If they don't move Kovalchuk to LW, Pete needs to be fired

[MartyOwns]

I don't know if it was mentioned before but Kovy beautifully set up Gionta for that goal against the Jets. From the right side. But apparently that's nothing because he don't scores goals off rush!!

Kovy is more than fine, switching him over to the other side will absolutely do nothing. We have underarchievers like Zajac and you worry about Kovy who is one of the guys who is actually decent? Agree with Saugus here.

can we close this thread? i think we can all agree that kovy was brought here to dish it to stephen gionta, case closed.

zajac's success has always been dependent on who is on his wing. thats true for just about any center. im telling you that trying kovy on zajac's left (ideally with henrique on the right) might-MIGHT- solve both problems. no harm in trying

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

I don't know if it was mentioned before but Kovy beautifully set up Gionta for that goal against the Jets. From the right side. But apparently that's nothing because he don't scores goals off rush!!

Kovy is more than fine, switching him over to the other side will absolutely do nothing. We have underarchievers like Zajac and you worry about Kovy who is one of the guys who is actually decent? Agree with Saugus here.

That sweat pass he made to Gionta was a direct result of him not stopping right after gaining the zone, wich is something he did ALL THE TIME, when playing the left side.

can we close this thread? i think we can all agree that kovy was brought here to dish it to stephen gionta, case closed.

zajac's success has always been dependent on who is on his wing. thats true for just about any center. im telling you that trying kovy on zajac's left (ideally with henrique on the right) might-MIGHT- solve both problems. no harm in trying

What are you looking for out of Kovalchuk, seriously? We brought him from Atlanta where he was a one trick pony and now he's turned out to be a all around player, cause he's a team player and wanted to learn the proper way of playing the game... the "Devils way" of playing hockey and now you and a bunch of other posters want him to go back to his old roots?

Again, you should spend more time focusing on the players that are underachieving instead of those who are leading the team in pts and minutes played. You sound like those kids that think that goals are the only important stat in hockey when in reality, assists are just as valuable.

If Kovy had 22 goals and like 5 assits, you'd probably complain that he's turned into a selfish player and he should pass the puck more often so he can spread the wealth.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

Idk about moving him to LW, but I think Kovy's stats are a little misleading and he has underperformed. Even though he's gotten points he's had games that he's just been completely invisible. He hasn't been bad but he can certainly do better. I think he just needs to play better/get a better player on his wing, not necessarily switch wings.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Idk about moving him to LW, but I think Kovy's stats are a little misleading and he has underperformed. Even though he's gotten points he's had games that he's just been completely invisible. He hasn't been bad but he can certainly do better. I think he just needs to play better/get a better player on his wing, not necessarily switch wings.

Exactly.

Kovy was dynamite last year with two players who cycled the **** out of the opposition and weren't afraid to chase loose puck in corners (talking about Zajac and Parise BTW).

Now, you have a small russian and a revolving door of left wingers on his line and those left wingers are mostly waiver pickups or a 19 year old rookie. It seems pretty evident that the chemistry between what he had last year and what he has this year is night and day, making us scratch our heads as to why he's not part of the elite in terms of goal scored this season.

 

[Chessarmy]

Those of you that are supporting Kovy at RW need to go back and watch the 2nd half of the 2010-11 season Devils team under Lemaire and look at what a force Kovalchuk was. His position? LW.

 

[Chessarmy]

not buying the "he needs a better winger" argument either - he was an absolute beast with Nick Palmieri playing right wing with him.

Its about putting him back at his natural position

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

Those of you that are supporting Kovy at RW need to go back and watch the 2nd half of the 2010-11 season Devils team under Lemaire and look at what a force Kovalchuk was. His position? LW.

Those of you who have already forgotten that Kovalchuk was a pure beast last year while finishing 5th in league scoring and carried our team to the finals played where?

