I'd say that hit in the Ottawa game mattered and he is leading the team in hits while pacing for 283 over 82 games. The Kings haven't had a player over 200 hits in the Bluc era and a forward hasn't led the team in hits since Brown in 2018. Last season with someone over 200 hits was 2016 with Lucic, Brown and McNabb all over 200 and Muzzin right there at 197.
Different game now? Sure, but it isn't so different that the Kings should be having someone with 150 hits be the team leader for the majority of the Bluc era. The issue with Jeannot is they needed this type of beef years ago if they wanted to win in whatever this window was that Bluc thought was open but they waited to address it after they blew all of their assets and cap.
I'm mostly upset with how he has looked in his fights since this is a guy that can take on a Reeves type and he looks silly against Luke Schenn and, even worse, MacEwen. That said, we watched Connor McDavid collect a bounty on Anderson two minutes into a game that was only a couple of weeks away from the playoffs when it looked pretty certain that the two teams would be meeting and the Kings did jack shit about it except get blown out of the arena. Now I've got Anderson taking a harmless hit and two Kings laying a hit on the guy and Jeannot starting a fight with him.
I want the youth on this team to be immersed in a culture that does that and not the bullshit pacifist crap we've seen pretty much since Bluc took over. These guys have to care about one another enough to put their health on the line or they will never win a thing: I am very encouraged by what I've seen in that regard compared to the last eight years or whatever we've been suffering through.
This. Though Jeannot didn't get going with McEwen or Schenn - he has 3 fights and leads the team in hits. I haven't seen a situation like that in awhile where a Kings top player takes a hit (Anderson) and Tanner immediately challenges Foligno. Englund did it last year - I remember the fight with Hague after the slash on Laffy, but that was rare the past few years.
There is also things Jeannot is doing on the bench if you watch him - he is a presence. His teammates seem to really like him especially the young kids. Tanner also has 1 goal, that is one more than Byfield.
It's his first year here and back in the West. I would give him until game 40. Either way, he is def a culture changing player.
The only way I see the Kings walking from Tanner is letting Helenius play on the 4th line next year. Otherwise, I would re-sign him.
Also, I would rather have Jeannot, Foegele, and Edmundson than PLD - basically same price for those three.
BTW, all Schenn's punches hit him in the visor and McEwen got him all twisted. Jeannot edged out Foligno so his record is 1-2-0, but I would really call those two losses barely losses. We are not talking about Buchberger, Rychel, or Cowan here - Jeannot can fight.
Brendan Lemieux was one of my fav Kings and he didn't win every fight and he still did his job.
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