Player Discussion: Nikita Kucherov - Part 2

[Rschmitz]

Alex Kovalev immediately came to mind even though he wasn't always PPG. That dude left at least 200-300 career points on the table just because he was so damn inconsistent despite the fact he had the talent for it.


HM to the not well known Nikolai Zherdev. He never came close to the same stratosphere of point production as Kovalev but that dude... you've got to be JOKING with as much talent as he had. All tools and no box. If he had ever managed to put it together mentally I have no doubt he could've been a very good one

Was looking to see if someone mentioned Kovalev before I replied. Kucherov is a Kovalev clone except I think Kucherov will actually apply himself

 

[Rschmitz]

Trade kucherov for Jack Hughes brings Kucherov together with gusev! Solves our cap issues

For like two years until Hughes demands 10m+ for half as many points

 

[DFC]

first six years ppg for federov then he stayed close and honestly with his speed and game might call him lazy got more defensive later but was capable of soo much more and he did come through big in playoffs just at a ppg his entire playoff career so lazy might be right take.... is more comparison when his game was off he was awful lol like kucherov at times turnovers etc.. looked like wasnt trying out there as far as TODD really??? that is insulting

I was thinking more later in Fedorov's run in Detroit, or, well, the second half, when he was no longer a point per game player (outside of his contract year, which was infuriating). He often looked lazy but was also just a 65 point guy. But you could tell he had 100 in him, annually, if he would just get motivated. Fedorov was a constant source of frustration throughout my childhood. :p He was the most skilled guy on that team, but only showed it when he felt like it. His defensive play also fell off around this time. He wasn't really in the Selke conversation by about '98.

I don't remember a whole lot of bad nights when he was still scoring a point-per-game, but I was also pretty young, so I don't doubt that it happened.

But I think there's a big difference. I think Kucherov LOOKS lazy when his game is off. I think Fedorov actually WAS lazy.

 

[DFC]

Was looking to see if someone mentioned Kovalev before I replied. Kucherov is a Kovalev clone except I think Kucherov will actually apply himself

Yeah. What differentiates Kucherov, I think, is that, when he's "off," it's not actual laziness. This is just his style of play. He's still working harder than anybody, as mentioned by Burns. It's just that his game is so finesse-based that it looks awful when his plays aren't working out. But when his plays ARE working out... It's still the exact same style of play. It's just suddenly he's better at threading needles.

With a lot of these other guys (Fedorov, Kovalev, even Lemieux), they just flat out gave you 60% some nights. I don't think that's the case with Kuch. Or at least not to the same degree. (Fedorov took half the season off, sometimes.)

 

[Rschmitz]

Yeah. What differentiates Kucherov, I think, is that, when he's "off," it's not actual laziness. This is just his style of play. He's still working harder than anybody, as mentioned by Burns. It's just that his game is so finesse-based that it looks awful when his plays aren't working out. But when his plays ARE working out... It's still the exact same style of play. It's just suddenly he's better at threading needles.

With a lot of these other guys (Fedorov, Kovalev, even Lemieux), they just flat out gave you 60% some nights. I don't think that's the case with Kuch. Or at least not to the same degree. (Fedorov took half the season off, sometimes.)

I think Kucherov works hard on the things that he wants to work hard at. He's deceptive to the eyes, but he's definitely still lazy in other areas of his game.

 

[LightningStrikes]

 

[RussianGuyovich]

the lazy russian trope is so boring

 

[J T Money]

Wouldn't that be a triple? 300 assists and 200 goals for the 500 points?????

 

[Master P]

the lazy russian trope is so boring

Boring leads to being tired. Tired leads to being lazy.
We've now come full circle

 

[Hint1k]

the lazy russian

But whose fault is this?
I mean that Oblvomov guy. He was laying in his bed the whole time.
Or take that Russian national hero. Ilia Muromets. Whose biggest heroic move was to sit home for 33 years.
Then you have Emelya sitting on his kitchen stove the whole life.
And now you know where it came from

 

[2020 Cup Champions]

But whose fault is this?
I mean that Oblvomov guy. He was laying in his bed the whole time.
Or take that Russian national hero. Ilia Muromets. Whose biggest heroic move was to sit home for 33 years.
Then you have Emelya sitting on his kitchen stove the whole life.
And now you know where it came from

When he wasn't lounging about in prison!

