News Article: Great news on Rutuu

[Roboturner913]

Wallace is the perfect fourth-liner. He hits, he's reliable defensively, he can skate pretty well, and has just enough offense to make things interesting every once in a while. Bowman is also a good fourth-liner. I think a Bowman-Sutter-Wallace combo is a very good 4th line for the forseeable future since I doubt Brent fits into the team's plans past this season.

 

[StormCast]

As far as Skinner goes, he's trying to do too much on his own right now. What's scary about that is he's still almost a point per game right now despite a concussion this year and one last year. To say that he isn't in the conversation as one of the best forwards in the league under 21 would be ....asinine.

Indeed but nobody said that. The discussion was whether he is an elite player in the league not one of the best younger players, which he surely is. But his no more elite than Logan Couture is (outside of SJ fans) among all NHL forwards.

 

[NotOpie]

I don't understand how any Canes fan can *not* love Wallace. He's exactly the player we've needed here for a long, long, long time, IMO. He's got a motor like LaRose, but when he hits a guy, the opponent actually feels it. He's obviously struggling to produce points, but I can't help but think there's a chance that improves if he keeps forechecking like he has.

As for Bowman, he's a nice player, but he has *not* done all that has been asked of him. He's expected to score more. In 23 games, he's got two goals and *one* assist. That's hard to do. Bowman is supposed to be our sneaky third-line scoring threat. He hasn't been that. The whole third line has been a disappointment this year, including Wallace.

That's why I think we need to leave Jussi and Nash there, because they seem to have something going. If Wallace isn't the answer on the RW, maybe LaRose is (but I doubt it). I think if we leave Jussi-Nash-Wallace out there for a while, we'll eventually have a decent third line. But no, Bowman hasn't done all that was asked. He's also a minus-5. If anything, he's been a great disappointment.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. He's been moved up and down lines with little consistency of linemates. His game or two on the second line was without Skinner, IIRC. And he's been bumped to the 4th line in favor, most often, of an undeserving LaRose. He click's well with Nash and, yes, he should score more. He's been trying to do just that but not at the expense of responsible play. So we'll have to disagree.

 

[Ole Gil]

Wallace has just enough offense to score a goal if someone shoots it at him, and he can't get out of the way in time.

Bowman and Wallace are not great for the top 9, because we want to score goals.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Indeed but nobody said that. The discussion was whether he is an elite player in the league not one of the best younger players, which he surely is. But his no more elite than Logan Couture is (outside of SJ fans) among all NHL forwards.

He's an elite young player.

 

[Ole Gil]

Skinner is tough to compare to other players, as he's his own little thing.

I'd say he's a top 30 goalscorer. But I think he can do more with less than a lot of players. I think you get his production no matter who he plays with (within reason)

Skating, hands, and puck sense are definitely elite.

And he has led the league in Penalties drawn/60 two years in a row. And not by a small margin. He causes defenses fits.

If you want to say Best 20 Forwards are Elite, then no, he's not. But he's does a lot of offensive things at an elite level.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

Wallace has just enough offense to score a goal if someone shoots it at him, and he can't get out of the way in time.

Bowman and Wallace are not great for the top 9, because we want to score goals.

But they try hard. I'm sure Muller gives them gold stars after every game.

 

[Roboturner913]

Skinner is tough to compare to other players, as he's his own little thing.

I'd say he's a top 30 goalscorer. But I think he can do more with less than a lot of players. I think you get his production no matter who he plays with (within reason)

I agree with this. Skinner is kind of a one-man show, I don't know that it terribly matters who else is on his line. You could probably put him out there with Nash and Dwyer and he'd do just as well. Which makes me wonder if a Jokinen-JStaal-Ruutu line might not be a bad idea. Who cares what the lines are called, 2nd or 3rd, if they get roughly equal ice time it doesn't matter one bit.

 

[geehaad]

The plus on Skinner: he can score from anywhere, anytime...and just when you think the chance is dead, he makes it suddenly dangerous.

The minus on Skinner: he does not work with his linemates. He is a one-man show and gets tunnel vision toward the net once he has the puck.

 

[DougieSmash]

Tuomo Ruutu 2009 - 228 hits in 79 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2010 - 156 hits in 54 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2011 - 309 hits in 82 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2012 - 151 hits in 72 games.

What happen with Ruutu's game in 2012? No edge at all. No physical contribution at all.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Tuomo Ruutu 2009 - 228 hits in 79 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2010 - 156 hits in 54 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2011 - 309 hits in 82 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2012 - 151 hits in 72 games.

What happen with Ruutu's game in 2012? No edge at all. No physical contribution at all.

My guess is his shoulder was messed up for a lot of the season.

 

[Roboturner913]

Tuomo Ruutu 2009 - 228 hits in 79 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2010 - 156 hits in 54 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2011 - 309 hits in 82 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2012 - 151 hits in 72 games.

What happen with Ruutu's game in 2012? No edge at all. No physical contribution at all.

