Prospect Info: Pavel Zacha

[billingtons ghost]

Not even paces, either! Dude scored more than 50 points in 7 of his 11 full (non-lockout) seasons, and that's not factoring in injuries. But sure, let's go with "can barely scratch 50 points", which is just unbelievably wrong.

Point totals, his last 5 years, since he was 27 and in his 'prime'.
53
40
40
49
46

His 7 of 11 came all LONG ago in his past.

Why should 'factoring in injuries' matter? If he can't play and can't score, he can't. I don't see where that merits 6-7m a year and a spot on our second line.

I'm sorry - why don't you understand this? Are those numbers hard to grasp for you? Do you think he'll suddenly have a breakout season at 33 years old and score 70?

 

[None Shall Pass]

Point totals, his last 5 years, since he was 27 and in his 'prime'.
53
40
40
49
46

His 7 of 11 came all LONG ago in his past.

Why should 'factoring in injuries' matter? If he can't play and can't score, he can't. I don't see where that merits 6-7m a year and a spot on our second line.

I'm sorry - why don't you understand this? Are those numbers hard to grasp for you? Do you think he'll suddenly have a breakout season at 33 years old and score 70?

				Per
Season	Age	Tm	GP	PTS
2006-07	21	COL	82	0.95
2007-08	22	COL	66	1.08
2008-09	23	COL	45	0.80
2009-10	24	COL	81	0.98
2010-11	25	COL	74	0.77
2011-12	26	COL	79	0.67
2012-13	27	COL	40	0.60
2013-14	28	COL	71	0.85
2014-15	29	STL	74	0.62
2015-16	30	STL	64	0.77
2016-17	31	STL	66	0.61
2017-18	32	TOT	82	0.65
2017-18	32	STL	63	0.63
2017-18	32	WPG	19	0.68

[THEAD] [/THEAD]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2018.

Just wanted to show you his career PPG. Go ahead and look up Zacha's, let me know who you'd bet on being a better 2nd line center in the next two years, thanks.

 

[Cheddabombs]

Paul Zacha

Or

Pavel Stastny

 

[Darkauron]

Paul Zacha

Or

Pavel Stastny

Pauveliya Ztastnachuk

 

[Zippy316]

Statsny will easily make us a better team as our 2C.

But that shouldn't be the argument, the argument is whether or not it's worth it to clog the only spot for Zacha or McLeod (or even an outside shot at Coleman) to cement a top nine center spot in the next two or three years. We're still very early on in our rebuild that development of young players still needs to be a priority.

If it's Tavares, I could care less what happens to the development of our young centers after that. But Statsny is merely a short term option that doesn't put the Devils over the edge. I'd pass there with us already having Zajac.

 

[Missionhockey]

Statsny will easily make us a better team as our 2C.

But that shouldn't be the argument, the argument is whether or not it's worth it to clog the only spot for Zacha or McLeod (or even an outside shot at Coleman) to cement a top nine center spot in the next two or three years. We're still very early on in our rebuild that development of young players still needs to be a priority.

If it's Tavares, I could care less what happens to the development of our young centers after that. But Statsny is merely a short term option that doesn't put the Devils over the edge. I'd pass there with us already having Zajac.

I would lean towards no on Stastny depending on the term. His age doesn't really fit in with what Shero is trying to build and the back end of the deal is probably going to be an anchor. No doubt though, he makes the team better now.

 

[MichaelJ]

Statsny will easily make us a better team as our 2C.

But that shouldn't be the argument, the argument is whether or not it's worth it to clog the only spot for Zacha or McLeod (or even an outside shot at Coleman) to cement a top nine center spot in the next two or three years. We're still very early on in our rebuild that development of young players still needs to be a priority.

If it's Tavares, I could care less what happens to the development of our young centers after that. But Statsny is merely a short term option that doesn't put the Devils over the edge. I'd pass there with us already having Zajac.

If the Devils were to land Tavares, either Zacha or McLeod (or both) can shift to wing.

 

[GeNeXt]

I would lean towards no on Stastny depending on the term. His age doesn't really fit in with what Shero is trying to build and the back end of the deal is probably going to be an anchor. No doubt though, he makes the team better now.

Also, I think Shero will be hesitant to have two centers (Zajac and Stastny) entering their mid-30s and consuming around $12 million in cap space.

 

[billingtons ghost]

				Per
Season	Age	Tm	GP	PTS
2006-07	21	COL	82	0.95
2007-08	22	COL	66	1.08
2008-09	23	COL	45	0.80
2009-10	24	COL	81	0.98
2010-11	25	COL	74	0.77
2011-12	26	COL	79	0.67
2012-13	27	COL	40	0.60
2013-14	28	COL	71	0.85
2014-15	29	STL	74	0.62
2015-16	30	STL	64	0.77
2016-17	31	STL	66	0.61
2017-18	32	TOT	82	0.65
2017-18	32	STL	63	0.63
2017-18	32	WPG	19	0.68

[THEAD] [/THEAD]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/1/2018.

