Player Discussion Nick Paul Appreciation Thread

[bicboi64]

Ok but nothing in my post said he was like Brady. I said he is "to a 3rd line what Brady is for a 1st line". It means in terms of impact. There's a vast difference between a 1st and 3rd line so of course it implies that he's really not in the same tier.

His contract is not brutal at all... His AAV is pretty good for a high end 3rd liner. Look at Pageau's for example. Of course the 7 years makes it a big risky because it gives more time for injuries to derail a career again but IIRC the deal in place in Ottawa was for 5 years, which would have been perfect for us

And that's where the problem is. Tom Pyatt was a decent 4th liner, Gambrell is barely a NHL player. Nick Paul shouldn't be in the same sentence as these guys...

Pretty much thi. Paul might not be a stud in any one particular skill, but he isn't a liability on any aspect of the game and is above average at each aspect. That makes him the perfect bottom 6 guy that can occasionally move up throughout the line up. Literally everything we're missing and not amount of hoping that Kastelic or any of our prospects become that will help us right now

 

[BondraTime]

Stud, Shoulda kept him

Player Discussion: - Nick Paul

Pauls contract extension seemed like a great idea After the playoffs last year and even more so after his first half. Now he sucks and I’m worried he’s just 3mm of dead money for eternity When’s the last time this cat finished a check? We're not gonna be contenders in the later years of that...

forums.hfboards.com

Grass is always greener

 

[Rals]

Player Discussion: - Nick Paul

Pauls contract extension seemed like a great idea After the playoffs last year and even more so after his first half. Now he sucks and I’m worried he’s just 3mm of dead money for eternity When’s the last time this cat finished a check? We're not gonna be contenders in the later years of that...

forums.hfboards.com

Grass is always greener

Fair enough

 

[BondraTime]

Paul goes 25 games without a goal to end the year, gets 2 in his last 40. He's not physical, not top PK or PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 80 games had 96 minutes of PP time. 1:12 per game. 115 minutes of PK time. 1:25 per game. Produced 33p/82 over the full season.

28 years old. Signed for 3.15 for another 6 years, with a no trade clause.

Joseph gets 3 goals in 56 games. Not physical. Top PK on team, not a PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 56 games he had 34 minutes on the PP. 0:34 per game. Had 140 minutes on the PK. 2:30 per game. Produced 26/82 over a full season.

26 years old. Signed for 2.9 for another 3 years.

I have no clue why we want a guy like Paul so bad, when he's a marginally, at best, better NHLer over the period of time that everyone has soured on Joseph. Makes zero sense to me.

 

[JD1]

Pretty much thi. Paul might not be a stud in any one particular skill, but he isn't a liability on any aspect of the game and is above average at each aspect. That makes him the perfect bottom 6 guy that can occasionally move up throughout the line up. Literally everything we're missing and not amount of hoping that Kastelic or any of our prospects become that will help us right now

So Kastelic is a pretty big dude in his own right. He hits more and he hits meaner. He's as good or better in the faceoff dots. He fights. At 24 he played his first full year in the NHL last season. 24 was also Paul's first year as a full timer.

Nick was a great player and a good team guy. He seems to have wanted either more money or more term than we were prepared to go. Personally there's no way I'd of like 7 years at 3.15.

Paul goes 25 games without a goal to end the year, gets 2 in his last 40. He's not physical, not top PK or PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 80 games had 96 minutes of PP time. 1:12 per game. 115 minutes of PK time. 1:25 per game. Produced 33p/82 over the full season.

28 years old. Signed for 3.15 for another 6 years, with a no trade clause.

Joseph gets 3 goals in 56 games. Not physical. Top PK on team, not a PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 56 games he had 34 minutes on the PP. 0:34 per game. Had 140 minutes on the PK. 2:30 per game. Produced 26/82 over a full season.

26 years old. Signed for 2.9 for another 3 years.

I have no clue why we want a guy like Paul so bad, when he's a marginally, at best, better NHLer over the period of time that everyone has soured on Joseph. Makes zero sense to me.

Thanks for bringing some sanity to the discussion

 

[bicboi64]

Paul goes 25 games without a goal to end the year, gets 2 in his last 40. He's not physical, not top PK or PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 80 games had 96 minutes of PP time. 1:12 per game. 115 minutes of PK time. 1:25 per game. Produced 33p/82 over the full season.

