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

[Ogrezilla]

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.

Kris Letang is somewhere between the 5th and 10th best d-man in the league. He is a great hockey player.

 

[wgknestrick]

Love Kunitz, but no I don't think he should be on Team Canada.

Crosby has played with a ton of these guys enough that I don't think chemistry will take long to build. Put him on a line with Tavares or Giroux and Stamkos and they'll be scoring every shift. (exaggerating my American friends but you get the point)

Stamkos - Crosby - Giroux >>> Kunitz - Crosby - Stamkos

Mario and Gretzky sucked when they were together

 

[Nietzsche Zone Play]

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.

I don't disagree that he still has a lot to work on, and have never said otherwise. I just think that, if you look around the league, EVERY other legit #1 defenseman has a rock solid partner. There were some growing pains with management and Letang the past two seasons in terms of finding him that guy. I think and hope they made the right call in bringing in Scuderi to finally solve it. Despres could be that guy in a year or two, but he just isn't there yet.

I look at all of the complaining about Sid's linemates yet very little is said about finding a partner for Letang - I think it has been much more important. On a very basic level we're talking about the difference between a guy who will be on the ice for 22+ minutes (defenseman) a night vs. 15-17 (winger) or so.

And I do agree that the contract was probably very hard to swallow. It's more than I was hoping they would have to pay, and I'm a big Letang fan. I hope he earns it starting in two years.

 

[#66]

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.

Do you think that's him or the Pens? You would think a player would round his game out but every defenseman the Pens have had has these long stints of mind numbingly bad hockey.

IMO the Pens defensemen play more like centers. They're all over the ice and it makes for mistakes. I understand that once the stretch pass is taken away, the defense and center have to carry pucks up the ice but they do it so sloppy that its sickening.

 

[WayneSid9987]

TSN must have short term memory.

The Olympics aren't the NHL regular season.
Look at Sid's line even strength in these last playoffs.
We were screaming for a younger/faster forechecker on Sid's line.(Bennett at the time)
And this was on NHL sized ice.

Theres tons of younger and faster and better options to pick from this year.

 

[Super Sniper Cele]

Do you think that's him or the Pens? You would think a player would round his game out but every defenseman the Pens have had has these long stints of mind numbingly bad hockey.

IMO the Pens defensemen play more like centers. They're all over the ice and it makes for mistakes. I understand that once the stretch pass is taken away, the defense and center have to carry pucks up the ice but they do it so sloppy that its sickening.

Sounds like a Dan Bylsma system to me.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

If the chemistry is there, why not? The issue I have with the Pens' line up combinations last year was using *two* complimentary pieces on Sid's wing, with both Kunitz and Dupuis. However, if Stamkos is on the other wing and is providing the "sniper" portion of the line, then Kunitz being the third wheel grinder isn't nearly the issue it was for the Pens.

 

[Dylonus]

If they're paired with Stamkos; it makes perfect sense. Kunitz is the perfect role player (ala Dupuis with Sid and Hossa in 08) but otherwise; I'm not fond of it. Seems odd that a team that deep would have Kunitz on a top line

 

[Ogrezilla]

If they're paired with Stamkos; it makes perfect sense. Kunitz is the perfect role player (ala Dupuis with Sid and Hossa in 08) but otherwise; I'm not fond of it. Seems odd that a team that deep would have Kunitz on a top line

If Sid and Stamkos are together I don't know how you can justify not making St. Louis the other wing.

 

[Shady Machine]

TSN must have short term memory.

The Olympics aren't the NHL regular season.
Look at Sid's line even strength in these last playoffs.
We were screaming for a younger/faster forechecker on Sid's line.(Bennett at the time)
And this was on NHL sized ice.

Theres tons of younger and faster and better options to pick from this year.

We were not screaming for a younger/faster forechecker. We were screaming for a guy that can make a 1 on 1 move and has creativity with the puck. Bennett is slower than Kunitz anyway. The rest of your point stands.

 

[Shady Machine]

If Sid and Stamkos are together I don't know how you can justify not making St. Louis the other wing.

Yeah exactly. More of the game is played in open ice. You don't need guys grinding it out on the wall as much. Kunitz really shouldn't be on the team.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Yeah exactly. More of the game is played in open ice. You don't need guys grinding it out on the wall as much. Kunitz really shouldn't be on the team.

Also, I think Sid is more likely to play well with whoever. Stamkos is the guy that I think needs to be put in the right situation to see maximum effect. Stamkos - Crosby - St. Louis is just a ridiculous line. Its pretty much perfect.

 

[Sutter16]

If memory serves, Iggy played with Sid in last Olympics, became a Penguin. Now if Stamkos plays on Sid's line... Get it done Shero. One can dream

 

[Ogrezilla]

If memory serves, Iggy played with Sid in last Olympics, became a Penguin. Now if Stamkos plays on Sid's line... Get it done Shero. One can dream