Always informative podcast by a no B.S reporter. I have watched all your podcast and hope you reach tour target goal of subscribers There is a small issue with NS who historically has started slow season after season. It was untypical for him to lose his stick. No one on this team deserves a pass more than NS on performance. There’s an issue that is confronting the Habs. Be it coaching, indifference, etc. whatever the problem is has to be addressed. Leadership does start at the top and passed to players. I for one don’t believe MSL is the right OVERALL coach, he is a great offensive development coach and could do wonders with prospects in scoring but as a defensive tactical coach he has not shown developmental programs. Prime example is Mailloux who continues to excel under the new Hybrid system in Laval but remains inconsistent when brought up to play the Hybrid system in Mtl. The Rockets this year have left their standard LAST PLACE position to be #1 with a developmental coach. Yet these same players when brought up to the Habs are unnoticeable
Thanks for the kind word, Rick. That new hybrid system in Laval is exactly what they are trying to use in Montreal. One of the major issues is that while in the AHL, the game is a bit slower and the system is more easily adaptable, while at the NHL level, it's more difficult to use. Video sessions, time and patience can resolve that. MSL is a fine coach. He needs to augment his defensive coaching staff, as I don't feel the Stephane Robidas is the right person to implement the hybrid system. Someone like Larry Robinson would be ideal for that job. It's only year 3 of the rebuild. This team will be fine, but needs to begin showing improvement instead of whimpering away.
@ thanks for the reply. That’s why people are noticing your podcast and yes your name is popping up on several Habs sites and the Gaztte. Good for you. Love to see Robinson contributing as an advisor though he mentioned his age is becoming a factor for full time work. Your thoughts about bringing in Markov as an assistant?
@rickwhiley Markov would be a good mentor for someone like Hutson but he's not ready to be THE defense coach, IMO. Another option would be Rick Green.
Coach do you think our hockey IQ or defensive awareness is strong enough on the Habs. I think not enough Habs are committed to play good defence. We seem too passive. More willing to block shots or get to loose pucks than to aggressively try and kill plays. We lose puck battles, lose coverage too easily, don’t cover for mistakes, concede the blue line, turn the puck over in our own end. No defensive system will be effective if we consistently do these things.
@jamessneddon9956 I don't think it's that low, but I don't think the lack of comfort with the current system is creating the need to chip pucks of the glass or flip it out of the zone instead of skating it up ice. We lose puck battles in our own zone because we are on the wrong side of the puck. Instead of positioning themselves between the net and the offensive player, they tend to be chasing the player too much. It's a minor but necessary adjustment.
Habs have been pretty meh for years. Price just covered up all their short comings. Now they have no Price or Roy level goaltending and you get a more true picture of what they are
Goalies get streaky. Yes Monty stinks, but so does Primeau. Some goalies are good enough to steal games frequently like Patrick Roy back in the day. These guys are not that. They need a good team in front of them and with all the confusion going on they are also confused. They are guessing they’re overthinking it and they are just not playing their game. All of that plus they are not the best goalies in the league. And you are absolutely right about goaltenders, relying too much on technique and not on natural ability. But this is the style they’re all being taught right now it’s garbage and it is being exploited like we’ve never seen goaltenders being exploited before.
Look getting Rookie coaches for a young team has proven disastrous for the Canadiens player development.Different management same reaults.These guts are talented what Happened?5he ciach list theroom and they are not going to sacrifice anything for this coach.His ending will come next blowout.Get an experience Coach and Not A Recycled One.
It's hard to find coaches that aren't retreads. Whether it's Andre Tourigny, Pascal Vincent or someone else, they don't have the experience as a player that MSL has. He's been doing a good job as far as bring the offence to life, and already vastly improved the power play. The problem is defensive transition and positioning. The players don't have the knowledge yet to play the new hybrid system the Habs are employing. But it will come with time, though I think adding Larry Robinson or someone of that ilk to the staff would be beneficial.
@nick.g4850 Dach needs time to get his timing back. Anderson, other that 1 season of 27 goals playing with Can Atkinson, has never really lit the lamp that often. He averages 16 per season. We need to temper expections on him.
@adamCarter20 The player's contract isn't his fault...neither is the 2 broken hands suffered by Weber shots. I agree on all the others, but Gallagher is the heart of the Habs. Lose him at this stage and it all implodes.
@@mtlhockeytalkI disagree, nobody expects him to score 27 anymore. Just put in a consistent effort. Hit, fight, block shots, add a spark. That is his role now and he is not playing it….most nights. Just sometimes.
