Dubas appreciation thread

[Gary Nylund]

Yup, the narrative before that series was Columbus played good D, but not good enough to contain the Leafs offense. Guess that was a miscalculation?

I think we were just off our game. I guess that can happen to any team, still perplexed by Marner not being "physically engaged" from the get go but whatever. It might be that we had so many injuries that even healthy, it was hard to put it all together after such a long layoff? Whatever, it's in the past now and we're looking really good so far this season, let's hope they keep it up!

 

[Martin Skoula]

Yup, the narrative before that series was Columbus played good D, but not good enough to contain the Leafs offense. Guess that was a miscalculation?

Playing a trap team on mid-summer ice after a layoff of several months where you're not even allowed to practice together strikes me as a once-in-a-lifetime fluke. Half the time it wasn't Columbus doing anything in specific to shut us down, uncontested D-to-D passes were hopping over sticks and losing the zone after 2-3 shifts of constant pressure.

 

[sxvnert]

His offseason would have been an A+ had he brought in a legit #3C and traded Kerfoot's 3.5m

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

His offseason would have been an A+ had he brought in a legit #3C and traded Kerfoot's 3.5m

how many 3rd line centers could Dubas get for less than 3.5 million who can produce more at 5v5 than players like Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin? The disrespect Kerfoot gets for no reason is a little much, he's the least of our problems

 

[ToneDog]

how many 3rd line centers could Dubas get for less than 3.5 million who can produce more at 5v5 than players like Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin? The disrespect Kerfoot gets for no reason is a little much, he's the least of our problems

Kerfoot- Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin. Which one does not belong ??

 

[Zybalto]

Yup, the narrative before that series was Columbus played good D, but not good enough to contain the Leafs offense. Guess that was a miscalculation?

For sure, they gave up the 7th fewest shots/60, 6th fewest scoring chances/60, 2nd fewest high danger chances/60 and had the lowest xGA/60 in the NHL last year. Their goaltending was seen as solid but not lights out due to their amazing D. (91.25 or 7th in the NHL)

In the series with the Leafs, (out of the 24 teams in the play-in rounds) they gave up the 5th MOST shots/60, 2nd MOST scoring chances/60, 8th MOST high Danger chances/60 and 10th HIGHEST xGA/60 but Team Save% went up to 94.71% or 3rd best (1st among teams not already advanced).

Statistically, an open shut case of getting goalied but lets just say it wasnt for some crazy reason, what does Columbus do the very next game? Set the NHL record for saves in a playoff game! Just stupid good goaltending playing way above its head for a couple weeks and when it cooled down around the 4th Tampa game, we havnt seen it again since.

Why us? I've asked that myself a ton the last 35 years of watching this team but what happened happened.

 

[sxvnert]

how many 3rd line centers could Dubas get for less than 3.5 million who can produce more at 5v5 than players like Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin? The disrespect Kerfoot gets for no reason is a little much, he's the least of our problems

No issue with Kerfoot @ 3.5 but the leafs are up against the cap and they need a legit #3C. Kerfoot is 100X better as a winger.

 

[zeke]

No issue with Kerfoot @ 3.5 but the leafs are up against the cap and they need a legit #3C. Kerfoot is 100X better as a winger.

He's good in both roles.

He might LOOK better as a winger on a scoring line with offensive zone starts than he does as a defensive center on a line with primarily defensive zone starts, but that's got nothing to do with the actual quality of his play.

 

[zeke]

For sure, they gave up the 7th fewest shots/60, 6th fewest scoring chances/60, 2nd fewest high danger chances/60 and had the lowest xGA/60 in the NHL last year. Their goaltending was seen as solid but not lights out due to their amazing D. (91.25 or 7th in the NHL)

In the series with the Leafs, (out of the 24 teams in the play-in rounds) they gave up the 5th MOST shots/60, 2nd MOST scoring chances/60, 8th MOST high Danger chances/60 and 10th HIGHEST xGA/60 but Team Save% went up to 94.71% or 3rd best (1st among teams not already advanced).

Statistically, an open shut case of getting goalied but lets just say it wasnt for some crazy reason, what does Columbus do the very next game? Set the NHL record for saves in a playoff game! Just stupid good goaltending playing way above its head for a couple weeks and when it cooled down around the 4th Tampa game, we havnt seen it again since.

Why us? I've asked that myself a ton the last 5 years of watching this team but what happened happened.

The Blue Jackets looked even better than that defensively if you take out the first couple of months.

In fact if you look at the season only from when Keefe took over the leafs, Columbus was probably the clearcut #1 best defense from that point on.

 

[BlueForever75]

I dont get the issue people have with Kerfoot. He plays the roles that are given to him and is far from the issue with this team.

