Player Discussion: Nikita Kucherov

[DFC]

I'd put them back together tbh. It's not like Stamkos is doing much for Gourde and Point and let's be real, Palat looks like one of the worst forwards on a nightly basis.

Kind of hard to go back to TKO when it's essentially just TK 95% of the time.

I'd rather replace Palat than pair Stamkos and Kucherov before they're playing their A games. Too much potential that they'll turn into black holes, thus nullifying completely our two best shooters.

 

[Sky04]

It's crazy because MSL had such a good shot himself. That was such an underrated part of his game. 40 goal scorer, scored 30 6 other times, and was in the high 20s 3 other times. But this may be hindsight - I don't recall MSL passing up a lot of grade A shots.

Admittedly, he was a less flashy player than Kucherov. MSL was almost a meat-and-potatoes playmaker - fewer highlights but tons of results and relied a lot more on his speed than his hands, but seeing Kucherov - who probably has the skills to score 50 in this league - pass out of every grade A chance in an attempt to set up a tap in just makes me want to pull my hair out.

As far as Stamkos goes - I just don't ****ing know.

That's an understatement considering MSL's idea of "flash" was skate backwards in a shootout and go backhand 5 hole along the ice.

I was going to type up that exact same thing but felt it was going OT lol. Marty also had the "one too many passes" habit but it was always a pass to open up a shooting lane and he'd often play hot potato with a defense man, he never had the cross ice, thread a pass through 2 guys habit that's plagued this team.

 

[Sky04]

I'd put them back together tbh. It's not like Stamkos is doing much for Gourde and Point and let's be real, Palat looks like one of the worst forwards on a nightly basis.

Kind of hard to go back to TKO when it's essentially just TK 95% of the time.

He literally does nothing for them, doesn't open up a space, doesn't open up himself.

These guys go full speed into the zone, win battles, set up their own plays and score goals

 

[DFC]

He literally does nothing for them, doesn't open up a space, doesn't open up himself.

These guys go full speed into the zone, win battles, set up their own plays and score goals

I'm not sure who Stamkos is going to do something for at ES though. Maybe put him with Miller? And then, if Stamkos and/or Kucherov heat up, we could put them back together. For now:

Miller - Stamkos - Cirelli (?)
Joseph - Johnson - Kucherov
Palat - Point - Gourde
Killorn - Paquette - Callahan

Although I don't see us making any changes while, over all, we're playing pretty well.

 

[Sky04]

I'm not sure who Stamkos is going to do something for at ES though. Maybe put him with Miller? And then, if Stamkos and/or Kucherov heat up, we could put them back together. For now:

Miller - Stamkos - Cirelli (?)
Joseph - Johnson - Kucherov
Palat - Point - Gourde
Killorn - Paquette - Callahan

Although I don't see us making any changes while, over all, we're playing pretty well.

Gourde is a better version of Palat, playing around with lines this guy can go anywhere - I feel like he makes every line better with how versatile he is.

I'd want to see Gourde-Point-Johnson back on a line but that's our top-3 forwards this season in one basket. You're right, nothing probably changes for now but I wouldn't mind trying:

Palat-Point-Johnson
Gourde-Stamkos-Kucherov
Miller-Cirelli-Joseph
Killorn-Paquette-Callahan

As bad as Palat I think we still keep him with the 2 guys he has he most chemistry with on the team, Gourde can jumpstart any line. Miller plays with upgraded version of Paquette and Callahan, Killorn-Paquette-Callahan is a great energy line.

 

[DFC]

I'd reeeaaaally like to see Joseph and Johnson at even strength, preferably with a shooter next to them.

Or, hell, how about Yanni?

Joseph-Johnson-Gourde would be a nightmare for teams to keep up with, and tenacious as hell.

We could even load up a top line with Stamkos - Point - Kucherov.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

I'd reeeaaaally like to see Joseph and Johnson at even strength, preferably with a shooter next to them.

Or, hell, how about Yanni?

Joseph-Johnson-Gourde would be a nightmare for teams to keep up with, and tenacious as hell.

We could even load up a top line with Stamkos - Point - Kucherov.

No to loading the top line, but the 3 speedsters sounds fun

Palat-Point-Stamkos
Killorn-Cirelli-Kucherov
Gourde-Johnson-Joseph
Miller-Paquette-Callahan/Erne

That could work

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Gourde-Johnson-Joseph would be SUCH fun to watch!!

 

[Steazy Doo]

Nikita Kucherov on Artemi Panarin and return of The Triplets: translation from Sport-Express.ru

Comes across as a bit of a baby with some of these answers. He's obviously not a fan of Cooper's decision to split him and Stammer up.

