Player Discussion RD Nikita Zaitsev

[L'Aveuglette]

One gets the strong feeling he'll be Ceci 2.0 in Ottawa. Underwhelming dman with supposed upside being overplayed by the coach who brought him in for years to come. Ugh.

 

[JungleBeat]

DJ is not getting off to a good start by calling Zaitsev an elite defender.

 

[Artanis]

DJ is not getting off to a good start by calling Zaitsev an elite defender.

What do you want him to say? "He's not very good"?

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

What do you want him to say? "He's not very good"?

Not convincing our GM to trade for the guy would have been nice.

DJ Smith might end up in the Dorion category. When I say Dorion category, I mean that a ham sandwich would do his job better because the ham sandwich wouldn't be able to make the moves he has. If a ham sandwich was our coach, we wouldn't have Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev on the roster. That's a big win.

Ham Sandwich > DJ Smith

 

[Back in Black]

DJ Smith has high praise fo him, so it's on them to prove it!

 

[Tuna99]

Zaitsev is going to play with Chabot and be the Methot to Karlsson and it’ll be an excellent pairing. DJ called him the the #1 RD, Zaitsev comes to Ottawa to play with one of the best in the game on the top pair with a Head Coach who wants to see you succeed - excellent landing spot.

Ottawa D could be solid next year.

Chabot - Zaitsev
Hainsey - Jaros
Wolanin - De Melo
Boro

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Zaitsev is going to play with Chabot and be the Methot to Karlsson and it’ll be an excellent pairing. DJ called him the the #1 RD, Zaitsev comes to Ottawa to play with one of the best in the game on the top pair with a Head Coach who wants to see you succeed - excellent landing spot.

Ottawa D could be solid next year.

Chabot - Zaitsev
Hainsey - Jaros
Wolanin - De Melo
Boro

Please show me a defense worse than that in the entire NHL. That is not anywhere remotely solid.

 

[BigRig4]

If Hainsey walks next year and Brannstrom replaces him that's a pretty good D core with guys like JBD/Thomson on their way

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

If Hainsey walks next year and Brannstrom replaces him that's a pretty good D core with guys like JBD/Thomson on their way

Just to put into perspective what other teams D looks like, here's the bottom 5 teams of the standings last year besides Ottawa:

Devils: Subban, Vatanen, Severson, Greene, Mueller, Butcher, Carrick
Kings: Doughty, Martinez, Forbort, LaDue, Ryan
Red Wings: DeKeyser, Ericsson, Green, Daley, Nemeth, Cholowski
Rangers: Shattenkirk, Skjei, Trouba, Fox, DeAngelo, Staal, Smith

Really the only team we can compete with on that list is Detroit.

 

[stempniaksen]

Just to put into perspective what other teams D looks like, here's the bottom 5 teams of the standings last year besides Ottawa:

Devils: Subban, Vatanen, Severson, Greene, Mueller, Butcher, Carrick
Kings: Doughty, Martinez, Forbort, LaDue, Ryan
Red Wings: DeKeyser, Ericsson, Green, Daley, Nemeth, Cholowski
Rangers: Shattenkirk, Skjei, Trouba, Fox, DeAngelo, Staal, Smith

Really the only team we can compete with on that list is Detroit.

Well sure, but we're supposed to be bad this season. A lot will be hinging on Brannstrom, because with multiple top pairing D's we're starting to look better back there than the Devils, Rangers, Kings, ect.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

Well sure, but we're supposed to be bad this season. A lot will be hinging on Brannstrom, because with multiple top pairing D's we're starting to look better back there than the Devils, Rangers, Kings, ect.

Are you expecting Brannstrom to be a top pairing D calibre player in the next year or two though? I'm thinking he might step in in about a year and contribute but he won't be like Karlsson or Chabot were in year 1 or 2. I don't think he has the on ice poise or smarts of those guys. I'm thinking more along the lines of him being able to be a 5/6 guy you can use to exploit matchups in an offensive role.

 

[JD1]

I think it'll be

Chabot Zaitsev
Hainsey DeMelo
Wolanin Jaros
Boro

With the top 2pairs splitting the harder D zone starts.

I won't call that an overwhelming D but it might surprise people. Having an elite 1D goes a long way and the two vets coming in from Toronto helps the slotting as the bottom pair gain experience.

And I think we'll see Brannstrom by mid season come up and stay up.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

DJ called him the #1 shutdown RD.

He is taking Ceci's spot . Who will be his LD.? I would say in shut down situations it will be Hainsey and sometimes Boro.

DJ did say the D will play on different pairs depending on the situation.. I fully expect Zaitsev in more of a shutdown role. Pretty much taking over from Ceci.

