Injury Report: Kruger anticipated to be out for four months from 12/18/15 (wrist)

[x Tame Impala]

Like Otis Redding says, "You don't miss your water til your well runs dry".

I'm not so sure Kruger is replaceable. Look around the league, how many teams have a cheap 4C who cancels out the other team's top two lines? Maybe Kruger is more a product of Q and the Hawks system and someone like Danault can step in with relative ease. Maybe not.

If Kruger has a good postseason then I think he should be extended. Everyone else on the bottom 6, including Shaw is expendable

 

[Any Colour You Like]

Like Otis Redding says, "You don't miss your water til your well runs dry".

I'm not so sure Kruger is replaceable. Look around the league, how many teams have a cheap 4C who cancels out the other team's top two lines? Maybe Kruger is more a product of Q and the Hawks system and someone like Danault can step in with relative ease. Maybe not.

If Kruger has a good postseason then I think he should be extended. Everyone else on the bottom 6, including Shaw is expendable

Except we have a player in Danault who's specifically said that he models his game after Kruger, and has shown upside on both ends of the puck in the AHL and is beginning to do so in the NHL.

Again, I'm fine with keeping him if it's not cost-prohibitive, but Kruger's not the kind of player you make room for regardless of the price tag.

 

[RememberTheRoar]

Did you guys catch Lazerus' article on Danault? Seems like Danault wants to be more than a Kruger-like defensive specialist.

“I’m not going to take anything away from Kruger — he’s so good defensively, he’s got two Stanley Cups, and he’s one of the best [penalty-killers in the league,” Danault said. “But I’ve always been good offensively and defensively in junior, so that’s what I want to bring to the NHL. They’ve given me a good opportunity and great [linemates], and I’m just trying to prove myself.”

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/1225692/blackhawks-rookie-phil-danault-prove-hes-man

 

[Bubba88]

why not play them both?

Toews
Anisimov
Danault
Krüger

Looks good to me

 

[BobbyJet]

Like Otis Redding says, "You don't miss your water til your well runs dry".

I'm not so sure Kruger is replaceable. Look around the league, how many teams have a cheap 4C who cancels out the other team's top two lines? Maybe Kruger is more a product of Q and the Hawks system and someone like Danault can step in with relative ease. Maybe not.

If Kruger has a good postseason then I think he should be extended. Everyone else on the bottom 6, including Shaw is expendable

There's no maybe about it. Kruger is okay, but has been overrated since he arrived.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Danault isn't a Kruger replacement, Danault will start scoring at some point in the NHL and if he continues to play as hard as he has will be a fantastic 3C. You keep Kruger at a reasonable price at 4C too if he can be had.

 

[Central PA Hawk Fan]

Danault isn't a Kruger replacement, Danault will start scoring at some point in the NHL and if he continues to play as hard as he has will be a fantastic 3C. You keep Kruger at a reasonable price at 4C too if he can be had.

And even if Danault ends up just a 4th liner, you can slide him to wing to replace a weaker player than Kruger. I don't run Kruger out of town unless he just doesn't fit in capwise. Having both Danault and Kruger is better than Danault replacing Kruger.

 

[Central PA Hawk Fan]

There's no maybe about it. Kruger is okay, but has been overrated since he arrived.

LOL, keep saying that and once he gets too old you'll finally be right.

 

[BobbyJet]

LOL, keep saying that and once he gets too old you'll finally be right.

Even on the PK where Kruger is supposedly so good, he is not missed. The Toews/Hossa combo speaks for itself - and the aggressiveness and puck pursuit we saw from Desi and AA last evening was nice to see. It was very effective in stifling a PP (that includes Kessel, Crosby, Malkin, Letang) and that has been on fire since Mike Sullivan took over as head coach in mid December. Danault also is a good PK guy. Keep laughing.

 

[BK]

Kruger is a product of the system. He understands his role and plays it as well as you can. That is not taking anything away from him. Players are products of systems and coaches success are product of the teams in those a system. They go hand in hand.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Anything more than 2mil for Kruger, and I say bye bye. It would be nice to have both a Danault, and a Kruger, but it's a luxury the Hawks probably can't afford.

 

[Bubba88]

Come PO time, I like the chances better with Krüger playing on the PK to free up some time from Toews and Anisimov.

Hopefully we will see Danault and Krüger as bottom 6 Cs with PK time.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Come PO time, I like the chances better with Krüger playing on the PK to free up some time from Toews and Anisimov.

Hopefully we will see Danault and Krüger as bottom 6 Cs with PK time.

Agreed, but the issue is Kruger's contract going forward.

 

[JaegerDice]

There's no maybe about it. Kruger is okay, but has been overrated since he arrived.

This isn't even remotely true.

 

[Hawkaholic]

This isn't even remotely true.

Depends who you are talking to.

Most Hawks fans think Danault can replace what he has done for the Hawks as soon as next year, some think Kruger is irreplacable, some think he is barely an NHLer.

He is closer to the 1st group of fans thoughts of him, than the other 2.

 

[JaegerDice]

Depends who you are talking to.

Most Hawks fans think Danault can replace what he has done for the Hawks as soon as next year, some think Kruger is irreplacable, some think he is barely an NHLer.

He is closer to the 1st group of fans thoughts of him, than the other 2.

I wouldn't say he's irreplaceable, and we shouldn't overpay him, but I've seen little from Danault to suggest he can replace what Kruger does at the level Kruger does, with the consistency Kruger does.

I've said multiple times, I think Danualt is a better Shaw replacement than a Kruger replacement.

