Speculation: Caps General Discussion (Coaching/FAs/Cap/Lines etc) - 2019 Offseason Pt. 4: Nobody Panik!

[CapitalsCupReality]

Kucherov-type effort gets you 0-4 in the first round. Its tricky.

I believe what Kuzy said about last season so I hope he will find a way to avoid such performance this next season.

But does he himself know exactly how to avoid it? Thats an interesting question I dont have an answer for

Does it really have to? Sounds like you’re laying the blame at the feet of one guy there in your defense of Kuzy.

Even those of us willing to discuss the shortcomings of Kuzy have acknowledged that injuries to key players and other teammates playing poorly mattered with regards to their loss to Carolina.

 

[Silky mitts]

Im trying to find differences between him and Semin, but can't name them.

When Kuzy signed his long term deal he put up a career year and won the Cup. When Semin signed his long term deal he had his worst season since he went back to Russia and followed that with a far worst season.

 

[Devil Dancer]

The unrealistic expectations continue. A MVP-level performance? Kuzy has never been able to put up those kinds of numbers consistently. He's not that caliber of player.

He's flashy as hell, but that doesn't mean he can produce like a top-of-the-league player consistently.

People seem to be seduced by his skill, and disappointed when the fancy stuff doesn't work for a few games at a time.

 

[txpd]

Even those of us willing to discuss the shortcomings of Kuzy have acknowledged that injuries to key players and other teammates playing poorly mattered with regards to their loss to Carolina.

Yea, pretty clear that the roster had a hole in it. No contingency plan for one of the top 4 left d going down. They had no answer for Kempny being out. Had they had the bite of the season before or had Oshie been there for to bring and inspire some bite, they would have won the first round. Its also true that Kuzy could have carried them to a win they didn't get. Same is true of Holtby.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

The unrealistic expectations continue. A MVP-level performance? Kuzy has never been able to put up those kinds of numbers consistently. He's not that caliber of player.

He's flashy as hell, but that doesn't mean he can produce like a top-of-the-league player consistently.

People seem to be seduced by his skill, and disappointed when the fancy stuff doesn't work for a few games at a time.

He has to want to try, and has said so far trying is hard, sooo. I guess I believe in his talents more than you. Maybe I’m wrong.

 

[Calicaps]

Kuznetsov is 100% capable of being the best all-around player on this Caps team and one of the elites in the NHL. Last season he wasn't. Last playoffs he wasn't. It's entirely up to him which way it goes this year.

 

[txpd]

The unrealistic expectations continue. A MVP-level performance? Kuzy has never been able to put up those kinds of numbers consistently. He's not that caliber of player.

He's flashy as hell, but that doesn't mean he can produce like a top-of-the-league player consistently.

People seem to be seduced by his skill, and disappointed when the fancy stuff doesn't work for a few games at a time.

Is Kuzy McDavid capable? No. Is he Conn Smythe capable? Hell yes. Is he capable of being Backstrom quality? Yes. He is a legit 1C. Not a 2. That's all I expect. He didn't do that last season and told us that he wasn't interested that much in being his best.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Kuznetsov scored 6 points in Carolina series vs 8 points in Columbus series a year before. I understand your emotional stress due to early playoff exit. But Kuznetsov's only fault was his second-degree interviews. He was extremely good on the ice this year. Not saying all opponent team's defensive forces where focused on him this year.

(humor) This injustice and disrespect to Kuznetsov forced me to start my second PhD. This time it will be on a very important HFCD subject.

HF forum conversion disorder (HFCD) is a diagnostic category used in some psychiatric classification systems. It is sometimes applied to fans who present with bad faith symptoms, such as offensive qualities prizing numbness, game watching blindness, statistical analysis paralysis, or forum posting fits, which are not consistent with a well-established organic cause, which cause significant distress, and can be traced back to an emotional trigger such as playoff series loss. It is thought that these symptoms arise and spreads in response to stressful situations affecting a fan's mental health or an ongoing mental health condition such as fan depression. The theory of HF forum conversion disorder stems from ancient Egypt, and was formerly known as hateful hysteria and hysterical blindness. The concept of conversion disorder came to prominence at the end of the 19th century, when the neurologists Jean-Martin Charcot and Sigmund Freud and later a Cap’s fan @francaisvolantsparis focused their studies on the subject. Before their studies, people with forum hysteria were often believed to be malingering. Though previously thought to have vanished from the West in the 20th century, some research has suggested that conversion disorder is as common as ever on HF boards.

