Rick Nash Part II

[Pizza]

Why should the burden fall on other players and not moreso on the team's leading goal scorer? Instead Nash gets praised for doing a job that is the specialty of role players, while not fulfilling his role of scoring goals.

As for him 'turning on a switch' to score goals, its not that I dont think hes trying. Its that I think hes taking a regular season mentality into the playoffs, complete with assumptions that time and space will open up and he'll be able to score pretty goals on the rush like hes accustomed to. Its just not there in the playoffs, and he needs to adjust to that.

You know why Benoit Pouliot has more goals than Rick Nash? Its not because hes a better player - far from it. But he does stop in front of the net every once in a while.

....and there it is right there. The crux of the biscuit as they say.

 

[aufheben]

Can we stop acting like he's Guy Carbonneau. Stepan, St. Louis, D. Moore, Boyle, and Hagelin all get more PK time than him.

 

[OverTheCap]

His role hasn't changed. He's literally a Benoit Pouliot who kills penalties. His only goals this post-season are against a backup, and that backup's backup.

This isn't the first time he's underperformed in the playoffs. I simply don't think his game is suited for it. 17 of his 26 goals were against non-playoff teams.

Yeah, I'm not sure why anyone would be led to believe that Nash's role as a goalscorer would have changed. Most of the players in our top 9 are forwards who are pass-first playmakers: Stepan, Richards, Zucc, Brassard, St. Louis. Kreider hasn't yet shown the ability to be a consistent scorer in this league but hopefully he will be someday. Nash is absolutely supposed to be the primary goalscorer on this team.

 

[Idlerlee]

What he should and is doing is helping this team get further than it has in 20 years.

People just don't seem to understand there is more to this game than points. Do I expect him to score more yes I do, but just because he doesn't score does not mean he is not playing well. However people come in here saying we should buy him out, he is a waste of space, worthless, get him off this team is absolutely asinine.


Everyone is in agreement he should be scoring more and is overpaid. That is not a debate, but when people say he is playing bad because he isn't scoring is just wrong and hopefully people read the article and understand he is not a 1 dimension me first score at whatever it takes player. If you want that go root for Ovi and his countless early playoff exits.

Individual players do not win games, teams do.

The problem with what Rick Nash brings to the table, is that it comes with a franchise star price tag.

I totally recognise that Nash is throwing more hits pr game now than he did the entire season, that he uses his body and contributes on the ice.

I also recognise that we have a guy being paid $ 1.15 mill doing the exact same thing, only his production trumps Nash. We even a 4th line center who has netted as many goals as Nash during the PO campaign.

Any issue related to Rick Nash right now is not about his effort, or his play. Its about what we are paying almost $ 8 million for. He just isnt scoring goals, period. He has 81 shots on goal at a shooting percentage of 3.7%.

We have players that will receive new contracts, Rick Nash is taking up a huge chunk of the cap space, he needs to be the guy that scores more goals than anyone, there is literally no reason for him to be on this team, if he is not our main go-to guy for goals.

Nash isnt playing bad, but his contract really needs him to do only one thing, we cant afford to pay that much money for a complimentary player. He needs to be our Ace, not a hard-working drone

 

[jerseyjinx94]

the entire poo brash zuke line. all better than nash.

msl. better.

hags. better.

im not one who thinks hes been good at all.

and we arent "winning"games in this series. we are "losing" games. we held on last night barely based soley upon henriks will to win and some snow on the goal line.

I just whole-heartedly disagree that in the Stanley Cup Finals all of those players have been better than Nash.

Brassard has not been better than Nash.

Hagelin had an amazing ECF but he has not been better than Nash in the SCF.

MSL has not played better than Nash.

Stop using points and goals as the barometer. No one is addressing the point. Is he not playing well? Is he out there and you're saying, wow, he's playing like ****? Or are you saying wow Nash good hit, damn Hagelin drive the net, great pass by Nash. It's a results based business but there are other factors at play besides Rick Nash's goal scoring totals.

This is absurd once again. This fanbase will always find something to complain about. Like another poster said, if he had 15 goals but was directly responsible for goals against because of lazy D, all of you would be *****ing that he wasn't doing the little things well.

He's doing EVERYTHING but score. But apparently, he's useless unless he scores.

 

[CJCNYR]

The problem with what Rick Nash brings to the table, is that it comes with a franchise star price tag.

I totally recognise that Nash is throwing more hits pr game now than he did the entire season, that he uses his body and contributes on the ice.

I also recognise that we have a guy being paid $ 1.15 mill doing the exact same thing, only his production trumps Nash. We even a 4th line center who has netted as many goals as Nash during the PO campaign.

Any issue related to Rick Nash right now is not about his effort, or his play. Its about what we are paying almost $ 8 million for. He just isnt scoring goals, period. He has 81 shots on goal at a shooting percentage of 3.7%.

