Pre-Game Talk: SENS in Chicago, Thursday night 8:30 pm

FormentonTheFuture

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Sep 29, 2017
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From one of the most prolific scorers in the game to a 3rd line tweener.

And we didnt even keep Karlsson to boot. Absolutely disgusting.
I’m no boedker fan but it’s a little too much giving that kind of praise to Hoffman, don’t you think? That statement should apply to 40+ goal scorer only
 

Do Make Say Think

& Yet & Yet
Jun 26, 2007
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Eeeewwwwwwwww!

I'll take the crab juice thanks.

Lol well Lajoie looks pretty good at least.

I wouldn't expect Lajoie to be this good for very long. He's playing for a spot but once the grind sets in, that's when you find out how good the player really is.

I always remember Brian Lee looking rather solid at first and he very quickly fell of a cliff.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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I wouldn't expect Lajoie to be this good for very long. He's playing for a spot but once the grind sets in, that's when you find out how good the player really is.

I always remember Brian Lee looking rather solid at first and he very quickly fell of a cliff.
Ya that sounds about right, especially for Dmen. If he were in a situation where he was able to be eased in with a real set of top 4 D ahead of him, I would assume it would be okay, but he may end up being relied upon too much for what he can sustain over a long season.

That first year where he played around 50 games iirc, Lee looked like he was going to be a good one for sure.
 

DueDiligence

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Nov 16, 2013
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Huh?

His career high is 51 points, he has gotten more than 40 twice :laugh:

Those expecting scoring and speed from Boedker haven't watched him lately.

Unless you were talking about Hoffman, which I now am assuming you were.. Carry on.


Mike Hoffman is not now , and never was, a "prolific" scorer.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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Mike Hoffman is not now , and never was, a "prolific" scorer.
He was our best forward as far as pure skill and goal scoring though. He's not a 40 or 50 goal scorer, but in a more free wheeling system, with much more offensive talent around him, I'd bet on a 30 goal, 60 point season this year.
 

topshelf15

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May 5, 2009
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He was our best forward as far as pure skill and goal scoring though. He's not a 40 or 50 goal scorer, but in a more free wheeling system, with much more offensive talent around him, I'd bet on a 30 goal, 60 point season this year.
He is a very good offensive top line winger,or a star 2nd line one
 

Ice-Tray

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Jan 31, 2006
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Hoffman was never a "star" he's a Grabner or Vanek. Good complimentary scorers to have on a line for sure, but a one trick pony.

Anyways... Man were the guys ever relentless on the forecheck and PK pressure. This is the type of play that I'm hoping we bring as we were giving CHI fits all night with our attack.

I like how loose the guys are looking out there, and by the third PP we were even starting to look dangerous!

If the guys can pay underdogs, and have fun out there, there will be some enjoyable hockey for us this season.
 

Ice-Tray

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Agreed.

He's not that superstar driver, but I could easily see him flirt with 35g/70p with the right players.

You mean in a situation where the other two players do all of the work while Hoffman skates around with his stick in the air? He has special natural ability, but lacks the drive and determination to be a real difference maker. We see it all the time in the league.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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Hoffman was never a "star" he's a Grabner or Vanek. Good complimentary scorers to have on a line for sure, but a one trick pony.

Anyways... Man were the guys ever relentless on the forecheck and PK pressure. This is the type of play that I'm hoping we bring as we were giving CHI fits all night with our attack.

I like how loose the guys are looking out there, and by the third PP we were even starting to look dangerous!

If the guys can pay underdogs, and have fun out there, there will be some enjoyable hockey for us this season.
Oh c'mon now. This guy was clutch for us many many times in the same vein Stone was who gets praised over and over. He may be an offense only guy, but he is not a passenger like Vanek or Grabner.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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You mean in a situation where the other two players do all of the work while Hoffman skates around with his stick in the air? He has special natural ability, but lacks the drive and determination to be a real difference maker. We see it all the time in the league.
No, he was one of our best 3 forwards for the past 3 seasons. I'll just walk away and agree to disagree on that one. He was a clutch player for us even if he is an offense only contributor.
 

Ice-Tray

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Jan 31, 2006
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No, he was one of our best 3 forwards for the past 3 seasons. I'll just walk away and agree to disagree on that one. He was a clutch player for us even if he is an offense only contributor.

The key word being "our" best forward.

And really he was more like one of 'our best scorers', as he never quite understood that there were more facets to the game, and was definitely NOT clutch, unless one considers some clutch player being able to deliver him a perfect pass where he would once in a while convert on his very obvious move, 'clutch'.

Anyways, I'm as understanding of other folks opinions on the guy as I am happy he's gone!
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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The key word being "our" best forward.

And really he was more like one of 'our best scorers', as he never quite understood that there were more facets to the game, and was definitely NOT clutch, unless one considers some clutch player being able to deliver him a perfect pass where he would once in a while convert on his very obvious move, 'clutch'.

Anyways, I'm as understanding of other folks opinions on the guy as I am happy he's gone!
Yup, right there with Stone, Duchene and Turris. Maybe like Dorion forgets, offense and skill IS actually required and not just 3rd line grinders that can chip in 10 or 15 like the guy we gave him away for.

