GDT: Caps @ Bruins 3.16.2013 1 PM

[BiPolar Caps]

Has Brouwer been in a single fight since he signed his big contract? How many since he signed his 2.3M one, even?

What relevance does Brouwer's contract have to do with his engaging in fights? Talk about someone obsessed with Brouwer for all the wrong reasons.

Brouwer certainly led the charge last season for the Caps in this department.
12/7/2011 vs. Jesse Winchester
12/31/2011 vs. Christian Ehrhoff
1/22/2012 vs. Tyler Kennedy
2/20/2012 vs. Justin Faulk
3/4/2012 vs. Hartnell



Total both Semin and Ovie's time here with the Caps along with their contracts and then ask the same question, how many fights did they have and they wouldn't equal Brouwer's from last season. How about Schultz he's earning just a little less than Brouwer, when was the last time he fought.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Good question, all I heard from Nucks fans was Volpatti would go with anyone....all I saw was him skating away from Thorton all game

Wrong, what we heard from Nucks fans was that Volpatti was smart and knew when to drop the gloves and when not to. Going against Thornton would not have been smart.

Credit the Bruins, they knew there was no Erskine yesterday so they took advantage of it.

The Caps have one heavyweight, that's Erskine. The rest are middleweights, Volpatti Olesky and Hendricks.

 

[BobbyCarpenter]

What does Tom Wilson project to be? Middle or heavy? Nasty streak? Have not seen enough of his game.

 

[um]

Total both Semin and Ovie's time here with the Caps along with their contracts and then ask the same question, how many fights did they have and they wouldn't equal Brouwer's from last season. How about Schultz he's earning just a little less than Brouwer, when was the last time he fought.

what the hell are you talking about

 

[BiPolar Caps]

What does Tom Wilson project to be? Middle or heavy? Nasty streak? Have not seen enough of his game.

Wilson's 6'4" 210 and Erskine's 6'4" around 216 or higher. I know Wilson can play a physical game but that doesn't always translate in to being a fighter.

Volpatti and Hendricks are both 6'0", 210 while Olesky is 6'0 and 190.

Regarding the Bruins, Hendricks opted to go with McQuaid who's 6'5" and about 210, so he's giving up 5 inches along with the reach, whereas Thronton is 6'2". The Bruins have some big guys and with a penalty kill that they have the can afford to be somewhat goonish on the ice.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

what the hell are you talking about

The OP has a bias towards Brouwer, now he's correlating Brouwer's new contract/earnings with him having less of a desire to be a combatant. Totally off base, irrelevant and silly point to bring up. So to highlight the absurdity of his post I used his comments to show his point then could also be true for the likes of Semin/Ovechkin and even Schultz.

 

[g00n]

I hadn't realized fighting gets you goals.

http://oilersnation.com/2012/1/11/does-the-momentum-boost-from-fighting-help-teams-win-games

http://www.puckprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=222



Fighting does seem to relate to goals and momentum, though the effect measured in these studies is marginal. What fighting does PSYCHOLOGICALLY for a team, and in the long term, is not measured in shots or goals directly following a fight.

You have to be able to show the other team AND your own that abuse of teammates will not be taken lying down.

 

[CrashTheNet9]

I hadn't realized fighting gets you goals.

What players are going to want to play for Caps when they leave teammates to fend for themselves?

 

[Liberati0n*]

The OP has a bias towards Brouwer, now he's correlating Brouwer's new contract/earnings with him having less of a desire to be a combatant. Totally off base, irrelevant and silly point to bring up. So to highlight the absurdity of his post I used his comments to show his point then could also be true for the likes of Semin/Ovechkin and even Schultz.

Yes, because all three were involved in so many fights when they were on their ELCs.

Anyway, the main reason I asked is because Brouwer is possibly the best fighter on the team after Erskine. I'd rather see him fighting than Hendricks etc. I don't know why a connection between contract security and decreased fighting seems strange to you.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Yes, because all three were involved in so many fights when they were on their ELCs.

