Confirmed with Link: Alex Nylander re-signs (1 year, 874k)

[Hawkaholic]

Your obsession with Hino is really f***ing weird. The guy is an undersized 4th liner. It says a lot that he had to sign in BUFFALO.

For real.

 

[Styles]

I expect him to get a lot of opportunity in pre-season. He will need the games to get his legs back but expect him to have a very short leash in the regular season a month or two in. Unfortunately for him he missed out on the development year where he would have had more leeway to prove himself. History has shown JC isn’t going to deal with him being “uninterested”. An neither should we.

 

[BobbyJet]

I expect him to get a lot of opportunity in pre-season. He will need the games to get his legs back but expect him to have a very short leash in the regular season a month or two in. Unfortunately for him he missed out on the development year where he would have had more leeway to prove himself. History has shown JC isn’t going to deal with him being “uninterested”.

As it should be. He had better be working his conditioning ass off right now and preparing himself to come to camp hungry. Not holding my breath, however.

 

[Space umpire]

Not interested doesn't mean no skill.

He's got great hands, decent speed, and a good shot. When he's engaged in the play, he reminds me a bit of Sharpie. It's getting him to play like he actually gives a damn that is the issue.

How old was “Sharpie” when he became “SHARPIE”?
The Patrick Sharp the Hawks traded for was a guy with potential who was have trouble bouncing between the Flyers 4th line and the Phantoms 1st line.

 

[Pez68]

How old was “Sharpie” when he became “SHARPIE”?
The Patrick Sharp the Hawks traded for was a guy with potential who was have trouble bouncing between the Flyers 4th line and the Phantoms 1st line.

Very true. Flyers gave him away, basically. People have short memories. Players one day just figure shit out quite a bit. Especially when traded.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

To be fair to Flyers at time they had 3 former 1st round picks that were breaking into NHL that year that were far more highly regarded

Jeff Carter (C)
Mike Richards (C)
RJ Umberger (LW)

With Sharp looked at as a C or LW at NHL level the Flyers decided to move him for a guy 2 years younger , producing just as well in Sharp in both AHL and NHL at time and who played RW

Ellison 04/05 with Admirals = 71 GP with 14 goals + 37 assists for 51 pts
Ellison 05/06 with Blackhawks = 26 GP with 3 goals + 9 assists for 12 pts

Sharp 04/05 with Phantoms = 75 GP with 23 goals + 29 assists for 52 pts
Sharp 05/06 with Flyers = 22 GP with 5 goals + 2 assists for 7 pts

Sharp had also struggled up to that point in NHL and at 25 yrs old Flyers probably felt it was best to move him while he still had value and try to address RW needs

Flyers team was looking for some RW youth at time with Knuble (33) and Kapanen (33) on 2nd and 3rd lines at time. Kapanen in particular was showing signs of decline at time

It was a gamble for Flyers that at time seemed reasonable but haunted them as Ellison never showed much for them

Similar to how Boston gambled on Brandon Bochenski's upside when giving away Versteeg... And at first it seemed a good gamble for B's as Bochenski looked like he was legit putting it together for B's.. Then regressed and faded away while Versteeg became a key role player for Hawks

Gotta give credit to Tallon... He made some great trades here

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Patrick Sharp never avoided the high traffic areas and played a much different physical game than Nylander.

Sharp was drafted 95th. No player drafted after him had a better career. Nylander was drafted 8th overall and 6-7 guys after him have already passed him up.

The only points of comparison are they are both right shots.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Patrick Sharp never avoided the high traffic areas and played a much different physical game than Nylander.

Sharp was drafted 95th. No player drafted after him had a better career. Nylander was drafted 8th overall and 6-7 guys after him have already passed him up.

The only points of comparison are they are both right shots.

They are both right shots with similar size. Both good wheels and solid shot. Both can deke out a goalie in close due to their silky mitts.

Both have a lot of similarities. Sharp made the most of his abilities, jury is still out on Nylander.

 

[RayP]

How did we end up comparing Sharp and Nylander? Getting a guy like Sharp the way we did is a 1/1000 kind of deal. Nylander doesn’t have the drive and desire to become even half the player Sharp was. Can you see Nylander on a Cup winning team battling like Sharp was? Not a chance.


