He had some really close friends on that Lokomotiv plane crash and he obviously isn't dealing with it well.
If this is still a valid excuse this far down the road... then we might as well say that some acquaintances dying on a plane ruined his entire career.
I`m sure there`s been hell of a lot of players in the nhl that had ``sad`` things happen to them this year. Deaths in the family, breakups, divorces, family illnesses, etc.
These types of things may affect performances for a few weeks... at best. Im just a regular working joe... and a death of a FAMILY member wouldnt be an acceptable excuse 8 months down the road at my place of employement... let alone someone making millions of dollars a year... who lost mere ACQUAINTANCES on a plane.
Or maybe it was gutless for Burke to not give him the time off he needed to grieve; Or for Burke to use this traumatic period as excuse to screw him on his next contract negotiation.
If there's one thing about Burke its that he always seems to value the feelings of players and people he's dealing with.
If the Lokomotiv tragedy is behind his slump, then who knows how long it may take to recover. People respond very differently to certain things and that can sometimes destroy confidence and no amount of money/drive/etc. can motivate it.
After a death(s), sometimes a person will step up like never before (like Brett Favre after his father's death), others will regress. Some people recover quickly, others take a while. Whatever it is, hopefully he gets over it soon for the sake of his own mental health.
He had some really close friends on that Lokomotiv plane crash and he obviously isn't dealing with it well.
I'm not trying to be insensitive. Using this logic, can we not say that Brian Burke's performance as GM could be affected by the passing of his son? I for one don't think this is the case. I think most people will use it as positive motivation. Everybody is different I realize that. My theory is that Kules offence is hindered by double timing on D to make up for the rest of the jokers on the ice. RIP BB.
If this is still a valid excuse this far down the road... then we might as well say that some acquaintances dying on a plane ruined his entire career.
I`m sure there`s been hell of a lot of players in the nhl that had ``sad`` things happen to them this year. Deaths in the family, breakups, divorces, family illnesses, etc.
These types of things may affect performances for a few weeks... at best. Im just a regular working joe... and a death of a FAMILY member wouldnt be an acceptable excuse 8 months down the road at my place of employement... let alone someone making millions of dollars a year... who lost mere ACQUAINTANCES on a plane.
Wow! It's like you litterally closed your eyes to the whole situation. It was already said in this thread how close Kulemin was to some of those people. TorontoAvalanche mentioned that Korolev was like a father to him, and that they talked regularly. How could you miss that? "Mere acquaintances" my foot.
Why don't you just stay out of the thread, if this is all you have to say? Because people deal with things differently. Some people might not let a death in the family affect their job, some people are never the same.
No one has even said that it is OK for Kulemin to perform this way on the ice, and that we will be happy if it cintinues. But you can be understanding if there is a legit reason for it.
If this is still a valid excuse this far down the road... then we might as well say that some acquaintances dying on a plane ruined his entire career.
I`m sure there`s been hell of a lot of players in the nhl that had ``sad`` things happen to them this year. Deaths in the family, breakups, divorces, family illnesses, etc.
These types of things may affect performances for a few weeks... at best. Im just a regular working joe... and a death of a FAMILY member wouldnt be an acceptable excuse 8 months down the road at my place of employement... let alone someone making millions of dollars a year... who lost mere ACQUAINTANCES on a plane.
You should probably stop now. First off, how much he makes is irrelevant. Losing loved ones isn't easier if you have money.
Second, as far as I know, a few of those ACQUAINTANCES were a whole hell of a lot closer to him than just that. If you've ever lost a loved one (family or not) and aren't a total psychopath, then you would feel it. And grieving has no time limit. Some people can move on after a few months, others are affected the rest of their lives.
Who knows with Kulemin? If he doesn't deal with it properly, it could very well ruin his career.
As someone who lost his father 20 (I was in my 20's) years ago, I can speak with complete honesty that it takes more than just a few months to "get over it". I took 6 months off work (medical related for stress/grieving). I came back and was not 100% for a long time. The difference? I don't have thousands of people watching me do my job, posting about it on forums or questioning my inability to deal with it. My boss (and I imagine kulemin's as well) knew it takes time.
Maybe some posters around here should have a lot more empathy for the people behind the jersey's, instead of just seeing the money they make.
If this is still a valid excuse this far down the road... then we might as well say that some acquaintances dying on a plane ruined his entire career.
I`m sure there`s been hell of a lot of players in the nhl that had ``sad`` things happen to them this year. Deaths in the family, breakups, divorces, family illnesses, etc.
