Habs’ Dale Weise Underrated Fourth Liner

Dale Weise is a Canadien “golden boy.” In his 2 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, the 27-year-old right-winger has shown a great improvement when it comes to putting points on the board. During the 2014-15 season, Weise collected 10 goals and 19 assists as well as 2 goals and 2 assists in the Eastern Conference finals. Not only has he shown that he’s good offensively, but he’s also has a knack for scoring when it counts. That’s not too bad at all for a guy on the fourth line.

However, is the fact that Weise is sitting on the fourth line stopping him from improving with better players? Has his talent gone unnoticed? After a good talk with Habs fans during the week, the answer has been found and today I’m going to tell you why the “Dutch Gretzky” is underrated.

Let’s start with stats. I’ve said before that it’s not only points that count when it comes to guys like Nathan Beaulieu but when it comes to guys like Dale Weise, the more points the better.

During his three seasons with the Swift Current Broncos, he picked up 111 points (51 goals, 60 assists). After his time with Swift Current, he headed over to the Hartford Wolf Pack where he picked up 111 points again (57 goals, 54 assists). Weise seemed to struggle during his short time with the New York Rangers, where he grabbed nothing. However, his first season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 gave him the chance to pick up 4 goals and 4 assists, and his time with The Netherlands’ own Tilburg Trappers in 2012 bounced him back up as he generated 48 points (22 goals, 28 assists).

The pattern of helping out offensively in the minors versus helping out offensively in the NHL is a strong one, which makes you wonder if Weise is getting the proper ice time he should have which leads me to the next point: talent.

Weise is a hard-working player who’s very fast on the ice. He also scores well and plays well above what he’s earning as a 4th liner when you look at the amount of goals he puts up and the amount of goals the Habs generate when he’s on the ice. At one point, coach Michel Therrien put enough trust into Weise to let him play on the top line with David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty for a large portion of the 2014-15 season, which helped improve his stats from the 2013-14 season.

While anyone playing with Pacioretty would grab a good amount of points, we’ve seen the patterns he’s shown in the WHL, AHL, and the HLND. So, why does he seem to still struggle a bit in the NHL and with the Canadiens? It’s best to take a look at who he’s being paired with on the ice.

Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

During the 2014-15 season, the Habs had the Prust-Malhotra-Weise line up. While Weise provided high energy and scoring opportunities with Brandon Prust showing he’s an assist king and great on the penalty kill, Manny Malhotra struggled to keep up with points. He is overall exceptional during faceoffs, but struggled to generate enough points to help out the team.

That wasn’t the only problem with the lineup. Weise is known for his vocal leadership as well as setting good examples for his team. Prust hit the team on an emotional level and was a proud leader. He wasn’t afraid to open his mouth and say what was on his mind as well as winning fights and battles for the puck on the ice. Overall, Weise and Prust together was a goldmine.

With that said, the problem still came back to Malhotra. During his 58 games with the Habs, he was only able to grab three assists and one goal during the Eastern Conference finals. This seemed funny because as a two-way forward, Malhotra still seemed to struggle in the defensive and offensive zone.

However, Malhotra never really bounced back from his eye injury in 2011 when he played for the Canucks. There was also not enough chemistry between Malhotra and his line-mates and we all know that if there’s not enough chemistry between you and your teammates, the work you submit will be watered down.

The next and final topic is ice time, something that Weise should be getting enough even as a 4th line player.

Someone who should be on the ice in desperation when the Habs are in need of a tie up or just one point on the board is definitely not Weise. He is a guy for big moments, but let’s face it: Weise is given solid ice time when the Habs are in a bit of a dump and everyone raises their hands and says, “It’s all on you now, buddy. Save us.” They may not say that word for word or say anything at all, but it’s similar to the Carey Price effect in which you have that one solid guy or maybe even two who never fail to help pick up a team when they’re starting to fall to pieces.

The average ice time Weise gets in a game ranges from 10 minutes to 17 minutes. To some, that may seem like a lot but when you break it down that’s only about 5 to 7 minutes over 3, 20 minute periods. For the talent Weise does have, that’s not enough time for him to show it off and prove that there’s more to him than just being there for depth.

“Bergevin told me, “You know what, when I was (assistant general manger) in Chicago, we tried to get you.” That’s huge, from going in Vancouver, where you’re at the bottom of the barrel, to being told you are wanted. It was validating.” – Dale Weise

Overall, Dale Weise shows signs of having many positive skills. He can kill penalties, make big hits to support his team, provide offense in a pinch, and produce memorable moments. However, these skills are not being used to their full ability, so what’s the solution?

For now, all Weise can do is work hard, put pucks on net, and hope that his skill and potential become noticed enough to bump him up to the third line. He’s not the Wayne Gretzky of the National Hockey League or a carbon copy of Guy Lafleur. But when the puck comes his way, he puts his hands to good use.

What are your thoughts on Dale Weise? Do you think he’s one of the most underrated Habs players? Is his permanent spot still on the 4th line? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!