(/humor)

 

[txpd]

"I don't give a shit about that," he said. "To be MVP, you have to work hard 365 [days] in a year, but I'm not ready for that. I want to have fun and I want to make those risky plays when sometimes you don't have to play and you guys don't understand every time those plays. It's not easy to make. But to be MVP in this league, you have to play even better. You have to go next level. It's not easy. More important, you have to stay focused 365, but that's not my style."

injustice and disrespect from Reirden. "We were spoiled last year with how [Kuznetsov] played in the playoffs," coach Todd Reirden said. "That's the standard that he showed us and the standard that he's going to be held to now. That's part of growing as a player – understanding what's expected of you. He understood that as a player. He didn't feel that he met that. And he didn't."

injustice and disrespect from MacLellan. "I think the frustration from my point - or the organization's point - is there's a top 10 player in the League in there and when he's on it's a lot of fun to watch and our team is a lot better," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "And when the inconsistency is there, I think everybody gets a little frustrated because you want Top 10 Kuzy."

So, his bosses expect too much from Kuzy. Is that your position?

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

"I don't give a **** about that," he said. "To be MVP, you have to work hard 365 [days] in a year, but I'm not ready for that. I want to have fun and I want to make those risky plays when sometimes you don't have to play and you guys don't understand every time those plays. It's not easy to make. But to be MVP in this league, you have to play even better. You have to go next level. It's not easy. More important, you have to stay focused 365, but that's not my style."

injustice and disrespect from Reirden. "We were spoiled last year with how [Kuznetsov] played in the playoffs," coach Todd Reirden said. "That's the standard that he showed us and the standard that he's going to be held to now. That's part of growing as a player – understanding what's expected of you. He understood that as a player. He didn't feel that he met that. And he didn't."

injustice and disrespect from MacLellan. "I think the frustration from my point - or the organization's point - is there's a top 10 player in the League in there and when he's on it's a lot of fun to watch and our team is a lot better," general manager Brian MacLellan said. "And when the inconsistency is there, I think everybody gets a little frustrated because you want Top 10 Kuzy."

So, his bosses expect too much from Kuzy. Is that your position?

I see the "I am not an MVP" inteview as (if you read behind the words) : "Ok, I was Conn Smythe but Ovy got It. It is ok. I do smart plays, I win games, but if I have to be named MVP in this league, I have to do many useless PR things everyday. That's not my style".

Todd Reirden is too early to judge. It was his first year. With an experienced NHL coach, we could expect a better regular season and a win in Carolina series. Our team was better than last years on the paper. I remember one coach saying on Ovechkin: "difficult player to play with". T was not saying: "he's a bad/inconsistent player". It's coach's job to find a way to have an MVP Kuznetsov. Playing him on the first line with Ovechkin for example. Some coaches had this clear vision before.

MacLellan just saying the same thing I would say if I had his job. Next time he will say it differently, noticing the inappropriate aggressive s***storm reaction from some fans on Kuzy after his words.

 

[Bieronymus Trotz]

As a general rule, it's probably not that wise to assume that the peak level a player's ever sustained over a few weeks is a level they're able to reach all the time. It seems like Kuznetsov has some issues with caring about aspects of the game like, say, defense, but it's probably also true that there were plenty of times he was trying just as hard and couldn't execute at that level because he couldn't.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Kuztetsov was named seven times first star of the game in 2017-18 and exactly seven times in 2018-19 by the NHL.

People saying Kuznetsov's 2018-19 regular season was much worse than 2017-18 one.... "That’s a horse**** outlook from my POV sorry". Thankyou @CapitalsCupReality for this juicy quote.

