And I’m saying it should be the main argument alongside the core not performing. If you put that Dcore behind this current Avs team, we are probably a 1st round exit pretty consistently as well. Now our core guys still outperform them I’d gather but they have guys built to play a similar system to ours with no one to get them the puck.
But why does William Nylander seem to continue his regular season output while the other two continue to falter? Not counting Tavares because he is cooked.
I’m just saying it’s a mix. Matthews and Marner can be disappointing while also having defense that isn’t conducive to producing offense.
Nylander is at best the 3rd thing that will be focused on by an opposing team.
Guys on Spittin’ Chiclets were saying they heard Kane is going to the Bruins. I wouldn’t mind him on a 1 year deal for $2.5M.
Never underestimate the allure of the mystery box
Meh call me crazy but I won't give up on Kakko until he gets a change of scenery. Sam Bennett is a good example here.
Kakko for Nuke 1 for 1, no retention and no take backsies.
Nylander is an effective playoff scorer for the same reason the Avs offense seemingly dries up at the worst possible times—he’s very, very good at scoring in the net-front area. Matthews is possibly the best shooter in the game, and Marner can shoot it but he’s known more for his playmaking ability. Like the Avs, it’s just too easy to box them out come playoff time.
Bennett's game has always been there. He's not a big time scorer and that didn't really change going to Florida. His minutes and PP time went up. His style of play of being a nasty disposition, hard 2 way player was there in Calgary too. He always showed up in the playoffs for them.
Agreed. Watching Kakko it seems to be clear he isn’t going to blossom anywhere really. He gets touched and immediately looks for a call, that screams entitlement. Maybe he got to the nhl by always just being the most skilled player on the ice, now he isn’t and it shows. His hockey iq and overall willingness to work hard isn’t there. But I could and probably am wrong
Interesting. Back in draft year he used to be very good at protecting the puck. The kind of player that can open up space in the offensive zone. At least back then he had high hockey IQ too, he was always in the right place at the right time to score goals. He was also skilled at creating chances by himself with dekes and wrap arounds.
It's just utter insanity what Jared Bednar does to this guy and the top stars now.
He was one of the more skilled players, but I think a bigger part of it was he developed strength early and he could overpower in Finland.
Question is can we get a better guy than him on a cheap deal to play RW behind Rants? Better not let perfect be the enemy of good. We'll need a guy in that spot with Nuke stuck in limbo. I think they're either going to sign Drouin and shift Landeskog to RW and/or promote LOC, or they'll let Drouin go and get a new guy for 2RW. Kakko specifically is a top six or bust player imo. That's a tough position to be in when you haven't earned 2nd line minutes yet, but playing in lower lines isn't going to make you look good.
I'm not disagreeing with you but would just like to see him in a new situation before writing him off completely. Look at Drouin. There's lots of cases where guys look like crap in one situation and change completely in a new one, even if the signs aren't there.
I don't really see what he's done to earn a raise. I think he signs a similar contract to his current deal, probably a 1-2 year 'prove it'
