Erik Karlsson (Part 6)

[Doctor Soraluce]

Lol at thinking couture has been good all season. He was miserable for the first 10 games of the season. Now he is a little better but his point production is deceiving to how he was actually playing.

Exactly. If you look at the numbers, he didn't really take off until Kane was added to his line. It's been a mutually beneficial pairing with those 2 but Couture has for years needed someone to drive the bus the way that Kane is or how Meier did for him 2 years ago and somewhat last year.

Exactly why Couture would be an excellent top line winger if we had any actual top-6 centers other than Hertl lol

Agree 100%. Couture isn't even that great in the FO circle but he does seem to be decent defensively in his own zone though which makes it complicated. It would be great to have the talent to move Couture to wing though. He could probably put up 40 with a good playmaking center. As is though, his game looks a lot better when Hertl is playing well and drawing the #1 defensive matchups from other teams leaving Couture to play against 2nd pairs.

 

[Danvilleshark]

The NHL awarded the Honda West Division Stars of the Month to Sharks forward Logan Couture and local frontline hero Martha Godinez for the month of February.
Godinez, a medical assistant and Sharks season-ticket holder, has been working around the clock to fight the spread of COVID-19 and has fought against the odds to provide a caring and comfortable environment for her patients.
Couture was tied for the division lead in points during the month of February, scoring 12 points in 10 appearances. For the year, Couture leads the division in goals scored with 13.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

The NHL awarded the Honda West Division Stars of the Month to Sharks forward Logan Couture and local frontline hero Martha Godinez for the month of February.
Godinez, a medical assistant and Sharks season-ticket holder, has been working around the clock to fight the spread of COVID-19 and has fought against the odds to provide a caring and comfortable environment for her patients.
Couture was tied for the division lead in points during the month of February, scoring 12 points in 10 appearances. For the year, Couture leads the division in goals scored with 13.

Great. Jones has won this too. Go look at when Coutures scoring really took off this season. It was when he got Kane on his line to do all the dirty work. Couture is a great sniper and opportunistic but he doesn't drive play by himself. He wasn't doing very good with Meier this season or anyone else until Kane bailed him out and started creating chaos that gave Couture a number of easy tap in rebounds. Kane is also much better on the forecheck and defensively which creates turnovers for their line to take advantage of. Right now the forward lines would be more depleted if Kane came out than Couture.

 

[stator]

You're really worried about the difference between that 15 goals per 82 games and 6.4 per 82 games in San Jose? Yeah, it's a drop but it's not the most important determining factor for assessing play level.

I think for EK65, he's a setup man and that's how one has to evaluate him on. Not a goal scorer, but someone who can quickly move the puck out of the dzone, pass, and setup a good attack. The problem is there are not good stats to reliably determine that. Maybe assists, but that doesn't speak directly to moving the puck.

But perhaps that quick acceleration with the puck is what's exposing him to groin pulls and other related injuries. Notwithstanding, the Sharks haven't had a defender with this skill since Dan Boyle, imo. Even then, EK65 is probably better at it than Boyle was (when healthy).

 

[Sensinitis]

Has he been any better lately? I see his PPG has been improving and he’s up to a +1. I’m strictly stat watching though

 

[Pavelski2112]

Has he been any better lately? I see his PPG has been improving and he’s up to a +1. I’m strictly stat watching though

Karlsson has been our best player over the past ~6 games and it's not even close

 

[WSS11]

Has he been any better lately? I see his PPG has been improving and he’s up to a +1. I’m strictly stat watching though

Hes looked like old Karlsson. I think the coaching staff just let him off the leash and now he’s jumping in on the rush almost every time

 

[TheBeard]

Hes looked like old Karlsson. I think the coaching staff just let him off the leash and now he’s jumping in on the rush almost every time

I don’t think that’s what it was, you don’t pay a guy that much and tell him to be a different player. I think the injuries were huge.

 

[Barrie22]

Hes looked like old Karlsson. I think the coaching staff just let him off the leash and now he’s jumping in on the rush almost every time

Yeah this is what i do not understand about the last coaching staff and for the most part about this coaching staff. You have 2 veteran defenseman that are/were the 2 best offensive defenseman for the past 5 years and the coaches decided to basically muzzle them and put them on the shortest of leashes when it comes to offensive creativity.

The systems should be built around those 2 players, not them trying to put those 2 players into a box that neuteres them.

 

[WSS11]

I don’t think that’s what it was, you don’t pay a guy that much and tell him to be a different player. I think the injuries were huge.

