Zbynek Michalek

[spcastlemagic]

ZM's play been kind of shaky - a few good games before his injury, some weak ones when he came back, and sparodic play peppered through out in there. FA d-men always seem to have a longer adjustment period then forwards, especially guys like Zbynek who play a very cerebral game. If he's still this inconsistent in February, I'll start to worry then.

 

[Muscles4Malkin]

I like Michalek. I think I would rather keep Michalek @ $4M than Martin @ $5M.

 

[Ziggyjoe21]

I realize he's good and all but sometimes I wonder if he's worth $4 mil given what he brings to the table.

 

[AugustBurnsRed*]

He's been really good since the Tampa game, just caught a bad break last night He'll be fine IMO.

 

[mgd525]

He was a good signing. It's a new team and he's playing hurt. Before his injury he looked reall good. He has been ok since he cameback. I love these boards...someone falls....ohhh trade him or he sucks!

 

[schmidtlesauce]

Z does best when he's given a task. example: the tampa game. he was assigned to st louis when he could be and when the two were on the ice, st louis was basically completely reigned in. Z is also a guy that fits the mold that can be invaluable during the playoffs. Both of the new d men will be very good for the pens this year.

 

[SkullSplitter]

There's going to be an adjustment period for both of them really though.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Goalsgalinksi has been far worse on his bad nights; start there.

 

[River Man]

The criticism is warranted. He hasn't looked that good so far.


However, given that he's only played a handful of games and is coming back from an injury, I will wait for awhile before I make a definitive judgment on him.

 

[Til the End of Time]

I think people are forgetting how truly horrific Gonchar was his first season here.

The amount of lazy plays and penalties he committed was literally mind-boggling.

I don't think we should be worried about Michalek.

 

[NTP 3]

Give him time to get used to our system, he will be fine.

 

[Dupree13]

I think it's a valid question though, how good is he really? Gonchar was awful his first year true, but we knew he was capable of being an elite offensive D-man. Martin as well, he hasn't always looked that great but we know he has some high end ability.

What about Michalek? Fans like myself who weren't really familiar with him before we signed him, might be concerned that we overpaid for a glorified Mark Eaton.

 

[Rakunitz23]

To put all your ridiculousness into perspective, let's play the numbers game.

5 years @ 4 million per
That's 410 total games he's paid to play
He's missed 9 due to injury
Played 10
Team has played a total of 19

For mathematical ease, let's assume the team has played 1/4 of the season

He is 1/20th into his contract, playing 1/40th of the total games he's paid to play.

He's received $1 million of his contract, actually earning only 500k in the games he's played.

How can you possibly judge the guy off 1/40th of what he's expected to do.

That's like being hired as an accountant, and saying "If you don't figure this out in an hour, you're fired"

As far as I'm concerned, he's earned his $1 million, let's see what he does to earn the other $3 this year, not to mention the other $19 within the next 4 3/4 years.

 

[Sideline]

I think it's a valid question though, how good is he really? Gonchar was awful his first year true, but we knew he was capable of being an elite offensive D-man. Martin as well, he hasn't always looked that great but we know he has some high end ability.

What about Michalek? Fans like myself who weren't really familiar with him before we signed him, might be concerned that we overpaid for a glorified Mark Eaton.

Michalek was the best defensive defenceman on one of the best defensive teams last year. He was the go to guy for penalty kills. He's one of the top shot blockers in the NHL. If he threw 10 hip checks a year and played in Montreal he would be on every top 20 list and crack some top 10 lists.

I know this board hates using stats with a passion, but look at where PHX was last year in goals against per game; note who their top minute defender was. Then look at where they are now in goals against per game. Compare the personnel from last year to this year. You can do the same exercise for their penalty kill, too.

 

[MtlPenFan]

Michalek was the best defensive defenceman on one of the best defensive teams last year. He was the go to guy for penalty kills. He's one of the top shot blockers in the NHL. If he threw 10 hip checks a year and played in Montreal he would be on every top 20 list and crack some top 10 lists.

I know this board hates using stats with a passion, but look at where PHX was last year in goals against per game; note who their top minute defender was. Then look at where they are now in goals against per game. Compare the personnel from last year to this year. You can do the same exercise for their penalty kill, too.

