Speculation: Cory Conacher -- what can we expect?

[DylanSensFan]

Put Latendress and Conacher in front of the net... one is a beast that is not moveable, the other will draw more penalties. 5 on 3 here we come. More goals for Zibanejad, Silf and Conacher.

 

[SenzZen]

Ah yes, please, explain what Neil's role is out there so I can understand why someone with hands and scoring ability isn't out there instead.

I'm aware of why Neil is put out there...

I really try to have what you so frequently refer to as "rational discussions" but it's kind of tough when you make disingenuous posts.

It's hard to gauge Neil's effectiveness out there when the skilled guys aren't getting shots through, or shots period.

I wouldn't be opposed to trying Kassian there. He'd certainly be a better alternative to bring up than Conacher for a net-presence. Still don't think Neil is the problem with the PP, though.

 

[H2O]

It drives me nuts when I see Chris Neil out on the powerplay instead of Conacher. He's been great in his first two games. The Conacher - Zibanejad - Silfverberg line has easily been our best and most consistent. I love the element he brings to this team.

Here here. The concept of putting Neil out there is nice and all, but when the execution has been so poor for so long, it's time to change it up.

 

[YNWA14]

I really try to have what you so frequently refer to as "rational discussions" but it's kind of tough when you make disingenuous posts.

"If you understood what Neil's purpose on the powerplay was..."

Sure.

Here here. The concept of putting Neil out there is nice and all, but when the execution has been so poor for so long, it's time to change it up.

Put Latendress and Conacher in front of the net... one is a beast that is not moveable, the other will draw more penalties. 5 on 3 here we come. More goals for Zibanejad, Silf and Conacher.

Yep...Neil has proven nothing more than being ineffective on the powerplay. Most of the time when the puck gets to him he loses it, and he can't seem to tip anything. Conacher and Latendresse would both be better options in front of the net. I would literally rather see almost anyone on our team out there. Methot, Greening, Smith, Condra...heck, I'd even rather see Regin out there than Neil.

 

[Slack]

Put Latendress and Conacher in front of the net... one is a beast that is not moveable, the other will draw more penalties. 5 on 3 here we come. More goals for Zibanejad, Silf and Conacher.

That's a great idea. Lats can take a beating, but also has the hands to finish if needed. Conacher looked good on the PP last night, too. I don't think he'll ever be guilty of over-passing, or trying to find the "perfect play." He's got that delicious bit of jam that gets defenders scrambling.

(and Dean Brown would probably end up losing his voice)

 

[SenzZen]

"If you understood what Neil's purpose on the powerplay was..."

Sure.

I said Neil's role. And it's a fixture in the PP MacLean uses. Suggesting putting 5'8" Conacher in front of the net in Neil's place to screen the goalie and take a beating says you don't understand something in that equation. Especially when you've already gone to great lengths to argue that Conacher's weakest quality is being able to stay on his feet.

Unless I mistook your "tone"?

 

[YNWA14]

I said Neil's role. And it's a fixture in the PP MacLean uses. Suggesting putting 5'8" Conacher in front of the net in Neil's place to screen the goalie and take a beating says you don't understand something in that equation. Especially when you've already gone to great lengths to argue that Conacher's weakest quality is being able to stay on his feet.

Unless I mistook your "tone"?

You need to watch Conacher in front of the net more. I'm arguing that Neil is poor at filling the role that MacLean is trying to use him in. That point has been pretty clear.

 

[Micklebot]

"If you understood what Neil's purpose on the powerplay was..."

Sure.





Yep...Neil has proven nothing more than being ineffective on the powerplay. Most of the time when the puck gets to him he loses it, and he can't seem to tip anything. Conacher and Latendresse would both be better options in front of the net. I would literally rather see almost anyone on our team out there. Methot, Greening, Smith, Condra...heck, I'd even rather see Regin out there than Neil.

