Wednesday Ramblings: Plekanec, the PK and Desharnais

Every Wednesday we’ll look at semi-established themes over the past week, developing ones, and any other plots or irregularities that jump out.

Another week, another undefeated record. The Canadiens have strung together three straight victories since last week’s ramble to bring their record to an astounding 7-0-0. It was neat last week, but I believe I can upgrade the adjective to wonderful. So, that’s wonderful, Montreal.

The Turtleneck Warrior

He currently has 5 goals through 7 games this season and has scored at least 20 goals in seven of his past eight complete seasons; he managed 14 goals in the lockout-shortened ’12-’13 season. He’s missed an inconsequential 12 games over the past nine seasons. Plekanec is the No.1 C on this squad, regularly between Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher on the Canadiens’ top line while he also remains a valuable asset on both special teams units. He’s a staple on this roster.

This brings me to his worth. Tomas Plekanec signed a two-year contract extension with the Canadiens on October 16th worth $12 million. This keeps him with his only NHL team through the 2017-18 season. His $6M AAV is the 3rd highest dollar amount on the Canadiens.

The Habs had a 70-point Plekanec for $1.6M and he was still the leading scorer during his 1-year deal in 2010 at $2.75M. Following that, the Habs managed to lock him up for a very generous $5M AAV over 6 years when we can all agree he was certainly worth more. He was, and is, easily the most reliable C on the club. It’s fair to say he could have been at $5.5-$6M AAV over those 6 years.

Should he have been given a raise at this stage of his career? Probably not. I don’t see him developing any further; Plekanec will continue to play smart, unfailing hockey.

The Habs are saving money in some areas, and overpaying in others. It’s going to happen in the NHL. If anyone is going to be “overpaid”, Plekanec is a suitable candidate. The way I see it, he’s getting some retroactive loyalty pay over the next two seasons for a total of an extra $2M (arguably an amount he should have received on his previous deal). Given the length of the contract and the fact that it expires at the same time as the six-year, $39 million contract of goaltender Carey Price, I see nothing wrong with shelling out this money for the most dependable 2-way forward the Canadiens currently employ.

Let’s just hope Price doesn’t eventually want any retroactive pay. Also, what’s the opposite of retroactive pay and can we get it from Scott Gomez?

Shorthanded Brilliance

There are a handful of aspects of this current explosive start that have me a little skeptical about just how good this Canadiens team is. One that I don’t worry about, and I don’t see regressing, is their Penalty Kill.

On top of the many other statistical categories these Canadiens lead, they’re also the best penalty killing team in the entire NHL (tied with the Anaheim Ducks) at a success rate of 91.7%. They’ve been among the best over the past 3 seasons, but two things have really jumped out at me over the first 7 games of this season.

This edition of the Canadiens, so far, is limiting their opponents to far fewer total shot-attempts against per 60 minutes of shorthanded time (Corsi) as well as the fewest amount of SOG against per 60 minutes. The drop from upwards of 95+ shot-attempts against per 60 minutes to 82 is substantial.

To what do we attribute this? Teams not quite firing on all cylinders early in the year? Or does it have to do with the decrease in shorthanded time-on-ice for Andrei Markov and Alexei Emelin, as well as the removal of Travis Moen and Brandon Prust from the top unit and team altogether, combined with the increased SH TOI for P.K. Subban and Jeff Petry with Plekanec and Pacioretty forming the top PK duo? I suspect it’s the latter.

Markov’s SH TOI has dropped significantly from last season, which will benefit the Habs in the long run as well as seemingly the short run. This will allow him to remain rather fresh throughout the season in the hopes that he’s able to continue through the playoffs on top of his game. Plekanec, Pacioretty and Lars Eller have garnered the majority of the penalty killing duties up front.

Proper Play, Admirable Attitude

This is a first for me in probably my entire Habs-watching life. I’ve been impressed with David Desharnais (to a degree).

It’s never easy to be demoted. Whether you’re playing in the NHL, sitting at your desk job or delivering pizzas, having responsibilities ripped away from you always strips something from your confidence and self-esteem. But for Desharnais, it hasn’t seemed to faze the kid whatsoever.

The Habs are still seeing more than 50% of the shot-attempts with Desharnais on-ice, and he’s still seeing the same amount of offensive zone starts as he did the previous handful of seasons. Generally speaking, he’s being deployed almost identically in this 2015-2016 season.

Excluding the massive difference in talent on his wings, there is one drastic change: his total TOI per game (and on a lesser scale, his PP TOI). Long gone are the days the diminutive centre would see 17:14, 17:12, and 16:27 of icetime in an NHL game. He’s down to an average of 13:37 per game, good for 8th among Habs forwards. He’s been dropped to the 3rd trio with Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann flanking him.

Despite this, he still chugs along. He’s still producing. He’s much less of a burden on Montreal’s ability to drive the play and generate shot attempts. He’s there, in a more comfortable spot and enjoying his TOI. He’s adapted so admirably to such a diminished role that it almost makes me regret all the hate I’ve hurled his way over the years (although, let’s be realistic here – that’s on Therrien). He’s, dare I say it, an asset as the No.3 C for the Canadiens team.

I believe it’s time to toss some praise his way and respect him as a person and an athlete.