He was playing injured all season. That was never really a secret. Hell, I like the guy and even I will tell you he was nearly useless in 2012 and probably should not have played at all.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Tuomo Ruutu 2009 - 228 hits in 79 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2010 - 156 hits in 54 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2011 - 309 hits in 82 games.
Tuomo Ruutu 2012 - 151 hits in 72 games.

What happen with Ruutu's game in 2012? No edge at all. No physical contribution at all.

And yet those 151 hits still led the team and placed him in the Top 50 for hits among forwards, ahead of, for instance, Wayne Simmonds

 

[My Special Purpose]

My guess is his shoulder was messed up for a lot of the season.

No, didn't he get suspended for demolishing Darcy Tucker and it got in his head? He felt like crap after it happened and he went all "Maverick" and lost his edge. Maurice talked to him about the need to play his game, but it wasn't working. He lost "Goose" and the pain was too much.

 

[rocky7]

I suppose we will see. It's up Rutuu and he knows it. I have always liked him and hope he comes back and does well. He would fit and is needed. Muller saying that he has kept in shape is a good sign in a couple ways. It shows Muller has some faith and that Rutuu wants to earn his place back. As far as Skinner goes, he is dangerous and valuable but being young, plays young with youthful mistakes. As I have said before, I'm up in the air with him. Excellent trade bait if very good and needed return. Also good to keep in many ways. His popularity should be secondary to the well being of the team in the long run when making decisions one way or the other.

 

[geehaad]

No, didn't he get suspended for demolishing Darcy Tucker and it got in his head? He felt like crap after it happened and he went all "Maverick" and lost his edge. Maurice talked to him about the need to play his game, but it wasn't working. He lost "Goose" and the pain was too much.

That was 2009...3 full years ago. With this and the claim that Tlusty was a healthy scratch last season, there's cause for concern for early onset Alzheimer's. You really should see a doctor.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

No, didn't he get suspended for demolishing Darcy Tucker and it got in his head? He felt like crap after it happened and he went all "Maverick" and lost his edge. Maurice talked to him about the need to play his game, but it wasn't working. He lost "Goose" and the pain was too much.

No, didn't he get suspended for demolishing Darcy Tucker and it got in his head? He felt like crap after it happened and he went all "Maverick" and lost his edge. Maurice talked to him about the need to play his game, but it wasn't working. He lost "Goose" and the pain was too much.

Let's timeline it here - Ruutu boarded Tucker on 10/23/09 and served a 3-game suspension. His first game back was on 11/1/09 against the Sharks where he logged 4 hits. He then got hurt in his fight with Tucker on 1/8/10 where he separated his shoulder. He continued to play afterwards though, until having surgery as announced on March 24. So basically we have three time periods to look at - Ruutu pre-suspension and Ruutu post-suspension, and Ruutu post-injury.

Pre-suspension, Ruutu logged 9 games, threw 23 hits in those games (an average of 2.56 hits/game), and most frequently threw 3 hits a game. The least amount of hits he threw was 0 (once against the Bruins) and the most was 5 (once against the Lightning).

Post-suspension, Ruutu logged 31 games, inclusive of the game he was hurt in. In those games he threw 87 hits (an average of 2.80 hits/game) and most frequently threw 2 hits a game. The least amount of hits he threw was 0 (6 times) and the most hits he tallied were 9 (once against the Islanders).

Post-injury, Ruutu logged 15 games, not inclusive of his Olympic participation (I couldn't find hit stats in the Olympic box scores). In those games he threw 44 hits (an average of 2.93 hits/game) and most frequently threw 2 hits a game. The least amount of hits was 0 (three times) and the most was 8 (once against the Senators).

Thus it would appear that your theory, that Ruutu "lost his edge" after being suspended, assuming you're talking about the 2009-2010 season, is incorrect - if anything it looks like he gained his edge as the season went on. If you're talking about the 2011-2012 season, then you're even more incorrect since, as noted above, the suspension/injury was in 2009-2010.

 

[geehaad]

Ya know, now thinking about it, I don't think Kev needs to see a doctor, I think he *is* a doctor. With as much as he thinks he knows what's going on inside of guy's head, I'm now convinced he's a shrink.

 

[Joe McGrath]

Ya know, now thinking about it, I don't think Kev needs to see a doctor, I think he *is* a doctor. With as much as he thinks he knows what's going on inside of guy's head, I'm now convinced he's a shrink.

I think Ruutu made a comment before the start of last season about the new "head shot" rules and how it might effect him negatively when he goes to throw a big hit. I think that would have more of an impact on his totals from last season. Or he was being a puss. Or he was hurt all year, the hell if I know.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

It's not really number as much as quality.

I agree with Kev: after the boarding, his quantity remained the same, but he seemed to lay off a bit.

 

[DaleCooper]

Ruutu in a contact jersey today?

 

[Novacane]

Oh boy...

 

[Tony1028]

Ruutu in a contact jersey today?

LOL Love it

 

[Mr America]

The guy hasn't played hockey in how long and many are expecting him to step right onto the second line?

 

[ChuckW]

Ruutu in a contact jersey today?

Who is that, Edge? Christian? I'm not much of a WWF guy (but old enough to still stubbornly call it the WWF), but that is hilarious!