Curious case of Devante Smith-Pelly

[OregonCanuck]

*I DIDNT WRITE THIS ARTILE *
Hes in his prime and was so good last year. He’s loved by the fans and seems to thrive in playoff hockey. I expect him to be the first call
Up and stay just think he is the perfect 4th line winger on a playoff team regardless of his playing in the nhl and ahl regular season. Playoff hockey is a different beast

The Capitals currently have no plans to recall Devante Smith-Pelly from Hershey for the playoffs

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[GlitchMarner]

Wasn't he basically just good in the playoffs last year and pretty meh or poor in the season? He seemed to be struggling this season.

He scored some big goals, but I wouldn't expect him to produce like that again if they call him up.

 

[Howie Hodge]

"Curious Case?"

Is he aging in reverse??

Otherwise what is curious about it?

 

[EightyOne]

Before reading: Coaches don't think he fits the current line-up.?

Reads article: "MacLellan clarified that the reason behind not calling him up was that they weren’t sold on tinkering with their roster too much before Game One."

..conclusion...They don't have a spot for him.

Also, Walker wasn't used on the call-up.

DSP was able to keep playing at a high level in AHL by not being called up and scratched?

 

[Machinehead]

He sucks. There's nothing curious about it.

 

[pabst blue ribbon]

he's not very good

 

[HanSolo]

Anaheim traded him for a reason. He had a good stretch of play in the playoffs but he's just not consistent.

Not that Jiri Sekac was any better. Worse really.

 

[izzy]

hes not better than their other 4th liners now

still could help their playoff run IF he plays like last year when he gets the opportunity

 

[43sfriends]

When the Caps struggle he will probably get a sweater. I am least sold out of anyone on DSPs abilities under normal conditions but he undeniably was a huge factor in the cup win, creating some incredibly timely goals almost out of thin air.

Apparently he had some conditioning and work ethic issues this season, along with the Caps just getting deeper and having better 4th line options. Still, a lot of Caps players like him and he will provide a spark when put back in the lineup if nothing else. But I have to think you try him regardless just out of wonder at how effective he was when it mattered last year.

 

[Demandedace]

Why can’t people accept the fact that while he had a good playoffs last year, he’s not very good? He showed up this season out of shape and performed miserably the entire year until being sent down, but everyone is acting outraged when he was shown up by multiple players who have stepped in beside him

 

[43sfriends]

everyone is acting outraged when he was shown up by multiple players who have stepped in beside him

Because we all know those players are most likely going to go invisible when we are tied or down a goal late in the all out war that is the playoffs. DSP has shown he can step up and battle and teams don't win cups letting that quality go to waste.

 

[Demandedace]

Because we all know those players are most likely going to go invisible when we are tied or down a goal late in the all out war that is the playoffs. DSP has shown he can step up and battle and teams don't win cups letting that quality go to waste.

He was also mediocre all last regular season and bad this regular season. That’s well over 100 games of mediocre at best gameplay to gamble on under 20 good/great games. You have no idea what those other players will do (or how he would do) this year.

 

[Beville]

He peaked at the right time in the playoffs, he just got lucky.

 

[43sfriends]

You have no idea what those other players will do (or how he would do) this year.

I actually do have some idea, because all knowledge and past performance doesn't just vanish when the playoffs begin. Guys with a proven clutch playoff track record are rare and rightly coveted because people understand that playoff games differ significantly from the regular season.

DSP hasn't proven he's that kind of player categorically yet but he's shown enough that it's hard for a lot of people to fathom keeping him off the roster. Especially for the likes of Boyd and Stephenson, who have also looked pretty harmless all year.

 

[HOPE]

every star allign in the playoffs, he's not a good hockey player.

Classic playoff one hit wonder

 

[Demandedace]

I actually do have some idea, because all knowledge and past performance doesn't just vanish when the playoffs begin. Guys with a proven clutch playoff track record are rare and rightly coveted because people understand that playoff games differ significantly from the regular season.