He was being limited to stretch passes and rarely roaming free like he is now. Injuries may have played a part but he’s absolutely being utilized differently than he was.

 

[Pavelski2112]

I don’t think that’s what it was, you don’t pay a guy that much and tell him to be a different player. I think the injuries were huge.

I think it's a little of both. Injuries hampered his ability to do what he wants to do, but I do think that there was an insistence by the staff to adhere to the system no matter the player. Look at how EK was under PDB - it was the same as any other dman. Shoot from the point hoping for tips.

 

[TheBeard]

He was being limited to stretch passes and rarely roaming free like he is now. Injuries may have played a part but he’s absolutely being utilized differently than he was.

I honestly think they told him to do what he can until he's comfortable. Groin injuries severely hamper your ability to skate, trust me, I know, but it also doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that. I think mentally he also took a backseat in not being the driver of the offense to the more tenured guys. As far as I believe he basically realized that he had to be the cog that made the machine run. I straight up don't think BB is assertive enough to be able to convince EK65 to change his game.

But maybe I'm wrong

 

[Agent Zub]

Does anyone have the clip of the pass that Karlsson made? That was visionary stuff, it would be a shame to only appreciate it once lol

 

[Sensinitis]

Thanks for the input HFSharks. I hated seeing all that main board hate in the early goings. He’s known to be a slow starter so I’m happy he’s finally kicked it in high gear for you guys. Not many players are better than him when he’s at his best. Enjoy the ride!

 

[one2gamble]

Does anyone have the clip of the pass that Karlsson made? That was visionary stuff, it would be a shame to only appreciate it once lol

I wtf'd so hard on that pass. He's giving me flashbacks of prime jumbo right now

 

[Agent Zub]

I wtf'd so hard on that pass. He's giving me flashbacks of prime jumbo right now

Same. Can't believe Heddy didn't make a comment on it. He's usually good about that stuff. Maybe it broke his brain too lol

 

[hohosaregood]

I honestly think they told him to do what he can until he's comfortable. Groin injuries severely hamper your ability to skate, trust me, I know, but it also doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that. I think mentally he also took a backseat in not being the driver of the offense to the more tenured guys. As far as I believe he basically realized that he had to be the cog that made the machine run. I straight up don't think BB is assertive enough to be able to convince EK65 to change his game.

But maybe I'm wrong

He definitely wasn't skating at the start of the season like he is right now. It's kinda like he was purposely not pushing his groin as hard as he can out of fear of tearing things again. He's moving a lot better now than he has in a long time.

 

[TheBeard]

He definitely wasn't skating at the start of the season like he is right now. It's kinda like he was purposely not pushing his groin as hard as he can out of fear of tearing things again. He's moving a lot better now than he has in a long time.

I don’t blame him. Soreness and reinjuries feel very similar. It’s hard to fully stretch your stride when there’s constant tightness. It’s like your fingers when you’re in cold weather. They just don’t function as casually as you expect.

 

[Groo]

Karlsson, on #SJSharks

being in "reset" mode: "Obviously, I did not sign here to go through a rebuild. Go through what I did for 10 years in Ottawa. "We need to find a way to build with the core that we have. "I do think we have a good group of guys here."

 

[hohosaregood]

Karlsson, on #SJSharks

being in "reset" mode: "Obviously, I did not sign here to go through a rebuild. Go through what I did for 10 years in Ottawa. "We need to find a way to build with the core that we have. "I do think we have a good group of guys here."

He's getting a lot of flak for this even though it sounds like a generic hockey answer.

 

[Groo]

He's getting a lot of flak for this even though it sounds like a generic hockey answer.

I finally made it to the main board. This now makes a lot more sense

 

[Barrie22]

He's getting a lot of flak for this even though it sounds like a generic hockey answer.

The main boards would be upset if he saved a hundred burning buildings while cooking every one a meal to keep them from being hungry.

 

[OrrNumber4]

Reading the main boards take on this reminds me that I shouldn't take their opinion on anything with much other than salt.

I know how Karlsson has been playing, and know that the people on the main boards are completely off. Yet, when there is a thread about something I'm not as familiar with (the situation in Buffalo, if Crosby is available for trade, what's the deal on Binnington's contract), I'll generally find whatever the main boards say to be the truth. Best I stick to what the actual fans say and then discount for bias.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Main board hates Karlsson and looooooves to shit on the Sharks, its a powerful combo

 

[SharksFan17]

It think playing closer to 20min a game instead of 30 is helping too.