Jared Cowen

[ReginKarlssonLehner]

Let me just say this...

I honestly do not think Sens organization is trying to succeed this year but instead laying down foundation for contender as soon as possible.

Why do I say this? Methot is without a doubt the better option for Karlsson yet they play Cowen in his place when he himself needs someone to take care of him let alone playing with the ever risky Karlsson.

Management want Cowen and Karlsson to click and they're forcing.. well forcing not a good word but molding them asap.

Shows pretty big praise by Sens brass on Cowen. Cause why else would management play the two while both still recovering from injuries with blatant inconsistencies defensively by both.

I've seen Karlsson defend more 2on1's in one game than he did all of last year with Methot as his partner, lol.

 

[CanadianHockey]

Cowen's game has been ripped to shreds because of his poor start. He's much better now and is well on his way to being a solid shutdown guy.

 

[HSF]

Agreed since Dec he has been solid imo

 

[Micklebot]

I know that the puck never made it to Cowen. The post you referenced was a hypothetical; had the puck made it to Cowen, what was the end game? A simple dump and change? Why activate a defensive D for that?

So the only mistake you can find in the video you posted to illustrate his poor play is the made up one that didn't happen?

My guess is if the pass made it to him he'd have passed to the wide open Neil on the right side of the rink. Whether or not that results in a dump in and hard for-check or just a line change is irrelevant, at that stage they were looking for a clean exit from the zone with speed, hoping to catch the opponent either making a bad change, pinch or other mistake and if not get a safe line change or maybe a bit of fore-check pressure in the OZ to wear down their D. By activating the D, the transition game starts quicker putting more pressure on the opponent in the hope of forcing mistakes. It's kind of a big part of our system.

But you're right, we should stick to hypothetical situations to criticize Cowen on plays where he's just following the teams system.

Why not find something he actually did wrong to criticize him on instead of a bad pass from Greening followed by a make believe scenario where tries to dangle every player on the blues?

 

[Tuna99]

He's been using his stick a lot better, he has to have one of the longest reaches in the NHL - and his strength in his stick when he's chasing guys is unreal.

He needs to get more shots on net from the point, to me he'll
Be 100 times more dangerous if he can get that bomb on net

I'm a big fan. He's a leader.

 

[The Fuhr*]

I know that the puck never made it to Cowen. The post you referenced was a hypothetical; had the puck made it to Cowen, what was the end game? A simple dump and change? Why activate a defensive D for that?

Cause that's the coach's system

 

[LuckyPierre]

So the only mistake you can find in the video you posted to illustrate his poor play is the made up one that didn't happen?

My guess is if the pass made it to him he'd have passed to the wide open Neil on the right side of the rink. Whether or not that results in a dump in and hard for-check or just a line change is irrelevant, at that stage they were looking for a clean exit from the zone with speed, hoping to catch the opponent either making a bad change, pinch or other mistake and if not get a safe line change or maybe a bit of fore-check pressure in the OZ to wear down their D. By activating the D, the transition game starts quicker putting more pressure on the opponent in the hope of forcing mistakes. It's kind of a big part of our system.

But you're right, we should stick to hypothetical situations to criticize Cowen on plays where he's just following the teams system.

Why not find something he actually did wrong to criticize him on instead of a bad pass from Greening followed by a make believe scenario where tries to dangle every player on the blues?

I'm not wrong in that he was out of position. I'm also not wrong that the goal was scored from the area where Cowen would have been had he played conservatively.

He had options to evaluate. He didn't have to join that rush full tilt like he did. Greening clearly blew the pass, but Cowen skated hard, right into a classic Blues trap.

 

[Micklebot]

I'm not wrong in that he was out of position. I'm also not wrong that the goal was scored from the area where Cowen would have been had he played conservatively.

He had options to evaluate. He didn't have to join that rush full tilt like he did. Greening clearly blew the pass, but Cowen skated hard, right into a classic Blues trap.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. Cowen had coverage in his spot (Smith) giving him the go ahead to jump into the rush. It backfired because Greening gave the puck away, not because of anything that Cowen did. I don't think you can really expect Cowen to take Greening potentially giving away the puck at the blueline into consideration when deciding whether or not to join the rush, and even if you do, it's not like nowbody was in good defensive position in the event of a turnover. We had 2 guys back.

I'd rather that our team go on offence when we have the puck, and I won't be upset if a dman jumps in when he's got a forward back to cover for him even if it backfires. I'd rather see us pushing the play up ice than playing it safe and end up hemmed in our own end because the puck carrier gets no support.

 

[LuckyPierre]

So. My suggestion. Trade Jared Cowen at the deadline. Receive a top six forward in return. Replace Jared Cowen's minutes by promoting Marc Methot, calling up Fredrik Claesson or Mark Borowiecki, and toying around with the pairings.

He remains one of our more coveted, tradeable assets, but he is actually simply not very good. Murray wants a top six forward. There's your easy, one-for-one answer. Besides, a top six forward for a 9th overall pick is fair asset management in my books. And finally, that will teach a lesson to players in the organization about unnecessary holdouts, and what we think about players missing training camp.

 

[bert]

So. My suggestion. Trade Jared Cowen at the deadline. Receive a top six forward in return. Replace Jared Cowen's minutes by promoting Marc Methot, calling up Fredrik Claesson or Mark Borowiecki, and toying around with the pairings.

He remains one of our more coveted, tradeable assets, but he is actually simply not very good. Murray wants a top six forward. There's your easy, one-for-one answer. Besides, a top six forward for a 9th overall pick is fair asset management in my books. And finally, that will teach a lesson to players in the organization about unnecessary holdouts, and what we think about players missing training camp.

