Playoff Grade Card

[DarkandStormy]

Is this a joke? The talent on the bench? Our roster is almost entirely 4th liners/NHL waiver wire fodder that couldn't crack most contender's lineups.

Shultz, Tropp, Comeau, Mackenzie, Boll, Frattin, Skille - I mean, even a guy like Letestu (who I like) was basically given to us for nothing because he couldn't was nothing but a healthy scratch in Pitt.

Calvert on a good team is a 3rd liner, and RJ Umberger was a healthy scratch on our team this year. Can you imagine where he'd fit on a talented roster like the Blackhawks? Certainly not in the top 9.

Richie's best scorer (Gaborik) was hurt all year and then traded, the top 6 forward management gave him (Horton) was hurt most of the year and useless and forced into the lineup when healthy.

Richie basically made the playoffs and gave the Pens a tough series having only Jack, Johansen, Anisimov, Dubie, Atkinson and Foligno as solid NHL caliber players. Well, Murray too but of course he was hurt. Really, who else can you call claim to be "talented" on the roster? Depth players are useful and all, but look at the Avs, Wild, Sharks, Bruins, Kings, Rangers, Blackhawks...those are teams with "talent on the bench."

He was forced to use Jack Skille on the top line because the front office has given him so few actual NHL skill players to work with and the turnover machines that are Wiz and Tyutin on the back end.

Richie should be a Jack Adams candidate for sure.

You list Umby as a healthy scratch as a sign he's not "NHL-caliber" - despite his injuries, but then list Cam as one of 6 guys who are NHL caliber. Cam was a healthy scratch as well...and disappeared a bit in the playoff series.

Boone has clearly established himself as an NHL player. Savard is vastly underrated (and not even mentioned) in your writeup. I'm pretty sure every team would love to have DMac on their 4th line - 9-12 goals is what he can contribute, along with speed, forechecking, faceoffs, and PK work. Tyutin was "NHL caliber" before his ankle injury - which slowed him down. I'm not sure he's good enough to be playing top pair minutes, but come on...Tyutin not NHL caliber? lol Or the regular season version of Wiz - the guy who was a top 10 defender in terms of scoring.

Step off the ledge.

 

[IHeartZherdev*]

Whoops. Forgot about Boone

 

[Viqsi]

Not knowing too much about Corsi...

Does the CF% value take into account the fact that you are off the ice because you took a bone headed penalty and something bad happened to your team because of it? (just asking since Wiz and Comeau had the 2 best CF%).

Edit: Looking closer - this is 5 on 5 not PK or PP.

Yeah. Habitually with fancystats only 5-on-5 is considered because PK and PP time tend to not be enough to make a fair evaluation over the course of an 82-game season.

So of course using it during a playoff first-round exit makes ferpect cents, right?

 

[Nordique]

Is this a joke? The talent on the bench? Our roster is almost entirely 4th liners/NHL waiver wire fodder that couldn't crack most contender's lineups.

Had you said 3rd liners I might have agreed....minus Johansen, Dubinsky, and Jenner.

Richie should be a Jack Adams candidate for sure.

Don't hold your breath on that one.

 

[db2011]

Not that you need my confirmation, but I thought this was a good post. I agree with your points on Calvert and Letestu. I especially thought the Letestu was very good on face-offs, passes without turnovers and his penalty kills of which there were too many.

I also would add that I think some of the criticism on Bob is a bit tough s some would say fleury outplayed him. But there's no comparisons on the shots on goal or in the quality shots he faced. Bob was far more active and having to defend his end. He wasn't great - it wasn't bad - I thought he was average

I know I skipped Wiz. It wasn't his best series. But those calling for his scalp, hide or trade ate off-base. He was central to our success for 82 games. On a scoring challenged team like ours, he is needed defenseman. He needs to be appropriately used which means no penalty kills and limited stints against the top line

Just saw this. My problem with Bob starts with the 3rd period of game 1, and then games 4 and 6 when the team had to mount monumental efforts to get back in the game.

Now, I know he wasn't at fault for all of those goals. I just feel like, unfairly, he has less room to be average. It's to Bob's credit that he has given us reason to expect exceptional play to pick up his team when they need it. But when the team was playing poorly he was right there along with them.

He was stellar in game 5, no doubt.

Again, it's not particularly fair to hold Bob to a higher standard, but he's one of the players I do hold to a higher standard, and he didn't meet it too often in that series.