 

[zeke]

His offseason would have been an A+ had he brought in a legit #3C and traded Kerfoot's 3.5m

Here's how Kerfoot compares to some other 2nd/3rd line Cs this year:

TOR #3C Kerfoot: 16gl/43pt/+12 pace (EV: 12gl/35pt pace)
COL #2C Kadri: 26gl/46pt/-56 pace (EV: 10gl/26pt pace)
COL #3C Compher: 10gl/15pt/-21 pace (EV: 5gl/5pt pace)
TBL #3C Gourde: 19gl/39pt/+15 pace (EV: 19gl/34pt pace)
BOS #3C Coyle: 15gl/26pt/-10 pace (EV: 12gl/26pt pace)
VGK #3C Glass: 14gl/48pt/+14 pace (EV: 0gl/27pt pace)
WPG #2C Stastny: 14gl/41pt/+32 pace (EV: 9gl/32pt pace)
WPG #3C Lowry: 18gl/36pt/+5 pace (EV: 18gl/36pt pace)
MTL #2C Danault: 0gl/36pt/+23 pace (EV: 0gl/32pt pace)
CGY #3C Backlund: 13gl/35pt/-13 pace (EV: 13gl/26pt pace)
VAN #3C Sutter: 21gl/21pt/-7 pace (EV: 18gl/18pt pace)
EDM #3C Turris: 5gl/14pt/-41 pace (EV: 5gl/14pt pace)

 

[X66]

Kerfoot has been great and super versatile.

You literally can play him on any line and he won't look out of place.

Same thing with special teams.

 

[BlueForever75]

Here's how Kerfoot compares to some other 2nd/3rd line Cs this year:

TOR #3C Kerfoot: 16gl/43pt/+12 pace (EV: 12gl/35pt pace)
COL #2C Kadri: 26gl/46pt/-56 pace (EV: 10gl/26pt pace)
COL #3C Compher: 10gl/15pt/-21 pace (EV: 5gl/5pt pace)
TBL #3C Gourde: 19gl/39pt/+15 pace (EV: 19gl/34pt pace)
BOS #3C Coyle: 15gl/26pt/-10 pace (EV: 12gl/26pt pace)
VGK #3C Glass: 14gl/48pt/+14 pace (EV: 0gl/27pt pace)
WPG #2C Stastny: 14gl/41pt/+32 pace (EV: 9gl/32pt pace)
WPG #3C Lowry: 18gl/36pt/+5 pace (EV: 18gl/36pt pace)
MTL #2C Danault: 0gl/36pt/+23 pace (EV: 0gl/32pt pace)
CGY #3C Backlund: 13gl/35pt/-13 pace (EV: 13gl/26pt pace)
VAN #3C Sutter: 21gl/21pt/-7 pace (EV: 18gl/18pt pace)
EDM #3C Turris: 5gl/14pt/-41 pace (EV: 5gl/14pt pace)

So in other words, other then Kadri and Glass we are pretty good having Kerfoot as our 3rd C!!!!

Thank you for this, it pretty much states what I have been stating all along. We do not need another C. We need to keep him there and find that larger, grittier winger to provide balance.

 

[zeke]

So in other words, other then Kadri and Glass we are pretty good having Kerfoot as our 3rd C!!!!

Thank you for this, it pretty much states what I have been stating all along. We do not need another C. We need to keep him there and find that larger, grittier winger to provide balance.

Looking at even strength on the right there (which is the only strength that matters to the designation "3rd line C"), its only Gourde and Lowry matching him.

 

[IPS]

how many 3rd line centers could Dubas get for less than 3.5 million who can produce more at 5v5 than players like Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin? The disrespect Kerfoot gets for no reason is a little much, he's the least of our problems

He'll always carry that huge burden of criticism due to a fan favorite in Kadri being sent away for him.

I was hard on Kerfoot earlier in the season but he's picked his game up.

 

[Gallagbi]

Here's how Kerfoot compares to some other 2nd/3rd line Cs this year:

TOR #3C Kerfoot: 16gl/43pt/+12 pace (EV: 12gl/35pt pace)
COL #2C Kadri: 26gl/46pt/-56 pace (EV: 10gl/26pt pace)
COL #3C Compher: 10gl/15pt/-21 pace (EV: 5gl/5pt pace)
TBL #3C Gourde: 19gl/39pt/+15 pace (EV: 19gl/34pt pace)
BOS #3C Coyle: 15gl/26pt/-10 pace (EV: 12gl/26pt pace)
VGK #3C Glass: 14gl/48pt/+14 pace (EV: 0gl/27pt pace)
WPG #2C Stastny: 14gl/41pt/+32 pace (EV: 9gl/32pt pace)
WPG #3C Lowry: 18gl/36pt/+5 pace (EV: 18gl/36pt pace)
MTL #2C Danault: 0gl/36pt/+23 pace (EV: 0gl/32pt pace)
CGY #3C Backlund: 13gl/35pt/-13 pace (EV: 13gl/26pt pace)
VAN #3C Sutter: 21gl/21pt/-7 pace (EV: 18gl/18pt pace)
EDM #3C Turris: 5gl/14pt/-41 pace (EV: 5gl/14pt pace)

I'm too lazy to do the math on this, but am curious so I'll ask.

