Is Paul Stastny still a true #1 center?

[Le Barron de HF]

What truly differentiates a #1 center from a #2? I see that being discussed all the time. Is a guy like Little or Stepan considered a #1?

 

[Freudian]

He needs finishers as his wingers. Stastny is a pure playmaker, excelling at give and go plays.

Hitchcock put him with wingers that aren't good finishers and had him play a north-south game. It was never going to work.

 

[Classicnamesup]

Was he ever a #1?

Would you want him to be your teams #1? Hell no. There's your answer

 

[Stephen23]

Ehhh a 1b centre

Was going to say he is better then a 2nd line center but not quite an elite #1C. 1B sums it up pretty well.

 

[cgf]

Was going to say he is better then a 2nd line center but not quite an elite #1C. 1B sums it up pretty well.

I guess this goes back to whether you mean an elite #1C when you say #1C or if you just mean a #1C; cause some people seem to use #1C synonymously with elite #1C.

 

[YEGJuniorFan]

Great 2nd line center, decent number 1 if he plays with good wingers.

 

[Dbrownss]

He needs finishers as his wingers. Stastny is a pure playmaker, excelling at give and go plays.

Hitchcock put him with wingers that aren't good finishers and had him play a north-south game. It was never going to work.

He was given the opportunity and didn't produce. That's why he was stuck with Berglund and Jaskin.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

He's not, and he never was. I said when the Blues signed him that Iw as glad to have him, but we paid way too much for a second line center.

I was corrected by overly-optimistic and naive Blues fans...

Other than a slow transition and lost time around his shoulder injury, coupled with the emergence of Lehtera, I think Stastny has been almost exactly what most Blues fans on the HF board thought they were getting.

Two main issues:
1) He didn't do as much as hoped for in the playoffs, but that can be extrapolated to most of the team. There was a mental psyche problem with the team, and I don't think Stastny stands out as being a bad playoff performer as much as anyone else.

2) Lehtera performed well with Tarasenko/Schwartz (better than Stastny did) early in the year. Take Lehtera away from that line and he is a lot less useful (not good enough defensively for the 3rd line role, and not as good of chemistry with other linemates). It became harder to find a good spot for Stastny (especially since the SOB line had similar problems).

The Blues didn't identify Jaskin as a full-time top 9 player until a good way into the season. Stastny got to struggle through Lindstrom's petering out before regular linemates were established, and that line with Jaskin and Berglund looked pretty productive for several weeks.

Outlook for next year?
Are Backes and Lehtera still the other centers? I can see Stastny slide into Backe's role (and if Backes leaves, then there is probably another Top 6 center in the picture). I also am not convinced that Tarasenko will be centered by Lehtera long-term. There is no concrete rule that Stastny can't center him. They just need more time to develop chemistry together, and there has to be a sensible role for Lehtera.

My expectation is that Stastny will be centering Fabbri and Jaskin, and that it will be a hell of a 3rd line. I don't care if he's making 7M, if the other 2 lines are working.

We just don't know who is going to be gone (my money is on Oshie, Jackman and Berglund, and other minor role players). Its possible Fabbri is on the line with Steen/Backes and Sobotka is on Stastny's wing (or maybe Schwartz is with Sobotka on Lehtera's line).

To answer the OP: he never was looked at as 1C for the Blues, or at least not to displace Backes as 1C. I view them as about equally capable, but with different skillsets. I also expect his productivity will be better next year.

 

[DyerMaker66*]

What truly differentiates a #1 center from a #2? I see that being discussed all the time. Is a guy like Little or Stepan considered a #1?

One is 1st-30th in the league and the other is 31st-60th. It gets muddled between 20th and 40th, but that's almost always the case.

 

[MaskedSonja]

One is 1st-30th in the league and the other is 31st-60th. It gets muddled between 20th and 40th, but that's almost always the case.

That does make me wonder (I'm sure there's a thread about it, have to use the search box), but how many "non-debatable" #1 C's are in the NHL right now-not "1A/1B"-definitive without question number 1S.

 

[MikeK]

Was he ever? I don't think so.

 

[theButton]

This thread needs more decimal points, he's a solid 1.8 or a mediocre 1.2

 

[BlueDream]

He's not, and he never was. I said when the Blues signed him that Iw as glad to have him, but we paid way too much for a second line center.

I was corrected by overly-optimistic and naive Blues fans...

Yeah okay.

It's quite obvious that Stastny is overpaid, we all realize that.

But he only has 3 years left of that contract, and we needed him. Would you rather the Blues didn't sign him? Because they didn't really have a choice. And frankly, Stastny wasn't able to play his true game under Hitchcock, who doesn't allow for too much offensive creativity from his players. I'd expect Stastny to improve in a better system suited for his style, which we should hopefully be transitioning to next season.

Your posts are always so condescending, which is funny considering you said Magnus Paajarvi would be claimed off waivers and score 50 points for a team.

 

[boredmale]

Seriously? Every single one of those guys is a #1, no questions asked. Not up for debate, really. I don't mean to insult you personally, but certain people including you just have a completely arbitrary and seemingly nonsensical criteria for what a #1C is. A number one centre is a top 30 centre. That's a rigid definition that makes sense. There are 30 teams, each has a top centre, a 2nd line centre, 3rd line and a 4th line. Split the centres in the league up, and there you have it. You can try to quantify the gaps between #1 centres with words like "elite" or "star," so I'm not saying Crosby = Stepan. What I am saying though is that both are #1 centres.

