Is Gunnarsson only playing this year because he's RFA?

[Penalty Kill Icing*]

Arguably a top 2 D-man on arguably the worst defensive team in the league is nothing to be impressed about.

He's not above average at anything.

Says a guy who suggested others to ignore stats like Corsi because they contradicted with what his mind told him.

 

[zeke]

I swear the only time Leafs fans' notice defensemen is when they either give the puck away or lay a bodycheck.

 

[FlareKnight]

I swear the only time Leafs fans' notice defensemen is when they either give the puck away or lay a bodycheck.

Which is probably why Gunnarsson became so popular last game. All he did the entire game was lazily skate the puck out of the zone and have guys come up from behind and steal the puck off him. I'd have hoped he'd learn after the third or fourth time...

It's stupid to play him like this. If he's playing hurt for the sake of a contract it's a pretty bonehead move on his part. He think his contract is going to look good playing like this for the rest of the season?

 

[Tak7]

Contract years can lead to some players playing fantastic.

Gunnarsson doesn't fall into that role though. He's been well below his typically solid self so far this season.

He's at his best when he's hardly noticeable. Been far too noticeable this season.

Still want him playing with Dion moving forward though.

Oh, and if he's injured and has a problem, get it sorted out. It's not like the organization doesn't have depth on blue line that it can tap into to replace Gunnarson.

 

[htpwn]

Posters here have an incredibly short memory.

A year ago, Gunnarsson was almost universally considered a bonafide Top 4 defenseman here, with some even claiming he was a Top 2. Now, he's "overrated," "terrible," "not an NHL defenseman." On the former, the ironic part is that many of the very same people now deriding him as "overrated" were the ones who were pumping his tires last season.

Gunnarsson's struggling this year, that much is evident. It shouldn't matter why (injuries, poor preparation due to the lockout, etc.), all that matters is that he is. The right course of action here, in my opinion, is to give him the opportunity to sort out his play. He's earned that. Play him on the third pairing, limited minutes, and resign him this summer to a cheap contract. The 27+ minutes he played last night was far in excess of what he should be playing at this point.

 

[zeke]

Giveaways are such a silly, misleading stat.

Gunnarsson had only 11 "giveaways" total before last night (vs. 9 takeaways), and people were still crapping all over him.

 

[Tak7]

Giveaways are such a silly, misleading stat.

Gunnarsson had only 11 "giveaways" total before last night (vs. 9 takeaways), and people were still crapping all over him.

Works both ways, doesn't it?

A player with few giveaways, and a decent ratio to give and takeaways, doesn't necessarily make him a solid Dman.

All stats are misleading depending on how you interpret them.

 

[Once]

I hope he gets back to his normal form

 

[zeke]

Works both ways, doesn't it?

A player with few giveaways, and a decent ratio to give and takeaways, doesn't necessarily make him a solid Dman.

All stats are misleading depending on how you interpret them.

Some stats are particularly misleading.....specifically this giveaways stat.

You go look at the league leaders in giveaways, and you'll see a list of some of the best players and teams in the league.

 

[G51 K81*]

Says a guy who suggested others to ignore stats like Corsi because they contradicted with what his mind told him.

Says the guy who ignores quality of competition

 

[jojacinto2]

Gunnarsson....what the...?

Gunnarsson was awful last night against the Jets. He couldn't move his legs in his own end.

 

[A1LeafNation]

Gunnarsson was awful last night against the Jets. He couldn't move his legs in his own end.

why isn't this in the PGT?

 

[LeafsBro]

Delete

 

[bunjay]

Playing injured, this is not a secret.

 

[ACC1224]

Arguably a top 2 D-man on arguably the worst defensive team in the league is nothing to be impressed about.

He's not above average at anything.

Agreed, he's never been anything more than a bottom pairing guy.

No offense, no toughness, and only adequate defensively.

 

[Ari91]

It shouldn't be up to him. Blame Carlyle.

What's been very consistent so far this year is that as long as a player has been cleared by doctors to play, the staff has allowed the player to make the call of when they are ready to return. Why didn't Frattin jump into the line-up as soon as he was cleared? It was because he would report to Carlyle after each practice and informed Carlyle and the coaching staff that he didn't feel ready to return. Lupul was also given the choice of returning when he felt ready to do so. Why would Gunnarsson be any different? Gunnarsson isn't being forced into the line-up. You want to blame a coach for playing a player that isn't 100%? Then I guess there's no such thing as a good coach because there's not a single coach that isn't guilty of doing that. It's naive to think that a player being in the line-up means they are 100% healthy.

 

[Duke Silver]

Classic example of the "what have you done for me lately" mentality of Leafs Nation.

Rather than evaluate Gunnarsson based on his three seasons of steady NHL experience they would rather admonish him for 21 games played while injured.

We know what Gunnarsson is. He hasn't played up to his capabilities this season, but he's nowhere near our biggest problem. Let him recover his game.

 

[Myke]

He said himself that he was not 100% and that he would be fighting through this for the rest of the season. I think it is actually more of a detriment to him to be playing hurt because his contract will be based on the most recent play.

 

[shaner8989]

Carlyle is a moron for playing him if he's hurt. He's been a disgrace game in and game out. Why not just toss the season away? Lots of other options. Really really poor management of the roster