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The Kinder, Gentler Version
Are his struggles related to injury, or is this just a major slump?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Jokinen has been awful offensively and a turnover machine, but at least he wins face offs and kills penalties. Right now he's basically an older but not yet useless Stephanne Yelle, which isn't worth 1/2 of what he's making, but is still valuable contribution
I dunno, Yelle was pretty much elite at faceoffs in his heyday and an excellent shadow. Jussi is not as good at either of those things as Yelle, though he is more of an offensive contributor, even while slumping.
I just don't see him staying on this roster if he can't contribute something offensively. He's not THAT good defensively, and we have other guys who are starting to create some competition on that front.
At this point I am OK with seeing Nash and Brent at 3C and 4C (or flip-flop them if you'd like) for the rest of the season if it meant Jokinen was flipped for a decent d-man or moved up to 2nd line wing.
Dwyer-Nash-LaRose could be a good combo long-term. Not crazy good but dependable.
I dunno, Yelle was pretty much elite at faceoffs in his heyday and an excellent shadow. Jussi is not as good at either of those things as Yelle, though he is more of an offensive contributor, even while slumping.
I just don't see him staying on this roster if he can't contribute something offensively. He's not THAT good defensively, and we have other guys who are starting to create some competition on that front.
Are his struggles related to injury, or is this just a major slump?
Thanks.
Even when he was playing the 3C, I'm not sure I ever bought into the "taking one for the team" mentality. But now he's a 3W, it's to his benefit to being going against bottom D pairs even without being surrounded by offensive linemates. Let's face it, if he'd have played better earlier (and I'm not one of the guys who called for him to be sent packing), he'd likely be playing with JStaal and Skinner.Jokinen is taking one for the team right now. He's not in his natural place, not feeling comfortable with his role.