Barkov can’t be everything everywhere. My point is that he provides the basis upon which the snipers can thrive. It’s a team game. Verhaeghe does some (not all) of his best work with Barky on ice - not a coincidence.
Yes, Barkov should shoot a bit more than he does. But not tons more, I disagree with exactly that idea. First, his release isn’t as quick as Carter’s, and second as much as he’s improved, his shots aren’t quite top NHL elite like Verhaeghe’s. Still, I don’t deny that he should shoot a bit more - but not as much more as you and some others seem to want.
His shot may not be elite, but he has shown the capacity to me among the top goal scorers in the league. He was 8th and 9th from 2020 to 2022, a sample size of 67 games.
No one's denying his contribution outside offense has been immensely valuable, I actually thought he was one of our best forwards last game.
There's also the simple fact that his offensive in the playoffs is far below what is expected of him. I'll use his past 3 seasons because theyve been his best production wise, His PPG is 1.21 in the last 3 years! Thats a 99 point pace in 82 games, up there with the best offensive players in the league and he's one of the few with just as good of a defensive game. Stuff like this is why he was in the conversation of being a top 5-10 forward in just the past few years.
In the last 3 postseason, his PPG is 0.72 in the last 35 games, that's 59 points in 82 games. That's a 40 point difference between his regular season and playoff production. I get that almost every players production goes down in the playoffs, but that's dramatic.
Players of his ilk like Toews and Kopitar were hovering around or just below a PPG while playing in a much lower scoring era. Barkov has shown to be as good as them in the regular season.
Don't get me wrong, he's still been our best two way player by far, and his defensive stats these playoffs for the most part have been incredible. He's also been underwhelming on the offensive side of things. Both can be true.