Blashill names Abdelkader new Alternate Captain

[SirloinUB]

Abdelkader is a fantastic choice. Night after night, he leads by example, has his teammates back and leaves everything he has on the ice.

 

[jkutswings]

Justin is a 20/25 goal - 40 point guy that does all the heavy lifting. He is exactly the type of player ALL teams need. I think he's as important as a top pairing defenseman. Players like him (on his level) don't come around very often.

His contact is fair with all things considered. The length doesn't bother me because as we've already have seen, KH is a master at getting bad contracts to disappear. And the cap has never cause KH from missing out on a guy he wanted. Unless you count Parise and Suter as a package "he missed out" because his boss only offered $86 million for one, not both each.

People get too caught up in cap when it rarely handcuffs the team. Remember the Nikolai Khabibulin fiasco?

I'd have much less of a problem with Abdelkader if everything you just said was actually true.

In 480 NHL games, he has 80 goals and 174 points. That's an average of 14 goals and 30 points in an 82 game season.

Now, do I think he's currently of the age that he could have a few more years of production above his career average? Sure. But acting like 20-25 goals and 40 points is a lock just doesn't fit the data. (And in the "what have you done for me lately" category, last year he had 4 fewer goals and 2 fewer points in 11 extra games played, relative to the prior season, not to mention his penalty minutes going through the roof.) I'd say that 15-20 goals and 35 points is about right for expectations, which is nothing to sneeze at for a grinder, but it's definitely not as valuable as a top pairing defenseman.

Solid player? Check.
Great work ethic? Check.
Worthy of being permanently stapled to the first line and given the length of deal he got? Not a chance.

 

[Dotter]

I'd have much less of a problem with Abdelkader if everything you just said was actually true.

In 480 NHL games, he has 80 goals and 174 points. That's an average of 14 goals and 30 points in an 82 game season.

Now, do I think he's currently of the age that he could have a few more years of production above his career average? Sure. But acting like 20-25 goals and 40 points is a lock just doesn't fit the data. (And in the "what have you done for me lately" category, last year he had 4 fewer goals and 2 fewer points in 11 extra games played, relative to the prior season, not to mention his penalty minutes going through the roof.) I'd say that 15-20 goals and 35 points is about right for expectations, which is nothing to sneeze at for a grinder, but it's definitely not as valuable as a top pairing defenseman.

Solid player? Check.
Great work ethic? Check.
Worthy of being permanently stapled to the first line and given the length of deal he got? Not a chance.

Why do you expect him to be "permanently stapled to the first line" when even the late great Stevie Yzerman wasn't even a first line staple his entire career?

And why are you 'averaging out' his point totals when the first half of his career was used on the 4th line before he developed to the next level?

Feels like you are cherry picking. Abby put up 20+ goals and 40+ points before he even got his big payday. And didn't regress like Nyquist did after his payday contract.

Just proves Abby is a very underrated/underappreciated player on the team. I'm sure his teammates love having him on their side.

 

[PelagicJoe]

Congrats Abby. You earned it.
I'm not sure why anyone has a problem with him wearing the A. Whenever I watched a game last season, I thought to myself that he's one of the only people on this team that plays like he actually gives a damn.

 

[jkutswings]

Why do you expect him to be "permanently stapled to the first line" when even the late great Stevie Yzerman wasn't even a first line staple his entire career?

Forgive me for making a statement that can be taken too literally. I just meant that the guy has been given oodles of first line minutes, despite being a second line talent.

And why are you 'averaging out' his point totals when the first half of his career was used on the 4th line before he developed to the next level?

Feels like you are cherry picking. Abby put up 20+ goals and 40+ points before he even got his big payday. And didn't regress like Nyquist did after his payday contract.

The guy has put up 20 goals exactly once and 40 points exactly twice. Now you're cherry picking, to make it sound like he has half a decade of evidence, and it's a given that it will continue.

Just proves Abby is a very underrated/underappreciated player on the team. I'm sure his teammates love having him on their side.

How much his teammates like the guy does not necessarily have anything to do with his performance vs contract. I like lots of people that I work with, regardless of whether they are currently being overpaid or underpaid.

Again, Justin Abdelkader is a solid player. But there's no harm in saying that it was not a smart business move to give a solid player a contract term that is typically reserved for outstanding players (especially since his style of play will likely not age well for the latter portion of said contract).

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

I don't see an issue with this at all.

Larkin is our next captain but doesn't need the A yet.

The other realistic options were Helm, Ericsson and maybe Danny D. And I'm sure the reactions would be a lot worse than are now if it was one of the former.

 

[Dotter]

Forgive me for making a statement that can be taken too literally. I just meant that the guy has been given oodles of first line minutes, despite being a second line talent.



The guy has put up 20 goals exactly once and 40 points exactly twice. Now you're cherry picking, to make it sound like he has half a decade of evidence, and it's a given that it will continue.



How much his teammates like the guy does not necessarily have anything to do with his performance vs contract. I like lots of people that I work with, regardless of whether they are currently being overpaid or underpaid.

Again, Justin Abdelkader is a solid player. But there's no harm in saying that it was not a smart business move to give a solid player a contract term that is typically reserved for outstanding players (especially since his style of play will likely not age well for the latter portion of said contract).

So basically you posted this just to tell me Abby had 19 goals, not 20 goals last season? MOD

 

[jkutswings]

So basically you posted this just to tell me Abby had 19 goals, not 20 goals last season? MOD

No. It was to say that 20-25 goals and 40 points is not a punchbutton expectation.