If you answered the left side... you lose

 

[Bleedred]

not buying the "he needs a better winger" argument either - he was an absolute beast with Nick Palmieri playing right wing with him.

Its about putting him back at his natural position

I think if he were to stay on RW then he needs a better winger. He may be able to play with mediocrity if he's on the LW though. I still hate that Deboer insists that we play righties on right, lefties on left. It handcuffs what could be otherwise great line combos, and even the players we can acquire I think.

 

[Chessarmy]

Those of you who have already forgotten that Kovalchuk was a pure beast last year while finishing 5th in league scoring and carried our team to the finals played where?

If you answered the left side... you lose

I think that guy ^^^^ had something to do with it

 

[Chessarmy]

I think if he were to stay on RW then he needs a better winger. He may be able to play with mediocrity if he's on the LW though. I still hate that Deboer insists that we play righties on right, lefties on left. It handcuffs what could be otherwise great line combos, and even the players we can acquire I think.

exactly. Kovy can play with a paper bag if he's on the LW, he proved this by putting the team on his back with Nick ****ing Palmieri on the right.

Fact is DeBoer probably has an ego problem that prohibits him from admitting to himself and the fans that his ideas don't work

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

I think that guy ^^^^ had something to do with it

If you're saying that we're missing a top 6 left winger who can cycle the puck... then you're 100% correct.

The NHL is just too good of a league to have two "average" players on your line and expect your stud to perform night in and night out. We are basically playing right into the oppositions hands by doing that but since Pete has no other option ATM, he's forced to utilise just about anyone on our 1st line.

If we don't have a left winger who can cycle the puck down low, not only does it hurt Kovalchuk but it also makes Zajac look like a complete turd.

The addition of a top #6 left winger would revive Zajac, help out Kovy, bring some much needed balance and depth to our lineup.

exactly. Kovy can play with a paper bag if he's on the LW, he proved this by putting the team on his back with Nick ****ing Palmieri on the right.

Fact is DeBoer probably has an ego problem that prohibits him from admitting to himself and the fans that his ideas don't work

So DeBoer has a big ego problem cause he doesn't want to utilise Kovy on the left? As if Kovalchuk will all of a sudden start scoring a goal a game if he's put on the left side with the same linemates.

Jesus Murphy

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I think that guy ^^^^ had something to do with it

So does Kovy need an elite winger on his left? Maybe just your run of the mill top 6 player would do, but we wouldn't know since his wings have been BOTTOM 6 TRASH! Love Poni but he is a trash first line player. How about we acquire a top 6 player and then we can see.

and I'm not that opposed to the idea of moving him, but the people who vehemently assert that he should be moved grind my gears.

 

[apice3*]

Those of you that are supporting Kovy at RW need to go back and watch the 2nd half of the 2010-11 season Devils team under Lemaire and look at what a force Kovalchuk was. His position? LW.

What about the first half of 2010-11 where he was a LW when Parise went down? 10 goals. Position? LW.

His numbers are going to be the same either way. Anyone who thinks his going to drastically improve at LW is fooling themselves. It's a very feeble minded way of thinking. He's the same player.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

What about the first half of 2010-11 where he was a LW when Parise went down? 10 goals. Position? LW.

His numbers are going to be the same either way. Anyone who thinks his going to drastically improve at LW is fooling themselves. It's a very feeble minded way of thinking. He's the same player.

boom goes the dynamite.

 

[Chessarmy]

So DeBoer has a big ego problem cause he doesn't want to utilise Kovy on the left? As if Kovalchuk will all of a sudden start scoring a goal a game if he's put on the left side with the same linemates.

Jesus Murphy

I know you think its ridiculous, but the guy is ultra stubborn about his coaching decisions which leads me to believe he has trouble admitting failure. Kovy at RW so far (in my mind) is a failure.

