Prospect Info: Lucas Lessio (Re-Called)

[japhi]

He's not a 4th liner though. He plays 13:38 minutes a game. He's 10th among forwards for the total TOI but he'll catch up Weise soon so he'll end the season as one of the 9 most used forwards. 8 goals for a borderline 3rd line player is nothing to write home about. Specially when he is shooting for 20%.

He plays a lot in PK but the thing is around 40% of his production comes from the pk. 37.5% of his goals come from the pk. 38.4% of his points come from the pk. That's imo not sustainable long term.

He is the 10th most used forward at ES. Again he'll catch up Weise soon so he'll finish the season as one of the 9 most used forwards at ES. His ES production is 5 goals and 8 points. That's actually kind of bad for someone playing 11:37 at ES every game. That's goon like production. In fact Shawn Thornton did better than that some seasons.

Until proved otherwise the next seasons Byron's season (the goals part) is a statistical fluke. His shooting % is way higher than normal. He's pk production too. He's been bad lately. He has 2 points (2 assists) -7 in his last 15 games despite playing mostly on the 2nd line with Plekenec. His TOI in the last 15 games is around 15 minutes.

We don't know what he will do while used purely on a 4th line (we will probably never know it with MT). A lot of his points and goals this season came from the pk. He wont continue to shot for 20% and produce so much in the pk. Other teams will adjust. His production at ES had been close to abyssal considering his usage. I really don't see what people see in this player. His production at ES is close to a goon. He plays more than a goon. Outside of the pk he's a black hole.

He is putting up Eller level ppg over his career and this year playing less minutes and no pp. It would be hard to make a case that over their careers Byron has played easier minutes than Eller yet they have almost identical ppg at .32. Shawn Thornton is at career .15 so not sure where you are going with the goon comparison. Jared Boll is .12.

And you can't just back out what are amazing pk numbers to conclude that the player isn't productive unless you beleive those are easy minutes. The fact that he's productive with a man down doesn't support your argument that he is an offensive black hole, quite the opposite. It makes him much more valuable then similar bottom 6 players.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

Really impressed with Lessio. Right now he looks like an ideal 4th liner but definitely has some worthwhile 'project' upside. He makes things happen. Looks like a pretty inspired trade so far.

 

[Paul Dipietro]

Really impressed with Lessio. Right now he looks like an ideal 4th liner but definitely has some worthwhile 'project' upside. He makes things happen. Looks like a pretty inspired trade so far.

Makes you wonder why the hell AZ gave him away for Thomas...

 

[Ezpz]

Makes you wonder why the hell AZ gave him away for Thomas...

Cause they knew they would send us Scott for Tinordi later.

 

[montreal]

Makes you wonder why the hell AZ gave him away for Thomas...

I would assume they had concerns about his offensive game translating, and I know the Habs wanted him to work on his defensive game. Right now he's just a guy that's got good size and impressive speed. He works hard but we'll see if that turns into a solid 4th liner or not. While I was never a fan of Thomas (and took some heat for it in the past), he's got more points for us this year in almost half the games then Lessio. Next year we'll see what Lessio can do in a full season, the good thing is that the NHL is so much about speed now and he has it in spades so hopefully he can turn into something decent for us.

I know many don't like to hear it and prefer to crap all over management, but one thing that has impressed me about them is finding lesser known players and getting them for next to nothing while they end up doing a decent job for us. Perhaps Lessio will be someone that at the time posters just laughed off the trade, but later on he shows more then expected given the price we paid for him.

 

[Lebowski]

Looks like an even faster version of Weise, to be honest. He has decent puck skills, tremendous speed, and isn't afraid to be physical. I really like what I saw of him and I'd rather see him get a shot on the 2nd line than Byron.

 

[Redux91]

Looks like an even faster version of Weise, to be honest. He has decent puck skills, tremendous speed, and isn't afraid to be physical. I really like what I saw of him and I'd rather see him get a shot on the 2nd line than Byron.

same here, i want to see him next to lars a bit more actually

 

[Runner77]

Looks like an even faster version of Weise, to be honest. He has decent puck skills, tremendous speed, and isn't afraid to be physical. I really like what I saw of him and I'd rather see him get a shot on the 2nd line than Byron.

