Should Luke Gazdic be an Oiler after this year?

[syz]

Gazdic has proven he doesn't want to do the job that everyone expects him to do. He's good for staged fights and that's it.

 

[McTrashBoat]

Gazdic has proven he doesn't want to do the job that everyone expects him to do. He's good for staged fights and that's it.

Please do elaborate

 

[syz]

Please do elaborate

Standing there watching his old buddy Benn chirp his goalie after Spezza had already done it earlier in the game.

He's a deterrent that doesn't deter anything, even when he's standing right there. Clearly nobody is afraid of this guy. Even when he's on the ice for one of his 3 minutes a game, players don't seem to stop and think twice about anything.

 

[oil Leaks]

Gazdic is an AHL player at best. Would not miss him at all.

 

[nabob]

Standing there watching his old buddy Benn chirp his goalie after Spezza had already done it earlier in the game.

He's a deterrent that doesn't deter anything, even when he's standing right there. Clearly nobody is afraid of this guy. Even when he's on the ice for one of his 3 minutes a game, players don't seem to stop and think twice about anything.

WOW one little play that wasnt even a scrum decides a players entire career now. It was a play that was over in seconds and not something worth taking a penalty over in a tie game.

 

[nabob]

Well Hall and those above guys tend to play significatly better comp. playing significatly more minutes, and contribute significatly more offensively (Team GF/60 - Opponet GF/60 is positive). So those guys arent costing wins, some just arent generating wins

Gazdic contributes next to nothing offensively, and is at best a mariginally OK defensive player.

Id rather give his minutes to a Stempniak type utility forward. Atleast when hes on the ice Oilers are getting terribly outshot. He can also produce some offense too

You said he bled goal against and cost the team wins. That simply isnt true and the stats show it.

A player who contributes to significantly more goals against than goals for when on the ice is costing wins.

 

[booyakasha]

Yes, Gazdic should be an Oiler after this year.
I think he's perfect at what he does..and he's not that bad to make him a liability on the ice. Good 4th line energy player, that can fight really well, and is well liked.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Gazdic was on ice... came in 5 seconds later and one hand tapped Benn's shoulder and skated away.

Score was 2-2 at time with Nilsson standing on his head.

So if he doesn't kick Benn's ass the anti-enforcer types would be saying "see he doesn't deter anyone from doing anything, intimidation cannot be measured and you can't intimidate an NHLer" if he did drop 'em and kicked his ass and took a 2-5-10 then it'd be "he cost us the game, useless goon!" Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Another thing to keep in mind is that that is his former team so he's likely friends off the ice with most of those guys. Lastly if he KO'd Benn the reigning Art Ross winner he'd probably be suspended for a long, long time.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

As for the OP's question, we'll see how he plays the rest of the season before making a call one way or another.

 

[geoo9]

But if young guns meet one goon like Roussel of dirty player like marchand you need to have that guy who can soothe all or exchanged penalty minutes with provoker

 

[Bryanbryoil]

But if young guns meet one goon like Roussel of dirty player like marchand you need to have that guy who can soothe all or exchanged penalty minutes with provoker

Roussel is the kind of guy that would do that. IF it happened, I'd hope that it'd be Gazdic and not Hendricks dishing out his comeuppance.

 

[syz]

I distinctly remember a conversation around here a couple years back about how players wouldn't crash the crease if they had somebody to be afraid of.

Meanwhile they crash the crease and taunt the goalie to their hearts content while Gazdic is on the ice and people still want to pretend that deterrence exists.

Please.

 

[McDNicks17]

I wouldn't mind him back.

He seems to be improving as a hockey player and it sounds like you won't find a better teammate.

 

[TheRebuild]

I wish he was a bit better overall. But he does his job, and he seems like a great guy. I think there's still a place for tough guys on teams, as long as they aren't a liability.

 

[Soundwave]

We should be looking to upgrade at every position when ever it's available to us.

If we can find someone that does Luke's current job better than he does, then why not.

 

[nexttothemoon]

This team needs more toughness/grit and I'm willing to see if Gazdic can deliver that + be a decent 4th line energy option as well this season.

I can't really say yes or no at this point.

There's some decent prospects down in the AHL that will be knocking on the door by next season so I don't know if a player like Gazdic should be in the cards as the #13/#14 F... but again it all depends on how useful he is this season and whether he can be a truly useful tough player who is a useful player beyond just the occasional face punching episode every 10 games or so.

