Player Discussion Charlie Coyle

[PlayMakers]

Will he succeed or fail as the #1c?

What do you project his point totals to be, and why?

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[KillerMillerTime]

I see a guy who’s still giving an effort. He made a diving poke check to get the puck out of the Dzone yesterday. I don’t see that kind of effort from the other vets.

He’s never been a guy who can carry a 2nd line. He can play there if he plays with talent. This year, with Marchand’s slow start, and no RW, he doesn’t have the talent to be an effective 2nd line or an effective checking line yet, he has to go out there every night and play against top lines.

If the stat in another Bruins thread is true he has one 5\5 goal in the last 40+ games.
That's dreadful for a top 9 F your depending on. I noticed a decline in his play when he came back from last years All Star break and he ultimately stabilized his play but he looks worse this year. 50\50 chance this guy is regressing to a 30 point player.

 

[PlayMakers]

If the stat in another Bruins thread is true he has one 5\5 goal in the last 40+ games.
That's dreadful for a top 9 F your depending on. I noticed a decline in his play when he came back from last years All Star break and he ultimately stabilized his play but he looks worse this year. 50\50 chance this guy is regressing to a 30 point player.

It’s not true. He scored a 5on5 goal in April and March. And I think he scored 18 points after the All Star break.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

I see a guy who’s still giving an effort. He made a diving poke check to get the puck out of the Dzone yesterday. I don’t see that kind of effort from the other vets.

He’s never been a guy who can carry a 2nd line. He can play there if he plays with talent. This year, with Marchand’s slow start, and no RW, he doesn’t have the talent to be an effective 2nd line or an effective checking line yet, he has to go out there every night and play against top lines.

This to me hits the nail on the head - Coyle is not a guy to elevate other players on his own. Put him with talent and he can do something, otherwise he's probably going to struggle. The Marchand-Coyle-Brazeau actually has some pretty solid underlying numbers, but they haven't been able to turn it into anything as yet. With one winger who's underdone and another who is doing a decent job but is not a top 6 talent (and that goes for Geekie too), it's going to be tough. Elias Lindholm is a more talented center but I think this is largely true of him as well - he can't grab a line by the scruff of the neck. Give him capable, in-form wingers he can gel with and he can do good things. If not, he tends to become ineffective.

I don't think Charlie's been outright terrible, just flat. Some poor decision-making but few outright horrendous plays. You say he's giving an effort and I agree, but what I'm not seeing is much in the way of intensity or giving that little bit extra. Coyle at his best has been described as a moose and with good reason, but we're not really seeing that. He's competing ok, but he's not tough enough on pucks or using his legs like he can be. He doesn't have great hands, but his talent is in his strength and Brick's word - sticktoitiveness' - and we're not getting enough of that. Like too many of the vets, he's doing the basics and taking too many easy options and hoping that's enough. Right now it's not.

Coyle in himself is no more a problem than anyone else but he's not part of the solution either. He's probably being asked to do too much but then he's being paid quite enough and has never hidden his ambition to be a legit top 6 C. So he has to own his role and responsibilities - which he does, to be fair - and find a way to be better. Like most of the rest.