Currently 10th in the NHL with four shootout goals (in six attempts), Parenteau is blessed with skills and talent, but like Briere, he is not the kind of player that Michel Therrien prefers. As we all know, Therrien is fond of defensively responsible players, which is why Lars Eller and Dale Weise get so much playing time despite their limited offensive production. If you are too creative with the puck, you get a slap on the wrist.
Now, with the Canadiens struggling to put the puck in the back of the net, Parenteau's agent, the talkative Allan Walsh, went public yesterday to urge the Canadiens to put him back into the line-up in order to spark the Habs' sputtering attack.
Montreal is goal starved and PA Parenteau with 196 pts over the previous 4 NHL seasons is a healthy scratch.
— Allan Walsh (@walsha) March 11, 2015
"We saw the tweet from his agent and that made us think seriously about bringing him back to the lineup," a tongue-in-cheek Therrien said after confirming the winger would return for a game Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.Well, it seems like Michel Therrien learned about Walsh's comments this morning as he decided to dress Parenteau tonight against Ottawa at Bell Centre. The skilled winger will finally be used as an offensive weapon on the team's second line alongside Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk. When he was acquired in the off-season by GM Marc Bergevin, that was certainly not to be used on the fourth line or to watch games from the press box.
A former offensive dynamo alongside John Tavares and Paul Stastny, Parenteau recorded 56 goals and 107 assists for 163 points in 209 games between 2010 and 2013, three seasons during which he was 100% healthy. That's 0.78 point per game during that stretch, which would give him 52 points this season if he had played all games with an elite playmaker and had avoided injuries.
Well, instead of trusting the skillful winger with über-talented players such as Max Pacioretty or Alex Galchenyuk, Michel Therrien preferred to use him on the team's fourth line with grinders such as Manny Malhotra and Michael Bournival: a recipe for disaster. Still, the offensive-minded forward must display more passion, grit and determination on the ice to show that he's hungry and ready to contribute to the team's success.
The Canadiens are currently ranked 22nd in the NHL with only 171 goals scored (2.51 GPG), the lowest of all 16 playoff teams as of today. On the other hand, thanks to the brilliant play of netminder Carey Price, Montreal is ranked 1st in the league defensively with a mere 144 goals allowed (2.11 GPG).
The proverb says that defense wins championships, but it doesn't hurt to be able to score more than two goals a game on a consistent basis, especially in the gruelling NHL playoffs.
It's time to seize your opportunity Pierre-Alexandre, and prove your detractors wrong!
Do you think that the PAP is the solution to the Habs' offensive woes?
7 comments:
After tonights 5-2 loss to Ottawa, I saw a post on the TSN site that I thought was revealing, the guy said he almost wished he were a Leafs fan and not a Canadiens fan these last 2 decades, as with the Leafs, you always know what youre getting *losing(, while Montreal sometimes has these really good regular seasons, then crash land come the playoffs, and the disappointmrnt is greater.
PA Parenteau is useless, and ask yourselves, if the Habs top center , David Desharnais was with another team, what player or draft pick would you give to acquire him?? That should scare the daylights out of Habs fans.
Galchenyuk should have been groomed long ago for center . This guy has talent and Therrien is letting him waste away . It's pretty obvious almost 70 games in that Therrien has no clue how to find and make Montreal's offense click this includes the PP ....The GM needs to add some offensive help to the coaching staff and he needed to add it yesterday .
When was the last time the Habs had an All Star calibre foward, mabe Saku Koivu. Too long ago if you ask me.
Honestly, if you were a top scoring free agent, would you want to go play with Montréal, if Therrien is in charge? There's a reason that Sekac, Bourque, Brière, Parenteau, Eller, DD, Pleky and many others would be good scorers elsewhere.
As long as Therrien is in charge, good scorers won't flourish in Montréal. MB should only trade for defensive forwards, from this point on.
Anonymous 16/3/15 10:13PM - Patches is an All Star calibre forward, though, I don't think Therrien has anything to do with that. Patches plays well with DD, can score short handed, and has a great ±. In watching the last handful of games, the Habs have been getting breakaways, 2 on 1s and more, just not scoring. Hopefully, they'll get better "puck luck" in the playoffs.
Time to change the article fellas BTW IF Therriens style is defense how come the Habs give up so many shots on goal?
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