The Eller Assessment

Expectations were broken as quickly as they were made and such is the story of the still young career of Lars Eller.

At first he was overlooked because he was coming in off of the Jaroslav Halak trade and with the hype on Halak, it was hard to have any kind of proverbial noise around him in spite of hoping for the best in said return. Next it was a case of a kid that showed glimmers of brilliance –including a four goal game, capped off with a penalty shot spin-o-rama against the Winnipeg Jets– in 2011-12 while much of the rest of the team was being dragged through the mud by the horrendous anchor that was Jacques Martin. Most recently it was a young man on a vengeful warpath to make an impact after missing the 2013 post-season and to bring that kind of production to this past season; which is exactly what he did during the early portions of the season.

Due to his play tapering off as time went on, many went from expecting that he would be paid top six money to speculating what kind of return a trade involving him would hopefully command. Minds would once again change as Lars Eller lit up the score sheet in the 2014 playoffs and suddenly his production warranted thoughts of a bridge contract for somewhere in the neighborhood of an even two million dollars or possibly even a bit upwards.

True to his case of expectations going from one end to the other at about the same clip that the puck often does in a fast paced game and environment in the Bell Centre, Lars surprised everyone by signing a four year deal for a total amount of $14,000,000. With the surprise comes the usual debate and controversy from being called a brilliant maneuver to being “too much money” for the young Dane.

Is it too much money? Is it not top line money? The answer to both is as follows: NO and YES.

It is a deal identical to that of often first line center David Desharnais and his story of the same deal coincides perfectly with that of Lars Eller. Take a moment to remember the early portions of the season where little Davey struggled so mightily against his production level and the scrutiny coming along with it as even the mayor of Montreal suggested that he be supplied with a bus ticket to Hamilton. This is far less than any controversy Lars has faced thus far but Montreal’s Mighty Mouse would answer the bell and Lars is clearly capable of doing the same himself.

Is anyone complaining now about top line Davey? He neared the 60 point mark this past season and if not for early season struggles, he surely would have done so again. What criticism does he face now? Is he still too small? He does not bear an intimidating stature but it surely played in his favor as he bulldogged his way through the riddled with size Boston Bruins in a shifty and skillful manner that larger players simply are not physically capable of. That play, by the way, set up Pacioretty’s game seven winning goal that saw Tuukka Rask’s save attempt result in him looking like he was making a snow angel at the side of his crease.

How about Lars Eller? While he is not exactly 2013 draft pick Michael McCarron in terms of size, he continues to add muscle with every passing off season. For those that buy into the hype/myth of the Western Conference supposedly being a superpower because they have relatively large players that can both play a big game and still skate, it would be wise to do what is necessary to keep Lars Eller as not only did he come from a team in the west but also because he plays that supposed style of game. Would that not ensure a trip to the Stanley Cup final every year by said logic? Would this team not need a whole bunch of players just like Lars Eller? The length of his deal will hopefully become prevalent when over the next four years he continues to post playoff numbers much like he did this year.

How do Desharnais and Eller coincide? It has been documented here in the past that Lars Eller’s struggles began as soon as Desharnais’ struggles ended. Lars had top line minutes, top line shifts on the man advantage and produced accordingly with top level wingers, as would (and should) be expected. Why Lars, though? Why was he the one to suffer? The conversation, speculation would say, went something like this.

“Well, Davey is back to top form and needs those top minutes but that means that someone has to sacrifice his first. Do we take them from Plekanec? No, he’s paid his dues, is a prime age player and is one of the most proficient players this team has in all three zones. Do we take them from Chucky? Wait, we can’t even really put him at center as it is so that’s a non-factor. The fourth line isn’t really a consideration here so how about Larry? Yup, give him Larry’s top line on even strength and power play even though he, Gally and Chucky are basically point per game players right now.”

Everyone on this team is in the same boat in the white water rapids that is Montreal in this league but poor Lars was left without a paddle.

With his physical presence and continual growth, though, if he continues to sharpen his mental skills, he will be everything this team wants, needs and expects him to be. Plekanec might be around prime years but is not getting any younger and if Lars and Davey can have identical deals and set a real price point while Galchenyuk inevitably rises to the top line, the top of the forward depth chart and dare to say the top of the league, this team’s concerns at center –if they’re not already– will be zero.

If there is any kind of belief that Lars is on a bad deal here, remember how much more Desharnais had to deal with and how that panned out. Lars has all of that plus the physical gifts to live up to the hype. How established was Pacioretty when he got deal? Is that or is that not the best contract in the league today? As for bridge contracts, P.K. Subban is just coming off of exactly that and now he is just days away from a trip to the bank that will require no gas or even a vehicle; the only fuel he will need to get there now is laughter, just as it was expected.

As a result of a longer commitment than a bridge contract for The Great Dane, remember this when before long this team has a top line player for a fraction of the cost.

For All About The Habs,

@HabsIcon