Player Discussion: Morrissey's quiet redemption

Howard Chuck

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Jan 24, 2012
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So if he needs a guy to delegate puck moving to, why don't we just put heinola on that pair or atleast give it a shot? Seems more logical than going out and spending a first on ekholm.
Yes. I don’t see the logic in going out and throwing away a 1st round pick when we possibly have that guy already. Almost every hockey person in the world thinks Heinola may be that guy.
 

DannyGallivan

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Aug 25, 2017
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Morrissey last game agains the Habs...

He made some great plays, such as the effort he made en route to his assist. Then in other cases, he has the puck jump over his stick at the blueline again (happens to him more than anybody else it seems), and is front and center for a goal against. Overall, when you're on the ice in all situations you're going to have some bad to go with the good. I still say that his play has improved considerably as of late.

Pionk, on the other hand, seems be very generous when it comes to the Habs. He loves to give them the puck. Oh well, he's played so well this season I'll overlook a couple of iffy games.
 

Gm0ney

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Oct 12, 2011
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Morrissey got leaned on way too hard last night late in the game. This is his shift chart between the Gallagher goal at 5:58 and the Toffoli goal at 18:35:

upload_2021-3-18_9-39-39.png


On for 9 out of the last 12 minutes?

Here's Stanley, Pionk and Poolman (top to bottom) over the same span for comparison:

upload_2021-3-18_9-42-12.png
 

Jetfaninflorida

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Dec 13, 2013
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Morrissey got leaned on way too hard last night late in the game. This is his shift chart between the Gallagher goal at 5:58 and the Toffoli goal at 18:35:

View attachment 409345

On for 9 out of the last 12 minutes?

Here's Stanley, Pionk and Poolman (top to bottom) over the same span for comparison:

View attachment 409346

I don't know if it is Huddy or Maurice that is making that call, but someone needs to go over the video for these clowns. Coaches need coaching too some times.
 

Gm0ney

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I don't know if it is Huddy or Maurice that is making that call, but someone needs to go over the video for these clowns. Coaches need coaching too some times.
It's all about trust, I think. Maurice/Huddy don't trust Stanley and Poolman. Still, if you're going to shorten your bench like that, try to split it up a little more equitably between the two pairings you do trust.
 
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Jetfaninflorida

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It's all about trust, I think. Maurice/Huddy don't trust Stanley and Poolman. Still, if you're going to shorten your bench like that, try to split it up a little more equitably between the two pairings you do trust.

Agreed. But 9 in 12 is too much at the NHL game pace, especially when we are caved in our own zone the whole time.
 

Duke749

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Apr 6, 2010
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Morrissey got leaned on way too hard last night late in the game. This is his shift chart between the Gallagher goal at 5:58 and the Toffoli goal at 18:35:

View attachment 409345

On for 9 out of the last 12 minutes?

Here's Stanley, Pionk and Poolman (top to bottom) over the same span for comparison:

View attachment 409346

I don't know if it is Huddy or Maurice that is making that call, but someone needs to go over the video for these clowns. Coaches need coaching too some times.

Agreed. But 9 in 12 is too much at the NHL game pace, especially when we are caved in our own zone the whole time.

Yeh that was ridiculous. It was like he never left the ice. I have no idea how he wasn’t gassed but that was way over the top. Only a handful of defensemen should something that be trusted.
 

garret9

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Mar 31, 2012
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?
Why is it blue on one side and red on the other? If you can't make inferences from where the heat is, what's the point?

If Jets played more zonal over that period and less man to man, then you might have more support and I'm not saying it's not a factor, but I also didn't say you can't make any inferences... Just pointing out that the heat maps are adjusted for the quality you are with and face. Not just in terms of aggregate results but also if Morrissey is with someone who tends to leak on the right side it will impact his right side results and penalize him less there.

Now, as I mentioned, it only adjusts for quality of the player. There are other factors like chemistry and fatigue that could be accenting things greater than the model expects given the quality of players.
 

Whileee

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May 29, 2010
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If Jets played more zonal over that period and less man to man, then you might have more support and I'm not saying it's not a factor, but I also didn't say you can't make any inferences... Just pointing out that the heat maps are adjusted for the quality you are with and face. Not just in terms of aggregate results but also if Morrissey is with someone who tends to leak on the right side it will impact his right side results and penalize him less there.

Now, as I mentioned, it only adjusts for quality of the player. There are other factors like chemistry and fatigue that could be accenting things greater than the model expects given the quality of players.
My assessment is that Morrissey lost his game, maybe through injury, maybe by losing a partner with chemistry, maybe with added responsibility, or some combination. But he just isn't playing with the assuredness of a few seasons ago, and he's making more errors.

