Derick Brassard's playoffs

[Pens1566]

He's hurt, playing with Sheary and Kuhnhackl, and not getting the icetime he's used to. I'd say there's an explanation in there somewhere.

 

[Agent Zub]

Brassard has been trash ever since he got to Ottawa tbh.

One of the more overrated players in the league, and I was saying this while he was with the sens as well.

 

[Lemieuxs]

To get ‘big game brass’ The penguins traded:

Gustavsson (pens #1 goalie prospect)
Ian Cole
2018 1st
2018 3rd

And we got 1 goal in 2 playoff series. The trade is a bust by the very definition. He couldn’t have been more dissapointing from my perspective.

 

[heysmilinstrange]

To get ‘big game brass’ The penguins traded:

Gustavsson (pens #1 goalie prospect)
Ian Cole
2018 1st
2018 3rd

And we got 1 goal in 2 playoff series. The trade is a bust by the very definition. He couldn’t have been more dissapointing from my perspective.

Since we have him for 1 more season at retained salary, he's not a total bust. Given time to adjust to our system and players, I bet he'll be better than he was this season for us.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Ian Cole would have helped the Pens this playoffs.

 

[Pens x]

To get ‘big game brass’ The penguins traded:

Gustavsson (pens #1 goalie prospect)
Ian Cole
2018 1st
2018 3rd

And we got 1 goal in 2 playoff series. The trade is a bust by the very definition. He couldn’t have been more dissapointing from my perspective.

He just needs more time!!! -every homer pens fan

 

[Tom Hanks]

Brassard was a pretty good playmaker in these playoffs but his linemates (Sheary, Kessel, Rust v Caps, Kuhnhackl)struggled to finish. He had a groin injury which takes a while to fully come back from and he did it just before the playoffs so we didn’t get to see him at full strength.

Another year at 3 million is a bargain and he’ll do really well.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

He just needs more time!!! -every homer pens fan

It's not about being a homer. It's about acknowledging the reality. Hossa took awhile to gel with his linemates/system. So did Niksanen. So did Schultz

People act like real life NHL is some freakin video game

 

[robsenz]

Brassard is nowhere as good as the reputation he's been given unfortunately.

 

[Tom Hanks]

He just needs more time!!! -every homer pens fan

Completely ignores groin injury right before the playoffs - you

 

[Jacob]

Yeah his skating was shit when he came back from his injury. Like Bonino bad.

 

[Critical13]

He's hurt, playing with Sheary and Kuhnhackl, and not getting the icetime he's used to. I'd say there's an explanation in there somewhere.

I would say there is an excuse in there somewhere. I didn't like his game all playoffs. After all the hyping of Sheary I've listened to over the last two years, hard to look at him as a negative.

 

[rent free]

I'm honestly waiting to find out what the injuries were for the Pens. Malkin was playing at no greater than 60% and Kessel had to be playing with some sort of broken leg. Or maybe he ate one too many cheeseburgers.

kessel was playing hurt all year long

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

kessel was playing hurt all year long

Eh more like closer to March when he got injured and took a tumble into the boards.
Prior to that he was really carrying the Pens while Sid/Geno were quiet

 

[rent free]

Eh more like closer to March when he got injured and took a tumble into the boards.
Prior to that he was really carrying the Pens while Sid/Geno were quiet

either the coach or gm said kessel was playing hurt all year with minor injuries.

 

[haveandare]

He's a good player but he needs other talent to work with, he's not the kind of guy who can carry a line with lesser players like Crosby and Malkin can.

Pens are kind of built with mostly meh wingers who get elevated by playing with elite centers and the couple of excellent wingers they have in Kessel and Guentzel. Makes sense when you have Crosby and Malkin for those guys to play with, but it's not surprising that Brass wasn't able to do the same. He played his best in NYR when he was on a line with similarly talented players.

EDIT: I don't mean that this is an excuse as much as it's just a truth about a player that a GM and coach need to come to terms with if they want him to succeed. Almost every player has something like this - some don't have great foot speed, some have poor shots, some are easily bullied by tougher players, etc. He generally can't carry a line with lesser players. It's not all that rare or unique to him.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Brassard was terrible, no excuse for it.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

This thread is almost 50/50 between people who think he stank and people who thought he did the best he could nursing an injury / playing with dead weight.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Brassard was terrible, no excuse for it.

Name 1 effective hockey player outside of Jagr who played with a ripped groin

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

either the coach or gm said kessel was playing hurt all year with minor injuries.

Those are sound snippets, believe your own eyes not what a gm/coach says

Sullivan said something like: Kessel wasn't injured at all

GMJR said something like: yea Kessel was injured all year

Everyone who watched the Pens closely saw a dramatic drop in play and shot velocity since that tumble into the boards

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Name 1 effective hockey player outside of Jagr who played with a ripped groin

No.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Brassard was really impacted by a groin injury leading into the playoffs. He was also playing on a line with Kessel, whose play was also crippled by some mysterious injury, the rotating 3rd wheel on that line never added up to anything significant.

 

[Crosbyfan]

I'm honestly waiting to find out what the injuries were for the Pens. Malkin was playing at no greater than 60% and Kessel had to be playing with some sort of broken leg. Or maybe he ate one too many cheeseburgers.

Or switched to a veggiedog diet...he just wasn't the same on whatever it was...wasn't the same as his normally saturated self

 

[madinsomniac]

I have trouble believing the pens about any injury because they outright lie so much... Crosby's broken neck was called a prolonged concussion... letang was going to be fine last year then suddenly he has spinal fusion surgery... its always like that....

I don't believe that the fact that Brassard ripped up his groin right before the playoffs had nothing to do with him getting tdemoted to the fourth line in the playoffs
Just like its impossible for me to believe phil Kessel, coming of his best regular season ever, suddenly decided not to shoot or skate fast in the playoffs for non injury related things

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I have trouble believing the pens about any injury because they outright lie so much... Crosby's broken neck was called a prolonged concussion... letang was going to be fine last year then suddenly he has spinal fusion surgery... its always like that....

I don't believe that the fact that Brassard ripped up his groin right before the playoffs had nothing to do with him getting tdemoted to the fourth line in the playoffs
Just like its impossible for me to believe phil Kessel, coming of his best regular season ever, suddenly decided not to shoot or skate fast in the playoffs for non injury related things

I do mainly agree with what you said, the Pens, and NHL teams in general are very shady regarding injury... However, I legitimately believe that they mis-diagnosed Sid's neck injury as a concussion, due to the symptoms. Hell it could have even been a concussion on top of the neck injury.