Ok, just so that we are talking the same language here, what do you consider an indicator of being effective on the PP when it comes to a guy in Neil's role? Points? Neil gets 3.06 per 60 mins on the PP. Thats good for 180th among forwards who played 10+ games. Not fantastic, but not ineffective either.

To be fair though, Neils role isn't to get the pts, its to make it easier for everybody else on the ice to get the pts. So lets look at GF per 60 while he's on the ice with the same sample; Now he's 163rd among fwds with 10+ games played. Starting to look pretty good. BTW, that's ahead of notable guys like Stamkos, Sedin(s), Turris, Toews. (Conacher and Latendress are also below Neil)

Clearly, he isn't better or more important to an effective PP than the above listed guys, but to say he's been ineffective just seems off. The thing is, he's only going to look effective in his role when the rest of the PP line is doing their job; getting pucks to the net. Recently, that hasn't been happening, so he's an easy target, I mean, who can say no to more skill on the line with that extra space, right? But teams have isolated our skill guys, and rushed their plays. The puck has been kept to the outside so it really doesn't matter who is in front.

 

[YNWA14]

The puck has been kept to the outside so it really doesn't matter who is in front.

Well...it does matter. That's why you put someone on there that can do something other than just stand in front of the net. So they can help out when they're having troubles getting the puck to the net.

Also those stats you posted are very incomplete and still don't show that he's being effective on the powerplay. Maybe it shows that our powerplay is effective despite his inability. I'll go by the eye-test. He is a black hole on the powerplay, and IMO there are guys that I would prefer to have out there.

 

[take a peek]

Well...it does matter. That's why you put someone on there that can do something other than just stand in front of the net. So they can help out when they're having troubles getting the puck to the net.

Also those stats you posted are very incomplete and still don't show that he's being effective on the powerplay. Maybe it shows that our powerplay is effective despite his inability. I'll go by the eye-test. He is a black hole on the powerplay, and IMO there are guys that I would prefer to have out there.

I agree...
-he cannot retrieve pucks well or make a play if he gets it on the dump in,
-is not guy that is an option to pass and carry in,
-is not that mobile to chase a puck and retrieve it,
-does not have good hands on a scramble

...he is only on there as a screen, that's it... he does that well but brings nothing else and him being out the relies on the other four doing everything else. It would be nice to have someone who can contribute in more ways than just being the screen. Conacher could be that guy.

 

[Slack]

I really don't see why Lats shouldn't be taking that spot from now on. Big, takes a beating, can make plays/passes, and has hands. I'd like Conacher on the PP, too, but not necessarily in that role. He's too effective at causing havoc with his skating.

 

[ATdaisuki]

I said Neil's role. And it's a fixture in the PP MacLean uses. Suggesting putting 5'8" Conacher in front of the net in Neil's place to screen the goalie and take a beating says you don't understand something in that equation. Especially when you've already gone to great lengths to argue that Conacher's weakest quality is being able to stay on his feet.

Unless I mistook your "tone"?

if you look at conacher's highlights, he scores a lot of his goals on tips and from being in front of the net. i believe i saw quite a few people commenting on that in the trade thread. i also saw an intesting comment someone made in what i think was te first gdt after the trade. they said when he screens the goalie, there's still a lot of net to shoot at.

 

[SenzZen]

if you look at conacher's highlights, he scores a lot of his goals on tips and from being in front of the net. i believe i saw quite a few people commenting on that in the trade thread. i also saw an intesting comment someone made in what i think was te first gdt after the trade. they said when he screens the goalie, there's still a lot of net to shoot at.

I know that one of his assets is his ability/willingness to get to the net. That's awesome, and something not enough of our players have.

I would be shocked if MacLean used the shortest player on the team to screen the goalie on the PP. It's not a knock on his ability to tip shots, but it's a pretty thankless task to stand in front and take a pounding- as evidenced in this thread. I think Conacher will be given PP time- once he gets a few more reps in practice and becomes more familiar with the system, and when he earns it- but that he will replace someone else. Or someone else will replace Neil, and Conacher will slide into their spot.

Right now I'd say Turris could use a break.