Not to necro this thread, but only saw this comment today.
This is a really odd drive-by... you couldn't have been reading the thread I was responding to. If you were, you'd know I was actually defending Bouchard by laying some blame on Foegele for not giving Bouchard a decent (like on the halfwall) pass option and instead turning his back and skating out of the zone.
Guymez and others were trying to talk me out of that, placing blame squarely on Bouchard for forcing a pass that wasn't really there and suggested glass-and-out was the safe/correct play there, I mean, sure I kinda agree... but implicit in my argument is that Bouchard sometimes sees plays that others don't see... That was my point about Bouchard, his risk reward equation is going to be influenced by the way he approaches the game, which is offense/possession driven and influenced by the plays he can make.
I certainly don't think I'm keying in on every error... we were talking about one play where he screwed up (I think we all agree on that) which led to a goal. He's offensively minded, wired to have us keep the puck on our sticks, so he's going to force things from time to time... you take the good with the bad.
To that point... what an absolute f'n rocket last night.
If I could jump in...I think more than anything it was just a disagreement on how we saw that specific play.
I didnt even want or expect Bouchard to put it off the glass...just put it in a place that Foegele could transition the puck up ice. Where he did end up puting the puck was not at all conducive to any meaningful transition. It was a pass that looked far too leisurely considering the urgency of the situation.
Just for the sake of clarity (not necessarily directed at you) I also dont think for a minute that Bouchard should be expected to play mistake free.
Thats an obvious impossibility for any player.
That said...my point of focus was on Bouchard was his lingering tendency (on defence) to make a leisurely play instead of making an assertive play.
That has been something that has been in Bouchards game since he arrived in the NHL. Its much better than it used to be for sure buy my main point was that I would like to see him eliminate that particular element from his game.
That is why that specific play (mentioned above) stood out to me.
I also dont view players through a polorized lens. Good or bad...hate the player or love the player.
That is something that tends to happen on these boards all too often.
Looking through that lens suggests that any and all criticism of a player is unacceptable which IMO is a nonsense perspective.
Doesnt matter to me if the player is Draisaitl, McDavid, Nurse or Bouchard or any other player.
We should be able to point out positives and negatives in a players game without being labelled as a hater..