We have players that will receive new contracts, Rick Nash is taking up a huge chunk of the cap space, he needs to be the guy that scores more goals than anyone, there is literally no reason for him to be on this team, if he is not our main go-to guy for goals.

Nash isnt playing bad, but his contract really needs him to do only one thing, we cant afford to pay that much money for a complimentary player. He needs to be our Ace, not a hard-working drone

That point right there is the only point I am trying to make.

Also Rick Nash has never been an "ACE" on a winning team, yet ReggieDunlop68 calls me the poster boy of his hype? when I don't expect him to be the main superstar on the stanley cup winning team. Don't forget Rick Nash was not brought in to be "the man" We had Gabby for that.

Also why is Stepan and Krieder getting passes?

Stepan at even strength has 3 goals and 6 assists
Krieder has 2 goals and 6 assists.

Are those acceptable 5 on 5 numbers? Or do they get passes since they can inflate stats on the PP when Nash isn't playing on it.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

The problem with what Rick Nash brings to the table, is that it comes with a franchise star price tag.

I totally recognise that Nash is throwing more hits pr game now than he did the entire season, that he uses his body and contributes on the ice.

I also recognise that we have a guy being paid $ 1.15 mill doing the exact same thing, only his production trumps Nash. We even a 4th line center who has netted as many goals as Nash during the PO campaign.

Any issue related to Rick Nash right now is not about his effort, or his play. Its about what we are paying almost $ 8 million for. He just isnt scoring goals, period. He has 81 shots on goal at a shooting percentage of 3.7%.

We have players that will receive new contracts, Rick Nash is taking up a huge chunk of the cap space, he needs to be the guy that scores more goals than anyone, there is literally no reason for him to be on this team, if he is not our main go-to guy for goals.

Nash isnt playing bad, but his contract really needs him to do only one thing, we cant afford to pay that much money for a complimentary player. He needs to be our Ace, not a hard-working drone

The contract is irrelevant to his play on the ice. The team we have next year is irrelevant to how he's playing now.

Like you said, for example, his contract needs him to do one thing - score, I take it? Well, if that's all he did and was a liability in other areas, people would ***** that we're paying $8M to a guy who is one-dimensional. This guy will never win over this fanbase no matter what he does. It's his second ****ing go around in the playoffs.

I just ****ing despise the argument, "he's paid to score" or "his contract requires he score" or whatever.

Think about this: We pay Hank to make big saves. If someone shoots and it redirects in off G's foot, or bounces right back to Richards' stick on a 2 on 1, the puck goes in, Hank didn't do his job. We pay him to make those saves. But there are other forces at play besides Hank's will to make a save, like the skill of other players, luck, positioning, etc.

But, using the "Rick Nash is paid to score" logic, Hank is paid to make saves, and we can't consider anything that happens other than whether he made the save or not. Nothing else matters. Did he make the save? No? Well, that's it. He's playing poorly.

 

[CJCNYR]

I just whole-heartedly disagree that in the Stanley Cup Finals all of those players have been better than Nash.

Brassard has not been better than Nash.

Hagelin had an amazing ECF but he has not been better than Nash in the SCF.

MSL has not played better than Nash.

Stop using points and goals as the barometer. No one is addressing the point. Is he not playing well? Is he out there and you're saying, wow, he's playing like ****? Or are you saying wow Nash good hit, damn Hagelin drive the net, great pass by Nash. It's a results based business but there are other factors at play besides Rick Nash's goal scoring totals.

This is absurd once again. This fanbase will always find something to complain about. Like another poster said, if he had 15 goals but was directly responsible for goals against because of lazy D, all of you would be *****ing that he wasn't doing the little things well.

He's doing EVERYTHING but score. But apparently, he's useless unless he scores.

Exactly! I mean people were blaming Hank after every single game we lost earlier in the playoffs. If you don't play well enough for the posters, you are useless and a waste of space.

 

[NYR Viper]

Nash has to score goals however the fact that people are calling MSL, Brassard and others better than Nash so far is not correct. He has been a force, he just hasn't been able to score.

If Hagelin had continued towards the goal last game, he would have a primary and beautiful assist to start the game.

 

[haveandare]

Why should the burden fall on other players and not moreso on the team's leading goal scorer? Instead Nash gets praised for doing a job that is the specialty of role players, while not fulfilling his role of scoring goals.

As for him 'turning on a switch' to score goals, its not that I dont think hes trying. Its that I think hes taking a regular season mentality into the playoffs, complete with assumptions that time and space will open up and he'll be able to score pretty goals on the rush like hes accustomed to. Its just not there in the playoffs, and he needs to adjust to that.

You know why Benoit Pouliot has more goals than Rick Nash? Its not because hes a better player - far from it. But he does stop in front of the net every once in a while.

