posted by habsbloggergirl
Every year we think we have it bad injury-wise. Players drop like flies on a daily basis. Last year was out of the ordinary in that department for the Habs, but it almost seems like this year is going to top it.
We have not been having an easy time, starting from day one when Markov went down. We lost (in my opinion) the most important player on the team, and although we did have other capable defenseman, losing Markov was heartbreaking. We not only lost a great player, but a leader, and someone who is greatly respected among his teammates and the fans.
However, our remaining defensemen have played incredibly hard to make up for Markov’s absence. In fact, I doubt anyone would disagree with me when I say that Roman Hamrlik is the Canadiens’ unsung hero thus far. He logs an unbelievable amount of minutes for a 35-year-old, and he plays as though he’s 10 years younger than he is, but with the added bonus of wisdom and the fact that he makes very few mistakes, if any. He almost seems to know what’s going to happen before it does, and he’s arguably the best 1-on-1 defenseman we have. He has a calm demeanour on the ice that most others do not, and you can tell he thinks things through very carefully before he does them, but never hesitates either. Without him, I honestly believe we would be lost; another season down the drain.
It’s strange to me that when Jacques Martin initially picked his alternate captains, he didn’t include Hamrlik among them. But I suppose there are a lot of leaders on the team, and it was a tough decision. It’s strange to think that of the three he chose (Markov, Gionta and Gill), all three are, or were in the case of Gill, injured. Now that Cammalleri wears an “A”, I often worry that he may eventually suffer the same fate (though obviously I seriously hope nothing will ever happen!!). If Hamrlik is the defensive hero, then Cammalleri and Plekanec are the offensive ones, having really dragged this team to their current position in the standings. In fact, it irks me that Gomez’ lack of production is being rewarded by an inexplicably high salary, when Plekanec, who is making about 1/3 of what Gomez is, has more than double the amount of points. And I doubt we’d be able to get rid of Gomez at this point, because honestly what team in their right mind (other than us apparently) would take on a 70-point-per-year player for $8 million a season?
Anyway, another positive this season is goaltending. Now I know that there are A LOT of Halak haters and Price haters out there, and this bothers me to no end. They are BOTH good goaltenders. They BOTH have the confidence of their coaches and teammates. They clearly get along and work well together, motivating each other along the way. So we need to deal with the fact that they BOTH play for Montreal. I don’t understand why everyone seems to think it needs to be one or the other and that there are no other options. People keep talking about what’s best for Carey or what’s best for Jaro… Personally I think what’s best for them is that everybody stop fighting over which one is better than the other… AND I don’t understand why everyone thinks that we SHOULD be thinking about what’s best for either of them in the first place! Instead we should be thinking about what’s best for the TEAM (which they are currently BOTH a part of). They have each done a lot for the team this season, and without them we would not be where we are.
My favourite thing about the 2009-2010 Canadiens is that they rarely go down without a fight. Yes, there has been the occasional blow out game, but most of the time each player plays their little heart out every night or at least gives some effort – something we haven’t always seen in the past. I miss a lot of the 2008-2009 Habs: Koivu, Kovalev, Higgins, Lang, TK. They were good guys, and I especially missed Saku at the centennial celebrations the other night. But, I think we have finally started to move on, and that this group of mismatched misfits is finally starting to forge an identity, something they may have been missing for most of this season. Good things happen in cohesive groups, and hopefully when Markov returns (which I’ve recently heard may be sooner than we thought) we’ll be fighting for our playoff spot (or division title, who knows! Buffalo is only 6 points ahead of us), and showing the rest of the NHL that Gainey’s so-called “chemistry experiment” worked.
Right on the money on all counts (division title? I guess we can dream….)! SO there are sane but dedicated Habs fans out there (besides myself :-P). Nice one, and thanks.
I love unsung hero posts.
I agree with you that Hamrlik has done a good job with filling in for Markov, although nobody can truly replace Markov.
I don't know where to find the particular stat, but at one point Hamrlik was near the top of the league in giveaways, which has been the team's achillies heel. But he's mostly been able to cover up for his mistakes.