What's the average salary there for 3C? With Turris Gourde, Coyle, Sutter I feel like it'd be in the ~4m range

 

[Dekes For Days]

Yup, the narrative before that series was Columbus played good D, but not good enough to contain the Leafs offense. Guess that was a miscalculation?

No, that was exactly what did happen. Leafs offense outplayed the Columbus defense; the best defense in the entire league. Columbus won off of amazing goaltending.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Looking at even strength on the right there (which is the only strength that matters to the designation "3rd line C"), its only Gourde and Lowry matching him.

My only issue with Kerfoot in the #3C is that he's not very good on the draw. In fact he's been horrible this year.

 

[zeke]

I'm too lazy to do the math on this, but am curious so I'll ask.

What's the average salary there for 3C? With Turris Gourde, Coyle, Sutter I feel like it'd be in the ~4m range

Stastny (35): $6.50 + UFA
Backlund (31): $5.35 + 3yrs
Coyle (28): $5.25 + 5yrs
Gourde (29): $5.17 + 4yrs
Kadri (30): $4.50 + 1yrs
Sutter (32): $4.38 + UFA
Compher (25): $3.50 + 2yrs
Kerfoot (26): $3.50 + 2yrs
Danault (28): $3.08 + UFA
Lowry (27): $2.92 + UFA
Turris (31): $1.65 + 1yrs
Glass (21): ELC + 1yrs

 

[meefer]

Kerfoot- Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin. Which one does not belong ??

Which one is an established player who costs less than 4M/ ?

 

[ToneDog]

Which one is an established player who costs less than 4M/ ?

Suzuki ?? Seriously, I find it funny how somebody can come up with numbers that show Kerfoot > than the likes of those players. I wonder which one of those players Kerfoot is better than playing against 5v5. I start at zero.

 

[meefer]

Suzuki ?? Seriously, I find it funny how somebody can come up with numbers that show Kerfoot > than the likes of those players. I wonder which one of those players Kerfoot is better than playing against 5v5. I start at zero.

My goodness, are you serious? Nobody said that his numbers were better than those offered. "Tavares/ROR/Forsberg/Ovechkin/Barkov/Nylander/Suzuki/Bergeron/Crosby/Malkin?" Each one of them earns far more than Kerfoot for many reasons, save Suzuki, and he's far from being an established player. Which, by the way, was the comment from my post which you avoided. Either my language usage is too advanced for you to understand, or you're purposely attempting to misrepresent. I leave it to you to explain.

 

[X66]

Someone put it much better than me, but people hate Dubas for the fact that he's young and an outside the box thinker FOR NHL standards, which isn't much to say because most the NHL execs are an old boys club.

Not only has he improved our prospect pool a ton, he's always looking to improve the team and finds ways to make it work.

Look at a team like the Jets, they had all those 'steal' contracts for their forwards, and had a very deep D, but they couldn't keep the dmen together. Now look at their roster, it's shit.

This guy has added Brodie, Muzzin and Holl to our back-end. While other teams had to ship those types out, we were adding them, even though we were against the cap.

That's two top pairing guys, and a top 4 guy.

He added Tavares, and I don't care what anyone says, the Tavares signing is worth every penny. Because Dubas has already proved that you can added pieces for cheap around an elite core and they produce well.

I'm not saying he's perfect, but he's made us so much better and is not complacent.

 

[zeke]

Someone put it much better than me, but people hate Dubas for the fact that he's young and an outside the box thinker FOR NHL standards, which isn't much to say because most the NHL execs are an old boys club.

aka

I'm not saying he's perfect

I am.

 

[zeke]

Suzuki ?? Seriously, I find it funny how somebody can come up with numbers that show Kerfoot > than the likes of those players. I wonder which one of those players Kerfoot is better than playing against 5v5. I start at zero.

I don't think that's what that poster was saying at all, actually.

that being said....

Kerfoot: EV 16gl/39pt/+12 pace
Suzuki: EV 13gl/36pt/+14 pace

and last year

Kerfoot: EV 10gl/32pt/-3 pace
Suzuki: EV 8gl/31pt/-17 pace