Player Discussion: Ondrej Palat

[LightningStrikes]

Ondrej is on pace for less than 40 points so far this season but we've gotten used to him heating up late in the season. He's a huge part of our puck retrieval and defense. But he's had a couple of great chances lately and couldn't burry them. The puck is hopping over his stick or he's fumbling it last second. Wonder what's wrong there...

 

[The Gongshow]

Palat has been fine. Seemed to have better chemistry with Point and Gourde than Johnson and Point. We usually don't expect him to pick up till like Feb anyways. His two way game is what we rely on most from him.

 

[MattM92]

Ondrej is on pace for less than 40 points so far this season but we've gotten used to him heating up late in the season. He's a huge part of our puck retrieval and defense. But he's had a couple of great chances lately and couldn't burry them. The puck is hopping over his stick or he's fumbling it last second. Wonder what's wrong there...

He had 21 points in 35 games before Christmas. Has 4 points in 4 games since Christmas. This is the time of year he always heats up, so I'm expecting something like 30-35 points over the last 43 games. That would put him at 55-60 points. Excellent for a 2-way winger.

Just going back to look at previous season production rates for Palat before and after Christmas:

Year | Before | After
13-14 | 13 in 37 | 46 in 44
14-15 | 22 in 32 | 41 in 43 <- Triplet season
15-16 | 7 in 18 | 33 in 44
16-17 | 13 in 30 | 39 in 45

 

[DFC]

He had 21 points in 35 games before Christmas. Has 4 points in 4 games since Christmas. This is the time of year he always heats up, so I'm expecting something like 30-35 points over the last 43 games. That would put him at 55-60 points. Excellent for a 2-way winger.

I think 30 is the bare minimum. 35-45 is his usual post-Christmas window.

 

[MattM92]

I think 30 is the bare minimum. 35-45 is his usual post-Christmas window.

Just went back and checked out his pre- vs post-Christmas production. Added an edit to previous comment.

 

[Steazy Doo]

Can he get his head out of his ass soon? He's not even making smart plays on the defensive side lately, which you can usually count on when he's not scoring.

The amount of chances that he can't finish on is astounding, the play in OT tonight is just a microcosm of his season. I know there's not much to complain about this season so far, but I hate seeing him play like this.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Would be nice of him to finally find the back of the net. That chance in OT last night, wowza!

 

[MattM92]

Palat is getting his chances and just can't seem to bury one. He'll break through soon. Still has 6 points in the 7 games since Christmas. Doing pretty well.

 

[Shoresy Snipes]

If I recall, Gourde went through the same thing earlier this season. He eventually turned it on. On the other hand... look at Cally, so...who knows

 

[Connor McConnor]

I know he's been injured this year but he still regularly plays top 6 minutes and Cooper really seems to like him based on his ice time.

I am curious as to what Tampa fans think of him moving forward. Is this a guy you try and cut bait on if his value gets closer to par? Do you want to keep him for the long haul?

I know he's on a pretty hefty contract but he's a quality LW in a league without many quality LWers.

Just curious what the hometown team thinks of him.

 

[Bolt 45]

Back the frick off. He's ours. He ain't goin' anywhere.

Edit: We see what you see, basically. There aren't many guys in the league who bring what Palat does. Pretty sure we'd let other guys go before him. He'd leave a hole in our lineup that couldn't easily be filled.

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

4 years remaining after this one at 5.3m AAV. Most comparable winger contracts start later in their career and hit the salary cap harder. Unless someone on our LW starts playing like another Kucherov, I'm hard-pressed to see him get moved. Alex Killorn, Ryan Callahan, and maybe Braydon Coburn should be the move-on candidates unless we're signing some crazy UFA like Tavares (hardly likely).

 

[Rschmitz]

Good things happen no matter what line he is on, need more players like him.

 

[TeslaCoilFan]

Thought he very richly deserved this shout out! He's in Playoff Beast Mode right now!

 

[Sky04]

Best playoffs he's ever had, guys coming out swinging.

 

[Volodya Krutov]

Best playoffs he's ever had, guys coming out swinging.

That's the Palat I expected after that strong showing after the elimination 0-4 against Montréal back in 2015. It took a while to get him back there, but when he's at his best, Palat is one of the most complete player in the game.

 

[LightningStrikes]

From yesterday:

 

[CupsOverCash]

From yesterday:

Ruh roh..

 

[Stormbreaker]

Ruh roh..

Body maintenance day no biggie

 

[Stormbreaker]

Here's a reminder to not forget about Drej

 

[DFC]

I'm not gonna jinx it, so I'm not gonna complete this sentence, but I'd love to see how happy he'd be if we win the...

 

[Leonardo87]

Palat leads the team in ES points...

NHL.com - Stats

That is impressive.

 

[LightningStrikes]

From reddit:

 

[JDBolt]

From reddit:

That's.. that's not a lower-body injury

 

[J T Money]

That's.. that's not a lower-body injury

It is for the next few months