RAFI BOMB
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- May 11, 2016
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Player Discussion Nick Paul (LW)
- Thread starter RAFI BOMB
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DJB
Registered User
Nick Paul was outstanding tonight. Best game I've seen him play.
Development has taken off and looking like a nice 3rd liner.
Development has taken off and looking like a nice 3rd liner.
We are all in good moods so please this isn't meant to be negative because I think yours was tongue in cheek but Paul has had some of the worst luck around dev/training camp I have ever seen.
He could have been in the league 2 years ago IMO but the extra time hasn't hurt at all. He is big, strong, has great straight line speed and a wicked shot plus he has added FO skills and pro level compete.
I think he will be a big bottom 6 guy for a while and still has room to grow.
I am also high on the sweet nectar that is a Regulation W over the Leafs but pretty sure I am still feeling what I wrote.
TheDebater
Peace be upon you
Mark Stones Spleen
Registered User
We were there, you just couldn't see us hiding behind his gigantic PP.
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
I'll admit I have a hard time getting excited about Nick Paul's play when he isn't playing.
jbeck5
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- Jan 26, 2009
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jbeck5
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Pretty sure. See that release on the post?
If the guy gets consistent time with talented players, watch out.
Icelevel
During these difficult times...
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Nick Paul is now better than spezza.
For real!
For real!
Sweatred
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Nick Paul showed everyone last night what a good 3rd liner looks like at $1.35 million. That’s how you build a hockey team.
I think that entire third Line costs ~$7.5 million.
Last edited:
Pierre from Orleans
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FunkySeeFunkyDoo
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Pretty sure anyone who was watching last year could see that his game had turned the corner.
Looks like the Yashin trade tree will carry on for years!
Dude is exactly the type of player we needed against the Leafs in those playoff series years ago, can't wait to see him continue to grow and become a force
Dude is exactly the type of player we needed against the Leafs in those playoff series years ago, can't wait to see him continue to grow and become a force
Sens of Anarchy
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Comprehension problems ? That was a compliment to whoever built that line.
Dorion iced a great 3rd line last night for $7.5 million.
I have noticed your quieter today with your daily management complaints -
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Butchy Dakkar
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- Oct 3, 2020
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Paul was one of our best players last night, all the way from the third line. I can’t remember who he was matched against, but even if feasting on bad TO depth, he was consistently very good and had some great chances. He almost sniper top shelf from out wide after beating a D wide.
If this is the new normal, look out. I thought he was good in his role last year, but this is another level if not an outlier.
Maybe slow and steady development works.
If this is the new normal, look out. I thought he was good in his role last year, but this is another level if not an outlier.
Maybe slow and steady development works.
Sweatred
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Great game - home changes vs Toronto may offer his best matchup in the division.
Icelevel
During these difficult times...
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Love that Watson goal. With sad spezza icing at the end.
6’4” to 6’5” to 6’4” snipe.
Xspyrit
DJ Dorion
Nick has surprising speed for his size, of course the first 2-3 steps are always going to be "laborious" for a giant but if he keeps skating there's no problem at all. And his shot is sneaky good, can catch goalies off guard with it.
I wouldn't say "win" but it's not really about winning/losing because that's not really the reason why you make trades. Most of the time it's to fill a need from a position of strenght but sometimes you are also "forced" to trade a player so you might not be able to do that. In that case, Spezza wanted out (and we didn't want to extend him as his contract was expiring) so we opted for "futures"
Paul is now much more useful than Spezza who is going on 38 y/o. Sometimes a trade can take a while before finally "pay off". The return for Spezza will never be considered an homerun but it was also never as bad as it was painted out to be here. Chiasson was the "big name" prospect in the deal (yes he was considered a pretty good prospect before making the NHL and didn't disappoint in Dallas) but in hindsight the keeper seems to be Nick Paul
Chiasson + Paul + 2nd is not a homerun return on paper but it's also not surprising for several factors
- Jason was 31 y/o with recurrent back issues
- He had 1 year left before UFA. So it's either you lose him after just one season or you extend him to a massive contract. Luckily for the Stars they were able to keep the term reasonable (4 years) but he still ended up being massively overpaid in his last 2 years. If you thought Ryan was overpaid, well Spezza was significantly more overpaid (0.55 PPG at 7.25 M$ vs 0.35 PPG at 7.5 M$)
- the market for him was definitely not as great as we hoped. After Spezza refused the trade to Nashville, it most likely dried up. Considering my first 2 points above, it's understandable that teams weren't lining up to outbid each others.
We overeact on trades and IMO it has more to do with emotional attachment to players or quick judgments without looking at the big picture. Heck, I just complained a lot about Stepan for a 2nd but what if he has a good season and actually help some younger players while returning a 2nd at the deadline?
I wouldn't say "win" but it's not really about winning/losing because that's not really the reason why you make trades. Most of the time it's to fill a need from a position of strenght but sometimes you are also "forced" to trade a player so you might not be able to do that. In that case, Spezza wanted out (and we didn't want to extend him as his contract was expiring) so we opted for "futures"
Paul is now much more useful than Spezza who is going on 38 y/o. Sometimes a trade can take a while before finally "pay off". The return for Spezza will never be considered an homerun but it was also never as bad as it was painted out to be here. Chiasson was the "big name" prospect in the deal (yes he was considered a pretty good prospect before making the NHL and didn't disappoint in Dallas) but in hindsight the keeper seems to be Nick Paul
Chiasson + Paul + 2nd is not a homerun return on paper but it's also not surprising for several factors
- Jason was 31 y/o with recurrent back issues
- He had 1 year left before UFA. So it's either you lose him after just one season or you extend him to a massive contract. Luckily for the Stars they were able to keep the term reasonable (4 years) but he still ended up being massively overpaid in his last 2 years. If you thought Ryan was overpaid, well Spezza was significantly more overpaid (0.55 PPG at 7.25 M$ vs 0.35 PPG at 7.5 M$)
- the market for him was definitely not as great as we hoped. After Spezza refused the trade to Nashville, it most likely dried up. Considering my first 2 points above, it's understandable that teams weren't lining up to outbid each others.
We overeact on trades and IMO it has more to do with emotional attachment to players or quick judgments without looking at the big picture. Heck, I just complained a lot about Stepan for a 2nd but what if he has a good season and actually help some younger players while returning a 2nd at the deadline?
The deal was horrible. We picked the wrong prospects on Dallas. We wanted to bring in a young NHL asset and just like with Conacher picked the wrong one in Chiasson (Pro scouting...). Would've been better off just trading him for a single 1st round pick from a team. Problem at the time (if I remember the conversation at the time) was that we were wanting a young NHLer and prospects + picks whereas (if I recall) some of the interest was 'prospects or picks-only'. Either way - it would have been better to target one good asset.
In terms of the Spezza contract - he was overpaid for the last two years there but his first two years there he was fantastic and led the Stars to late in the 2nd round when Seguin got hurt at the start of the playoffs. Nill has said he had no regrets about the Spezza deal etc... The issue Spezza ran into in the last two years was he stopped getting offensive opportunities in the way he was beforehand and his 5 v 5 play started slipping (though not as much as people said). Switching him around all over the ice in terms of position and in and out of the lineup etc.. really made it hard for him to produce at a better level (say 35-40 points) where he probably would have been. I would have taken the last 4 years of Spezza in Dallas above Bobby Ryan any day of the week. Made even more apparent when you consider his leadership etc...
Mark Stones Spleen
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