Three Quebecers with things to prove in the NHL this season (Chronicle by BIlly Bertrand)

SPECIAL COLLABORATION

This week, Billy Bertrand of Sportlogiq identifies three Quebec players who have something to prove this season in the NHL.

Alex Barré-Boulet
Prove he belongs in the NHL

QMJHL Most Valuable Player and CHL Player of the Year in 2018. AHL Rookie of the Year and Top Scorer in 2019. Named to two AHL All-Star Games. 302 points in 294 games in the minors.

Alex Barré-Boulet could hardly have done more in his career, especially for a player who was never drafted. And yet, he never managed to break into the NHL permanently. A very talented roster in Tampa Bay certainly didn’t help his cause and limited him to 68 games in five seasons (including two with Seattle), playing less than 15 minutes in 56 of those games.

His agreement with the CH this summer did not have much fanfare, drowned out in the news of July 1st. A solid training camp and a few injuries to the Canadiens’ forwards later, Barré-Boulet managed to force the organization’s hand and made the lineup for the opening game. At 27 years old and with a small frame, this could be his last chance to establish himself as an NHL player.

After all, he wouldn’t be the first player to find himself in this in-between; too good for the American league, but not good enough for the big league. CH fans only have to remember Charles Hudon, another talented little player who produced happily with the Canadian’s school club, but who never really managed to find his niche among the professionals.

It’s only two games, but ABB looked pretty good in his debut with the Habs. He spotted his teammates for several quality chances, notably with the second wave of the power play, where he generated opportunities for Gallagher and Newhook. He also completed this magnificent pass to Christian Dvorak at even strength against the Leafs.

After two games, he leads the club with 6 completed passes to the slot, despite the fact that he is the least used attacker among the 11 who played the two games. Obviously, we can’t expect Montreal to continue getting as many power plays (11 in two games), which will limit its opportunities. Either way, it’s a good first impression for Barré-Boulet and exactly the kind of energy and drive that could finally allow him to finally establish himself as an NHL player for good.

Pierre-Luc Dubois
Prove that he can still earn his contract

Few players have seen their value plummet as quickly as Pierre-Luc Dubois. A player who had said he wanted to play in Montreal at all costs, he finally found himself in Los Angeles in the summer of 2023. Dubois had scored at least 60 points in the last two seasons before the trade, flirting with the plateau of 30 goals (28 in 2021-22, 27 in 2022-23). A 6’4 center who can score 30 goals, it’s easy to see why the Kings were charmed by the idea, offering him a monster 8-year contract at $8.5 million per year.

A year later almost to the day, the Kings traded him for Darcy Kuemper, a 34-year-old guard who was coming off the worst season of his career. Ouch.

His effort and his attitude have been talked about for a long time and his visit to California has only amplified things. He only scored 40 points, his worst career mark for a full season, even seeing himself relegated to the 4th line at times. Unsurprisingly, its advanced statistics show the same drastic decline.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

We are far from the expected production for a player who will earn 8.5 million until 2031. Despite everything, it is not difficult to imagine a scenario where Dubois bounces back this season and regains the form he had during of his good years in Columbus and Winnipeg. It’s easy to forget with all the adventures he’s experienced in his career, but Dubois is still young, at only 26 years old. He has managed to avoid prolonged stints on the injured list for the majority of his career and his size is still there. The Capitals made a big gamble by taking his entire contract and he should find himself at the center of the second line, at least to start the year. A great opportunity that Dubois must seize, because his contract is already on several lists of the worst deals in the NHL. A slow start to the season will only fuel the detractors.

Is it that

After several seasons cut short by injuries,

At the time of the trade, Mantha had 20 goals on his record on just 90 shots on target, an astronomical success rate of 22.2%. Among players with at least 30 games played as of March 5, only three had a higher rate than Mantha: Sam Reinhart (26.0%), Simon Holmstrom (23.6%), and Robby Fabbri (23.1 %). That rate dropped to 13% with the Knights after the trade (3 goals on 23 shots), which is much more in line with his career average of 12.7%.

Unfortunately, the numbers put forward are not in Mantha’s favor. He finished the season with just 14.8 expected goals, a statistic that estimates how many goals a player should score on average based on the quality and quantity of shots he took. Unless you’re an exceptional shooter like Alex Ovechkin, this difference is a sign that strongly points to regression. If he wants to reach the 20-goal plateau again, he’ll need to get a lot more scoring chances than 1.5 per game, good for 232nd in the NHL among forwards.

During the Flames’ first game, Matha played with Jonathan Huberdeau, another player who could well have had his own section in this article. He looked good with two points, including a great breakaway goal short of a man. Huberdeau, despite his failures in recent years, remains a quality playmaker, even if he will probably no longer post 85 assist seasons like he did in Florida. He had 40 assists for a second straight season and finished 40th in passes to the slot last year, showing he can still spot his teammates in the pay zone. The Flames don’t have high expectations this season, but if Mantha can produce at a similar rate to last year (ideally while also improving his advanced numbers), he could draw some attention at the trade deadline once again. times.