Grade the Habs

[BigTed3]

You can grade one, you can grade them all. You can offer a grade for a game or for a season. I'll start with my quarter-mark grades here.

Goalies

- Price: A (solid as a rock)

- Budaj: B- (needs to work on his rebound control, but decent enough given the long layoff and infrequent starts)

Defence

- Subban: A (excellent two-way play since his return)

- Markov: A- (does wonders for the PP but defensive play, especially against the rush, is shaky at times)

- Gorges: A- (you don't hear his name as much this year but that's not a bad thing for a stay-at-home guy)

- Diaz: B+ (good vision, improved from last year)

- Emelin: B (generally solid with big hits again, although like Markov, a few shaky moments defensively)

- Bouillon: B (playing above his talent level right now but doing the job)

- Kaberle: C (nothing all that awful, nothing all that impressive)

Forwards

- Plekanec: A (formidable at both ends of the ice. Only knock is his need to improve in the face-off circle)

- Bourque: A- (nice improvement from last year in terms of not only numbers but hustle)

- Gallagher: A- (solid effort every night and good offensive skill)

- Eller: B+ (playing the 4th but doing everything right since he sat. One of our top 3-4 forwards in that span)

- Pacioretty: B (decent play and production given his ice time drop-off this year, but needs to score)

- Galchenyuk: B (very creative with the puck, quick shot, but game needs time to develop)

- Prust: B (doing what he's paid to do)

- Gionta: B- (up and down start for the captain)

- Moen: B- (good work on the PK, comfortable in his role)

- Desharnais: C+ (also up and down, needs to give more offensively given his size and defensive lacunes)

- Armstrong: C- (pretty average)

- Cole: D (not a lot of drive or finish and weak defensively)

- White: D (not providing a lot thus far and hurting us with bad penalties)

[roy_133]

Goalies

- Price: B+, he's been real good but we expect him to be. there's room for improvement in some of the finer areas of his game. he's a stud

- Budaj: D+, hasn't been where we expect him but small sample. rebound control and positioning have been problematic. he's better than he's shown

Defence

- Subban: A-, what more can we ask for? now it's time to crank up the minutes

- Markov: B+, fabulous start, has tailed off. still a wizard with the puck but 5 on 5 is just good IMO.

- Diaz: B+, didn't know what to expect and he's exceeding expectations. smooth with the puck and hasn't been a liability 5 on 5 really.

- Gorges: B, solid as usual, about what you'd expect

- Emelin: B, some tough matchups and he's handled them reasonably well. he was a concern at the start of the year in the top 4 and he's been good enough to quiet that for the time being

- Bouillon: C-, started off decently enough but is starting to get exposed. serviceable 6-7 playing too much

- Kaberle: D-, was hoping for a nice rebound and just haven't seen much of anything when he's played. we're clearly getting terrible value on his contract.

Forwards

- Plekanec: A, our best forward as usual. not much to say other than excellent.

- Bourque: A, has been going to the net like an animal and creating chances. has gone from a buyout candidate to probably our 2nd best forward thus far. the value at 3.3 looks good now.

- Gallagher: B, has been great at times and so-so at times as you'd expect. clearly capable of playing 10-13 minutes a night already and has a bright future

- Eller: B, iffy start but has really come on and taken more and more responsibility. next step is getting better in the faceoff circle and we're looking at an elite 3rd line C IMO.

- Galchenyuk: B-, at times great, at times invisible. great with the puck and like GallyB capable of taking a regular shift already. will be a star eventually so far this year hasn't hurt us at all while getting key minutes for his development. Exciting.

- Pacioretty: C+, has had a few really nice games but has been invisible quite a bit too. supposed to be our best goal scorer and hasn't been. not terrible but need him to get hot

- Moen: C, hasn't been as talked about but has been OK. reduced role, good at the little things and can crash. about what you'd expect

- Prust: C, has been over talked about but has been OK. about what you'd expect.

- Gionta: C, tough time after essentially not playing for a year. always been streaky so we'll see but needs to get hot. does most of the little things quite well and handles tough matchups

- Desharnais: C-, slightly more bad than good given his ice time and opportunity but not terrible. things starting to look up the last few games.

- Armstrong: C-, would have been a D 2-3 games ago, has been a little better. taking up valuable minutes but we'll see.

