Player Discussion Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Part 20 - Second line centre edition?

[Miller Time]

4 pts in his last 30. 1 g. healthy scratc for Jake Evans cuz he couldn’t keep up with Tampa’s pace
Must be staals, his wingers and ducharmes fault. Not kotkaniemis at all. Guy is a dud so far

Now do Anderson
Now do Danault
Now do Tatar
Now do Gallagher

Funny how the 20yr old unproductive "dud" out scored & out produced all of the above...

 

[Zorba]

Now do Anderson
Now do Danault
Now do Tatar
Now do Gallagher

Funny how the 20yr old unproductive "dud" out scored & out produced all of the above...

Lol. You’re only talking playoffs. Funny you leave out the 3 pts in 30. Yet Anderson , Danualt and Gallagher Weren’t healthy scratches.
Guess ducharme just hates kotkaniemi. Must be why

 

[canucklover123]

His dad appears to have contracted cancer. Thinking of the kid today.

hate reading this kinda sh*t, hope it all turns out ok. Can’t even imagine that kind of stress on a kid

 

[Ozmodiar]

Suzuki will be fine until teams realize kotkaniemi is really nothing and they will load up on Suzuki
Kotkaniemi should get some easy minutes

Teams are gonna load up on Suzuki from the get go.

…. unless, another center is added. Likely, considering KK faded down the stretch and ended the season in the press box.

I think MB will look to solidify that position.

 

[Zorba]

Teams are gonna load up on Suzuki from the get go.

…. unless, another center is added. Likely, considering KK faded down the stretch and ended the season in the press box.

I think MB will look to solidify that position.

Not that easy. Teams know the habs are in need of a centre. They’re gonna ask for the sub the moon and the stars.
Maybe Perrault can help ?

 

[Habs Halifax]

KK entering his 4th year...its time to show something

I would not even count his 1st two years. His age 18 and 19 years were development. I think his age 22 or 23 season is where you see him show his top potential. Next season is his transition with more opportunities! It’s there for him to take

 

[Habby4Life]

4 pts in his last 30. 1 g. healthy scratc for Jake Evans cuz he couldn’t keep up with Tampa’s pace
Must be staals, his wingers and ducharmes fault. Not kotkaniemis at all. Guy is a dud so far

It’s AG cycle all over again. It will always be his wingers, the coach, his pregame meal, he didn’t get the jersey number he wanted, etc. The fact is he hasn’t progressed and is barely an NHL center.

The good news one or two more years of him starfishing on the ice and he will be gone.

Habs drafted for need, the swung, they missed, and Ottawa got the real player.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Teams are gonna load up on Suzuki from the get go.

…. unless, another center is added. Likely, considering KK faded down the stretch and ended the season in the press box.

I think MB will look to solidify that position.

Casey Cizikas! Very underrated and Trotz relied on him taking a lot of defensive zone face offs! 3 years at $3.9M or he dont sign IMO. We would have to trade someone out. Call this a insurance signing. Not attractive but a good center insurance. Evans and Cizikas would be a good defensive pair to ride. Then Suzuki and KK on offense.

Or ride with Poehling and let Ducharme manage him. Not sure Poehling had a shot with Ducharme yet. Could be the smarter play cause you know Poehling is ready to listen to instructions to get in the lineup! He’d be willing to take on any role Ducharme ask

Or try to trade for Dvorak. Would have to be Poehling+ as bait. Poehling and Drouin?

 

[Zorba]

Casey Cizikas! Very underrated and Trotz relied on him taking a lot of defensive zone face offs! 3 years at $3.9M or he dont sign IMO. We would have to trade someone out. Call this a insurance signing. Not attractive but a good center insurance. Evans and Cizikas would be a good defensive pair to ride. Then Suzuki and KK on offense.

Or ride with Poehling and let Ducharme manage him. Not sure Poehling had a shot with Ducharme yet. Could be the smarter play cause you know Poehling is ready to
Listen to get in the lineup!

Or try to trade for Dvorak. Would have to be Poehling+ as bait. Poehling and Drouin?

If cizikas is the only option, then it’s a hard pass. His offensive numbers are awful and yes I know he plays on a trotz coached team. His playoff numbers are invisible.
Stay away

 

[Merci Saku]

Read a lot of different opinions of KK,

At the end of the day, the kid is a big talented center, he’s entering his 4th year, which is usually the year a young player break out

we all want to add a center because of uncertainty, but when you build your team, you gotta give the opportunity to your future to shine. This is KK year

 

[Habs Halifax]

If cizikas is the only option, then it’s a hard pass. His offensive numbers are awful and yes I know he plays on a trotz coached team. His playoff numbers are invisible.
Stay away

When you talk offense with Cizikas, you don’t know his game! He’s basically a cheaper Danault and can be leaned on heavy in our end with Evans. Cizikas is very underrated and important part of the Islanders D system they had with Trotz

The only way to transfer strategy to more offensive structure is Eichel. If you can’t make a trade work, Cizikas is a solid Danault replacement. Don’t ignore defense with Price strategy! Being average on offense and average on defense is not a smart plan

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't think anyone is debating you that at this point, Suzuki has a higher celling than KK.