I don’t mind a reclamation project here or there but seems we have 3 guys we are trying to shove into the lineup hoping to catch that magic again.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

They are both right shots with similar size. Both good wheels and solid shot. Both can deke out a goalie in close due to their silky mitts.

Both have a lot of similarities

Are you confusing your Nylanders?

Because the guy you described sounds like William not Alex

 

[clydesdale line]

Nylander wishes he had half of Sharp's grit and desire. The one thing I'll give Nylander is he is a much better passer than Sharp was at age 23.

 

[BobbyJet]

How did we end up comparing Sharp and Nylander? Getting a guy like Sharp the way we did is a 1/1000 kind of deal. Nylander doesn’t have the drive and desire to become even half the player Sharp was. Can you see Nylander on a Cup winning team battling like Sharp was? Not a chance.


I don’t mind a reclamation project here or there but seems we have 3 guys we are trying to shove into the lineup hoping to catch that magic again.

At the risk of stating the obvious:
Talent alone isn't enough. There should be no room in Chicago for players who won't put in the work. Some very skilled players simply can't match the intensity needed at the NHL level and I'm afraid Nylander may fall into that category.

 

[x Tame Impala]

I'm amazed that people can even muster energy to be mad about something like this.

For real. I don’t even like Nylander that much and I couldn’t care less about this contract. It’s 1 year and the AAV is non-existent.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Are you confusing your Nylanders?

Because the guy you described sounds like William not Alex

No, I'm not.

ALEX has a lot of similar qualities to that of Sharp. The question is his heart and his brain, two things Sharp proved he had in spades. Those two elements are huge; they can make a potential future Olympian or they can make someone a star in the SHL.

This season will be very important in determining if Nylander really is all tools no toolbox.

 

[x Tame Impala]

At the risk of stating the obvious:
Talent alone isn't enough. There should be no room in Chicago for players who won't put in the work. Some very skilled players simply can't match the intensity needed at the NHL level and I'm afraid Nylander may fall into that category.

Do you really think he’s not putting the work in? I get confused when people say that about players (and teams in the playoffs). I’ve never played sports at a pro-level but it is even possible, or likely, that he’s not doing everything he can? He has the chance of a lifetime to play a game in front of millions of people and make a fortune.

Sure technically there may be some rare cases where a player really doesn’t have his heart in it and passes up the opportunity. I can’t bring myself to believe that’s what is going on with Nylander though. I think it’s far more likely that he just doesn’t have the wherewithal to be an NHLer

 

[BobbyJet]

Do you really think he’s not putting the work in? I get confused when people say that about players (and teams in the playoffs). I’ve never played sports at a pro-level but it is even possible, or likely, that he’s not doing everything he can? He has the chance of a lifetime to play a game in front of millions of people and make a fortune.

Sure technically there may be some rare cases where a player really doesn’t have his heart in it and passes up the opportunity. I can’t bring myself to believe that’s what is going on with Nylander though. I think it’s far more likely that he just doesn’t have the wherewithal to be an NHLer

It's a matter of character more than anything. Nylander seems to play the game like he is entitled when he needs to play every shift like it could be his last one in the NHL. He has a young (less talented) teammate he can model himself after in Brandon Hagel.

 

[Pez68]

Lol. I wonder how many people here were finished products at 23 years of age. For sure, nobody ever matured, improved their work ethic, or became more motivated after that point. 23 is still extremely young, even by NHL standards. Let's see what the kid makes of the opportunity.

Have to love people questioning his character too.

All of these proclamations based on watching someone play a handful of hockey games. Amazing.

 

[ClydeLee]

I wouldn't be pro Nylander if he didn't have seeprrate good stints in 4th line spots by not even the same guys. It's not even the hot end of that season where he was with Strome and Kane that gives much positive vibes.

A Brendan Perlini can do that for a short while, but Perlini never could have success beside Kampf, Carpenter, Highmore types.

 

[Marotte Marauder]

Lol. I wonder how many people here were finished products at 23 years of age. For sure, nobody ever matured, improved their work ethic, or became more motivated after that point. 23 is still extremely young

23 year old who will be a productive worker into their 60s is quite different than an athlete who has been training since his early teens to be a pro and understands how short their window of productivity really is.