- Cole: D-, a few bursts where it looked like he'd get going but so far just spinning his tires. not much value so far. still think he will get hot in the near future.

- White: F, he's a nice guy but has done more thus far to hurt the team than he has to help.

Also I'd like to add that I'd give Therrien a C, his line combos and distribution of ice time has been puzzling and frustrating at times but the team has actually played quite well. We'll see where this goes.

[Noob616]

Goalies

- Price: A-, Has been just a hair below elite this season, but such a small sample size that I'm not the slightest bit concerned. I feel real comfortable with him back there.

- Budaj: C-, He's just looked shaky this year. That being said, he's only played 3 games so it's hard to draw too many conclusions.

Defence

- Subban: A-, Great start to the year, glad to see him come in and not miss a beat.

- Markov: B+, Really glad to see him come back well. I was really doubting his ability to take a regular shift but he silenced me. Still absolutely elite at the PP, top 5 in the game.

- Diaz: B, Exceeded my expectations thus far. Great on the PP and much better 5 on 5.

- Gorges: B, It's Gorges, what can you say. He plays solid D, doesn't lose his positioning, doesn't do anything flashy. Solid.

- Emelin: B-, Have liked his play so far, this B- would probably be a B+ if he were on the other side of the ice. He looks a lot less comfortable on the right, but overall better all around game compared to last year when he was a bit raw.

- Bouillon: C, He's been OK but I'm starting to see him slow down and we're relying on him too much.

- Kaberle: D, Hard to grade with how little he's played, but when you're paying a guy 4.25M that automatically means a D IMO.

Forwards

- Plekanec: A, A stud at both ends of the ice, does it all, and has been our best forward. Old news

- Bourque: A-, Happy with the way he's rebounded. With the way our other vets have been starting cold, it's a good thing Bourque's had a good start.

- Gallagher: B+, Dude's like the second coming of Brian Gionta out there, exciting to watch him have such a good run.

- Eller: B, He's been solid, he's done whatever the coach asks him to do, and done it well. Would be nice for him to get some starts on an offensive line though.

- Galchenyuk: B-, He's been good but not fantastic. Obviously he's been incredibly fantastic for having been drafted in June, but in a vacuum his play has been "good".

- Pacioretty: B-, The effort's there, he's creating chances, but no goals yet kinda sucks from your big goal scorer.

- Moen: B, Does what he does, kills penalties and plays on the 4th line.

- Prust: B, Has looked decent in spot duty in the top 9. Would like to see that stop though, he's a grinder and I'm tired of grinders on our scoring lines.

- Gionta: C+, Hasn't had a great start IMO. Not driving the play as much as I'm used to from Gio. Confident he'll turn it around.

- Desharnais: B-, Finally starting to pick it up, but a rough start as well.

- Armstrong: C-, He's looked downright awful for most of the season, but is starting to prove he belongs. Hope he can be a solid 4th liner, because eraly on he was making a solid case for being scratched.

- Cole: D+, Yikes. Still, I'm confident this won't be a throwaway year. I'm sure he'll have respectable numbers by the end of the season.

- White: F, When a goon who's not even good at being a goon costs us so much from taking selfish penalties, there's really no other grade that fits.

Therrien: C+ He's been good, I've liked the trust put in the Gallys, but this Prust fetish is getting a bit concerning; not to mention the sometimes laughably absurd D pairings and TOI stats.

[hatethosebruins]

Nobody watns to grade weber

[Noob616]

Nobody watns to grade weber

A+. He's so good you don't even notice him out there

[powerplay2009]

Team: A-

Boom

[BigTed3]

These are my re-grades, now that we're two-thirds of the way done:

Goalies

- Price: B+ (solid albeit not spectacular; still doing what he needs to do)
- Budaj: B+ (very good when called upon, albeit it in a smaller sample size than Price)

Defence

- Subban: A+ (Norris-trophy discussion worthy)
- Markov: B (excellent vision offensively offset by defensive lapses)
- Gorges: B (keeping it simple, nothing good and nothing bad)
- Diaz: B (has been missed)
- Emelin: B- (would be best served not playing with Markov)
- Bouillon: B- (decent 3rd pairing guy)
- Kaberle: C (probably not getting the ice time he deserves over rookies)