I'm not saying the burden should fall on them. First of all, it's not a burden to score. They should want to score, and they seem to. A good goalie is playing well against them. Second, the person said Nash scoring would help us win. That's true. It is also true that goals count the same no matter who scores them. I'm not following that to the conclusion that it's all on everyone else, that's just a description of the reality that they're playing in now. They need goals, not specifically goals from any player.

I really, truly don't think that someone with as much experience scoring goals at the NHL level as Rick Nash doesn't realize the painfully, painfully obvious point that he can't just rush the net in the playoffs. If all of us realize it, you can bet the coaches and the player himself do. Is he not copping to it with the media? Well, who cares? The media is a sideshow to the players, as it should be. Tell them something to tell them something. Don't go in front of the camera and air all your problems. It's about winning, not looking like an accountable struggling player to the fans based on what you admit about your own shortcomings.

Pouliot has more goals than Nash because we're talking about a tiny window of both of their careers. Right now, Pouliot is on the most dynamic line he's ever been on, and probably will ever be on. That's not take anything from him, it's great he's found such a nice niche here. Nash has never, ever been a goalie screening, deflections from a foot out kind of scorer. Maybe he should try to be right now? I'm not sure that'd be a good idea to change it all at this point in this series.

 

[ReggieDunlop68]

I am glad you and some "informed" posters think that is what he was brought here for 2 years ago. I guess things can't change over a 2 year period or the multi-million dollar coach does not agree with you considering he doesn't have him on the PP and has him exerting extra energy on the PK. You guys should be all livid with AV that our "goal scorer" isn't being used in prime goal scoring chances and he keeps him in a defensive role.


BTW lets all just continue the Rick Nash blame game when our leader in points is Ryan McDonagh. Certainly we should only be blaming Nash.

Yes we should blame Rick Nash for being outclassed by a defenseman.

AV is not being mean to Nash, he doesn't want him on the Power Play because he's been a non-factor on offense. Yes, even bigger than Richards.

He's trying, but he's either injured, not good enough, or probably a little bit of both.

If Rick Nash didn't have all this hype, people would not be defending our go-to scorer for not scoring. When will they hype:perfomance ratio run out for this guy? He came into the league in 2002, and he's yet to be elite.

The team was structured on him being a offensive force. He paid as such, and moves were made to make the right environment for him. He's not producing better than other players with less natural talent, so he deserves all the blame he gets. He's skating harder, but he hasn't dominated once whether scoring or not scoring. The best I could say is he's played harder. That's all.

 

[TheDave1022]

That point right there is the only point I am trying to make.

Also Rick Nash has never been an "ACE" on a winning team, yet ReggieDunlop68 calls me the poster boy of his hype? when I don't expect him to be the main superstar on the stanley cup winning team. Don't forget Rick Nash was not brought in to be "the man" We had Gabby for that.

Also why is Stepan and Krieder getting passes?

Stepan at even strength has 3 goals and 6 assists
Krieder has 2 goals and 6 assists.

Are those acceptable 5 on 5 numbers? Or do they get passes since they can inflate stats on the PP when Nash isn't playing on it.

Stepan also cant eat anything, but he still needs to learn to shoot more often. Im sure it's not easy at all to be playing top minutes without a proper diet.

Kreider hasnt been great, but he isnt getting paid $7 million and is in his second season. Hopefully he can wake up and get more involved and use his speed. He has been hitting a lot and pretty physical at least.

I wouldnt mind if Nash were driving to the net and more noticeable on offense. He is basically playing like Boyle right now. We dont need another defensive stud, we need him to take control and start putting up points or at least creating some really good chances. Shots don't mean anything unless they are quality. I have noticed Gaborik every game, granted he has better line mates, but he gets in the dirty areas of the ice much more often.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

Stepan also cant eat anything, but he still needs to learn to shoot more often. Im sure it's not easy at all to be playing top minutes without a proper diet.

Kreider hasnt been great, but he isnt getting paid $7 million and is in his second season. Hopefully he can wake up and get more involved and use his speed. He has been hitting a lot and pretty physical at least.

I wouldnt mind if Nash were driving to the net and more noticeable on offense. He is basically playing like Boyle right now. We dont need another defensive stud, we need him to take control and start putting up points or at least creating some really good chances. Shots don't mean anything unless they are quality. I have noticed Gaborik every game, granted he has better line mates, but he gets in the dirty areas of the ice much more often.

You think Nash has been playing like Boyle? Really?

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

Stepan is a pass-first playmaker playing with a guy who scored his first goals in the ECF and who has yet to score since.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

Yes we should blame Rick Nash for being outclassed by a defenseman.

AV is not being mean to Nash, he doesn't want him on the Power Play because he's been a non-factor on offense. Yes, even bigger than Richards.

