Goonface2k14
Registered User
So as the Leafs have come back down to earth recently in terms of their W-L record, my always-optimistic-early-in-the-season brain got to thinking of why the days ahead should be better and heck, maybe we'll actually see this team outshoot its opponent on consecutive nights for once.
With Clarkson, Fraser and Kulemin all hopefully returning in the next week or so, I figured perhaps I'd see if the Leafs have been hit with the injury bug more than other teams, which may be a contributing factor to their poor puck possession and shot totals. I'd like to think all three of these injured players contribute positively to those categories relative to their replacements, although there may be some blue kool aid mixed into that thinking.
Before I list my thoughts on each team's injury woes or lack thereof, of course, I get that the cliche response to injuries is that every team goes through them, and its no excuse. Nobody wants to open up the temptation to make excuses, as it can have an adverse effect on the mindset of the team. However, the reality is that its still something that can be measured, although somewhat subjectively. This is based on players currently listed as injured on tsn.ca, so it ignores anyone who might have missed time and just came back (e.g. JVR for two games), and I'm ignoring anyone who recently got hurt.
Looking through the list, I see that the following teams have regulars (guys who at the very least are worth as much as Fraser is to the Leafs) out of the lineup:
Ducks - Sbisa, Souray, Faskth
Sabres - Leino
Flames - Cammalleri, Stajan
Hurricanes - Pitkanen
Columbus - Horton
Dallas - Lehtonen
Oilers - Gagner
Wild - Rupp
Canadiens - Emelin
Devils - Clowe
Rangers- Nash, Hagelin, Callahan
Flyers - Lecavalier, Hartnell
Penguins - Letang, Neal
Sharks - Torres, Havlat
Lightning - Ohlund
Canucks - Burrows
If I missed someone please let me know, but I think that captures most players who have decent value to their team and have missed a relatively significant amount of time.
With that, I'd say the Flyers, Penguins and Rangers can use the injury "excuse" more than anyone else. Especially the Rangers, considering how much Nash and Callahan mean to that club. The Penguins are still deep in offense as long as Sid and Geno are in the lineup, as they make everyone around them better. Neal and Letang are big losses, but the Jokinens and Niskanens on their squad are able to pick up that slack. The Flyers are in trouble even with Lecavalier and Hartnell in the lineup, but those guys are significant enough to their team to have an adverse impact when they're on the IR.
You could argue about the Flames and Columbus having some significant guys injured, but who cares about them. Perhaps the Oilers miss Gagner, but overall that team has more issues than that. If Hall misses time with his knee injury, they are in tough.
So, with the above in mind, I'd say the Leafs would come after the Rangers, Flyers and Penguins in trying to rank teams that have been adversely affected by injuries.
Hopefully that means they've gotten by so far with a bit of a limp, and the gritty reinforcements due back soon will give them a nice boost in the right direction, barring any other unfortunate mishaps.
Thoughts?
With Clarkson, Fraser and Kulemin all hopefully returning in the next week or so, I figured perhaps I'd see if the Leafs have been hit with the injury bug more than other teams, which may be a contributing factor to their poor puck possession and shot totals. I'd like to think all three of these injured players contribute positively to those categories relative to their replacements, although there may be some blue kool aid mixed into that thinking.
Before I list my thoughts on each team's injury woes or lack thereof, of course, I get that the cliche response to injuries is that every team goes through them, and its no excuse. Nobody wants to open up the temptation to make excuses, as it can have an adverse effect on the mindset of the team. However, the reality is that its still something that can be measured, although somewhat subjectively. This is based on players currently listed as injured on tsn.ca, so it ignores anyone who might have missed time and just came back (e.g. JVR for two games), and I'm ignoring anyone who recently got hurt.
Looking through the list, I see that the following teams have regulars (guys who at the very least are worth as much as Fraser is to the Leafs) out of the lineup:
Ducks - Sbisa, Souray, Faskth
Sabres - Leino
Flames - Cammalleri, Stajan
Hurricanes - Pitkanen
Columbus - Horton
Dallas - Lehtonen
Oilers - Gagner
Wild - Rupp
Canadiens - Emelin
Devils - Clowe
Rangers- Nash, Hagelin, Callahan
Flyers - Lecavalier, Hartnell
Penguins - Letang, Neal
Sharks - Torres, Havlat
Lightning - Ohlund
Canucks - Burrows
If I missed someone please let me know, but I think that captures most players who have decent value to their team and have missed a relatively significant amount of time.
With that, I'd say the Flyers, Penguins and Rangers can use the injury "excuse" more than anyone else. Especially the Rangers, considering how much Nash and Callahan mean to that club. The Penguins are still deep in offense as long as Sid and Geno are in the lineup, as they make everyone around them better. Neal and Letang are big losses, but the Jokinens and Niskanens on their squad are able to pick up that slack. The Flyers are in trouble even with Lecavalier and Hartnell in the lineup, but those guys are significant enough to their team to have an adverse impact when they're on the IR.
You could argue about the Flames and Columbus having some significant guys injured, but who cares about them. Perhaps the Oilers miss Gagner, but overall that team has more issues than that. If Hall misses time with his knee injury, they are in tough.
So, with the above in mind, I'd say the Leafs would come after the Rangers, Flyers and Penguins in trying to rank teams that have been adversely affected by injuries.
Hopefully that means they've gotten by so far with a bit of a limp, and the gritty reinforcements due back soon will give them a nice boost in the right direction, barring any other unfortunate mishaps.
Thoughts?
