Phil Kessel: A Candidate for the Richard Trophy?

[SEALBound]

In any given season, Sid and Malkin have the potential to win the title. Heck, Sid decided one summer we was going to shoot...and he won the Rocket. Kessel being the goal scorer he is now with two of the best playmakers in the game...potential is there.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

In any given season, Sid and Malkin have the potential to win the title. Heck, Sid decided one summer we was going to shoot...and he won the Rocket. Kessel being the goal scorer he is now with two of the best playmakers in the game...potential is there.

Getting a better playmaker doesn't always mean more goals for the sniper.
Ovi scored 52 goals as a rookie and 46 goals in his second year on a line with Chris Clark and Dainius Zubrus. His totals didn't rise significantly when he had Backstrom, Semin and Green. He peaked at 65 goals, but got back down in the 50s after.

IMO, Kessel will bump his highest total from 37 to 45-46. I don't think that'll be enough to win the Rocket. He's got Ovi and Stamkos to beat, and maybe Seguin.

 

[Sleepy]

Getting a better playmaker doesn't always mean more goals for the sniper.
Ovi scored 52 goals as a rookie and 46 goals in his second year on a line with Chris Clark and Dainius Zubrus. His totals didn't rise significantly when he had Backstrom, Semin and Green. He peaked at 65 goals, but got back down in the 50s after.

IMO, Kessel will bump his highest total from 37 to 45-46. I don't think that'll be enough to win the Rocket. He's got Ovi and Stamkos to beat, and maybe Seguin.

Agreed I think he'll be up there but not win, but for a different reason. Washington and Tampa Bay's powerplays are built entirely around Stamkos/Ovechkin shooting. Kessel won't have that luxury, even if he has a superior playmaker than the other two.

 

[Midnight Judges]

Honest question - Kessel put up 37 goals twice playing with centre Tyler Bozak in Toronto. Chances are (and I'd be absolutely shocked if it didn't work out this way) he'll be playing with Malkin or Crosby. What are the chances that he competes for the Richard Trophy next season in 2015-16?

I think he could easily put up 40+ goals, but would that be enough or will he score even more?

READ: http://thehockeywriters.com/phil-kessel-a-rocket-richard-candidate-in-2015-16/

How on Earth do you write an article about the Richard trophy without mentioning the guy who has won it for 3 consecutive years and 5 out of the last 10?

 

[hockeykicker]

Big difference imo is the pp goals ovechkin will score. You can shut him down sometimes 5v5 but his pp slapshot will get him back into*50 goals again

 

[AndrewGForbesTHW]

Big difference imo is the pp goals ovechkin will score. You can shut him down sometimes 5v5 but his pp slapshot will get him back into*50 goals again

Don't you think that Kessel will be sitting on the PP unit with the Pens playing a similar scoring role?

 

[TheLeastOfTheBunch]

Sure. On the Leafs he was playing an equal parts scorer/playmaker role, and I can see him having more of a goal scoring - first mentality now that Crosby and Malkin will be the main puck handlers/distributors at ES and PP

 

[The Thin White Duke]

Don't you think that Kessel will be sitting on the PP unit with the Pens playing a similar scoring role?

He'll put up more assists and a few more goals probably, but having Malkin or Crosby on the PP with him won't make his shot any faster, nor will it give him an elite slapshot. He'll have a bit more room to slip into soft spots on the ice but he'll also have the puck on his stick much less than with Toronto.

Its like people forget that Toronto's PP was pretty strong at times. As bad as Bozak and Franson are, they were money on the man advantage, and JVR was an outstanding netfront presence. Obviously Pittsburghs PP will be much more talented, but you start running into diminishing returns at the upper end. Even if he bumps them up a few spots on the PP rankings, it's a couple % difference at best. That's important in the playoffs to be sure, but not enough to challenge OV in the regular season.

 

[hockeykicker]

Don't you think that Kessel will be sitting on the PP unit with the Pens playing a similar scoring role?

Not really. Kessel will get his goals but they also have Crosby and malkin. Crosby can set up kessel and malkin among others sharing goals
Unless washington pp changes it will remain ovechkin one timer over and over

 

[AndrewGForbesTHW]

Not really. Kessel will get his goals but they also have Crosby and malkin. Crosby can set up kessel and malkin among others sharing goals
Unless washington pp changes it will remain ovechkin one timer over and over

Like the shift in baseball, we've started to see teams shadow Ovi on the PP causing him some troubles when it comes to scoring on PP. Started last year and I expect to see more of it this year.

 

[hockeykicker]

Like the shift in baseball, we've started to see teams shadow Ovi on the PP causing him some troubles when it comes to scoring on PP. Started last year and I expect to see more of it this year.

