Belanger and him have no chemistry, but as long as we're winning games, they're not changing it. So they'll either have to work it out like the 4th line did last night, or just play awesome defence and leave the scoring to the 1st line for a while.
Not too worried though, last year he went like 16 games without a point? Then ended the year nicely, so it's waaaaaaay too early to panic. As long as he's contributing something else, he's valuable.
I start feeding him some more PK time... mostly out of necessity to keep 3 PK pairs somewhat rolling. I think Lander will be a victim of the numbers when Hemsky gets back.
Speaking of Hemsky, you stick him with 91 - 89 and let the offense grow.
Worrisome?... somewhat.
Problematic?... not yet.
Didn't they try the 91-89-83 setup before and it sucked? Don't remember from last year...maybe it was preseason
Why would you change anything right now? See if he can play his way out. The line isn't hurting the team right now so unless Hemsky comes back or the team loses two in a row, Renney should keep rolling the same lines. Obviously when Hemsky comes back you have to do something. At that point, maybe OKC, but I like the idea of the 91-89-83 too....but it might be stupid to not go with these top 2 lines:
Hall-RNH-Eberle
Smyth-Horc-Hemsky
Then you play can around with the bottom 6 and maybe give Magnus some time in OKC so he work on physical play and taking it to the net. I'm getting a little tired of those weak wristers from the side boards.
You guys are hilarious. Magnus last year played with some offensively gifted players aka Omark. This year he played 5 games with Omark but thats it. He is still contributing to this team with his smart play in the defensive zone so there is no reason to worry about him. Wait until he gets put with offensive players (such as if Hemsky joins his line with Gagner centering them) to start worrying if he doesnt put up points. Oh yeah... Hes also not getting PP minutes like last year...
IMO the biggest problem is we still have a couple players that need to be moved. Not because they sre bad players, but because they sre the wrong type of players that we need in their respective roles. Those two players are Gagner, and (soon to return) Hemsky. I think Hartski could work well with MPS, and if Lander could get some time in OKC to find his O game, a MPS-Lander-Hartski line could get the job done nicely.
Nothing. We didn't take him as a top 10 draft pick to be a checking line player who doesn't produce offence.
He needs to get it going. Period.
Pääjärvi has never in his career been a great offensive player. He's been decent however and a great defensive forward. Of course 0 points in 11 games isn't what you should expect but I do think the expectations of his offensive capabilities is a bit over aggregated by many posters on this board.
Pääjärvi has never in his career been a great offensive player. He's been decent however and a great defensive forward. Of course 0 points in 11 games isn't what you should expect but I do think the expectations of his offensive capabilities is a bit over aggregated by many posters on this board.
No one's asking him to be Wayne Gretzky. 0 points in 11 games isn't a good thing. He needs to get it going.
Perhaps Hemsky and he can get something together.
I won't be happy if he just turns into a tall version of Liam Reddox. Not good enough.
He doesn't skate fast enough when bringing the puck down the side.
When bringing the puck to the net he always takes it to the inside.
He usually shoots way too early.
Belanger is horrible offensively.
Magnus needs to get greasy and go to the hard areas in front of the net. He's big enough.
Gagner likes to make things happen from the perimeter. Can't have two of those guys on the same line.
Sometimes I wonder with Magnus if he's so concerned with his defensive positioning that he's afraid to pinch and take chances. Doesn't force a lot of turnovers but always plays his man well.
I'll agree that Belanger and Gagner aren't helping the cause but we shouldn't be messing up the other lines to accomodate Magnus. Sam managed to make something happen on the cluster-f line a few times last night, so can Magnus.
I must be watching different games than you because I see him trying to get position in front of the net a number of times, I see him as the first man in on dump ins, he's not playing timid, what I do see is 3 individuals on that line all playing their own games and getting next to no success.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Replacement
Agree that Belanger has stone hands so far as Gagner he's needing somebody to pass the puck to. MPS is running, for lack of words, some curious offensive zone support. He's just not getting into good positions for a pass. Watch Gagner with Horcoff and Smyth(and this line transition has happened a number of times) and all of a sudden Gagners working out really well on the cycle.
Gagner is a give and go cycle player. jebus do you forget the kidline? Give him players who can cycle and he'll cycle AND do it downlow in dangerous areas. Gagner's best game is predicated on distributing the puck.
A cycle requires players that cycle. MPS for whatever reason is having trouble with that. Well, Belanger too and the Puck is a handgrenade to him right now which is strange as he was showing better touch in TC.
Gagner fails to get the puck to Paajarvi in transition, instead he tries ridiculous spin moves like the one that he made last night, none of the players on this line are using their linemates worth a damn, Gagner is no different and he's supposed to be one of our better playmakers on the team.
__________________ Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated
I hate the idea of sending Lander down and rolling with a Paajarvi Gagner Hemsky line.
This teams strength so far has been the very strong defensive play of lines 2-4. Any one of those lines can be put out at just about any time. Gagner is too weak defensively at the center position right now for us to put him there.
