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Nick Ritchie discussion - clears waivers

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Stephen said:
He comes across as a bigger, lazier, less talented Alex Galchenyuk who is capable of both scoring and burning you in the same game.
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That is a bizarre comparison.
Other than playing the same sport/position I see very little similar.

AG is superbly talented and fleet afoot. Other than the pass of death (which only happened once that I remember) against montreal I do not recall AG burning us.
 
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The Iceman said:
That is a bizarre comparison.
Other than playing the same sport/position I see very little similar.

AG is superbly talented and fleet afoot. Other than the pass of death (which only happened once that I remember) against montreal I do not recall AG burning us.
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Just low IQ guys who can burn you at the same time they’re helping you. Galchenyuk made a bunch of head scratching decisions with the puck throughout the season in his time in Toronto but none as high profile as the playoff blunder.
 
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Galchenyuk is a creative and skilled player who occasionally makes baffling decisions. Ritchie is a meathead who only rarely and probably accidentally does something clever.

If he could be a pest and goad opponents into taking dumb penalties instead of doing it himself... well, he'd be Michael Bunting.
 
OMG, what happened to Marner's point totals?

Not including PK minutes:

Marner/Ritchie together this year:
TOI: 127:01
Leafs goals scored while on the ice: 1

Marner without Ritchie this year:
TOI: 334:10
Goals scored while on the ice: 31

Ritchie was a little better when played in the bottom 6 but absolutely killed the top line as he played half their speed.
 
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Zybalto said:
OMG, what happened to Marner's point totals?

Not including PK minutes:

Marner/Ritchie together this year:
TOI: 127:01
Leafs goals scored while on the ice: 1

Marner without Ritchie this year:
TOI: 334:10
Goals scored while on the ice: 31

Ritchie was a little better when played in the bottom 6 but absolutely killed the top line as he played half their speed.
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Maybe a little less than half?

Not to jump on the pile, but Ritchie really is a special kinda slow. Glacial.
 
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Why can't they just terminate his contract after he cleared waivers ?

Are they just keeping him around because of covid/taxi squad ?
 
cupcrazyman said:
Why can't they just terminate his contract after he cleared waivers ?

Are they just keeping him around because of covid/taxi squad ?
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He is being kept around because NHL hockey changes dramatically near season end as playoff spot fights occur and then gets even more draconian in da playoffs .. board men rule in da playoffs .. Nick will help us out when it counts
 
JT AM da real deal said:
He is being kept around because NHL hockey changes dramatically near season end as playoff spot fights occur and then gets even more draconian in da playoffs .. board men rule in da playoffs .. Nick will help us out when it counts
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Effort rules in the playoffs, especially for forwards, Ritchie is out of shape and lazy. Bruins had him stuck to the bench in the playoffs last year for a reason.

On the back end size means more as big D can just grab onto people to defend, for forwards it's a matter of fighting through it. Sure size helps, ideally you have big guys who work, but the effort is the more important part. Kerfoot is a little guy who did a great job fighting through the clutching and grabbing for us to be effective.
 
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The Iceman said:
That is a bizarre comparison.
Other than playing the same sport/position I see very little similar.

AG is superbly talented and fleet afoot. Other than the pass of death (which only happened once that I remember) against montreal I do not recall AG burning us.
Click to expand...
I don't recall any other blatantly obvious bad plays but the issue he faced was simple, he was just too slow to read plays and was consistently out of defensive position. To his credit he worked hard but it was a decision making issue.

I'd also add Galchenyuk is in no way "fleet of foot" as a young player he was decent with a somewhat awkward stride but after injuries he became slow as molasses. There's a reason he went from a 21 year old 30 goal scorer to waiver fodder by the time he was 26.
 
Why this guy is in the lineup is beyond me. He is a liability and there are better players in our system who should be playing ahead of him.
 
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I rewatched some footage of the WJC Canadian team with Ritchie, Crouse, etc.

It's shocking how much slower he has gotten. He was never a burner but he used to actually be capable of keeping pace with fast line mates and be involved all over the ice.

His speed today is considerably worse than 5 years ago, in all aspects. Has to come down to conditioning and weight. Maybe mobility issues, but he's been relatively healthy.
 
Knies iT said:
I rewatched some footage of the WJC Canadian team with Ritchie, Crouse, etc.

It's shocking how much slower he has gotten. He was never a burner but he used to actually be capable of keeping pace with fast line mates and be involved all over the ice.

His speed today is considerably worse than 5 years ago, in all aspects. Has to come down to conditioning and weight. Maybe mobility issues, but he's been relatively healthy.
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My theory is he's playing scared because he's under the microscope every shift and knows the fans think he's a flop signing. Needs to get out of his head and win people over. He was pretty good for first half 20/21. If we can get that for second half 21/22 we become a deeper team over night
 
JT AM da real deal said:
He is being kept around because NHL hockey changes dramatically near season end as playoff spot fights occur and then gets even more draconian in da playoffs .. board men rule in da playoffs .. Nick will help us out when it counts
Click to expand...
Your talking about the guy we all hoped Nick would be, unfortunately, he’s not that guy.
 
JT AM da real deal said:
He is being kept around because NHL hockey changes dramatically near season end as playoff spot fights occur and then gets even more draconian in da playoffs .. board men rule in da playoffs .. Nick will help us out when it counts
Click to expand...

How's he going to play on the boards when the play is already 50 feet away by the time he manages to get there?
 
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Martin Skoula said:
How's he going to play on the boards when the play is already 50 feet away by the time he manages to get there?
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12 hits in the last two games. You can only hit the puck carrier without getting a penalty. He's gotta be someone near the play, no?lol
Is he a fast skater? God no
Has he lived up to expectations? Not even close.
Does he even deserve to be in the lineup? Likely not .
But he's this teams hits leader and that counts for something. We get bullied games 1 & 2 of the playoffs and everyone who's bashing him will be screaming to get him into the lineup.
 
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He looks out of shape. Facial fat is usually a good indicator of someone carrying too much body fat. Hard to fix during the season if you'replaying, it's an off season thing you really have to work on.
 
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