Player Discussion Darnell Nurse is a #1 dman

[guymez]

I'd have those as IQ plays because in both instances you have to make a read before you make the play.

For both plays within about a millisecond you have to process where the attacker (or attackers) are on the ice, which way they shoot, how much back pressure the back checking forward is providing, where your D partner is, and how close you are to your own net and then immediately make the right play while still in position to do so.

I think he flops on 2 on 1's because he can't make these reads in time, so laying down is the default "hope this works" option which looks a lot better than doing nothing. Similarly on his shit gaps, if he can't make the reads in time then before he knows it he's probably too deep and the lane for the attacker to make a play is already there.

Good post.
I think that this also explains why Nurse ends up in no mans land defensively so much of the time.
He just cant process the game fast enough to make the correct read.

 

[fuswald]

Characterizing Nurse’s play this playoffs as “helping” the team almost win a Cup certainly is a unique opinion.

Because it’s essentially impossible to defend Nurse’s play this playoff with actual facts, I’m not surprised that you chose to default to insults and flaming.

Criticism is ok and some maybe even lots warranted. No need to say he is an idiot or selfish. He is an Oiler and deserves respect.

 

[TB12]

Characterizing Nurse’s play this playoffs as “helping” the team almost win a Cup certainly is a unique opinion.

Because it’s essentially impossible to defend Nurse’s play this playoff with actual facts, I’m not surprised that you chose to default to insults and flaming.

Like.

 

[McBaevid]

Nurse just helped the team almost win a cup.
He is not an idiot likely a whole lot smarter than many posters.
Because he got paid does not make him selfish it makes him normal.
Having shit partners for his entire career does not make him look good it makes him trust his partner less and then compensates thinking they will error causing him to be out of position.
Nurse is here and is an Oiler so deserves to feel welcome not insulted.

Bunch of Charmin on here and I don't mean because they are soft.

just say you didnt watch any of the games. You're as clueless as Nurse is when he's trying to make an outlet pass

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

I know it's just one game but man did he look terrible, not that his partner was much better. Saddling him with basically a rookie was a very poor idea.

His fancies were the worst on the team too.

 

[Heavy Dee]

Nurse suffers from the optics of a guy making $9.25M who makes the kind of mistakes that stick in the mind of anyone watching the games. What the stats say is that between these mistakes he does a lot of things that help you win in a role that no other defenseman on the team could play. While I am of the opinion that you generally need both the eye test and the stats together to get a full picture of a player, in this case, the eye test may well create an impression that is not a fully accurate assessment of the player.

This is a reasonable post.

However this player continues to make the same mental mistakes game after game. His ability to read the play and subsequent decision making haven't improved with experience and may have actually regressed.

 

[bobbythebrain]

Just remember.....playoff Nurse is much, much worse. Good times ahead

 

[Stauf4Prez]

Just remember.....playoff Nurse is much, much worse. Good times ahead

Good god. No. Please. NO.

 

[mjd1001]

1st pair worthy? Yes. Out of 180+ 'top 6' D-men, is he in the top 30? Sure, that makes him a #1 to me.

Is he as complete of a player as Makar? Josi? Dahlin? Hughes? Hedman? McAvoy? Toews? Heiskanen? No. I think those guys are in a group above Nurse simply because they don't have as many holes in their game.

 

[K1984]

1st pair worthy? Yes. Out of 180+ 'top 6' D-men, is he in the top 30? Sure, that makes him a #1 to me.

Is he as complete of a player as Makar? Josi? Dahlin? Hughes? Hedman? McAvoy? Toews? Heiskanen? No. I think those guys are in a group above Nurse simply because they don't have as many holes in their game.

He's not anywhere close to that. If Nurse is the best defensemen on your team, your team sucks.

 

[mjd1001]

He's not anywhere close to that. If Nurse is the best defensemen on your team, your team sucks.

Well, this is where his contract matters.

He CAN be the best D-man on your team if your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best are a lot better than they are. If Nurse would have signed for closer to $7m per year instead of $9.25, then you could take that $2.25m extra and have have a better guy (or 2 better guys) on the 2nd pair to have that pair be more effective.

The issue with Nurse isn't just how good or bad he is...its what you are paying for what you get, and what you gave up instead.

 

[K1984]

Well, this is where his contract matters.

He CAN be the best D-man on your team if your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best are a lot better than they are. If Nurse would have signed for closer to $7m per year instead of $9.25, then you could take that $2.25m extra and have have a better guy (or 2 better guys) on the 2nd pair to have that pair be more effective.

The issue with Nurse isn't just how good or bad he is...its what you are paying for what you get, and what you gave up instead.

The issue is still how bad he is. If he's your best d man, the rest of your roster sucks. The amount of money he makes isn't relevant.

He's currently playing at the level of a third pair rookie that needs to be managed and baby sat. That's the best d man on maybe the Sharks or maybe the Ducks. That's it.

 

[bobbythebrain]

1st pair worthy? Yes. Out of 180+ 'top 6' D-men, is he in the top 30? Sure, that makes him a #1 to me.

Is he as complete of a player as Makar? Josi? Dahlin? Hughes? Hedman? McAvoy? Toews? Heiskanen? No. I think those guys are in a group above Nurse simply because they don't have as many holes in their game.

1st pair dmen don't get demoted in the playoffs. 1st pair dmen don't suck every playoffs.
Lastly, 1st pair dmen don't have GMs struggling to find someone to play w/ them

 

[Stoneman89]

I hate to say it, but Nurse's contract (and play) has and is likely to cost us some decent young players whom we will have to let go due to cap constraints while we try to patch holes here and there.

 

[timekeep]

I hate to say it, but Nurse's contract (and play) has and is likely to cost us some decent young players whom we will have to let go due to cap constraints while we try to patch holes here and there.

Just wait to we sign Bouchard to even more money, at least Drai took a discount and McDavid is going to too...

 

[bobbythebrain]

Just wait to we sign Bouchard to even more money, at least Drai took a discount and McDavid is going to too...

Bouchard will be a casualty of optics. No way he gets paid less than Nurse at this point