Your analysis seems to be assuming a zero-sum game in which keeping Nylander means missing out on someone else. I do not think this is a fair or accurate assumption.
Please stop trying to explain what
MY “analysis” is on things. Stick to your opinions, and you know, maybe try to actually try talking some hockey and express what YOU think, instead of just attacking other people’s opinions, personality, and posting style.
I literally don’t understand what you mean by “zero-sum” in this context OR what you mean by “missing out on someone”. You are seemingly making things up to dismiss an opinion I don’t share. As usual.
It’s this simple. The team still needs to change how it’s built. Nylander adds nothing the team doesn’t already have.
I THINK -over the past handful of years- the Columbus Blue Jackets are and have been built TERRIBLY. And the things have all been clear and easy to see.
1) Goaltending/Elvis, nothing more to say.
2) NO Centers. Our total number or overall quality of centers has literally been bottom-5 in the league, at best. Jenner and Voronkov now, and Fantilli in the future. Maybe Johnson and Sillinger in 4 years.
3) Overabundance of SOFT/offensive minded wingers. Hand in hand with our lack of centers, has been our issue of having too many wingers who play the essentially the same way.
4) Overabundance of offensive minded (or bad defensive) defenseman.
And another issue has been “leadership”, or you want me to be more frank,
BALLS. The team (as a whole) -even still- barely has any balls. With all the hate that’s been thrown Gudbranson’s way, it’s crazy how quickly people forget just HOW SOFT this team was before Gud/Olivier. It’s not about “fighting”, it’s about the mindset you bring to the ice shift after shift.
We have needed AND STILL NEED to address all these issues. Nylander does NOTHING to help the ACTUAL problems with the team. Ignoring what some are openly expressing about him “breaking out”, we still have a plethora of the same type of players, that I’m assuming and hoping, people think should be better options for ice time over Nylander, whether that’s for winning games right now/next year or taking “development” into account.
To answer some past comments/questions regarding why we could/should keep him. Even moving on from 1-2-3 of these “offensive minded” wingers who I categorize Nylander with, along with the assumption that a center or different style winger would be acquired, we STILL have enough offensive talent that Nylander is 100% unneeded. Do people want him taking time away from Chinakhov/Marchenko/Johnson/Fantilli/Brindley etc.?….or is that just something we want to bitch about in the future!?!
Even ignoring all those young guys that people seemingly always claim need opportunities and ice time, if you want to talk that the team overall needs Nylander’s offensive ability, then Patrik Laine needs to be addressed. This is a guy that is getting paid to be a “goal scorer”. Looking at the points and goals being scored across the league, that’s easily 40 goals that was pissed away as a team last year, so you can’t ignore that while looking at the teams GF number, and looking at Nylander’s goal scoring as a “need” in any way.
If people really think Nylander helps the team so much on offense, as he DOES NOT help in any other ways, then maybe we really need to reassess all the other offensive minded wingers that people are so high on.
(nitpick away)
