Edited Jan. 20, 2018 at 6:52 p.m.
Quoting: F50marco
Im not comparing wingers to centers here. In my mind Galchenyuk and Wennberg are both centers. Galchenyuk has been groomed for the winger position for a while now, hard not to fit that mold now but had he been somewhere else to start his career, he'd be a center. Just not a great one defensively IMO.
Not sure what the Andreychuck comparison has anything to do with? Andreychuck was 40 years old when TB went to the cup and isn't even a center, Lecavalier was and he and St Louis were both in their primes at the time. Same goes for in NYR, Richards again, solid two way guy, Stepan a solid two way guys. etc etc. Obviously being talented offensively is a more important attribute than being talented defensively but one cannot get to the highest rank without being being at the very least decent in both. Wennberg's d-game is clearly not abd enough for them. Why would it be bad enough for the team that deployed Drouin who was never really a center ot begin with.
As for Jenner, he wasn't playing significant center minutes even before Torts came along so its not just because Torts was there. Jenner is more his type of "character" not type of player. Jenner is a hitter and energy guy first and foremost, not something suited for being a top centerman.
Plus this isn't a talent vs defensive ability debate here. Top line centers need to be able to produce offense as well as they do defense. There are no more 1 dimensional players in those positions anymore with the exception of guys like Malkin whose ability is so great it covers the defensive ineptitude.
Regardless though of whether you believe me or not, does not matter. Thats to each there own. But to turn down a deal like that where no major parts of our core are being lost and we are gaining a 23 year old natural centerman whose put up 59 points last year, is 6'2 and plays well for a hard coach like Torts? ......I dunno guys, I feel like we're being real picky with our choices here. An option like that rarely ever comes available. Need to take it when you can. Especially in a rebuild.
I agree with you about getting Wennberg, I wrote in my first comment that I would do the trade, just didn't see why CBJ would do it.
and the Torts comment weren't specific towards center positions, that's why I also brought up Werenski and Jones, it's that Torts has always been inclined to use his younger more talented players and live with their mistakes, than going for the more complete players. You bring up Stepan, but he wasn't the two-way center he is today when he started it out with the rangers. Point I'm trying to make is that as hard as you make Torts wanting "complete" players, he always leans more towards skill. MTL is almost the complete opposite. how many time have we seen Plekanec be favored over Chucky over the years when they both played Center, even now when Drouin was getting a shot. MTL for some reason favor the "complete" guys over the skill guys, and i think that's the reason why players like Galchenyuk and Drouin struggle, and guys like Gallagher thrive. It's hard to develop 2way centers (or forwards in general) when you never let you're skilled guys take defensive responsibilities every once and a while. look at Chucky's advanced stats, he almost exclusively starts in the offensive zone, throughout almost every season, so is it really Galchenyuks fault for being terrible defensively, or is it more the Habs just never actually trying to develop his defensive game. and what scares me the most is they are starting to do the same to Drouin, regardless if he's a C or LW, he's almost only getting offensive zone starts...
Lastly, Lecavalier was my favorite player growing up. I had poster of him, a signed jersey, the whole nine yards lol He was only 23 when he won the cup. sure he was an offensive dynamo, but during his first playoffs (year before they won) "complete" and consistent 20 goal scorer Andreychuk was favored over Lecavalier. they lost to New jersey in the second round. the year after Torts set Lecavalier loose in the playoffs on a line with Fedotenko (can't believe I remember him lol). that's the only reason I brought up Andreychuk , when Tampa won the cup Torts finally used Lecavalier more than their complete defensive captain, unlike the previous year. and Lecavalier always sucked defensively haha