I still believe he has the skillset and smarts to be an effective top 4 D, but he needs to find the game he had. He plays well for stretches, and then has stretches where he seems lost, fumbles the puck, etc. I think he is now lacking confidence and playing tentatively too often. I'd try him for an extended time with a stable partner like DeMelo, give him a bit less ice time, and just tell him to play a fast, aggressive game.
 
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Evil Little

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My assessment is that Morrissey lost his game, maybe through injury, maybe by losing a partner with chemistry, maybe with added responsibility, or some combination. But he just isn't playing with the assuredness of a few seasons ago, and he's making more errors.

I still believe he has the skillset and smarts to be an effective top 4 D, but he needs to find the game he had. He plays well for stretches, and then has stretches where he seems lost, fumbles the puck, etc. I think he is now lacking confidence and playing tentatively too often. I'd try him for an extended time with a stable partner like DeMelo, give him a bit less ice time, and just tell him to play a fast, aggressive game.

Anything's possible but isn't health a more likely culprit than, uh, feelings in these cases?
 
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Whileee

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Anything's possible but isn't health a more likely culprit than, uh, feelings in these cases?
Health is the most likely issue, from my perspective. I wonder if the clavicle injury (separation and/or fracture, I think) caused him to play more tentatively since.

I wasn't thinking so much about his feelings, but I wonder if he's found the added pressure of being the #1 D after Buff and Trouba left might have caused him to play a bit more of a cautious game, and that the added responsibility might be creating a tendency to overthink things and perhaps even make mistakes. That's conjecture, but his style does seem to have become more cautious and tentative than when he was at his best.
 
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MrBoJangelz71

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Jan 14, 2014
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Morrissey is reminding me of his second season when he bulked up and slowed down.

Not sure what is going on with him but I cannot remember the last time he skated a puck out of trouble or started any kind of rush for us. He is constantly flat footed in our end, trying to either bomb passes up the boards or making backward passes to his D partner and putting him in a bad spot.

He makes slow decisions, and when he does, its many times the wrong decision. Last night he had opportunities to skate the puck out but opted to pass back to his D partner, that led to a turnover that led to another blown opp to get the puck out along the boards, that ended up in the back of our net.

I was giving him the benefit of the doubt because he has a rotating deck of 5/6 Dmen as partners, but he has consistently been bad with everyone he has played with.

Right now he is playing like a 3/4 Dman, and having him carry our load on the back end as a number one is hurting us. I like Josh, big fan, but his game is looking broken right now and either he fixes it quickly, or Maurice and Chevy need to find us a solution to reduce his minutes.
 

GumbyCan2

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Yes. I don’t see the logic in going out and throwing away a 1st round pick when we possibly have that guy already. Almost every hockey person in the world thinks Heinola may be that guy.

But listen to Chevy & PoMO. Heinola is not ready yet!
No matter how much Morrissey needs the skills Heinola brings, he is not ready! According to the "club", eh. So, do not be surprised if another 1srt rounder hiven up, but for a Dman this time.:(
 
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GumbyCan2

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Morrissey is reminding me of his second season when he bulked up and slowed down.

Not sure what is going on with him but I cannot remember the last time he skated a puck out of trouble or started any kind of rush for us. He is constantly flat footed in our end, trying to either bomb passes up the boards or making backward passes to his D partner and putting him in a bad spot.

He makes slow decisions, and when he does, its many times the wrong decision. Last night he had opportunities to skate the puck out but opted to pass back to his D partner, that led to a turnover that led to another blown opp to get the puck out along the boards, that ended up in the back of our net.

I was giving him the benefit of the doubt because he has a rotating deck of 5/6 Dmen as partners, but he has consistently been bad with everyone he has played with.

Right now he is playing like a 3/4 Dman, and having him carry our load on the back end as a number one is hurting us. I like Josh, big fan, but his game is looking broken right now and either he fixes it quickly, or Maurice and Chevy need to find us a solution to reduce his minutes.

Sadly I agree with you. JMor is not progressing to a top-1/2 Dman the hope was, not lately anyways. He has alot of great qualities and has decent leadership skills ( so says the "in-crowd" of team). He is just losing contain, losing handle of pucks not only by heavy pressure fore-check, his decision making is very questionable within any game and then he will make a couple of great plays. His shooting is SO frustrating for me (likely the coaches, teammates but they will not publicly say it), as he had a very good shot, just not seeing it coming out in 4 of 5 shots ftom the point of the deep slot!
He misses the net almost every good chance he has!!!
I believe he is over-worked many games and does not find, or have his needed outlet when pressured in our zone or neutral zone. Something is amiss, more than aligned, for sure?
 

