Nikita Zaitsev

[Mr Hockey]

I like Z, but the contract is bad. It is not the dollars even ...its the term everyone hates. 32 year old Zaitsev at 4.5 million is going to take a prospect or second round pick just so a team will take him.

LL sucks Babcock.

He leads the team in ATOI as a 2nd pairing d'mam at 4.5 mil AAV, how do you know a 30 year old Zaitsev isn't a stud? I hope your not listening to people from this group? lol

 

[The Podium]

Orlov and Dumoulin are both way better. i'd be over the moon if we could move Zaitsev for one of them

Using 2017-2018 for sample size:
Dumoulin's ZS% is 55.81%
Orlov ZS% 46.18%
Zaitsev ZS% 45.64%

Zaitsev was the least sheltered. As has been explained, when a player starts the majority of times in the D zone, especially on Toronto that struggles with controlled zone exits, its very easy to see why players face more SA than SF. A player like Dumoulin will have a high corsi because they mostly start in the Ozone (having Malkin, Crosby, etc. helps). Context to stats is incredible important.

For reference, the Leafs with the highest corsi last season were Dermott, JVR, Carrick and Bozak. Dermott did well against lesser competition but even zone starts. The other 3, JVR, Carrick and Bozak, were leaders in OZone starts and also played against lesser competition. Its proof that context is important.

 

[The Podium]

Since 2016, the most Giveaways by a Vancouver Canuck until (The time Zaitsev has been in the league) to today is 100. Zaitsev has had 143 in that time frame.

Jake Gardiner has 193, Rielly 167, Marner 120, Kadri 114, Matthews 109. Each NHL rink hires their own stats guy, some more generous in certain categories than others.

Babcock's stretch pass breakouts do not help either.

 

[Menzinger]

Exactly it is plain probability. If your starting a ton of zone starts in the offensive zone your relative probability of a shot for vs a shot against is very high especially when compared with a start in the defensive zone.

Context is key and I agree I dont think Babcock is looking at advaned stats much lol. Old dogs dont learn new tricks

Mirtle has referenced Babcock quoting some internal “in house” stats during press scrums before - especially when it comes to getting questions about the D men.

 

[Menzinger]

I’d agree that possession numbers aren’t everything when it comes to Zaitsev, especially considering how many DZone stats he has.

That said, those numbers are also in part bad because he has difficulty clearing the puck from the zone in a controlled manner.

 

[Kiwi]

I’d agree that possession numbers aren’t everything when it comes to Zaitsev, especially considering how many DZone stats he has.

That said, those numbers are also in part bad because he has difficulty clearing the puck from the zone in a controlled manner.

Difficulty?

As soon as someone puts the pressure on him he's like a possum in the headlights, he can't fire the puck away fast enough

Tools for days with an ultra defensive, afraid to make a mistake mindset, he needs a little Gardiner calm in his game
Without the brain farts preferably

 

[Ratboy]

I think he's fine. Haven't really noticed him that much this year which is a good thing. One of the few D-men I don't worry about.

 

[Battle Lin]

well hes leading the team in ice time so far, so babs is using him, and more often than not hes been solid as usual

 

[Mr Hockey]

Difficulty?

As soon as someone puts the pressure on him he's like a possum in the headlights, he can't fire the puck away fast enough

Tools for days with an ultra defensive, afraid to make a mistake mindset, he needs a little Gardiner calm in his game
Without the brain farts preferably

Yes, i often see Jake passing to semi-covered players, he seems to hang out Zaitsev to dry a lot... its a Jake thing, shoots when he should pass, passes when he should shoot, etc ... is there adv stats for that stuff?

 

[indigobuffalo]

Seems that opinions are varying pretty widely... from bottom 25% of the league to invaluable for PK and protecting leads.

My (somewhat irrational) thinking is that if Zaitsev is a Canuck, it may carry some weight that Tryamkin might come back into the fold as well.

Is his performance affected to the degree where the Leafs could be looking to move him for cap reasons... like, retaining on a trade bad? I wouldn't think so, but opinions seemed to be split

The people trashing Zaitsev couldn’t tell the difference between a puck and a football.

Zaitsev is a very steady blue liner and is used in a lot of key situations, like the PK, and anchors a 50-pt defender (Gardiner) who is almost completely useless defensively (so Zaitsev basically solos the defensive coverage).

He actually had a not bad season last year, and was solid in the last quarter of the season and playoffs.

He’s young, yet plays like a seasoned veteran. You almost never notice him, and when you do it’s more-often-than-not because he’s contributing offensively.

Not, as far as him being available there’s no chance. We have one year left of Hainsey and then Liljegren comes in. We don’t really have a viable RHD in the pipeline after Liljegren. We NEED Zaitsev, Liljegren, and Ozhiganov as they are the Leafs’ RHD for the next 6-10 years.

If we draft/develop some stud RHD then maybe he’s moveable, but unlikely.