The weirdness of 3-1 leads producing losses was quirky and amusing but it's also really bad. We've seen this team do that often enough this year for me to predict to my friend when the 3rd period of Game 1 started that this lead was not safe- so it's on the whole team. But Bob is on the team, so it's on him, too. I just think he didn't play up to his abilities and hope for a better showing next time around, because we'll need it.

 

[NotWendell]

If the _____ would have played as well as they did during the regular season..."
A. Goaltending
B. Defense
C. Second line
D. Any/all of the above.

I say D - and the reason may have had something to do with the opponent.

 

[db2011]

But of A, B and C, only A. Goaltending is expected to set us apart from other teams. Without consulting stats, my impression is that we haven't been a team with a stalwart defense this season and that hasn't been part of the narrative of this team (unfortunately and, given my and perhaps others' expectations going in, surprisingly).

Our second line (which line is that, anyway?) wasn't a trademark either- our scoring came from all over.

But our goaltender won the Vezina last year and signed a new contract- it's safe to say our goaltending was part of the strength of this team over those other facets. But it wasn't in the Pitt series, overall.

 

[EDM]

BD's evaluation in the previous post seems very fair to me.

 

[blahblah]

Again, it's not particularly fair to hold Bob to a higher standard, but he's one of the players I do hold to a higher standard, and he didn't meet it too often in that series.

It is perfectly fair to hold Bob to a higher standard. There are elite goalies still in the playoffs that had a much better go in the playoffs. They are a big reason we can still use the word "still".

We've talked on and on about how Bob is an elite goal tender. The players, coaching staff, the front office, the propaganda machine that is FS (man do I hate those homers), the fans; yet he is not consistently an elite goal tender. If he's going to demand top dollars, he needs to improve that consistency.

Demand excellence.

 

[NotWendell]

It is perfectly fair to hold Bob to a higher standard. There are elite goalies still in the playoffs that had a much better go in the playoffs. They are a big reason we can still use the word "still".

We've talked on and on about how Bob is an elite goal tender. The players, coaching staff, the front office, the propaganda machine that is FS (man do I hate those homers), the fans; yet he is not consistently an elite goal tender. If he's going to demand top dollars, he needs to improve that consistency.

Demand excellence.

Agreed. His contract puts him in elite company.

 

[major major]

Agreed. His contract puts him in elite company.

If 2 x $5.6 is elite, then what is Lundqvist's 7 x $8.5? I think folks need to stop living in the 90's. Folks are paid more nowadays. Bobrovsky is getting paid Jimmy Howard money, not Lundqvist money.

 

[db2011]

It is perfectly fair to hold Bob to a higher standard. There are elite goalies still in the playoffs that had a much better go in the playoffs. They are a big reason we can still use the word "still".

We've talked on and on about how Bob is an elite goal tender. The players, coaching staff, the front office, the propaganda machine that is FS (man do I hate those homers), the fans; yet he is not consistently an elite goal tender. If he's going to demand top dollars, he needs to improve that consistency.

Demand excellence.

Ok, I was soft-pedalling and you called me on it. I agree. I feel like Bob could have and should have been the difference in this series, and he wasn't.

I guess I just don't want to depend on supreme goaltending to be the difference. I'd like to get by with above average goaltending. But if your rejoinder is that we didn't even have above mediocre goaltending, well I wouldn't argue.

 

[EspenK]

While watching the playoffs one of the announcers mentioned that so and so was one of the guys who really raised his game during the playoffs. Thinking back I was trying to think who I would say raised his game on the Jackets.

Dubi far and away. Calvert,Johnson & Jenner come to mind.Other than that I can't think of any who raised their game. Who did I miss?

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

While watching the playoffs one of the announcers mentioned that so and so was one of the guys who really raised his game during the playoffs. Thinking back I was trying to think who I would say raised his game on the Jackets.

Dubi far and away. Calvert,Johnson & Jenner come to mind.Other than that I can't think of any who raised their game. Who did I miss?

I made my list for this thread with concepts like "raised his game" in mind and I included Savard in a list that had the others you name here.

 

[EspenK]

I made my list for this thread with concepts like "raised his game" in mind and I included Savard in a list that had the others you name here.

I buy him. I think that is a key to winning playoff series. Look at the Kings as a prime example. "Struggle" through the season and then do pretty dang well in the playoffs.

