Appleyard
Registered User
Centres over 2011-2015 period who had top end QoC, 33+% Dzone starts, and still had a GF rel% better than zero:
Sean Couturier
Patric Bergeron
David Backes
Ryan O'Reilly
Joe Thornton
Mike Fisher
Paul Stastny
Ryan Getzlaf
Guys like Plekanec, Sutter, Kesler, Ansimov & Nielsen are playing those kind of minutes, are well regarded players, but are losing the matchup at 5v5, or at least doing far worse than their teammates do at best. And 3 of those players have high value.
Guys like Hanzal, Sobotka, Soderberg, Dubinsky, Vermette, Staal & Zajac are playing easier minutes... and more than half of that list have lost the matchup over that time period with the easier minutes.
So how do we effectively replace Couturier and what he does? Since very few guys can, and do, do what he does, and every one of them who does bar Fisher would cost the moon! (and Fisher now is not Mike Fisher of a few years ago.)
His direct 'replacement' would almost certainly lose the match-ups he gets, and in turn the Flyers goal difference at 5v5 drops, as the person who replaces him, if he got similar, or even easier minutes, will almost certainly be outscored while on ice.
The only way we could realistically negate that is give Giroux tougher minutes, as he is good (but not as good as Couturier) defensively... but Giroux already plays some of the toughest minutes in the league for a 1C!
Couturier; if he is a 3C, (his EV production the last 2 years has been low end 2nd line) is the best 3C in the NHL.
Frankly the odds of Scott Laughton being able to replace what Couturier does is minimal. Laughton is his career so far has been outcorsi'd and outscored at 5v5 vs mainly 2nd lines with even (31% Ozone, 31% Dzone) zone starts... at Laughton's age Couturier scored at close to 0.5 PPG and was top 10 in Selke voting.
There is a reason team Canada played him more than Schenn, Eakin, Ennis & Toffoli. There is also a reason that for Canada this summer he had the best +/- of any forward in the tournament.
He is more than just 'good' defensively... he is elite. And if he can somehow find ~10 more points of production than he has had over the last 2 seasons he is a great 2C.
So few teams have the luxury of being able to put out a centre who can outmatch the best players in the NHL at 5v5... and that said centre not be a guy who is also your best offensive guy. Couturier for that reason helps the team more than just winning his match-ups, as him being here means Giroux does not have to play a Patrice Bergeron role.
Sean Couturier
Patric Bergeron
David Backes
Ryan O'Reilly
Joe Thornton
Mike Fisher
Paul Stastny
Ryan Getzlaf
Guys like Plekanec, Sutter, Kesler, Ansimov & Nielsen are playing those kind of minutes, are well regarded players, but are losing the matchup at 5v5, or at least doing far worse than their teammates do at best. And 3 of those players have high value.
Guys like Hanzal, Sobotka, Soderberg, Dubinsky, Vermette, Staal & Zajac are playing easier minutes... and more than half of that list have lost the matchup over that time period with the easier minutes.
So how do we effectively replace Couturier and what he does? Since very few guys can, and do, do what he does, and every one of them who does bar Fisher would cost the moon! (and Fisher now is not Mike Fisher of a few years ago.)
His direct 'replacement' would almost certainly lose the match-ups he gets, and in turn the Flyers goal difference at 5v5 drops, as the person who replaces him, if he got similar, or even easier minutes, will almost certainly be outscored while on ice.
The only way we could realistically negate that is give Giroux tougher minutes, as he is good (but not as good as Couturier) defensively... but Giroux already plays some of the toughest minutes in the league for a 1C!
Couturier; if he is a 3C, (his EV production the last 2 years has been low end 2nd line) is the best 3C in the NHL.
Frankly the odds of Scott Laughton being able to replace what Couturier does is minimal. Laughton is his career so far has been outcorsi'd and outscored at 5v5 vs mainly 2nd lines with even (31% Ozone, 31% Dzone) zone starts... at Laughton's age Couturier scored at close to 0.5 PPG and was top 10 in Selke voting.
There is a reason team Canada played him more than Schenn, Eakin, Ennis & Toffoli. There is also a reason that for Canada this summer he had the best +/- of any forward in the tournament.
He is more than just 'good' defensively... he is elite. And if he can somehow find ~10 more points of production than he has had over the last 2 seasons he is a great 2C.
So few teams have the luxury of being able to put out a centre who can outmatch the best players in the NHL at 5v5... and that said centre not be a guy who is also your best offensive guy. Couturier for that reason helps the team more than just winning his match-ups, as him being here means Giroux does not have to play a Patrice Bergeron role.