Won't be long for Therrien to play Lessio on the first line and 2 years from now, his agent will ask for 3.5M. Where have we seen this scenario play out before.

 

[G0bias]

Speaking of fourth liners... wouldn't mind us re-signing Weezer if this rough stint with CHI forces his price tag to drop bit.

Lessio-Mitchell-Weise could be a pretty decent 4th line next year.

 

[Apoplectic Habs Fan]

Speaking of fourth liners... wouldn't mind us re-signing Weezer if this rough stint with CHI forces his price tag to drop bit.

Lessio-Mitchell-Weise could be a pretty decent 4th line next year.

With therrien he will never be a fourth liner

 

[76]

No doubt Lessio has 3rd line upside.
Can't believe Bergevin got him for Thomas.
What a steal.

 

[yianik]

Speaking of fourth liners... wouldn't mind us re-signing Weezer if this rough stint with CHI forces his price tag to drop bit.

Lessio-Mitchell-Weise could be a pretty decent 4th line next year.

Weise has one assist in 6 games with the Hawks. Just over 9 minutes for ATOI though. At this rate his value will go down. Flash has 2 goals and 3 points in 8 games.

 

[Mad Brills*]

Seems like a perfect 3rd liner that can chip in offense.

 

[Uncle Gary]

Cause they knew they would send us Scott for Tinordi later.

This is what I thought and it makes sense. Tinordi and Thomas for Lessio and Bartley seems a lot more fair, not to mention Tinordi then getting suspended.

 

[montreal]

No doubt Lessio has 3rd line upside.
Can't believe Bergevin got him for Thomas.
What a steal.

It remains to be seen if he has 3rd line upside and if he ends up being a steal. We'll get a better idea of what he can do next year with a full season.

 

[Agalloch]

It remains to be seen if he has 3rd line upside and if he ends up being a steal. We'll get a better idea of what he can do next year with a full season.

I would sign him for 2 year one way contract on the cheap (like 3 young guys in Pittsburgh).

600,000-650,000 cap hit.

 

[montreal]

I would sign him for 2 year one way contract on the cheap (like 3 young guys in Pittsburgh).

600,000-650,000 cap hit.

I would think he gets a 1 year deal, not sure if he gets a one way though. I know he has to clear waivers so they might not risk sending him down.

 

[76]

It remains to be seen if he has 3rd line upside and if he ends up being a steal. We'll get a better idea of what he can do next year with a full season.

It's early, you can wait, but the upside is obvious. I have been impressed since his first strides with the IceDogs. This guy also scored 29 goals 2 years ago in the ahl.

Between Lessio and Thomas, I think nobody would hesitate 1 second and time will only increase the gap between the two players. When you get Lessio for an AHLer a year older, I think it's pretty safe to call it a steal.

Frankly this trade is so meaningless for the Coyotes that the only way I could understand Maloney's move is if it was somewhat linked with the Tinordi / Bartley - Scott deal made one month later.

 

[Figaro95*]

Way to early to tell..

Has some tools, but not sure if he has the kit.

 

[montreal]

It's early, you can wait, but the upside is obvious. I have been impressed since his first strides with the IceDogs. This guy also scored 29 goals 2 years ago in the ahl.

Between Lessio and Thomas, I think nobody would hesitate 1 second and time will only increase the gap between the two players. When you get Lessio for an AHLer a year older, I think it's pretty safe to call it a steal.

Frankly this trade is so meaningless for the Coyotes that the only way I could understand Maloney's move is if it was somewhat linked with the Tinordi / Bartley - Scott deal made one month later.

I don't think the upside is obvious. His speed is very impressive and he's a got a good frame but other then that he's not very impressive. It remains to be seen just what he can do at the NHL level. Is he better then Thomas? I think he will easily end up being despite the fact that he has less points then Thomas did for us this year in half the games. But I was never a fan of Thomas as I was very disappointed with his play in the AHL until this year after clearing waivers. We'll see what Lessio does next year though, should be interesting.

 

[Hackett]

Way to early to tell..

Has some tools, but not sure if he has the kit.

At the very least, he looks like a project that might turn into a full time player. I can't say the same about the project that was Christian Thomas. It's a more worthwhile project.

