That’s the problem. It should change when faced with new evidence, but you stubbornly hang onto these silly takes forever. We know your opinion hasn’t changed, that won’t make it any more correct.
I’m more than happy to change my mind and have done so on numerous occasions.
But on this? Not yet. On the CC side, the underlying numbers are there, the shooting percentage is not. As I said before, last I looked he was 8th in shots, pacing for 312. Almost everyone in the top 20 are going to have 30 goals and more than a few will get 40+. CC will probably wind up at 25. Crazy. There’s every reason to believe this will normalize next year. He has a brilliant history and killed it right out of the gate. So I’m not ready to throw in the towel on him at this stage.
As for Suzuki, he’s played like a boss since the break. Getting some puck luck now but even in games where he doesn’t score he’s been awesome. But not long before the break he was pacing for his usual 65 points. He was his usual reliable self but not like he is now. So, is it a streak or is this him leveling up? I don’t know yet. I hope he’s leveled up. He’s shown he has the extra gear… maybe this is just him continuing to progress. But I’m not going to say that after 10-15 games.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to maintain my belief on this. And it would be disingenuous for me to just go along with you here - I simply don’t believe it - yet.
However, if we’re in December of next year and CC is shooting at like 5 percent again, then I’ll be genuinely worried. At that point it’s not just a bad year or slump or whatever, at a that point I’ll wonder if he has Chris Higgins syndrome. Ditto for Suzuki, if he stays hot for the end of the year and kills it next year? Then - yeah! I’ll be happy to say that he’s better than I expected.
I had hoped (and expected) that CC would be 40-50 this year. He wasn’t and Nick has been by far our best player. So I was definitely wrong on that. Maybe I’ll be wrong again going forward. If I am I’ll be here to say so. But there’s every reason to believe otherwise - at least in terms of Cc. And if I am wrong? Then honestly, buckle up. Because our rebuild is going to take a lot longer if he’s not a legit first line winger.
And no, it’s not misplaced or unfounded to argue what I’m arguing. I believe what I believe based on past performance and underlying play. Up until now, Suzuki has been a below average center. The mere fact that writers are now saying “he’s playing like a number one center” reinforce this. If he’s a number one why do you have to say it? Do you think there are articles in Crosby where they talk about him playing like a number one center? Of course not.
Likewise, up until now CC has been a premier sniper wherever he’s been and put up 48 in 82 right away. I see no reason why Cc wouldn’t maintain this going forward.
Hopefully Nick will maintain this gear and Cc produces. That’d be good all around.
you've been talking about CC on Suzuki threads and posts for over a year now lol... Can't seem to let it go indeed 
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