Edited Aug. 16, 2023 at 6:43 p.m.
Quoting: PuzzledActuary
In reality, after Stutzle and Brady, there is a steep decline and not much to be afraid of here (especially the bottom 6). This team will maybe challenge for a WC spot. Luckily for the rest of the Atlantic Boston is no longer a legitimate contender.
"especially the bottom 6"... Are bottom-6 players supposed to be more than average? I mean, that's what "mediocre" means. No team has a bottom-6 full of above average players.
And "there is a steep decline after Stutzle and Brady" is also a not very fair statement. It seems more like you are not familiar at all with several players here
Norris : did you know the guy scored 47 goals in 91 games prior to last season? And he has been facing top competition night after night since he came to the league at 21 y/o? And this is how he fared defensively in his rookie season :
Giroux : doesn't need presentations, aging like fine wine... 35 goals and close to PPG last season
Batherson : had a down year (still had 62 pts playing with a rookie center who had just missed a full season), partly due to missing Norris and maybe also because of the TC scandal scrutiny but this guy was having a major breakout in 2021-22 before Dell's cheap shot (had 34 pts in 31 games). If he can get back to this level, he's a lot better that you seem to think
Greig : a bit unknown but will be a 2-way force (like he was on Team Canada if you watched that WJC) in the Jaden Schwartz mold. Here's what it looked like in his 20 games sample last season :
Pinto : He's not a world beater yet but I see him developing into a Philip Danault level player. Has already shown he can score goals, has shown he can dominate in the face off circle and that he can be level headed defensively. Great hockey IQ
That's it, I'm not even claiming more than these 7 guys are better than mediocre...
But there's still Tarasenko and Kubalik after that. Tarasenko has slowed down with injuries but is still a prominent offensive players. Tarasenko was over PPG in 2021-22 which is quite recent. Kubalik scored 20 goals and 45 pts last season, which is right there with his career PPG (0.57)
Mathieu Joseph had 30 ES + PK points in 69 games in 2021-22, which is quite valuable for a defensive forward who has elite PK metrics year after year. I don't claim him as better than mediocre too. Same for Kastelic who has a lot to offer as a 4th line Center (good defensively, elite on face-offs, quite physical with a bit of a scoring touch)
I have no idea how they will fare in the standings, I have been one of the biggest critics of Dorion and the coaching staff, IMO they are the worst duo in the league and are holding this team back. I could write pages of what Dorion did wrong. He makes splash moves fooling the average fan with "name recognition" but it doesn't offset the rest of his mismanagement for me.
Quoting: PuzzledActuary
The D looks nice with Chyc and Chabot, but Sanderson is still young and a ? and the rest is quite mediocre. The goalie situation is even moreso mediocre, at best.
It doesn't matter if Sanderson is still young, he is just oozing hockey IQ. He is a beast in the making, Slavin 2.0.
If the rest is quite mediocre then why did Zub and Brannstrom have great defensive metrics?
And ever heard about Tyler Kleven? Well, remember this name.
Quoting: PuzzledActuary
They finished 39-43 last year, and sure you'd expect them to get better over time but this is the roster they are expecting to win with? With no salary cap flexibility? Woof.
So many factors here.
- coaching : holding this team back, would be shocked if they can finally instill 2-way hockey systems
- Norris injury. Missing him forced Pinto into a role he was not ready for. It affected DeBrincat and Batherson defensively a lot and that line bled goals against. Plus Norris is a total weapon, particularly on the PP
- Formenton : didn't expect him to be "canceled", only could replace him by Motte who is a good 4th liner but really not the same caliber. Formenton led the NHL in SH goals in his rookie season and scored 18 ES + PK goals... He was the 2nd fastest skater in the league, already good defensively with a mean streak. His absence and Norris' messed up the whole bottom-6, particularly after Dorion stupidly decided to trade Paul and Brown
- Goaltending : Forsberg didn't have a great start then got injured when he was getting hot. Talbot was bad (just another horrible trade by Dorion, as he gave away the younger better player). Korpisalo was good last season and it's the only season he's had since his hip surgery so there's hope to be had here. Forsberg is also a good goalie and he's supposed to be back healthy
- Chychrun : only played 12 games for Ottawa. Dorion stupidly went after DeBrincat first when the real need was a RHD. Chychrun is LHD but played RHD before. We'll see what happens with that but Sens finally have a potentially good/great defense.
- Stutzle : started the season as a 20 y/o... turned 21 on January 15th... is becoming a 2-way force. Many players are young and still improving.
Like most teams they will be dependent on staying healthy so while you presented it as 39-43, Islanders and Panthers made the playoffs with 3 more wins...
Fox_Czar_Cup liked this.
Reply
Greig,
CapFriendly
CapFriendly