Confirmed Signing with Link: [FLA] Nikita Gusev signs with the Panthers (1 year, $1M)

[Puckclektr]

As a Devils fan who has watched every single game last year and this year, I can tell you with full confidence our coaching staff gave him every opportunity to succeed. Not only was he given a chance in the top 6 multiple times, he was even positioned with the same players he had massive success with at the end of last year (Bratt and Zacha).

"your incredible coach wouldn't even give him a chance to find his game -all he got was 20 lousy games. Ruff did nothing to help Gusev find his game back"

Do you realize what league he's in? In a shortened 56-game COVID season where every game matters even more, the fact that he was given 20 chances (which is more than 1/3rd of the entire season), means that you legitimately cannot say he wasn't given a oppotunity. He was lucky to get even 10 games in with the way he was playing.

"If he is so bad - I got news about New Jersey Devils."

If anything, this helps me prove my point. 1) I never said we were good this year so this point is kind of irrelevant, and 2) if we are so bad as to how you are implying, then this makes Goose look even worse. He is a "proven player" by your standards, walked into training camp essentially locked in with a top 6 spot, and yet was out-played by younger players and rookies by the likes of Bratt, Johnsson (who hasn't even been good this year), Sharangovich, Koukkanen, and even Merkley.

He had everything going for him this year and failed. He's not even rebounding that well on a much stronger Panthers team. You can't point the fingers at the systems or coaching when you can see it's clearly the player at fault.

i agree. A fair assessment is that most of us thought Gusev would be about 40 points in 56 games this year. When you have players on the taxi squad that worked hard and deserved a spot over him, that is on Gusev. How many players that weren’t 100% considered to be full time players this year outplayed him? Kuokkannen, Sharangovich, Bastian,MCLeod are just a few. Not to mention other players that didn’t get lots of games that deserved a spot over him like Maltev and Boqvist and Merkley

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

I did not say that, but clearly Gusev wasn't its problem.

No one purported him to be the problem.

He just clearly wasn’t a solution.

 

[VVP]

Come on. He missed 2 weeks on Covid protocol. He never really got in the groove. The way Devils treated him was just not fair, specially considering he was the second best point getter in his first season. I will be cheering against the Devils for many years to come.

 

[goonybird]

Come on. He missed 2 weeks on Covid protocol. He never really got in the groove. The way Devils treated him was just not fair, specially considering he was the second best point getter in his first season. I will be cheering against the Devils for many years to come.

the way he treated the Devils was not fair

 

[VVP]

the way he treated the Devils was not fair

what? He gifted the Devils the remainder of his contract for a chance with another club. He is a total class act.

 

[VijayPatel11]

The goose has indeed been very loose recently

 

[goonybird]

what? He gifted the Devils the remainder of his contract for a chance with another club. He is a total class act.

he's awful. The slowest player ever in NHL history including the 1920s and his passes are always waist high

 

[VVP]

he's awful. The slowest player ever in NHL history including the 1920s and his passes are always waist high

Amazing thing is this awful, the "slowest player" in NHL history will likely have more points in these SC playoffs than the entire Devils roster. Kinda sad

 

[Bankers Box]

Amazing thing is this awful, the "slowest player" in NHL history will likely have more points in these SC playoffs than the entire Devils roster. Kinda sad

I hope you didn’t think that was an actual clever response when you typed it out.

 

[VVP]

I hope you didn’t think that was an actual clever response when you typed it out.

Need a tissue or something? Don't worry, after Ruff is done with the Devils it will need another rebuild and 5 years later Devils may become competitive again. You may be looking at 2027-28 season, that is when the team may get into playoffs, but that is not a guarantee by any means. Imagine Gusev, the slowest player will have more playoff points than any Devils players until 2028. That is clever!

 

[Ratsreign]

I imagine Q is referring to NJ when he says, “there”. Although he could just mean “recently”, as he has been scratched some games since joining the Panthers.