 

[JFleegs]

Wow yeah that translation sounds like he does not like cooper.

 

[Sky04]

"Without reason" hahahaha I'll be the first to harp on Cooper but Kucherov and Stamkos's horrible play lead to them being split. Someone needs to show this guy some tapes.

 

[Sky04]

Wow yeah that translation sounds like he does not like cooper.

I don't think he does either, the tone of the translations is really telling regarding Kucherov from most of his interviews. He loves playing with other Russians and skilled players (Drouin, "Stamkos"), he's not a fan of Cooper's coaching but remains professional.

 

[DFC]

Why they were broken up: They wouldn't stop passing the ****ing puck to each other.

 

[These Are The Days]

Lol WOW! Someone needs to teach Kucherov the slogan of "Saturdays are for the boys" because he just sounds salty as hell that Cooper put an end to his bro time "for no reason"

 

[Steazy Doo]

"Without reason" hahahaha I'll be the first to harp on Cooper but Kucherov and Stamkos's horrible play lead to them being split. Someone needs to show this guy some tapes.

The "without reason" part is especially annoying to me. It was painfully obvious they needed to be split. It's like he thinks Cooper is out to kill his stats or something.

And lines can be changed based on other factors besides your own performance. Egotistical thinking from him.

 

[DFC]

The "without reason" part is especially annoying to me. It was painfully obvious they needed to be split. It's like he thinks Cooper is out to kill his stats or something.

And lines can be changed based on other factors besides your own performance. Egotistical thinking from him.

In fairness, I'd like to see or hear the interview before drawing too many conclusions. Even if Kucherov speaks good English, it's still not his first language, and we can't see if he was chuckling or whatever at the time he said it.

 

[Steazy Doo]

In fairness, I'd like to see or hear the interview before drawing too many conclusions. Even if Kucherov speaks good English, it's still not his first language, and we can't see if he was chuckling or whatever at the time he said it.

Yeah, you're right.

 

[TampaJay]

First comes the Stamkos interview where it was obvious he disagrees with the coaches and wants to be back with Kucherov and at center, and then this Kucherov interview with the Russian journo. You’ve got the two stars in open rebellion with the coach. If Kucherov doesn’t know why they were separated there is a communication problem. When your two best goal scorers are on one line, and they overpass, forego shots, and create turnovers that lead to opposing scoring chances, there is a problem that everybody but those two seems to recognize. They are also both below average defensively so no matter who you put with them they can’t match up with top lines. I don’t know whether to blame pouting, prima donna players, or a coach who doesn’t communicate with his star players. No wonder the players don’t correct the overpassing when they don’t think or aren’t told it is a problem. It was the right move made for good reasons, but the reaction tells us something about internal dynamics.

 

[The Macho King]

Holy overreaction Batman!

 

[Steazy Doo]

Holy overreaction Batman!

No one is saying it's a huge issue. But if you'v ever been on any kind of team at any level, it's incredibly annoying to hear teammates say stuff like that, whether it be Stamkos or Kucherov saying it.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Nikita Kucherov on Artemi Panarin and return of The Triplets: translation from Sport-Express.ru

Comes across as a bit of a baby with some of these answers. He's obviously not a fan of Cooper's decision to split him and Stammer up.

"I’d rather not say things about our coach."

DAMN

 

[Sky04]

No one is saying it's a huge issue. But if you'v ever been on any kind of team at any level, it's incredibly annoying to hear teammates say stuff like that, whether it be Stamkos or Kucherov saying it.

I think the main reason everybody jumped the gun is because we all know it's within Kucherov's peronsality to feel/think that way so his benefit of the doubt it kinda gone. I mean he openly admitted to those comments from last summer along the lines of "Yeah I said it, maybe shouldn't have said it in public but we talked it over with management."

 

[The Macho King]

"I’d rather not say things about our coach."

DAMN

Eh..... context makes that look pretty harmless:

Bulakhova: Peter Laviolette lost a bet to his players and wore a bull mask during the post-game interview. Could you imagine Jon Cooper doing the same thing?
Kucherov: I’d rather not say things about our coach.

That seems like a joke.

As to why he seems to not realize him and Stamkos were separated... well, whatever.

 

[These Are The Days]

Kucherov is probably texting Panarin like "miss u boo" I wonder if he will be upset if we go for Karlsson instead and him like $9 million AAV after shedding some cap

 

[Hoek]

Hm my takeaway from the Kuch interview is just that he's the type of guy that doesn't give much of a crap about coaching in general. Just wants to play. It's nothing against Cooper in particular but just that aspect of the game. Notice he didn't seem to care about Yzerman leaving either. If it's not on the ice it doesn't matter to him, and he just wants what he wants. One track mind, lol.