Value of: MacDermid to Montreal

[Nico Cauzuki]

@Nico Cauzuki

If he want to scrap his health after all his gains to be a goon, be my guess Wayne

Thats what he was doing in Toronto and idk Wayde Simmonds personally but not because he made millions in the past it means that he still has millions in the bank today i dont think he would refuse an NHL contract

 

[Moose Head]

@Nico Cauzuki

If he want to scrap his health after all his gains to be a goon, be my guess Wayne

That’s a decision he has to make, but being a 4th line punching bag or scratch is probably the only role he’ll get offered.

Personally, I’d rather see him live a long healthy life, and after a very lucrative career, he should probably hang them up. Unless he’s been horrible with money, does he really need another year or two at NHL minimum?

 

[Jared Dunn]

Obviously my question was sarcastic but yeah I'm aware there's a subset of hockey fans that think hitting makes a player good.

He sucks though

Congrats on watching a handful of highlights

 

[Jared Dunn]

I mean, if you are making roster moves out of fear of Lucic and Reaves... something is just wrong in your gameplan from the outset. You should want those guys on the ice against you as much as possible. Don't give them a chance to get off the ice by fighting them. Leave them on. Profit.

Are you just intentionally missing the point now?

 

[Kaiden Ghoul]

That’s a decision he has to make, but being a 4th line punching bag or scratch is probably the only role he’ll get offered.

Personally, I’d rather see him live a long healthy life, and after a very lucrative career, he should probably hang them up. Unless he’s been horrible with money, does he really need another year or two at NHL minimum?

Exactly at this point i would hang my skate personally

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Are you just intentionally missing the point now?

No, I'm just saying your idea is a terrible one. Nobody should be scared of geriatric dinosaurs like Lucic/Reaves. Leave them on the ice, don't fight them, and your team will come out ahead.

 

[TS Quint]

The people who watch him play hockey think he's good yes

Does St.Louis watch him play? When he’s 8th on the Habs defense in average TOI, thats saying something.

 

[HuGo Sham]

Does St.Louis watch him play? When he’s 8th on the Habs defense in average TOI, thats saying something.

This trade thread got hijacked by dumb takes...he was a walk-on out of the OHL, signed as FA and didn't spend a second in the AHL. He's only 22, 6'4, 240, legitimate heavyweight who can skate for a big guy, plays a mean game and actually found some offence last season.
Are posters being purposefully obtuse? He has ONE season of pro experience.
If he projects as a mid to bottom pairing shutdown Dman who can PK, fight and beat anyone in the NHL, that's a goddam win - and it's the exact reason why habs drafted Florian

 

[wmupreds]

This trade thread got hijacked by dumb takes...he was a walk-on out of the OHL, signed as FA and didn't spend a second in the AHL. He's only 22, 6'4, 240, legitimate heavyweight who can skate for a big guy, plays a mean game and actually found some offence last season.
Are posters being purposefully obtuse? He has ONE season of pro experience.
If he projects as a mid to bottom pairing shutdown Dman who can PK, fight and beat anyone in the NHL, that's a goddam win - and it's the exact reason why habs drafted Florian

That's all well and good, and probably nobody would deny that he's a good story. And it's certainly possible he develops into something more, as by all accounts he's a very hard worker. But *right now*, he is not a good NHL defenseman, and no amount of fan love because he hits and fights changes that.

 

[HuGo Sham]

That's all well and good, and probably nobody would deny that he's a good story. And it's certainly possible he develops into something more, as by all accounts he's a very hard worker. But *right now*, he is not a good NHL defenseman, and no amount of fan love because he hits and fights changes that.

he's not a bad NHL defenseman either

 

[Lockin17]

Wifi, Pezzeta and Anderson can do this job..

 

[Moose Head]

Wifi, Pezzeta and Anderson can do this job..

Given his shoulder injuries, Anderson should not be fighting heavies.

 

[MXD]

Arber Xhecaj is, on his own and without fighting, an okay #6-7 in the NHL, as of last season anyways, on his first year of pro hockey. That's what he analytically was last season at least. Eye test says he's exactly that too, and that he's quite a bit better offensively than defensively.

More importantly with him, it's the growth curve that's impressive. It's safe to say that, out of every D-Men that turned pro last season (that includes just about every AHL'er and ECHLer), he was in the bottom quartile just three years ago, and is now in the upper quartile (being an NHLer on your first pro season, even if something of a fringe one, makes him such).

 

[57special]

I'll say this for McDermid, he's one hell of a fighter. If you can afford to have him take a roster spot, he's nice to pull out if your team is getting abused. For that reason, i think CO needs to keep him. Mackinnon is too feisty as it is...you don't want him, Rantanen, or Makar defending themselves/getting injured. Landeskog used to be the guy who would step in and deliver a few crosschecks during scrums, even though he wasn't much of a fighter. He will be missed in CO.

