Soundwave
Registered User
- Mar 1, 2007
- 73,204
- 29,149
Podkolzin isn't even an NHL player now. Last seen he's been a bust for the last two years. He isn't even prominent in AHL. Unless he has a complete turn around he doesn't even make the club.
Arvidsson is injured goods. Can barely play much now. Missed almost all of last season and was still getting hurt and having recurring problems.
We're not getting prime Arvie or anything close to that. We're getting the current version. You never mentioned that Kane who has been prominent here for years is now probably done or close to it. That makes it a saw off with now having either Skinner or Arvie. Frankly Kane was a better player than either.
Fact of the matter is we've lost several forwards from last cup run and we've gained around 2 and then others were hoping for, or are prospects. Not immediate help now.
its kinda funny that now people are just loving the idea of Jeff Skinner being a savior He was common fodder here and around the league as one of the worst defensive forwards going and has had some complete head case seasons with clusterf*** GA. He's had some good seasons too but you never know with him which one you're getting. This being the case in Carolina and Buffalo.
Guy can score but I'm not a huge fan of his 200ft game. 22-23 was the only season among the last several where he actually helped to make a team better and actually bought in. usually he doesn't. The Normal Jeff Skinner mode is flirt with 20- 30 goals while being careful not to do anything else.
Skinner was so bad defensively last season he was off the chart.
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Strange as it is Foegele had more EV goals last season than Skinner did. Skinner who was getting a lot of topsix. Plus consider Skinner was getting paid 9M to be that kind of terrible last season.
Arvidsson was 0.83 ppg last year, which is actually the highest PPG of his career and now he'll be playing with the best player he's ever played with (Draisaitl).
If Skinner sucks likely he'll be amenable to moving on at the trade deadline as a filler piece.
The over reliance on guys like Foegele and McLeod and Holloway and waxing nostalgic on them is fine and dandy, but there's another reality to that too ... not having players who can just put the goddamn puck in the net when McDavid or Draisaitl do 90% of the work probably also cost the Oilers a Stanley Cup.
Those guys needed to finish more of their chances, we left too much on the table, Florida should not have won that game 1 for example.
We've been trying to win a Cup basically with two top 6 scoring wingers basically (Hyman and RNH and RNH often goes invisible 5 on 5) the last two years. Kane's finish has gone kaput outside of games against LA in round 1 due to injuries.