No, his fetching price would be too low. At this point, the best thing that can happen is for him to raise his game. How? That is a different question. Torts has only one way of dealing with players, which is a good thing. AA is goign to have to show that he can raise his level of play.
Really though, how much has his value been hurt by a 16 game pointless streak?
His #'s on the year are not terrible. Even when he was picking up points playing with Gaborik & Stepan this year or Callahan & Dubi last year, he was not the catalyst of the line. At this point, he is what he is & I think most GM's would recognize that regardless of his recent #'s. He's a youngish player with possible upside that hasn't found a niche...and may not ever.
...and knowing Tortorella the way we've seen him operate during the almost 3 years he's been here, would he give 15 minutes per game (on average during the past 20 games) to someone who isn't playing hard? C'mon now, SBOB... You're better than that.
Just because AA doesn't resemble Cally out on the ice, doesn't mean he's not playing hard. Different player types and different styles. If anything, AA looks like he's "playing harder" on the ice than Gaborik sometimes. And we'd be kidding ourselves if we said that we'd rather have AA on the ice than Gabby.
I have been a champion for Anisimov for a long time and even I have been disappointed with his play recently. It is especially frustrating when I expected him to take a step further this year. His stats before this recent slump weren't bad (~22 points in 31 games) but even then I wasn't seeing the consistency I had hoped he would develop.
i'm still not ready to give up on the kid, as I think he is going to be a good player. That having been said, if the right offer came along I would be less hesitant to pull the trigger.
I have been a champion for Anisimov for a long time and even I have been disappointed with his play recently. It is especially frustrating when I expected him to take a step further this year. His stats before this recent slump weren't bad (~22 points in 31 games) but even then I wasn't seeing the consistency I had hoped he would develop.
i'm still not ready to give up on the kid, as I think he is going to be a good player. That having been said, if the right offer came along I would be less hesitant to pull the trigger.
You can't look at it like you're "giving up" on a guy, if you trade him and improve your team.
I doubt people thought we were "giving up" on Tony Amonte and Doug Weight.
...and knowing Tortorella the way we've seen him operate during the almost 3 years he's been here, would he give 15 minutes per game (on average during the past 20 games) to someone who isn't playing hard? C'mon now, SBOB... You're better than that.
Just because AA doesn't resemble Cally out on the ice, doesn't mean he's not playing hard. Different player types and different styles. If anything, AA looks like he's "playing harder" on the ice than Gaborik sometimes. And we'd be kidding ourselves if we said that we'd rather have AA on the ice than Gabby.
I don't see a guy who is playing hard. His effort and compete level are no higher now that he's been demoted to the fourth line.
I don't get the point of this post. Your saying Anisimov and Thomas are worth more more then all those other combo's? So what? Thomas isn't going anywhere despite your un real dislike for the kid and obsession with trading him.
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I feel like this is such an appropriate quote for these boards...
"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level, and then beat you with experience"-Mark Twain
Last edited by Clowe Me Maybe: 02-01-2012 at 01:00 PM.
Anisimov hasn't scored a single point since DECEMBER 22nd.
He went an entire month on the top line (for most of the month) with ZERO point.
Why do people think he's good? For what reason? Is it because he's tall, or Russian, or you like his name? What has he done that tells you he's going to miraculously have a "breakout" year?
I like the kid, and he seems like a really great person. Unfortunately, he's just not that good, or tough, or anything, and people just need to accept that.
You really think he has the mental/physical toughness to survive a deep Cup run? I sure don't. He'll be eaten alive. Don't think the book isn't out on him that he's weak. If you saw 24/7, you saw it first hand.
I don't see a guy who is playing hard. His effort and compete level are no higher now that he's been demoted to the fourth line.
I respectfully disagree with that assessment. I see a player who is struggling with confidence on the offensive side of the puck, but his positioning, forechecking and effort is there. Again, nobody is going to confuse him for Callahan out there, but he's not loafing and trying to cherry pick in the neutral zone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hightide85
Anisimov hasn't scored a single point since DECEMBER 22nd.
