Nikolai Kulemin

[Kingstonian84*]

Kulemin is Clarkson but with a goal instead of a fight. And for half the price. What's not to like, as long as we accept that his 30 goal season was an abberration.

Few big differences: Kulemin is a much better skater then Clarkson, Clarkson is a lot tougher/better hitter then Kulemin is, Kulemin is far better defensively then Clarkson could ever hope to be, but Clarkson drives the net a lot better then Kulemin.

Outside of their 30 goal seasons, I don't see many if any similarites between them. If anything I'd compare Kulemin to a guy like Poni, that's where the comparsions are.

 

[Mystifo]

Wow didn't know we could watch one game from last year and say that this year he is great and shouldn't be talked about. Do you guys read the post and instantly think its extremely negative and have to defend they guy like he is married to you sister. Plain and simple he is struggling and slow this year and needs a new home. Like I said before he will get big $$$ on the UFA market and get something before he walks.

What do you honestly think we can get for Kulemin because by your definition of him he is a.....



- Slow.

- Invisible.

- Offensive black hole.


So seriously what do you think we can gain from trading him because by your assessment of him it would sound like he is a quite a useless player...



FYI I do not want to even think about trading Kulemin. Quite frankly if it were up to me I would of rather seen Clarkson not signed and given Kulemin a raise than have him walk. The guy is an ideal 3rd liner who can go up on a 2nd line and create space for his line mates with his amazing board play.

 

[DaveT83*]

Kulie > Clarkson
Clarkson > MacArthur
MacArthur > Wallin

Moving on.

 

[CerebralDevil]

So even tho its halfway thru the 2nd period, Kulemin looks solid and way better tonite. Maybe the injury he had did affect his game earlier this season? If he plays like that for the season I wouldn't mind seeing him re-sign.

 

[CerebralDevil]

I was wrong. There I said it, but he did look like he had some sort of struggle early this year. Maybe all he needed was a goal to get his jets going.

 

[New Liskeard]

I was wrong. There I said it, but he did look like he had some sort of struggle early this year. Maybe all he needed was a goal to get his jets going.

Too bad he is such a slow skater though, eh?

 

[CerebralDevil]

Too bad he is such a slow skater though, eh?

He looked sluggish, is what I meant. There is no way he is faster than Kessel, Reilly, Raymond, JVR, Kadri and Gards.

 

[New Liskeard]

He looked sluggish, is what I meant. There is no way he is faster than Kessel, Reilly, Raymond, JVR, Kadri and Gards.

Sure thing pal, sure thing. Let me guess, Colborne never beat Gardiner in a skating drill either?

 

[BonMorrison]

Just me pumping tires again. He was unreal last night with McClement and Raymond completely shutting down the Tavares line. I'm glad they got Raymond - Kulemin playing together, let them build chemistry for when Bolland comes back and they become one of the better third lines in the NHL.

 

[pooleboy]

He looked sluggish, is what I meant. There is no way he is faster than Kessel, Reilly, Raymond, JVR, Kadri and Gards.

omg a player is slower than gards? no way

 

[CerebralDevil]

I didn't say kulemin was faster than these guys. Wow the sarcasm. Maybe read previous posts.

 

[boller4president]

I dont see Kulemin wanting much of a raise, it's clear he cant produce like he did a few years ago.

he's a third liner and will likely bump up to 3m max IMO, which is a 200k raise. Anything over that and I'd assume he walks, he's not worth much more, although he is strong defensively and a good part of the team.

But really, is he gonna ditch the team as it is now? The leafs are on the rise, you wanna be that player that leaves this team when it's around it's prime?

Thats way too much.

I appreciate that Kulemin is good defensively and does all the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet but for three million you could get alot more in FA and I don't want to see the FO make the same type of mistake they did with Colby Armstrong.

I'd try to get him signed to 1-1.5 million dollar deal and if he declines so be it. There are always a couple of productive third liners sitting around the couch waiting to be signed. Morrow and Raymond being two recent examples last year.

 

[darrylsittler27]

We can't sign everyone.

Raymond,Bolland,McClemment are all up for new contracts. If A top center was offered I can't help but think Kulemin would be the guy most likely offered in a package. I.e Kadri,Kulemin. If you had to lose one of these four(Raymond,Bolland,McClemment,Kulemin) who do you pick?

