Player Discussion: Chris Kunitz

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
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I haven't watched many of your guys' games this year. How has the signing worked out?

He's been a fantastic signing for us. One of Yzerman's better choices. When we first brought him in I was really upset because he was on his last legs in Pittsburgh. He couldn't keep up anymore and everyone could see it. As strange as it sounds it never occurred to me that he'd be useful as a bottom 6 player. Part of me wishes he'd come back another season
 

Cmac66

Registered User
Apr 18, 2017
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I haven't watched many of your guys' games this year. How has the signing worked out?

Been a really good player and has chipped in with the goals this season, I think he has been valuable with the experience he has, would like to see him stay around at the end of the season if it is possible for us to do.
 

DFC

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Sep 26, 2013
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He's been a fantastic signing for us. One of Yzerman's better choices. When we first brought him in I was really upset because he was on his last legs in Pittsburgh. He couldn't keep up anymore and everyone could see it. As strange as it sounds it never occurred to me that he'd be useful as a bottom 6 player. Part of me wishes he'd come back another season

He looks like he has another season in him as a 4th liner. It's not like he's being leap-frogged by younger guys just yet.
 

These Are The Days

Oh no! We suck again!!
May 17, 2014
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Tampa Bay
He looks like he has another season in him as a 4th liner. It's not like he's being leap-frogged by younger guys just yet.
Indeed he can still think the game, can still score here and there. Another year on the same contract he has now would not be so bad. I've been under the notion that Kunitz was in a way occupying Erne's future spot on the team but I think a contingency plan while Erne develops would not be the worst idea. It doesn't seem like so long ago we were hoping he could be another Callahan and right now Erne has a long way to go
 

Clatartar

Registered User
Dec 28, 2014
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Yea, his problem with us was that he was surgically attached to sid/ geno's hip. I can't say that I miss him but good for you guys. Hope to see you guys in round 3.
 

Sky04

Registered User
Jan 8, 2009
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He looks like he has another season in him as a 4th liner. It's not like he's being leap-frogged by younger guys just yet.

Hopefully not with this team, great season and lots of people eating crow but he doesn't have legs and a major decline could be right around the corner - which would pretty much turn him into an anchor on the ice.
 

Hoek

Legendary Poster A
May 12, 2003
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Tampa, FL
I like him because he does smart things that really have an impact, but yeah you really have to be careful not to get too enamored with these guys on their last legs. Let's see who else might be available for the hungry vet role.
 

gg720fla

Registered User
Dec 14, 2016
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I still think Erne could easily take up for Kunitz as he hits as much , is faster and will score more in a season than what Kunitz will do next year.
 

JoVel

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Jan 23, 2017
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Based on his jaw-dropping production to date...

I get the feeling Erne is gone this offseason.
There are way too many young guys coming who are way more impressive than Erne that he could have a roster spot on this team unless he improves significantly.
 
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VoluntaryDom

Formerly DominicBoltsFan / Ⓐ / ✞
Oct 31, 2016
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I liked the Kunitz deal at the time (you could find my posts about it in the July 1st GDT) and it has gone as expected IMO. He's been a bit better than I expected but about that level.

Erne gonezies. Rather give Joseph/Stephens a shot, or call Peca back up.
 

JoVel

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The only risk there with this contract was that Cooper would use Kunitz over young guys better than him as we saw with Morrow. But luckily Cooper has only used him as a 4th liner which is what he is, nothing more, nothing less. He hasn't been taking ice time from youngsters and no one can say he doesn't earn that spot on our team. If he sucked, we could've just scratched him every night and there wouldn't have been a problem. But luckily he impressed and is a good player to have for this Cup run. That said I doubt he will be back next year.
 
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The Macho King

Back* to Back** World Champion
Jun 22, 2011
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The only risk there with this contract was that Cooper would use Kunitz over young guys better than him as we saw with Morrow. But luckily Cooper has only used him as a 4th liner which is what he is, nothing more, nothing less. He hasn't been taking ice time from youngsters and no one can say he doesn't earn that spot on our team. If he sucked, we could've just scratched him every night and there wouldn't have been a problem. But luckily he impressed and is a good player to have for this Cup run. That said I doubt he will be back next year.
He did slide Kunitz up the line up a few times, but generally it was in short bursts.
 
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JoVel

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Yeah, those were obviously never long-term plans. That was when Coop just wanted to try something different because we weren't playing our best.
 

LightningStrikes

Champa Bay Lightning
Nov 24, 2009
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Yeah, those were obviously never long-term plans. That was when Coop just wanted to try something different because we weren't playing our best.
And that’s the great thing with Kunitz. He’s played top-6 alongside the best players in the game for almost a decade, so we have this great option for short stints to give the team a spark. He’s reliable even if he’s not the 20-30 goal scorer he once was. Morrow was completely different, think a worse Callahan (who’s at least one of our better PKers and defensive players).
 
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Felonious Python

Minor League Degenerate
Aug 20, 2004
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I'd probably be okay with bringing him back. He won't cost much, and he doesn't necessarily need to play every game.
 

HoseEmDown

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Mar 25, 2012
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I'd probably be okay with bringing him back. He won't cost much, and he doesn't necessarily need to play every game.

Good luck getting Copper to scratch him. Guy was brought in for his playoff experience and play, manages to be pretty useless. His 1 point was a secondary assist on a pass he dumped up the boards in his own zone on Callahan's crazy net crashing goal. We have like 8 better options.
 
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TampaJay

Registered User
Jan 16, 2016
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Good luck getting Copper to scratch him. Guy was brought in for his playoff experience and play, manages to be pretty useless. His 1 point was a secondary assist on a pass he dumped up the boards in his own zone on Callahan's crazy net crashing goal. We have like 8 better options.
This is the key reason not to re-sign aging vets; they just block the prospects because Cooper is loath to healthy scratch vets. Plus, what does that do to the development program and motivation of the young guys when aging vets are brought in and they know there is no chance for them no matter how they perform. Cernak or Foote could have an amazing training camp and there is no way Cooper scratches Girardi. I only watched 10 Crunch games this year (the streaming sucks) but it doesn’t take a lot of viewing to see there are better options. You never know for sure until they come up, but it is time to start working some of these guys into the lineup. To make the cap work in the next two years, we are desperately going to need an influx of players on ELCs or bridge deals. And some motivated youth may counter the complacent effort we saw the second half of the season. They don’t need to flip a switch because theirs is spring loaded in the “on” position.
 

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