DSP hasn't proven he's that kind of player categorically yet but he's shown enough that it's hard for a lot of people to fathom keeping him off the roster. Especially for the likes of Boyd and Stephenson, who have also looked pretty harmless all year.

Okay, but he hasn't. He has played 48 playoff games and has 16 total points. Outside of last year's playoffs (where he only had 8 points albeit they were clutch goals) he has not been "proven" lol. Stop romanticizing it so much, in the past 129 regular season games with the Caps he has 24 points. Let it go, he isn't that good.

 

[PhysicalGraffiti]

He's not good and hyphenated last names are dumb.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

He sucks. There's nothing curious about it.

This and judging from the story about him showing up to camp out of shape, it appears he's also lazy. Pretty much a coach's nightmare.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Victory defeated him.

 

[pezpunk]

dude had 16 points last year in the regular season. not goals. points. despite playing almost every game.

this year, he followed that up with 4 goals and 4 assists over 54 games played.

also, those stats include several occasions where he got promoted to the TOP LINE with Ovechkin and Kuzy/Backstrom for some reason, to see if that helped. it never did.

i appreciate his clutch goals in last year's playoff run. i will never forget them. i love him as a player and as a person -- he seems like an A+ dude.

but i think we will be okay without him, from a hockey perspective.

 

[43sfriends]

Okay, but he hasn't. He has played 48 playoff games and has 16 total points. Outside of last year's playoffs (where he only had 8 points albeit they were clutch goals) he has not been "proven" lol. Stop romanticizing it so much, in the past 129 regular season games with the Caps he has 24 points. Let it go, he isn't that good.

Or, to comport the stats in his favor instead of against, he has 13 goals in 48 playoff games, that's a 23 goal pace for a full season, monster production for a 4th liner. Realistically, a point such as his game 5 tying goal-out-of-nowhere against Vegas is probably worth about a dozen secondary assists.

He also plays a heavy game unlike pillow-soft Boyd and Stephenson, and was a big part of the physicality the Caps brought to the playoffs last year, which was the decisive factor in the Tampa Bay series.

I never said DSP is proven, in fact I said the opposite. And I'm not romanticizing him at all, in fact I don't even care for him much as a player, I just think it's clear from last year that it's worth kicking the tires on him again if and when the adversity and injuries start stacking up on this run. It's arbitrary and reeks of bias that people are automatically assuming his play last year was a fluke.

 

[heynowbababooey]

I remember he had a few big moments for Anaheim in the playoffs but was terrible during the regular season. Seems to be the case here. Was always a good guy. Glad he got a Cup.

 

[pabst blue ribbon]

Or, to comport the stats in his favor instead of against, he has 13 goals in 48 playoff games, that's a 23 goal pace for a full season, monster production for a 4th liner. Realistically, a point such as his game 5 tying goal-out-of-nowhere against Vegas is probably worth about a dozen secondary assists.

He also plays a heavy game unlike pillow-soft Boyd and Stephenson, and was a big part of the physicality the Caps brought to the playoffs last year, which was the decisive factor in the Tampa Bay series.

I never said DSP is proven, in fact I said the opposite. And I'm not romanticizing him at all, in fact I don't even care for him much as a player, I just think it's clear from last year that it's worth kicking the tires on him again if and when the adversity and injuries start stacking up on this run. It's arbitrary and reeks of bias that people are automatically assuming his play last year was a fluke.

You're using a 48 game sample size where he is shooting 17% as an argument to tell us gow valuable he is. In the regular season he is an 8% shooter with a far bigger sample size

 

[Fripp]

He's no John Druce.

 

[Brownies]

I remember once, they asked former player and coach Guy Carbonneau what he tought of a player like Rene Bourque (pretty sure it was him), who left a lot to be desired in the regular season, but was able to find a second gwar in the playoffs. Carbonneau was so pissed just thinking about this kind of player (who are more often than not praised in media) he was not even able to articulate anything intelligible. He just looked really angry. From a coach perspective, I now inderstand it must be frustrating to see this guy doing nothing all year and all of a sudden hit left and right and score huge goals.