Just wanted to show you his career PPG. Go ahead and look up Zacha's, let me know who you'd bet on being a better 2nd line center in the next two years, thanks.

He's 21!!!!!!! His points per game were .4. Same as Travis Zajac.

I noticed you didn't bother putting up total points, or deleted the total points field, because years of <50 doesn't look as impressive as when you only play half the games.

Here's how our #1 Center fared the last 10 years: PPG

2010-11	NJ	82	13	31	44	-6	1	1	2	8	1	1	0.5
2011-12	NJ	15	2	4	6	-3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.4
2012-13	NJ	48	7	13	20	-5	1	0	1	3	1	0	0.4
2013-14	NJ	80	18	30	48	3	3	1	3	12	0	0	0.6
2014-15	NJ	74	11	14	25	-3	0	0	4	3	2	0	0.3
2015-16	NJ	74	14	28	42	3	2	0	6	11	2	1	0.6
2016-17	NJ	80	14	31	45	-8	1	0	6	6	1	1	0.6
2017-18	NJ	63	12	14	26	-8	0	0	2	4	1	1	0.4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

 

[Billdo]

Zacha is going to score 20 goals this year, book it

 

[My3Sons]

Zacha is going to score 20 goals this year, book it

If he develops his offense to that extent the 2C argument would be over. He has to shoot more to score more. That seems to be one of his issues.

 

[Billdo]

If he develops his offense to that extent the 2C argument would be over. He has to shoot more to score more. That seems to be one of his issues.

I'm hoping he focused on the defensive aspect of his game last year, which I think is pretty evident, and this year he'll show the offense. Again I'm hoping so who knows.

 

[None Shall Pass]

He's 21!!!!!!! His points per game were .4. Same as Travis Zajac.

I noticed you didn't bother putting up total points, or deleted the total points field, because years of <50 doesn't look as impressive as when you only play half the games.

Here's how our #1 Center fared the last 10 years: PPG

2010-11	NJ	82	13	31	44	-6	1	1	2	8	1	1	0.5
2011-12	NJ	15	2	4	6	-3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0.4
2012-13	NJ	48	7	13	20	-5	1	0	1	3	1	0	0.4
2013-14	NJ	80	18	30	48	3	3	1	3	12	0	0	0.6
2014-15	NJ	74	11	14	25	-3	0	0	4	3	2	0	0.3
2015-16	NJ	74	14	28	42	3	2	0	6	11	2	1	0.6
2016-17	NJ	80	14	31	45	-8	1	0	6	6	1	1	0.6
2017-18	NJ	63	12	14	26	-8	0	0	2	4	1	1	0.4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Okay, so our #1 center was bad, not nearly as good a scorer as Stastny, the whole team was pretty bad during this stretch, and, like what? What am I missing here? Comparing the 2, Stastny outscored Zajac in every one of the years listed minus one. And this is injury plagued, never plays Stastny.

Here's his points in the same timeframe:

					Scor	Scor	Scor
Season	Age	Tm	Lg	GP	G	A	PTS
2010-11	25	COL	NHL	74	22	35	57
2011-12	26	COL	NHL	79	21	32	53
2012-13	27	COL	NHL	40	9	15	24
2013-14	28	COL	NHL	71	25	35	60
2014-15	29	STL	NHL	74	16	30	46
2015-16	30	STL	NHL	64	10	39	49
2016-17	31	STL	NHL	66	18	22	40
2017-18	32	TOT	NHL	82	16	37	53
2017-18	32	STL	NHL	63	12	28	40
2017-18	32	WPG	NHL	19	4	9	13

[thead] [/thead]

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/4/2018.

So he played less than Zajac, outscored him in raw numbers and PPG, and what does this have to do with whether or not he'd be a better 2C than Zacha?

 

[Devils Dominion]

Zacha is going to score 20 goals this year, book it

That would significantly help our playoff chances.

But I'm skeptical

 

[Richer's Ghost]

Zacha is going to score 20 goals this year, book it

In the AHL? Maybe. Certainly not in the NHL and not on the Devils though.

 

[Nubmer6]

THINK POSITIVE

 

[Billdo]

In the AHL? Maybe. Certainly not in the NHL and not on the Devils though.

Such positivity

 

[devilsblood]

Zacha is going to score 20 goals this year, book it

If I was going to make a optimistic prediction regarding Zacha it would be 40+ points. Goal scoring seems to be 3rd on his list of priorities, defense/playmaking both take priority, so even if he had a solid step up year I think 15-25-40 ish would be more likely.

Eventually though I def want to see 20+ consistently, he certainly has the tools for it.