Forwards

- Plekanec: A- (remarkably solid at both ends)
- Gallagher: A- (Mr. Hustle, having a season worthy of a Calder nomination)
- Eller: A- (most improved player this season)

- Prust: B+ (the guy we expected Moen to be and more)
- Pacioretty: B (points galore but has been too streaky)

- Bourque: B (would be nice to get him back in there)

- Ryder: B ( decent production since coming over)
- Galchenyuk: B- (good puck skills, needs to translate into more production with time)
- Gionta: B- (solid season but still making mistakes)

- White: C (rebounded nicely from his benching)

- Dumont: C (he'll be a full-time guy soon enough)
- Moen: C- (not contributing much outside of an average PK performance)
- Desharnais: C- (given deficiencies in other areas, needs to produce more than he has)
- Armstrong: C- (doubt he'll be back)

[Guest habs1952]

These are my re-grades, now that we're two-thirds of the way done:

Goalies

- Price: B+ (solid albeit not spectacular; still doing what he needs to do)

- Budaj: B+ (very good when called upon, albeit it in a smaller sample size than Price)

Defence

- Subban: A+ (Norris-trophy discussion worthy)

- Markov: B (excellent vision offensively offset by defensive lapses)

- Gorges: B (keeping it simple, nothing good and nothing bad)

- Diaz: B (has been missed)

- Emelin: B- (would be best served not playing with Markov)

- Bouillon: B- (decent 3rd pairing guy)

- Kaberle: C (probably not getting the ice time he deserves over rookies)

Forwards

- Plekanec: A- (remarkably solid at both ends)

- Gallagher: A- (Mr. Hustle, having a season worthy of a Calder nomination)

- Eller: A- (most improved player this season)

- Prust: B+ (the guy we expected Moen to be and more)

- Pacioretty: B (points galore but has been too streaky)

- Bourque: B (would be nice to get him back in there)

- Ryder: B ( decent production since coming over)

- Galchenyuk: B- (good puck skills, needs to translate into more production with time)

- Gionta: B- (solid season but still making mistakes)

- White: C (rebounded nicely from his benching)

- Dumont: C (he'll be a full-time guy soon enough)

- Moen: C- (not contributing much outside of an average PK performance)

- Desharnais: C- (given deficiencies in other areas, needs to produce more than he has)

- Armstrong: C- (doubt he'll be back)

The only player I disagree on is Budaj. With a record of 5-1-1 I'd give him an 'A' regardless of the limited number of games he's played. He's done his job very well to this point.

[Noob616]

Goalies

- Price: B- (He's been OK. That's a problem when you're making 6.5M. He hasn't been bad at all, but "not bad" isn't good enough for a guy who's supposed to be our star)
- Budaj: B+ (I've been pretty happy with him so far, had a few rough games early but has since played like we remember from last year)

Defence

- Subban: A+ (What a season.)
- Markov: B- (Love what he does on the PP but he's starting to get exposed 5 on 5)
- Gorges: B (He's Josh Gorges. About as consistent as you can get)
- Diaz: B+ (Never thought for a second that we'd be lamenting the loss of Raphael Diaz, but that's how well he played pre-injury)
- Emelin: B- (He's been up and down. Don't like him with Markov any more.)
- Bouillon: C+ (Does what he does, not really an impact player positively or negatively)
- Kaberle: C (Would like to see him a bit more, we need him on the 2nd wave PP)

Forwards

- Plekanec: A- (Pleky being Pleky. Our best forward this year)
- Gallagher: A- (Little fireball, he's been having an awesome season.)
- Eller: A- (Big turnaround this year, love to see the skill coming together)

- Prust: B (Great play so far, does everything we need.)
- Pacioretty: B (Good pace so far, especially considering his early goal slump. Hope there's not another one of those)

- Bourque: B+ (Was really putting together a good year pre concussion)

- Ryder: B+ (Good trade acquisition. He's been a good weapon for Pleky)
- Galchenyuk: B- (Having a good rookie year, but not putting up the points like his talent would indicate)
- Gionta: B- (solid season but still making mistakes)

- White: C- (Still hasn't been good enough overall to make up for the bone headed moves early on)

- Dumont: C (Decent 4th liner)
- Moen: C+ (Is taking a lot of heat for not fighting, but that's not his game. Reliable defensively and solidifies the 4th line)
- Desharnais: C (Not a great year so far, but he seems to be turning it around some as of late.)
- Armstrong: D+ (Meh. Looks like he's skating in quicksand out there)

[weepingminotaur]

I'm going to take a different tack here, because I don't really feel that assigning straight letter grades makes a lot of sense unless we establish the criteria for evaluation for each player relative to his expected role. Like, a fourth-line player could get an A+, but it doesn't mean he's worth more to the team than, say, Pacioretty.

