Injury Report: Braun, Vlasic

[Limekiller]

I really do wonder (and hope, to be honest) if Vlasic hasn't had a long-term injury this year, and that's why he's been so bad. That certainly makes more sense to me than the other narratives of him being jealous of Karlsson and playing terribly out of spite or something. We all know how secretive the Sharks are about injuries, after all, and it makes no sense that after all these years of being really great at D that Vlasic would suddenly turn into Huskins or something. I guess we'll see whenever it is he comes back, which hopefully won't be until after the all-star break.

 

[Barrie22]

I really do wonder (and hope, to be honest) if Vlasic hasn't had a long-term injury this year, and that's why he's been so bad. That certainly makes more sense to me than the other narratives of him being jealous of Karlsson and playing terribly out of spite or something. We all know how secretive the Sharks are about injuries, after all, and it makes no sense that after all these years of being really great at D that Vlasic would suddenly turn into Huskins or something. I guess we'll see whenever it is he comes back, which hopefully won't be until after the all-star break.

He was also pretty bad last year also.

 

[DG93]

He was also pretty bad last year also.

Yes, but this year has been astronomically worse. Given that Pavs played through a serious wrist injury last year and Jumbo is supposedly playing through one this year, I wouldn't be surprised if Vlasic is as well...

 

[Coily]

Despite the team’s defensive success without Vlasic, who’s posted a team-worst minus-13 rating this season, DeBoer is planning to throw the former-Olympian back into a shutdown role when he returns.

Sharks provide updates on Donskoi, Vlasic’s health

Oh boy...

 

[WSS11]

Stubborn.

 

[Dicdonya]

Sharks provide updates on Donskoi, Vlasic’s health

Oh boy...

I really hope that is just overly flattering coach speak, and not serious about throwing Vlassic right back into a situation that he (and the team) was clearly failing at all year.....

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I really hope that is just overly flattering coach speak, and not serious about throwing Vlassic right back into a situation that he (and the team) was clearly failing at all year.....

That is what I would expect any coach to say.

But I totally expect PDB to actually do what he said and give Vlasic-Braun shutdown minutes right away.

 

[sharski]

PDB is saying that out of respect

Even PDB knows u gotta go with the hot hand during a winning streak that includes the best defense the team has played all season

I hope he realizes what a gift he's been given with the Vlasic injury in that he can give Vlasic sheltered minutes without looking like the bad guy in any way... You could argue PDB should do this even if Vlasic was playing great before the injury

 

[Sysreq]

What’s really interesting to me is that this injury happened right at the half way point of the season. Game 42. I wonder if this isn’t Doug’s way of seeing if the team can perform without him after having asked him to waive his NTC in the summer. Would explain his sour attitude and seeming lack of interest out there.

I could really see him wanting to be back up in Canada though.

 

[Dicdonya]

That is what I would expect any coach to say.

But I totally expect PDB to actually do what he said and give Vlasic-Braun shutdown minutes right away.

Yeah I fully expect him to as well.... I'm just praying that either Vlassic comes back and is magically all better and playing like his old self, or now that we have seen our D can play well without him that Deboer will be quicker to bench/limit/shelter Vlassic if he continues to get wrecked.

PDB is saying that out of respect

Even PDB knows u gotta go with the hot hand during a winning streak that includes the best defense the team has played all season

I hope he realizes what a gift he's been given with the Vlasic injury in that he can give Vlasic sheltered minutes without looking like the bad guy in any way... You could argue PDB should do this even if Vlasic was playing great before the injury

Its not even that Vlassic needs sheltered minutes, but more that Deboer does not need to shelter Burns/Karlsson. They can carry a team offensively and defensively just fine against top comp, no need to slam Vlassic/Braun so hard every night. Just even everyones minutes/responsibilities out a bit(still give more minutes overall to Burns/Karlsson though), and we should be better off from it.

We don't need a shutdown D pair, especially one that was not shutting anyone or anything down, I hope he saw that in the last few games.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

What’s really interesting to me is that this injury happened right at the half way point of the season. Game 42. I wonder if this isn’t Doug’s way of seeing if the team can perform without him after having asked him to waive his NTC in the summer. Would explain his sour attitude and seeming lack of interest out there.

I could really see him wanting to be back up in Canada though.

Meh. If he really did want to be traded and was unhappy, playing like crap is the worst way to react. I do doubt that DW asked him to waive. I think its him feeling insulted that we felt the need to get an elite D-men even though we already had Burns.

Either that or he could potentially be having personal issues that are affecting his play on ice. I am just hoping, whatever it is, he figures it out before the end of the regular season.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Yeah I fully expect him to as well.... I'm just praying that either Vlassic comes back and is magically all better and playing like his old self, or now that we have seen our D can play well without him that Deboer will be quicker to bench/limit/shelter Vlassic if he continues to get wrecked.

