TSN: Projection: Chris Kunitz on the 1st line... of Team Canada?

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I don't much care for J-Bo's game. Particularly compared to his pay grade. But he's a better rounded defenseman than Letang and isn't perceived as the river boat gambler that Kris is.

I could understand that decision, too.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

I don't much care for J-Bo's game. Particularly compared to his pay grade. But he's a better rounded defenseman than Letang and isn't perceived as the river boat gambler that Kris is.

I could understand that decision, too.

TSN really went with the notion that Babcock wants left handed D-man on the left side, so I think that, combined with the fact that most of Canada's big guns are on the right side (Doughty, Pietrangelo, Subban, Weber, Seabrook, Boyle, heck even Green, etc.), makes it harder on Letang than Bouwmeester (only Duncan Keith is in the elite category for left handed D-men).

As for Kunitz being on the team..........to be entirely honest, the entire chemistry thing is overblown to shreds. In the last Olympics, Bergeron was brought in because of supposed chemistry with Crosby. It didn't work out. The San Jose trio was brought in as the main line of attack in 2010 (with Crosby and Iggy getting the tough minutes). Aside from Marleau's versatility as a two-way player, that was by far the most useless line for Canada, providing almost no offense and being terrible at puck possession.

Go with the best players. They will find a way.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Great post. I agree with every word.

I forgot about Letang's right handedness working against him. Another reason he's on the outside looking in. For now. He has around three months of regular season to make the case that he's worth what everyone seems to be convinced he's worth.

 

[Ogrezilla]

keep Letang off the team and motivate him to work even harder for us.

 

[mpp9]

Letang's not playing the left side. So he has to beat out Doughty, Weber, Pietrangelo, Subban and Seabrook.

It's not that hard to follow why he may be left off the roster.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Letang's not playing the left side. So he has to beat out Doughty, Weber, Pietrangelo, Subban and Seabrook.

It's not that hard to follow why he may be left off the roster.

whichever one of those guys who gets cut would be competing to be on USA's top pairing

 

[mpp9]

whichever one of those guys who gets cut would be competing to be on USA's top pairing

Wouldn't want to give DB too many options anyway.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Hey man... take it easy.

He's still learning.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Letang's not playing the left side. So he has to beat out Doughty, Weber, Pietrangelo, Subban and Seabrook.

It's not that hard to follow why he may be left off the roster.

But others can, like Pietrangelo...they even mentioned that in the broadcast. Which makes it that much more ridiculous to take a vanilla player like J-Bo - who's known more for his inability to win than any player in the league - instead of the most productive defenseman Canada has to offer. Because, you know, he's left-handed.

"It's called 'playing the percentages'. It's what smart managers do to win hockey games."

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Canada will be bringing plenty of productive defensemen, already.

I don't think they are looking for flash... they are looking for guys who bring a steady, predictable, easy-to-manage game. Like it or not... Letang (along with Fleury to an obviously much larger extent) threw up a bunch of red flags after this most recent unceremonious playoff exit. Aside from that... he just doesn't completely fit in when you look at the entire picture.

Again... he has time to prove them wrong. I don't really care one way or the other. I hope Canada goes down in flames.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Letang would be phenomenal on the larger ice. He is one of the best skating d-men in the world along with Keith.

 

[Crafton]

And heaven forbid Team Canada selects Kunitz, and then Crosby gets injured. Not only would team Canada lose Crosby but they just wasted a roster spot on Kunitz then.

i've seen this sentiment repeated a lot but isn't one of the hallmarks of Kunitz's game his capacity to mesh with star centers? who else has shown he can thrive with both Crosby and Malkin, not to mention Andy McDonald and Getzlaf. i'm not advocating for him to be there, just pointing out that i've seen variations on this argument (often taken to the extreme: if Crosby gets injured, Kunitz will be worthless) all over the place and i don't think it's the best argument. the case against Kunitz is simple, there are more talented players available.

