Player Discussion: All purpose: Zach Werenski thread.

[CBJx614]

It's been a real treat to have him healthy for most of the season.

Imagine what his numbers might look like if he can stay healthy and have an offense that has more than one player reaching 50 points in a season!

And a competent power play!

 

[DarkandStormy]

Werenski finishes with 11-46-57 in just 70 games. The 57 points are good enough for 12th among NHL Dmen this season. Had he played all 82 games and scored at the same pace he would have been top 10 in points among defensemen.

EDIT - and to the power play woes, he's t-6th in even strength points among Dmen with 45. At 5v5 he had 40 points which is T-4th with some guy named Makar. Quinn Hughes led the league with 43.

 

[thebus88]

Offense isn’t Werenski’s problem.

We need a partner to play with him on the top pair.

 

[majormajor]

I was thinking through how Werenski gets his points and it is largely on the move. He's not a great static point man who does a stutter step to open a shot lane, he takes powerful strides and weaves around the zone to create a lot of space.

So my conclusion from that is that if we're going to keep using him as #1 PPQB, we need to change the setup. There is a tendency with bad powerplays to always "go back to basics", which means a static set up, everyone standing in their spot. But Werenski isn't good at that, he doesn't have great vision from the standstill, he doesn't have the quickest feet to open up a lane. He needs to weave. And a lot of our guys are best weaving in the high zone, that's true for Gaudreau, Chinakhov, Marchenko, etc...

 

[Cowumbus]

Offense isn’t Werenski’s problem.

We need a partner to play with him on the top pair.

Matt Roy?

 

[koteka]

Matt Roy?

I have wanted him for years.

 

[Viqsi]

Matt Roy?

I would be very shocked if the Kings let him go. But VERY YES.

 

[majormajor]

I would be very shocked if the Kings let him go. But VERY YES.

Kings fans here seemed to be thinking they had little chance of keeping him - and they want space for Spence or Clarke in the top 4.

I think our bigger obstacle might be that there are many teams looking for a good RD - especially clubs in a similar position to us like Buffalo and Ottawa. There's a ton of cap space available and several clubs happy to overpay Roy.

The other top 4 RD that comes to mind is Dillon DeMelo, who has had a great all around season and keeps improving his shutdown game. He's going to get paid a lot too. I think it's fair to call DeMelo a #2 D-man, because he seems to make every #1 guy he plays with better.

Chris Tanev is still a very good shutdown RD, and at age 34 might be amenable to a short term deal. Great leadership. I'd definitely make a call there, though you can guess that he'll go to a contender.

Brett Pesce is on the market - usually a top shutdown RD but fell apart this year. I'm not sure why. That will be a gamble - he's at an age where he can command a long term deal.

 

[Viqsi]

Kings fans here seemed to be thinking they had little chance of keeping him - and they want space for Spence or Clarke in the top 4.

I think our bigger obstacle might be that there are many teams looking for a good RD - especially clubs in a similar position to us like Buffalo and Ottawa. There's a ton of cap space available and several clubs happy to overpay Roy.

I was kind of hoping/figuring those guys would be mostly going after Pesce. If they don't, I'd hope we would.

And I'd have thought Roy would still be a major priority for the Kings.

 

[majormajor]

I was kind of hoping/figuring those guys would be mostly going after Pesce. If they don't, I'd hope we would.

And I'd have thought Roy would still be a major priority for the Kings.

I added some thoughts on Pesce to that post.

I'm not sure what you'd get with Pesce, is he too dinged up at this point to give him a long term deal?

 

[Viqsi]

I added some thoughts on Pesce to that post.

I'm not sure what you'd get with Pesce, is he too dinged up at this point to give him a long term deal?

Legit don't know, I've just always loved his work regardless and so my desire might be a reputation based one.

DeMelo has frankly completely flown under my radar, but if you say he's doing well and would be a good get, I'm willing to trust that assessment.

 

[majormajor]

DeMelo has frankly completely flown under my radar, but if you say he's doing well and would be a good get, I'm willing to trust that assessment.

I look at what DeMelo did for Chabot in Ottawa and what he's done for Morrissey in Winnipeg, and I want that for Werenski.

There's more to think through - Werenski-Boqvist got good results, and we already have Severson signed long term, Gudbranson with another couple of years, and Jiricek might have a breakthrough. Is this the right time to go for a big RD signing?