In some cases (e.g. Gallagher and Budaj), the grade is high because the player has substantially exceeded expectations (i.e. role). In others (e.g. Price), the grade is lower because the player has a more difficult role to fill and hasn't lived up to it, even if he has played solidly overall. I'm also going on the principle that a grade reflects what we're getting in the role, regardless of whose fault it is when the player doesn't live up to the role. For example, while it's not Rene Bourque's fault that he's been injured for a long time, he still gets a lower grade because we're not getting adequate production from him in his capacity as LW on the Plekanec line.

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec

Role: First-line center

Grade: A

Brian Gionta

Role: First-line RW

Grade: B

Rene Bourque

Role: First-line LW

Grade: B+ (would be higher if the concussion hadn't kept him out for so long)

David Desharnais

Role: Second-line center, PP producer

Grade: B-

Max Pacioretty

Role: Power forward

Grade: B+

Brendan Gallagher

Role: Tertiary scoring

Grade: A+

Lars Eller

Role: Third-line center, secondary scoring

Grade: A-

Alex Galchenyuk

Role: Tertiary scoring

Grade: A-

Michael Ryder

Role: PP triggerman

Grade: A

Brandon Prust

Role: Checking forward, ~GRIT~

Grade: A

Ryan White

Role: Energy player, checker

Grade: C+ (would have been worse earlier on, but he's not costing the team anymore with hare-brained penalties)

Colby Armstrong

Role: Energy player, checker, penalty-killer

Grade: B- (like White, has improved in recent weeks)

Travis Moen

Role: Checker, penalty-killer

Grade: B+

Gabriel Dumont

Role: Injury replacement, energy player

Grade: B

Defense

P.K. Subban

Role: No. 1 d-man, PP producer

Grade: A

Andrei Markov

Role: Top-two d-man, PP producer

Grade: B+

Alexei Emelin

Role: Shutdown top-four d-man, hitter

Grade: B

Raphael Diaz

Role: Third-pairing d-man, PP producer

Grade: A

Josh Gorges

Role: Defensive top-four d-man, penalty-killer

Grade: A-

Francis Bouillon

Role: Third-pairing d-man

Grade: A

Jarred Tinordi

Role: Injury replacement

Grade: A-

Goalies

Carey Price

Role: Franchise goalie

Grade: B

Peter Budaj

Role: Backup goalie

Grade: A

[BeanCountingHab]

I like the track you took weep re: evaluating how they fill their role. Hard to disagree with your letter grades either, I think they're pretty fair.

This is similar to what Habs EOTP does (they are gradually coming out with a new player every once in a while). They use advanced stats pretty heavily and grade how well a player is filling their role on a score out of 10.

[weepingminotaur]

I like the track you took weep re: evaluating how they fill their role. Hard to disagree with your letter grades either, I think they're pretty fair.

This is similar to what Habs EOTP does (they are gradually coming out with a new player every once in a while). They use advanced stats pretty heavily and grade how well a player is filling their role on a score out of 10.

Yeah, to me, it's all about role and what we expect from a player in a given role. A guy like Prust is going to score a lot higher because he's producing goals at key times at an unsustainable clip, something we really had no business expecting from a lower-line checking forward with limited skills. Conversely, while Carey hasn't been terrible, his performance hasn't matched what we expected from him on this new contract.

[BigTed3]

Final grades for the regular season...

