Claude Giroux: "Reasons to be Cheerful Part III"

[Appleyard]

 

[Appleyard]

 

[deadhead]

Or the rest of the team has declined that much?
Actually, they were pretty solid last year, this year, well, crap happens.

 

[AdamParrot]

Declining, not elite player, bad center, only powerplay points, no leader, no clutch...

 

[Harhis]

Or the rest of the team has declined that much?
Actually, they were pretty solid last year, this year, well, crap happens.

In the summer you were pretty vocal about stars not being good enough.

 

[deadhead]

They're not.
Giroux at center has been outmatched,
last 10 games, Corsi 48.53, SCF/CA 67/67, HDCF/CA 19/24
Couts over the same stretch
Corsi 54.61, SCF/SCA 78/45, HDCF/CA 26/18

Giroux - Couts - TK has been our best line by a wide margin this season.
JVR - Giroux - TK one of our worst, 46.1 Corsi

Some of this is that JVR and TK are not good defensively or at possession, but it's also obvious that Couts was not being carried by Giroux.

 

[Striiker]

 

[Tripod]

G is 13th in ES points this year. Couts and Jake are tied for 41st.

And on the PP, Giroux is tied for 55th in points.

Who would have guessed that?

 

[Sawdalite]

G is 13th in ES points this year. Couts and Jake are tied for 41st.

And on the PP, Giroux is tied for 55th in points.

Who would have guessed that?

Just imagine if the Flyers PP was clicking on all cylinders this Season... Giroux's numbers would be silly sick.

 

[Striiker]

G is 13th in ES points this year. Couts and Jake are tied for 41st.

And on the PP, Giroux is tied for 55th in points.

Who would have guessed that?

Funny that some can’t admit that Giroux is still great.

His 5v5 scoring still doesn’t reflect the quality of his play (not his fault he has underachieving teammates) and with a typical PP I bet he’s easily top 10 in points.

 

[Jtown]

giroux's pk stats are amazing. I highly recommend you check them out. He single handedly is the reason we are no longer the worst pk team in the league.

 

[wankstifier]

giroux's pk stats are amazing. I highly recommend you check them out. He single handedly is the reason we are no longer the worst pk team in the league.

I like Giroux a lot on the PK, but the change in approach has been the biggest cause for improvement

 

[Jtown]

I like Giroux a lot on the PK, but the change in approach has been the biggest cause for improvement

false, it got better the moment they put giroux on it, which before they made and coaching changes.

 

[Chinatown88]

"Welcome to HF Flyers where every arugment is made up and the points aren't heavy enough. Just like Claude Giroux's."

 

[Ruck Over]

false, it got better the moment they put giroux on it, which before they made and coaching changes.

I agree. Folks forget about Giroux's beginning as a 3rd line center tricking people into thinking Aaron Asham was a legit, offensively capable, nhl player. G broke in being a defensive responsible forward and did it with aplomb, he never lost it (excepting when injured).

 

[Embiid]

The rest of the team is in that backpack that he is "carrying."

 

[Striiker]

The rest of the team is in that backpack that he is "carrying."

Exactly.

But not just the team, the entire coaching staff and some management too. If it wasn’t for Giroux, a lot more people would’ve been fired by now. No way they even sniff the playoffs these last few years without him being a monster.

 

[deadhead]

Which was a good thing?

 

[NYCFlyer]

Exactly.

But not just the team, the entire coaching staff and some management too. If it wasn’t for Giroux, a lot more people would’ve been fired by now. No way they even sniff the playoffs these last few years without him being a monster.

He is and has been our best player probably top 20 player in the league. Couts is fantastic also. That being said it isnt nearly enough. We cant lose sight that as of today we have the second fewest points in the league and by the middle of January we have no chance at even making the playoffs despite his excellent performance.

 

[deadhead]

Giroux belongs back at LW, which makes the most important issue the rest of the year the development of Patrick at center, who needs to continue playing more physical, and work on strength as well as conditioning this summer. If you switch G and JVR, to have G nursemaid the rookie center, then you need a physical, defensively responsible RW on that line.