I would roll with
Hall RNH Eberle
Smyth Horcoff Hemsky
Jones Belanger Gagner
Petrell Lander Eager
Send Paajarvi down to the AHL and let him try to work on his offensive game.
I hate the idea of sending Lander down and rolling with a Paajarvi Gagner Hemsky line.
Granted our strength has been our D, but do you believe that this team is going to compete for a cup this year? if the answer is no than why worry about anything in regards to this year. Lander could use the time in the A to get top 6 minutes to improve his offensive game so he can become more than a 4th line PKer in the future. We win eight games, and people want to start skipping steps in the rebuild. the point to all of this is to build a perenial contender, and not some team that makes a couple meanigless runs to the playoffs,
Sophmore Jinx. This kid will be fine. He went from 2nd line minutes, playing with talent, and getting powerplay time; to playing on a third-fourth line with no chemistry. Why is anyone here suprised.
Sophmore Jinx. This kid will be fine. He went from 2nd line minutes, playing with talent, and getting powerplay time; to playing on a third-fourth line with no chemistry. Why is anyone here suprised.
Gagner, however, worries me. Fewer and fewer points every year. Fewer and fewer positives. The trend is your friend, and this trend is not good.
Gagner fails to get the puck to Paajarvi in transition, instead he tries ridiculous spin moves like the one that he made last night, none of the players on this line are using their linemates worth a damn, Gagner is no different and he's supposed to be one of our better playmakers on the team.
Gagner has setup MPS reasonably well in the 6GP.
In anycase its early, but it seems strange to fault the one player on a 3rd line that has got any pts whatsoever. Heres the 3rd lines contributions thus far:
Gagner 6GP 2A 2pts
Belanger 12GP 1A 1pt
MPS 12GP 0pt
Omark 5GP 0pt
Gagner is the top NHL point producer on a line that is offensively way overated. Look, I like Belanger but offensively speaking he's been vastly overated on this board. I heard people pegging him over Horcoff, who looks like an offensive superstar in comparison. Lets make no mistake, Belanger is here as another strong center that can play 2 way hockey, not for his limited offensive contributions.
A guy like Belanger is going to get 35-40 pts in a near perfect situation when he's playing with your teams topsix VETERAN players. He's not going to be getting that with two guys that can't grow anything for Movember.
Neither of MPS or Belanger have typically been the straws that stir the drink. Gagner has, but he needs a bit more help than he's getting.
I certianly don't think time in the A would hurt MPS in the least bit, but I think the only way the Oilers do it would be a last resort sort of thing. He's a second year player that they have extremely high hopes for. He played all last year in the NHL, and he's a player they have a lot invested in. They'll give him every opportunity to right the ship at the NHL level before they consider sending him down. it's ALMOST pointless discussing that possibility at this moment.
I think you can make the argument that the swedes have already been playing in developmental leagues (better ones than the AHL) and ownership should just wait them out in terms of them adjusting to the NHL.
Nothing. We didn't take him as a top 10 draft pick to be a checking line player who doesn't produce offence.
He needs to get it going. Period.
Yes well, it's obvious he's not the player we thought he was.. It's time to move on and stop pressuring him. He's struggling enough as it is, we're winning games and he's playing responsible defensive hockey - lets leave it at that eh?
Personally I want him traded.. and it's getting old seeing all these people expecting him to start scoring goals all of a sudden. There are players on this team better at him than offense, we DON'T need to mix things up to get him going, and we certainly don't need to start taking opportunities away from other players because of him. He's a bottom six player and it's time to live with that.
Paajarvi plays mildly passive and is probably feeling a different sort of pressure than the Glamour Boys on the team who get 1st line acknowledgement. that said, he has to work through that and play tougher. at times hes passive/soft... other times hes aggressive and using his speed. he seems caught between attitudes. i dont think he'll last in this franchise over the long haul. calling it now.
his linemates? Belanger is a third line center who should be working with real NHL third line players and in pinches/injuries, second liners....
Gagner? not into him in the least. if this kid didnt have the family hype, super series hype and canadian hype people would hate his guts by now for being a no-show most of seasons then dropping 20 points in non-pressure situations. he makes bad puck decisions trying to do things he physically cant (trying to skate out of the zone or through the neutral zone from a flat footed position and getting caught in literally a half second)... he competes, ill give him that, but hes pretty average everywhere else. his mobility skills arent good enough to enhance his stick/hand skill. which makes him barely better than a Rob Schremp type player. he might be mildly "more Intelligent defensively" but its not enough for me to think hes a keeper for a cup run... unless hes a complete "third wheel" who just rides behind people who carry the workhorse roles.
Gagner had 42 pts in 68GP last year. This was second in pts on the whole team. How is that trending down?!
Thats more than any of his linemates might ever produce in same GP. Belanger's career best is 41pts.
he also had massive power play time last year and squandered it. he was getting near 3 minutes a game (2:56) and put up 9pp points. one of the places he should have helped based on his skill set and he pooped the bed. blame the whole team and system but an offensive player should help increase it with just little plays like RNH does. and no im not chalking that up to magic, "innateness", or "pedigree"