28 years old. Signed for 3.15 for another 6 years, with a no trade clause.

Joseph gets 3 goals in 56 games. Not physical. Top PK on team, not a PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 56 games he had 34 minutes on the PP. 0:34 per game. Had 140 minutes on the PK. 2:30 per game. Produced 26/82 over a full season.

26 years old. Signed for 2.9 for another 3 years.

I have no clue why we want a guy like Paul so bad, when he's a marginally, at best, better NHLer over the period of time that everyone has soured on Joseph. Makes zero sense to me.

Because he's got good possession metrics. Paul maintains control of the puck, would be the 2nd best face-off guy for us, and can be used on the PK (as he was for us), and is great defensively 5on5. He absolutely is a weapon defensively and the notion that he's not physical doesn't make any sense. He was top 3 in hits for the Bolts, when he was with us was routinely top 3 in hits, and blocks shots too.

He's distinctly better than Joseph and brings more to the table. We're literally missing a guy like him in our bottom 6.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Because he's got good possession metrics. Paul maintains control of the puck, would be the 2nd best face-off guy for us, and can be used on the PK (as he was for us), and is great defensively 5on5. He absolutely is a weapon defensively and the notion that he's not physical doesn't make any sense. He was top 3 in hits for the Bolts, when he was with us was routinely top 3 in hits, and blocks shots too.

He's distinctly better than Joseph and brings more to the table. We're literally missing a guy like him in our bottom 6.

Paul was seventh for the bolts, not third, with a 111 hits, that would put him after Stutzle and before DeBrincat last year on the Sens.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

 

[bicboi64]

Paul was seventh for the bolts, not third, with a 111 hits, that would put him after Stutzle and before DeBrincat last year on the Sens.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

Whoops, meant to clarify for forwards.

Also, we play a more physical game than Tampa, especially on the forecheck. If Paul played here, he'd be among the top for hits for us, just as he was when he played here and weren't as forecheck heavy as this season. The point is, the notion of Paul not being physical isn't accurate.

 

[JD1]

Whoops, meant to clarify for forwards.

Also, we play a more physical game than Tampa, especially on the forecheck. If Paul played here, he'd be among the top for hits for us, just as he was when he played here and weren't as forecheck heavy as this season. The point is, the notion of Paul not being physical isn't accurate.

He's physical in so far as the hit count total....but he's certainly not "mean" physical and never has been. He gets in on the forecheck and bumps people but he's certainly not a guy that tries to use his 220 pounds to hammer people. How about soft physical. That sounds like Nick.

 

[bicboi64]

He's physical in so far as the hit count total....but he's certainly not "mean" physical and never has been. He gets in on the forecheck and bumps people but he's certainly not a guy that tries to use his 220 pounds to hammer people. How about soft physical. That sounds like Nick.

I don't get the obsession with needing someone who's a big body being 'mean physical'. He blocks shots, puts his body on the line, and never shies away from contact. Being the 'soft physical' that you state he is, he's still a very good 3rd line player. The list of players that hit "mean" and do the other things Paul does isn't very high and its such an unusual critique. He plays the game of hockey very good, but because he doesn't try to hit someone with full force he's not physical.

 

[DueDiligence]

Paul goes 25 games without a goal to end the year, gets 2 in his last 40. He's not physical, not top PK or PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 80 games had 96 minutes of PP time. 1:12 per game. 115 minutes of PK time. 1:25 per game. Produced 33p/82 over the full season.

28 years old. Signed for 3.15 for another 6 years, with a no trade clause.

Joseph gets 3 goals in 56 games. Not physical. Top PK on team, not a PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 56 games he had 34 minutes on the PP. 0:34 per game. Had 140 minutes on the PK. 2:30 per game. Produced 26/82 over a full season.

26 years old. Signed for 2.9 for another 3 years.

I have no clue why we want a guy like Paul so bad, when he's a marginally, at best, better NHLer over the period of time that everyone has soured on Joseph. Makes zero sense to me.

The love affair that some posters have for Nick Paul is baffling.

 

[BradyTkachucky]

The love affair that some posters have for Nick Paul is baffling.

It's a very long love affair apparently.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Ok but nothing in my post said he was like Brady. I said he is "to a 3rd line what Brady is for a 1st line". It means in terms of impact. There's a vast difference between a 1st and 3rd line so of course it implies that he's really not in the same tier.