MTL does NOT play man on man they play a drop back collapse ZONE coverage exactly the same way teams play the penalty kill.ZONE defense can be ok IF you still keep the distance to a minimum so that you can take away passing lanes AND able to get out and block a shot.The problem with collapsing so deep is that you give the points free time to step into shots and aim them you also give opposing forwards EASY passing outs back to their D becuase they are sooooo wide open. So the end result is we just run around like chickens with their heads cut off covering nobody and chasing the puck getting so tired that we have no transition game.
@galkanftw What you're describing is over-pursuit. And that happens when you play man-to-man. In a box + 1 D zone strategy, pursuing a player behind the net is unnecessary, since only a handful of players can actually score from that position. That would keep at least one defenseman at the net front, giving the collapsing forward a chance to cover the high slot and limit prime point shot opportunities.
They are NEVER going to be a tougher team with this current roster so that is not fixable. I was happy with 2/3 of the last 3 games I saw some better simple decision making but the last game was AWFUL it made me so mad I turned it off and went out for a jog. News flash EVERY single goalie in the NHL and coming to the NHL drop to their knees and give up the short side because they drop down. The amount of stupid decision in that last game was maddening I would find it impossible to THINK the game that poorly. The team has not improved a single area of the game I need to see improved in the ENTIRE rebuild.If anything I am seeing th eteam is playing WORSE wtf how is that even possible.
@galkanftw Gal, you don't have to be rude with the "news flash" comment. I am well aware that goalie immediately go down on their knees, which is why I made the comparison to playing goal in the 70-80s. Early butterfly style coverage encouraged goalies to remain standing against the post, to cover the short side & help maintain better angle coverage. Now, with the advent of the knee-down style of short-side coverage, goalie overshoot their mark, as I outlined, and loose their angles.
Fantastic episode. So many interesting points.
Good show!
Thank you
Absolutely right about the mid ice lane. It’s a joke
No. 1 G by default not by merit!
Always informative podcast by a no B.S reporter.
I have watched all your podcast and hope you reach tour target goal of subscribers
There is a small issue with NS who historically has started slow season after season. It was untypical for him to lose his stick. No one on this team deserves a pass more than NS on performance.
There’s an issue that is confronting the Habs. Be it coaching, indifference, etc. whatever the problem is has to be addressed.
Leadership does start at the top and passed to players. I for one don’t believe MSL is the right OVERALL coach, he is a great offensive development coach and could do wonders with prospects in scoring but as a defensive tactical coach he has not shown developmental programs. Prime example is Mailloux who continues to excel under the new Hybrid system in Laval but remains inconsistent when brought up to play the Hybrid system in Mtl. The Rockets this year have left their standard LAST PLACE position to be #1 with a developmental coach. Yet these same players when brought up to the Habs are unnoticeable
Thanks for the kind word, Rick.
That new hybrid system in Laval is exactly what they are trying to use in Montreal. One of the major issues is that while in the AHL, the game is a bit slower and the system is more easily adaptable, while at the NHL level, it's more difficult to use. Video sessions, time and patience can resolve that.
MSL is a fine coach. He needs to augment his defensive coaching staff, as I don't feel the Stephane Robidas is the right person to implement the hybrid system.
Someone like Larry Robinson would be ideal for that job.
It's only year 3 of the rebuild. This team will be fine, but needs to begin showing improvement instead of whimpering away.
@ thanks for the reply. That’s why people are noticing your podcast and yes your name is popping up on several Habs sites and the Gaztte. Good for you. Love to see Robinson contributing as an advisor though he mentioned his age is becoming a factor for full time work. Your thoughts about bringing in Markov as an assistant?
@rickwhiley Markov would be a good mentor for someone like Hutson but he's not ready to be THE defense coach, IMO.
Another option would be Rick Green.
Coach do you think our hockey IQ or defensive awareness is strong enough on the Habs. I think not enough Habs are committed to play good defence. We seem too passive. More willing to block shots or get to loose pucks than to aggressively try and kill plays. We lose puck battles, lose coverage too easily, don’t cover for mistakes, concede the blue line, turn the puck over in our own end. No defensive system will be effective if we consistently do these things.
@jamessneddon9956 I don't think it's that low, but I don't think the lack of comfort with the current system is creating the need to chip pucks of the glass or flip it out of the zone instead of skating it up ice.
We lose puck battles in our own zone because we are on the wrong side of the puck. Instead of positioning themselves between the net and the offensive player, they tend to be chasing the player too much. It's a minor but necessary adjustment.