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

Kuch really needs to wake up. He's been awful lately. And I'm not even talking about the lack of scoring. He's been setting guys up and they just aren't burying anything, but his lack of effort in the defensive zone is inexcusable right now. I'm really tired of seeing him skate into the defensive zone, and then rather than cover his man he takes a curl towards the boards for an outlet pass even before we gained possession. The other day he did it and before he curled back again toward the play the puck was in the net.

 

[Byrddog]

Kuch really needs to wake up. He's been awful lately. And I'm not even talking about the lack of scoring. He's been setting guys up and they just aren't burying anything, but his lack of effort in the defensive zone is inexcusable right now. I'm really tired of seeing him skate into the defensive zone, and then rather than cover his man he takes a curl towards the boards for an outlet pass even before we gained possession. The other day he did it and before he curled back again toward the play the puck was in the net.

Yeah such a damn slug they need to trade him.

 

[Master P]

He's definitely playing like he's disinterested. Only really putting in an effort if he has a chance to score, otherwise he's just coasting.
I would love to see him challenged by the coaching staff. Like just pick one game and tell him to get as many steals as he can, don't worry about scoring. Just to get his mind in that mode.
He's much better when he's relentless on the puck, right now he's just hanging out waiting for a pass.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

the lazy russian trope is so boring

Its just tiring. I think i've seen more shit shifts out of Maroon in the last month than i've seen all season with Kucherov.

 

[The Macho King]

Its just tiring. I think i've seen more **** shifts out of Maroon in the last month than i've seen all season with Kucherov.

Seriously - I'm not seeing the huge problem. He hasnt been super on top of things, but I think hes been pretty good for the most part.

Meanwhile Maroon has been basically useless.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

I see kucherov backcheck more than most of our forwards, but i know he’s an offensive specialist. I get tired of reading these constant posts. Guy above was upset because kucherov turned in to start a breakout? Really? I feel like these posts are pageantry hive mind at this point.

 

[LTIR Trickery]

I see kucherov backcheck more than most of our forwards, but i know he’s an offensive specialist. I get tired of reading these constant posts. Guy above was upset because kucherov turned in to start a breakout? Really? I feel like these posts are pageantry hive mind at this point.

Its honestly pretty fascinating how you can drop one trope or idea into a thread and derail it in under 10 posts in this place, its a shame Patrick isn't here. He was the king of it.

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Don't see a problem with him. I'm not a fan of the whole line (especially Point and him) going for the pass all the time, shoot it god damn it

 

[DFC]

I think he's falling victim to the general "piling on" we see around here sometimes. He's not converting as much as last year. I saw a lot of people talking about him being off last night, but I thought he was creating more offense than anybody on the team (maybe Cirelli as an exception).

The guy has equaled or increased his point total every season of his career. It was bound to stop at some point. I think he's struggling with a few of the changes we've implemented, and you can see he's not as confident/swaggering as he was at times last year. But the idea that he's somehow not a good player or lazy just doesn't check out. Even when he's scoring 128 points per year, his style can often appear lazy, and yet pretty much to a man everyone on the inside reports he's probably the hardest working guy on the team.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

i think his head is really screwed right now he is soooooo overly pissed its affecting his game big time... you can see it soo much after shifts especially as another goal is not scored etc..... he will be fine though ..... he is 100% pissed off right now and NO one is putting more pressure on kucherov then kuch unfortunately things just can be hard....

last night 3-4 perfect imho assists and get a vezina goalie playing like a madman and kuch stays mad...

sad part is if he would just let up a little he probably go on a tear

 

[Zwui21]

I see kucherov backcheck more than most of our forwards, but i know he’s an offensive specialist. I get tired of reading these constant posts. Guy above was upset because kucherov turned in to start a breakout? Really? I feel like these posts are pageantry hive mind at this point.

THANK YOU! Fully agree

 

[Kshahdoo]

Yeah such a damn slug they need to trade him.

To Devils. If he couldn't play with his best friend Gusev on Tampa, he'll play with him on Devils.

 

[Zwui21]

Kucherov is tied with Killorn for the best 5v5 GA60 on the team. Is also 6th of 14 in xGA60. Is also top 4 in CA60, FA60, SA60, GF%, and xGF%. Seems like he's doing alright defensively.

 

[DFC]

He's the same player he's always been defensively. He doesn't dog it out like Cirelli, but he's not just cruising along like vintage ovy or Kessel. He's usually in good position and comes up with some timely steals.