GDT: Game 48: Columbus at Tampa Bay | 1/31 7:30PM EST

[EDM]

It seems certain posters just get a fix on certain players and then see those players as good or bad no matter what those players do. Not much objectivity, but a lot of agendas, really shown on this board.

 

[EDM]

That being said, someone actually wants to Morin on the second line?

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

It seems certain posters just a fix on certain players and then see those players as good or bad no matter what those players do. Not much objectivity, but a lot of agendas, really shown on this board.

It's not the players. Fire Jarmo/JD/HCTR/etc..

 

[CBJWerenski8]

That being said, someone actually wants to Morin on the second line?

No. I just don't see alot of movement on the roster going into next year.

 

[Crede777]

I just plain disagree with the assertion that Anisimov is just as good at killing penalties as Letestu. Maybe in a videogame, but in reality Letestu and Calvert seem to be our best PK forwards.

You don't have to be big to be good defensively. You have to be a good skater and have good positioning. Again, it is about covering guys, picking off or disrupting passes, closing gaps quickly, and being able to clear or transition the puck. Those are things Letestu excells at.

Also, the more we rely on top-6 guys to kill penalties, the less we can rely on them in other situations such as at even strength. We should be using our bottom 6 to PK and save our top-6 for ES and PP.

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

I just plain disagree with the assertion that Anisimov is just as good at killing penalties as Letestu. Maybe in a videogame, but in reality Letestu and Calvert seem to be our best PK forwards.

Agreed. Anecdotal evidence, but I feel like Letestu/Calvert often have the puck on the opposite end of the ice on the PK just killing time. Best place to use their speed

 

[Dr. Fire]

Oh good grief.

Even much of the international hockey media "experts" realize that the CBJ season was derailed by an almost unprecedented amount of injuries yet so many CBJ fans (at least on this board) are ready to jettison the entire coaching staff and front office.

Just give it a rest already!

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

Well, they don't all have to go. Just one of them. They can draw straws for all I care.

 

[Sore Loser]

Oh good grief.

Even much of the international hockey media "experts" realize that the CBJ season was derailed by an almost unprecedented amount of injuries yet so many CBJ fans (at least on this board) are ready to jettison the entire coaching staff and front office.

Just give it a rest already!

Agreed, completely. Over 300 man games lost and the season is still only 2/3 of the way finished. Frankly, it's amazing that the depth assembled on this team has even kept them remotely competitive. I think that's a testament to the front office and the coaching staff. If anything, they have proven more than valuable during these trying times.

The only thing you can fault any of them for, really, is the Nathan Horton scenario - and I'm not even sure about that, since he did come and play before suffering this bizarre injury off the ice.

Maybe people are still mad at Todd Richards for not pulling Bobrovsky in Winnipeg? Clearly it's all his fault that Bob over-extended and injured his groin

 

[Crede777]

Eh, I blame them for letting Mackenzie and Comeau go, and then buying too high on Gaborik followed by selling too low. But those are relatively minor things.

 

[alphafox]

I'm not trying to start a fight, but can someone explain to me why Mackenzie is so much better than our fourth line center now? Is it just the energy he brought every shift or the fact that he was a fan favorite? I hesitate to project what might have been, but it is likely that he would have been crucified if he had to step up and play the third line center role this year due to all the injuries we have suffered.

 

[Jovavic]

The fourth line next year should be Calvert-Letestu-Anderson

 

[MoeBartoli]

Agreed. Anecdotal evidence, but I feel like Letestu/Calvert often have the puck on the opposite end of the ice on the PK just killing time. Best place to use their speed

Adding to that and not anecdotal is that Letestu has a career percentage of over 50% on faceoffs! an important skill on PKs. Another reason he was on the top PK duo. As to one claiming him skill-less, I recall in past years he was often chosen in the top three for shootouts, Lee spoke of hockey IQ - 55 has it. Nice to have a good two way player who has avoided the penalty box this year and averaging 10 PIMs over 82 games in the last two and a half years.

 

[Derby]

I think Letestu's PK presence is also underrated. The three players who seemed to be involved in scoring shorthanded goals seem to me to be Letestu, Matty Calvert and MacKenzie.

And I agree Mark is surely one of our most "hockey smart" players. I have heard the coaches refer to him as such.

 

[hardkorejackets]

I don't see the rush in getting rid of Letestu and Calvert. Calvert can be a relatively cheap player for the role he provides on this team. No, Calvert is not the 2nd line player that some would like for him to be. But, he easily slots into the bottom 6 with his speed, intensity, and ability to kill power plays. Letestu is a good 4th line center that has hockey IQ, pretty good speed, with the ability to add points. Getting rid of him gets rid of another PK'er. I'm in favor of signing back these guys, unless we are getting a clear upgrade from them, rather than a D'amigo and Gibbons type replacement.

 

[We Want Ten]

Oh good grief.

Even much of the international hockey media "experts" realize that the CBJ season was derailed by an almost unprecedented amount of injuries yet so many CBJ fans (at least on this board) are ready to jettison the entire coaching staff and front office.

Just give it a rest already!

I dunno about the entire fo, but I think questioning of TR is completely justified given his baffling line changes, countless 3rd period collapses, and the continual habit of giving up comeback goals. Injuries have been awful, but I don't get the attitude that questioning the HC is for some reason a bad thing.

 

[cbjfaninmo]

I don't see the rush in getting rid of Letestu and Calvert. Calvert can be a relatively cheap player for the role he provides on this team. No, Calvert is not the 2nd line player that some would like for him to be. But, he easily slots into the bottom 6 with his speed, intensity, and ability to kill power plays. Letestu is a good 4th line center that has hockey IQ, pretty good speed, with the ability to add points. Getting rid of him gets rid of another PK'er. I'm in favor of signing back these guys, unless we are getting a clear upgrade from them, rather than a D'amigo and Gibbons type replacement.

