Quote:
Originally Posted by NYRKING30
i think we can all pretty much agree that gaborik was pretty much playing injured all of last season. it showed on the stat sheet ofcourse, but if you watch games from last year vs this year, youll see the difference.
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I don't personally agree that he was injured the whole season... Don't want to start that discussion again but the coach said he was healthy when asked by the media, the player said he was healthy when interviewed by the media at the end of the season, and there was some speculation/rumors this past off-season that he had broken up with his long time girlfriend last season .... The coaches biggest gripe with Gabby last year was that he was not utilizing his skating and moving his feet enough... Sam & Joe & Maloney harped on it too during broadcasts.... I was critical of Gaborik at times last season in that I didn't think he was focused, showed us games where he resembled his old self, then showed us stretches of games where he was a passive participant in the play out on the ice... Never wanted to see him traded though... For me the question as to whether or not he was going to bounce back this year was not a matter of his being healthy (since I didn't feel he was injured for any majority of last season) but a matter of whether or not he would regain his mental composure and would be focused enough on his game to play the way he's capable of playing. This year you see him putting himself into all the right areas of the ice to make plays and jump on rebounds... Night & day difference between the way he is thinking the game out on the ice this season as compared to last.