I feel that ESW is far superior to LLW already. The best is still to come. I feel this line wil terrorize the NHL for the next few years. With Sheifs and Ehlers not even scratched the surface yet.This line has so much room for improvement.
ESW definitely seems to have chemistry - and yeah, if they're this good now, how good will they be in a couple of years when Scheifele hits his prime and Ehlers has 2 more years of experience under his belt?
Scheif has probably hit his prime the last half season. Next year we will get a full season of his prime and he will still be at it, more or less in 2 years. Ehlers will be more dangerous. Wheeler might be starting to decline. That line was dominant the last 10 games or so. Teams will adjust to them next year but that is part of the goal. To make the opposition adjust.
Scheif has probably hit his prime the last half season. Next year we will get a full season of his prime and he will still be at it, more or less in 2 years. Ehlers will be more dangerous. Wheeler might be starting to decline. That line was dominant the last 10 games or so. Teams will adjust to them next year but that is part of the goal. To make the opposition adjust.
He's 23. I doubt he's hit his prime yet. I'd give him 1-2 more years before I think we can state he's hit his "top end". He's a late bloomer, and we've only seen him start to become dominant this past year.
Regarding adjusting to them: remember that we get Little back next year. Ignore him and his wingers at your peril, IMO.
From what I understand players tend to hit their prime at about 25 and can usually maintain close to that level of play until 29.
Yup. I know that. But better players seem to peak earlier. I haven't done a study of it but take a look at how many elite or near elite players have their highest point totals in their rookie or second years in the NHL.
The way Scheif came on this year I think that was him breaking out, or arriving. Next year will likely see his peak scoring IMO, assuming he plays a full year or close. Next year he will turn 24 so that is just about right on schedule.
Nothing wrong with that. If he plays a full season like he did the last roughly 1/3 of this season but with a more sustainable sh% he will get 75-80 pts. Figure in a little boost from assists on Ehlers goals and he could hit 85. TBH I will be more than happy with 75.
Edit: The adjustments could take different forms. Some may try to match Schweehlers with a 2nd or 3rd line that is stronger checking. That might leave Little still matched with 1st line, for example. As you say though, adjust at your peril. Our 2nd line could be very dangerous and still pretty good defensively too.
He'll bounce back. He's been consistently very good scorer over his career.
This is a huge outlier in his normal, essentially scored 1/3 what he typically does.
Just like it's most likely that Copp falls down.
The one to really watch is Stafford. He scored at a lower rate than what I estimated (but his struggles were masked by high PP scoring), but spent some time with some struggling players as well. At the same time I expect him to start aging significantly around now.
Stafford was appearently signed to be a $4.35m shutdown defencive winger. At least that was his 1st assignment after signing. When considering that he had pretty much been a 1-way offensive player prior to coming here that was a bit of a head scratcher. Makes one, or I anyhow, wonder whether there was a rift between coach & GM about losing out on Frolic. Fro would have been the natural fit with Lowry & Burmi on Maurice's much wanted shutdown line. Stafford may even be responsible for reversing the progress made by Lowery.
Stafford's last 4 years including the strike year is -70! Good for top 3 worse +\- out of 995 players.
Meaningless stat? Tops at +100 is Toews. You be the judge.
Stafford was appearently signed to be a $4.35m shutdown defencive winger. At least that was his 1st assignment after signing. When considering that he had pretty much been a 1-way offensive player prior to coming here that was a bit of a head scratcher. Makes one, or I anyhow, wonder whether there was a rift between coach & GM about losing out on Frolic. Fro would have been the natural fit with Lowry & Burmi on Maurice's much wanted shutdown line. Stafford may even be responsible for reversing the progress made by Lowery.
Stafford's last 4 years including the strike year is -70! Good for top 3 worse +\- out of 995 players.
Meaningless stat? Tops at +100 is Toews. You be the judge.