I agree.

 

[Sore Loser]

I'm not trying to start a fight, but can someone explain to me why Mackenzie is so much better than our fourth line center now? Is it just the energy he brought every shift or the fact that he was a fan favorite? I hesitate to project what might have been, but it is likely that he would have been crucified if he had to step up and play the third line center role this year due to all the injuries we have suffered.

I think Letestu is a better fourth line center than MacKenzie in several ways. Really, I think if the team had stayed healthy down the middle this year, this would be a non-discussion.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I just plain disagree with the assertion that Anisimov is just as good at killing penalties as Letestu. Maybe in a videogame, but in reality Letestu and Calvert seem to be our best PK forwards.

You don't have to be big to be good defensively. You have to be a good skater and have good positioning. Again, it is about covering guys, picking off or disrupting passes, closing gaps quickly, and being able to clear or transition the puck. Those are things Letestu excells at.

Also, the more we rely on top-6 guys to kill penalties, the less we can rely on them in other situations such as at even strength. We should be using our bottom 6 to PK and save our top-6 for ES and PP.

Absolutely agree.

I never like seeing Johansen with 20+ minutes TOI with 3 minutes of PK time. There's no reason that a 4th line player can't be a very good PKer.

 

[EDM]

Working together, Letesu and Mackenzie did an excellent job of cycling the puck when they were on the ice. They gave a boost to our puck possession time by giving us a fourth line that could actually possess the puck and try to do something with it rather than just "clear" the puck as we have done so much this year.

 

[ca5150]

His numbers say he's a legit NHL top 9er or at least borderline. He's not a burner....so what? He's not an awful skater. At his price (I'll assume $2 million for the next 2 years), he's a great depth player and his versatility makes him a very worthwhile piece of the CBJ puzzle.

Feel free to compare him with players you think we should get in place of him. I'm willing to reconsider based on what you might find.

Legit top 9er?? 21 Third line centers in the league have more pts per game than Letestu. The reason I used the third lines, because he isn't physical enough to be on the 4th line. Yes I understand he might get a couple more points playing on a third line, but not significantly. He's a smart player, great guy, but I just don't see him being our 4th line center, and he can't play higher up in the lineup if we are going to be a cup contender. I'm not talking, make the playoffs, I'm talking cup contender. San Jose's third line center has 25 goals already...

 

[ca5150]

I just plain disagree with the assertion that Anisimov is just as good at killing penalties as Letestu. Maybe in a videogame, but in reality Letestu and Calvert seem to be our best PK forwards.

You don't have to be big to be good defensively. You have to be a good skater and have good positioning. Again, it is about covering guys, picking off or disrupting passes, closing gaps quickly, and being able to clear or transition the puck. Those are things Letestu excells at.

Also, the more we rely on top-6 guys to kill penalties, the less we can rely on them in other situations such as at even strength. We should be using our bottom 6 to PK and save our top-6 for ES and PP.

Dubi and Calvert are our best 2 penalty killers. Letestu is good but not good enough that we can't replace that PK time. Also, Nash led the league in short handed goals one year and was a very dangerous penalty killer, I don't agree that you just have scrubs killing your penalties. You need to be dangerous to keep the other D honest and not pinching in so far on the PP.

 

[ca5150]

Eh, I blame them for letting Mackenzie and Comeau go, and then buying too high on Gaborik followed by selling too low. But those are relatively minor things.

Agreed. Dmac and Comeau were very solid, fast, physical 4th line players with an offensive touch. He chose poorly in picking Tropp over Comeau and overestimated how quickly the young players would be up to speed in dumping DMac. And the Gaborik trade...we could of got him without putting Dorse in the deal. I know he's another guy everyone hates but he's a heart and soul guy that people follow into battle. He was a good skater and one of our best penalty killers too.

 

[major major]

Legit top 9er?? 21 Third line centers in the league have more pts per game than Letestu. The reason I used the third lines, because he isn't physical enough to be on the 4th line. Yes I understand he might get a couple more points playing on a third line, but not significantly. He's a smart player, great guy, but I just don't see him being our 4th line center, and he can't play higher up in the lineup if we are going to be a cup contender. I'm not talking, make the playoffs, I'm talking cup contender. San Jose's third line center has 25 goals already...

You're a total mess with stats. Stop comparing guys to Letestu who get more minutes. Either compare guys who get the same minutes or look at scoring rates per minute.

Letestu, as usual, scores at a pretty good rate. Third on the team, right beyond Foligno and Johansen. If anything it suggests he'd be a fine player on the first line wing.

 

[ca5150]

I'm not trying to start a fight, but can someone explain to me why Mackenzie is so much better than our fourth line center now? Is it just the energy he brought every shift or the fact that he was a fan favorite? I hesitate to project what might have been, but it is likely that he would have been crucified if he had to step up and play the third line center role this year due to all the injuries we have suffered.

The reason DMac is a better FOURTH LINE center than Letestu, is he's much faster, quicker, more physical, will fight, hit, forecheck, backcheck, and gets under people's skin. That's an oft overlooked trait, he annoyed the crap out of the other team, got in scums, got the team going. When you see the littlest guy on the ice taking on all comers with no fear, it really picks up the team and gives them a boost. You can't track that with Corsi. I like Letestu, I do, he's a nice player on this current squad, my whole point was if we are going to be a Presidents' Trophy threats and a team talked about for the cup, he's just too slow and lacks the grit of a long playoff run.