I don't think too many people would complain about him if he were doing what he did from October thru January last season. (There's always going to be a minority of people that complain about every player, regardless of production). The problem for me, continues to be the inconsistency and lack of production we've seen since about February 2018, while frequently playing in a top 6 role and the constant excuse making for him.
The stats:
Feb 2018 - 13 Gms. - 6 pts
.
March 2018 - 15 Gms. - 4 pts.
April --- End of Playoffs - 14 Gms. - 5 pts.
October 2018 - 10 Gms. - 3 pts
.
November 2018 - 13 Gms. - 2 pts.
December 2018 - 12 Gms. - 4 pts.
77 games - 24 points = .311 ppg.
I cannot imagine there are too many people in the NHL who have played as many games in the top 6 -9 of a decent team to have produced less.
Couple his lack of production with the fact that game in and game out there is a vocal group of people here touting his effectiveness and I'd think that anyone rationally looking at it would understand the frustration some of us have.
I mean we read on here every week how untalented guys like Kuraly and Wagner are, yet Heinen for all his skill, smarts, toughness and intangibles, has one more point than Kuraly and 1 more goal than Wagner.
Donato, who admittedly isn't as good defensively, has 2 less points and 1 more goal in 11 fewer games.
Being a cerebral player can only get you so far in real life. The kid has to start producing.
I mean, every excuse under the sun has been used in the last 2 months to defend him; snakebit, sophomore slump, bad luck, rotating linemates, El Nino, the holidays, and on and on. When exactly is he going to be held accountable?
While I know many will accuse me of bashing the guy because I think he's soft....that's not it at all. There's room for all types on a team. The problem I have is that he's being handed valuable minutes, where production is expected and he's not producing. I don't care how good you are "defensively" or "on the wall". If you're registering a point every 3-4 games and not helping out on the PK, you're really not all that valuable.
I do hope he turns it around...quickly because if he does, they are less likely to need to make a deal..giving up assets to cover for his lack of production.
Also, I don't want him traded, unless it's a slam dunk win for the B's. As they'd be selling when his value is (hopefully!) at it's lowest and there's a chance he rebounds. But, 77 games over 2 separate seasons is a big sample size and I keep wondering why people are so quick to assume the first 44 games of his career are a better indicator of what he is than the last 77?