Joe McGrath
Registered User
- Oct 29, 2009
- 18,214
- 38,431
Well isn't this the Skinner we saw the year before? The guy has high level consistency issues.
And to be honest I've always struggled with the "it's on the coach to get guys up for games". I mean there should be a certain level of pushing button but it's on the multi million dollar athlete to show up and play a kids game like he means it. Let him switch places for me for a couple of weeks.
He plays the guy on the third line, that should be a motivation enough shouldnt it? I used to complain about it too, but then I really gave Skinner a deeper look and the guy loses the puck on more unforced errors than any other top 6 forward I can think of. How can you rely on that? I like letting scorers do their thing to some extent, and don't expect them to be the biggest back checkers but Skinner loses the puck skating through neutral ice without anyone within ten feet of him. He can be a force cycling out of the corner, stealing lose pucks from guys who think they stole it from him....but he has trouble not dropping the puck through center ice unmolested. He drives you nuts.
Skinner drives me nuts too, don’t get me wrong. He’s all the things you said. But he doesn’t look like he gives a shit anymore. Playing him as a 3rd liner is the exact same thing he did with Staal, though at least he played him on the top PP.