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Around the NHL 2017-18: Stanley Cup Playoffs

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Grachev's problem was that him and his agent rushed him to the pros after one dominating junior season where he was a 6 ft 4'' guy playing against children when his linemate Matt Duschene was also a top 10 pick. I remember seeing him in person that 2009-10 preseason he looked completely outmatched, couldn't hold onto the puck and had no sense of where to go and when. He had no feel for the game and even a year later when he was called up in 2010-11 because of all the injuries in Torts system, as a 4th liner he still couldn't cycle or hold onto the puck. He'd have 12 shifts a game and he'd do something once every other game so that's 23/24 shifts being completely lost.

It takes a lot for a prospect to make it, not only physical gifts and video sessions, but being mentally mature and ready, especially to handle a region like the NY-Metropolitan Area. We've seen players like Don Murdoch, and even later someone like Daniel Goneau and Michael Del Zotto who had talent not be able to handle the lifestyle here. Sometimes players grow up, look at Jeff Carter in LA who just scores goals for LA nowadays after a reputation of partying in Philly.

Back to Duke, the issue with him is constancy and also it seems like he gets very down if things don't go his way or he's not feeling a coach. Very similar situation in office workplaces. When he was traded from the Rangers to Arizona, his game took a nosedive. When it came out that Tippett didn't like him, his game was off.

But he has tons of talent and unlike Grachev has a feel for the game, is noticeable, and has shown he can play at this level. His consistency will determine whether he's in Arizona's plans, or becomes a journeyman who can ht 45-50 points for 4-5 franchises.
 
White Plains Batman said:
Grachev's problem was that him and his agent rushed him to the pros after one dominating junior season where he was a 6 ft 4'' guy playing against children when his linemate Matt Duschene was also a top 10 pick. I remember seeing him in person that 2009-10 preseason he looked completely outmatched, couldn't hold onto the puck and had no sense of where to go and when. He had no feel for the game and even a year later when he was called up in 2010-11 because of all the injuries in Torts system, as a 4th liner he still couldn't cycle or hold onto the puck. He'd have 12 shifts a game and he'd do something once every other game so that's 23/24 shifts being completely lost.

It takes a lot for a prospect to make it, not only physical gifts and video sessions, but being mentally mature and ready, especially to handle a region like the NY-Metropolitan Area. We've seen players like Don Murdoch, and even later someone like Daniel Goneau and Michael Del Zotto who had talent not be able to handle the lifestyle here. Sometimes players grow up, look at Jeff Carter in LA who just scores goals for LA nowadays after a reputation of partying in Philly.

Back to Duke, the issue with him is constancy and also it seems like he gets very down if things don't go his way or he's not feeling a coach. Very similar situation in office workplaces. When he was traded from the Rangers to Arizona, his game took a nosedive. When it came out that Tippett didn't like him, his game was off.

But he has tons of talent and unlike Grachev has a feel for the game, is noticeable, and has shown he can play at this level. His consistency will determine whether he's in Arizona's plans, or becomes a journeyman who can ht 45-50 points for 4-5 franchises.
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I tell you what, if Duke has another down year, I'd buy low on him big time. Do a throwaway prospect for throwaway prospect trade, or send an NHL/AHL tweener to ARI since they need NHL experience for the young kids. Get Duke back into a system where he is comfortable, and he'll thrive. I don't think Arizona is where he will thrive.
 
TheTakedown said:
I tell you what, if Duke has another down year, I'd buy low on him big time. Do a throwaway prospect for throwaway prospect trade, or send an NHL/AHL tweener to ARI since they need NHL experience for the young kids. Get Duke back into a system where he is comfortable, and he'll thrive. I don't think Arizona is where he will thrive.
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I would've loved to get him back this year even with all the wingers but I think the Rangers have moved on from him based on his highs and lows. Sometimes in sports there's something else going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. Look at Vanek and Jagr. Why did it take Vanek all summer to get work? Why is Jagr still unsigned? Otherwise it's a no-brainer.
 
