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Injury Report: 2024-25 Sharks/Barracuda health

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TheBigDrunkPanda said:
I strongly disagree, he only seems to get better and better each year I can see him being a
Top LW in the league he looks like he will peak at Milan Hejduk status
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He does get better year over year but he still isn't a play driver, honestly neither was Hejduk but he was one of the best finishers in the game at his peak

I see Eklund as becoming a secondary playmaker with a strong two way game who can push pace and keep up with an elite play driving center, kind of a Mikko Rantanen type, which is no insult, I just don't see him as the engine that drives a line to success

I think he's a ceiling raiser, if not a floor raiser
 
weastern bias said:
He does get better year over year but he still isn't a play driver, honestly neither was Hejduk but he was one of the best finishers in the game at his peak

I see Eklund as becoming a secondary playmaker with a strong two way game who can push pace and keep up with an elite play driving center, kind of a Mikko Rantanen type, which is no insult, I just don't see him as the engine that drives a line to success

I think he's a ceiling raiser, if not a floor raiser
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I agree with this, and the good news is that if Smith + Macklin become the play drivers we hope they will be, Eklund doesn't have to carry his own line and can just be an excellent complementary winger.
 
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weastern bias said:
He does get better year over year but he still isn't a play driver, honestly neither was Hejduk but he was one of the best finishers in the game at his peak

I see Eklund as becoming a secondary playmaker with a strong two way game who can push pace and keep up with an elite play driving center, kind of a Mikko Rantanen type, which is no insult, I just don't see him as the engine that drives a line to success

I think he's a ceiling raiser, if not a floor raiser
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I mean, Rantanen is super underrated on these boards. I don't think there's any way Eklund gets there. I do agree that Eklund will be a secondary playmaker with a strong two way game - he's already there this year.

In comparison Rantanen is an above PPG primary playmaker/scorer with a mediocre two way game and some inconsistency.

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coooldude said:
I mean, Rantanen is super underrated on these boards. I don't think there's any way Eklund gets there. I do agree that Eklund will be a secondary playmaker with a strong two way game - he's already there this year.

In comparison Rantanen is an above PPG primary playmaker/scorer with a mediocre two way game and some inconsistency.

View attachment 926062
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I evoked Rantanen as a comparable for the role he plays, not in terms of production, I agree that he is vastly underrated by hockey fans in general

It was more of a corollary

Eklund is to Celebrini
as
Rantanen is to MacKinnon
 
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Munnyro said:
I'm not sure who I'd compare Eklund to, but he's masterful behind the net. One of the best I've seen in a long time.
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That's the kind of thing that could be really nice for Smith to work with in the future. But maybe the best thing that can be said about Eklund is that his playstyle seems varied enough and his approach clever enough that I think he could work well with both Smith and Celebrini.

Now we just need to find more guys to play with them in the future. Hopefully some are already in the system! It would be ideal if Celebrini doesn't have to mimic Crosby's career by having a lifetime of linemates like Pascal Dupuis and Bryan Rust (and those are some of the better ones!). But it would be something if, like Crosby, he's still able to make it work at an elite level.
 
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I think Eklund is like a poor man's Elias Lindholm but on the wing. Lol at the Hejduk and Rantanen comparisons and lol at the one of the best youve seen behind the net. Thanks for the laughs yall.
 
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The big problem with playing Smith with both Goodrow and Kunin is that Smith desperately needs to play with guys that are high IQ. A lot of what makes Smith so unique is that he finds passing plays and that few other players would even consider. But the other half of that play succeeding is that there has to be a guy who can anticipate that play as well. If no one is prepared to receive the pass, then it just becomes a turnover and looks bad. I can count how many times Smith has placed a high deceptive pass into a soft area but Kunin and Goodrow just don't have the hockey sense to see it coming and be there.

I just desperately need him to get an extended look with any of Celebrini, Eklund, Granlund, or Toffoli. Otherwise we're just not playing to his strengths and we're going to beat the creativity out of him.

Gimme Eklund-Celebrini-Smith. I don't give a f***.
 
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Juxtaposer said:
The big problem with playing Smith with both Goodrow and Kunin is that Smith desperately needs to play with guys that are high IQ. A lot of what makes Smith so unique is that he finds passing plays and that few other players would even consider. But the other half of that play succeeding is that there has to be a guy who can anticipate that play as well. If no one is prepared to receive the pass, then it just becomes a turnover and looks bad. I can count how many times Smith has placed a high deceptive pass into a soft area but Kunin and Goodrow just don't have the hockey sense to see it coming and be there.

I just desperately need him to get an extended look with any of Celebrini, Eklund, Granlund, or Toffoli. Otherwise we're just not playing to his strengths and we're going to beat the creativity out of him.

Gimme Eklund-Celebrini-Smith. I don't give a f***.
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I said it yesterday but I'd even be happy with Wennberg with Smith. He has some issues, like being such a low-volume shooter, but I think he has the IQ to help.

I just find it very weird that Warsofsky is looking at this Smith line and somehow thinking it has good chemistry or something. Like Smith's two goals the other night were in no way helped by or created by or because of these linemates (one was a PP goal where he received a pass from a Chicago player like we wish he could get from one of his Sharks teammates!).
 
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timorous me said:
I said it yesterday but I'd even be happy with Wennberg with Smith. He has some issues, like being such a low-volume shooter, but I think he has the IQ to help.

I just find it very weird that Warsofsky is looking at this Smith line and somehow thinking it has good chemistry or something. Like Smith's two goals the other night were in no way helped by or created by or because of these linemates (one was a PP goal where he received a pass from a Chicago player like we wish he could get from one of his Sharks teammates!).
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wars has had some troubling lineup habits.
 
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timorous me said:
I said it yesterday but I'd even be happy with Wennberg with Smith. He has some issues, like being such a low-volume shooter, but I think he has the IQ to help.

I just find it very weird that Warsofsky is looking at this Smith line and somehow thinking it has good chemistry or something. Like Smith's two goals the other night were in no way helped by or created by or because of these linemates (one was a PP goal where he received a pass from a Chicago player like we wish he could get from one of his Sharks teammates!).
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As much as I'm not a fan of this line, Kunin directly assisted Smith's first goal.

 
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timorous me said:
I said it yesterday but I'd even be happy with Wennberg with Smith. He has some issues, like being such a low-volume shooter, but I think he has the IQ to help.

I just find it very weird that Warsofsky is looking at this Smith line and somehow thinking it has good chemistry or something. Like Smith's two goals the other night were in no way helped by or created by or because of these linemates (one was a PP goal where he received a pass from a Chicago player like we wish he could get from one of his Sharks teammates!).
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I get the reasoning behind Goodrow and Kunin with Smith even though I don’t like it. The first 7 games Smith didn’t just look bad he couldn’t touch the puck. At this point the D are not capable of consistently breaking the puck out to the C so Smith needs puck hounds so he can get possession of the puck. He is not strong enough to gain possession without Goodrow or Kunin. More than players to connect plays with Smith he needs to get the puck on his stick to learn anything in the NHL.

Now hopefully Liljegren can help the D be more effective on the breakout. Ideally Eklund would be on Smiths wing but Eklund is ideal on every C’s wing and should be above 3rd line.

I’m ok with a few games with Goodrow and Kunin as Smiths wings if it gets him pick touches he needs to adjust to the pace of play. It just better not be a long term plan. I would also like to potentially switch Wennberg and Smith after a few games because Wklund and Zetterlund would be great wings for Smith.
 
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