To begin with, Saku has only one-third as many goals as assists, which is not a good sign, because it probably means his shot is becoming weaker.
Second, he has fallen behind even other Finns, such as Antti Miettinen, in points per game.
Third, one of his points has come on the power play, which reduces the value of his stats even more!
Finally, he is unfairly benefitting from playing with top winger Guillaume Latendresse. Surely, if Tender was still playing with Max Lapierre, MadMax would have at least ten points by now.
I say we trade the bum before other teams figure out how bad Saku really is. I bet that somewhere there's a stupid GM out there willing to give us a draft choice or a depth defenceman for him.
Last edited by BaseballCoach: 10-19-2008 at 11:52 AM.
Saku is having a career year, and that is why Latendresse is able to mooch all his points off him!
Even with his hands of stone, his inability to keep up with the speed & crisp passes & lack of physicality, Guillaume looks alright because Saku keeps dishing him perfect passes every game!
Saku would have about 15 points by now if not for Guillaume screwing it up on a regular basis!
Saku is having a career year, and that is why Latendresse is able to mooch all his points off him!
Even with his hands of stone, his inability to keep up with the speed & crisp passes & lack of physicality, Guillaume looks alright because Saku keeps dishing him perfect passes every game!
Saku would have about 15 points by now if not for Guillaume screwing it up on a regular basis!
:teaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch:
Ok slow down man.. Career year after 5 games? That's a big 10-4 on the ol LOL. go habs go.
BC, as firmly as tongue is planted in cheek, it's interesting to watch a guy contribute when ,as I really do believe, he can't do some things he once did.
At a point, a guy plays with his head where he used to rely on his legs. A lot of veteran players have remained productive, never missing a beat, while their game changes. I think his game has changed, he has to seize opportunties more than in the past. He's also going to have some jump when he feels the guys playing with him are on the same page.
BC, as firmly as tongue is planted in cheek, it's interesting to watch a guy contribute when ,as I really do believe, he can't do some things he once did.
At a point, a guy plays with his head where he used to rely on his legs. A lot of veteran players have remained productive, never missing a beat, while their game changes. I think his game has changed, he has to seize opportunties more than in the past. He's also going to have some jump when he feels the guys playing with him are on the same page.
Of course Saku's game has changed. So what? It happens to lots of guys. It means they're SMART. Yesterday, someone wrote that as far as he was concerned, Saku is a 3rd line C. It wasn't meant as a compliment. It's also what prompted me to write the OP here.
Anyway, if the guy can find a way to contribute, put up 60 points and finish with a nice "+" in the plus-minus, I'll be very happy.
Carbo also mentioned last night that he intends to use others to kill penalties and thus leave Koivu fresher for 5-on-5 and PP minutes. I agree and I'd like to see the same done with Kovalev, though it's a bit too tempting to put him out there since he was our best PK last year.
BC, as firmly as tongue is planted in cheek, it's interesting to watch a guy contribute when ,as I really do believe, he can't do some things he once did.
At a point, a guy plays with his head where he used to rely on his legs. A lot of veteran players have remained productive, never missing a beat, while their game changes. I think his game has changed, he has to seize opportunties more than in the past. He's also going to have some jump when he feels the guys playing with him are on the same page.
It's all due to the Habs new climate change program. Call it TalentShift.
Better players overall surrounding Koivu, better results, suddenly attributes that Koivu always had become evident to the masses. Pieholes in fandom shut, toxic emissions and GHG reduced.
Why do you want to sit Kovalev during pk time? I doubt he'd want that. He is in awesome shape, his body can handle it. He had one of the best years of his career last year while playing in all situations.
Of course Saku's game has changed. So what? It happens to lots of guys. It means they're SMART. Yesterday, someone wrote that as far as he was concerned, Saku is a 3rd line C. It wasn't meant as a compliment. It's also what prompted me to write the OP here.
Anyway, if the guy can find a way to contribute, put up 60 points and finish with a nice "+" in the plus-minus, I'll be very happy.
Carbo also mentioned last night that he intends to use others to kill penalties and thus leave Koivu fresher for 5-on-5 and PP minutes. I agree and I'd like to see the same done with Kovalev, though it's a bit too tempting to put him out there since he was our best PK last year.
I agree, with so what, BC, it's just an obseravtion that he does things differently. A guy has to look for opportunties to imose what he does best on the game. A Plekanec can fly up and down the ice, sometimes with great results, sometimes not so much. Koivu's had to pace himself and look for openings. Part of the heat he takes is due to the way he's evolved as a player, imo.
I have this vague memory of him in his early days, on one of those western swings, in a wild game against Edmonton. Koivu was all over the ice, beating d men on the outside, scoring on slap shots from outside the circle.
I think that sometimes he gets compared to the type of plays he once made or that some other players can make. I also like the way Carbo seems to be using him, not burning him out when younger guys can do the job.