I said this earlier or in the Dev camp thread . No one seemed to like it .

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

DJ called him the #1 shutdown RD.

He is taking Ceci's spot . Who will be his LD.? I would say in shut down situations it will be Hainsey and sometimes Boro.

DJ did say the D will play on different pairs depending on the situation.. I fully expect Zaitsev in more of a shutdown role. Pretty much taking over from Ceci.

I said this earlier or in the Dev camp thread . No one seemed to like it .

We got a #1 shutdown RD who's gonna put up 40 points. What a steal.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

We got a #1 shutdown RD who's gonna put up 40 points. What a steal.

I never said 40 ... I'd go with 2o

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

I never said 40 ... I'd go with 2o

I'm just kidding, but ya 20 points seems like a realistic upper end projection.

 

[Tuna99]

Please show me a defense worse than that in the entire NHL. That is not anywhere remotely solid.

If they all play well they’ll be solid

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

If they all play well they’ll be solid

What do you mean by that? Does solid mean conceding the most goals in the NHL?

 

[smitty10]

I think it'll be

Chabot Zaitsev
Hainsey DeMelo
Wolanin Jaros
Boro

With the top 2pairs splitting the harder D zone starts.

I won't call that an overwhelming D but it might surprise people. Having an elite 1D goes a long way and the two vets coming in from Toronto helps the slotting as the bottom pair gain experience.

And I think we'll see Brannstrom by mid season come up and stay up.

Hainsey should be the guy paired with Chabot. He plays the right side and did very well with Rielly. He's also a better all around player than Zaitsev. Much stronger with the puck and supportive to his partner.

If Zaitsev is on your top pairing you will hate him. He can't handle or move the puck well enough to play those minutes. He needs to be insulated in a defensive role with a player who can move the puck.

At about the half way point in the season last year, I can remember a thread being made because Zaits carried the puck over the red line. It was the first time all year it had happened. Not someone you want to rely on for top minutes...

 

[BigRig4]

Just to put into perspective what other teams D looks like, here's the bottom 5 teams of the standings last year besides Ottawa:

Devils: Subban, Vatanen, Severson, Greene, Mueller, Butcher, Carrick
Kings: Doughty, Martinez, Forbort, LaDue, Ryan
Red Wings: DeKeyser, Ericsson, Green, Daley, Nemeth, Cholowski
Rangers: Shattenkirk, Skjei, Trouba, Fox, DeAngelo, Staal, Smith

Really the only team we can compete with on that list is Detroit.

It goes without saying, but you've added huge acquisitions those teams have made (Subban, Trouba, Fox, etc.) to these lists but based your point on last seasons' standings.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

It goes without saying, but you've added huge acquisitions those teams have made (Subban, Trouba, Fox, etc.) to these lists but based your point on last seasons' standings.

Well yeah. We're also counting Zaitsev and Hainsey here as well right? I'm just showing what other bad team's D looks like. Our D looks bad even compared to the bad ones. The words solid or good shouldn't really be associated with the group.

 

[Sensinitis]

Just to put into perspective what other teams D looks like, here's the bottom 5 teams of the standings last year besides Ottawa:

Devils: Subban, Vatanen, Severson, Greene, Mueller, Butcher, Carrick
Kings: Doughty, Martinez, Forbort, LaDue, Ryan
Red Wings: DeKeyser, Ericsson, Green, Daley, Nemeth, Cholowski
Rangers: Shattenkirk, Skjei, Trouba, Fox, DeAngelo, Staal, Smith

Really the only team we can compete with on that list is Detroit.

You’re including the additions of those teams how is that a rational argument?

Edit: bigrig already rightfully called you out on that

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

Not convincing our GM to trade for the guy would have been nice.

DJ Smith might end up in the Dorion category. When I say Dorion category, I mean that a ham sandwich would do his job better because the ham sandwich wouldn't be able to make the moves he has. If a ham sandwich was our coach, we wouldn't have Ron Hainsey and Nikita Zaitsev on the roster. That's a big win.

Ham Sandwich > DJ Smith

So the "Fire DJ Smith" watch has officially begun.

 

[Tnuoc Alucard]

If Hainsey walks next year and Brannstrom replaces him that's a pretty good D core with guys like JBD/Thomson on their way

Hainsey will be traded at the TDL.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

You’re including the additions of those teams how is that a rational argument?

Edit: bigrig already rightfully called you out on that

Why would we not be counting them? I'm pointing out to people that calling our group with Hainsey and Zaitsev "solid" or "good" is pretty insane. If you want to just take the groups from last year, the result is the same, but I don't see the point in that exercise.

Do you have anything to add here? Do you actually think this team as a "good" or "solid" defense? If so, why?