Thus why troy brouwer had 20 goals haha. Take ovechkin and brouwer was wide open 5ft from goalie. But we shall see. Every year there is talk about shutting ovechkin down on the pp and every year no one can. (Obviously a game/team sometimes he doesn't score on)

 

[DanZ]

Like the shift in baseball, we've started to see teams shadow Ovi on the PP causing him some troubles when it comes to scoring on PP. Started last year and I expect to see more of it this year.

It took teams a decade to figure that out? The problem with shadowing Ovechkin is that you leave someone else on the ice wide open. Why do you think the Caps have had such an effective powerplay for so long? Ovechkin is the big threat but Backstrom knows how to find the open man if he's covered.

 

[Penguinator]

Sniper snap shot will get him up there but it won't be enough to get the Richard imo. He'll have fun feeding Sid and/or Geno though, 41g 50a. Book it!

 

[mpp9]

I think he can push for 50. But I'm alot more interested in how he can make Sid and Geno better.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

It took teams a decade to figure that out? The problem with shadowing Ovechkin is that you leave someone else on the ice wide open. Why do you think the Caps have had such an effective powerplay for so long? Ovechkin is the big threat but Backstrom knows how to find the open man if he's covered.

Yes, and regardless of coverage, Ovi will always score goals like this on the PP :





When he goes 1 on 1 on the LW, he's almost unstoppable. If he places the shot where he wants to, the goalie can't stop it.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Ovechkin
Stamkos
Seguin/Tarasenko/Kessel

 

[oilsands]

Didn't we say the same thing about Heatley when he went to San Jose?

 

[Nsjohnson]

Didn't we say the same thing about Heatley when he went to San Jose?

Yes but Heatley was beat up and became a lot more beat up in SJ...

 

[Nakawick]

I think it is more likely that Kessel, Sid, Geno all finish with relatively close totals around 40 goals as oppose to Kessel finishing with 15 or more than either Sid or Geno. The Richard winner usually gets a lot of PP goals and has a deadly one timer. Maybe Kessel shows off a one timer that no one is expecting, but I see Kessel averaging more than a PPG as oppose to breaking 50 and winning the Richard, although I will agree that it is possible that he could.

 

[tom_servo]

When Neal was on Malkin's line, Neal reached 40 goals. But Malkin had 50. Considering Kessel's playmaking ability, don't be shocked if he reaches a career high and is still outscored by a linemate.

 

[AvroArrow]

He might have been using a different stick back then. He definitely was on that Bauer pro camp video where he had a 102 mph shot.

Kessel's current wet noodle stick has so much flex that it's probably physically impossible to take a slapper more than 80 mph. He uses possibly the lowest flex in the entire NHL. Teammates have tried out his stick at practices and can't even use it. And he tried to take a one timer a few times on the PP last season and I think fanned on 90% of them. For all intents and purposes he just doesn't have a slapper in his arsenal.

No slapper isn't a bad thing because his snap shot is the best in the league in both velocity and release, but means he's going to score fewer goals than people think due to no one timers. On the PP he likes to rotate off the left half wall into the slot and take quick snap shots against a screen, or threaten shot and pass to the weak side. He'll create a lot of rebound and one-timer opportunities for Crosby and Malkin.

I actually see Crosby + Malkin's goal scoring increasing more than Kessel's as a result of the trade. Though maybe Kessel will whip out a stiff stick now that he's got a better partner?

Good point, didn't think about that

 

[Bending and Tending]

It's OV's to lose. One thing Kessel can not do is stop if he has the lead. I remember this happened two times in the last 3 years. One was the lockout year. Stamkos had 23 goals and I believe OV had like 17 or 18. OV started to tear it up and he passed Stamkos when they played the Lightning when both of them had 25. The other was last season. OV had 17 goals. The leader had 24. OV caught up with 9 goals to make it 26. He tied with Nash at the ASG, then passed the leader a few games later and never looked back.

While it is true that they held a lead and lost it, they didn't have a large lead to begin with

 

[Ugene Magic]

A guy who will go through an adjustment year. So I don't expect lofty numbers, but if he can do anywhere in the 25 to 35 goals I'd consider that a win. I just see no reason to set high expectations this season. I wouldn't even expect any more than 60/70 points.

I would expect lofty numbers the following year, but if he should put up lofty numbers this season would be considered all gravy to this fan.

Why set him up to fail in such a transition? Sometimes players don't adjust so easily.

 

[Penguinator]

Equation would be, the more snap, the less slap.

 

[Bending and Tending]

From fat, lazy and somebody no one wanted since he's not a player you'd win with to a Richard candidate in less than a week... What has changed?

Obviously the Crosby/Malkin thing, but he's also not going to be the guy the penguins rely on. He'll be an additional asset, but he won't be the guy expected to win games