WarriorofTime
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2010
- 28,888
- 17,032
But if Kuznetsov holds down Powerplay 2 (3 points in 28.1 minutes since joining Carolina, 6.41 PPP/60) does that keep him around?
How do you think, Kuznetsov can be benched in post season games like Kessel in Vegas las year?
- Thread starter DRW895
- Start date
My post wasn't meant as a character attack at his effort level. I'm willing to believe that his conditioning is bad or that he's just cooked. The brain is full-speed, but the hands and feet aren't right now.
There's a real styles clash with Necas, who is MacKinnon lite. It's been ineffective. Drury is meh too, but he has fresher legs.
Rod experimented with Necas on a line Drury and Noesen last night. By ice time, Kuzentsov with Lemieux and Fast was the 4th line.
Canes are deep enough to run a PP with legit pieces without him: Necas and Teravainen on the half walls, Drury as the bumper and Noesen net front.
There's a real styles clash with Necas, who is MacKinnon lite. It's been ineffective. Drury is meh too, but he has fresher legs.
Rod experimented with Necas on a line Drury and Noesen last night. By ice time, Kuzentsov with Lemieux and Fast was the 4th line.
Canes are deep enough to run a PP with legit pieces without him: Necas and Teravainen on the half walls, Drury as the bumper and Noesen net front.
SoundAndFury
Registered User
- May 28, 2012
- 11,396
- 5,328
So down to the 4th line and 11 minutes in the last game. It's almost like Rod also sees the same thing non-homer eyes do.
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
Cardiac Jerks
Asinine & immoral
Darcy Tucker
My Name is Bob
WarriorofTime
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2010
- 28,888
- 17,032
I think they're probably happy to have him for this upcoming postseason to add another Center option to be a potential skill injection and a guy with some Stanley Cup experience. Things like cap hit or the third round pick sent away are not an issue for right now. So no real risk for this year. It could be an issue for next season though due to a $4million cap hit and large buried penalty.
- Apr 27, 2005
- 33,680
- 29,945
He's been a lot better than his numbers suggest for sure, but his all around game can still be a problem at times.
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
- 11,905
- 6,342
Guy is what he is, but if he's on in the playoffs he could be an x-factor. Carolina didn't bring this guy on to be a core pillar.
Cardiac Jerks
Asinine & immoral
Less confusing if you look at who the posters are who are saying he is good vs bad.
Lot of people who clearly don’t watch canes games regularly and are only stat watching, it seems.
bleedgreen
Registered User
Rod plays Necas on the fourth line sometimes. Also he could be nicked up, the rumor is some guys had minor issues going on. He’s also badly out of shape.
What’s your deal? Sour puss Caps fan or just someone who hates Kuzy for what he did to your team that one time?
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
This is really the perception gap in this thread.
Kuznetsov is, what, their 8th most important forward right now? “2C” implies that he’s a crucial player, but that’s not how the Hurricanes are built. They’ve been cycling guys through that 2C slot all year — mainly Staal, Kotkaniemi, Drury. Those three are grinding defensive types, which is great for depth but not great for your PP and late game trailing scenarios. Ideally they would stick Necas into that slot, but he is looking less and less like he’ll ever really be a C at this level.
So acquiring Kuznetsov wasn’t about getting a true 2C, it was about having a depth C with some skill to complement those other guys. It means if you’re desperate for goals you’re not sending Drury over the boards. Instead you can put him back on the wing. If Kuznetsov is sucking for whatever reason, fine, demote him to a lower line and run a faster-paced 4th line while using the 2nd line for defensive matchups. There’s a lot of flexibility there, which didn’t exist when the whole center group was cut of the same cloth.
SoundAndFury
Registered User
- May 28, 2012
- 11,396
- 5,328
I have explained this before. This was a very dubious decision the moment it was made. Most Canes' fans reacted "no no he is good, we are lucky to have him" which, in my eyes, was not objective at all. So from that point on I'm just enjoying the rolling cascade of arguments how is that so. Like a week ago it was "I trust Rod and he keeps playing" and he gets demoted to the 4th line the very next game. It's funny.
