#81 Lars Eller 2013-2014

[ColRouleBleu]

Lars Eller #81



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Archive 2012-2013
Position: Centre Shoots: Left
Birth Place: Rodovre, DNK
Birth Date: 08-May-1989 Age: 24
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 209
Drafted by: St Louis Draft Year: 2007 Round 1(13 overall)
Acquired: Traded from St Louis 2010

@Eller_89

[jedimaas]

Looking forward to big things from Lars next year. He slowly became my "favourite" hab last year (not our best player but easily becoming one of our core guys) and I think there's still a lot more development left in him.
Ice time & Linemates will dictate points (i think it could be anywhere from 45 - 75, depending) but you can bet he'll give his all every shift.

I made up trade scenarios to acquire him before the Halak deal & was tickled pink when we actually did get him. Im happy to see that its starting to work out...

[East_Coast_Juggalo_13]

He only had 3 points less than Plekanec last season...In my eyes he's a scoring line centre. Preferably between Patches and Gallagher.

[kinot-1]

He only had 3 points less than Plekanec last season...In my eyes he's a scoring line centre. Preferably between Patches and Gallagher.

I like that line ECJ, seems like a pretty good scoring line.

[KeepsItReal]

I like that line ECJ, seems like a pretty good scoring line.

I'm inclined to go with Bourque with Eller, as I feel like his size and ability to drive to the net would work well with the pretty slick moving Eller.

Especially since the Daniel "worst UFA signing ever" Briere could be the guy on the other wing.

Then you get Pacioretty-Plekanec-Gallagher

Prust-Desharnais-Galchenyuk

Until Gionta comes back, then whatever happens happens.

And hopefully Pacioretty watches some tape of Cole and taps into something of a higher gear, although I "fear" for the next 6-12 years Pacioretty will disappoint us on a nightly basis with his lack of scoring drive and overall push, but more oft than not put up fairly big numbers, and also seem to score a lot of "clutch" goals...maybe. I dunno.

Etiher way though, I'm really liking the possibility to put Eller with a big boy, and then play him either with Gallagher, Gionta, Briere, or Galchenyuk and I wouldn't be surprised if some magic happened.

[jedimaas]

I'm inclined to go with Bourque with Eller, as I feel like his size and ability to drive to the net would work well with the pretty slick moving Eller.

Especially since the Daniel "worst UFA signing ever" Briere could be the guy on the other wing.

Then you get Pacioretty-Plekanec-Gallagher

Prust-Desharnais-Galchenyuk

Until Gionta comes back, then whatever happens happens.

And hopefully Pacioretty watches some tape of Cole and taps into something of a higher gear, although I "fear" for the next 6-12 years Pacioretty will disappoint us on a nightly basis with his lack of scoring drive and overall push, but more oft than not put up fairly big numbers, and also seem to score a lot of "clutch" goals...maybe. I dunno.

Etiher way though, I'm really liking the possibility to put Eller with a big boy, and then play him either with Gallagher, Gionta, Briere, or Galchenyuk and I wouldn't be surprised if some magic happened.

I like your suggestions for a couple of reasons, namely:

1) Eller could still benefit from a playmaker on his wing (Briere) and then a finisher (Bourque or Patches - Id actually be more inclined to make it patches) to round out the line...you've got a very promising trio shaping up there.

2) Patches (or Bourque) Plekanec & Gallagher has just enough skill/sandpaper/defensive responsibility to be effective regardless of who they line up against.

3) Prust - DD - Galchenyuk - this gives gally a an opportunity to take away the centre position (they would switch) from DD. It also insulates DD with 2 large linemates.

I have a feeling MT wont do this but you never know. He has to see how valuable Eller has become & its time to give him legitimate top 2 centre assignments if we want to see him continue to progress.

[East_Coast_Juggalo_13]

I like that line ECJ, seems like a pretty good scoring line.

thanks I noticed no matter who people have Eller lining up with, it is on a scoring line. I truly believe this guy is ready to be a go to offensive weapon for MTL.

[KeepsItReal]

I like your suggestions for a couple of reasons, namely:

1) Eller could still benefit from a playmaker on his wing (Briere) and then a finisher (Bourque or Patches - Id actually be more inclined to make it patches) to round out the line...you've got a very promising trio shaping up there.

2) Patches (or Bourque) Plekanec & Gallagher has just enough skill/sandpaper/defensive responsibility to be effective regardless of who they line up against.

3) Prust - DD - Galchenyuk - this gives gally a an opportunity to take away the centre position (they would switch) from DD. It also insulates DD with 2 large linemates.

I have a feeling MT wont do this but you never know. He has to see how valuable Eller has become & its time to give him legitimate top 2 centre assignments if we want to see him continue to progress.

The problem with the lines is which one is the shutdown line.