He most certainly was clutch, but I don't have the time to dig up all of the examples, so fair enough, you are certainly entitled to your opinion.
 

swiftwin

★SUMMER.OF.PIERRE★
Jul 26, 2005
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He had some clutch goals, but he was still one-dimensional and a liability. (Much like Vanek)

There's a reason the other players nicknamed him "Hoffmanov"

There's a reason both Cameron and Boucher kept sticking him on the 3rd line

I just remember shit like this:


I could never imagine someone like Stone or Duchene just stand there like that and let McDavid walk by without even taking the effort to atleast wave his stick in the general direction of the puck at a bare minimum.
 

Silencio

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Nov 6, 2006
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He had some clutch goals, but he was still one-dimensional and a liability. (Much like Vanek)

There's a reason the other players nicknamed him "Hoffmanov"

There's a reason both Cameron and Boucher kept sticking him on the 3rd line

I just remember **** like this:


I could never imagine someone like Stone or Duchene just stand there like that and let McDavid walk by without even taking the effort to atleast wave his stick in the general direction of the puck at a bare minimum.



I'm pretty sure that game ended up being the same day Monika Caryk claims she was first made aware of the cyberbullying accusations, so I can kind of understand that he had other things on his mind.
 

Do Make Say Think

& Yet & Yet
Jun 26, 2007
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Hoffman was a good scorer and that's about it.

You need players like him for sure but he's hardly what I would have considered a critical player, especially with how he tended to vanish for very long stretches at very inopportune times.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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We just dont have any similar players so it was nice to have a pure skill guy in the lineup, only real comparable would br Duchene. It feels like management just doesnt value skill over other things and we've seen first hand just how flawed that can be. Pittsburgh has made us look like fools many times in the past.
 

Do Make Say Think

& Yet & Yet
Jun 26, 2007
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We just dont have any similar players so it was nice to have a pure skill guy in the lineup, only real comparable would br Duchene. It feels like management just doesnt value skill over cheapness. Pittsburgh has made us look like fools many times in the past.

FTFY ;)
 
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swiftwin

★SUMMER.OF.PIERRE★
Jul 26, 2005
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We just dont have any similar players so it was nice to have a pure skill guy in the lineup, only real comparable would br Duchene. It feels like management just doesnt value skill over other things and we've seen first hand just how flawed that can be. Pittsburgh has made us look like fools many times in the past.

Duchene has more pure skill than Hoffman does, and he has the work ethic to go with it.

Did you miss this move last week?


How many one-dimensional "skill" guys does Pittsburgh have? Maybe Kessel? I'm not sure it's it's true to reputation based right now. The rest of the team definitely has the work ethic to match the skill.
 
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BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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Duchene has more pure skill than Hoffman does, and he has the work ethic to go with it.

Did you miss this move last week?


How many one-dimensional "skill" guys does Pittsburgh have? Maybe Kessel? I'm not sure it's it's true to reputation based right now. The rest of the team definitely has the work ethic to match the skill.

I agree, Duchene is better.

Perhaps its just a lack of skill in general, not just one dimensional guys, but since we're so low on skill, its tough to see a guy like Hoff shipped out.
 

Sensinitis

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Aug 5, 2012
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He's not that superstar driver, but I could easily see him flirt with 35g/70p with the right players.

I’ve thought this every year since his rookie campaign, but now I know this will never happen. He’s just too inconsistent.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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I’ve thought this every year since his rookie campaign, but now I know this will never happen. He’s just too inconsistent.
Almost all hockey players are inconsistent though one way or another, and he was quite often put with offensive plugs like Pageau and Pyatt and still did what he did.

I'm not saying its going to happen, but if he gets a chance with some of the high end guys Florida has, he could kill it just like last year when he got to play with Duchene. He has the skill to do it, just depends if he clicks.
 

Sensinitis

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Aug 5, 2012
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Almost all hockey players are inconsistent though one way or another, and he was quite often put with offensive plugs like Pageau and Pyatt and still did what he did.

I'm not saying its going to happen, but if he gets a chance with some of the high end guys Florida has, he could kill it just like last year when he got to play with Duchene. He has the skill to do it, just depends if he clicks.

He had all the chances in the world on the PP with our best players. At one point you have to judge the player for what he is, and not what you hope he will become. With over 350 NHL games under his belt now he won’t suddenly become consistent enough to be a 35G 70P guy. That doesn’t mean he isn’t extremely skilled, because he obviously is. Power to him if he proves me wrong though.
 

BonHoonLayneCornell

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Oct 16, 2006
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He had all the chances in the world on the PP with our best players. At one point you have to judge the player for what he is, and not what you hope he will become. With over 350 NHL games under his belt now he won’t suddenly become consistent enough to be a 35G 70P guy. That doesn’t mean he isn’t extremely skilled, because he obviously is. Power to him if he proves me wrong though.
We shall find out I guess! FTR I don't think he would consistently be a 35g, 70p guy, just that we could see him pull it off in the right situation like he looks to be in now.

Just thought there was more we could do to squeeze another 5-10 goals out of him and that's really all it would take since he's hit 29 goals 59 points before. He got lots of PP time, but our PP was also awful, so perhaps there's more that could come there. It seemed like he was always used at even strength with 3rd liners, so I'm hoping he gets a chance with a guy like Barkov or Huberdeau to really have a good center to play with rather than guys like Pageau and Smith. Him and Duchene were amazing to finish off the last 30 games or so.
 

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