GDT: Final Pre-season game: San Jose Karlssons @ Vegas Other-Karlsson | 5pm PT | NHL Network

[Pinkfloyd]

I don’t think anyone is debating whether Burns can take over a game or not. At his best he absolutely can on talent alone. However, like a couple of people have pointed out, those games are few and far in between. I wish that Vlasic’s brain was in Burns body but it isn’t, unfortunately Burns has rocks in his head. Problem is when he isn’t at his best he is a liability on the ice with terrible pinches, turning over the puck or icing it with god awful stretch passes, and terrible lapses in the dzone leading to goals against. Much like Jones, when Burns is focused and on his game he can flat out win the game by himself. when the focus isn’t there it’s flat out infuriating to watch which is the case more often than not.

I think people exaggerate how often Burns is really off. He is not off more than he is on.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

One has to think that Burns has a few adjustments to make. Our offense has run through Burns for the last few seasons. With EK65 the load can now be distributed better but Burns may take time to get comfortable with that scenario. Both from an ego perspective as well as a gameplay perspective. These guys are pro athletes after all.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

One has to think that Burns has a few adjustments to make. Our offense has run through Burns for the last few seasons. With EK65 the load can now be distributed better but Burns may take time to get comfortable with that scenario. Both from an ego perspective as well as a gameplay perspective. These guys are pro athletes after all.

Honestly, the only adjustment should be playing slightly less overall and not handling the puck as much on the power play. Given his experience when Boyle was here, he shouldn't have much of a problem adjusting. That and none of the vets have their compete meters ramped up yet because it isn't the regular season yet.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Honestly, the only adjustment should be playing slightly less overall and not handling the puck as much on the power play. Given his experience when Boyle was here, he shouldn't have much of a problem adjusting. That and none of the vets have their compete meters ramped up yet because it isn't the regular season yet.

Yeah. The Boyle example is a good one though the roles are slightly different. Boyle was the leader on D when Burns joined. For the last few years Burns has been the focal point of our offense. For him to take a step back could be harder for him because it may make him think that he now has a reduced role.

Again, this is all hypothetical ofcourse but I can totally see it being hard for any pro athlete.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Yeah. The Boyle example is a good one though the roles are slightly different. Boyle was the leader on D when Burns joined. For the last few years Burns has been the focal point of our offense. For him to take a step back could be harder for him because it may make him think that he now has a reduced role.

Again, this is all hypothetical ofcourse but I can totally see it being hard for any pro athlete.

For a lot of athletes, I'd agree with you. For Burns, I just don't see it. He's never come off in any way having that kind of an ego. Boyle definitely did. Burns doesn't seem to have it from my perspective. Luckily when Burns is on the ice at evens, the offense will still pretty much run through him. He should still be the one predominantly with Thornton and Pavelski. And on the PP, he should feel more free to roam around and set up for one-timers to score instead of making plays and shooting through traffic.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

For a lot of athletes, I'd agree with you. For Burns, I just don't see it. He's never come off in any way having that kind of an ego. Boyle definitely did. Burns doesn't seem to have it from my perspective. Luckily when Burns is on the ice at evens, the offense will still pretty much run through him. He should still be the one predominantly with Thornton and Pavelski. And on the PP, he should feel more free to roam around and set up for one-timers to score instead of making plays and shooting through traffic.

For 5-on-5 it really should make no difference. With the PP unit, I think Burns needs to just settle down and not handle the puck as much as he used to it.

I think part of it is just settling down as the season goes on and making the adjustments he needs to make.

 

[WSS11]

I think people exaggerate how often Burns is really off. He is not off more than he is on.

During the course of his sharks career (especially the Norris winning year) I’d agree with you. Last year though, no he was definitely off far more than he was on. Hoping to see more of the Burns from two years ago

 

[Pinkfloyd]

During the course of his sharks career (especially the Norris winning year) I’d agree with you. Last year though, no he was definitely off far more than he was on. Hoping to see more of the Burns from two years ago

I just find it hard to justify that sort of comment for someone who had 67 points last year. I definitely agree that when he's bad, he's really bad but he was pretty consistently solid from February on and he was consistently a scoring threat even when he was defensively poor in some of those games. Some people may want to point to his -16 but a lot of that really only comes from five games in the first half of the year.

 

[SharksAddict]

I just find it hard to justify that sort of comment for someone who had 67 points last year. I definitely agree that when he's bad, he's really bad but he was pretty consistently solid from February on and he was consistently a scoring threat even when he was defensively poor in some of those games. Some people may want to point to his -16 but a lot of that really only comes from five games in the first half of the year.

His raw talent allows him to be productive even when he is playing well below the level he is capable of. Then there's the defensive side of things....which is rarely pretty with Burns.

 

[WSS11]

I just find it hard to justify that sort of comment for someone who had 67 points last year. I definitely agree that when he's bad, he's really bad but he was pretty consistently solid from February on and he was consistently a scoring threat even when he was defensively poor in some of those games. Some people may want to point to his -16 but a lot of that really only comes from five games in the first half of the year.

I don’t think +/- is an end all be all measurement of a player but it’s defintely an indicator of their performance in different situations during the game. You referenced his 67 points which is great and but looking at his game log from last year I see quite a few multi-point games that he was a -2 to -4 which tells me he had a good night on the PP and very bad night 5v5 or he just fell flat on his face 5v5. Probably the former in most of those games but still bad. The reason I’m nitpicking at Burns is that I saw him lose a board battle in his own zone in an elimination game in the Vegas series and flat out quit on the play after he lost it. I saw him do that type of stuff constantly last year and it drove me insane.

