Poll: Will Rossi hit 60 or more points by the end of the regular season?

[DigitalBoldy]

6 games left

4 points shy of 60

2 points in his last 5 games

Kaprizov set to return sometime before the season ends

Will Rossi hit 60 or more points this season?

Selections are locked; no changing after. Choose wisely!

 

[AKL]

Think he finishes with 59.

For the record, I think if you told us before the season started that Kaprizov would only play ~40 games and Rossi would score 56-60 points, we'd all be pretty happy with that (the Rossi part, not the Kaprizov part).

 

[MrRuin]

despite running out of gas nearing the end of this season I think he had a pretty strong season overall. From 40 to ~60 points is quite a step up. He may be "already" 23 but this is still only his second season in the league. He showed some life against the Rangers and was visible - both good and bad. Maybe he has something left to give? I think he can do it!

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

59 and he sits the final game, so we all win.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

Think he finishes with 59.

For the record, I think if you told us before the season started that Kaprizov would only play ~40 games and Rossi would score 56-60 points, we'd all be pretty happy with that (the Rossi part, not the Kaprizov part).

Agreed. Don’t really like that he has hit a wall in the second half two years in a row. Is that conditioning or did he lose focus during the long season? Tough to say.

 

[MNRube]

I think he gets there. Quite a step down from what he was pacing a couple months ago.

I think he and Boldy are just not cut out for duty as being the Alphas on an NHL team. They look overwhelmed facing shutdown pairs every night. I could see Boldy becoming a bonafide superstar one day, but I suspect Rossi just doesn’t have the ingredients.

He’s a 2C all day and I’m not sure I’ve seen anything to suggest he will ever be more than that.

 

[AKL]

Agreed. Don’t really like that he has hit a wall in the second half two years in a row. Is that conditioning or did he lose focus during the long season? Tough to say.

It's not my favorite but I'm also curious how much of is has been a lack of points due to the entire team falling off the last month or so. Obviously he's not a guy who's going to carry an offense, but when you look at his production since March 2nd, he has 5 points in 16 games. In January and February he had 19 points in 22 games.

I wonder if it's something we notice or talk about if Ek and Kaprizov stay healthy and the entire team offense doesn't fall off a cliff.

 

[BagHead]

Typically, I'm a big Rossi believer, but the odds seem against him with how he's played down the stretch.

That said, if Kaprizov return with about 3-4 games left, I think the odds get tipped more in his favor than against. I would have voted for both options if possible lol.

 

[AKL]

I would have voted for both options if possible lol.

I was looking for the "I'm incapable of making a yes or no decision" option

 

[MrRuin]

Agreed. Don’t really like that he has hit a wall in the second half two years in a row. Is that conditioning or did he lose focus during the long season? Tough to say.

I don't think it is conditioning. He is a health nut and very commited to living a healthy life and putting hockey first above all. I could see it being more of a mental thing where you are thrust into a role carrying an offense which you just weren't prepared to do. Boldy struggles with this role as well and he has more experience with it. Rossi stepped up at times and for large parts of the season he did so with an admiring consitency. Up until march that is since when he has been consistently mediocre. However I firmly believe Rossi is not a "done" player and still has room to grow.

 

[BagHead]

I don't think it is conditioning. He is a health nut and very commited to living a healthy life and putting hockey first above all. I could see it being more of a mental thing where you are thrust into a role carrying an offense which you just weren't prepared to do. Boldy struggles with this role as well and he has more experience with it. Rossi stepped up at times and for large parts of the season he did so with an admiring consitency. Up until march that is since when he has been consistently mediocre. However I firmly believe Rossi is not a "done" player and still has room to grow.

I actually do wonder if it's partially his conditioning. Specifically, I would guess that at his size, he bulks up in the off-season, which sustains him through most of the season, but eventually much of that extra weight is lost through the course of the season. I know this happens to players of all sizes, but in a smaller player I could see it leading to a more pronounced effect. If this is happening, I would imagine it would become less and less of a problem as his body reaches full maturity in his mid to late 20s.

That is my own speculation, and not necessarily reality. It could just as easily be him slumping at a time when the entire roster is slumping. It's hard to stay afloat when you're one of the only ones bailing the water out of the boat. That would be draining both mentally and physically.