It is what it is though, he isn't moving over to the left and its up to Kovy himself to make the most out of the situation. If they're insistent on keeping him there, I do agree with you that playing with Matteau/Butler/Ponikarovsky/Josefson/Geek #1/Geek #2 isn't going to cut it

 

[Chessarmy]

What about the first half of 2010-11 where he was a LW when Parise went down? 10 goals. Position? LW.

His numbers are going to be the same either way. Anyone who thinks his going to drastically improve at LW is fooling themselves. It's a very feeble minded way of thinking. He's the same player.

I understand your point, but I don't think its fair to use the first half as an example. Everybody on the team was terrible at the time.

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

I know you think its ridiculous, but the guy is ultra stubborn about his coaching decisions which leads me to believe he has trouble admitting failure. Kovy at RW so far (in my mind) is a failure.

It is what it is though, he isn't moving over to the left and its up to Kovy himself to make the most out of the situation. If they're insistent on keeping him there, I do agree with you that playing with Matteau/Butler/Ponikarovsky/Josefson/Geek #1/Geek #2 isn't going to cut it

How is Kovy playing the right side a failure when he finished 5th in league scoring less then 12 months ago? Can it be that we had a legit top #6 forward on the left side who knew how to cycle the puck and create some time and space for Kovalchuk?

The answer would be absolutely. Now, we just need Lou to bring us a player that can cycle the puck down low and we'll be right back to where we were last year... meaning MVP performances out of IK and our #1 center will magically reappear from his sleep.

 

[SteveCangialosi123]

I know you think its ridiculous, but the guy is ultra stubborn about his coaching decisions which leads me to believe he has trouble admitting failure. Kovy at RW so far (in my mind) is a failure.

It is what it is though, he isn't moving over to the left and its up to Kovy himself to make the most out of the situation. If they're insistent on keeping him there, I do agree with you that playing with Matteau/Butler/Ponikarovsky/Josefson/Geek #1/Geek #2 isn't going to cut it

This is what needs to happen.

 

[Chessarmy]

So if Kovy can put up great numbers playing with Palmieri, why can't he do the same with Ponikarovsky on the right?

 

[Hockey Sports Fan]

No more one timers off the rush for Kovalchuk. Go look up the goal he scored against the Coyotes while MacLean was coach (yea, I know).

That won't happen again while he plays RW

...except he skates down the LW more often than the RW anyway on the rush... Seriously, he practically already plays LW on offense and I imagine that's why Deboer hasn't bothered to move him over when we're stronger at LW than RW in the first place.

Wait...how'd he get over there?

 

[DEVILS ALL THE WAY*]

So if Kovy can put up great numbers playing with Palmieri, why can't he do the same with Ponikarovsky on the right?

Palmieri played what 15 games on his wing? Let's not act like he stayed there the entire year now.

 

[Chessarmy]

...except he skates down the LW more often than the RW anyway on the rush... Seriously, he practically already plays LW on offense and I imagine that's why Deboer hasn't bothered to move him over when we're stronger at LW than RW in the first place.

Wait...how'd he get over there?

 

[apice3*]

I understand your point, but I don't think its fair to use the first half as an example. Everybody on the team was terrible at the time.

I don't think it's fair to use the second half, because everyone was overachieving at that time.

When Kovy is in transition, he breaks through the zone whatever side he pleases no matter what position he plays. When he's on defense, he is better suited as a RW because his stick side is close to the board, which makes for easier clears and breakouts, and he's covering (usually) a left handed shot on the point which makes it easier for him to take away passes and shots. When he's on offense, we're cycling anyway so it doesn't make a difference.

He's going to put up the same numbers no matter where he is because of his style of play and our offensive system, and he's going to be positionally better on defense at RW. That's why very few players play off wing, and ones that do are generally known as defensive liabilities. It's not a coincidence.

 

[apice3*]

So if Kovy can put up great numbers playing with Palmieri, why can't he do the same with Ponikarovsky on the right?

Because Poni is a left handed shot on the LW

 

[apice3*]

Youtube highlights don't tell the whole story, especially when you only present one side.