You hit the nail on the head about Montembeault. He cannot steal a game. Also not steady.
Habs have been pretty meh for years. Price just covered up all their short comings. Now they have no Price or Roy level goaltending and you get a more true picture of what they are
Then end of what ????????????????
End of the "in the mix" possibility. Listen to the whole show...you'll get the gist.
Goalies get streaky. Yes Monty stinks, but so does Primeau. Some goalies are good enough to steal games frequently like Patrick Roy back in the day. These guys are not that. They need a good team in front of them and with all the confusion going on they are also confused. They are guessing they’re overthinking it and they are just not playing their game. All of that plus they are not the best goalies in the league. And you are absolutely right about goaltenders, relying too much on technique and not on natural ability. But this is the style they’re all being taught right now it’s garbage and it is being exploited like we’ve never seen goaltenders being exploited before.
Look getting Rookie coaches for a young team has proven disastrous for the Canadiens player development.Different management same reaults.These guts are talented what Happened?5he ciach list theroom and they are not going to sacrifice anything for this coach.His ending will come next blowout.Get an experience Coach and Not A Recycled One.
Sorry "lost the room"
It's hard to find coaches that aren't retreads. Whether it's Andre Tourigny, Pascal Vincent or someone else, they don't have the experience as a player that MSL has. He's been doing a good job as far as bring the offence to life, and already vastly improved the power play. The problem is defensive transition and positioning. The players don't have the knowledge yet to play the new hybrid system the Habs are employing. But it will come with time, though I think adding Larry Robinson or someone of that ilk to the staff would be beneficial.
I think Anderson and Dach have serious issues.
Lots of work for Kent Hughes, we need to move out dead weight.
Armia, Gallagher (don't care how well he's playing, that contract is awful) Savard, Anderson, Dvorak, Matheson all need to go!
@nick.g4850 Dach needs time to get his timing back. Anderson, other that 1 season of 27 goals playing with Can Atkinson, has never really lit the lamp that often. He averages 16 per season. We need to temper expections on him.
@adamCarter20 The player's contract isn't his fault...neither is the 2 broken hands suffered by Weber shots.
I agree on all the others, but Gallagher is the heart of the Habs. Lose him at this stage and it all implodes.
@@mtlhockeytalkI agree
@@mtlhockeytalkI disagree, nobody expects him to score 27 anymore. Just put in a consistent effort. Hit, fight, block shots, add a spark. That is his role now and he is not playing it….most nights. Just sometimes.
Montreal is not going anywhere, rebuilds take time. If you are a real fan you stick with them no matter what.
Got that right, gonna be at least 7-8 years for them to go anywhere
@@JudyPitcher Well said, Judy. Patience will yield success
MTL does NOT play man on man they play a drop back collapse ZONE coverage exactly the same way teams play the penalty kill.ZONE defense can be ok IF you still keep the distance to a minimum so that you can take away passing lanes AND able to get out and block a shot.The problem with collapsing so deep is that you give the points free time to step into shots and aim them you also give opposing forwards EASY passing outs back to their D becuase they are sooooo wide open.
So the end result is we just run around like chickens with their heads cut off covering nobody and chasing the puck getting so tired that we have no transition game.
@galkanftw What you're describing is over-pursuit. And that happens when you play man-to-man.
In a box + 1 D zone strategy, pursuing a player behind the net is unnecessary, since only a handful of players can actually score from that position.
That would keep at least one defenseman at the net front, giving the collapsing forward a chance to cover the high slot and limit prime point shot opportunities.
They are NEVER going to be a tougher team with this current roster so that is not fixable.
I was happy with 2/3 of the last 3 games I saw some better simple decision making but the last game was AWFUL it made me so mad I turned it off and went out for a jog.
News flash EVERY single goalie in the NHL and coming to the NHL drop to their knees and give up the short side because they drop down.
The amount of stupid decision in that last game was maddening I would find it impossible to THINK the game that poorly.
The team has not improved a single area of the game I need to see improved in the ENTIRE rebuild.If anything I am seeing th eteam is playing WORSE wtf how is that even possible.
@galkanftw Gal, you don't have to be rude with the "news flash" comment.
I am well aware that goalie immediately go down on their knees, which is why I made the comparison to playing goal in the 70-80s. Early butterfly style coverage encouraged goalies to remain standing against the post, to cover the short side & help maintain better angle coverage. Now, with the advent of the knee-down style of short-side coverage, goalie overshoot their mark, as I outlined, and loose their angles.
boring