twabby
Registered User
- Mar 9, 2010
- 13,754
- 14,693
Yes, he still had 11 assists. Did you check when those assists came? you should check that. he has 6 assists in his last 24 games rs and playoffs. he had a he had a 5 game streak with 7 assists in early March and then the assists dried up along with the goals. You should stop using the assists as a sign that he didn't collapse.
A player that everyone knows because of career norms having a big playoffs is an anomaly is easy to see. A player with 2 playoffs where he was ok in one and a failure in the other remains a fair question mark.
You could say that Oshie had a career playoffs as his previous playoffs have been nothing to write home about. But those playoffs followed a career year in new surroundings.
Or there is the reverse. Had Kuznetsov followed a rs leading the team in scoring with a playoffs of leading the team in scoring, you would be saying the Caps need to lock him up for big numbers asap.
I'm not saying Kuznetsov's point production didn't drop in the playoffs because clearly it did. I'm saying given historical data and trends and how his underlying metrics fit in with these, it's not a scenario that is likely to repeat (i.e. he was really unlucky). Maybe he'll end up being a chronic playoff underperformer, but the odds are against it. I'd like to see him maintain his regular season success for a few months, but if puts up another good regular season I'd be willing to sign him long term, even if he underperforms in the playoffs again.
Oshie, on the other hand, had a "career year" almost solely due to his power play production and a hot streak in the playoffs. His even strength production on a per 60 basis was the worst of his career, aside from 2012-13 where he only played 30 games. He also had very lukewarm possession numbers. This is despite getting first line minutes for most of the season alongside Backstrom and Ovechkin, two of the best offensive players in the world. He's also going to be on the wrong side of 30 next year and will likely continue to trend down since almost every forward does this. There's just nothing about him that wows me, and while he's been a nice fit on the power play he is clearly not irreplaceable (in fact I'd say he's probably the most replaceable part on that unit).
I like the idea of bringing Oshie back to a reasonable deal for a reasonable term. I don't like the idea of signing him until his is 36 years old for big bucks.
edit: vvvvvvv What bias? vvvvvvv
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