Player Discussion Drew O Connor

[AHLdepth]

Fits the mold of what this team wants out of its bottom 6 players to a tee. He won't put up as many points as someone like Heinen will, but the speed & tenacity on the forecheck is big to playing towards the team's identity.

Hope they're able to re-sign him, and find more guys like him in the off-season.

I know what you're saying, and know you're pretty likely right. But at the same time we traded an 18 point forward for 16 (now 17) point forward. It was the funniest thing about the trade to me, that Pit fans were saying about how he has speed, but won't be a point producing guy as we were unloading a more expensive, older, less fast version with 2 extra points.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Great speed & size, forechecks hard, like what I see.

 

[Nazzlind]

what's his number? $2.25 mil?

 

[bobbyb2009]

what's his number? $2.25 mil?

He will be entering his 7th NHL season as a 27 year old. He has managed to score 31 goals in all those years combined. He is what he is- a hard working, big bodied, good skating role player who is likely a good 4th line identity guy who can occasionally play on a 3rd line. A contract like that 2.25 would be such a Canucks Benning type move. Please no. Sign him for sure, but for around 1 million, and be happy. Sign him for 2 and this is a mistake. Love to have him as a teammate, I think, but please, management, treat him as he is and not more.

 

[Josepho]

He will be entering his 7th NHL season as a 27 year old. He has managed to score 31 goals in all those years combined. He is what he is- a hard working, big bodied, good skating role player who is likely a good 4th line identity guy who can occasionally play on a 3rd line. A contract like that 2.25 would be such a Canucks banning type move. Please no. Sign him for sure, but for around 1 million, and be happy. Sign him for 2 and this is a mistake. Love to have him as a teammate, I think, but please, management, treat him as he is and not more.

This is basically his 3rd NHL season, 4th if you want to count playing 22 games in 2021-2022.

Would love to try and do a 2x5 with him or something, but I doubt he'll bite.

 

[VanJack]

Seravalli reporting that the Oilers were in on O'Connor as a potential replacement for the departed Dylan Holloway.......before the Canucks scooped him.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

He seems to put up goals and assists at a similar rate to Heinen but is three years younger and has only played one full NHL season so he may have more to show. He’s also a forechecking machine and brings speed, size and physicality to the lineup whereas Heinen is just kind of a body.

It’s only been two games of watching him closely but he also seems much more impactful on the game than Heinen, who kind of represents an opportunity cost in the lineup for me.

And I’d much rather a player of O’Connor’s type in the playoffs.

This is all to say that I think I’d be okay with giving O’Connor the Heinen contract with like an extra year or two of term. I don’t see much risk for a player I think is a good step above Heinen and, even at 26, has a bit of room to grow with a new opportunity.

 

[TruGr1t]

Seravalli reporting that the Oilers were in on O'Connor as a potential replacement for the departed Dylan Holloway.......before the Canucks scooped him.

 

[pitseleh]

Was looking at some numbers and caught an interesting one for O’Connor: since the start of last season (even strength, min 1000 minutes), he’s tied with Svechnikov and Verhaeghe for 17th in the league in individual xG/60. His actual G/60 is much lower reflecting his lack of finish but highlights why he looks better than his stats might suggest.

 

[God]

Was looking at some numbers and caught an interesting one for O’Connor: since the start of last season (even strength, min 1000 minutes), he’s tied with Svechnikov and Verhaeghe for 17th in the league in individual xG/60. His actual G/60 is much lower reflecting his lack of finish but highlights why he looks better than his stats might suggest.

A lot of that probably has to do with playing higher in the lineup with Crosby/Malkin due to Rust's injury. Rust also seems to have a good ixG/60.

Maybe he can reproduce these results when Petey gets back up to speed (copium).

 

[Regress2TheMeme]

I liked what I saw from DOC so far but I'm.a little surprised to hear the urgency from some posters to extend him. He reminds me of Lafferty. I would hold off a bit longer to see if he stays consistent before giving him the Hienen deal.