 

[devilsblood]

I would lean towards no on Stastny depending on the term. His age doesn't really fit in with what Shero is trying to build and the back end of the deal is probably going to be an anchor. No doubt though, he makes the team better now.

I'd say it's pretty likely he makes us better in year 1. But I think it get's significantly less certain after that. Yes he was healthy this year, and he put up solid point totals, but he does have a long history of injuries and on Jan 1st 2020 he will be 34, it's very uncertain how well he continues to produce as he gets older.

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

In the AHL? Maybe. Certainly not in the NHL and not on the Devils though.

excellent analysis.

Tell me again how Vatanen is bad, too.

 

[Cage Helmet]

I don’t entirely disagree on being skeptical that Zacha will score 20 goals next year. He doesn’t shoot a lot and his ability to finish his chances hasn’t been anything remarkable. There have been far worse players to score 20 goals or more in a season than Zacha. So it can’t be completely discounted. He may be a Gomer/Zajac type of center who doesn’t score many goals. Even those guys had a couple 20+ goal seasons. So it’s not out of the realm.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I don’t entirely disagree on being skeptical that Zacha will score 20 goals next year. He doesn’t shoot a lot and his ability to finish his chances hasn’t been anything remarkable. There have been far worse players to score 20 goals or more in a season than Zacha. So it can’t be completely discounted. He may be a Gomer/Zajac type of center who doesn’t score many goals. Even those guys had a couple 20+ goal seasons. So it’s not out of the realm.

Gomez at his best could carry the puck through the neutral zone as well as anyone in the league and rack up lots of meaningful points regardless of who was on the ice. And he could score goals when needed. Zacha will never be that kind of player.

For my money, Zajac is the most overrated player to ever wear a Devils jersey. He stopped producing the second his linemates weren’t Allstars. Still, if Zacha turns into something like that, he technically wouldn’t be a bust. So maybe thank the lord for small miracles.

 

[Triumph]

Gomez at his best could carry the puck through the neutral zone as well as anyone in the league and rack up lots of meaningful points regardless of who was on the ice. And he could score goals when needed. Zacha will never be that kind of player.

Actually if you watched Zacha as the season went along, he was developing into that kind of player. Will he ever be as good as Scott Gomez, no, but he was his line's primary breakout option and his awareness in the neutral zone was getting better.

For my money, Zajac is the most overrated player to ever wear a Devils jersey. He stopped producing the second his linemates weren’t Allstars. Still, if Zacha turns into something like that, he technically wouldn’t be a bust. So maybe thank the lord for small miracles.

Zajac never should've been put in some of the roles he was put in. He's really good at playing a certain brand of hockey with a certain type of linemate and really out of place when he is asked to do other things. He never should've been Kovalchuk's center. And yeah, even at the peak of his career, if he was the best player on his line, that line probably wasn't going to be all that good. But could he have been a second-line center on a championship team? Absolutely. I can think of players who were a lot more overrated than Travis Zajac, who has never been a fan favorite.

I'm glad you're thinking about how to call Zacha a bust though. And that he 'technically' won't be a bust if he develops into a top 40 C capable of driving play at ES. I don't think he'll score 20 goals next season mostly because he seems incapable of going through a season without some injuries, but 15 goals, I could absolutely see that.

 

[Bleedred]

Gomez at his best could carry the puck through the neutral zone as well as anyone in the league and rack up lots of meaningful points regardless of who was on the ice. And he could score goals when needed. Zacha will never be that kind of player.

For my money, Zajac is the most overrated player to ever wear a Devils jersey. He stopped producing the second his linemates weren’t Allstars. Still, if Zacha turns into something like that, he technically wouldn’t be a bust. So maybe thank the lord for small miracles.

As I've said thousands of times already, Zajac was never as good offensively as he was those two seasons when he had 60+ points and 20+ goals. Even Parise wasn't that good and 33 year old Langs wasn't that good either.

Those were career years for all 3 of those players. Langs had his best offensive production years all in his early 30's while playing with those guys. He had like the second best season of his career at 34 years old, then he fell off the face of the earth the next season. He went from almost a career best year to a 3rd liner over one summer, then a 4th liner the year after that.

None of those guys were as good as they were those two or three seasons. Has Parise even hit 70 points since? I don't even think he's hit a 70 point pace since that season.

 

[Bleedred]

Just because it's been a while, here's a fun stat for the ''Zacha is Josefson 2.0'' crowd. I haven't updated it in a while.

Pavel Zacha currently has 2 fewer goals than Jacob Josefson did a Devil (4 fewer than Josefson in his entire career) and Zacha has played 145 games in the NHL (including playoffs), while Josefson played 282 games as a Devil (including playoffs).

Zacha has 51 points as a Devil in 145 games, Josefson had 60 points in 282 games as a Devil.

By the way, as far as most overrated Devil of all time, it's tough to say who that was, but Colin White was certainly near the top of that list.