"I think he's had a couple of real strong games, not just his production," Quenneville said of Gusev. "He seems like he has the puck more. I think defensively, where he's supposed to be around the ice, that's coming naturally to him. He's getting better conditioned. He hadn't been on the ice a while there. In a short amount of time, it looks like he's recaptured some of that pace to his game."
Already appearing in 10 games with the Panthers since he signed as a free agent last month, Gusev has recorded five points (two goals, three assists) in that span. Finding success in South Florida, those points match what he notched in 20 games prior to being cut loose by the Devils.
5 Takeaways: 'Unstoppable' Barkov's OT Winner Sends Panthers Past Stars

 

[goonybird]

Amazing thing is this awful, the "slowest player" in NHL history will likely have more points in these SC playoffs than the entire Devils roster. Kinda sad

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he had just as many in more games played.

 

[1865]

Amazing thing is this awful, the "slowest player" in NHL history will likely have more points in these SC playoffs than the entire Devils roster. Kinda sad

Going through your post history, it seems to be almost exclusively dedicated to Gusev and Russian hockey and you've pretty much only been posting here whilst he's played in the NHL. You ok Nikita?

 

[VVP]

Going through your post history, it seems to be almost exclusively dedicated to Gusev and Russian hockey and you've pretty much only been posting here whilst he's played in the NHL. You ok Nikita?

I can't believe you figured me out. Yes, I admit, I am Nikita. Right now I am here in sunny Florida. Most of my time I spent at the rink, doing power skating drills since coach Q is telling me how I need to work on my skating for the playoff run. In between the drills I get to the bench, get my phone out and respond to random comments on HFBoards, you know, HFBoards is the best!

 

[RasmusAndersson]

Gusev is just the prime example of a player who can't be relied upon but can score in the right circumstances. He's not good enough to be a primary scoring threat on any line, and he shouldn't be relied on as a top-6 forward because of it. But throw him with Barkov / Huberdeau or sheltered in the right situation and he'll put up some points because the pure offensive talent is there. He was clearly in way over his head in NJ, the situation soured, and he's not good enough to create consistent offence on his own. He's terribly inconsistent, but just his scoring ability does have some value in the right context. He just needs to play on a deeper team where he isn't relied on and can disappear for long stretches like he does.

 

[Blackjack]

I can't believe you figured me out. Yes, I admit, I am Nikita. Right now I am here in sunny Florida. Most of my time I spent at the rink, doing power skating drills since coach Q is telling me how I need to work on my skating for the playoff run. In between the drills I get to the bench, get my phone out and respond to random comments on HFBoards, you know, HFBoards is the best!

Very smart move going down to Florida, it's a great place to retire. Just ask your countryman in net.

 

[1865]

I can't believe you figured me out. Yes, I admit, I am Nikita. Right now I am here in sunny Florida. Most of my time I spent at the rink, doing power skating drills since coach Q is telling me how I need to work on my skating for the playoff run. In between the drills I get to the bench, get my phone out and respond to random comments on HFBoards, you know, HFBoards is the best!

You sneaky Russians!

 

[goonybird]

Amazing thing is this awful, the "slowest player" in NHL history will likely have more points in these SC playoffs than the entire Devils roster. Kinda sad

Looks like he had just as many GP + Pts.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

How did he go from having a solid rookie season to being so bad??? Will a team take a chance on him or is he most likely KHL bound and make a ton more money there?

 

[goonybird]

How did he go from having a solid rookie season to being so bad??? Will a team take a chance on him or is he most likely KHL bound and make a ton more money there?

I can't say why he regressed so poorly but he would absolutely be better with more open ice.

 

[HBK27]

Amazing thing is this awful, the "slowest player" in NHL history will likely have more points in these SC playoffs than the entire Devils roster. Kinda sad

BWAHAHAHAHA...how'd this work out for ya?

 

[CraigsList]

How did he go from having a solid rookie season to being so bad??? Will a team take a chance on him or is he most likely KHL bound and make a ton more money there?

I wonder if he’ll give it one more go on one of the Florida teams at league minimum. I’ve no idea what is up with him. Definitely looks like a flash in the pan though.

 

[vtdevils2k]

BWAHAHAHAHA...how'd this work out for ya?

Thread went quiet for awhile...I wonder why?

I wish Goose the best like I'm sure all Devils fans do as.

 

[VVP]

BWAHAHAHAHA...how'd this work out for ya?

Total failure! Thanks for bringing this up!

 

[drktmplr12]

low risk no reward