 

[TennisMenace]

My 2 cents:
I am ecstatic we were able to dump a smurf for Lessio. I love his size and speed and he uses his body well. What is there not to like. Don't forget, he is playing with Mike Brown and JDR so I doubt he gets many scoring chances. I believe he got all of 7 minutes last night so it is pretty tough to make an impact offensively with just 7 minutes, but he did last night. I definitely want to give him a chance, what is there to lose?

 

[BaseballCoach]

I don't think the upside is obvious. His speed is very impressive and he's a got a good frame but other then that he's not very impressive. It remains to be seen just what he can do at the NHL level. Is he better then Thomas? I think he will easily end up being despite the fact that he has less points then Thomas did for us this year in half the games. But I was never a fan of Thomas as I was very disappointed with his play in the AHL until this year after clearing waivers. We'll see what Lessio does next year though, should be interesting.

I like Lessio and Brown as 13th-14th forwards for next year. If that means that one of DLR or BigMac starts the year in St. John's, that's ok. They're both young and need to play more.

Andrighetto-Galchenyuk-Stamkos/Okposo
Pacioretty-Eller-Gallagher
Carr-Plekanec-McCarron/Byron
Byron/DLR-Danault-Mitchell
...Lessio/Brown

This spreads the threats around a bit, and makes us tough to defend against. Shelter the 1st line a bit but lines 2 & 3 can play against anyone. Line 4 is also responsible.

Brown and Lessio can easily sub in at any time and provide energy.

 

[Lshap]

I don't think the upside is obvious. His speed is very impressive and he's a got a good frame but other then that he's not very impressive. It remains to be seen just what he can do at the NHL level. Is he better then Thomas? I think he will easily end up being despite the fact that he has less points then Thomas did for us this year in half the games. But I was never a fan of Thomas as I was very disappointed with his play in the AHL until this year after clearing waivers. We'll see what Lessio does next year though, should be interesting.

I agree that Lessio looks like an overall better player than Thomas. About the points, when we're comparing players in marginal roles, an extra point or two doesn't mean that much. While Thomas has that nice laser beam shot, Lessio has skills that translate into more production in the long term. As everyone has noticed, the guy is tireless and fearless. That kind of Gallagher-esque aggressiveness combined with speed works very well in today's game. The bottom line is that I've noticed Lessio in every game. I can see him doing very well on Mitchell's wing next year.

 

[montreal]

I like Lessio and Brown as 13th-14th forwards for next year. If that means that one of DLR or BigMac starts the year in St. John's, that's ok. They're both young and need to play more.

Andrighetto-Galchenyuk-Stamkos/Okposo
Pacioretty-Eller-Gallagher
Carr-Plekanec-McCarron/Byron
Byron/DLR-Danault-Mitchell
...Lessio/Brown

This spreads the threats around a bit, and makes us tough to defend against. Shelter the 1st line a bit but lines 2 & 3 can play against anyone. Line 4 is also responsible.

Brown and Lessio can easily sub in at any time and provide energy.

I would think Lessio is on the team next for sure unless someone steals his spot. With the NHL being such a speed game now, and Lessio having that in spades, the question is more how will his offensive game translate and how does he do defensively since that's what the Habs wanted him to work on when they traded for him.

I'd rather have Hudon on the team then Carr, Hudon in the AHL at least, has been better then all our other prospects, if this team is looking to win games I hope they go with the best roster and not guys that need a look because of waivers.

I am ok with Brown coming back if it's under 1M, but if we get some real upgrades to the top 6, perhaps they will just hope that Matteau can do the job much even cheaper. It's hard to say though since we don't know where the cap ends up, who is moved out and who is brought in.

I agree that Lessio looks like an overall better player than Thomas. About the points, when we're comparing players in marginal roles, an extra point or two doesn't mean that much. While Thomas has that nice laser beam shot, Lessio has skills that translate into more production in the long term. As everyone has noticed, the guy is tireless and fearless. That kind of Gallagher-esque aggressiveness combined with speed works very well in today's game. The bottom line is that I've noticed Lessio in every game. I can see him doing very well on Mitchell's wing next year.

For as much crap as management gets, it's looking like a good move to get Lessio who wasn't happy with they way they handled him as he felt he was an NHLer or something to that effect. He started off great with the IceCaps but then struggled somewhat although it didn't help that all the sudden they started moving him all over the lineup, down to the 4th line at one point.