I don't know that Gallagher is ready yet, and Briere never will be obviously, to play in a shutdown/defensive type role.

But maybe they simply try to line up 3 lines as even as possible and play them in all situations.

[jedimaas]

The problem with the lines is which one is the shutdown line.

I don't know that Gallagher is ready yet, and Briere never will be obviously, to play in a shutdown/defensive type role.

But maybe they simply try to line up 3 lines as even as possible and play them in all situations.

Well, when you spread that sort of lineup around, im not sure you need a specific "shut down" line. Our top 3 all have defensively responsible players (Pleks, Eller, Bourque, Prust, Gio etc) and our 4th line is actually not too bad in that dept either.

[Lfoldi]

Am I the only one who doesn't care to much for this guy? I've watched almost every habs game and most nights he is invisible. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

[kinot-1]

Am I the only one who doesn't care to much for this guy? I've watched almost every habs game and most nights he is invisible. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

I kinda think you are . I watch every game too, and from what I've seen, for a player who doesn't get top 6 min. he does most everything right. He's not a power forward by any means, but he knows where to go and is a smooth skater, IMO, he's responsible in both ends of the ice.

[FirstStar]

Am I the only one who doesn't care to much for this guy? I've watched almost every habs game and most nights he is invisible. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

Defensive work rarely shows up on a stats sheet unless you look at +/-, but i can't say he was invisible, in fact, just the opposite.

Just the fact that he finished the season ahead of DD in points, when he didn't have all the opportunities that DD had is pretty impressive. Lars Eller saw no PP time, didn't see the icetime that a top6 centre like DD saw and yet finished with more points. Gally-A who played parts of the season with Eller was only 3 points behind DD.

So if anything, DD was the player who was invisible most of the season imho.

I'm actually really excited to see what Eller brings this season. His loss in the playoffs against the sens really left a huge hole. Despite not having eye popping numbers, was probably our best centreman last season.

[East_Coast_Juggalo_13]

Am I the only one who doesn't care to much for this guy? I've watched almost every habs game and most nights he is invisible. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

Sounds to me like you're missing the games . Just kidding...Sorta.

Lars Eller has continued to improve his offensive production in each of his 3 seasons as a Hab. In fact last year he posted 30 points in 46 games...Compare that to 2011-2012 when he tallied 28 points in 79 games. Eller could easily be a top six centre for us...Possibly that #1 centre with size we so desperately need. I think he's earned a shot at it.

[HabsAlways]

Just the fact that he finished the season ahead of DD in points, when he didn't have all the opportunities that DD had is pretty impressive. Lars Eller saw no PP time, didn't see the icetime that a top6 centre like DD saw and yet finished with more points. Gally-A who played parts of the season with Eller was only 3 points behind DD.

So if anything, DD was the player who was invisible most of the season imho.

That's my biggest gripe about DD ... he got spoon fed the best ice time, Eller got the scraps (I watched all 48 games) ... and yet Eller got more points. We can argue DD is a 50-60 pts guy, but Eller getting DD's icetime could be a 60-70pt guy who's better in both ends of the ice, bigger and more robust. DD in my opinion is expendable and shouldn't have been given a 4 year extension. The arguement taht "you can't have too many centers" doesn't wash for me ... DD is a one dimensional, overly small player and without two hulking wingers driving to the net I think his effectiveness is nill. Some will point out we just signed Briere and he is the same as DD, but Briere has/had more talent. Having watched all those games last year, I honestly don't see why so many people love DD.

[FirstStar]

That's my biggest gripe about DD ... he got spoon fed the best ice time, Eller got the scraps (I watched all 48 games) ... and yet Eller got more points. We can argue DD is a 50-60 pts guy, but Eller getting DD's icetime could be a 60-70pt guy who's better in both ends of the ice, bigger and more robust. DD in my opinion is expendable and shouldn't have been given a 4 year extension. The arguement taht "you can't have too many centers" doesn't wash for me ... DD is a one dimensional, overly small player and without two hulking wingers driving to the net I think his effectiveness is nill. Some will point out we just signed Briere and he is the same as DD, but Briere has/had more talent. Having watched all those games last year, I honestly don't see why so many people love DD.

No disagreement from me, I've basically said something similar in other threads.

But that is part of the political aspect of the habs. We'll never get back to the glory days of the flying Frenchmen where most of the team was Quebec born players.

But we do need to keep the local fan base happy and sign local talent.

We're not the only team that does that.

If people think it's just a fluke that the rags have had so many American born players on their all-time roster, they're mistaken. The Richters, Leetchs,Reddens, are all players the rags went after due to the fact they're American born. They are one of the oldest American based teams in the NHL and an original 6.

To keep the local NY fans (and media) happy and also show support for American born players, they sign them when they can.

[HabsAlways]

But we do need to keep the local fan base happy and sign local talent.

