Sens fan, coming in peace and all that. Just wondering if you could be so kind as to give us Sens fans a scouting report on him, since most of us haven't seen much of him since he left Montreal. We are aware he has had some issues with fitness and injuries, I was thinking more of a report on his game - strengths, weaknesses, areas/situations where he can be best utilized, etc.
he is big and plays big, has a good shot and recently developed a good work ethic. you will love him as long as he plays like he did in MN, two years ago he was out of shape and caused an injury, last year it was two hits from behind that concussed him. we are all sad to see him go and wish him the very best in ottawa.
he can easly pot 25-30 goals if healthy and motivated, both which i think he is.
i think he is a going to be a good power play guy, he's big and can cause havoc in front of the net, perfect to give Erik Karlsson room to light the league up
best sign for you guys is he's super motivated to prove himself. if he can manage to stay healthy he should be nice and productive or at the very least a great physical presence. for $1.2m even that wouldn't be bad.
He was one of our best players last year and will fit in nice with your guys on the 2nd line I'd think. He's good at scoring goals, and he was motivated last year, but a concussion held him out of the lineup. He came into camp in great shape and was ready to do well, however, he has had some injury issues, so it's hard to count on him being in the lineup the whole year which is why the Wild were cautious about giving him a qualifying offer.
Thanks for the info guys/gals! Is his shot good enough to work the point on the PP, or is he better suited to crowd the net? Michalek is on our first PP unit and does that a lot, so we may have to put him on PP2.
Also, don't know how much you know about Spezza, but do you think he'd mesh well on a line with Spets and Michalek? (Most Sens fans think that is where we'll start him, as we've been looking for another sniper to play on Spezza's other wing).
Thanks for the info guys/gals! Is his shot good enough to work the point on the PP, or is he better suited to crowd the net? Michalek is on our first PP unit and does that a lot, so we may have to put him on PP2.
Also, don't know how much you know about Spezza, but do you think he'd mesh well on a line with Spets and Michalek? (Most Sens fans think that is where we'll start him, as we've been looking for another sniper to play on Spezza's other wing).
He should probably be put in front of the net on the PP. He played very very well with Koivu, so I would expect him to be a good linemate for Spezza.
He's really more of a side of the net guy. That guy when the puck goes plop on the ice within his reach on a rebound, he's going to bury it more often than not, rather than whiff or just push it back into the goalie's pads or stick. Or take a great pass from someone else and bury it. Most of his goals are going to come within 20' of the net. He doesn't have a cannon. His wrister is okay, but nothing special.
If he gets a step on a d-man, he can just hold that guy off and drag him to the net and still score.
In theory he should be able to do the tip kind of stuff that front of the net requires, but I've never seen him do it. He's got the hands for it, certainly. Don't know if he hasn't been given the opportunity, or he doesn't like pucks shot at him that hard.
He's really more of a side of the net guy. That guy when the puck goes plop on the ice within his reach on a rebound, he's going to bury it more often than not, rather than whiff or just push it back into the goalie's pads or stick. Or take a great pass from someone else and bury it. Most of his goals are going to come within 20' of the net. He doesn't have a cannon. His wrister is okay, but nothing special.
If he gets a step on a d-man, he can just hold that guy off and drag him to the net and still score.
In theory he should be able to do the tip kind of stuff that front of the net requires, but I've never seen him do it. He's got the hands for it, certainly. Don't know if he hasn't been given the opportunity, or he doesn't like pucks shot at him that hard.
This
I couls see him mesh well with Michalek and Spezz but not as a point guy on PP
he is big and plays big, has a good shot and recently developed a good work ethic. you will love him as long as he plays like he did in MN, two years ago he was out of shape and caused an injury, last year it was two hits from behind that concussed him. we are all sad to see him go and wish him the very best in ottawa.
he can easly pot 25-30 goals if healthy and motivated, both which i think he is.
i think he is a going to be a good power play guy, he's big and can cause havoc in front of the net, perfect to give Erik Karlsson room to light the league up
No, the first time was, but the second time was due to a hit HE dished out himself, then admitted he came back too soon.
is it really theft if that's pretty much all anyone would give him? some of you (not you, Jarick) are still acting like he was going to be some massively in-demand free agent. not the case.
We don't know what other offers he had, by the way. Assuming he is serious about wanting to be close to his kid, he could have accepted that deal based on location alone.