 

[mpp9]

But others can, like Pietrangelo...they even mentioned that in the broadcast. Which makes it that much more ridiculous to take a vanilla player like J-Bo - who's known more for his inability to win than any player in the league - instead of the most productive defenseman Canada has to offer. Because, you know, he's left-handed.

"It's called 'playing the percentages'. It's what smart managers do to win hockey games."

It's not just position. It's also the right mix of skillsets.

Letang will have to prove he's as good defensively as Weber, Pietro, Keith, etc. Hopefully with Scuds and J. Martin in the fold, he can do that. He'd bring the best skating Canada has to offer from the back end as well.

 

[BumFortyOne]

I could see why, in such a short tournament, the chemistry Crosby has with Kunitz would be attractive. I agree with others that have said that they should just bring the best players and let them work it out. Also, selfishly as a Pens fan, I wouldn't mind seeing Kunitz get some time off during the Olympic break so he's ready for the stretch run and the playoffs.

It would be pretty awesome to see a Stamkos-Crosby-St. Louis line. Crosby and St. Louis drive the play while Stamkos can just find some open ice to rip a shot. Though a lot of people/analysts don't even seem to be predicting St. Louis to be in the regular lineup which seems ridiculous to me.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

It's not just position. It's also the right mix of skillsets.

Letang will have to prove he's as good defensively as Weber, Pietro, Keith, etc. Hopefully with Scuds and J. Martin in the fold, he can do that. He'd bring the best skating Canada has to offer from the back end as well.

I realize that.

What I'm not sure of is why Letang has to "prove he's as good defensively as Weber, Pietro, and Keith" when he's already proven he's better offensively than all of them.

Canada will be bringing plenty of productive defensemen, already.

I don't think they are looking for flash... they are looking for guys who bring a steady, predictable, easy-to-manage game. Like it or not... Letang (along with Fleury to an obviously much larger extent) threw up a bunch of red flags after this most recent unceremonious playoff exit. Aside from that... he just doesn't completely fit in when you look at the entire picture.

Again... he has time to prove them wrong. I don't really care one way or the other. I hope Canada goes down in flames.

I don't think that many of Canada's defensemen have proven any more than Letang has. Why Pietrangelo is a lock on these mock-ups and Letang isn't boggles my mind. Contrary to the stagnant HF mindset, Petro took a big step back last year and was shakier than Letang all last season until the J-Bo acquisition.

 

[Syrinx]

Mike Babcock isn't looking for the best players, he's looking for the right ones?

I came in here to say this. Haven't you all seen 'Miracle'?

 

[PensPlz]

Simply compiling the best players we could worked so well for us last season. Perhaps there is something to this chemistry thing.

 

[Waffle Fries]

I don't think that many of Canada's defensemen have proven any more than Letang has. Why Pietrangelo is a lock on these mock-ups and Letang isn't boggles my mind. Contrary to the stagnant HF mindset, Petro took a big step back last year and was shakier than Letang all last season until the J-Bo acquisition.

I agree. I think Pietrangelo will be phenomenal in the future and he's already shown flashes of that, but it seems as though that when people rank him they talk more about what he could do as opposed to what he's already done.

Letang should be on the team. His game is perfect for the big ice, and he can play both sides. The only locks in my opinion are Weber, Keith and Doughty. After that I think the rest of the defense should be filled out by Letang, Pietrangelo, Seabrook, Staal and Subban.

Simply compiling the best players we could worked so well for us last season. Perhaps there is something to this chemistry thing.

And keeping the KCD line together because of chemistry worked out so well, right?

Kunitz shouldn't be on team Canada. He's a good player, but he's not a great one. Canada's top line should be Stamkos-Crosby-St. Louis. That way they can have 'chemistry' as well as plenty of talent and skill. Plus, as a hockey fan I just really want to see it.

 

[Coach Travis]

If we're truly concerned with chemistry+big ice surface, why not St. Louis-Crosby-Stamkos?

