NEW: Our Sharks' Roster Reaction!

[Friday]

Listening to the opening night roster reaction episode

I am sick and tired of hearing Sheng say positive things about Luke Kunin

My eyes are not lying to me Sheng, he stinks

Lol but he trys really hard

 

[Cas]

Lol but he trys really hard

I promise I will try even harder for one year at league minimum salary.

 

[one2gamble]

Listening to the opening night roster reaction episode

I am sick and tired of hearing Sheng say positive things about Luke Kunin

My eyes are not lying to me Sheng, he stinks

its kind of odd how much positivity surrounds kunin from the org and org adjacent.

 

[weastern bias]

its kind of odd how much positivity surrounds kunin from the org and org adjacent.

He must be an awesome guy because he provides so little value when he's on the ice and yet everyone just seems to love him

 

[Juxtaposer]

I just find it funny all the "Kunin is great in the room" talk when he just looks miserable all the time. Not sure I've seen him smile.

 

[Lebanezer]

Listening to the opening night roster reaction episode

I am sick and tired of hearing Sheng say positive things about Luke Kunin

My eyes are not lying to me Sheng, he stinks

He took a few digs at the internet community in this podcast. It's kind of funny considering Keegan was one of us before he started working with Sheng. Small aside, I loved @Kcoyote3's rant on Twtitter about Gushchin.

 

[Cas]

He must be an awesome guy because he provides so little value when he's on the ice and yet everyone just seems to love him

But he hits people, that's always critical, right?

 

[weastern bias]

But he hits people, that's always critical, right?

It's really important to put yourself out of position by chasing hits in the offensive zone, THAT'S leadership

 

[Alaskanice]

Hockey is an aggressive sport. You’re in a limited area where hitting is a big part of the game. NHL history is filled with guys who couldn’t hit or take a hit. They don’t last long.
The other night, Goose received so much praise for his points. Some of those points came because Kunin fought to be in front if the net. Some here may not understand how difficult that can be. It’s not just getting to a place but having sticks pushed on your back, arms and legs. Holding onto the puck along the boards, again with the sticks and bodies pushing and elbows and knees. It is hard.
There are players that do that. Goose doesn’t, really. He is needed for other things. Which he did. But if Kunin didn’t do what he did, Goose may not have those points.

 

[Kcoyote3]

He took a few digs at the internet community in this podcast. It's kind of funny considering Keegan was one of us before he started working with Sheng. Small aside, I loved @Kcoyote3's rant on Twtitter about Gushchin.

I'm still one of you!

 

[weastern bias]

Hockey is an aggressive sport. You’re in a limited area where hitting is a big part of the game. NHL history is filled with guys who couldn’t hit or take a hit. They don’t last long.
The other night, Goose received so much praise for his points. Some of those points came because Kunin fought to be in front if the net. Some here may not understand how difficult that can be. It’s not just getting to a place but having sticks pushed on your back, arms and legs. Holding onto the puck along the boards, again with the sticks and bodies pushing and elbows and knees. It is hard.
There are players that do that. Goose doesn’t, really. He is needed for other things. Which he did. But if Kunin didn’t do what he did, Goose may not have those points.

Luke Kunin is bad at every one of the skills you just described

Those are all important aspects of the game, Kunin is a negative at every one of those facets

His single best attribute is his willingness to fight and he's a terrible fighter, he gets the shit kicked out of him every time, there is no other forward who made the roster that I think he is better than at literally anything on the ice

He does 2 things well, he plays hard and he goes to the net, he's bad at every skill at an NHL level

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Hockey is an aggressive sport. You’re in a limited area where hitting is a big part of the game. NHL history is filled with guys who couldn’t hit or take a hit. They don’t last long.
The other night, Goose received so much praise for his points. Some of those points came because Kunin fought to be in front if the net. Some here may not understand how difficult that can be. It’s not just getting to a place but having sticks pushed on your back, arms and legs. Holding onto the puck along the boards, again with the sticks and bodies pushing and elbows and knees. It is hard.
There are players that do that. Goose doesn’t, really. He is needed for other things. Which he did. But if Kunin didn’t do what he did, Goose may not have those points.

Kunin has a lot of traits and skills that you'd like to have in a guy. His problem has always been consistency. Even the things that he gets notable praise on are things that he has a real problem doing on a regular basis. If any of those traits were unique to him and that was what he brought to the team, it'd be one thing. That's just not the case with the roster assembled as it is. There are guys, even ones like Nico Sturm, who are of similar skill level but do a more consistent job at simple things like catching passes which is what really helps players like Goose make plays. Kunin did that very well in Vegas. He needs to do it consistently and not only fight for net-front presence every so often or win board battles every so often. Those are things Kunin has always been maddeningly inconsistent on. The effort and physical plays you expect to see from him but don't for long stretches.

 

[sampler]

The Kunin love affair makes little sense to me too. He is only a borderline NHLer, a serviceable 4th liner who can chip in a few goals here and there, play some PK time, and maybe throw a hit or two. His type are a dime a dozen. he is worth 1M/yr as a reasonable depth guy. thats about it, but somehow, he is hailed as this incredible leader, an assistant captain, who does all the little things. I watch him, he definitely does little out there...

Sometimes, GMs and coaches fall in love with players for no clear reason, and sometimes they hate players for equally little reason. Kunin is one lucky guy to get so much love, and if he is so good in the room, then why was the room so bad last year with multiple players speaking out about how bads the coaching was and 3/4 player turnover. Seems to me that whatever "intangibles" kunin brings, they sure don't contribute to wins.

Maybe he has a breakout year this year and really contributes to actual wins. Ill gladly eat crow if that happens, but I expect another 15 minutes of dead ice time.