Ivan13
Not posting anymore
He's going to score 30 points and suddenly the Avs are going to have to pay the guy.
I'd pass on that.
He's going to score 30 points and suddenly the Avs are going to have to pay the guy.
He's going to score 30 points and suddenly the Avs are going to have to pay the guy.
Meh he’ll get 1.7-2.2 like HoldenHe's going to score 30 points and suddenly the Avs are going to have to pay the guy.
SellOn Tim and Sid just now: "Ryan Graves is one of the best defensemen in the game of hockey. He's phenomenal."
It's so obvious those two don't watch any non-Canadian teams. I guarantee that opinion is mostly based on stat watching with a dash of recency bias. He's playing quite well for what he is, but leading the league in +/- on a team that has the Avs goal differential isn't as impressive as it sounds.On Tim and Sid just now: "Ryan Graves is one of the best defensemen in the game of hockey. He's phenomenal."
Sell
Six months from now:
Tim and Sid are also morons, so.It's so obvious those two don't watch any non-Canadian teams. I guarantee that opinion is mostly based on stat watching with a dash of recency bias. He's playing quite well for what he is, but leading the league in +/- on a team that has the Avs goal differential isn't as impressive as it sounds.
I just hate the fact that it seems like Graves takes the same high stick penalties that should be avoidable. I mean.. you're 6'5.. why are you taking high stick penalties.
He's falling into that Nick Holden role IMO where he brings some good things to the table, and he's really good in spurts, but you don't want to rely on him to be a regular top 4 guy on a playoff team.
I wouldn't say it's a sure thing that he's going to crash down to earth. The biggest knock I had against him, and what I thought would surely prevent him from ever being a top 4 guy, was how many risks he took offensively and on breakouts. Eventually, those low percentage plays would catch up to him, because he doesn't have the talent of a guy like Subban who can consistently pull those off. But one thing that he's really cleaned up lately is his decision making in that regard. He's still jumping into the play at times, but he's way smarter about when to do so, and it's contributed to his recent goal outburst. He's also playing it simpler on the breakout.
It's possible that he's adapting to the NHL game and we'll see more consistency from him that would enable him to be a solid #4. I'm not going to crown him that based on 8 games, but I won't discount it either.
Frankly I want him to be that high-risk player. When he tries to be more conservative/passive, that's when he looks really bad. Case in point: That feeble-as-hell attempt to block the shot from Tkachuk on the PK. He wasn't even close to it. They should just quit trying to get him to do that, because he's just not good at it. He's much better when he goes into the corners and battles for the puck, and when he jumps into the play. Just be aggressive and, well, accept the consequences when and where they happen. I think one reason why he plays reasonably well with Cale is that he skates pretty well for a big guy and has more puck skill than Z. He also keeps the opposition honest with his scoring ability. They can't just key in on #8 when he's on the ice.
Also, while he's not great at getting his shot through traffic, he appears to be pretty good at wrecking the cars that get in his way.