True enough, but Latendresse is the poster child for why that hasn't worked so well in the last 20 years for the habs. Essentially run out of town due to overly high expectations. (admittedly, he was his own worst enemy as well)

[FirstStar]

True enough, but Latendresse is the poster child for why that hasn't worked so well in the last 20 years for the habs. Essentially run out of town due to overly high expectations. (admittedly, he was his own worst enemy as well)

Then they signed LL, their first local draft pick in a few years and he was a bust. So when Dd had a great 1st full season with Cole and Patches, i think they jumped the gun a bit when they signed him.

Time will tell.

[THEBIGGESTHABSFAN123]

Then they signed LL, their first local draft pick in a few years and he was a bust. So when Dd had a great 1st full season with Cole and Patches, i think they jumped the gun a bit when they signed him.

Time will tell.

I think it's too early to call LL a bust.

[THEBIGGESTHABSFAN123]

Am I the only one who doesn't care to much for this guy? I've watched almost every habs game and most nights he is invisible. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

Eller is our best puckhandler, our 2nd best defensive center, our 2nd, arguably best, offensive center, and our 2nd best, maybe best soon, all around center. He is big, can shoot, pass, skate, hit, and defend. That's just my opinion but ya.

[jedimaas]

Am I the only one who doesn't care to much for this guy? I've watched almost every habs game and most nights he is invisible. Can someone tell me what I'm missing?

Hrm. Im not sure what you're looking for if you think Eller is invisible. Most of last year - especially the second half - his line was the most dynamic one on our roster. He ended up with more points than DD (who had way more offensive assigments and ice time) and only a couple less than Plekanec. And these point totals came with nearly no PP time. And if you value such things, he had higher +/- than either of those 2. And lets not forget what happened in the post season when he was injured...

A strong argument could be made for him being our best centre last year - at very least through the second half of the season.

[East_Coast_Juggalo_13]

I think it's too early to call LL a bust.

i agree. LL was rushed to the NHL in 2011-2012 and played respectably. He encountered a huge set back in developement in 2012-2013. This season will most definitely be make or break for him.

Getting back to Eller however...Like most fans, I'm hoping he continues to improve his offensive output.

[FirstStar]

i agree. LL was rushed to the NHL in 2011-2012 and played respectably. He encountered a huge set back in developement in 2012-2013. This season will most definitely be make or break for him.

Getting back to Eller however...Like most fans, I'm hoping he continues to improve his offensive output.

Yup, hoping that LL can turn things around, developemtn camp was a positive.

As for Eller, i really questioned if he would have any impact on our team when he was playing 3rd line wing. Then JM shifted him to centre with AK46 on his wing and he became a different player, we started to see the potential and I, for a brief second, thought maybe he had sparked something in AK.

Since JM moved him to centre he's been improving. Had that 4 point night in 2011-12, then had an excellent 2013 shortened season.

He's still only 24, i always pictured him as a 60-80 point guy with 80 being a career best, when he played for JM. Now, after last season, if he continues to improve he may even be able to surpase the 80 point mark.

With top 6 ice-time and PP i think he could easily hit the 60 point mark next season. That all depends on his linemates and the role MT has him play. If his linemates are Moen and Prust, he'll be in a 3rd line checking role and the offense will be hard to come by. If he and the 2 gally's make a trio, then i can see good things happening in 2013-14.

[FirstStar]

I think it's too early to call LL a bust.

taken out of context yes, but i was referring to the organizations attempt to make the local fan base happy by drafting and developing local talent. That was a bust since forget about making the habs, right now he has trouble cracking hamilton's top 6.

So the habs had to lean on DD to be their top 6 local talent.

[Lfoldi]

Hrm. Im not sure what you're looking for if you think Eller is invisible. Most of last year - especially the second half - his line was the most dynamic one on our roster. He ended up with more points than DD (who had way more offensive assigments and ice time) and only a couple less than Plekanec. And these point totals came with nearly no PP time. And if you value such things, he had higher +/- than either of those 2. And lets not forget what happened in the post season when he was injured...

A strong argument could be made for him being our best centre last year - at very least through the second half of the season.

I see a lot of points here. Some very good pooints that I may have over looked. But could be our best centre ? I think that's crazy talk. If he was even close to our best he would have the ice time to prove it. I think this year is his " make it or break it " year

[KeepsItReal]

I see a lot of points here. Some very good pooints that I may have over looked. But could be our best centre ? I think that's crazy talk. If he was even close to our best he would have the ice time to prove it. I think this year is his " make it or break it " year

Make or break for waht?

Whether he can be a 80 point center?

Over an 82 game season last year he was projected to be around 50 points, and that's with very little PP time (where I believe he'd really thrive).

In terms of it being make or break..not sure I understand what you mean by that.