I just don't see that happening. I have been saying for the last 2 seasons that the biggest issue with Vlasic-Braun is that they are not really complimentary players anymore. Vlasic needs a quick puck mover on his other side to move the puck. That is the best way for that pairing to work. That was all assuming that Vlasic would stick to his strengths and play his D first style like he has for most of his career.

That all went to shit when he decided that he wants to win the Norris this year.

Also, only way I see PDB sheltering Vlasic is if I see him break up Vlasic-Braun when they start playing poorly. If they continue playing together, I don't know if PDB shelters them.

 

[Dicdonya]

I just don't see that happening. I have been saying for the last 2 seasons that the biggest issue with Vlasic-Braun is that they are not really complimentary players anymore. Vlasic needs a quick puck mover on his other side to move the puck. That is the best way for that pairing to work. That was all assuming that Vlasic would stick to his strengths and play his D first style like he has for most of his career.

That all went to **** when he decided that he wants to win the Norris this year.

Also, only way I see PDB sheltering Vlasic is if I see him break up Vlasic-Braun when they start playing poorly. If they continue playing together, I don't know if PDB shelters them.

Yeah I fully agree with you, which is why I was praying, not expecting lol.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

Meh. If he really did want to be traded and was unhappy, playing like crap is the worst way to react. I do doubt that DW asked him to waive. I think its him feeling insulted that we felt the need to get an elite D-men even though we already had Burns.

Either that or he could potentially be having personal issues that are affecting his play on ice. I am just hoping, whatever it is, he figures it out before the end of the regular season.

He may not actually be playing like crap on purpose due to being asked to waive. It might just be a natural by product. He doesn't want to leave the team. Especially now when they may be on the verge of winning it all. I remember how upset Nolan was when he got traded from Colorado. He channeled it by playing incredibly angry all season. Beat the shit out of everyone that year.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

I just don't see that happening. I have been saying for the last 2 seasons that the biggest issue with Vlasic-Braun is that they are not really complimentary players anymore. Vlasic needs a quick puck mover on his other side to move the puck. That is the best way for that pairing to work. That was all assuming that Vlasic would stick to his strengths and play his D first style like he has for most of his career.

That all went to **** when he decided that he wants to win the Norris this year.

Also, only way I see PDB sheltering Vlasic is if I see him break up Vlasic-Braun when they start playing poorly. If they continue playing together, I don't know if PDB shelters them.

Ideally they could have done

Vlassic - Karlsson
Burns - Simek
Braun - Dillon

That is a championship defense if Classic plays to his abilities. Even trading Braun and subbing in Heed or Ryan and there is no drop off IMO.

 

[Mattb124]

I agree that Karlsson and Burns don't need to be sheltered, but the alternative is you have a $7MM 3rd pairing defenseman. Vlasic is rapidly losing his role with this team.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I agree that Karlsson and Burns don't need to be sheltered, but the alternative is you have a $7MM 3rd pairing defenseman. Vlasic is rapidly losing his role with this team.

He is. But honestly that is largely on him. If he plays to his strengths, he gets paired with Karlsson and eats big minutes. If he decides to do his own thing, he ends up playing like a 3rd pairing D-man with limited minutes. If we end up re-signing EK65, things will need to change or the only option we may have at that time is be forced to move Vlasic.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I agree that Karlsson and Burns don't need to be sheltered, but the alternative is you have a $7MM 3rd pairing defenseman. Vlasic is rapidly losing his role with this team.

If Vlasic decides that he can play for the team and do his best to help the team win, he can play along side someone like Burns and/or Karlsson. It's not some binary choice here. You find minutes for players like Vlasic when they're playing well. Burns and Karlsson are playing Norris-caliber right now and if you can't find a way to play off of that successfully, it's your fault. He needs to start playing the way he should to help the team rather than trying to do too much. If he does that, his role will expand rather than retract.

 

[SjMilhouse]

I think the frustrating thing, for me at least, is on paper Vlasic and Karlsson are such an ideal pair that they should be able to absolutely dominate both ends of the ice. I hope when he comes back they try it out again, even if it's just for a few games, to see if there is any difference. By all accounts from Vlasic himself, PDB is telling him to be more involved in the offense, pinch, take shots, ect. Just tell the guy to play a simple game and let EK65 do the heavy lifting when you're on the attack and you got the best D pair in the league. It's not like Vlasic needs to rack up points, he just got his retirement contract so what's the point in this new style of play? What does he have to prove?

 

[Sysreq]

I think the frustrating thing, for me at least, is on paper Vlasic and Karlsson are such an ideal pair that they should be able to absolutely dominate both ends of the ice. I hope when he comes back they try it out again, even if it's just for a few games, to see if there is any difference. By all accounts from Vlasic himself, PDB is telling him to be more involved in the offense, pinch, take shots, ect. Just tell the guy to play a simple game and let EK65 do the heavy lifting when you're on the attack and you got the best D pair in the league. It's not like Vlasic needs to rack up points, he just got his retirement contract so what's the point in this new style of play? What does he have to prove?

