I think it's more a case of him being Malkin like defensively. When he wants to be, Brassard can be good. Not great, but certainly no where close to a liability. The issue is he doesn't seem to actually want to be all that good right now. Not the end of the world... because he's still not really a liability defensively, and he should be pretty good offensively (even if you just consider 3c standards for offense). Unfortunately he's barely doing that either, with at almost half his production coming as a winger to Crosby.
Basically I see it as this:
- He's not great defensively. Call it average or slightly below average depending on how much he's caring
- He doesn't go to the battle area's all that much
- He's not producing all that well as a 3c with only 4/5pts this season coming when playing center
- He's not tilting the ice to help provide that 3 line attack
- FO's aren't great, although that doesn't really bother me all that much
- He's not PKing. Hell when we need another C on the PK, it's Crosby we're sending out there
I look at all that... and I don't see someone that does all that much for us. Again, that doesn't mean dump his ass... but I'd be trying to move him to find someone else who's a better fit for us. Or if he can transition to LW, and we find someone else for 3c (internally or via trade), then try something like this:
Guentzel - Crosby - Simon/Rust
Brassard - Malkin - Hornqvist
Pearson - Sheahan/X - Kessel
Grant/Cullen - Sheahan/X - Rust/Simon
But based on what we've seen so far... I don't think our best lineup going into the POs includes Brassard as our 3c. Mind you we also need to make some changes to the blueline... so that could be tricky and we might just have to suck it up. But it wouldn't surprise me if we keep seeing Brassard's TOI decrease and Sheahan's increasing.
I expected ~40 points and for him to do a lot more then he's been doing to tilt the ice while anchoring the 3rd line. But he hasn't been on a 40pt pace (or anything close to that) while playing 3c, and he hasn't been tilting the ice in any way, shape or form.
Well...riddle me this.
- Was he ever used in the way he's being used here with the Jackets, Rangers, or Senators?
- How often are his line mates changed on the 3rd line?
- What is the frequency in which he gets moved to wing and back to center, enough to warrant the fact that the constant winger rotation and moving from W/C and back to C maybe affects it?
- Is Brassard a bad fit because the team envisioned a player that was never meant for that role, to some how magically excel in that role?
The Rangers before the cap era is always my best example of - Just because you can, doesn't mean you should, fit is far more important than the idea of something that "could" work. There is so much information out there now with technology and game footage, Brassard's usage vs his line mates and who he excels with, the Pens haven't exactly put him in a position to succeed (I try not to laugh, I guess it's a youth and veteran issue).
Brassard has his fault in this too, but a lot of it also is that he's not a player you use in a role like that, a 3rd line role where he has more defensive responsibilities and what not. Brassard also has slow starts, but he's usually kept with wingers to work through it.
In Ottawa he's had odd linemate usage but he's had guys like Stalberg & Burrows (Produced less his 1st year with those 2), but then had Dzingel/Smith and Stone.
Here?
He has anyone from - Sheahan, Rust, Aston-Reese, Pearson, Simon, and Kessel.
Who the f*** knows.
But I absolutely loathe the notion that players should be ready at the drop of a hat, to play with anyone, yet we have a different feeling when it comes to Crosby or Malkin, but mostly Crosby and the "never separate Guentzel and Crosby!!"
Players will admit, when they get a chance to play with wingers more often, the chemistry starts to build, for some it's like lightning in a bottle (HBK) but then there's things that slowly build too. We seem to never get that chance. If you look around the league and you can with any and all games literally at your finger tips, as well as info...I swear, this team juggles the lines far more than any other team. We can list off units that other teams employ, but our own teams lines are a f***ing mystery outside of joke pairings we hate and discuss to death.
The constant shifting of wingers is now showing its strain on Malkin and his line-up and production even strength (what's Kessel's production ES lately?).
I hate Sutter, but there was this time someone asked him about his wingers after a game or before one and he was talking about how it's tough to really get into a groove when you don't know who you're playing with half the time, so you don't pick up on their habits. I believe that and I hate that this team does that. Sully panics and panics hard when a line doesn't produce for like 3 shifts, let them play through it. Pretend they're all ZAR's, maybe then he'll keep them there and let them play through it.