 

[57special]

Most athletes lose weight during the season, especially younger ones. For a guy like Rossi, who needs every bit of strength to compete out there, losing 5 lbs can be the difference in winning or losing a puck battle.

He is also still very young, and just entering his prime. His play so far has been one of the bright spots this year, not something to bemoan. 56+ points in his D+5 is fine. MiG had 39 points in his D+5, 44 in his D+6.

If Rossi is a slightly better MiG who plays C then it's a win. Getting down on him because he isn't scoring 70 points, or that he isn't 6'3" with FU to his game, is silly.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

Most athletes lose weight during the season, especially younger ones. For a guy like Rossi, who needs every bit of strength to compete out there, losing 5 lbs can be the difference in winning or losing a puck battle.

He is also still very young, and just entering his prime. His play so far has been one of the bright spots this year, not something to bemoan. 56+ points in his D+5 is fine. MiG had 39 points in his D+5, 44 in his D+6.

If Rossi is a slightly better MiG who plays C then it's a win. Getting down on him because he isn't scoring 70 points, or that he isn't 6'3" with FU to his game, is silly.

Personally, I think Granlund was a better player even if he put up less points. He was working on a Frankenstein line with Parise and Pominville lol. Imagine him fluttering sauce passes to a goal scorer like Kaprizov. In that case… I mean, like, Zucc who? Granlund-Kaprizov would be a deadly combo and Granlund is actually a defensively responsible forward unlike 36 and to a lesser extent 23.

Rossi might be better suited to the wing as well. He won 1 of 14 draws the other night and I don’t think he’s anything more than average defensively. Don’t get the added “value” of Rossi being a center people apply to him.

 

[57special]

Personally, I think Granlund was a better player even if he put up less points. He was working on a Frankenstein line with Parise and Pominville lol. Imagine him fluttering sauce passes to a goal scorer like Kaprizov. In that case… I mean, like, Zucc who? Granlund-Kaprizov would be a deadly combo and Granlund is actually a defensively responsible forward unlike 36 and to a lesser extent 23.

Rossi might be better suited to the wing as well. He won 1 of 14 draws the other night and I don’t think he’s anything more than average defensively. Don’t get the added “value” of Rossi being a center people apply to him.

Young MiG was weak, not fast, and would not shoot the puck. Brilliant passer and puck handler, but was not at his best as a C. I'll take Rossi all day long. Focussing on one game to form an opinion on Rossi's FO prowess is ... strange. It's like me waiting till he wins 9 out of 12 one game and declaring that he is an awesome FO man.

 

[AKL]

Focussing on one game to form an opinion on Rossi's FO prowess is ... strange. It's like me waiting till he wins 9 out of 12 one game and declaring that he is an awesome FO man.

Rossi's FO% this season is .5% lower than Ek's career FO%.

Rossi is pacing ahead of Ek in terms of faceoff % so far in their careers.

He's also pacing way ahead offensively.

Think sometimes some people forget he's not a finished product yet, and with his work ethic he's only going to keep improving, the same way Ek has.

EDIT: These are the tidbits I love: Rossi scored 21 goals in 82 games last season, he's at 23 in 76 this year. Yeah he had 21 games with 0 goals to start his career. Even considering those games....Eriksson Ek scored 24 goals in first 210 games.

Eriksson Ek's first true breakout season was his age 24 season where he had 19 goals and 30 points in 56 games. Rossi is in his age 23 season and he's already matched or eclipsed that twice. Let's just be patient with the kid.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

Young MiG was weak, not fast, and would not shoot the puck. Brilliant passer and puck handler, but was not at his best as a C. I'll take Rossi all day long. Focussing on one game to form an opinion on Rossi's FO prowess is ... strange. It's like me waiting till he wins 9 out of 12 one game and declaring that he is an awesome FO man.

Granlund was better at winning faceoffs no matter what way you slice it. When he played center for us for an entire year, he consistently won ~48.5% and higher. Rossi, through almost two full seasons, is at 44.7% and 47%. Not good.

Rossi's FO% this season is .5% lower than Ek's career FO%.

Rossi is pacing ahead of Ek in terms of faceoff % so far in their careers.

He's also pacing way ahead offensively.

Think sometimes some people forget he's not a finished product yet, and with his work ethic he's only going to keep improving, the same way Ek has.