A trade built around Cowen for a forward from Edmonton is really the only team I can see doing anything about it. If we can see it so can their pro scouts, his contract is looking like an albatross right now.

 

[LuckyPierre]

A trade built around Cowen for a forward from Edmonton is really the only team I can see doing anything about it. If we can see it so can their pro scouts, his contract is looking like an albatross right now.

I don't even think his contract is that bad. He simply isn't very good.

 

[arglebargle]

I still don't get what people see in Cowen besides a lot of size. Forwards just skate by him to the corner and easily pass the puck by him into the slot or crease. It's like he's not even there a lot of the time.

Teams have really abused the hell out of the Karlsson-Cowen pairing. They rush a fast player up Cowen's side, who Cowen will have a tough time keeping up with. At the same time they send a big guy to the net, who Karlsson will have a tough time moving. So you get a lot of tape to tape passes into the crease for easy goals. It's been happening constantly since they've put these two together.

Cowen needs to get sent to Binghamton, and he needs someone to work 1 on 1 with him so that he learns how to properly play his position. About the only thing he does well is pin opponents to the boards after they beat him to the puck.

 

[LuckyPierre]

It's funny you bring up the idea of sending him to Binghamton.

Luke Richardson was one of the steadier mammoth defensive defensemen of his generation. If there was anyone who could have enabled Cowen to reach his ceiling during his waiver-exempt period, it was Luke.

My take on not sending him down was that by keeping him up, Murray wanted to prevent his value from being tarnished - a full time NHL'er is a more valuable asset in the short term than a yo-yo prospect.

Ironically, his value after two-thirds of a season of inconsistent play may just be equal to that of a guy who needed an AHL assignment to get on track.

 

[derriko]

God you guys are being fickle...You hate him for two months, love him for a month, and hate him again. He's a frickin 6'5" defenseman in his sophomore season coming off a major injury.

He's. a. frickin. 6'5" defenseman. in. his. sophomore. season. coming. off. a. major. injury!!!





HES A FRICKIN 6'5" DEFENSEMAN IN HIS SOPHOMORE SEASON COMING OFF A MAJOR INJRY





Theres not many players out there with his size and skill set that would get as many minutes as hes getting right now at his age. I think hes suffering a little bit from the Phillips syndrome...too big of a role for his age and experience.

He is having trouble keeping up with the game pace, but thats understandable considering his size, age, and injury status. If you go back to his rookie season, yeah he was making the occasional brain fart, but he kept up with the speed of the game just fine. That leads me to believe that its just the missing training camp / injury thing thats causing this, not a lack of hockey iq.

The brain farts will probably stay another year or two while he gains experience, and that should be expected.

 

[Cat Dad Sixty Nine]

My opinion on Cowen remains the same.

Good tools but thats about it. Doesn't have the IQ to be anything more than a 2nd pairing dman. Just another player that dominated juniors due to size and strength but is too dumb for the NHL. Ill never understand why teams draft 1-dimensional defensive dmen in the top 20. They always disappoint.

 

[HSF]

Cowen wins wherever he goes


i rather keep him and let him get some reps in. His injury wasnt minor so he will need time

 

[The Expert]

Cowen's game has been ripped to shreds because of his poor start. He's much better now and is well on his way to being a solid shutdown guy.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm watching the same games as other people.

 

[arglebargle]

It's funny annoying that people post real, legitimate criticisms about how Cowen is bad at hockey, yet people keep posting his height in response. I already know he's tall. Height alone doesn't equal good hockey player FFS

 

[arglebargle]

Let me just say this...

I honestly do not think Sens organization is trying to succeed this year but instead laying down foundation for contender as soon as possible.

Is that why they traded away a top prospect, a roster player and a 1st round pick?

 

[krapsik]

That leads me to believe that its just the missing training camp / injury thing thats causing this, not a lack of hockey iq.

"Missing training camp" Guy played 56 games this season and you are talking about training camp ?

 

[Pierre from Orleans]

"Missing training camp" Guy played 56 games this season and you are talking about training camp ?

Guy also came back from a major surgery.

 

[derriko]

"Missing training camp" Guy played 56 games this season and you are talking about training camp ?

Kuba missed training camp and was never the same. There are many more examples of this happening as well that I can't think of. Yes, some of Kuba's downfall was natural regression, but I believe that was a good part of it.

Watch some games from his rookie year. He made some rookie mistakes, but he was playing a damn good & safe shut down role. He has pretty good hockey iq but hes had to play catch up ever since his injury.

Oh well, I give up this argument. I guess people will see in the next couple years.

 

[bert]

It's funny annoying that people post real, legitimate criticisms about how Cowen is bad at hockey, yet people keep posting his height in response. I already know he's tall. Height alone doesn't equal good hockey player FFS

He could be 8'10, that doesn't change the fact that he doesn't know what to do.

 

[krapsik]

Guy also came back from a major surgery.

Positioning on the ice may be affected by injury ?

 

[TheBradyBunch]

It's funny you bring up the idea of sending him to Binghamton.

Luke Richardson was one of the steadier mammoth defensive defensemen of his generation. If there was anyone who could have enabled Cowen to reach his ceiling during his waiver-exempt period, it was Luke.

My take on not sending him down was that by keeping him up, Murray wanted to prevent his value from being tarnished - a full time NHL'er is a more valuable asset in the short term than a yo-yo prospect.

Ironically, his value after two-thirds of a season of inconsistent play may just be equal to that of a guy who needed an AHL assignment to get on track.

So how does his 6 year contract extension fit into that context?