I don’t know if he was gassed last year because of the extra minutes he had to play due to not having a reliable 3rd pairing or if he mentally wasn’t there but Burns needs to be better at the little things this year. Hopefully having a more balanced defensive core will help Braun and Vlasic rebound as well.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

His raw talent allows him to be productive even when he is playing well below the level he is capable of. Then there's the defensive side of things....which is rarely pretty with Burns.

Playing below what he's capable of isn't really the issue. If he's producing, that's what counts. That's what he is here for. The other thing about the defensive side of things is that he was paired up with a non-NHL'er in Martin this past season and a rookie that the coach was giving a tight leash or Brenden Dillon who would be playing above his head there. A good solid partner like Ryan seems to be developing into will probably see a lot of his defensive issues work itself out.

I don’t think +/- is an end all be all measurement of a player but it’s defintely an indicator of their performance in different situations during the game. You referenced his 67 points which is great and but looking at his game log from last year I see quite a few multi-point games that he was a -2 to -4 which tells me he had a good night on the PP and very bad night 5v5 or he just fell flat on his face 5v5. Probably the former in most of those games but still bad. The reason I’m nitpicking at Burns is that I saw him lose a board battle in his own zone in an elimination game in the Vegas series and flat out quit on the play after he lost it. I saw him do that type of stuff constantly last year and it drove me insane.

I don’t know if he was gassed last year because of the extra minutes he had to play due to not having a reliable 3rd pairing or if he mentally wasn’t there but Burns needs to be better at the little things this year. Hopefully having a more balanced defensive core will help Braun and Vlasic rebound as well.

One, I disagree with your premise. +/- is definitely NOT an indicator of their performance in different situations. Two, you saw four games that qualify for what you're talking about regarding multi-point games. Using four games as an example of that is silly. It's an 82 game schedule. Guys like him are going to have a lot of different things happen as a high event player. I also think it's questionable to go off of you thinking that he quit on a play when I'm pretty certain not everyone is going to agree with you on that one especially when it was known he was playing injured.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

You forgot Spott.

Man. That is probably Tier 1 as well.

We are pretty lucky. Can pass the blame around pretty evenly this year.

 

[hockeyball]

Man. That is probably Tier 1 as well.

We are pretty lucky. Can pass the blame around pretty evenly this year.

I think we are all forgetting the most obvious place to put blame, Adidas. If the Sharks suck this year, it's those stupid new jersey's!

 

[Used As A Shield]

I think we are all forgetting the most obvious place to put blame, Adidas. If the Sharks suck this year, it's those stupid new jersey's!

Too heavy.

 

[Jargon]

Kane is my scapegoat for everything.

Thornton not playing well? Kane's been bullying him.

PDB making bad decisions? Kane's been stealing his notebook and writing his own ideas into it.

Bad PP? Kane is jealous of the 1st PP, so he arrogantly ruins it anyway he can (ties Thornton's boot laces together, breaks Pav's sticks, makes Burn's jump wildly out of position to try and stop breakways, etc.)

Burns playing bad defense? Kane's been coaching him.

Melker still on the team AND bad? Kane's -- no, this one is still Melker.

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

Spott runs the shitty PP, he's gonna be my scapegoat of the year because it's amazing how he used to run one of the best and now the one he currently runs gives up SH chances frequently.

 

[Anomie2029]

Jones will be the number 1 scapegoat this year, followed by Burns.
Jumbo and Pavs will get the 'too old, too slow' treatment.
Melker will be justifiably criticised, but realistically he is a 4th line player so the impact of his play will be exaggerated.

Spott copped it last year, but ultimately we finish 16th in PP%, so it's not like he is horrific. But with EK65 added to the team, you'd want it to be a top 10 PP team minimum.

 

[Anomie2029]

Spott runs the ****ty PP, he's gonna be my scapegoat of the year because it's amazing how he used to run one of the best and now the one he currently runs gives up SH chances frequently.

Funnily enough, in 2017-18 the Sharks finished equal 1st with 3 short-handed goals against all season...

... I doubt the 3 in one game will happen in-season.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Man, it’s cute that this board is high in Merkley but turns on Burns this fast.

 

[one2gamble]

Man, it’s cute that this board is high in Merkley but turns on Burns this fast.

Burns went full Pejorative Slur last game, you never go full Pejorative Slur

 

[Boy Hedican]

Man, it’s cute that this board is high in Merkley but turns on Burns this fast.

Attention spans are short these days. Micro-conclusions are what’s Gucci or what ever the hell that means.

 

[Sysreq]

Attention spans are short these days. Micro-conclusions are what’s Gucci or what ever the hell that means.

Gucci is good. What’s good my guy.

 

[tiburon12]

Man. That is probably Tier 1 as well.

We are pretty lucky. Can pass the blame around pretty evenly this year.

Oooooh, so that's why all the analysts said we have "an embarrassment of riches"

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Oooooh, so that's why all the analysts said we have "an embarrassment of riches"

What they really meant was we have riches of embarrassments.

 

[Jargon]

Man, it’s cute that this board is high in Merkley but turns on Burns this fast.

I know. He’s never been good, I hear! Ever!!