Anyway, the main reason I asked is because Brouwer is possibly the best fighter on the team after Erskine. I'd rather see him fighting than Hendricks etc. I don't know why a connection between contract security and decreased fighting seems strange to you.

Not sure what entry level contracts have to do with the issue, because Brouwer was not an EL situation but rather a UFA.

As far as contract security being governed by fist a cuffs that might be true for the likes of a John Erskine, but not for Brouwer who had 18Gs, 15As and 61 PIMS last season. His value to this team is in his physical play/hits not in fighting the opponent. Hendricks even admitted in 24/7 that he knew/understood his role with the team which he readily displayed yesterday.

If fighting was part of the formula to your next contract, you need to let MAJO know this.

 

[Liberati0n*]

Not sure what entry level contracts have to do with the issue, because Brouwer was not an EL situation but rather a UFA.

Just an example.

As far as contract security being governed by fist a cuffs that might be true for the likes of a John Erskine, but not for Brouwer who had 18Gs, 15As and 61 PIMS last season. His value to this team is in his physical play/hits not in fighting the opponent. Hendricks even admitted in 24/7 that he knew/understood his role with the team which he readily displayed yesterday.

If fighting was part of the formula to your next contract, you need to let MAJO know this.

Obviously some players are not going to be fighters. Brouwer is one who has the capacity to fight but has chosen not to this season. He has value beyond fighting, yeah, but he still appears more valuable to the team if he provides fighting value too. It just seems like Brouwer, as a leader on the team, would look at Hendricks getting double teamed by guys way out of his league and want to do something about it himself, knowing he's capable of it. As I said, the point really is that the team could use him in those situations. As an aside, why he seems to have stopped fighting is worth looking into.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Just an example.



Obviously some players are not going to be fighters. Brouwer is one who has the capacity to fight but has chosen not to this season. He has value beyond fighting, yeah, but he still appears more valuable to the team if he provides fighting value too. It just seems like Brouwer, as a leader on the team, would look at Hendricks getting double teamed by guys way out of his league and want to do something about it himself, knowing he's capable of it. As I said, the point really is that the team could use him in those situations. As an aside, why he seems to have stopped fighting is worth looking into.

There's some mixed messages currently going on with the Caps. After the Flyers out muscled them in their last game against the Flyers, GMGM picks up AV off of waivers and brings Olesky up, all of this suggests that GMGM wanted the team to get tougher and to be able to physically match or at least put up a decent effort against physical/combatant teams. Oates comments after yesterday's game again sends a confusing message and he may be stressing this to the likes of Brouwer and others that their value to this team is not with fighting.

Whatever we make of what occurred yesterday and what didn't, one thing you can rest assure about, that the Bruins knew Erskine was not playing and they took full advantage of that.

The last game of the season will be against the Bruins at the Verizon Center, I know what we all as Caps fans would like to see occur that day. We'll just have to wait and see if it does.

 

[thelebaron]

Wilson's 6'4" 210 and Erskine's 6'4" around 216 or higher. I know Wilson can play a physical game but that doesn't always translate in to being a fighter.

Volpatti and Hendricks are both 6'0", 210 while Olesky is 6'0 and 190.

Regarding the Bruins, Hendricks opted to go with McQuaid who's 6'5" and about 210, so he's giving up 5 inches along with the reach, whereas Thronton is 6'2". The Bruins have some big guys and with a penalty kill that they have the can afford to be somewhat goonish on the ice.

he is definitely a fighter/ has that nasty streak we need http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/112348
i also think hes more like 200 or 195, after seeing him train at kettlers, just didnt seem as bulky compared to alot of the other guys

 

[Ajax1995]

Wilson's 6'4" 210 and Erskine's 6'4" around 216 or higher. I know Wilson can play a physical game but that doesn't always translate in to being a fighter.

Wilson is what 19? 6'4" 210 at 19 is a big friggin' boy. At 25-26 his is going to have another 20-25 lbs under his belt easy and possibly another inch or two.

IMO without a doubt Wilson is going to be a much bigger guy than he is now...