 

[WVP]

i've seen this sentiment repeated a lot but isn't one of the hallmarks of Kunitz's game his capacity to mesh with star centers? who else has shown he can thrive with both Crosby and Malkin, not to mention Andy McDonald and Getzlaf. i'm not advocating for him to be there, just pointing out that i've seen variations on this argument (often taken to the extreme: if Crosby gets injured, Kunitz will be worthless) all over the place and i don't think it's the best argument. the case against Kunitz is simple, there are more talented players available.

Certain guys are just extremely desirable as linemates - Kunitz is one of those guys. I think it was Yohe who recently said he's Crosby's favorite linemate ever. Malkin loves playing with him and so did Staal. That's a very desirable trait.

That said, if Kunitz isn't firmly in the top 10 of the scoring race when they pick the teams, they're just asking for controversy unfortunately.

I think as a Pens' fan, the best part of this is that he should be a pretty damn motivated hockey player this year.

 

[Nietzsche Zone Play]

Like it or not... Letang (along with Fleury to an obviously much larger extent) threw up a bunch of red flags after this most recent unceremonious playoff exit

the only red flags thrown up in terms of Letang, in my opinion, is that he was playing on an island because they couldn't find a good partner for him among the 5-9 guys. put him with a Seabrook, Keith, Doughty, etc and those issues that come from trying to do too much would disappear.*

* a different thing altogether but it's why I think bringing in Scuderi was a great move

as for Kunitz, didn't higher ups at Team Canada say he would be a nice luxury because he can play effectively on a bottom line if they want to mix it up in-game?

in any case, I very much agree with the last poster in saying that as a Pens fan I'm thrilled that he will be extra-motivated. he doesn't seem like the type that would take the news of not making the team as a crushing blow, so that's also good.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I'm not going to say there weren't other circumstances that made Letang's job harder than it had to be. And I certainly understand the importance of putting your players in the best position to succeed, especially by paring them up with players that they work well with. But I think that assessment is a bit generous. The perception, including by Letang himself, is that he is one of the very best (top 3 or 5) defensemen in world. He needs to be much better than that if that perception is to become reality.

I think the Penguins feel the same way. Considering the fact that they felt the need to get him a 3+ million dollar insurance policy and bring in an outside influence who is known for helping to mold defensemen.

 

[Nietzsche Zone Play]

I'm not going to say there weren't other circumstances that made Letang's job harder than it had to be. And I certainly understand the importance of putting your players in the best position to succeed, especially by paring them up with players that they work well with. But I think that assessment is a bit generous. The perception, including by Letang himself, is that he is one of the very best (top 3 or 5) defensemen in world. He needs to be much better than that if that perception is to become reality.

I think the Penguins feel the same way. Considering the fact that they felt the need to get him a 3+ million dollar insurance policy and bring in an outside influence who is known for helping to mold defensemen.

Your wording there is interesting. I guess I just don't consider partnering your #1 defenseman with someone making over $3M an insurance policy rather than standard practice. It might sound like I'm splitting hairs, but your use of language is telling in your analysis of Letang.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Yes. And it was intended that way.

I won't much get into it but I think Letang has a lot to prove, still. And a lot to work on. Most others seem to think he's peachy-keen, as is. That's where the major disconnect is, I suspect.

And not to sound smarmy but again... I think the Penguins themselves probably align closer to my line of thinking than you'd suspect based on some of the moves they've made. If they truly thought Letang was the uncontested number 1 on this team... I don't know that they'd feel the need to sign a Rob Scuderi to pair with him, for example. It wasn't like Letang didn't (or hasn't in the past) mesh with any other defensemen on the entire roster. I just don't think they fully trust him yet. And I can't help but be a little bugged about that.

I feel like that contract was a lot harder for Shero to swallow than many believe. But that's obviously conjecture.

 

[Til the End of Time]

letang is the epitome of style over substance.

that was clear to anyone watching the most recent playoffs. he made some truly mind-numbingly stupid decisions that have absolutely nothing to do with his d-partner. crosby and malkin were also rather embarrassing and deserve to get a lot of blame, but they at least have a track record of success.

letang does not have such a rich playoff history, he has much more to prove than they do.

i hope he proves me wrong but he seems like the poster-boy for the pittsburgh penguins since '09-- overrated.