He's trying, but he's either injured, not good enough, or probably a little bit of both.

If Rick Nash didn't have all this hype, people would not be defending our go-to scorer for not scoring. When will they hype:perfomance ratio run out for this guy? He came into the league in 2002, and he's yet to be elite.

The team was structured on him being a offensive force. He paid as such, and moves were made to make the right environment for him. He's not producing better than other players with less natural talent, so he deserves all the blame he gets. He's skating harder, but he hasn't dominated once whether scoring or not scoring. The best I could say is he's played harder. That's all.

The bolded is all we can ask for as fans, the results are happenstance/luck/timing/etc. His effort has been 110% in every game of the SCF and has literally excelled at everything else besides point production.

People just dislike him because he's had periods as a Ranger where he has floated, and he's not producing pretty goals to pad stats en route to a Conn Smythe.

 

[aufheben]

Stepan also cant eat anything, but he still needs to learn to shoot more often. Im sure it's not easy at all to be playing top minutes without a proper diet.

Kreider hasnt been great, but he isnt getting paid $7 million and is in his second season. Hopefully he can wake up and get more involved and use his speed. He has been hitting a lot and pretty physical at least.

I wouldnt mind if Nash were driving to the net and more noticeable on offense. He is basically playing like Boyle right now. We dont need another defensive stud, we need him to take control and start putting up points or at least creating some really good chances. Shots don't mean anything unless they are quality. I have noticed Gaborik every game, granted he has better line mates, but he gets in the dirty areas of the ice much more often.

That's insulting to Boyle.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

The bolded is all we can ask for as fans, the results are happenstance/luck/timing/etc. His effort has been 110% in every game of the SCF and has literally excelled at everything else besides point production.

People just dislike him because he's had periods as a Ranger where he has floated, and he's not producing pretty goals to pad stats en route to a Conn Smythe.

Im not enraged he hasn't scored goals. I dont think he should be traded, or waived, or bought out, or whatever extreme garbage thats comes from a select few around here.

I am disappointed. Hes supposed to be a goal scorer so, yes, we can ask for more than him just playing hard. We can ask for more than 3 goals in 24 games during this playoff run. Thats pretty pathetic.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

You think Nash has been playing like Boyle? Really?

That is funny.

Boyle is actually doing his job.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

Im not enraged he hasn't scored goals. I dont think he should be traded, or waived, or bought out, or whatever extreme garbage thats comes from a select few around here.

I am disappointed. Hes supposed to be a goal scorer so, yes, we can ask for more than him just playing hard. We can ask for more than 3 goals in 24 games during this playoff run. Thats pretty pathetic.

You can ask for whatever you want, but all I ask is that every player on the team tries their hardest and plays a clean game.

That's it. If they do that, usually results will follow. When they don't follow, it's not for lack of effort.

People had a legitimate gripe with Nash in the first two rounds, where he was on and off with his effort. Invisible one night, a force the next.

In the last two rounds, he's shown up every shift. I can't complain. It's all I ask. The guy is ****ing snakebitten. It's not for lack of effort.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

That is funny.

Boyle is actually doing his job.

I love Boyle, but this is ridiculous. Boyle has played great. Nash is not "basically another Boyle," that's absurd. Nash has created so many chances in these four games, are you guys not watching the games?

 

[aufheben]

Was he "snakebitten" last post-season as well? He has the least amount goals in our entire Top-9. I can't defend him anymore. Snakebitten implies that he's been able to produce in the playoffs; He has yet to do that in his career.

 

[AlternateSideParking]

Nash has had a good postseason in terms of effort and bring engaged. That should bode well for him next season.

Im convinced the two concussions gave him anxiety and made him a different player.

I keep him. Too valuable an asset in the regular season.

 

[RangerBlues]

Nash is not an interchangeable part.
If he was a 3-4th line player you could consider his playoffs productive.

 

[jerseyjinx94]

Was he "snakebitten" last post-season as well? He has the least amount goals in our entire Top-9. I can't defend him anymore. Snakebitten implies that he's been able to produce in the playoffs; He has yet to do that in his career.

Fair enough, but this is only his second go around in the playoffs. If he continues to play this way throughout his career in the playoffs, the points will come. Again, the biggest issue was effort, the effort is there, the playmaking is there. He's just not burying his chances. There's also another team out there doing everything it can to stop him from scoring. If he goes through another playoff with this kind of effort, he's bound to get results.

 

[TheDave1022]

I love Boyle, but this is ridiculous. Boyle has played great. Nash is not "basically another Boyle," that's absurd. Nash has created so many chances in these four games, are you guys not watching the games?

The only chance that sticks out is the wrap around that he would have scored on if not hooked. He isn't taking over games like he has shown he can during stretches of the regular season.