EDIT: These are the tidbits I love: Rossi scored 21 goals in 82 games last season, he's at 23 in 76 this year. Yeah he had 21 games with 0 goals to start his career. Even considering those games....Eriksson Ek scored 24 goals in first 210 games.

Eriksson Ek's first true breakout season was his age 24 season where he had 19 goals and 30 points in 56 games. Rossi is in his age 23 season and he's already matched or eclipsed that twice. Let's just be patient with the kid.

Faceoffs are the worst part of Eriksson Ek’s game.

 

[AKL]

Granlund was better at winning faceoffs no matter what way you slice it. When he played center for us for an entire year, he consistently won ~48.5% and higher. Rossi, through almost two full seasons, is at 44.7% and 47%. Not good.

Faceoffs are the worst part of Eriksson Ek’s game.

Think you're making up stuff to use against Rossi without understanding the scope of what you're upset about.

If Rossi had won faceoffs at the same rate Granlund did through his age 24 season, Rossi would have an extra 1 faceoff win about every third game.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

Think you're making up stuff to use against Rossi without understanding the scope of what you're upset about.

If Rossi had won faceoffs at the same rate Granlund did through his age 24 season, Rossi would have an extra 1 faceoff win about every third game.

What did I make up?

The number difference isn't the point. The point is that Granlund was a much more effective player at wing without the faceoff and defensive responsibilities. If Rossi is worse than Granlund at both faceoffs and defensive responsibility, why wouldn't they consider moving him to wing?

 

[AKL]

What did I make up?

That Granlund was better to any meaningful degree with faceoffs being a significant part of why, and that Rossi's faceoffs are a significant issue.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

EDIT: These are the tidbits I love: Rossi scored 21 goals in 82 games last season, he's at 23 in 76 this year. Yeah he had 21 games with 0 goals to start his career. Even considering those games....Eriksson Ek scored 24 goals in first 210 games.

Eriksson Ek's first true breakout season was his age 24 season where he had 19 goals and 30 points in 56 games. Rossi is in his age 23 season and he's already matched or eclipsed that twice. Let's just be patient with the kid.

When we look at things like this, it's important to remember that Ek's best attributes are defense and keeping the puck out of our net. He was also playing solely with guys like Foligno and Greenway. Slightly worse players than Kaprizov/Zucc/Boldy, eh?

 

[DigitalBoldy]

That Granlund was better to any meaningful degree with faceoffs being a significant part of why, and that Rossi's faceoffs are a significant issue.

I mean, I would like some centers that win 53%+ faceoffs. 44.7% and 47% are way below average.

 

[AKL]

When we look at things like this, it's important to remember that Ek's best attributes are defense and keeping the puck out of our net. He was also playing solely with guys like Foligno and Greenway. Slightly worse players than Kaprizov/Zucc/Boldy, eh?

He was playing with Foligno and Greenway because he wasn't good enough offensively to play in the top six.

Rossi is playing in the top six because he is.

No matter how you slice it, Rossi is way ahead of Ek at the same age, especially offensively.

 

[AKL]

I mean, I would like some centers that win 53%+ faceoffs. 44.7% and 47% are way below average.

Sure, then let's look at some of the other centers on the team too, right? Especially the defensive centers? Gaudreau is at 48.4%, Eriksson Ek was at 46.9%. Those defensive guys are the ones that should be winning their faceoffs right? That's their role? Why is Ek worse than Rossi at it?

Surely Rossi's 21 extra points over Gaudreau make up for the 1.4% difference in FOW.

 

[AKL]

There are 116 centers that have taken 500+ faceoffs this season. Only 41 are at 53%+.

Winnipeg has none. Colorado has none.

New York Islanders have almost four and they're trash.

Tage Thompson is at 42.4% and there is a healthy contingent of this fanbase that wants to trade for him to be the 1C.
Jack Eichel is at 45.5% and as far as I can tell there aren't any Knights fans bitching about moving him to wing.

Get this, Evgeni Malkin is a career 44.9% guy.

Elias Pettersson, another guy fans would love to bring in, career 45.7%.

So tired of hearing about faceoffs. The best teams in the league are average at faceoffs. Half of the top 10 faceoff teams won't make the playoffs. You can be a good player and a good center without winning even 50% of your faceoffs. Most overrated stat in the league, even above +/- at this point.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I wish they had a 'clutch face-off' stat somewhere. Special teams, last 5 minutes 1 goal games, etc. Much more meaningful.