Player Discussion RD Nikita Zaitsev

[ottawah]

I’m not so sure about that. Jaros has more skill than to be just a shut down guy.

I think what we need to look for are guys who can shut down but also rush the puck out or make a play. Stay at home defensemen seems like a lost style of play by guys who were not skilled enough to play in the other two zones.

There is little indication that Jaros is that guy. He has never shown production at any level that would indicate he has offensive instincts.

 

[Agent Zub]

There is little indication that Jaros is that guy. He has never shown production at any level that would indicate he has offensive instincts.

Wah? Jaros has some pretty solid offensive instincts. Good skating , puck carrying, and breakout pass. Might not put up tons of points but he's gonna facilitate the offense.

 

[SENATOR]

Zaitsev reminds me in part of the great Russian legend Fetisov. The same poise, skating, blocking shots, active stick, physical play, two way player, great slap shot and a wrist shot. Always finds opening for a shot on the power play. Has to play some minutes on a power play together with Chabot. They will look great together. Brings to Sens an unbelievable experience, playing on team Russia in all situations. Played with very skilled players. "thebestcoachintheworld" completely shuttered his confidence and misused him, that the guy did not even care to play last season for him.

 

[BonkTastic]

Wah? Jaros has some pretty solid offensive instincts. Good skating , puck carrying, and breakout pass. Might not put up tons of points but he's gonna facilitate the offense.

IMO, Jaros has got the offensive potential to not impede the offence. I don't really see a whole lot else offensively. Good enough to be average.

His realistic best case scenario is that he's more of a defensive guy with just enough offence that he's able to hold his own and not put you in a hole in that dept while he's matched up against a top-6 line. Enough ability that coaches can be confident that he can eitehr carry the puck out of the zone effectively or make a good first pass across our own blueline. That's a good skillset, no doubt, but it's not like Jaros is going to be a powerplay guy.

 

[Ice-Tray]

There is little indication that Jaros is that guy. He has never shown production at any level that would indicate he has offensive instincts.

He may not get there, but he has a history of throwing big hits, and he has a good first pass and can skate. I think he can be a two way guy, hope so.

 

[bert]

He may not get there, but he has a history of throwing big hits, and he has a good first pass and can skate. I think he can be a two way guy, hope so.

He has all the tools and is a big player from europe his development curve is going to be longer than most players. The raw ability is certainly there, just needs reps and for the fan base to be patient with him. His first pass is better than most people give him credit. With how tiny this D core is they really need him to evolve into a top 4 guy which I really think he can. He is an exciting player to have in the organization.

 

[OD99]

Leaf fans say as long as he’s put in an offensive role he should be ok. In a defensive role he struggled. FWIW

DJ must really like him

I think we heard all about his intangibles..."He shows up in shape"...like that is a redeeming quality for a pro athlete.

Being put in an offensive role does NOT excuse a Dman from playing D. Just like the idea of a, "shut down" D - if you can't handle and skate with the puck you can't be a good defender as playing any position well in the NHL these days requires you to be competent in all aspects of playing hockey.

Let's get away from shut down and offensive D men and just get guys who can skate, see the ice, and complete a pass. We don't require guys to put up 60 points while sacrificing in our own end, we need well rounded players with some game breakers up front.

 

[DylanSensFan]

He's not much better than Ceci. I don't know which redeeming qualities you're referring to unfortunately.

He's rated as one of the worst passers in the NHL (below Ceci), he's a black hole with whoever he's paired with (his partners always do worse with him than with others), he's terrible at moving the puck out of the zone and typically starts and ends his shifts in the defensive zone and last year he was the worst of all Leafs players at getting his shots on goal. He's one of the worst regular Dmen and contracts in the NHL and his struggles are very similar to Ceci. He will likely be played even more than in Toronto and be surrounded by even less talent. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up struggling just as much or more than Ceci did.

Chabot is more talented than Toronto's entire d-corp.

 

[Icelevel]

I think we heard all about his intangibles..."He shows up in shape"...like that is a redeeming quality for a pro athlete.

Being put in an offensive role does NOT excuse a Dman from playing D. Just like the idea of a, "shut down" D - if you can't handle and skate with the puck you can't be a good defender as playing any position well in the NHL these days requires you to be competent in all aspects of playing hockey.

Let's get away from shut down and offensive D men and just get guys who can skate, see the ice, and complete a pass. We don't require guys to put up 60 points while sacrificing in our own end, we need well rounded players with some game breakers up front.

I wish we’d go for those guys. Hopefully JBD ends up being a solid and reliable two way guy

 

[SpezDispenser]

Looks like Zaitsev likes sliding down the right side on PPs and hammering pucks home. Also appears to have a decent shot. Like most, don't know that much about him, but he doesn't look like he'll be the black hole Toronto fans claim.

 

[Ice-Tray]

He has all the tools and is a big player from europe his development curve is going to be longer than most players. The raw ability is certainly there, just needs reps and for the fan base to be patient with him. His first pass is better than most people give him credit. With how tiny this D core is they really need him to evolve into a top 4 guy which I really think he can. He is an exciting player to have in the organization.

We agree on something Bert!

He’s actually the main prospect on D that has the skills and abilities to be my favorite type of D. Don’t get me wrong, I like fast and skilled, but there is something about having some D that punish the forecheck that gets me riled up about a game.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Chabot is more talented than Toronto's entire d-corp.

Are we just ignoring Morgan Rielly?

 

[DylanSensFan]

Are we just ignoring Morgan Rielly?

Take a look at Chabot's development comparatively. It has taken 5+ years to get Reilly to where he is, plus surrounding him with top end draft picks and talent. Chabot nearly carried an entire roster last season. Chabot is better than Reilly.

