Line Combos: Mike Kostka

[PhillyFrisco]

Why in the **** is he still in the lineup???

Don't know bout you guys but I feel uneasy every time the play is happening around him. Gardiner has made some mistakes in his limited time this season but the difference in skill between the two guys is like night and day.

****.

Click to read more...

 

[Rielly4]

Kostkas not bad defensivley but had a bad game tonight, id way rather have Gardiner playing, we need the top talent in our organization playing for the top team.. Get Gardiner up, i even want to see Rielly up at this point but Carlyle just wont let these offensive d men learn from their mistakes.

 

[Rielly4]

I think the difference in Gardiner and Rielly defensively to guys like Gunner and Kostka is slight but the difference offensively is huge.

 

[bshaw]

I think he will have the guys in who have proven to be defensively sound and cosco, meh hes been okay defensively, you gotta remember we are kinda fighting for our playoff lives. We cant have d men in who are learning to be defensively sound right now. If we were way out i can bet gardiner would be in and rielly would play the last four games of the season

 

[david999]

Ya Kostka had a brutal game, but so did the rest of the team. It was one of those games where the Leafs got no breaks. Chalk it up to not playing a game for 5 days. Kostka is very likely out for Saturday's game.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Gardiner is very gifted offensively, but his defensive side is very poor. In fact, that was glaringly obvious in the games that he was paired with Liles. If we're looking at using Gardiner, he needs to replace Liles or Franson. Kostka, on the other hand, is better off replaced by O'Byrne. We're probably going to have to draft a mobile defenceman similar to Phaneuf with our first year pick.

 

[shaner8989]

His time is longgggggggggg done. Get this guy the **** out.

Obryne and Gardiner all day over this plug

 

[scooter87]

We're probably going to have to draft a mobile defenceman similar to Phaneuf with our first year pick.

Isn't that the idea behind the Finn and Percy picks?

We can't just keep spending all our draft picks on potential mobile defencemen without seeing how our current crop will develop

 

[The_Chosen_One]

His time is longgggggggggg done. Get this guy the **** out.

Obryne and Gardiner all day over this plug

Gardiner is hopeless defensively. Stop being a damn homer. Actually, I'd rather put O'Bryne in there. He has chemistry with Liles.

 

[Pierre Gotye]

At this point, no reason to play Kostka. He's a 7th d-man.

Isn't making good decisions lately.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

Never understood the love for Kostka from the start. It's a nice story and everything being a journeyman but at some point Carlyle needs to realize he's just not good enough. As a 7th dman? thats fine. You can plug anyone in that position but to have him playing 20+ minutes a night is going to cost this team in the standings. There are better options in O'byrne and Gards.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

Never understood the love for Kostka from the start. It's a nice story and everything being a journeyman but at some point Carlyle needs to realize he's just not good enough. As a 7th dman? thats fine. You can plug anyone in that position but to have him playing 20+ minutes a night is going to cost this team in the standings. There are better options in O'byrne and Gards.

I don't think he's a 7th Dman. You're underselling him. He's a pretty low-end top 4 defender who doesn't shine defensively or offensively. In fact, he'd be pretty good on the bottom pairing.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's Chris Pronger. He simply has a better defensive game than Gardiner. He uses his body a lot more and you don't need another QB defenceman with Liles. It would be nice to have a two-way defenceman who could QB with Phaneuf. Someone like Lidstrom would be nice, but they're not that common. Point being, there is nothing wrong with being patient with Gardiner.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Kostka was a liability last night. Again.

 

[daveleaf]

He shouldn't be out there. Bad call by Carlye and he cost his team the game last night.

 

[TmlHockeyFan]

He should be playing on the bottom pair. He's not a bad player, just being played more than he should.

 

[NigelTufnel]

I think he's been decent, but with O'Byrne ready to go, I'd say this is the end of the Kostka experiment.

 

[namttebih]

Isn't that the idea behind the Finn and Percy picks?

We can't just keep spending all our draft picks on potential mobile defencemen without seeing how our current crop will develop

That's right. The Dman drafted 20th overall this year won't even be ready until 17/18

 

[SteveV*]

Jake Gardiner hasn't played ONE game as bad as what Kostka did last night.

 

[Diatomic]

Its DISGUSTING how randy puts this Pylon Kostka into the lineup ahead of Gardiner. And he asks Gardiner to hit more? He says Gardiner isn't developed enough? If it was up to Randy he would have all 6 defencemen like Fraser, immobile, slow, aggressive, no shot, fighter...

Anyone remember Karlsson's 2 first years in the NHL?
60GP 5G 21A 26P -5 (+/-)
75GP 13G 32A 45P -30 (+/-)

It would be stubborn to ask Karlsson to... Hit more? Be more aggressive? da *******?

Now he's a Norris winner, why? Because he outsmarts his opponents. He has very similar height/weight than Gardiner, and honestly theyre very similar players. Let Gardiner do his thing. I know he hasn't been the greatest defensively but thats what happens when you let a man play amongst boys in the AHL for so long. Randy gives Holzer several games, Kostka dozens of games and then Gardiner like 3games? God help us, he's thinking Gardiner is a 7th D man or AHLer for life, just like how he considered Lupul a Bottom 6 in Anaheim...

 

[SteveV*]

To be fair, I thought Kostka had a terrific game for the Flyers.

 

[pSoup]

time to try out obyrne, have kostka sit a bit..kostka has been pretty ok most of the year but he's been getting worse as the season goes on

 

[punchboxer]

Please sit Kostka or we're not gonna make it.

 

[Mess]

I think he's been decent, but with O'Byrne ready to go, I'd say this is the end of the Kostka experiment.

I believe O'Byrne was specifically acquired to address this and replace Kostka in the line-up on a regular basis.

 

[Al14]

At this point, no reason to play Kostka. He's a 7th d-man.

Isn't making good decisions lately.

Apparently, Ryan O'Bryne is the 7th d-man!

 

[Al14]

I believe O'Byrne was specifically acquired to address this and replace Kostka in the line-up on a regular basis.

Well, if that's true, then, why the hell wasn't O'Byrne dressed last night?

McGiveaway Kostka cost us last night!!!