As I said before, an entire season of not having to play with Michalek against top lines will do wonders to everyone of his stats. He will bounce back and I also think he was playing hurt/injured last year. Michalek is awful. I still wonder what they saw in him. He has no track record of ever being good. Martin has, and my money is on him. I'd actually like to see him paired up with Engelland or Niskannen. Leave Orpik/Letang to go against top lines.
As I said before, an entire season of not having to play with Michalek against top lines will do wonders to everyone of his stats. He will bounce back and I also think he was playing hurt/injured last year. Michalek is awful. I still wonder what they saw in him. He has no track record of ever being good. Martin has, and my money is on him. I'd actually like to see him paired up with Engelland or Niskannen. Leave Orpik/Letang to go against top lines.
Better question is will MAF "bounce"?
I predict Michalek will look outstanding again in Phoenix. He was great in Phoenix before. He was really good here for a year. He was NOT as bad as Martin was here last year. Not even close.
I predict Michalek will look outstanding again in Phoenix. He was great in Phoenix before. He was really good here for a year. He was NOT as bad as Martin was here last year. Not even close.
The defensive system in place in Phoenix makes a lot of players look good
As I said before, an entire season of not having to play with Michalek against top lines will do wonders to everyone of his stats. He will bounce back and I also think he was playing hurt/injured last year. Michalek is awful. I still wonder what they saw in him. He has no track record of ever being good. Martin has, and my money is on him. I'd actually like to see him paired up with Engelland or Niskannen. Leave Orpik/Letang to go against top lines.
Better question is will MAF "bounce"?
He definitely played hurt, was announced after the series against the Flyers
With Martin, anything better than playing like a beer league defenseman in a no-contact division will be considered a bounceback year.
I really don't think it's possible for any $5M defenseman to play worse than he did last year, especially down the stretch and into the post-season. It got to the point where I was ashamed that Martin was even wearing the Pens jersey.
So yes - I think even if he is still horrendous this season, it will technically be an "improvement" over his play last year.
I could be an eternal optimist, but I think Martin will "suck less" compared to how bad he sucked last year.
Hopefully he has a tremendous first half and we can get a good return for him at the trade deadline. The guy has never been and will never be a playoff defender, too soft!
Hopefully he has a tremendous first half and we can get a good return for him at the trade deadline. The guy has never been and will never be a playoff defender, too soft!
If our youngsters develop well and guys like Strait and Bortuzzo look steady game after game it can definitely become an option for Shero at the deadline. However I have a feeling if he is indeed traded, it will be after the season
I will vote no. I don't believe in Bylsma changing the system enough and Martin is just not strong enough in the NHL right now. I think he'd be a great 1 on 1 defender, but we will never see 3 on 3 down low under Bylsma.
I say he will be quite a mess all season.
Shero was furious after that first round exit. He wasn't jumping around, cursing and screaming publicly, but the rage was practically rolling off of him in waves in the interviews he did. IIRC he commented that they would be reviewing film ... if the Pens don't go back to something more along the lines of the 09-10/10-11 seasons, I'll be surprised. I can't imagine Bylsma escaped without any scorch marks.
I'd like to think yes but lets see.
He still won't be able to hit, clear the crease, score a goal, block a shot or stick up for a teamate, so in terms of my definition of what makes a good defenceman I think he'll still suck.
With that said I think he'll be better at making that first pass out of his zone and skating the puck out of danger which are supposedly his strengths.
Shero was furious after that first round exit. He wasn't jumping around, cursing and screaming publicly, but the rage was practically rolling off of him in waves in the interviews he did. IIRC he commented that they would be reviewing film ... if the Pens don't go back to something more along the lines of the 09-10/10-11 seasons, I'll be surprised. I can't imagine Bylsma escaped without any scorch marks.
I predict Michalek will look outstanding again in Phoenix. He was great in Phoenix before. He was really good here for a year. He was NOT as bad as Martin was here last year. Not even close.
I suggest you go back and look at the stats. He was significantly outshot at 5v5. Not even a close step from his pairing to the next in his last year at PHX.
In his entire NHL career, he has only posted a + Corsi once. Not exactly a good track record IMO, and his reputation is unearned. His "shot blocking" is more a result of him always having to play in his own zone than his proficiency at it. It doesn't matter how good he "looks" if he has never been able to produce the results. He does play against top competition but gets dominated by them.
On the flip side, Martin has never posted a - Corsi for us or NJD. His teams are consistently out shooting the competition while he is on the ice. This is why I think he is bound to bounce back and have a good year for us. Judging players by both their results and what you see gives you the best picture. Not a good idea to sell low with him. Every player can have a bad year. If we are singing the same song half way through the season, then he is gone.
he was good for us 2 season ago, I see no reason he can't get up to that level again.
People forget the amount of shutdown D we played with Malkin and Crosby both out. That whole philosophy was built around Martin and Michalek playing great defense. It can happen again but there will be a lot of moving pieces that need to contribute to his success. Its not as simple as him stepping his game up. Systematic adjustments need to be made as well.
The offseason optimism is strong in this thread . But I do hope you guys are right. I'm not asking him to turn into a 60 point defenseman, just a solid puck mover who can contribute a bit offensively.
Voted yes. The whole "what have you done for me lately" emo **** is getting old. You don't go from top 20 d-man to bottom of the barrel in one seasons time unless your name is Wade Redden.
Considering what some other d-men have signed at since then, he'll be worth his $$$.
. But I do hope you guys are right. I'm not asking him to turn into a 60 point defenseman, just a solid puck mover who can contribute a bit offensively.
