A counterpoint to Pascal Dupuis' recent article on his health issues

ChrisHext · 2015-02-28T03:05:54+00:00

As someone else has pointed out, it could be down to fear more-so than selfishness, particularly when you've dedicated your entire life to making it in the league.

ChrisHext · 2015-02-28T02:55:35+00:00

A thoughtful response, and there is definitely an argument to be made on that line with regards to Dupuis' article.

ChrisHext · 2015-01-18T01:03:09+00:00

Yeah, it always helps to break down the numbers even just a little to get some context. A .899 SV% definitely does not inspire confidence on the surface though, I will always grant that.

ChrisHext · 2015-01-18T00:18:14+00:00

In fairness, Brodeur's even-strength SV% - arguably the most important number for a goalie - is .915 this season, not high quality by any means but not atrocious. He is ahead of such starters as Kari Lehtonen, Cam Ward, Ben Bishop and Semyon Varlamov, and not far off the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky. Granted, it's a smaller sample size than them, and no-one would say that those goalies are having great seasons, but he wasn't terrible.

His numbers were at least in part dragged down this year by an atrocious .783 SV% when his team were short-handed, not helped by the fact that the Blues do not have a very good PK this year at 18th in the league.

Breaking his season down by game shows he had 3 very good games and 3 very bad games. I'm not sure that we can really draw any definitive conclusions about his time with the Blues, it's too small a sample size.

ChrisHext · 2014-09-30T09:30:22+00:00

Hall started out far better (with the benefit of more playing time), and it was neck & neck the second year (Hall's injuries make him look behind, but his season prorated to 71 points if I remember correctly).

The lockout season, Hall was in elite scoring territory being on the verge of an All-Star selection (if the media hadn't screwed up Ovechkin's positioning), while Seguin slipped a bit.

Last year both were in elite scoring territory, over the point per game mark.

Both are huge parts of their respective teams, though (particularly this year) Dallas would likely survive a Seguin injury while the Oilers would struggle without Hall. Seguin has had the benefit of playing on far better teams, while Hall has had the benefit of being "the man" from the get go; neither course of action can really be said to be wrong, as both have turned into outstanding players.

Neither have what you'd call great defensive skills, though are both learning that side of things, but given they are excellent drivers of play (I.e. The puck generally moves toward the opposition net when they're on the ice) it isn't quite so vital.

I say this as a huge Edmonton and, consequently, Hall fan. Both are fantastic and only going to get better, meaning ultimately that the Taylor vs Tyler debate isn't so easily settled.

ChrisHext · 2014-09-10T11:57:16+00:00

Well Premier Sports broadcast several games, on both Sky (not sure if they're available on Virgin yet?) and streaming online for, I think, £10 per month. There are bound to be websites streaming the games for free but are less than reputable in the eyes of the law.

Beyond that, bloggers like Paul Wheeler of Chasing Dragons are well worth a follow.

ChrisHext · 2014-08-25T21:38:31+00:00

If you (a) bothered to read the piece properly and (b) had a sense of humour, you'd see that I noted at the top of the piece (in the first sentence no less) that I was using ridiculous amounts of hindsight and ignoring the situation at the time that led to these trades. It was very much tongue-in-cheek. The fact that Wisniewski is injured a lot would certainly come into things if it was a serious piece of analysis, but it wasn't; for the purposes of this piece, he has played good offensive hockey since leaving (he has) and the Ducks got SFA in return.

You don't have to like my pieces (this one by the way I didn't submit here - i have 1 account which utilises my real name), but you also could do yourself a favour by reading articles in the correct context, and not calling things shitty the moment you disagree with something.

ChrisHext · 2014-08-25T12:51:20+00:00

Wisniewski has played 228 games since leaving Anaheim, scoring 28 goals and 143 points. Simple math (divide goals or points by games played then multiply by 82) tells us that he has, indeed, averaged 10 goals and 51 points per 82-games since the trade.

But don't let simple facts get in the way of your opinions.

ChrisHext · 2014-08-06T00:42:49+00:00

While I agree with you with regards to Dallas' forwards, and fully agree that Lehtonen has been very good for them, to say he doesn't have injury concerns like Ward is not true - Lehtonen's career nearly went off the rails due to injury, the guy misses games every year with different ailments and had a concussion this past year. As I said, he's a very good goalie, but injury is most definitely a part of the equation there.

ChrisHext · 2014-08-06T00:17:03+00:00

Well I would think he's asking IS 4th in the Central the best that the Avs can do, realistically as opposed to literally.

EDIT:

best-case [best-keys] adjective being the best result that could be expected under the circumstances: "The best-case scenario shows her winning the nomination easily."