Other than athletes, I can't think of another person who was studying or training for their eventual career at age 13-14.

 

[RayP]

Do you really think he’s not putting the work in? I get confused when people say that about players (and teams in the playoffs). I’ve never played sports at a pro-level but it is even possible, or likely, that he’s not doing everything he can? He has the chance of a lifetime to play a game in front of millions of people and make a fortune.

Sure technically there may be some rare cases where a player really doesn’t have his heart in it and passes up the opportunity. I can’t bring myself to believe that’s what is going on with Nylander though. I think it’s far more likely that he just doesn’t have the wherewithal to be an NHLer

He’s been so much more talented than his peers up until his draft that he didn’t need to put in as much work as his peers. He didn’t have to do the little things that make someone a great player. The same thing goes for Strome.

Now that he’s competing for an NHL spot he needs to be more than just talented. He needs to go to the dirty areas and do the little things that he didn’t need to do before. His skills aren’t so amazing that he can just coast off of it like he could before.

The guy has talent, that’s undeniable, but the fact as a winger and at 23 years old he has virtually zero proven body of work at the NHL level really says a lot.

 

[HawksIsles]

If Nylander puts up 18G 22A over 75GP next year, would that be enough to satisfy Nylander critics on this forum?

 

[LavalPhantom]

If Nylander puts up 18G 22A over 75GP next year, would that be enough to satisfy Nylander critics on this forum?

Nah. His detractors will always defer to their narrative that he’s “lazy”. Nothing they would hate more than to admit they were wrong, even if that means the Hawks are better for it.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Lol. I wonder how many people here were finished products at 23 years of age. For sure, nobody ever matured, improved their work ethic, or became more motivated after that point. 23 is still extremely young, even by NHL standards. Let's see what the kid makes of the opportunity.

Have to love people questioning his character too.

All of these proclamations based on watching someone play a handful of hockey games. Amazing.

No. 23 years old is not very young for a forward in the NHL. Dach at 19-20 years old is “very young” i.e. lack of point production and effectiveness at the NHL level is legitimately explained away by youth and inexperience. Nylander, regardless of all his circumstances, is 23 and has a lot more to show IMHO in order to stick in the league. Bowman & Co would seem to agree with me that this is a “show me” contract because they only gave him one year.

Which is fine. It’s fair to say his play so far has earned him another shot to be a regular on the roster. But I think it would be disingenuous to say that if he doesn’t take a big leap forward at some point this season (even as late as the playoffs for all I care) that it would be a relative disappointment and a pretty big dampening on his potential.

Borgstrom for example is what, 24 years old? And Florida apparently had no problem letting him go. Seems like some people are really excited for him as well but personally I think his lack of success so far in the supposed to be prime of his young career is at least a little alarming.

I’m too lazy to look it up but still curious to see how many guys it took until their mid-twenties to became NHL regulars in the top 6. Not saying Nylander or Borgstrom are busts by any means, but their is a certain age where for the most part if they don’t have it figured out then it’s likely they’re just never going to be ready.

If Nylander puts up 18G 22A over 75GP next year, would that be enough to satisfy Nylander critics on this forum?

That would be a very good year for him and I would be very comfortable with Bowman giving him another contract if that’s the production he brings. I don’t hate Nylander. Jokiharju isn’t developing into a shutdown D stud so the trade is a wash anyway. I want him to do well. The disagreement comes from whether or not he’s capable at all of that type of production.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Sharp got traded here as a favor to Patrick Sharp. He requested a trade and Bobby Clarke didn't want to let him go but he knew it wasn't fair to let Sharp do everything right and be buried under Forsberg, Carter and Richards. Hell, Sharp suggested Chicago in his own words because he'd be given opportunity.

Apples and garden hoses. Revisionist history. I watched Sharp play wing on the Phantoms. I watched him play on the dogshit Blackhawks. People on this board thought we maybe found a really good 35 point third line center. Whoops.

 

[Space umpire]

At 23 and 24 Sharp was a minor leaguer. When called up for injuries his play was middling. It clicked for him at 25.
Someone here wants to see Sharp type play. I’d say 23 year old Nylander is ahead of 23 year old Sharp.