Haven't weighed in on the trade yet. Here are my two cents.
I love the trade. Get a top 6, left handed, playmaker center who is signed at a terrific deal for the next 3 years. He and Turris make a great one-two punch. It's as good as you are going to get without a proper 1st line center. My guess is he'll thrive with the various pieces he'll get to play with. This team has also done exceptionally well in trades when they acquire players they have solid knowledge of (ie. Rob Murphy and Turris, Rick Wamsley and Bishop). They understand the player's work ethic, his coachability, his professionalism. Hopefully it's the same thing with Brassard (ie. Don Boyd and Jim Clark).
I've never been a big Zibanejad fan. To me he's a center version of Michalek. Great teammate, great skill set, very average hockey IQ. He never meshed well with anyone on a continuous basis. All this talk of him becoming a big physical center makes me wonder if these people have ever watched him play. He's not a physical player. I doubt he'll grow that mean streak. It's just not in him. As we all know he's streaky. He's got a great shot, but how often did he miss the net on the one-timers? I do think he has a chance to maybe hit 60 points, but it won't be consistently and he sure isn't going to become a 1st line center. Guys at his age don't just figure it out and get to a new level....not with his hockey IQ. When Pageau outplayed him thoroughly, that was the writing on the wall. So Dorion probably sees the same thing and sold him before his salary outweighs his ability. The second, as unfortunate as it is, is the cost of a budget team saving money. If it allows the team to sign everyone else, it is worth it. Everyone talks about needing to not waste Karlsson's prime years. Well, this is what happens. I don't know if the core is good enough to win, but it should be good enough to compete.
The biggest change will be with the coaching. If the coaching matches up with expectations, this team will have 100 pts next year, injuries notwithstanding. I would have liked to have seen what Zibanejad could have done with better coaching, but I'm not sure there would be a big jump in production that everyone on the main boards seem to be projecting. Also the idea that Brassard is 29, therefore he's declining, is asinine. He's coming off his best two seasons as a pro. But that's HFboards for you.
You can tell it's summer when there is so much discussion over two 2nd line centers.
I love the trade. Get a top 6, left handed, playmaker center who is signed at a terrific deal for the next 3 years. He and Turris make a great one-two punch. It's as good as you are going to get without a proper 1st line center. My guess is he'll thrive with the various pieces he'll get to play with. This team has also done exceptionally well in trades when they acquire players they have solid knowledge of (ie. Rob Murphy and Turris, Rick Wamsley and Bishop). They understand the player's work ethic, his coachability, his professionalism. Hopefully it's the same thing with Brassard (ie. Don Boyd and Jim Clark).
I've never been a big Zibanejad fan. To me he's a center version of Michalek. Great teammate, great skill set, very average hockey IQ. He never meshed well with anyone on a continuous basis. All this talk of him becoming a big physical center makes me wonder if these people have ever watched him play. He's not a physical player. I doubt he'll grow that mean streak. It's just not in him. As we all know he's streaky. He's got a great shot, but how often did he miss the net on the one-timers? I do think he has a chance to maybe hit 60 points, but it won't be consistently and he sure isn't going to become a 1st line center. Guys at his age don't just figure it out and get to a new level....not with his hockey IQ. When Pageau outplayed him thoroughly, that was the writing on the wall. So Dorion probably sees the same thing and sold him before his salary outweighs his ability. The second, as unfortunate as it is, is the cost of a budget team saving money. If it allows the team to sign everyone else, it is worth it. Everyone talks about needing to not waste Karlsson's prime years. Well, this is what happens. I don't know if the core is good enough to win, but it should be good enough to compete.
The biggest change will be with the coaching. If the coaching matches up with expectations, this team will have 100 pts next year, injuries notwithstanding. I would have liked to have seen what Zibanejad could have done with better coaching, but I'm not sure there would be a big jump in production that everyone on the main boards seem to be projecting. Also the idea that Brassard is 29, therefore he's declining, is asinine. He's coming off his best two seasons as a pro. But that's HFboards for you.
You can tell it's summer when there is so much discussion over two 2nd line centers.