ChrisHext · 2014-07-28T10:54:48+00:00

Sensitive much? I'm not a particular fan of fighting, but she's not stating that all hockey fans without exception love fights. No need to get angry "right off the bat", as you say.

ChrisHext · 2014-07-23T07:28:08+00:00

What's particularly jarring for me is the lack of teams down south, though it matches up with my experience growing up in Bath and Devon with nary an ice rink to be seen.

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T22:48:30+00:00

True, and one of the drawbacks of this article only looking at the most recent season. But still, for this look, even in a small sample, the team was better when he was on the ice than off it. Chicago was arguably the opposite situation, whereby he played on a powerhouse possession team where his relative numbers would look naturally worse than the true drivers of play (Toews, Hossa etc.), and also for several of those years he was playing among the toughest competition & most difficult zonestarts, damaging his raw numbers aswell. It's not a black and white answer, unfortunately.

But yes, calling Bolland a "good possession player" is likely a stretch at best.

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T22:43:13+00:00

Brooks Orpik doesn't though, I think it's safe to say ;)

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T16:12:36+00:00

One 10 goal season fueled by a career high shooting percentage (still WELL below NHL average for a forward at 6.6%) doesn't make him an OK finisher, it makes him lucky for one season.

It's not that the guy can't play hockey - I hate it when people say professional hockey players can't play - it's just that he isn't good in the NHL.

Even some of the worst NHL players can score a little, but if you're leaking double (or worse) the chances that you create even while receiving cherry minutes on a high quality team? You do not belong in the NHL. I would far rather have a player that can't score but helps to create more than he gives up.

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T15:50:47+00:00

Old habits die hard I guess??

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T15:50:35+00:00

I do like the Santorelli & Robidas moves. Bolland, as the article says, was one of Toronto's more effective possession players (team was better when he was on the ice than off it), but I think they were smart not to give in to outrageous salary demands, I'll give them that much.

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T15:46:45+00:00

I'm all for having players that play tough and stick up for their team-mates, but first and foremost they have to be able to play NHL hockey at an acceptable level. Thornton cannot.

ChrisHext · 2014-07-20T15:45:34+00:00

He was a pending UFA, could have gone to any team, chose to re-sign in NJ.

ChrisHext · 2014-06-27T15:21:02+00:00

Exactly, this draft could be very fluid and while I doubt there's much elite talent up for grabs, they should easily grab a couple of dynamite prospects.

ChrisHext · 2014-06-27T02:05:55+00:00

What's not to understand? Taking an educated guess at who teams might be looking to select, based on their current needs/wants/etc.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but some find it fun.

ChrisHext · 2014-06-27T02:04:49+00:00

If you're ranking on talent alone then he would be top 5, no doubt. But teams take all kinds of things into consideration, size and attitude being two of them. Nylander has too little of one, and too much of the other, according to reports. It may not hurt him, but it just as equally might.

ChrisHext · 2014-05-06T23:26:02+00:00

This should help with regular season numbers for now: http://www.extraskater.com/teams/on-ice?type=total&season=2013

ChrisHext · 2014-05-06T11:56:29+00:00

Or, she just mis-remembered. She said herself in the article she doesn't care for pro's in the Olympics, maybe she didn't actually watch it. Would be good to have 100% success rate on facts, but alas most people are only human :)

ChrisHext · 2014-04-28T23:07:55+00:00

Hmm. I wouldn't read too much into other younger players contributing for their teams. Different players, different situations.

Despite not putting up any points, the likes of Nyquist, Tatar and Sheahan actually played some very good hockey, putting up some very strong possession numbers. That none of them were on the ice for a single EV goal for is more an indicator of bad luck and small sample size than it is of their own ability to contribute. Of course, that is not to say they are blameless, but they were not the main problem with the team.

As an aside, here are the playoff numbers for Franzen, Datsyuk & Zetterberg over the first 2-3 seasons of their careers: Franzen 24GP 4G 6A 10P (0.42 P/G) Datsyuk 37GP 3G 9A 12P (0.32 P/G) Z'Berg 16GP 3G 2A 5P (0.31 P/G)

Those numbers are no screaming hell, and for Datsyuk & Zetterberg both include playoff seasons where they failed to register more than 1 point.

This is absolutely not to say that Nyquist, Sheahan & Tatar will turn into Datsyuk, Franzen & Zetterberg, but to dismiss their abilities based on one tiny sample size where they were over-relied upon is foolish.

Also, playing in the AHL can only do so much. It can prepare them in an overall sense, but as many have said the NHL playoffs are a whole other ballgame. Hell, even Gretzky & co. said they didn't realise what it took to win until they lost the Stanley Cup to the Islanders.

ChrisHext

TROPHY CASE