 

[txpd]

I see the "I am not an MVP" inteview as (if you read behind the words) : "Ok, I was Conn Smythe but Ovy got It. It is ok. I do smart plays, I win games, but if I have to be named MVP in this league, I have to do many useless PR things everyday. That's not my style".

Todd Reirden is too early to judge. It was his first year. With an experienced NHL coach, we could expect a better regular season and a win in Carolina series. Our team was better than last years on the paper. I remember one coach saying on Ovechkin: "difficult player to play with". T was not saying: "he's a bad/inconsistent player". It's coach's job to find a way to have an MVP Kuznetsov. Playing him on the first line with Ovechkin for example. Some coaches had this clear vision before.

MacLellan just saying the same thing I would say if I had his job. Next time he will say it differently, noticing the inappropriate aggressive s***storm reaction from some fans on Kuzy after his words.

Have it how you want it. Its not just some goofy posters on these boards who don't know anything about hockey that are questioning Kuznetsov. I guess it could be a head coach and a gm that do know anything about hockey.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Have it how you want it. Its not just some goofy posters on these boards who don't know anything about hockey that are questioning Kuznetsov. I guess it could be a head coach and a gm that do know anything about hockey.

No one of them is talking about Kuznetsov's defensive skills, trading him or moving him to the wing. No one of them is saying his last regular season he gave less to the team than he did in the 2017-18 one. Some haters here does.

Coach and GM are saying Kuznetsov should play 9 months in a row every year like he did in THE Cup Run.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

As a general rule, it's probably not that wise to assume that the peak level a player's ever sustained over a few weeks is a level they're able to reach all the time. It seems like Kuznetsov has some issues with caring about aspects of the game like, say, defense, but it's probably also true that there were plenty of times he was trying just as hard and couldn't execute at that level because he couldn't.

I’m sorry, I’m not buying the he can’t do it/expectations are too high angle. He’s proven he can play at the highest levels and produce with the best.

Nobody is expecting a career year each year, but he’s a shit ton better than he gave his team last year.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Kuz had somewhat of a down year. I think he'll be better this coming year.

 

[searle]

Kuztetsov was named seven times first star of the game in 2017-18 and exactly seven times in 2018-19 by the NHL.

People saying Kuznetsov's 2018-19 regular season was much worse than 2017-18 one.... "That’s a horse**** outlook from my POV sorry". Thankyou @CapitalsCupReality for this juicy quote.

I'm not saying the point you're making (which was, unless I'm mistaken, that Kuzy's play was the same last year as the year before), but saying he was the best player on the ice 7 times in a season isn't a good basis to argue against complaints of inconsistency across that season, or his average performance across the season as a whole.

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

I'm not saying the point you're making (which was, unless I'm mistaken, that Kuzy's play was the same last year as the year before), but saying he was the best player on the ice 7 times in a season isn't a good basis to argue against complaints of inconsistency across that season, or his average performance across the season as a whole.

Man, it is logic. If his game was 'less' inconsistent in 2017-18 why he was the first star the exactly same number of times and not consistently more times, say 70 times. The only logic solution for this is that he is less consistent now but have a higher performance pick, like 'two times higher'. It smells BS. His consistency/inconsistency did not change much last year.

GM was talking about inconsistence between regular season and the playoff change, not the inconsistence in the same regular season/between seasons like the shameful haters here try to say.

 

[searle]

Man, it is logic. If his game was 'less' inconsistent in 2017-18 why he was the first star the exactly same number of times and not consistently more times, say 70 times. The only logic solution for this is that he is less consistent now but have a higher performance pick, like 'two times higher'. It smells BS. His consistency/inconsistency did not change much last year.

GM was talking about inconsistence between regular season and the playoff change, not the inconsistence in the regular season/seasons like the haters here try to say.

You're saying he was amazing 7 times. What about the other 75?

Season before he could have averaged a 8/10, this season a 7/10 - 7 games is not a big enough sample size to evaluate a season.