 

[Kiwi]

Yes, i often see Jake passing to semi-covered players, he seems to hang out Zaitsev to dry a lot... its a Jake thing, shoots when he should pass, passes when he should shoot, etc ... is there adv stats for that stuff?

Gardiner for all his faults can at least move the puck out of his own zone with some semblance of control

He's also the primary puck mover out of those two as well, that pair is going to perform as well as Gardiner can carry it

Zaitsev does some good stuff but he's an absolute train wreck with the puck on his stick, unfortunately that's not a great trait in a top 4 defenseman

 

[mapleleaf979]

The people trashing Zaitsev couldn’t tell the difference between a puck and a football.

Zaitsev is a very steady blue liner and is used in a lot of key situations, like the PK, and anchors a 50-pt defender (Gardiner) who is almost completely useless defensively (so Zaitsev basically solos the defensive coverage).

He actually had a not bad season last year, and was solid in the last quarter of the season and playoffs.

He’s young, yet plays like a seasoned veteran. You almost never notice him, and when you do it’s more-often-than-not because he’s contributing offensively.

Not, as far as him being available there’s no chance. We have one year left of Hainsey and then Liljegren comes in. We don’t really have a viable RHD in the pipeline after Liljegren. We NEED Zaitsev, Liljegren, and Ozhiganov as they are the Leafs’ RHD for the next 6-10 years.

If we draft/develop some stud RHD then maybe he’s moveable, but unlikely.

Wrong. Lets keep it on track. Zaitsev is worth 1-2 million right now. @ 4.5 million he does nothing to impact the game. He is scared to retrieve pucks, makes poor decisions. He is trying to rebound to his first year level.

 

[Luminiferous]

Wrong. Lets keep it on track. Zaitsev is worth 1-2 million right now. @ 4.5 million he does nothing to impact the game. He is scared to retrieve pucks, makes poor decisions. He is trying to rebound to his first year level.

Your opinion is not fact.

 

[GBLeaf]

He impacts the game how he impacts the game, regardless of what he earns.

 

[Confucius]

Since 2016, the most Giveaways by a Vancouver Canuck until (The time Zaitsev has been in the league) to today is 100. Zaitsev has had 143 in that time frame.

So....
Looking at the league giveaway leaders such as Burns, Subban, Ekblad etc, are you saying a lot of giveaways indicates a poor player? Id take anynody on last years top 10 list over any Canuck. Curiously Zaitsev isn't on it either.

Zaitsev is down the list tied for 30th with that other giveaway machine Crosby. Doughty with more giveaways last year than Zaitsev. Does that mean Zaitsev> Burns, Subban, Doughty etc..?

Id say if you don't giveaway the puck a lot, you probably don't handle the puck much to begin with. Can't giveaway what you don't have.
https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/stats...sort=8&time=0&pos=0&team=0&qual=1&sortOrder=1

 

[Zybalto]

I said a couple of games ago that Gards looked to be finding his legs after a rough start and Zaitsevs numbers would creep up as a result. Its a good thing too as we've needed them to get back on form as as a pairing as we are facing tougher competition than earlier in the season and Rielly/Hainsey needed to split some of the better QoC they have been facing.

Last game against the Jets was a good example of how he doesnt get any love. Great analytics, got on the scoresheet and part of the best pairing against the Jets top line and pretty much no love because he passed into Gards skates once or twice or something.....not like anyone really cares about analytics when it comes to Zaitsev though unless they have an agenda. He had good analytics the last quarter of last season and borderline elite analytics in the playoffs and the conversation switched to specific incidents and "eye test" pretty fast. (I may have missed some of the articles referencing his analytics from the playoffs and how effective he was so I may be wrong here but I dont think so)

Analytics have their drawbacks too of course with one of Riellys better games(against the Kings) ended up with his under 30% corsi and yet was in complete control in the defensive zone keeping them to the outside as they managed few scoring chances. Zaitsev had a similar game earlier in the year with the board singing his praises despite him being in the same range. These tend to balance out in the end though.

With Gards look more like himself (Scary + good), its gonna be good for the pairing and the team overall but I'm guessing Zaitsev is going to be sort of an unsung guy for whatever reason. Hainsey has also been decent for us despite the abuse he takes around here despite the hoards waiting to jump on him for literally anything. Like Hainsey, Zaitsev may be suffering more from his role on the team than anything. Net front presence guy that is hard on the boards who plays big solid minutes while being in the bottom twenty in he league for offensive zone starts. Not really a sexy role and one that Leafs fans have never been that kind to. So far this year, he leads the team in minutes, PK minutes, hits and blocked shots and thinking about that, along with his way getting out of the way to let keepers see certain shots and his obsession with getting to the front of the net, if his name was Nick McKenzie Im pretty sure Cherry would be in love with him.

He has his drawback of course as he his offensive upside hasnt panned out well and his shot is a bit of a wet noodle but he has been effective as a compliment to a puck mover. Its still early in the year though so lets see how it all pans out.