Yeah but any time your goalie is up for the Vezina and you get some consideration for MVP voting, you wonder if the chicken or the egg came first.

 

[WhatsaMaatta]

Yeah but any time your goalie is up for the Vezina and you get some consideration for MVP voting, you wonder if the chicken or the egg came first.

Michalek's been a good defenseman since before Bryzgalov entered the picture in Phoenix.

 

[High Flying Birds]

Almost all our dmen have made mistakes this season. Even Martin and Tanger, currently the most loved by Pens fans, have had their share of problems defensively and turning the puck over at bad times. I actually thought the defense was great last night. They blocked a ton of shots, moved the puck well and were excellent at knowing when to pinch and when not to. Alas they were let down by the PP unit in the last minute of the game and it just went south after that.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Michalek's had his hiccups since the injury, but given how well he played before that and how steady he's been the last few games outside of the blown tire last night, I have no worries.

He's going to be steady as a rock. Love his style.

 

[FDBluth]

Aside from a few glaring mistakes (which will become less and less as he plays more), Michalek has started to impress me the past few games. With that being said, I'm still not convinced that the dual signing of him and Martin was the best way to spend $9 million on this team.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

I want to see much more consistency over stretches, but I'm not going to make a big deal about his play this early, especially in his first season here.

By the way just for fun here's the tally of players people have gone to the extreme with not even a quarter into the season:

Fleury
Malkin
Michalek
Letang (the other way)
Kennedy (the other way)

It's gonna be a great year!

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

People say it's ridiculous the amount of ridicule MAF gets despite sucking for a full season, full playoff and a handful of games to start this season. Then they go and grab their torches in response to a defenseman who is adjusting to a new team and change in play, and dealing with coming back from a shoulder injury while dealing with said transition. Give it time, he and Martin will be fantastic. It may take a full season. That's a big reason you never see high profile defenseman sign with a new team for a single year, because there's always an adjustment period. Gonchar was awful when he came here, Nieds was bad for Anaheim at first, Pronger was laughable in Philly, etc.

 

[cassius]

People say it's ridiculous the amount of ridicule MAF gets despite sucking for a full season, full playoff and a handful of games to start this season. Then they go and grab their torches in response to a defenseman who is adjusting to a new team and change in play, and dealing with coming back from a shoulder injury while dealing with said transition.

Hyperbole much? I know it's the common calling card of HFBoards, but you should probably re-read my post if you think I'm "grabbing my torch" towards Michalek.

I didn't say he's awful and that he belongs on waivers, I said that he's been a disappointment so far this season. Whether you want to admit it or not, some of his gaffes on the ice has resulted in us losing hockey games. I'm just calling a spade a spade. I expect him to rebound definitely as he recovers from the injury and learns the system better, but the early returns have been average at best.

 

[Sideline]

Yeah but any time your goalie is up for the Vezina and you get some consideration for MVP voting, you wonder if the chicken or the egg came first.

They have the same goalie, coach, and the other key defenders back. Michalek was the only major change to that group. His leaving coincides with them going from a borderline top 5 defencive team to borderline bottom third.

 

[Sidgeni Malkby]

The issue isn't that Michalek is a good player or not, the issue is does he bring enough for $4M.

We were scared about Orpik when he got his big contract, and he proved he deserved it.

Tanger's game went to crap last year after his new signing....this year he's been amazing...part of it is that DB let's him use his skating strength by pinching in.

Gigliorski gets $1.75M, and worth it.

Michalek looks shaky out there....uncertain...it's possible that DB isn't using him correctly. Like flubbing that blue line puck hold yesterday...maybe in Phoenix he didn't pinch that deep. I'm sure we'll find the role Michalek can play...just right now he doesn't fit into a role big enough for $4M. Right now I'd peg him at our #4 or #5 D.

Michalek came to be our shutdown D...aka OWN the role....like Staal does...and right now he's not.

 

[SEALBound]

I think he's been pretty decent so far, considering the injury.

April is when it counts. If we have to go against, say Washington again, he needs to be the guy that can take every shift again Ovie and shut him down.