That said, Kruger is faaaaaar from overrated. He's been an integral piece of this Blackhawks team and a major lynch pin around which Q's entire deployment strategy since 2013 works. Until somebody demonstrates that they can handle the murderous zone starts he does, against the competition he does, and flip the ice the other way as consistently as he does, then I don't see how an 'overrated' tag doesn't get laughed off the forum.

 

[hockeydoug]

. He's been an integral piece of this Blackhawks team and a major lynch pin around which Q's entire deployment strategy since 2013 works.

Q's deployment has him getting 4th line minutes unless there's lots of garbage time and PK duty to take care off. The lynchpins are the core, not the role players.

I think Kruger played above his cap hit until this year, meaning he was/is worth keeping around. Easy guy to root for and I really like watching him play, I've been a fan of his the entire time he's been in Chicago.
At the end of the day, he's a very good 4th line center. 4th line players have to get replaced if they're making 2.5x league min and there's a chance to upgrade any of the 8-10 forwards logging more minutes than him.

 

[JaegerDice]

Q's deployment has him getting 4th line minutes unless there's lots of garbage time and PK duty to take care off. The lynchpins are the core, not the role players.

I think Kruger played above his cap hit until this year, meaning he was/is worth keeping around. Easy guy to root for and I really like watching him play, I've been a fan of his the entire time he's been in Chicago.
At the end of the day, he's a very good 4th line center. 4th line players have to get replaced if they're making 2.5x league min and there's a chance to upgrade any of the 8-10 forwards logging more minutes than him.

No.

Q's deployment strategy is to give Kruger the vast bulk of defensive zone starts against the top 2 lines of other teams.

This frees the Toews and Kane line to get more offensive zone time against weaker competition than they otherwise would, thereby increasing the overall offensive efficiency of the team.

Without Kruger to take those murderous zone starts shift in, shift out against top competition, Toews and Kane would have to spend more time further away from their own net, and face a tougher task getting there, shift in, shift out.

Kruger's ability to take on the best, in the most dangerous scenario, and reliably flip the ice so that the Hawks core can go to work at the other end of the ice has been an invaluable asset. Without him, or a player that can handle close to what he handles, Q's entire deployment strategy will have to shift to account for the void in defensive assignments. That means less time in the ozone for the Toews line, tougher competition for the Kane line when they do hit the Ozone, etc.

The 3rd line is the line typically assigned to garbage time against the weakest competition.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

No.

Q's deployment strategy is to give Kruger the vast bulk of defensive zone starts against the top 2 lines of other teams.

This frees the Toews and Kane line to get more offensive zone time against weaker competition than they otherwise would, thereby increasing the overall offensive efficiency of the team.

Without Kruger to take those murderous zone starts shift in, shift out against top competition, Toews and Kane would have to spend more time further away from their own net, and face a tougher task getting there, shift in, shift out.

Kruger's ability to take on the best, in the most dangerous scenario, and reliably flip the ice so that the Hawks core can go to work at the other end of the ice has been an invaluable asset. Without him, or a player that can handle close to what he handles, Q's entire deployment strategy will have to shift to account for the void in defensive assignments. That means less time in the ozone for the Toews line, tougher competition for the Kane line when they do hit the Ozone, etc.

The 3rd line is the line typically assigned to garbage time against the weakest competition.

Danault can do this and more. His flip of the zone isn't likely to be the result of a dump in from the red line on net and hustle to make the goalie freeze it.

 

[pvr]

Danault can do this and more. His flip of the zone isn't likely to be the result of a dump in from the red line on net and hustle to make the goalie freeze it.

Already evident. I've never been impressed with the mere fact that the puck gets out of the dzone and dumped into the offensive zone, with that line then jumping off the ice. Counts in the Corsi but not for much else.

 

[BobbyJet]

Danault can do this and more. His flip of the zone isn't likely to be the result of a dump in from the red line on net and hustle to make the goalie freeze it.

Already evident. I've never been impressed with the mere fact that the puck gets out of the dzone and dumped into the offensive zone, with that line then jumping off the ice. Counts in the Corsi but not for much else.

Exactly. The infatuation with a 4th liner who plays center, is pretty good defensively and shows tenacity, but can't produce, cant hit, gets knocked over with a heavy breath, is not anywhere near the "perfect" 4th line center we hear about. PD is much more in that category, but will need some more time to get there.

 

[BrianE]

Troy said on the pregame that Kruger just had his surgery and will be back in 2 months.

 

[JaegerDice]

Danault can do this and more. His flip of the zone isn't likely to be the result of a dump in from the red line on net and hustle to make the goalie freeze it.

You know this how?

He has yet to approach Kruger's ZSO%Rel or QoC numbers. He's between 50-66% of the way there in zone starts, not even close in QoC on most nights. No forwards other than Ras, Mashinter, and Bickell (and Baun, though he's barely played) have seen lower QoC over the course of the season thus far.

There's a reason that the Toews line has seen a significant uptick in Dzone starts since Kruger went down.

This sounds like crossing your fingers and hoping that what he looks like under a less stressful workload is what he'll look like under the full workload.

It reminds me of people last season who were certain we could get rid of Crawford, because Darling had proven in his 25 games that he could handle the starters job.

 

[SimpleJack]

Troy said on the pregame that Kruger just had his surgery and will be back in 2 months.

Thats too soon. We need him out till game 1 round 1 to maximize our cap potential.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

Kruger is a useful player but he's not a guy you give a bunch of money to. If our scouting and player development is working properly, Kruger is a guy who is replaced internally and goes to pick up a big pay cheque elsewhere, not a guy we overpay ourselves.