vladdy16
Registered User
- Aug 2, 2005
- 2,551
- 375
Reeks of deflection?
I said he was not playing well.
I think a lot of the AA critiques are pure BS...that come from years of sticking up for an inept and obtuse head coach.
AA, IMO, could be more dogged than he is.
Even still, these last few games, I see a guy hustling at both ends of the rink.
He's a guy who needs to get on track, and I think this whole Glendening on L2 thing is not a good idea.
The only thing that was going to end it was injury.
Saying he's not playing well still seems like a deflection to me.
AA has obvious weaknesses that are holding him back, whether he's in rhythm or not, whether he's on the 2nd or 3rd line.
Critiques of his awareness, positioning, playmaking and possession skills are surely rooted in the eye test and history, not a conspiracy to favor an inexperienced and uncharismatic coach.
Athanasiou is bad right now. I've never claimed otherwise. I'm not making any excuses for him. He's playing bad. AT THE SAME TIME, Glendening is and always has been a ****ty idea for a partner for him. Glendening is a shutdown line guy. Putting him with a goalscorer is never going to help your goalscorer.
I don't care what kind of player you think AA is, somebody still has to get him the puck. Is Trevor Daley going to get him the puck? Is Luke Glendening going to get him the puck?
Or are you telling me you're expecting AA to play defense, take the puck, then create space for himself, then take it all the way up the ice by himself and create his own scoring chance? You're expecting him to do all that and then you're surprised when he fails?
I don't see anything reflective of AA's track record/strengths/weaknesses in this analysis.
You don't care what kind of player I think AA is? That's what my main point revolves around, so...
Your last paragraph makes it sound like you are working from the presumption that AA is as well rounded, experienced and adept as a top 6 NHL winger as your average NHL top 6 winger. I think this presumption is really off base and leading to a counter intuitive line of reasoning for his play.
His vision and awareness is just not that great. He's frequently out of position and ineffective. I think he competes great actually, and has great scoring instincts.
I like AA a lot, and have no problem waiting for him to figure out what his role is in the future in the NHL. I've just never seen any indication that he's anywhere near establishing that his future is as a top 6 winger, or even a PP player.
Personally I think it's about time to recommit to the idea of AA spending significant time at center, but I know a lot of people don't like that idea. I think it makes sense on a couple levels.