Unless we could acquire Duclair for nothing, I'd pass. The initial attitude concerns, I could look past as he was a kid. The up and down place and talk that he needs a certain type of coach to succeed, I just don't know. Not sure he's worth any real asset at this point.
 
nyr2k2 said:
Unless we could acquire Duclair for nothing, I'd pass. The initial attitude concerns, I could look past as he was a kid. The up and down place and talk that he needs a certain type of coach to succeed, I just don't know. Not sure he's worth any real asset at this point.
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I'd take him back if a similar type of player was going back. Don't see that player right now, but maybe in a year
 
Trxjw said:
Wow. How the hell did Holland get that team into such an awful cap crunch with so little talent?
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Let's not forget that 3 years ago, at 23 and 25, it looked like Tatar and Nyquist were on their way to being the next top line players for the Wings and at 24, it looked like Dekeyser was going to be a top pairing offensive D. Look at their numbers in 2014-15.

None of them have panned out the way they thought. Everyone likes to criticize bridge deals, but the Red Wings are exhibit A of why sometimes they're a good idea.
 
PlamsUnlimited said:
Risto is a beast. Just recently wrote a piece on him for a site I do things for. He is pretty beastly already. Big and solid AF. Hard shot and pretty good awareness. Not very good shot suppressing yet though, the heat maps when he's on the ice are pretty bad
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Kind of the knock on him right now really...lots of tools and his passes the eye test in a lot of areas but his underlying numbers suggest he's being overused in the 1D role and underperforming in it.

Whether it's because he's young and needs time to grow into it, or he's just not that good, is the big question.

eco's bones said:
Personally I like McDonagh over several of the guys over him including Shattenkirk....but also Josi, Weber (overrated at this point), Suter, Byfuglien and Hamilton.

After Karlsson I'd probably have Hedman at No. 2. Fowler ain't that good.
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I hesitate to slag Josi...haven't seen enough of him in a lot of ways but he also strikes me a bit as someone who got a ton of hype as the "underappreciated" guy on their blueline and is now a bit overhyped. I could be completely wrong though.

Weber just irritates the crap out of me. His mobility and puck moving defensively is bad. He can certainly shoot the puck and he is tough along the boards but the rest of his game is trending down.

Suter probably gets too much admiration for playing too many minutes.

I hate Buff's rover style from an aesthetic point of view but he generally gets results on the ice.

Hamilton...I dunno, dude had some years of struggles and then suddenly has a pretty good year and is back to being hyped. I'm undecided about him.

That all said, I can certainly criticize McDonagh's inconsistency to some extent and the fact that he doesn't really have high end offensive skills..he has some underrated offensive skills but nothing that propels him to the next level. If he put it all together at once for a long stretch I think he could be arguably top 5 on that list but for various reasons (injuries, bad partner, just his own problems with consistency) he hasn't done that for long enough.

Trxjw said:
Wow. How the hell did Holland get that team into such an awful cap crunch with so little talent?
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Overvaluing guys like Abdelkader, Helm, Ericsson, etc. Also skated by for years with high end talent willing to take a bit of a cut to stay there and now that the talent is gone or trending down the team is just looking miserable.

They were definitely hoping to squeeze AA after blowing all their cap space on crappy players and are now facing a situation where the player isn't going to have any of that.

Tawnos said:
Let's not forget that 3 years ago, at 23 and 25, it looked like Tatar and Nyquist were on their way to being the next top line players for the Wings and at 24, it looked like Dekeyser was going to be a top pairing offensive D. Look at their numbers in 2014-15.

None of them have panned out the way they thought. Everyone likes to criticize bridge deals, but the Red Wings are exhibit A of why sometimes they're a good idea.
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I mean...they also JUST signed Tatar to a big new deal.
 
Levitate said:
I mean...they also JUST signed Tatar to a big new deal.
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Yeah I'm not sure who I was think of in Tatar's case. However, Tatar isn't overpaid. $5.3m is a mid-range deal. I wouldn't call it a big one. And it's in the right range for a player his age putting up 45-50 points.
 
Tawnos said:
Yeah I'm not sure who I was think of in Tatar's case. However, Tatar isn't overpaid. $5.3m is a mid-range deal. I wouldn't call it a big one. And it's in the right range for a player his age putting up 45-50 points.
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yeah he's not too bad, I mean it's a bit like Zibanejad though Zibby is younger and we all hope his upside is a bit higher

This chart is pretty funny and indicative of Detroit's problems though

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So AA is (Athanasiou not Anisimov lol) is pulling a Korpikoski but taking it one step further and telling the NA press.

Gorton is monitoring. 100% He's much more of a chess player than Sather. He's probably trying to give up a 3rd but "settle" for a second. Just a hunch.
 
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