 

[coladin]

Are we just ignoring Morgan Rielly?

Thanks to Ron Hainsey, Morgan Reilly became a star.

 

[Sensinitis]

He’ll be better for us than Ceci was, especially with DJ as coach who knows his strengths and weaknesses.

 

[SENATOR]

DJ Smith should really watch this video)) And shape Zaitsev into the fold of Fetisov. Zaitsev got all the tools to be him.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Thanks to Ron Hainsey, Morgan Reilly became a star.

Indeed. That's why Dubas traded for Muzzin and immediately paired him with Rielly. They were just tired of Hainsey's God like mentorship and talent that they moved him down to the third pair after acquiring an average NHL calibre D man for the cost of a 1st round pick.

With the help of Ron Hainsey, I expect Thomas Chabot to win not only the Norris, but the Hart, Selke and Vezina. The world has never seen anyone quite like Ron Hainsey. Praise be.

 

[milkbag]

Indeed. That's why Dubas traded for Muzzin and immediately paired him with Rielly. They were just tired of Hainsey's God like mentorship and talent that they moved him down to the third pair after acquiring an average NHL calibre D man for the cost of a 1st round pick.

With the help of Ron Hainsey, I expect Thomas Chabot to win not only the Norris, but the Hart, Selke and Vezina. The world has never seen anyone quite like Ron Hainsey. Praise be.

Did hainsey tweet something that hurt your feelings too?? Chill dude

 

[coladin]

Indeed. That's why Dubas traded for Muzzin and immediately paired him with Rielly. They were just tired of Hainsey's God like mentorship and talent that they moved him down to the third pair after acquiring an average NHL calibre D man for the cost of a 1st round pick.

With the help of Ron Hainsey, I expect Thomas Chabot to win not only the Norris, but the Hart, Selke and Vezina. The world has never seen anyone quite like Ron Hainsey. Praise be.

They will retire Hainsey’s number. Bet on it.

 

[foggyvisor]

DJ Smith should really watch this video)) And shape Zaitsev into the fold of Fetisov

Never heard of this Fetisov character. Hoping Zaitsev is better.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Zaitsev won't have to play a shutdown role in Ottawa. He'll be free to be more of a 2-way defenseman who will play A LOT more offensive minutes and maybe regain some of his confidence.

I'm surprised this trade has gotten this much reaction.

Ceci is, without question, on the Mount Rushmore of worst players ever in franchise history. His play could only be described as excrement.

 

[Micklebot]

Zaitsev won't have to play a shutdown role in Ottawa. He'll be free to be more of a 2-way defenseman who will play A LOT more offensive minutes and maybe regain some of his confidence.

I'm surprised this trade has gotten this much reaction.

Ceci is, without question, on the Mount Rushmore of worst players ever in franchise history. His play could only be described as excrement.

Who is going to play the shutdown role? Our HC was part of the staff that put him in that role with the leafs, why do you expect that to change here?

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Zaitsev reminds me in part of the great Russian legend Fetisov. The same poise, skating, blocking shots, active stick, physical play, two way player, great slap shot and a wrist shot. Always finds opening for a shot on the power play. Has to play some minutes on a power play together with Chabot. They will look great together. Brings to Sens an unbelievable experience, playing on team Russia in all situations. Played with very skilled players. "thebestcoachintheworld" completely shuttered his confidence and misused him, that the guy did not even care to play last season for him.

If Zaitsev was Fetisov he wouldn't be here and the Leafs would have probably kept him, or teams would have been lining up to get him... so I doubt many GMs or pro scouts shared that opinion.

 

[SENATOR]

If Zaitsev was Fetisov he wouldn't be here and the Leafs would have probably kept him, or teams would have been lining up to get him... so I doubt many GMs or pro scouts shared that opinion.

There were plenty examples of not using Russian players properly in NHL. For example the best one comes to mind is Krutov in Vancouver. He was not even given a chance to play there)) Larionov was terribly miscast in San Jose and he is truly the hockey magician of all time. So was Makarov in Calgary. Kovalev could play only at his full potential for two seasons in Pittsburgh. First season in Toronto Zaitsev was still not used in his familiar role as a two way defenseman and the power play specialist, but at least thebestcoachintheworld was not that strict. With proper power play time Zaitsev would accumulate at least 50 points. His shots from the point are deadly for goalies who have a hard time to handle them and pucks available for rebounds. In Ottawa Tkachuk will benefit greatly from this
The last two seasons in Toronto for Zaitsev were terrible. Thebestcoachoftheworld had decided that he had enough of speedy forwards and only one super five for a power play time. And now Toronto defensemen have to stay at home, work the boards an feed stretch passes to speedy forwards. It is tiring and overwhelming for defense corp and leads to mistakes and injuries. Instead of playing as a complete five unit in defending and attacking, drop passing to start the break out. Leafs forwards should be helping the defense and not waiting for stretch passes. Kyle will fire him soon, they already do not look eye to eye.

 

[BankStreetParade]

Who is going to play the shutdown role? Our HC was part of the staff that put him in that role with the leafs, why do you expect that to change here?

Well if this coaching staff is able to understand the defensemen they have, then maybe they'll do the smart thing and avoid having a "shutdown" pairing and instead will use a defense by committee mentality. The analytics progression has shown that a more even distribution of those hard minutes yields better and more consistent results rather than forcing one pairing to do all the heavy lifting.

And let's face it, this team isn't talented enough at any one facet of the game to say that players should be assigned roles as specific as "shutdown" guys, "offensive" guys, etc.