Again, not saying the conclusion is wrong, but that is not data you can use to draw those kind of conclusions

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

You're saying he was amazing 7 times. What about the other 75?

Season before he could have averaged a 8/10, this season a 7/10 - 7 games is not a big enough sample size to evaluate a season.

Again, not saying the conclusion is wrong, but that is not data you can use to draw those kind of conclusions

~40 players are participating in a hockey game. After ~80 games every player on the team will have in average two first stars. Kuznetsov has 14 in two seasons. It is huge.

I agree with you, 'first stars' is not a super stat tool. I have much better stats to prove my point. But my stats have zero effect on shameful haters. Only their holy fantasies and coach's and GM holy words, they make a travesty of, has a positive value for them. So, to counter these shameful haters I use their own weapon: Holy NHL first stars to evaluate a player. So, it is not me nor my 'crazy' stats saying Kuznetsov is not inconsistent, but the NHL itself.

 

[searle]

~40 players are participating in a hockey game. After ~80 games every player on the team will have in average two first stars. Kuznetsov has 14 in two seasons. It is huge.

I agree with you, 'first stars' is not a super stat tool. I have much better stats to prove my point. But my stats have zero effect on shameful haters. Only their holy fantasies and coach's and GM holy words, they make a travesty of, has a positive value for them. So, to counter these shameful haters I use their own weapon: Holy NHL first stars to evaluate a player. So, it is not me nor my 'crazy' stats saying Kuznetsov is not inconsistent, but the NHL itself.

Dude. You're missing my point.

Let's say a season is 10 games.

2017-18 Kuzy is rated
10/10 twice
1/10 eight times

2018-19 Kuzy is rated
10/10 twice
7/10 eight times

He was first star the same number of times, but the two seasons look completely different.

Do you get what I'm saying here?

Again, I'm not arguing your point necessarily, but first stars aren't something you should quote to make it.

It's impressive that he's the best player on the ice that many times a year - but it's pretty much irrelevant when you're discussing someone who is said to be inconsistent or lacking in effort at times.

If anything it's frustrating, as it hints that the average for his play could or should be higher, as he has that top end, take over games difference making talent, and I think that's what the general opinion of him is around here

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

Dude. You're missing my point.

Let's say a season is 10 games.

2017-18 Kuzy is rated
10/10 twice
1/10 eight times

2018-19 Kuzy is rated
10/10 twice
7/10 eight times

He was first star the same number of times, but the two seasons look completely different.

Do you get what I'm saying here?

Again, I'm not arguing your point necessarily, but first stars aren't something you should quote to make it.

It's impressive that he's the best player on the ice that many times a year - but it's pretty much irrelevant when you're discussing someone who is said to be inconsistent or lacking in effort at times.

If anything it's frustrating, as it hints that the average for his play could or should be higher, as he has that top end, take over games difference making talent, and I think that's what the general opinion of him is around here

I get your point 10/10. But it is not how it works. Name the games where Kuznetsov did a 1/10 in 2018/19, and I will give you the same number of '1/10' games from the 2017/18.

 

[chilimac]

ha ha... well, training camp cant get here fast enough i see, even for
kuzy(?)

regardless of the turmoil here at ol' HF, i just want everybody to know that i am still in 'chill mode'.. and its a nice place to be. its like regular pool time vs adult swim. just saying....

 

[searle]

I get your point 10/10. But it is not how it works. Name the games where Kuznetsov did a 1/10 in 2018/19, and I will give you the same number of '1/10' games from the 2017/18.

Once again, I wasn't trying to dispute your point, merely the stats you used to make it.

Don't really want to wade into the whole Kuznetsov situation. I think he'll perform better this season and show that last season was below where he can be, and I hope that when that happens he stays at or around that new, higher level.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

ha ha... well, training camp cant get here fast enough i see, even for
kuzy(?)

regardless of the turmoil here at ol' HF, i just want everybody to know that i am still in 'chill mode'.. and its a nice place to be. its like regular pool time vs adult swim. just saying....

Some of us like to talk hockey.

Some of us can’t help but be offended when we critique a favorite player.

I too am chillin....