I think Suzuki’s development curve is steeper than KK from age 19-21. KK is a longer gradual one and you won’t know his ceiling until 22/23 ish

 

[Skip Bayless]

I think Suzuki’s development curve is steeper than KK from age 19-21. KK is a longer gradual one and you won’t know his ceiling until 22/23 ish

BREAKING NEWS
Here is a live feed of KK's development curve so far:

_________________________
2018 2019 2020 2021

 

[Garbageyuk]

It’s AG cycle all over again. It will always be his wingers, the coach, his pregame meal, he didn’t get the jersey number he wanted, etc. The fact is he hasn’t progressed and is barely an NHL center.

The good news one or two more years of him starfishing on the ice and he will be gone.

Habs drafted for need, the swung, they missed, and Ottawa got the real player.

The unfortunate truth.

 

[Habby4Life]

When you talk offense with Cizikas, you don’t know his game! He’s basically a cheaper Danault and can be leaned on heavy in our end with Evans. Cizikas is very underrated and important part of the Islanders D system they had with Trotz

The only way to transfer strategy to more offensive structure is Eichel. If you can’t make a trade work, Cizikas is a solid Danault replacement. Don’t ignore defense with Price strategy! Being average on offense and average on defense is not a smart plan

They should go after Dvorak. There is no way they can enter the season with this group of centerman. NS will be the only C that will be able to generate any offense.

I'm not knocking Evans because I think he is a good 3/4c and will do a good job defensively and will chip in occasionally on the scoresheet. The problem is KK isnt a 2c and right now is a 3c at best.

 

[Zorba]

When you talk offense with Cizikas, you don’t know his game! He’s basically a cheaper Danault and can be leaned on heavy in our end with Evans. Cizikas is very underrated and important part of the Islanders D system they had with Trotz

The only way to transfer strategy to more offensive structure is Eichel. If you can’t make a trade work, Cizikas is a solid Danault replacement. Don’t ignore defense with Price strategy! Being average on offense and average on defense is not a smart plan

I’ll stand by my opinion. No thx to cizikas. He’s a black hole of offence. Might as well let kotkaniemi play and see what happens

 

[ZUKI]

Why the face palm? Markov made millionaires out of scrap. Souray and konisarek. Koivu made everyone better.
Pacioretty made desharnais put up points
Gallagher , well he made Danualt.
If KK needs good wingers to put up points, then he’s another desharnais

And you ask why the face palm ?

 

[Zorba]

And you ask why the face palm ?

Ya I do. You make zero sense. You obviously think kotkaniemi has been treated poorly. Lol
He just doesn’t have it.

 

[417]

When you talk offense with Cizikas, you don’t know his game! He’s basically a cheaper Danault and can be leaned on heavy in our end with Evans. Cizikas is very underrated and important part of the Islanders D system they had with Trotz

The only way to transfer strategy to more offensive structure is Eichel. If you can’t make a trade work, Cizikas is a solid Danault replacement. Don’t ignore defense with Price strategy! Being average on offense and average on defense is not a smart plan

Not sure I get the strategy behind investing all that money in goaltending and then aiming to surround them with a defensive first strategy.

 

[willzyix]

you mean like setting records for playoff goal scoring?

when your take starts considering facts instead of ungrounded narratives, let me know

KK had 8 points in the playoffs. 8. He had 4 the year before.

For all the talk of "playoff KK" that PPG over a season is what? 35 points?

Better than he's been in the regular season but we should probably be hoping for more than a 35 point season from KK going forward.

 

[Kents polished head]

Why do I get the feeling that we'll be having those same discussions next summer?

 

[Miller Time]

KK had 8 points in the playoffs. 8. He had 4 the year before.

For all the talk of "playoff KK" that PPG over a season is what? 35 points?

Better than he's been in the regular season but we should probably be hoping for more than a 35 point season from KK going forward.

Context.
Matters.

Aside from age, physical maturation and experience, the reality is that the habs team struggled offensively in large part because our defense is terrible at transition & supporting the offense.
Our top 4 dmen had 2 goals all postseason combined & our ice time leader had 2 points.

Selectively critiquing a player while ignoring all the context of the situation is a puzzling habit many in this thread seem attached to when it comes to jko.

 

[Kents polished head]

Context.
Matters.

Aside from age, physical maturation and experience, the reality is that the habs team struggled offensively in large part because our defense is terrible at transition & supporting the offense.
Our top 4 dmen had 2 goals all postseason combined & our ice time leader had 2 points.

Selectively critiquing a player while ignoring all the context of the situation is a puzzling habit many in this thread seem attached to when it comes to jko.

That didn't seem to bother Suzuki and Caufield too much ...

 

[Miller Time]

That didn't seem to bother Suzuki and Caufield too much ...

JKO scored more than caufield while playing with Byron & Anderson...

Suzuki's ppg was flat, JKOs increased in the playoffs...

JKO was 2nd on the team in P/60, behind CC & comfortably ahead of Suzuki.

Context.
Matters.

 

[1909]

They should go after Dvorak. There is no way they can enter the season with this group of centerman. NS will be the only C that will be able to generate any offense.

I'm not knocking Evans because I think he is a good 3/4c and will do a good job defensively and will chip in occasionally on the scoresheet. The problem is KK isnt a 2c and right now is a 3c at best.

Right. It's a concerning situation. But with the amount of good wingers Habs have, they could put Perreault at center and spread the minutes quite evenly between their lines 2-3-and 4, while the Suzuki's line get the most minutes and PP.

OR, as someone mentioned, they could package Drouin with a youngster or two to get that much needed reliable #2 centerman.