Tanner Fritz.....

[Frankie41987]

Although he was real bad his first 10 games, he has vastly improved his play. Don't think he will ever be a top 6 player but he skates hard and the teams plays well when he is on the ice. Over the past 15 games Fritz is our 4th best forward, 3rd best forward and best forward in relCorsi%, High danger corsi% and relGF% respectively. So objectively the team has been better at creating high quality scoring chances, limiting chances and scoring goals when he has been on the ice.

Here are some highlights of some nice plays from the other night: Fritz: Four Highlights from March 20, 2018 v PIT | Redline

With that said, he was near the bottom in all those categories in his first 10 games, so perhaps a lot of you soured on him and have not had the chance to reassess his play. Give him another chance, he's been playing pretty well. And guys like quine, prince, bernier and gionta never put together a 15 game stretch like this.

 

[Lek]

Yeah, but we have like ten of those.

yeah...but out of the ten....i think he may...and i do mean may...have the most upside to cost factor....get rid of the other 9

 

[periferal]

This thread is the equivalent of being on a plane that's about to crash and debating how to get lint of your pants.

 

[Lek]

This thread is the equivalent of being on a plane that's about to crash and debating how to get lint of your pants.

If there is any lint leftover when you reach the bottom hem, you can pull it off using a lint roller or a piece of tape. Wipe lint off with a dryer sheet. The dryer sheet will also get rid of static, which attracts lint in the first place. Rub away lint and pet hairs with a rubber glove.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Fritz deserved a star yesterday.
If he was a better finisher I say he would be a good candidate for 3rd line center.

He is filling in admirably for Filppula so far.

 

[Poliz24]

Objectively evaluating Fritz's game, putting aside if you feel he is an NHLer or AHLer, can someone please break down the PROS and CONS of his game. Ive never really gotten to see him fully play. This is primarily out of curiosity.

 

[PK Cronin]

Objectively evaluating Fritz's game, putting aside if you feel he is an NHLer or AHLer, can someone please break down the PROS and CONS of his game. Ive never really gotten to see him fully play. This is primarily out of curiosity.

He's a speedy center who isn't afraid of contact. Pretty good on the forecheck, at least in terms of pace (similar to Beauvillier), and seems to be defensively responsible. That said, he's a smaller forward and can be out-muscled, and doesn't possess the greatest offensive skills. In terms of scoring, seems like a guy who would produce the bulk of his production on the rush.

 

[kmo429]

Tanner has looked good. Hard to tell after just a couple games considering he looked solid at a few times last year, but he has speed and tenacity. Butch was mentioning how having Fritz and and Beauvillier with Komarov has given that line a totally new look and I like it so far. I wanted Koivula to get a shot but Fritz has looked good. I think him and Beau might help each other. Filppula has had a nice season for us, but the best case scenario would be he doesn't rejoin the lineup whe healthy, which will mean 1) no other forwards got hurt and 2) Fritz has been playing strong.

 

[lorwood]

Forget about speed, goal scoring shooting pct, the kid showed amazing in game presence on the PK yesterday. Looked like a veteran who had been in the same situation thousands of time. If what I saw yesterday is his usual PK game I would keep him up just for that purpose. Goaltending and PK can get you far in the playoffs.

 

[crasherino]

Tanner has looked good. Hard to tell after just a couple games considering he looked solid at a few times last year, but he has speed and tenacity. Butch was mentioning how having Fritz and and Beauvillier with Komarov has given that line a totally new look and I like it so far. I wanted Koivula to get a shot but Fritz has looked good. I think him and Beau might help each other. Filppula has had a nice season for us, but the best case scenario would be he doesn't rejoin the lineup whe healthy, which will mean 1) no other forwards got hurt and 2) Fritz has been playing strong.

He's a perfectly good short term replacement guy. Over the long(er) term, I'm not sure how he'll hold up. But he should be getting the starts from now until the end of the season and we'll see where we are come playoff time.

He's a very serviceable 13th/14th forward. The problem is, he's most suited for a role as a 4th line replacement Center. But, we really have 2 4th lines so him coming in to replace Filppula, he's coming in as a "do no harm, kill some time, battle phsyically without letting the other team score" which is basically what CC^2/MM line does. Having half your forward lines playing in that capacity isn't really ideal for team construction.

 

[Islanders4Cups]

Forget about speed, goal scoring shooting pct, the kid showed amazing in game presence on the PK yesterday. Looked like a veteran who had been in the same situation thousands of time. If what I saw yesterday is his usual PK game I would keep him up just for that purpose. Goaltending and PK can get you far in the playoffs.

Well if you keep the 4th line intact, the question is, will Tanner Fritz be a viable 3rd line center/RW option ( as he is not top 6 quality ) replacing Filppula at a much lower price presuming we are adding significant contract $ with top 6 talent and Lehner in goal?