G - Couts - ???
Lindblom - Patrick - TK
JVR - Frost - ???
Laughton - ??? - NAK/Bailey

Three open spots, Voracek fills one if he isn't traded, the draft pick might fill another if he's top 5/or Laczynski-Allison, and 4C could be Vorobyev/Bunnaman/healthy Rubtsov. So it's not going to take a miracle offseason for Fletcher to field a top forward group next season.

 

[NYCFlyer]

Giroux belongs back at LW, which makes the most important issue the rest of the year the development of Patrick at center, who needs to continue playing more physical, and work on strength as well as conditioning this summer. If you switch G and JVR, to have G nursemaid the rookie center, then you need a physical, defensively responsible RW on that line.

G - Couts - ???
Lindblom - Patrick - TK
JVR - Frost - ???
Laughton - ??? - NAK/Bailey

Three open spots, Voracek fills one if he isn't traded, the draft pick might fill another if he's top 5/or Laczynski-Allison, and 4C could be Vorobyev/Bunnaman/healthy Rubtsov. So it's not going to take a miracle offseason for Fletcher to field a top forward group next season.

I think Frost will probably start the year in the A based on some comments KS made recently about his physical maturity which really forces G to play center or trade/FA for one.

 

[baudib1]

From a personnel weakness standpoint, Nolan Patrick being expected to be a 2C is probably the biggest mistake of this season. It's utterly ridiculous to be so dependent on 20-/21-year-olds to perform at such a high level and compete with Auston Matthews or Steve Stamkos or Evgeni Malkin when they can slide comfortably into 3C/4C roles while we field two top flight centers. Matching up with the other 2Cs in the Eastern Conference needs to be a serious priority.

Patrick has played like a 4c or a bad 3c in his career, let's let him be a good 4C/3C before moving him up.

 

[Rebels57]

I think Frost will probably start the year in the A based on some comments KS made recently about his physical maturity which really forces G to play center or trade/FA for one.

Here we go with that physical maturity bullshit again. There is barely any hitting nowadays. He would be fine.

 

[deadhead]

From a personnel weakness standpoint, Nolan Patrick being expected to be a 2C is probably the biggest mistake of this season. It's utterly ridiculous to be so dependent on 20-/21-year-olds to perform at such a high level and compete with Auston Matthews or Steve Stamkos or Evgeni Malkin when they can slide comfortably into 3C/4C roles while we field two top flight centers. Matching up with the other 2Cs in the Eastern Conference needs to be a serious priority.

Patrick has played like a 4c or a bad 3c in his career, let's let him be a good 4C/3C before moving him up.

Even with Patrick's scoring issues this season, he's still 1.61 pp/60, CF 48.01, xGF 52.10, xGFrel +1.72.
I'd say that's a solid 3C and a marginal 2C and the arrow is pointing up.
He's still learning the NHL game, and needs to get stronger to play a physical style, but the skills are there.
His injuries slowed his development, but he's not close to being a flop.

It would also help him to play with the same forwards for more than a week. And Laughton and Simmonds probably aren't ideal, I suspect he'd have better numbers if he finished the season with Lindblom and TK.

Frost would be fine as a 3C if you give him the right wingers, not sure JVR is the guy, but if you could balance him with a physical RW who plays defense (NAK? FA/trade?). Teams will try to match him against big centers on the road, so you put Myers/Morin out there when he's on the ice.

 

[Striiker]

From a personnel weakness standpoint, Nolan Patrick being expected to be a 2C is probably the biggest mistake of this season. It's utterly ridiculous to be so dependent on 20-/21-year-olds to perform at such a high level and compete with Auston Matthews or Steve Stamkos or Evgeni Malkin when they can slide comfortably into 3C/4C roles while we field two top flight centers. Matching up with the other 2Cs in the Eastern Conference needs to be a serious priority.

Patrick has played like a 4c or a bad 3c in his career, let's let him be a good 4C/3C before moving him up.

It wasn't unreasonable after the way he played in the second half of last season.