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Vladimir Tarasenko

Has he peaked?

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Ironically, Tarasenko has been one of the more consistent point producers over the last six years. He's only had one season in that timeframe where he was not at, or on pace for, at least 70 points in a given season. Even that one season he wasn't on a 70 point pace, he still managed 66 points in 80 games, which isn't too far off honestly. He's not pulling off highlight reel goals anymore, but he's still producing on a consistent basis.
 
Bluesnatic27 said:
Ironically, Tarasenko has been one of the more consistent point producers over the last six years. He's only had one season in that timeframe where he was not at, or on pace for, at least 70 points in a given season. Even that one season he wasn't on a 70 point pace, he still managed 66 points in 80 games, which isn't too far off honestly. He's not pulling off highlight reel goals anymore, but he's still producing on a consistent basis.
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I think one of the things that makes him a bit polarizing is that he has the consistency of production from season to season, but he generally lack consistency (i.e. -he's very streaky) within each season. People's opinions of him tend to run hot and cold based whether he is, well, running hot or cold.
 
MissouriMook said:
I think one of the things that makes him a bit polarizing is that he has the consistency of production from season to season, but he generally lack consistency (i.e. -he's very streaky) within each season. People's opinions of him tend to run hot and cold based whether he is, well, running hot or cold.
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There are very few players in the NHL who are not streaky. If Tarasenko had the same playoff performance goal wise that Schenn had there would have been an uproar from posters on here saying he was finished or trade him etc.. Since it was Schenn it's not even discussed.
 
Spektre said:
There are very few players in the NHL who are not streaky. If Tarasenko had the same playoff performance goal wise that Schenn had there would have been an uproar from posters on here saying he was finished or trade him etc.. Since it was Schenn it's not even discussed.
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I don't disagree, I just think that when he's hot the perception is that he runs hotter and when he's cold the perception is that he runs colder than other players, and that is why he draws such polarizing praise and criticism. Just looking at last season, I believe he had 20 points (10g, 10a) in the 11 game win streak and 48 points in his other 65 games. Most of the season, except for that hot streak, he was on a 60 point pace over a full 82 games but from some poster reactions you would have thought he was struggling to get to a 40 point pace. Just like this season, when the talk is already focused on him having a "slow start" because he only has 2 goals, both in the last two games, but he's on pace for 70 points and is third on the team in scoring.
 
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MissouriMook said:
I don't disagree, I just think that when he's hot the perception is that he runs hotter and when he's cold the perception is that he runs colder than other players, and that is why he draws such polarizing praise and criticism. Just looking at last season, I believe he had 20 points (10g, 10a) in the 11 game win streak and 48 points in his other 65 games. Most of the season, except for that hot streak, he was on a 60 point pace over a full 82 games but from some poster reactions you would have thought he was struggling to get to a 40 point pace. Just like this season, when the talk is already focused on him having a "slow start" because he only has 2 goals, both in the last two games, but he's on pace for 70 points and is third on the team in scoring.
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I don't disagree with your overall point, but the insane hot streak came after one of the worst droughts of his career.

I think he had two points from mid November to the end of December, or something ridiculous like that. If anything, this emphasizes your point that he does go through some series of hot and cold. Last year was an extreme case, but nevertheless he still managed to hit his career average.
 
Horrible terrible player... 7 points in 8 games for a 71 point pace... trade him for a 5th round pick
 
He’s not as explosive as he was a few years ago but he’s stronger on pucks and is still ridiculously productive.

He’s a lock for 35 goals and 70 points. Since he broke out, he’s only missed that mark once and even in said down year he put up 66 points in 80 games. If that’s a down year, that’s one incredible player.


He’s our best offensive player and second best forward.

He may be somewhat streaky and his play style isn’t one that’s overly aggressive so people take that as a lack of effort but really he’s just a more cerebral player in his movement and approach. He reads the ice really well, gets lost in coverage and has a lethal shot to take advantage of the missed coverage. Unlike a player like Blais, who runs around almost mindlessly and hits everything in sight or O’Rielly who is a unique player in that he’s just a mix of talent and mind. Tarasenko tends to play off the puck but is extremely good with it on his stick.

For what it’s worth, he’s criminally overlooked as a set up man as well.

He’s not perfect but he’s a hell of a player.
 
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The dude is criminally under appreciated in some circles round these parts....Not that I don’t understand the frustration, you see a guy display a skill that is super elite and wonder why he ONLY pots 35 a year. He possesses perhaps the most dangerous wrist shot in the history of the sport. Makes you wonder, why he’s not utilizing that every single night. Well, let me try to explore why.

He has never had an elite playmaker by his side. What would Ovi be without Backstrom? I’m sure he’d still get his, but the frequency would diminish.

He has never played in a system that let him get up and down the ice consistently, trading chances with the opposition. We’ve never had the roster to do this successfully like Tampa or Toronto. We play a controlled grind. And he still breaks games open just by being THAT damn good.

(This is purely speculation) He picks his spots in a less than nuanced manner, as he’s been conditioned to consider the team first at all times. But his understanding of what this means might never be fully developed in a way that marries his production with wins. To my mind, his thinking is too compartmentalized and mechanical to ever break through to put his whole talent together in a fluid manner. It’s like he reaches into the bag and only pulls out one trick at a time.

He’s not a perfect player. But man, are we really going to complain because we know there’s more in there? I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to watch him play on a nightly basis AND watch him be a pivotal piece of a Stanley Cup team. Too bad he got hurt. Hope to see him return to this version of himself next year, even if he’s not always appreciated
 
Bluesnatic27 said:
I don't disagree with your overall point, but the insane hot streak came after one of the worst droughts of his career.

I think he had two points from mid November to the end of December, or something ridiculous like that. If anything, this emphasizes your point that he does go through some series of hot and cold. Last year was an extreme case, but nevertheless he still managed to hit his career average.
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He had 2 points in the month of December.

That was bookended by 4 points in 4 games to close out November and 7 points in 7 games to start January. All in all, he had 13 points in the 25 games leading up to the 11 game win streak and 9 of those 13 points were goals.

A rough stretch, but if one single awful month with a brand new interim coach is the low point of your career, then I can live with that.
 
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