- Price: B+ (had a short stretch where everyone criticized him, but the team as a whole was playing poorly in front of him. He was overall solid albeit not spectacular this year)

- Budaj: A (did everything that was asked of him and did it well. No complaints)

- Subban: A+ (A Norris-worthy season. Made everyone he played with better)

- Gorges: B (played a quiet role this year, but still did his job)

- Diaz: B (missed a lot of time but was effective when he was in the line-up)

- Emelin: B- (solid hitter, still a ways to go, but did well considering the circumstances thrown at him)

- Markov: C+ (outstanding on the PP, a liability at ES)

- Bouillon: C+ ( was asked to do more than he's capable of and wore down as the season went on but was decent most of the year)

- Eller: A+ (was our best forward on a lot of nights, had a breakout year)

- Gallagher: A+ (was our best forward on a lot of nights, true candidate for ROY)

- Prust: A ( brought a lot of grit and energy but still showed he could play hockey)

- Plekanec: A- (a solid campaign but another player whose play tailed off in the last part of the season)

- Galchenyuk: A- (another solid rookie performance, especially considering his minutes were limited)

- Pacioretty: B+ (put up points but was a bit too streaky)

- Bourque: B+ (set back by injury but was much improved this year)

- Gionta: B+ (solid year but again a bit streaky)

- Ryder: B- (scored some goals but played a fairly one-dimensional game)

- Halpern: B- (good face-off man, did his job)

- Moen: C+ (okay on the penalty kill, not much else to show)

- Armstrong: C+ (up and down year but overall a bit of a disappointing season)

- White: C- (took some bad penalties but was effective in games where he stayed disciplined)

- Desharnais: D (considering the ice time, linemates, and PP time he got, an utterly disappointing season)

[weepingminotaur]

Forwards

Tomas Plekanec

Role: First-line center

Grade: A-

Brian Gionta

Role: First-line RW

Grade: B+

Rene Bourque

Role: First-line LW

Grade: B

David Desharnais

Role: Second-line center, PP producer

Grade: B

Max Pacioretty

Role: Power forward

Grade: A-

Brendan Gallagher

Role: Tertiary scoring

Grade: A+

Lars Eller

Role: Third-line center, tertiary scoring

Grade: A

Alex Galchenyuk

Role: Tertiary scoring

Grade: A

Michael Ryder

Role: PP triggerman

Grade: B+

Brandon Prust

Role: Checking forward, ~GRIT~

Grade: B+ (been injured too often to rate higher)

Ryan White

Role: Energy player, checker

Grade: B-

Colby Armstrong

Role: Energy player, checker, penalty-killer

Grade: C+

Travis Moen

Role: Checker, penalty-killer

Grade: B

Jeff Halpern

Role: Checker, faceoff specialist

Grade: B

Defense

P.K. Subban

Role: No. 1 d-man, PP producer

Grade: A+

Andrei Markov

Role: Top-two d-man, PP producer

Grade: C+ (PP production is great, but he's awful at ES)

Alexei Emelin

Role: Shutdown top-four d-man, hitter

Grade: B

Raphael Diaz

Role: Second-pairing d-man, PP producer

Grade: B (hasn't looked stellar since returning from injury)

Josh Gorges

Role: Defensive top-four d-man, penalty-killer

Grade: B+

Francis Bouillon

Role: Third-pairing d-man

Grade: A

Jarred Tinordi

Role: Injury replacement

Grade: A-

Goalies

Carey Price

Role: Franchise goalie

Grade: C+ (may seem harsh, but he's not being paid to be average or even solid, he's being paid to be elite, and he hasn't been that this whole season)

Peter Budaj

Role: Backup goalie

Grade: A+ (absolutely no way you can ask for more from a backup goalie)

[grecohab]

After the end of the season here are my personal gradings of our roster:

Pacioretty A-

Desharnais C

Gallagher A

Bourque B-

Plekanec B

Gionta C+

Galtsenyuk A

Eller A

Ryder B-

Prust A

White C

Moen D+

Dumont C-

Armstrong C-

Halpern C+

Blunden C+

Subban A+

Markov C+

Emelin A-

Gorges C+

Diaz C

Bouillion C

Tinordi B+

Beaulieu B-

Pateryn B-

Webber D

Kaberle D

Drewiske C

Price B-

Budaj B-

Therrien B+

Bergevin A-

[JuniorSTLB]

- Subban: A+ Beast. Always excited to see him on the ice.
- Markov: B- Can he stop losing the puck all the time? Other than that, awesome year.
- Emelin: B+ Impact player. The team broke into pieces after he got injured.