Both of them need a larger physical presence to help in the defensive zone. They are too similiar to be effective together.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Both of them need a larger physical presence to help in the defensive zone. They are too similiar to be effective together.

Since when? Washington didn't need a larger physical presence playing with John Carlson to win the Cup. The physical element is nice to have but not a requirement to be effective. When it comes to Vlasic-Karlsson, we also need to recognize that Karlsson now isn't the same player as he was then initially adjusting to the new system and the tendencies of his teammates as well as them to his tendencies. Vlasic-Karlsson even in that stretch was a good pairing that just had more mistakes end up in the back of their net than normal. Even this year's Vlasic with what Karlsson is now would do better than what they did then just based on how much better Karlsson is now. And honestly, I think the only blue liner capable of playing with the worst version of Vlasic and staying on the positive is Karlsson.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

I think the frustrating thing, for me at least, is on paper Vlasic and Karlsson are such an ideal pair that they should be able to absolutely dominate both ends of the ice. I hope when he comes back they try it out again, even if it's just for a few games, to see if there is any difference. By all accounts from Vlasic himself, PDB is telling him to be more involved in the offense, pinch, take shots, ect. Just tell the guy to play a simple game and let EK65 do the heavy lifting when you're on the attack and you got the best D pair in the league. It's not like Vlasic needs to rack up points, he just got his retirement contract so what's the point in this new style of play? What does he have to prove?

Seriously, it should be one of the best Defense pairs in NHL history. One of the best defensive d-men and one of the best offensive d-men of their era. It should have been comical how much they would dominate.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

Both of them need a larger physical presence to help in the defensive zone. They are too similiar to be effective together.

Maybe 10 even 5 years ago I might agree with this but other than a big hit here and there, todays NHL barely has more contact than beer league.

 

[SjMilhouse]

Both of them need a larger physical presence to help in the defensive zone. They are too similar to be effective together.

Eh I disagree. I think it helps to have someone who is big/physical to clear the crease in general but that pair should be able to make enough plays with their sticks then make a quick transition through either skating the puck out or clean outlet passes to clear the zone that I think they can (and honestly should) be able to get by. I don't really consider Braun all that big or physical and the Vlasic/Braun pair was dominate up until the last 2ish years.

The reason I think Karlsson is so effective from a defensive standpoint is he has a ridiculous ability to get pucks out of the zone and in transition either skating it out or with slick passing. There is no reason Vlasic shouldn't be able to win battles in the defensive zone, get Karlsson the puck and move it up ice.

 

[Sysreq]

Eh I disagree. I think it helps to have someone who is big/physical to clear the crease in general but that pair should be able to make enough plays with their sticks then make a quick transition through either skating the puck out or clean outlet passes to clear the zone that I think they can (and honestly should) be able to get by. I don't really consider Braun all that big or physical and the Vlasic/Braun pair was dominate up until the last 2ish years.

The reason I think Karlsson is so effective from a defensive standpoint is he has a ridiculous ability to get pucks out of the zone and in transition either skating it out or with slick passing. There is no reason Vlasic shouldn't be able to win battles in the defensive zone, get Karlsson the puck and move it up ice.

Despite what you think of Brauner, he is the heavy part of that pair. 5th tallest player on the team, 3rd in hits and 1st in blocked shots. Compare this to MEV who has 9 hits all season. Braun is undoubtedly the physical presence on that line. That said, the biggest problem with Vlasic/Braun right now, isn’t that either is “bad”, it’s that they don’t fit the current system.

Compared to the other two defensive pairs, that pairs problem is two fold:

1) Can’t get the puck away from the other team. Roughly have the number of take-always and exit attempts per 60.

2) When they do get the puck, they rarely fail to clear, but end up with a dump-and-chase that leads to a turnover.

Back in TMac hockey, they would rarely try to hold the blue line, and were much more dependent on the forwards to retrieve the puck. Now we almost always have at least one forward pushing up ice to accept a stretch pass. Burns and Karlsson are great for this. They force a turn over down low by having their partner play the body, and then have the skills to lead the rush back up the ice to the waiting forwards.

Vlasic and Braun, together, can’t. That’s just not their style. Never has been. Your right that Braun doesn’t have the same wreckless physicality as Dillion or Simek, but he is much better defensively. Vlasic just doesn’t have the same play making abilities as the other two, and can’t take on that role.

I don’t know how you fix it. I think with the right partner Braun could still work. I don’t think Vlasic plays the right style of hockey for this team though. Maybe with someone like Weber, but that just furthers the notion that he needs to go.