He is their 6th highest paid forward and not even a UFA. There is no perception gap, point was that they could have added some real help for that money.
bleedgreen
Registered User
He led centers in even strength ice time tonight. And played pp. Interesting usage for a “fourth liner”. Keep going though. Your agenda is fascinating.
syz
[1, 5, 6, 14]
- Jul 13, 2007
- 29,313
- 13,090
Dunno if ice time in a game the team sat a bunch of guys and lost 6-3 is too much of an indication of anything.
bleedgreen
Registered User
Other than he didn’t play fourth line center.
It’s funny, he maybe wouldn’t have played a single game at 2C if it wasn’t for circumstance. Drury wasn’t scoring enough but he was playing an RBA game, Kuzy started as the 4C. Drury got hurt so Kuzy got moved up, and I honestly thought RBA would put Drury right back there as soon as he could. Kuzy cooling off a bit gave him a chance to. RBA doesn’t coach like anyone else does. Line numbers don’t matter as much as they do for other teams. The second line often plays less than you’d think they would as RBA favors Staal’s third line in many even strength situations. Bunting, Necas, TT and others you wouldn’t expect on the fourth played there.
The second line toward the back half is the season became the Necas line. No one has consistent chemistry with him. Kuzy did for a bit but it faded. Necas is at his best when he does all the carrying and creating. When he tries to play with other skilled guys he forces it to them and nothing works. I could see putting Drury/Koko back with Necas as an attempt to let Necas play his game again.
We’ll see who’s playing where when the playoffs start. Nothing has changed with Kuzy, he’s been pretty much the guy I expected him to be. Still great with the puck and has a sharp offensive brain, and doesn’t shrink from big moments. He’s out of shape, was in rehab and not playing hockey at all very recently and had played himself off another team. There’s zero regrets and he could bring a ton to the playoffs.
SoundAndFury
Registered User
- May 28, 2012
- 11,396
- 5,328
Canes played without their leading players? Seens kinda important thing to mention, no?
But I'm eagerly waiting for another wall of text after he plays his 12 minutes in the playoffs. A great investment for 4 mils per.
bleedgreen
Registered User
We think so. Fills an important gap in the lineup and brings really important playoff experience that the team lacks. We were obviously aware of his situation. No one was expected 2018 Kuzy. You still haven’t answered why you’ve got such a beef against him.
wgknestrick
Registered User
- Aug 14, 2012
- 5,858
- 2,555
Bad (relative to the great team he's on), especially on D. OK on offense.
33% more likely to have GA while he's on the ice, than off it. Sinking the PP as well. He's fine to have in the ranks for the POs when a top liner goes down. Just not sure you want this guy eating tough D zone minutes on a bottom line.
He was free, so worth the cost and not a penny more.
Or maybe he's like Grant Fuhr.
Plays way better when he's actually high on cocaine.
- Feb 10, 2010
- 13,628
- 10,252
A similar thing was true of his time on the Capitals this season. He didn't look terrible, but then he put up like 6 goals/17 points in 43 games while leading all forwards in ice time.
2 points in his past 13 games has to be worrisome.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
He won’t be their 6th highest paid after Necas and Jarvis get new deals this summer. Then he’ll be, once again, #8 on the depth chart.
He’s a $3.9M depth player with one year left on his deal, playing as advertised. Why is this a thread?
He came with a $4M cap hit for two seasons at the expense of a third round pick, so not sure I’d call him free, but yeah the logic checks out.Bad (relative to the great team he's on), especially on D. OK on offense.
33% more likely to have GA while he's on the ice, than off it. Sinking the PP as well. He's fine to have in the ranks for the POs when a top liner goes down. Just not sure you want this guy eating tough D zone minutes on a bottom line.
He was free, so worth the cost and not a penny more.
Sad to see how far he’s fallen from where he was a few years ago. It’s not even like he’s that old either.