Based on his entire body of work thus far, I'd much sooner see Abdelkader scoring 15 goals per year for the rest of his career, than always scoring 20, and flirting with 25. And at that level of production, he's a nice player, that's just fine to be named alternate captain, but has no business getting the 7 year red carpet treatment. Halfway through his deal, him being the only physical player on the team, as some claim, will catch up to him, and he's going to be a $2M player making $4M+ for another few years.

 

[SirloinUB]

No. It was to say that 20-25 goals and 40 points is not a punchbutton expectation.

Based on his entire body of work thus far, I'd much sooner see Abdelkader scoring 15 goals per year for the rest of his career, than always scoring 20, and flirting with 25. And at that level of production, he's a nice player, that's just fine to be named alternate captain, but has no business getting the 7 year red carpet treatment. Halfway through his deal, him being the only physical player on the team, as some claim, will catch up to him, and he's going to be a $2M player making $4M+ for another few years.

Why on earth would you look at his entire body of work and weigh it all equally? Compared to where he is at now, he played a drastically different roll in the first half of his career.

The first half of his career he was used as a 4th liner (+ pk) and scored at a 4th liner's rate. In fact his first 3 seasons he played 12 minutes a night or less.

Then the lockout season hit. His ice time jumped by nearly 3 minutes. Guess what else happened? He started scoring at a 19 goals/season pace. 3 of the last 4 season he has delivered consistent production generating right around 20 goals per season.

20 goals per season, physical play, PK and PP responsibilities from a top 6er making less than 4 million is pretty good value even if the contract was 2-3 years too long.

 

[jkutswings]

Why on earth would you look at his entire body of work and weigh it all equally? Compared to where he is at now, he played a drastically different roll in the first half of his career.

The first half of his career he was used as a 4th liner (+ pk) and scored at a 4th liner's rate. In fact his first 3 seasons he played 12 minutes a night or less.

Then the lockout season hit. His ice time jumped by nearly 3 minutes. Guess what else happened? He started scoring at a 19 goals/season pace. 3 of the last 4 season he has delivered consistent production generating right around 20 goals per season.

20 goals per season, physical play, PK and PP responsibilities from a top 6er making less than 4 million is pretty good value even if the contract was 2-3 years too long.

I never said I weighed it all EQUALLY. I said I took it all into account.

Yes, his role changed, and his production increased. But other factors also contribute to my prediction, including changes to the rest of the roster, adding yet another year to the defense being what it is, et cetera.

MIGHT he score 20-25 goals per season for the next 3-5 years? He MIGHT. But I think the MOST LIKELY scenario is that he scores in the mid to high teens for a few years, then tails off, which, when looking at the OVERALL contract he was given, is a bad deal.

Some people predict one output; others predict a different one. YMMV.

 

[SirloinUB]

I never said I weighed it all EQUALLY. I said I took it all into account.

Yes, his role changed, and his production increased. But other factors also contribute to my prediction, including changes to the rest of the roster, adding yet another year to the defense being what it is, et cetera.

MIGHT he score 20-25 goals per season for the next 3-5 years? He MIGHT. But I think the MOST LIKELY scenario is that he scores in the mid to high teens for a few years, then tails off, which, when looking at the OVERALL contract he was given, is a bad deal.

Some people predict one output; others predict a different one. YMMV.

Alright, I misinterpreted your post.

Either way, I believe His roll change and subsequent production increase is often overlooked when many criticize him.

 

[Satrebil]

Abdelkader's stats through 8 games: 1G 0A 1PTS -2

 

[Dotter]

Abdelkader's stats through 8 games: 1G 0A 1PTS -2

Bout on pace with Iginla and Tatar.

 

[Chance on Chance]

Bout on pace with Iginla and Tatar.

Iginlas not even on our team and Tatar didnt just sign a 7 year deal so I dont see why they matter

 

[njx9]

And Richard Panik, the career sub-20 point guy, has 6 goals. Methinks 8 games might be a silly time to start making any kind of judgments about what a player is currently doing, especially in relation to whether he's wearing a letter.

 

[TheOtherOne]

IMO every player's contract should be continuously adjusted based on a rolling average of their performance in the previous 8 games.

 

[Satrebil]

And Richard Panik, the career sub-20 point guy, has 6 goals. Methinks 8 games might be a silly time to start making any kind of judgments about what a player is currently doing, especially in relation to whether he's wearing a letter.

No judgment made, just objective facts

 

[njx9]

No judgment made, just objective facts

Didn't mean to imply that you were making a judgment, as much as trying to preclude the inevitable judgments (and contract complaints).

I don't think Abbie's been great, but his point totals aren't why he got a letter in the first place, IMO.

 

[Hammettf2b]

uh oh. Are my predictions of Abby being our whipping boy for the year coming true?

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

Abdelkader is on the team this year?...huh...I hadn't noticed.

 

[Tatar Shots]

uh oh. Are my predictions of Abby being our whipping boy for the year coming true?

He's going to be whipped so hard the next few years that he will retire and hide in a Florida swamp the rest of his life.

 

[njx9]

uh oh. Are my predictions of Abby being our whipping boy for the year coming true?

Now that Ericsson is playing pretty well in the role he should've had all along, I think Abbie was a pretty solid prediction. And it'll just get worse over the next 6 years.

 

[Satrebil]

He's going to be whipped so hard the next few years that he will retire and hide in a Florida swamp the rest of his life.

...7 years

 

[Retire91]

wouldn't be a top line player on 29 other teams. But 7 more years of top line action for us.