 

[Larcos_Unal]

Wasn't Kulemin one of our fastest skaters when he broke into the league? I think he's been focusing on getting all beefcaked up and at 225lbs he can't get up and down like he used to.

May not be a bad idea to split the difference and try to get down to around 210-215lb range.

 

[agropop]

Awesome sauce.

Really hope we can lock him up at a good rate..

 

[ULF_55]

I think it is time to move him.

Interpretation follows:

Watching him the other night I saw body language that I interpreted to be, "aw come on guys!" He was skating up the ice and someone made a boneheaded play with the puck and his shoulders slumped and it was like, "oh man why even bother!"

He still works hard, and tries, but it looks like he's ready to move on.

 

[McGuiresMonsters]

I think it is time to move him.

Interpretation follows:

Watching him the other night I saw body language that I interpreted to be, "aw come on guys!" He was skating up the ice and someone made a boneheaded play with the puck and his shoulders slumped and it was like, "oh man why even bother!"

He still works hard, and tries, but it looks like he's ready to move on.

It may or may not be time to move on, but I think it's silly to try and find some hidden meaning in a player's body language on ice while the team is getting blown out. Most of the Leafs looked frustrated and dejected by the end of the night even James "Mr. Happy Go Lucky" Reimer.

 

[Wendigo]

He's one of those players that helps you win games but isn't getting on the scoreboard enough to be appreciated for his hard work. He's one of the few consistent Leaf players this year when he's played, and he's ideal on the 3rd line, where--assuming we can make the playoffs--that offensive depth really starts to become more relevant. It would be a big loss. I see the loss of Komarov as an example of how a hard-checking forward who didn't score many goals, suddenly seem like a void when they're not around (which I believe was supposed to be filled by Clarkson, who so far I've only seen one game where he had a definitive presence). I hope he stays and I hope the Leafs fight to keep him.

 

[GifKing*]

It may or may not be time to move on, but I think it's silly to try and find some hidden meaning in a player's body language on ice while the team is getting blown out. Most of the Leafs looked frustrated and dejected by the end of the night even James "Mr. Happy Go Lucky" Reimer.

This thread should end with the above statement. Pretty much everything in a nut shell.
I do strongly believe he needs a change of scenery.

 

[FifthLine]

I'm fairly neutral on Kulemin. I would move him, but I'm not one of those who would just take a pick for him and be done with it. If I move him, I'd want a good piece coming back. Ive posted this a few times, and both fan bases seem ok with this deal.

Orpik, Jokinen for Kulemin, Franson

 

[gabeliscious]

Raymond,Bolland,McClemment are all up for new contracts. If A top center was offered I can't help but think Kulemin would be the guy most likely offered in a package. I.e Kadri,Kulemin. If you had to lose one of these four(Raymond,Bolland,McClemment,Kulemin) who do you pick?

my gut feeling is that bolland is going to want bozak money/term. id be pretty nervous giving him $4+ million.

mclemment chose to come here and is liked/preforms/ fits in well. i think after phaneuf he will be nonis top priority.

kulemin will have a tough time getting more money considering his offensive numbers. i feel like with his family rooted here he will probably take the same or less for term. he is a solid part of our bottom 6.

raymond is the wild card. he is doing really well here but he got paid peanuts. i would be ok giving him $3-3.5 million on a short term deal (2 years) but i would be nervous to lock him up longer or for more money.

bottom line the only 100% not going anywhere is mclemment. i think the other 3 will depend on how much money they are looking for. if nonis can get raymond and kulemin at under $3 million each im pretty sure he makes it happpen.

bolland is like lupul in the sense that he is always getting hurt. when he plays he is amazing but you cant rely on him for 75+ games a year.

 

[leafers]

I'm fairly neutral on Kulemin. I would move him, but I'm not one of those who would just take a pick for him and be done with it. If I move him, I'd want a good piece coming back. Ive posted this a few times, and both fan bases seem ok with this deal.

Orpik, Jokinen for Kulemin, Franson

I hope Nonis never bends over like that.

Franson is a keeper.

 

[gabeliscious]

I hope Nonis never bends over like that.

Franson is a keeper.

would you feel the same way about franson if he was looking for voynov money ($4.5 million x 5 years?) at $2 million everything is wonderful because of his cap hit. you arent going to get double the player just because he is going to want $4 million on his next contract.

the leafs need to consolidate some of their secondary pieces and try to get more high end talent.