I find it fascinating with people actually believing they know more hockey than Bednar and Sakic, also I feel like they are closing their eyes from fact and stats, refusing to see how much the PK is improved since Nemeth joining the team? Refusing to see the fact that a defensive stay at home defenseman like Nemeth is getting tons of really difficult, dirty minutes facing the best offensive players out there, facing lots of last man standing type of situations.
Many times I find it a bit funny when experts in North America are downgrading and underestimating European players because they don't seem to understand and know their full capacity and talent (which we already have seen and witnessed in Europe), I have seen this many times and it will happen again.
Can't help to smile reading aticles like this one, I wonder if it's written by somebody from this forum. ;-) He is making a fool of himself and will most likely be eating crows. Complaining about a stay at home defenseman and pk specialist giving up more scoring chances than others, ok? Refusing to see the fact that no other player except EJ in the Avs have the same stay at home type of defensive mindset and difficult minutes as him? (EJ is obviously great defensively in all areas but it would be stupid comparing one of the better allround d-men in the world with Nemeth, not even I would do that).
Analyzing the defensive depth chart for the Colorado Avalanche
"Not Long for the Organization
As far as Patrik Nemeth goes, the coaching staff seems to like him, so there’s a chance the team re-signs him this summer -
though they most definitely shouldn’t. Nemeth is the typical big, slow defenseman that old-school hockey people love, but that looks terrible when you analyze his play beyond the eye-test.
No regular in the Avs lineup gives up more scoring chances against than Nemeth and
each of his partners see a boost in their defensive metrics when they are separated from him.
Nemeth is a poor man's Duncan Siemens, and that’s a scary thought."
My own comment: Only a fool would let Nemeth go after this season (unless getting a very good return) and luckily the Avs management are on the right track again, I'm not concerned.