Fritz will also be an UFA this July 1 and will be 28 next season.
You can sign him for 2-3 seasons at $1.25M per which is a lot cheaper than Filppula but a nice raise for Fritz.
On the downside, production would be less and he appears not to be good faceoff guy so maybe better suited for RW.

 

[PK Cronin]

Well if you keep the 4th line intact, the question is, will Tanner Fritz be a viable 3rd line center/RW option ( as he is not top 6 quality ) replacing Filppula at a much lower price presuming we are adding significant contract $ with top 6 talent and Lehner in goal?

Fritz will also be an UFA this July 1 and will be 28 next season.
You can sign him for 2-3 seasons at $1.25M per which is a lot cheaper than
Filppula but a nice raise for Fritz.
On the downside, production would be less and he appears not to be good faceoff guy so maybe better suited for RW.

I'd love Filppula back as an extra forward. Not sure Fritz is NHL material for a full time gig

 

[IslesNorway]

Trotz was very commendable of him early on in the season so I think he's around for a while this time. An okay player with plenty of speed so they might be able to turn him into a dangerous PKer

 

[kmo429]

He's a perfectly good short term replacement guy. Over the long(er) term, I'm not sure how he'll hold up. But he should be getting the starts from now until the end of the season and we'll see where we are come playoff time.

He's a very serviceable 13th/14th forward. The problem is, he's most suited for a role as a 4th line replacement Center. But, we really have 2 4th lines so him coming in to replace Filppula, he's coming in as a "do no harm, kill some time, battle phsyically without letting the other team score" which is basically what CC^2/MM line does. Having half your forward lines playing in that capacity isn't really ideal for team construction.

Definitely going to wait for him to show more over the next week. At this point I mostly agree that he's best used in a utility role as a 13th/14th forward, but after a couple games I do like the dynamic of him and Beauvillier together. Maybe they can help each other show more offensively. I think he can bring a similar dynamic as Kuhnackl does but a bit smaller and faster and as a center. They have a simple north/south game and work hard at both ends. Don't think Fritz will be earning a roster spot for next year as anything more than a 13th F as you said, but I think he could earn a spot as our 3C for the remainde rof this year's run if he plays strognly and FIlppula actually take 4+ weeks.

 

[kmo429]

Well if you keep the 4th line intact, the question is, will Tanner Fritz be a viable 3rd line center/RW option ( as he is not top 6 quality ) replacing Filppula at a much lower price presuming we are adding significant contract $ with top 6 talent and Lehner in goal?

Fritz will also be an UFA this July 1 and will be 28 next season.
You can sign him for 2-3 seasons at $1.25M per which is a lot cheaper than Filppula but a nice raise for Fritz.
On the downside, production would be less and he appears not to be good faceoff guy so maybe better suited for RW.

I definitely think Fritz is more suited for the C position. He can play C and not take faceoffs. We've done this with Barzal at times this year.

 

[Metnut]

He's looked better since his callup than Flip did before he got hurt. Flip had really been dragging for the past month or so.

 

[doublechili]

Flip had really been dragging for the past month or so.

So you're saying that Flip was on the Fritz?

 

[YearlyLottery]

Fritz has the potential to be a low cost asset who is great to have in the AHL for depth or as he showed yesterday he can excel on the third line with a speedy winger.

 

[Metnut]

Would it be crazy to suggest that Fritz would fit well with Martin and Clutterbuck and maybe Cizikas should get a chance to play on a line with a little more offensive firepower?

 

[mm11]

Would it be crazy to suggest that Fritz would fit well with Martin and Clutterbuck and maybe Cizikas should get a chance to play on a line with a little more offensive firepower?

It would be worth a look I feel. Kid has wheels and jamm....What's the problemo?

 

[crasherino]

Would it be crazy to suggest that Fritz would fit well with Martin and Clutterbuck and maybe Cizikas should get a chance to play on a line with a little more offensive firepower?

I would definitely give this a shot with the only caveat that the Cizikas line seems to be more than simply the sum of the parts. But, its worth seeing if Fritz could jump in there as well. Having Cizikas step up with Tito and Ladd (or MDC) would be a much better option - at least offensively.

 

[Sparksrus3]

Bring back Mitch Fritz. I still remember his victory over Georges Laraque. Today's Fritz has worked hard for sure . He has looked good. We all know that eventually he will just fade away but for now the new blood in the lineup ,that's hungry ,sometimes wakes up the complacent ones.

 

[LeapOnOver]

Fritz is the next Jason Blake!

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Fritz Lang. Got to like a guy named Frtiz!

 

[hoser14]

Fritz is the next Jason Blake!

But without the offensive production. I rather have Nate "The Not So Great" Thompson.

Next question?