to bridge deals or secure them on long term contracts.

Potential pieces

At $4.5 million, Hoffman is a cheaper and younger alternative to Radulov, who carried a cap hit of $6.25 million. This makes sense for the Stars. Petry also has a $6.25 million cap hit, same as Radulov, but less than what Klingberg will be getting. For Dallas, those two players, cap included, makes a lot of sense. But that’s adding $10.75 million of cap.

Anton Khudobin

The Canadiens can help by sweetening the pot. The Stars had goaltender Anton Khudobin and his $3.33 million cap buried in the minors. In nine games with the Stars last season, the 36-year old had a 3.63 GAA and a .879 Sv%. In the AHL, he maintained a 2.55 GAA and .903 Sv%. Last year’s backup, Scott Wedgewood, is a pending UFA. The Stars could bring Khudobin back as the backup or… the Canadiens could take him and his one-year deal out of their hands. Perhaps Samuel Montembeault would be a good option for the Stars?

The other option for cap space would be the Canadiens taking 25 year-old Denis Gurianov as part of the return. The 6-foot 3-inches, 195 lbs Russian winger has a year left at $2.9 million before turning RFA. The number 12 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft has good size, skates well and owns excellent scoring instincts, but has yet to put it all together at the NHL level. He had 11 goals, 20 assists, 31 points in 73 games last season.

But the key piece for that trade would be the Stars’ first round pick. They are set to select 18th overall and the Canadiens would love to get their hands on that pick.

Hypothetical trade scenarios

So here’s a potential trade scenario. Add on one side or the other to make it work, but we’re talking center pieces here, not necessarily specifics.

To DALLASTo MONTREAL
– Jeff Petry ($6.25M – 3 yrs)
– Mike Hoffman ($4.5M – 2 yrs)
– Samuel Montembeault (RFA)		– 1st rd pick (18th overall)
– Mavrik Bourque (C)
– Anton Khudobin ($3.33M – 1 yr)

Within a few pieces, you have the base for a potential big trade for both teams. It is important to note that according to eliteprospects.com, the Stars have six prospects in the CHL with over a point per game, all listed as centers. So trading Bourque is trading from a position of strength and is not leaving the organization thin at that key position.

Whether it’s that trade, or a deal goes down with the Stars or any other team, it seems like Jeff Petry’s days as a player for the Habs will be coming to an end soon. One can only wish that Kent Hughes can maximize the return for him. Acquiring another younger top-4 right-handed defenseman, as he did in Justin Barron, would also go a long way into balancing the two sides of the defense.

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