Confirmed with Link: Flyers Sign Noah Cates To Two Year Contract - Avoid Arbitration ($2.625M AAV)

[Philly Fanatik]

Two great setups by Cates so far this week. The GWG on Monday, and this insurance marker last night.

I have no problem with Cates being a staple on the 4th line as a LW/C for the foreseeable future…say the next 5 years or so.

 

[Tripod]

Two great setups by Cates so far this week. The GWG on Monday, and this insurance marker last night.

Torts benches everyone

 

[Curufinwe]

The most important ability is accountability.

 

[freakydallas13]

Torts benches everyone

Lucky for Cates, the coach who benches everyone doesn't bench people for 2 poor games in a row

 

[deadhead]

Lucky for Cates, the coach who benches everyone doesn't bench people for 2 poor games in a row

If bad plays meant bad games, Sanheim and TK would be nailed to the bench.
Cates is a team leader in rel metrics, that is, the team is simply better with him on the ice.

 

[Curufinwe]

Sanheim and TK have 21 points in 20 games. If making bad defensive plays AND being a black hole on offense meant anything to Tortorella, Cates would sit for Poehling tomorrow.

Laughton made more plays in the OZ with Nic D and Hathaway than Cates managed with Brink and Farabee.

 

[freakydallas13]

If bad plays meant bad games, Sanheim and TK would be nailed to the bench.
Cates is a team leader in rel metrics, that is, the team is simply better with him on the ice.

Where are you getting your stats? I want to check them out.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Where are you getting your stats? I want to check them out.

I want no part of the discussion at large, but I'll give you a little bit of what he's not telling you.

Flat Rel stats are not what I would use to evaluate a player in 2023. Most of Cates' 5v5 time has been with two players, both of which show clearly better than he does in the same metrics. There are also some weird things at play. For example, Cates is the Flyers leader by an absolute mile in 5v5 Score & Venue Adjusted Relative Fenwick For/60. He's obviously not their best offensive player or close to it.

**10 GAMES IS NOTHING. I'M NOT RIPPING CATES. I'M EXPLAINING WHAT THINGS ARE AND ARE NOT SAYING. CAN IT, NERDS**

 

[deadhead]

Point is simply he's not some black hole dragging his linemates down.
For some reason, people here have it in for Cates, which is silly.
He's a solid 3C type, who is a good PK guy and plays on the PP b/c he's willing to take net front punishment. Guys like that have real value for teams, especially PO teams.

Is he going to be the lead player on a future Flyers SC contender? Of course not.
But that doesn't mean he doesn't have value.

He's not competing with Frost, he's competing with Laughton.
Laughton is faster, but lower IQ, worse defensively, best suited to a pure checking role at center or a shooter at LW.

 

[Magua]

For some reason, people here have it in for Cates, which is silly.

People like Cates and detest double standards. People understand the value Cates brings and understand the value he doesn't bring. The team does not understand the latter.

He's not competing with Frost, he's competing with Laughton.

Bullshit. Laughton is a nearly 30 year old winger. Cates and Frost are the same age, signed their contracts the same summer, and are directly competing for the same middle 6 center usage.

 

[deadhead]

Bullshit. Laughton is a nearly 30 year old winger. Cates and Frost are the same age, signed their contracts the same summer, and are directly competing for the same middle 6 center usage.

Cates has a similar role as Laughton, which is completely different than how any team would use Frost.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

I feel that checking something like this is a fair minimum threshold for taking claims about roles seriously:

For those that don't know how to use this aspect of the chart, the red bars are Cates himself. I'll accept all sorts of shades of grey contained within, but that's Middle 6 Center deployment.

For those that were extremely impressed that he had difficult QualComp last year, I hope you're factoring in that it is no longer the case. I wasn't, so I'm not dinging him for it. I'm just looking for consistency.

 

[DancingPanther]

I feel that checking something like this is a fair minimum threshold for taking claims about roles seriously:

For those that don't know how to use this aspect of the chart, the red bars are Cates himself. I'll accept all sorts of shades of grey contained within, but that's Middle 6 Center deployment.

For those that were extremely impressed that he had difficult QualComp last year, I hope you're factoring in that it is no longer the case. I wasn't, so I'm not dinging him for it. I'm just looking for consistency.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Cates has a similar role as Laughton, which is completely different than how any team would use Frost.

Roles are idiotic and limiting

 

[Curufinwe]

Cates has a similar role as Laughton, which is completely different than how any team would use Frost.

Another obvious lie, easily disproved. He's been mainly playing on a line with Farabee and Brink while the Couturier line gets the hardest defensive matchups. He also started the season playing with Konecny, who is now playing with Frost. Like Magua, said they're both middle 6 centers.

Couturier - 43.4 OZS%

Cates - 59.57 OZS%

Player Season Totals - Natural Stat Trick

www.naturalstattrick.com