His contract is not brutal at all... His AAV is pretty good for a high end 3rd liner. Look at Pageau's for example. Of course the 7 years makes it a big risky because it gives more time for injuries to derail a career again but IIRC the deal in place in Ottawa was for 5 years, which would have been perfect for us



And that's where the problem is. Tom Pyatt was a decent 4th liner, Gambrell is barely a NHL player. Nick Paul shouldn't be in the same sentence as these guys...

I don't think you realize this but Paul would be receiving more Selke votes with just a little bit more production, which happened once in 2020-21 despite 20 pts on the season. It's not about points and skill with Paul, it's the way he approaches the game.

I like Paul, and I’m glad you think very highly of him.

Personally I don’t miss him off the team, as I don’t think as highly of him as a player as many seem to.

I think the best parts of his game would make him an excellent developmental coach like Donovan and Winchester. Perhaps we’ll see him able to help the Sens with his approach to the game in a more practical off ice role.

Nothing wrong with Paul in the same sentence as Tom Pyatt. Pyatt was a solid bottom six guy for a fairly long time, and was a good soldier for us. That’s what Paul is as well.

Anyways, we can agree to disagree, and like I said I’m happy that you think so highly of the guy. Undeniably he’s worked hard enough to have earned a few die hard fans.

 

[JD1]

I don't get the obsession with needing someone who's a big body being 'mean physical'. He blocks shots, puts his body on the line, and never shies away from contact. Being the 'soft physical' that you state he is, he's still a very good 3rd line player. The list of players that hit "mean" and do the other things Paul does isn't very high and its such an unusual critique. He plays the game of hockey very good, but because he doesn't try to hit someone with full force he's not physical.

He'd be such a better player if he was mean. As he is, he's somewhat of a gentle giant. Absolutely we could use Nick Paul on the team. He does a lot of good things. But I'm good with not having his contract on the team.

 

[Micklebot]

He'd be such a better player if he was mean. As he is, he's somewhat of a gentle giant. Absolutely we could use Nick Paul on the team. He does a lot of good things. But I'm good with not having his contract on the team.

That term is a bit nutty...

Love Paul as a player, wish we could have kept him in the fold, but we didn't, and I don't think his current deal makes us a better team. Replace Joseph with him today, and we'd have people talking about moving Paul to make room for signing Pinto.

 

[JD1]

That term is a bit nutty...

Love Paul as a player, wish we could have kept him in the fold, but we didn't, and I don't think his current deal makes us a better team. Replace Joseph with him today, and we'd have people talking about moving Paul to make room for signing Pinto.

Paul on this team with that deal.... we'd have people talking about a waste of cap locking up complimentary pieces for 7 years.

 

[DrEasy]

I liked Paul, but was ok with trading him when we did. I even liked Joseph as the return on that trade (although I would have been ok with just getting picks back too). It's just Joseph's contract that's a bit high.

 

[Xspyrit]

I like Paul, and I’m glad you think very highly of him.

Personally I don’t miss him off the team, as I don’t think as highly of him as a player as many seem to.

I think the best parts of his game would make him an excellent developmental coach like Donovan and Winchester. Perhaps we’ll see him able to help the Sens with his approach to the game in a more practical off ice role.

Nothing wrong with Paul in the same sentence as Tom Pyatt. Pyatt was a solid bottom six guy for a fairly long time, and was a good soldier for us. That’s what Paul is as well.

Anyways, we can agree to disagree, and like I said I’m happy that you think so highly of the guy. Undeniably he’s worked hard enough to have earned a few die hard fans.

I don't think "very highly of him" however my vision for how to build a hockey team is much more developed than it was 20 or even 30 years ago. I think highly of him BUT as a bottom-6 forward. Like I think highly of Calle Jarnkrok for example

Remember 2007 and the "nothing" line? (Niedermayer-Pahlsson-Moen). It's hard to rebuild that kind of chemistry but even though they didn't put a lot of points, they were impacting the game a lot defensively

I just wish we had Paul-Pinto-Brown as our 3rd line.

Tkachuk-Stutzle-Giroux
Greig-Norris-Batherson
Paul-Pinto-Brown
??????-Kastelic-??????

