GDT: Canes @ Kings - 4PM - Question!

[A Star is Burns]

Nobody is untouchable, but it would have to be a young, proven top pairing guy coming back for me to trade Skinner. He has his warts, but there are plenty of guys that age that do and figure it out. And even if some of the parts of his game don't come, he's a damn good scorer that we can't afford to get rid of without an elite young player coming back.

I think consistency will come with age, and probably once the rest of the team around him is more consistent. When he had a stable situation earlier this year, he went on a hot streak. He's been moved around to some different situations, and it's resulted in a funk. I just refuse to give up on him at this stage of his career unless an elite young player is coming back.

 

[nobuddy]

I was at this game.

I made a spontaneous trip to California because airfare was really cheap.

Kings fans are *******s.

 

[Wild Caniac]

Missed the game, was at the UVA vs Syracuse game rushing the court because dreams can come true sometimes for Virginia sports.

Based on box score, looks like another half-assed effort. Anyone wanna clue me in? Also, due to the 3 game losing streak, maybe we win in Anaheim just because this is Hurricanes hockey.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

4 game losing streak. Lost to Montreal before the break, IIRC

 

[Razputyn]

It's like clockwork. I called it in the middle of Skinner's improbable and impossible to maintain goal scoring streak that as soon as his production slowed to a somewhat reasonable level. What's wrong with him? Nothing. The same thing that was wrong with Semin to start the year. Players go through streaks where they produce and streaks where they don't produce. You pay for your torrid streaks with long absences from the scoring column in most cases. Jeff Skinner is a 30 goal scorer and he has 23 in 48 games this year. I fail to see the problem here.

Quiet, you, clearly Jeff Skinner is pathetic and would be torched and ridiculed everywhere else in the world. Don't you know how to hockey?

 

[rocky7]

yeah right. everyone that's critical of Skinner's game is so due to a simple scoring drought... seriously, come on.

 

[Vagrant]

yeah right. everyone that's critical of Skinner's game is so due to a simple scoring drought... seriously, come on.

2 goals in his last 64 (3.12%) shots over 16 games (4.0 shots per game) since January 9th.

17 goals on 83 shots (20.5%) over 17 games (4.8 shots per game) from December 3rd to January 9th.

The relative decrease in icetime explains the "drop" in shooting though I would suspect that his shots per minute played are actually up during his recent drought.

So yes, while calling a scouring drought "simple" is probably in itself an oversimplification, I think the VAST majority of the criticism being leveled toward him right now is simply a result of his shots not going in at the rate they were in his previous 17 games. He's not a defensive forward, so when he isn't getting goals he doesn't do much for you otherwise. But when people are standing mouth agape at the toe drag and snipe off the faceoff, that isn't so much an issue.

But, you know.... he speaks English and reads the paper so you're probably not going to hear JR come out and thrash him to bits despite the fact that even when Semin isn't scoring his defensive game holds up a hell of a lot better against scrutiny than does Skinner's.

 

[Vagrant]

To add insult to injury, this team has three forwards that can score goals. Eric Staal, Semin, and Skinner. The rest of our roster skates by on the fact that "well, we probably shouldn't be looking at this guy to score goals"... and that's the problem. We have ZERO secondary scoring so when these aforementioned guys fail to hit the scoresheet, we might as well concede the game. We have a $6.0 million forward that gets 20 minutes of TOI per game that has 27 points in 60 games and a shooting percentage under 9%. We have another $4.75 million forward that has 16 points and is a -17 in 55 games with a shooting percentage under 7%.

We're hailing LEAGUE MINIMUM forward Nathan Gerbe as the second coming of Chad because he's managed an almost identical scoring line as the aforementioned $6 million a year forward.

But yes, by all means we should stomp down the backs of the three guys on this team that actually CAN score goals. And the best of the three in Skinner in terms of production... well he's just not scoring every single game anymore and dammit that's unacceptable. We need him to score to win games.... right Dwyer, Bowman, Dvorak, Nash, Lindholm, Malhotra, etc. as our bottom six with a combined 30 goals between them? 22 if you take out Nash, who has shot an entirely unsustainable percentage for his 8 goals. The only one of the six that has given what one would describe as even adequate bottom six scoring. You could literally put a tin can out there and bank more goals off it per season than most of these guys are scoring but we try to ride our horses into the ground when they're not getting puck luck? Where is the accountability for the rest of the guys that are masquerading beneath the radar of being NHL caliber players?

THAT is where our outrage should be centralized. In the fact that we have one line of players collectively over our entire roster who can score on NHL goalies. Not Skinner for falling off his 82 goal pace season.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

I don't think it's a case of "leveling out" at all. You get your streaks, yes, but you can see the little things that Skinner is doing that result in the puck not finding the back of the net. Personally I've noticed him lately settling for shots that have no chance of going in. Instead of hanging onto the puck, maybe looping behind the net to try and create something.

Anyways...no one should be immune from criticism this season, except Khudobin and Sekera. Everyone else I've seen has underachieved.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

Skinner is top line talent playing with 3rd line linemates.

 

[Zezima]

Trade everyone, make Sekera Captain and draft Kasperi Kapanen.

 

[TheOllieC]

We have to make Sami the new GM, then draft Kasperi.

Trade the Staals for Mikko Koivu and Granlund, Reacquire Jokinen and name Ruutu captain. Sign Pitkanen to a 1yr deal and trade Faulk for Maatta.

Then were finnished.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

We have to make Sami the new GM, then draft Kasperi.

Trade the Staals for Mikko Koivu and Granlund, Reacquire Jokinen and name Ruutu captain. Sign Pitkanen to a 1yr deal and trade Faulk for Maatta.

Then were finnished.

and we can trade ward for rask and Anton for niemi

 

[What the Faulk]

Convince Selanne to come be the coach, then transfer him to a player-coach role during a playoff push.