Injury Report: Jan Rutta

[SAADfather]

 

[JaegerDice]

Nothing I see in Seabrooks game makes me think he isn't giving effort. He is slow, but he doesn't lack effort. You should read the article if you can. IMO, Kempny has always been overrated with many people here. He is nothing special, a decent depth Dman who isn't going to make much of a difference either way for any team, regardless of the coach.

That article might be one of the more brutal I've seen on The Athletic. I'm not sure who the author is, but he basically attempted to build a case against Kempny based on a single bad line change. That was his only example. He cites 'other examples' in his closing paragraph as if he were too lazy to present them. And most hilariously, he cites his own personal data collection project without actually presenting any of the data from it.

Any player can be eviscerated on the basis of a single play, up to and including Sidney Crosby. I have no problem with breaking down a play, and the author was certainly great at that, but using it to support a thesis for why a player deserves scratching is everything wrong with NHL coaching. You don't scratch people for one play, you do it based on large samples. And if you have a large sample to back your claim, present it. The problem people have with Q is that he seems to fixate on specific plays for certain players while looking at the bigger picture for others.

I do think the author did a good job of theorizing the specific type of breakdowns that piss Q off more than others. But I'd have liked to see more than one bad play from Kempny to make the case he's been scratched fairly. Rest assured, I can pick out disastrous decisions and plays from every Dman on this roster, and none have seen the same repercussions.

As far as his defense of Seabrook, I do agree that the guy who ends up looking worst in a replay is not always the guy at fault for how the play developed or ended. But whether you go by the eye-test or the numbers, Seabrook getting beat to every puck and every position is killing the Blackhawks more often than not, and only dropping him down the lineup to fewer minutes and weaker competition is helping him. So is Kempny by the way, because he affords that pairing a legitimate skating option to exit the zone (and Kempny is seemingly one of the few guys that continues to do it, even if Q is pulling his hair out every time he does).

Kempny makes some bad plays. Absolutely. I don't know anybody arguing he's a top pairing guy or anything. I will take his bone-head plays because the boost in efficiency and rapidity with which the Blackhawks get the puck out of their zone and into the Ozone with him on the ice more than counter-balances the odd bad play.

EDIT: After re-reading my post, I think I came across tougher on the writer than intended. I don't think he did a great job supporting his argument as far as scope of evidence, but he writes well, and broke down the play he did focus on very very well. I would like to see more from him in the future.

 

[LDF]

That article might be one of the more brutal I've seen on The Athletic. I'm not sure who the author is, but he basically attempted to build a case against Kempny based on a single bad line change. That was his only example. He cites 'other examples' in his closing paragraph as if he were too lazy to present them. And most hilariously, he cites his own personal data collection project without actually presenting any of the data from it.

As far as his defense of Seabrook, I do agree that the guy who ends up looking worst in a replay is not always the guy at fault for how the play developed or ended. But whether you go by the eye-test or the numbers, Seabrook getting beat to every puck and every position is killing the Blackhawks more often than not, and only dropping him down the lineup to fewer minutes and weaker competition is helping him. So is Kempny by the way, because he affords that pairing a legitimate skating option to exit the zone (and Kempny is seemingly one of the few guys that continues to do it, even if Q is pulling his hair out every time he does).

Kempny makes some bad plays. Absolutely. I don't know anybody arguing he's a top pairing guy or anything. I will take his bone-head plays because the boost in efficiency and rapidity with which the Blackhawks get the puck out of their zone and into the Ozone with him on the ice more than counter-balances the odd bad play.

ref the bold, i would like to add that if Kempny would be given more ice time, with experience he may indeed improve. maybe some of those bone-headed mistakes are based on not seeing that occasional mistake take place. players gets better with more ice time, not less.

 

[CallMeShaft]

There was certainly a difference last season in a Kempny who was being played sparingly and a Kempny who was in the lineup for weeks at a time.