Then have a guy like Marco Kasper as our #1 prospect (or a prospect from that 2022 draft if we traded for Chychrun earlier using that 7th OA pick)

That said, we should be fun to watch this year, high octane offense... Not sure about making the playoffs but scores of games involving Ottawa should be quite high.

Nothing wrong with Paul in the same sentence as Tom Pyatt. Pyatt was a solid bottom six guy for a fairly long time, and was a good soldier for us. That’s what Paul is as well.

Anyways, we can agree to disagree, and like I said I’m happy that you think so highly of the guy. Undeniably he’s worked hard enough to have earned a few die hard fans.

Tom Pyatt played 445 NHL games, his highest point totals was 23 pts. He was not particularly good at anything, pretty average defensively, for a 4th liner. But that's the thing, Paul does better HIGHER in your lineup. Pyatt is the kind of guy that would get destroyed in a 2nd/3rd line role. That's why he was a 4th liner and Paul is a 3rd liner on a contender.

The fact that you use both in the same sentence again (and you used Gambrell the first time? lol) shows the limitation in your analysis, of course you're not going to value Paul that much.

All that being said, recognizing value in players doesn't automatically make you a "die hard fan". I am like the farthest thing from a fanboy. I am a fan of winning though and can't say I picked the right team so far lol

Pretty much thi. Paul might not be a stud in any one particular skill, but he isn't a liability on any aspect of the game and is above average at each aspect. That makes him the perfect bottom 6 guy that can occasionally move up throughout the line up. Literally everything we're missing and not amount of hoping that Kastelic or any of our prospects become that will help us right now

Yeah, I never wanted Paul to play above the 3rd line. I find he's just a good building block for a bottom-6. Pinto, Paul, Brown and Kastelic would make our bottom-6 really good. Don't need to have the most recognizable names and expensive players in your top-6, gotta spend on your bottom-6 too, they play a good portion of the game and can help you shutdown the other team's stars. It's not going to be Tarasenko, DeBrincat, Kubalik and Batherson who will shut them down.

Whoops, meant to clarify for forwards.

Also, we play a more physical game than Tampa, especially on the forecheck. If Paul played here, he'd be among the top for hits for us, just as he was when he played here and weren't as forecheck heavy as this season. The point is, the notion of Paul not being physical isn't accurate.

Of course for forwards as it's useless to compare hits with D-men who play more minutes in a more "defensive role" lol. You didn't absolutely have to specify

Paul isn't mean, he hits to separate players from the puck, for him it's a defensive play.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Yorkie and Bobby go back and forth to draft an all time Sens team (coming in hot - no wallace)


Bobby picked Paul. Yorkie had him on his list.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Yorkie and Bobby go back and forth to draft an all time Sens team (coming in hot - no wallace)


Bobby picked Paul. Yorkie had him on his list.

Lol a little silly.

The two best players to ever wear the uniform are each missing on 1 of the 2 lists while guys like Connor Brown and Drake Batherson are there.

Edit: Nope, Im the dummy. Missed that it was a draft, not each pick their own. Makes a lot more sense now.

 

[Xspyrit]

Bobby's team

Too much of an advantage at Center and Goaltending

 

[OD99]

No way - York has that with his depth and the D

 

[bicboi64]

Team Bobby wins. EK with Meth is what sells me. Having Spezza + Stu on top of that? overkill

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Paul goes 25 games without a goal to end the year, gets 2 in his last 40. He's not physical, not top PK or PP guy. Not a weapon defensively.

In 80 games had 96 minutes of PP time. 1:12 per game. 115 minutes of PK time. 1:25 per game. Produced 33p/82 over the full season.

28 years old. Signed for 3.15 for another 6 years, with a no trade clause.

And if this is what it would have taken to keep Paul in a Sens uniform, there would be a few threads created to bash Dorion for offering this contract to Paul.

 

[Butchy Dakkar]

Yorkie and Bobby go back and forth to draft an all time Sens team (coming in hot - no wallace)


Bobby picked Paul. Yorkie had him on his list.

I was thinking Bobby’s team while listening, but seeing the lineups laid out gives me pause.

But I’ll still go Bobby. EK is a world beater even if the overall D is not as strong as team York. Forwards I go Bobby, although York’s second line would be something to behold.

And I see York put himself in the lineup in the end lol