GumbyCan2

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Ya it's a clown show. There's nothing wrong with Morrissey, he just can't play 30 minutes. Nobody can.

And the quality, skills of our overall roster on defense is probably causing overload issues both for player and coach's useage of Morrissey.
I really believe a better defensive structure for forwards too, whole team is really needed. Far too often, our D are overwhelmed with the on-slaught, being hemmed in so often, and few forwards effectively offering much help for coverage or getting pucks out ( until PLD is on and clears our net front or corners and Nikky gets the puck and winds her up the other way!)
A new defensive coaching ideal is what I have thought the Jets have needed for a few years! No offence Huddy, but...especially with this new "lesser tier D roster"!
 
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PaulPooley

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And the quality, skills of our overall roster on defense is probably causing overload issues both for player and coach's useage of Morrissey.
I really believe a better defensive structure for forwards too, whole team is really needed. Far too often, our D are overwhelmed with the on-slaught, being hemmed in so often, and few forwards effectively offering much help for coverage or getting pucks out ( until PLD is on and clears our net front or corners and Nikky gets the puck and winds her up the other way!)
A new defensive coaching ideal is what I have thought the Jets have needed for a few years! No offence Huddy, but...especially with this new "lesser tier D roster"!
It would take a far more astute hockey observer than me to be able to say whether it’s personnel or team defensive strategies that are to blame for our disorganized, chaotic defensive game. It’s ridiculous though. I’ve been watching hockey since 1983- I’ve never seen a team constantly struggle to get pucks out of their own zone as badly as this team.
 

Slimy Sculpin

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Dec 29, 2013
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Morrissey is reminding me of his second season when he bulked up and slowed down.

Not sure what is going on with him but I cannot remember the last time he skated a puck out of trouble or started any kind of rush for us. He is constantly flat footed in our end, trying to either bomb passes up the boards or making backward passes to his D partner and putting him in a bad spot.

He makes slow decisions, and when he does, its many times the wrong decision. Last night he had opportunities to skate the puck out but opted to pass back to his D partner, that led to a turnover that led to another blown opp to get the puck out along the boards, that ended up in the back of our net.

I was giving him the benefit of the doubt because he has a rotating deck of 5/6 Dmen as partners, but he has consistently been bad with everyone he has played with.

Right now he is playing like a 3/4 Dman, and having him carry our load on the back end as a number one is hurting us. I like Josh, big fan, but his game is looking broken right now and either he fixes it quickly, or Maurice and Chevy need to find us a solution to reduce his minutes.
There will be folks out there who will disagree but I also see everything that you do in Morrissey's game. The question is....do the coaches and if they do, what next?
 

Jet

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Yes. I don’t see the logic in going out and throwing away a 1st round pick when we possibly have that guy already. Almost every hockey person in the world thinks Heinola may be that guy.
Well it really depends on what time frame you are looking at. If you think that Heinola is going to jump into an NHL roster and instantly be a high minute munching first pair D who performs at the level of an Ekholm, you are going to be disappointed. It's going to take time for Heinola to get to that place, and if the team thinks (rightfully so) that anything could happen this year, it's worth the gamble to try and get a bridge the gap guy like Ekholm.
 

Jet

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Health is the most likely issue, from my perspective. I wonder if the clavicle injury (separation and/or fracture, I think) caused him to play more tentatively since.

I wasn't thinking so much about his feelings, but I wonder if he's found the added pressure of being the #1 D after Buff and Trouba left might have caused him to play a bit more of a cautious game, and that the added responsibility might be creating a tendency to overthink things and perhaps even make mistakes. That's conjecture, but his style does seem to have become more cautious and tentative than when he was at his best.
The way a player feels mentally can definitely be extremely impactful. That is often a reason why you see players have ebbs and flows in their performance. In Morrissey's case, an injury could have exacerbated some of the other impacts he was already facing (weaker partner, more responsibility, etc.)
 

Jet

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There will be folks out there who will disagree but I also see everything that you do in Morrissey's game. The question is....do the coaches and if they do, what next?
I'm thinking that the coaches are feeding him minutes hoping he can play his way out of it. Problem is its been so long since he's been good Morrissey that I'm afraid he's just engraining bad habits into his game.
 
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Pyy83

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He was never as good as everyone hoped he would be, I only understood when Pionk came around and and he turned out to be so much smarter and better player. Morrisey is quite the average player in my opinion.
 
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