Confirmed Trade: [CAR/NSH] Mark Jankowski for 2025 fifth round
- Thread starter uncleben
- Start date
Best player in the draft? THAT Jankowski? Robbery
TheReelChuckFletcher
Former TheRillestPaulFenton; Harverd Alum
Jankowski is a sneaky good add at 4th line center - has some of the best underlying numbers of any 4th liner in the game this year. Also, he's not a rental - he is signed through next season at a dirt-cheap $800K cap hit.
I would say he has played more often at wing than center for the Preds, although sometimes he comes in for draws over younger guys (Novak, Svechkov, etc).
Whatever his underlying numbers, I'm just glad the Preds jettisoned at least one of these tweeners with term. Would have been nice to clean house and see McCarron and Smith move too, but getting Jankowski out the door is at least one more slot opened up for a younger player.
It's not that he's terrible per se... whatever the underlying numbers... he could be a serviceable hard-working depth forward. The problem for us in Nashville is that we've been employing way too many of these kinds of guys in place of the younger players we should have been devoting opportunity to instead. He'll be ok as a #12/13 forward, you just don't want to have 5 versions of the same guy in your lineup every night.
Whatever his underlying numbers, I'm just glad the Preds jettisoned at least one of these tweeners with term. Would have been nice to clean house and see McCarron and Smith move too, but getting Jankowski out the door is at least one more slot opened up for a younger player.
It's not that he's terrible per se... whatever the underlying numbers... he could be a serviceable hard-working depth forward. The problem for us in Nashville is that we've been employing way too many of these kinds of guys in place of the younger players we should have been devoting opportunity to instead. He'll be ok as a #12/13 forward, you just don't want to have 5 versions of the same guy in your lineup every night.
TheReelChuckFletcher
Former TheRillestPaulFenton; Harverd Alum
Our young guys are way more unpolished than Nashville's are, and unlike you guys, we're still contending. Jankowski's a much better fit here.
Happy to see Jankowski still in the league and playing well.
TBF in this draft, #1 was Nail Yakupov. Janko still playing in the league and Nail is not.
He's fine for a #13 forward. Can move up and down the lineup. No point in having fill a spot in Nashville anymore though
This was what the Rantanen trades were intended to set up
Flames placed undue pressure on him because of that. If he had went where projected (3rd round) he would be the exact player he is now.
Most projections had him in the 2nd round and there have been multiple reports saying other teams were planning to take him in the 1st round. But Feaster 100% should have kept his yap shut.
Most forwards taken in the mid-1sts are more often than not bottom six forwards too, which is exactly what he is. That draft was also wildly unpredictable in hindsight, almost half of the guys taken in round 1 aren't in the NHL anymore, or never really were, only 5 or 6 2nd rounders are NHL regulars... and the top 2 players taken in that draft were goalies.
Seems like the perfect draft to take a wild swing, even in retrospect.
I always liked Jankowski and think he'd have developed into a solid 3rd liner that was a PK specialist if Bill Peters hadn't buried him when he was with the Flames. After that, he never looked the same for us and it's taken him a bit to get back to being an NHL regular.
TheReelChuckFletcher
Former TheRillestPaulFenton; Harverd Alum
Weird stat, but very cool at the same time.
it took me forever to understand what this meant... first player in NHL history to score on their 1st 4 sots with a team would have been a so much better way of saying it lol
Maybe someone can fact check this, but I think he scored the first goal in the NHL after it came back from Covid also.
This guy has an unreal shot. Most other areas of his game are lacking in comparison to, say, an Ovechkin…but the shot is good.
What? His defensive metrics are the best part of his game. One of the best true bottom-6 centers in the league. Canes wouldn't trade for a bottom-6 player unless they were forecheckers.
Ha - sorry. I just meant offensively. I know he has pretty good underlying numbers and found his niche in his role now. If he could’ve ever parlayed skating like the wind and incredible hands or natural vision with that shot, I can begin to see the thought behind justifying his selection way back when.
I always thought he would end up as the 4C in Montreal, was surprised he went through waivers a bunch
