Former Bruins Joakim Nordstrom

[ON3M4N]

Frederic and Stud should be lining up for the team on the 4th line

Funny how Nordy ended up not pricing himself off the team as some quoted. Should have transplanted his heart and will to compete in Ritchie.

I'd I'm sure many who said that did so before UFA open and before seeing how much the market tanked for guys due to COVID.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

I don’t see Stud as a 4th liner. I think at this point he’s a third liner and could rise to become a second liner.

 

[Kalus]

I absolutely loved Playoff Nordy. Regular Season Nordy was pretty good the first year, not so much the second year.

I thought he was very good this past playoffs, but the analytics apparently told a very different story. Not sure if that speaks more to my poor read or analytics missing value in this case.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Lindholm is signed for another year, which is why he's coming back. When his contract is up, i suspect they'll move on from him too.

These are 4th liners and highly replaceable.

I understand why Nordstrom has been moved on, but I disagree with the basic principle that 4th liners are 'highly replaceable'. Of course there are more of them and they're more interchangeable than top 6 forwards, but you still need to get your combos and balance right in who you select to play on your 4th, not just for the sake of that line, but for the culture of the whole team, and often your PK. In fact I'd argue that their impact is often more significant than that of your 3rd line guys, since they'll frequently get more minutes, have a greater defensive responsibility, and are more likely to be PKers.

The Bruins 4th was worse last season without Acciari, and while I'm not going to delve into the PK stats, at the very least it left the team with one less very reliable penalty killer to call upon. Without Nordstrom, it will decline still further unless other guys step up and bring the same hustle, sand and defensive nous, and find the same chemistry that Kuraly, Wags, Noel and Nords had at their best. I'm not arguing that either of the latter should have been retained - Acciari at the very least priced himself out of Boston - what I'm saying is that when you move capable 4th liners on there are still consequences and you can't just plug in the next guy and expect to just carry on exactly as before.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

I absolutely loved Playoff Nordy. Regular Season Nordy was pretty good the first year, not so much the second year.

I thought he was very good this past playoffs, but the analytics apparently told a very different story. Not sure if that speaks more to my poor read or analytics missing value in this case.

I think analytics and stats in general are important but there are certain aspects they simply can't measure or quantify. Nordy's best assets were his motor, grit, defensive capabilities, compete level and heart, and analytics will show some of the results of those things but certainly not all of them, or the full value that a player brings in those and other areas. His regular season efforts are fine but nothing amazing, but he's been an outstanding 4th line playoff performer two years in a row and all the stats in the world could not convince me otherwise.

 

[RustyBruins72]

I don’t see Stud as a 4th liner. I think at this point he’s a third liner and could rise to become a second liner.

I don't either. But he's got to start somewhere.

I remember 63 played on the 4th line for a time.

 

[Otherworld]

Really liked Nords. He laided it out on the line every time he touched the ice.