It's not hard to judge effort when a puck goes against the boards and you see Smith put his head down and go all out for the puck, pin the defender against the boards, create a turnover and get a scoring chance. Same situation, Legwand coasts towards the defender and doesn't get within 5 feet of him before he picks up the puck. Smoothness has nothing to do with that.
As for practice, I don't care about the effort he gives in practice. Sure, you want a player to be a great practicer and a great game player, but a coach will give up the former if he gets the latter. He also won't play him if he's a high-energy practicer but a crappy game player. Bo Jackson was a lazy practicer, but one of the most gifted running backs ever to play the game.
I'm not saying Legwand sucks. I'm saying I'm not happy with his effort that I observe in games. I don't think that makes me an ignorant hockey fan.
Don't let them bother you, if you disagree with a certain group of posters here you will be crucified to no end. Just ignore it and move on.
It's not hard to judge effort when a puck goes against the boards and you see Smith put his head down and go all out for the puck, pin the defender against the boards, create a turnover and get a scoring chance. Same situation, Legwand coasts towards the defender and doesn't get within 5 feet of him before he picks up the puck. Smoothness has nothing to do with that.
As for practice, I don't care about the effort he gives in practice. Sure, you want a player to be a great practicer and a great game player, but a coach will give up the former if he gets the latter. He also won't play him if he's a high-energy practicer but a crappy game player. Bo Jackson was a lazy practicer, but one of the most gifted running backs ever to play the game.
I'm not saying Legwand sucks. I'm saying I'm not happy with his effort that I observe in games. I don't think that makes me an ignorant hockey fan.
There could be a million things that go into a decision like whether or not to go get a puck. If you want to get on someone for poor decision making I wouldn't question you. I just feel that effort is an extremely hard thing to judge from a fan's perch above the ice, and don't take that as me calling you "an ignorant hockey fan." Some people make things look easy, some people don't, and I think that I have a valid point.
It's not hard to judge effort when a puck goes against the boards and you see Smith put his head down and go all out for the puck, pin the defender against the boards, create a turnover and get a scoring chance. Same situation, Legwand coasts towards the defender and doesn't get within 5 feet of him before he picks up the puck. Smoothness has nothing to do with that.
As for practice, I don't care about the effort he gives in practice. Sure, you want a player to be a great practicer and a great game player, but a coach will give up the former if he gets the latter. He also won't play him if he's a high-energy practicer but a crappy game player. Bo Jackson was a lazy practicer, but one of the most gifted running backs ever to play the game.
I'm not saying Legwand sucks. I'm saying I'm not happy with his effort that I observe in games. I don't think that makes me an ignorant hockey fan.
So expound on what you mean by you're unhappy with his effort in games that you observe? It's a pretty vague statement. If it refers to the way Smith plays versus Legwand, once again, guys can be flailing around and looking like they're giving effort but at the same time, they may be out of position on the ice.
Also, if you're expecting Legwand to be a physical player along the boards, good luck with that, he rarely has been that type of player and probably won't change now. His game is predicated on his speed and positioning. It would be like comparing Suter not being physical to the way Weber plays. They play different styles. Does that make one more player give more effort, probably not, they accomplish things in different ways.
Don't let them bother you, if you disagree with a certain group of posters here you will be crucified to no end. Just ignore it and move on.
Since you brought up crucifixion, please allow me to say "come down off the cross" already. Its a freaking message board. If you post something, some people are gonna disagree, and vehemently so I some cases. There is very little I find more perplexing than someone worrying that their feelings are getting hurt on here.
To the topic, legwand is having his best year in recent memory. Trading him would be ridiculous.
i like the comparison of legwand to suter, at least in terms of how they seperate man fro puck and effort. Both have similar skil sets in regards to skating as both do look effortless skating, even though we know the effort is there. I think they are also similar in how they get the puck from the man. Neither do it with a head of steam and run guys. They understand how to position themselves to seperate man from puck with a simple poke or more often than not, pinning a guy to the boards and let the system do its job. Maybe letting up and having a bit of respect for the opponent and pinning them isn't the best way to endear yourself to the fanbase, but I will take it as it gets the job done.
What were Legwand's responsibilities on the plays where you questioned his effort?
On the particular example mentioned, the puck had been dumped in, both clubs were going for a change. It was Smith and the defender. In Smith's case he put his head down, hustled to the puck and created a turnover. In Legwand's case, he coasted towards the defender, and then turned around and started going the other way after the outlet pass. He was not backpedaling to get into position, covering a passing lane or anything else.
Obviously that was a singular example. The point is that I constantly find myself saying, "with one more stride, Legwand could have made a play there."
Answer this question: which NHL teams think so much of David Legwand that they'd trade first-line value for him? (assuming he didn't have a NTC)
Again, I'm NOT saying that David Legwand sucks. I am saying I see him taking plays off and I think that's being reflected in his numbers. Yes, he's near the top in goals scored, but he's been awful quiet of late. We'll see how he finishes the season.
Guys... this **** isn't that serious. Please keep the references to crucifixions out of it (and replies to such references). It's a game. Let's leave it that way.
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Last edited by ThirdManIn: 12-31-2011 at 11:57 AM.
On the particular example mentioned, the puck had been dumped in, both clubs were going for a change. It was Smith and the defender. In Smith's case he put his head down, hustled to the puck and created a turnover. In Legwand's case, he coasted towards the defender, and then turned around and started going the other way after the outlet pass. He was not backpedaling to get into position, covering a passing lane or anything else.
Obviously that was a singular example. The point is that I constantly find myself saying, "with one more stride, Legwand could have made a play there."
Answer this question: which NHL teams think so much of David Legwand that they'd trade first-line value for him? (assuming he didn't have a NTC)
Again, I'm NOT saying that David Legwand sucks. I am saying I see him taking plays off and I think that's being reflected in his numbers. Yes, he's near the top in goals scored, but he's been awful quiet of late. We'll see how he finishes the season.
considering he isn't a first line talent, no one. He is a very good and capable top six though
The problem we have is that we have 3 Stars and a bunch of decent talent to go with some youngsters. We would have to apackage several players to get a top 6 player. I really think we are starting to play better as a team but my first guy on the trade block would be SK and a youngster. Not sure who we could get to trade with us though... SK seems to be even more passive when it comes to shooting the puck. I just think we will have a hard time getting someone to trade with us now, come trade deadline I think woul be a different story.
On the particular example mentioned, the puck had been dumped in, both clubs were going for a change. It was Smith and the defender. In Smith's case he put his head down, hustled to the puck and created a turnover. In Legwand's case, he coasted towards the defender, and then turned around and started going the other way after the outlet pass. He was not backpedaling to get into position, covering a passing lane or anything else.
Obviously that was a singular example. The point is that I constantly find myself saying, "with one more stride, Legwand could have made a play there."
Answer this question: which NHL teams think so much of David Legwand that they'd trade first-line value for him? (assuming he didn't have a NTC)
Again, I'm NOT saying that David Legwand sucks. I am saying I see him taking plays off and I think that's being reflected in his numbers. Yes, he's near the top in goals scored, but he's been awful quiet of late. We'll see how he finishes the season.
His "awful quiet of late" is three goals in the last eight games (2pp, 1es) and a game deciding shootout goal which doesn't count in his stats. He is quiet when it comes to assists with one assist in the last eight games, but with Smith the Snakebit on his wing, assists are hard to come by right now. Still, four points in eight games isn't exactly disappearing.