These types of things may affect performances for a few weeks... at best. Im just a regular working joe... and a death of a FAMILY member wouldnt be an acceptable excuse 8 months down the road at my place of employement... let alone someone making millions of dollars a year... who lost mere ACQUAINTANCES on a plane.
Wow, is there no line for some people! You have no idea what those people meant to other people and how it affects them. Losing a family member or close friend can affect you for years and even change your life for ever! I lost a family member and worked the next day, my friend lost a family member and went downhill for two years! If you don't think it's an excuse then say that but don't dare criticize or belittle someone for it! MAn, Leaf fans need tolearn to criticize people and have a little class! It's getting bad! No boundaries!
Itmay have affected him for a short time and put him in a slump and then maybe the slump put him in a longer slump!
Maybe last year was an anomaly and he is not a 30 goal scorer?
Compared to 2009 (and ignoring 2010), the slump does not look as dramatic but he is slumping nonetheless
Does anyone in here NOT expect him to bounce back to 20+ goals next year?
As a side note, some real ignorance in here in regards to him losing a loved one in the plane crash and the possibility of him suffering from depression.
How about Jonathan Cheechoo. Once scored 56 with the Sharks. His last season in the NHL he scored 5 goals. The important thing for Kulemin is to continue his physical play and continue his defensive play. The goals will come. He is not a naturally gifted offensive player like Grabovski, but his goals will come by working hard and being physical.
Perhaps Kule is better suited as a 3rd line checking winger, expectations may have been too high for him off of 1 30 goal year. Adjust for next year if he is still with us.
For all those that are willing to write off this season, and possibly the next, and more after that because he lost his friend, where is the sympathy for Burke who lost his son?
Kulemin was never a legit 30 goal scorer, he definitely hasn't played well this year, but I think he's a 20 goal scorer tops. On a good year. I'd expect him to put up 10-15 regularly on the 3rd line.
Kulemin will be fine. great two way player who will hopefully sign for cheap, and will end up being one of the best bang for your buck players in the next year or two.
Grabovski and Kulemin seem to feed off each other, so hopefully we'll get to watch that for many more years. just a down year for NK, and hopefully he'll be back and rip it up next season.
good or bad season, he's still my favourite player.
Players have down years all the time, I wouldn't be too worried about Kulemin. Maybe he won't score thirty every year for the rest of his career but a guy like Higgins had a couple good goal scoring season (nearly hit 30 one year) as a young player. He has one bad year and he's gone, then turns into a pretty productive 2nd 3rd line two way winger.
I guess what I'm saying is don't throw him under the bus and trade him for Gomez, like Higgins and he will bounce back
Yes, but unlike other players that go into slumps and cant score, he makes himself useful. He doesnt just float around and mope. He actually does something. He might not be scoring, but he puts himself in a position to be more defensively aware, strong on the forecheck and never loses a puck battle.
Unlike dicks like Connolly, Crabb and Lombardi, when hes not scoring he actually tries to do other things. And he has. (For Connolly, looking at the whole season as the spectrum not just these past 2 games)
Even if he scored at his career shooting % (before this season) of 13.3%, he'd have 13 goals on 103 shots. That's almost double his current pace.
It's a mixture of shooting less and shooting from low-percentage places, which has lead to a lower shooting % and thus less goals. I do believe he started the season off with some personal issues, which lead to a poor start, which lead to confidence issues, which snowballed into the season he's currently having.
Poor guy has been very snakebitten as well. He's trying hard out there. But, as somebody pointed out above, we'll get him for cheaper now, so this could eventually turn out in our favour.
Korolev (sp?) died in the crash and he was a father figure to Kulemin.
Kulemin would call him after some games for advice, they'd go out to dinner weekly, Korolev even taught Kulemin english. They even talked to each other the day of the crash.
They were really close, and it's not something somebody can get over easily. Athletes have feelings and emotions too.
He should see one of those sports psychologists or whatever. They have the best of the best.
didnt he make that great pass too this season? And the way he protects the puck, very datsyuk like. right guys?
I honestly think this the biggest difference in his game from last year to this season.
Last year he was a beast on the puck and no one could knock him off it. This year the slighest bump and he loses it every time. It's mindboggling how his game has gone south in this regard.
Saw something about this earlier, but has there ever been an NHLer who had such a huge drop-off?
The closest player in recent memory that comes close would be Jonathan Cheechoo over a four year period went down from 56 goals to 5. Kulemin is a little more extreme from one season to the next, but I hope he does not become the next Cheechoo. Hopefully he turns it around next season when he has some time off to reflect on all that has gone on over the last year.