 

[JrussJacket]

no he didn't. got that when he hit the boards the last game.watched wiz all yr with all his bonehead mistakes. grant it he has a hell of a shot, but can't pass or play defense and is our slowest defenseman on the team by far. is a very nice person no doubt about that and is a good locker room guy but they pay him to play DEFENSE ok which is not his forte.

Wiz wasnt good in the playoffs. He and everyone else has said it. However, without him in our line up during the regular season, I dont think we make the playoffs...

 

[Robert]

Save the time.... Bob was a team C-

3.5 goals against on average will lose most playoff series unless you have guys as Crosby and Malkin on every line..

 

[blahblah]

Ok, I was soft-pedalling and you called me on it. I agree. I feel like Bob could have and should have been the difference in this series, and he wasn't.

I guess I just don't want to depend on supreme goaltending to be the difference. I'd like to get by with above average goaltending. But if your rejoinder is that we didn't even have above mediocre goaltending, well I wouldn't argue.

I would like our team to be able to compete with the best teams in the league when our goal tending is average, but have an elite goal tender. That would be ideal in the playoffs and probably get us one of the top 2 seeds in our division.

Bob isn't there yet and neither is the team.

The love for Bob is a bit unfounded to this point. He has his moments and he has the potential. But we should temper that love affair with our goal tender a bit. Not sure if the other teams building treat our goal tenders like we have over our history. They always get the biggest ovation, even if they so-so. It's moderated a bit with our backups.

 

[db2011]

I would like our team to be able to compete with the best teams in the league when our goal tending is average, but have an elite goal tender. That would be ideal in the playoffs and probably get us one of the top 2 seeds in our division.

Bob isn't there yet and neither is the team.

Agreed on both points. As for the second point, this year was pretty great, first round exit notwithstanding. Neither Bob nor the team had been established, and while they still aren't, they "showed they belong" and to me their showing was a bit ahead of schedule. Gunshy as I am, I always thought next year would be the year we make some real noise, and now I'm optimistic that noise will be louder than I expected.

They're not there yet but they ain't far off.

(And it's in this way of thinking that the Gaborik trade, for as putrid as it was, could be seen as not especially damaging. This team seems to be really growing organically, like a team. We should never have been the sellers we were at the deadline, but I can see future deadlines being treated much differently after this year's developments. MAYBE pronounced overachievement this season would have had a strange effect on the young guys. Again, gunshy)

 

[Robert]

My pre first round prediction said we should win one game vs the Pens... with some luck two. To win the series goaltending would have to be stellar which it wasn't..

In the end the CBJ should be proud to have won two games vs the Penguins, to make the semi's next season MGT must add some scoring power and get rid of those who should score but don't... Bob must be better and will be...

The Jackets have a lot of work to do before being taken seriously, and it's more than simply signing Richards, they need better players to compete at the elite level.

 

[Dr. Fire]

People need to remember that Bob, and the entire team for that matter, got off to a slow start. But, from January on, Bob was as good as any other goalie in the league.

Maybe he could have been better in the play-offs, but remember in goalie terms, Bob is still considered young. The experience that he is getting will only serve to make him a better goalie as time goes on.

 

[blahblah]

People need to remember that Bob, and the entire team for that matter, got off to a slow start. But, from January on, Bob was as good as any other goalie in the league.

Maybe he could have been better in the play-offs, but remember in goalie terms, Bob is still considered young. The experience that he is getting will only serve to make him a better goalie as time goes on.

For the most part all of this is understood and acknowledged (although I would nit-pick on a couple of small things). Having said that, he's not being paid like a young and inexperienced player.

 

[cslebn]

For the most part all of this is understood and acknowledged (although I would nit-pick on a couple of small things). Having said that, he's not being paid like a young and inexperienced player.

Sadly goalies seem to be overpaid right now and it's only getting worse.

 

[NotWendell]

If 2 x $5.6 is elite, then what is Lundqvist's 7 x $8.5? I think folks need to stop living in the 90's. Folks are paid more nowadays. Bobrovsky is getting paid Jimmy Howard money, not Lundqvist money.

I think we need to compare apples to apples, not a RFA to a UFA.

 

[major major]

I think we need to compare apples to apples, not a RFA to a UFA.

When's the last time an RFA goalie won the Vezina? Not in the past CBA or maybe even the one or two before that. What other apple is there?