Here is the problem with your logic let's say we could all make a list of the top 30 centers that we can agree upon and say Stefan ends up 30th on the list. Next year nobody does anything to change where we would rank them on the list with one exception, Connor McDavid does enough for us to rate him 20th. Does that all of a sudden make Stefan a 2nd line center because he is the 31st ranked player?

It should also be pointed out the question was who is a "true" #1 center so I do think that word "true" is putting a condition on the term #1 center, one that sort of says who is elite, no question about it top center in this league

Which would suggest he was a #1 C, no?

No it says the amount of point it takes to be considered a true #1 center may differ from year to year depending on scoring rate of the entire league

 

[cgf]

No doubt, but pacing to finish 14th in scoring and actually finishing 18th for scoring, at all positions, would seem to suggest he was a top 20 C in the league and a #1 C, regardless of what the raw totals were, wouldn't it?

 

[CanadienShark]

Here is the problem with your logic let's say we could all make a list of the top 30 centers that we can agree upon and say Stefan ends up 30th on the list. Next year nobody does anything to change where we would rank them on the list with one exception, Connor McDavid does enough for us to rate him 20th. Does that all of a sudden make Stefan a 2nd line center because he is the 31st ranked player?

It should also be pointed out the question was who is a "true" #1 center so I do think that word "true" is putting a condition on the term #1 center, one that sort of says who is elite, no question about it top center in this league



No it says the amount of point it takes to be considered a true #1 center may differ from year to year depending on scoring rate of the entire league

I totally agree it's not a flawless set criteria and there's absolutely fluidity in ranking, but it's better than just a completely arbitrary amount. There's at least some structure.

 

[Kronwalled8*]

i don't even know why the Blues signed this guy, they have plenty of offense already. they should have spent the money on a real goalie to go with Jake Allen.

Cause last year their team lacked a true playmaker. Backes just wasnt cutting it.

Now that Paul fills that void, the team needs wingers who can put the puck in the net, preferably ones with a proven playoff track record. I would say they need not just one, but two high profile snipers.

The one guy that comes to my mind is Patrick Sharp. Outside of Tarasenko, the blues arent exactly a team that puts fear in their oppositions eyes.

If they were smart, they would make a serious offer for Patrick Sharp this off season. Sharp with Stastny would look awesome.

Then trade Oshie and Berglund to the leafs for Kessell.

Sharp-Stastny-Kessell
Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko
?-Backes-Steen

 

[TrillMike]

To the OP. I don't think he is. Like many have said he's a 1-2 tweener.

 

[AvroArrow]

He's barely a 2nd line center anymore. 2B

 

[Crossfire Hurricane]

So many people clearly have never watched Stastny. Doesn't make players around him better? That's been the downfall of his career, he turns nobodies into solid players. That's why he gets stuck playing with the Daniel Winniks and David Joneses and TJ Galiardi's of the league. When he gets put on a line with Landeskog and Mackinnon, all three magically look better. Probably coincidence, though.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

So many people clearly have never watched Stastny. Doesn't make players around him better? That's been the downfall of his career, he turns nobodies into solid players. That's why he gets stuck playing with the Daniel Winniks and David Joneses and TJ Galiardi's of the league. When he gets put on a line with Landeskog and Mackinnon, all three magically look better. Probably coincidence, though.

Sounds an awful lot like the Western conference version of Plekanec.

 

[BlueBeard]

Cause last year their team lacked a true playmaker. Backes just wasnt cutting it.

Now that Paul fills that void, the team needs wingers who can put the puck in the net, preferably ones with a proven playoff track record. I would say they need not just one, but two high profile snipers.

The one guy that comes to my mind is Patrick Sharp. Outside of Tarasenko, the blues arent exactly a team that puts fear in their oppositions eyes.

If they were smart, they would make a serious offer for Patrick Sharp this off season. Sharp with Stastny would look awesome.

Then trade Oshie and Berglund to the leafs for Kessell.

Sharp-Stastny-Kessell
Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko
?-Backes-Steen

That would be great if there wasn't a salary cap.

 

[Dbrownss]

Cause last year their team lacked a true playmaker. Backes just wasnt cutting it.

Now that Paul fills that void, the team needs wingers who can put the puck in the net, preferably ones with a proven playoff track record. I would say they need not just one, but two high profile snipers.

The one guy that comes to my mind is Patrick Sharp. Outside of Tarasenko, the blues arent exactly a team that puts fear in their oppositions eyes.

If they were smart, they would make a serious offer for Patrick Sharp this off season. Sharp with Stastny would look awesome.

Then trade Oshie and Berglund to the leafs for Kessell.

Sharp-Stastny-Kessell
Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko
?-Backes-Steen

Ain't no body got time for the salary cap.

I'm also sure Chicago gives us the middle finger if we ask for sharp.

 

[Steve]

He's a great second line center who excels defensively.

This. I don't think he was ever a true #1.

 

[that is unfortunate]

Guys currently in the 2C position, who I'd rate higher than Stastny:

Malkin
Bergeron
Zetterberg
Jeff Carter
Tyler Johnson
Kesler
Spezza
Whichever of Couture/Pavelski/Thornton you consider the 2C

Then there are some arguable ones like Turris, ROR, etc.

He's a high end 2C IMO, though I'm not quite sure I'd call him an elite 2C. Strong defence and all around play, smart offence, but he definitely lacks that dynamic 1-on-1 ability that I like to see from 1st line centres. His 70+ point seasons were a long time ago, he's been a 45-60 point guy for the past 5 seasons (pro-rating 12/13), which is still very good, but let's not pretend he's elite offensively.

Plekanec is better than Stastny aswell.