- Plekanec: A Best forward since forever.
- Gallagher: A- Pleasant surprise.
- Eller: B+ Not a dominant player yet. He's a 3rd line center IMO, unless of course, he keeps on improving.
- Pacioretty C Sure, the points are there... but for me, he was invisible all season long.

- Bourque: C+ He's not the best player around.
- Galchenyuk: A- He's a promising player. He will be a star for sure.
- Gionta: C Not really my favorite player. But he's alright.

- Moen: C- Huh.
- Desharnais: C- He should be playing better than that. Him and Pacman.
- Armstrong: C At least he's funny off-ice lol.

[I1IscottieI1I]

Team reg season: A- (would of been A+ if not for our slump at end)

Team playoffs: B

I would have graded higher if the won or lost in 7 and they didn't. Get lower cuz some of the loses I felt should of been wins

[hatethosebruins]

Goalies

Carey Price: B+ Pretty solid all year, not as good as expected and had a slump

Peter Budaj: A Did everything we needed as a backup

Defense:

PK Subban: A+ Can't ask for much more from him other than missing the first 6 games

Andrei Markov: C Started out strong, but wore out and played poor defensively for the stretch

Raphael Diaz: B+ Missed time, started very strong, wasn't quite the same after but excited to see him next year

Alexei Emelin: B Started out looking good even on his offside, still played well. suffered a drawback in performance before injury

Josh Gorges: B+ Played his role effectively this year, showed alot (sometimes too much) heart and emotion

Francis Bouillion: C+ Played over his head for a while in the top 4, wore down later, solid bottom pairing D-man with experience

Davis Drewiske: F failed acquistion and provided little to nothing for the team, wish I had that pick back

Yannick Weber: C was his usual defensive liability but offensively aware self, sucked he got injured before getting a chance

Tomas Kaberle: B Didn't play many games, but when he did he gave a solid effort

Greg Pateryn: C solid cup of coffee in the NHL, good learning experience, needs AHL time

Nathan Beaulieu: B played better than I expected, needs to work on adjusting to the pros and his defensive game

Jarred Tinordi: B+ Easily the most impressive call up, needs some time to adjust, and to pack on the pounds

Forwards:

Tomas Plekanec: A Couldnt ask for much more from Tomas

Brian Gionta: B- Was a little disappointed in his streakiness, seems to be wearing down, still a solid contributor

Michael Ryder: B Brought in to score goals, and did just that

Max Pacioretty: A- Needs to play bigger but a solid quiet season nonetheless

David Desharnais: D Started poorly, finished horribly, somewhat solid at certain points. Clearly misses Cole on his wing.

Brendan Gallagher: A+ Tremendous showing, hoping he doesn't have a sophomore slump next year

Alex Galchenyuk: A Pretty good season for a 19 year old in a pressure cooking city

Lars Eller: A+ Very happy to see Lars improve, look forward to watching him for years to come

Brandon Prust: A Couldn't be happier with the signing, glad hes a Hab

Travis Moen: B- Wasn't as good as could be, but still solid defensively and in playoffs

Jeff Halpern: B Was brought in to help our faceoffs and PK and did his best

Ryan White: B- Had a rough go, but I believe he will learn and be a solid 4th liner, not bad on faceoffs at times either

Colby Armstrong: C A little disappointed, almost no skating or offense, defense was OK, but still a solid depth/4th line energy guy

Rene Bourque: B+ Impressed with what he showed, hope he does it during a full season

Gabriel Dumont: B- Impressive debut, hopefully can find a spot more regularly

Mike Blunden: C Not as impressive as last season, but still somewhat solid in the sense that I didn't notice anything bad since I hardly noticed he played a game this year

[habfreak]

Pacioretty B (Needs to start using his size again)
Desharnais C-
Gallagher A+
Bourque B- (Good effort, but he's still mediocre at best)
Plekanec B-
Gionta C
Galchenyuk B+ (Needs to work on faceoff and backcheck if he wants to play center)
Eller A (Great finish to the season, needs to work on c-onsistency to be considered to 6)
Ryder C+
Prust B+ (Did what he's paid to do)
Moen C
Armstrong C-


Subban A
Markov B-
Emelin A-
Gorges C+
Diaz C
Bouillion B
Tinordi B+
Beaulieu B
Kaberle F
Drewiske C-

Price C (Dropped out of the elite category)
Budaj B-

Therrien A
Bergevin A