 

[TS Quint]

This trade thread got hijacked by dumb takes...he was a walk-on out of the OHL, signed as FA and didn't spend a second in the AHL. He's only 22, 6'4, 240, legitimate heavyweight who can skate for a big guy, plays a mean game and actually found some offence last season.
Are posters being purposefully obtuse? He has ONE season of pro experience.
If he projects as a mid to bottom pairing shutdown Dman who can PK, fight and beat anyone in the NHL, that's a goddam win - and it's the exact reason why habs drafted Florian

That’s about what I was thinking. Some of these takes from Habs fans on him seem a little extra.

 

[Jared Dunn]

That's all well and good, and probably nobody would deny that he's a good story. And it's certainly possible he develops into something more, as by all accounts he's a very hard worker. But *right now*, he is not a good NHL defenseman, and no amount of fan love because he hits and fights changes that.

He's a capable bottom pairing D right now at 22, has some warts in his game but potential to be a unique #4. Having a Radko Gudas that can handle the puck a lot better and beat the wheels off of nearly anyone is appealing, nobody is saying he's Shea Weber. Last year he became too focused on fighting and his game suffered and obviously so did his health

Wifi, Pezzeta and Anderson can do this job..

Again it's less about 'can' than 'should'.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Does St.Louis watch him play? When he’s 8th on the Habs defense in average TOI, thats saying something.

Is it maybe saying that he was 21/22 and was a moon shot to make the team in the first place?

 

[Moose Head]

Arber Xhecaj is, on his own and without fighting, an okay #6-7 in the NHL, as of last season anyways, on his first year of pro hockey. That's what he analytically was last season at least. Eye test says he's exactly that too, and that he's quite a bit better offensively than defensively.

More importantly with him, it's the growth curve that's impressive. It's safe to say that, out of every D-Men that turned pro last season (that includes just about every AHL'er and ECHLer), he was in the bottom quartile just three years ago, and is now in the upper quartile (being an NHLer on your first pro season, even if something of a fringe one, makes him such).

If he had been drafted in his first year of eligibility, it would have been the 2019 draft. Only 4 2019 drafted dmen have played more NHL games than him. So he’s doing pretty well vis a vis his age group.

 

[forsbergavs32]

Most Avs fans would probably give you MacDermid for a Big Mac, Large order of fries and a medium soda

 

[Moose Head]

Most Avs fans would probably give you MacDermid for a Big Mac, Large order of fries and a medium soda

Cheese burger, small fries and small pop is as high as I’ll go.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I'll say this for McDermid, he's one hell of a fighter. If you can afford to have him take a roster spot, he's nice to pull out if your team is getting abused. For that reason, i think CO needs to keep him. Mackinnon is too feisty as it is...you don't want him, Rantanen, or Makar defending themselves/getting injured. Landeskog used to be the guy who would step in and deliver a few crosschecks during scrums, even though he wasn't much of a fighter. He will be missed in CO.

Yeah. Many of the negative comments by Avs fans are due to him playing more minutes than he should have due to massive injuries. Consequently, his limitations were exposed more often. His role for the 2022 season was far more palatable.

 

[ClarkSittler]

Probably should toss this bookmark, as the data stops in 2018

But yes, less fighting these days than ever.

Not really.

Season	Games Played	Fights	Fights per Game
2022-2023	1312	334	0.25
2021-2022	1312	331	0.25
2020-2021	868	195	0.22
2019-2020	1271	194	0.15
2018-2019	460	86	0.19
2017-2018	1271	280	0.22

 

[ClarkSittler]

I don't think Xhekaj has any concerns whatsoever about dropping the gloves with Reeves and Lucic. They are both old men and they are not bigger than he is.

I suspect Reeves and Lucic are more concerned about having to deal with Xhekaj than the other way around.

Reeves and Lucic are at the end of their careers well past the date where they were the feared fighters in the league, get serious.

Both Reeves and Lucic are easily top 5 fighters in the league. Please tell me who is better.

Lucic just destroyed the guy who most people thought was the toughest player in the league.



Brian McGrattan was the best fighter in the league from 2012 until his last game in 2015 when he was 34 years old. Age didn't seem to slow him down much fighting wise.

Since that time Lucic has pretty much taken over, besides losing a close fight to McDermid last year he's practically unbeaten. Reeves has very few losses as well. They are feared as much as anyone else in the league. To say different is simply ignorant.

Xhekaj is a pretty tough kid, I'll guess we'll find out if he can handle Lucic and/or Reaves in a few months.

 

[innitfam]

Hey Wayne, how about the minimum salary on a botton team, and you will also be our punching bag !

How could he say no, after earning like 40M in his career. Lol

 

[Bouboumaster]

Where's my boi Laraque at these days?