Up front, no doubt Plekanec and Cammalleri have led the charge – with style. It's disappointing that Gomez has not lived up to his end of the bargain despite his pay (which we all knew about when we took him on).
That said, my unsung heroes among the forwards has been Travis Moen and Glen Metropolit. They've given everything they can on every night.
As for the team as a whole – considering the injuries I think they are slightly over-achieving. The so called experts said that if the team can be around .500 when Markov came back, they'd be in the playoff conversation. So now Markov is about to return, and the team is .500 – despite dealing with far more than just Markov's injury.
This team has frustrated me though. Some nights they look like a hard-working, determined bunch that can beat almost anyone. Even in defeat, there have been nights that I've been proud of them. But on at least 11 nights that I can count, they've been downright awful (even though they managed to win some of those games).
If I had to put 5 guys on the ice and call them my "unsung team", here they are:
Metropolit/Moen/Pacioretty (hmm…the 3rd line!)
Hamrlik/Gorges
@Stef – lol wishful thinking I know, but anything I guess… :D Thanks for the comment, I'm glad you liked it!! :)
@Kyle – It's true about Hamrlik… I think the first couple of weeks without Markov were an adjustment period. He's doing a lot better now (though one goal tonight was a 2-on-1 that he was the 1 of haha and it wasn't completely his fault obviously, but it just turned out badly.
You are right about Moen and Metropolit definitely. Metropolit especially has been amazing (other than his penalty at the inopportune time the other night). And Moen really works hard all game too.
It's true, they are doing pretty well considering… the only problem is that there is such a small amount of points between 5th and 14th in the conference that almost anything can happen. We're in 8th yet the Isles (who are in 14th) are only 2 points behind us. We'll see what happens when Markov returns, and I'm hoping Gionta will come back before the Olympic break as well…
There have been some bad games though definitely.
I really like your choices! I agree definitely… the 2nd (I consider Plekanec's line the first now, Gomez and co. are definitely the 2nd) and 4th lines are really useless at this point, and the first are the "known heroes" i guess lolll. On D i find most of them have been good… other than Bergeron (great on the power play awful on defense). When Markov comes back hopefully they'll convert him to a forward permanently. O'Byrne has had a bit of a tough time lately, but I think he'll be okay.
Anyway sorry for the long post haha! Needed a break from studying. :P
Good article!!
I agree with most everything you said about Hamrlik. I would have a hard time choosing Hamrlik and Spacek for the title of unsung hero. For me, it would go to Spacek given that he was more of an unknown when the season began.
It seems that Spacek and Hamrlik have excelled on different nights which has benefited the Canadiens.
But it has been Spacek that has been given the tough one-on-one tasks against some of the leagues best players, like Ovechkin.
Spacek and Hamrlik have been so solid together that it makes me wonder if its best to keep the pairing together even when Markov is back.
Markov was at his best when paired with Komisarek so its not out of the question to put the Canadiens most physical defenseman, O'Byrne with him.
On the subject of the Centennial, I'm glad that you mentioned the exclusion of Saku Koivu. I agree that the Canadiens could have done a better job recognizing his contribution. Koivu was missed.
Thanks :)
I actually completely agree with you on the Hammer-Spacek front. If it ain't broke…
Spacek really is doing a great job.
And you're right Markov-O'Byrne, or even Markov-Gorges (who played really well together when Komisarek was injured) would be good matches.
Then Mara or Gill with the one who he doesn't play with, and Bergeron forward.
And yes, with Saku, I really thought it would have been nice if they had asked him to come (maybe they did and he refused, who knows), but as a long standing captain, especially the outgoing captain who still means so much to everyone, I really thought he should have been more present in the ceremony (if not in person, in some other way).
Koivu was playing on the night of the centennial so he wouldn't have been able to be there in person. He was included in the tribute video but I felt that more could have been done.
Gordie Howe carried out Richard's #9 jersey so that he would be part of the evening. It was a touching. Koivu could have been included in a creative way as well.
Oh okay I hadn't checked to see if he was playing! Smart!
I completely agree… maybe they could have done something with Beliveau since they were the two most longstanding captains…
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