He went an entire month on the top line (for most of the month) with ZERO point.
Why do people think he's good? For what reason? Is it because he's tall, or Russian, or you like his name? What has he done that tells you he's going to miraculously have a "breakout" year?
I like the kid, and he seems like a really great person. Unfortunately, he's just not that good, or tough, or anything, and people just need to accept that.
Are you still talking about Anisimov or are you talking about Dubinsky?
To say he's slumping right now is an understatement, BUT to say he is not contributing leads me to question the knowledge of the people bringing up that he's not making plays on the ice. It just so happens it's on the defensive end of the ice. He's a PKer and possibly the best positional defensive forward we have. I've seen more than enough from the guy to know that he's just slumping now and will turn it around.
I too would love to see Artie re-united with Dubinsky and Callahan on normal shifts. I think it'll help him a lot. Hagelin would be good on ANY line at this point as he will make plays, he's really something special right now. Maybe putting him with Anisimov would help as well.
There is a lot of untapped potential. People have said that Malkin slumped because of his knowledge of English. Artie is getting better at it. I'd love to see him when he gets full understanding of the language, as I can see a 2nd line center consistently when that happens.
He must be eating bird seed cause I haven't seen him build his frame at all in the past 2 years... 6'4" and he looks like a stick. When you are laying flat on your ass every 5 seconds, its hard to do anything, let alone score some goals. I would let him watch from upstairs for a couple games and see if that makes a difference because what he is doing right now isn't really working.
I don't think his value is low at all. In fact, I think his value is probably pretty high. Teams are always infatuated with big, young guys with all kinds of potential. The dude's frame and skillset are always going to have value.
His skillset is minimal, his skating horrendous, and he is a human version of a stick figure on ice.
He's such a frustrating player to watch. He has the skills and the size and the physical tools, it's just that he gives very minimal effort and coasts a lot. I hate to say it, but he's reminding me a lot of Zherdev.
He's such a frustrating player to watch. He has the skills and the size and the physical tools, it's just that he gives very minimal effort and coasts a lot. I hate to say it, but he's reminding me a lot of Zherdev.
Really? Thats not fair to AA. It is one thing to not be able to put it together as a player. It is another to be as lazy and un-inspired as Zherdev was.
He's such a frustrating player to watch. He has the skills and the size and the physical tools, it's just that he gives very minimal effort and coasts a lot. I hate to say it, but he's reminding me a lot of Zherdev.
As some people have said, AA is no Callahan, but he shouldn't be, and I'm really surprised to see so many people calling him lazy and effortless. That's not my takeaway from his play at all.
I don't think Anisimov is lazy or a floater, but he can definitely afford to raise his compete level. Too many times he is willing to give up the puck instead of fighting for possession.
My main concern with Arty isn't effort level but rather his slow reaction time. He really needs to find a way to get his shot off quicker, he telegraphs his shot far too often.
He's such a frustrating player to watch. He has the skills and the size and the physical tools, it's just that he gives very minimal effort and coasts a lot. I hate to say it, but he's reminding me a lot of Zherdev.
Zherdev had more talent in his toe nail than Anisimov has in his entire flag pole frame.
It's a slump, it happens. He's still on the PK and I think he was on the PP last night, so he's not in Torts' doghouse just yet. When you play in a dump and chase system you're not going to get as many high scoring chances so it's harder to get out of a slump.
AA is not lazy. Come on with the Russian stereotype. Anytime a Russian struggles it's because they're lazy or a floater. He hasn't changed his game at all, this is how he always looks, he's just not getting the breaks. You really think Torts is gonna put a lazy player on the PK?
Remember everyone, this is a 3rd year player. Inconsistency should be expected. Everyone should be more worried about Richards, he's been in a 3 month slump now.
Trade AA? No way! Same crowd that wanted MDZ traded away now is after AA. Chill out, fans! He will be back. Remember, once Torts Kind of Guy, forever TKG. The opposite, unfortunately also true, but AA is no Avery. AA is part of the core.
