Davidson providing value on Habs’ blue-line
Defenceman has been boon on team’s third pairing, writes Marc Dumont.
There was a spot or two open on the Canadiens’ blue-line at training camp with several possible candidates ready to fight for that role. General manager Marc Bergevin said the departed Andrei Markov and Nathan Beaulieu would be replaced “by committee.”
Mark Streit, Joe Morrow, Jakub Jerabek, David Schlemko, Brandon Davidson and Brett Lernout were part of that committee, although it has to be said none of them particularly stood out. In fact, just like the committees that organize construction projects in Montreal, you could say they were overwhelmingly disappointing.
Since then, the picture has cleared up. Streit and the Canadiens agreed to terminate his contract, Jerabek and Lernout were returned to the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket and Schlemko underwent surgery to fix his injured hand. Morrow remained with the Canadiens, but he’s proven to be unreliable in the defensive zone.
Out of the fog emerged one player who’s been quietly putting forth valuable performances on a blue-line that has struggled since the start of the season: Davidson.
Just like we’re seeing this season with Nikita Scherbak — who was among the top scorers in the AHL before his call-up — judging a player solely by his performance at training camp can be a mistake. Davidson, acquired at the trade deadline last year in exchange for David Desharnais, put his poor training camp behind him and has established himself as one of the most reliable Canadiens at both ends of the rink.
Davidson has spent most of his time alongside Jordie Benn or Jeff Petry and both pairings have fared quite well, even during losses. Both pairings managed to control over 60 per cent of the shots while they were on the ice. Davidson’s ability to move the puck quickly — and, most importantly, with control — has been a blessing for the Canadiens and, more importantly, Carey Price.
While Davidson is on the ice, the Canadiens see a significant, if not jaw-dropping, decrease in shots against. That has led to a ridiculous advantage in shot control at almost 60 per cent.
Considering the Canadiens have outshot the vast majority of their opponents, we’re aware the value of scoring chances trumps the value of shots. Putting pucks on net is great, but creating quality scoring chances is even more important.
Fortunately for Davidson, the team does quite well in the scoring-chance department while he’s on the ice to the tune of over 57 per cent. He’s also among the best players on the Canadiens when it comes to controlling high-danger shots at over 60 per cent. As a third-pairing defenceman, you couldn’t ask for more. And considering that he’s earning a paltry US$1.425 million this year, his value far exceeds his salary cap hit.
That’s not to say Davidson should necessarily be given a lot more ice time. Often we see players succeeding in a certain role and assume they’d be the perfect candidate for a promotion, but we need to keep the Peter Principle in mind, which states that the selection of a candidate for a promotion is based on their performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role.
That applies to hockey players as well. Davidson might very well be able to handle a tougher workload, but we know for a fact that he’s excelling in his current position. Moving him into tougher zone deployments and a higher quality of competition wouldn’t necessarily yield positive results.
It must be said that Davidson isn’t facing the highest quality of competition on the team, but that’s mostly washed out by the low quality of teammates he’s playing with. He could stand to play a few more shifts per game, but as the adage goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Providing puck-moving skills, as well as control of shots and scoring chances, is essential even on the third pair. As it stands, Shea Weber is playing more than 26 minutes per game, which could lead to fatigue as the season rolls on. Having a dependable third pairing will hopefully provide some reprieve for No. 6 down the road, as well as providing additional options to head coach Claude Julien.
Often opponents circle the bottom pairing as a potential area of weakness, but in Montreal’s case the emergence of Davidson has cemented the third pairing as a boon rather than something that can be exploited on a regular basis.