 

[thadd]

I love Gazdic as a fighter. He's easily a top 5 fighter in the NHL right now, but that's all he isn't.

He isn't the worst grinder out there, but he's still lacking a lot in that department. His skating has improved but it's still well below average.

Due to all of the fights he's been in his hands will never be anywhere near respectable.

All those people talking about him being a deterrent are kidding themselves. I deterrent is someone who's going to scare you away from doing something and Gazdic flat out doesn't do that. A deterrent needs to be good enough to play at least 14 minutes a game.

If opposing teams knew that running McDavid would get Gazdic on the ice for 14 minutes a game McDavid would have been run half a dozen times by now, because having Gazdic on the ice for 14 minutes a game would probably be seen as a reward for the opposition.

Not only that, but Gazdic doesn't have enough intensity to be seen as a deterrent. He's too nice. Just like Laraque was. He'll drop the gloves but he's not going to get vicious when the opposition takes liberties. I personally don't really care about fights in hockey anymore, but I understand why people feel that fighters are necessary.

A guy like Lucic could be seen as a deterrent. Yes, he picks his fights, but he can play a lot of minutes without dragging the team's performance level down. We don't have a deterrent. We have a face puncher who can play a minimal amount of minutes and I respect Gazdic for improving, but it's not enough.

If he's still in Edmonton next season that's a clear sign that our prospects aren't getting anywhere development-wise.

 

[Jumptheshark]

For what does we need him. We can not have a team full of daisey mays... we need some **** kickers to keep the other guys honest

 

[Bangers]

I'm indifferent.

A few years back, Bill Simmons (I think?) wrote an article about how even though Brian Scalabrine was way overpaid, he was in some ways the ideal 12th man on an NBA roster. He knew he was hardly ever going to see the floor, but he took it upon himself to be a great teammate, a guy that everyone liked and that kept things loose, would practice hard and push the starters in practice, and accepted that that was his fate.

Gazdic is basically on the NHL minimum, he hasn't haf injury problems, he seems to be well-liked, he offers toughness (an element that's lacking on the team), and scratching him isn't a big deal (he doesn't seem to be the type to complain about it).

 

[Broilers]

I gotta disagree, he's looked good all year, is only a -1 on a team that has a -2 differential.

If he's only getting paid 850k that's a bargain for a player that is reliable in a 4th line role and can drop em with anyone.



And you quote a lot of stats from his time under Eakins, I'd wait for him to play under McLellan a few more games before counting him out.

I agree with you. I want to keep Luke around with 1M a year. If things go south he can be sent to AHL without cap hit

 

[Broilers]

I love Gazdic as a fighter. He's easily a top 5 fighter in the NHL right now, but that's all he isn't.

He isn't the worst grinder out there, but he's still lacking a lot in that department. His skating has improved but it's still well below average.

Due to all of the fights he's been in his hands will never be anywhere near respectable.

All those people talking about him being a deterrent are kidding themselves. I deterrent is someone who's going to scare you away from doing something and Gazdic flat out doesn't do that. A deterrent needs to be good enough to play at least 14 minutes a game.

If opposing teams knew that running McDavid would get Gazdic on the ice for 14 minutes a game McDavid would have been run half a dozen times by now, because having Gazdic on the ice for 14 minutes a game would probably be seen as a reward for the opposition.

Not only that, but Gazdic doesn't have enough intensity to be seen as a deterrent. He's too nice. Just like Laraque was. He'll drop the gloves but he's not going to get vicious when the opposition takes liberties. I personally don't really care about fights in hockey anymore, but I understand why people feel that fighters are necessary.

A guy like Lucic could be seen as a deterrent. Yes, he picks his fights, but he can play a lot of minutes without dragging the team's performance level down. We don't have a deterrent. We have a face puncher who can play a minimal amount of minutes and I respect Gazdic for improving, but it's not enough.

If he's still in Edmonton next season that's a clear sign that our prospects aren't getting anywhere development-wise.

I disagree with you. 10 minutes /game is enough to be deterrent and Luke can already play 8 minutes in even strength . He jus need to add PK to his toolbox and he is just fine for many years for us

 

[Dazed and Confused]

He can pass as a 4th line winger, and he brings an element that none of the the other 4th line options can.

Throw in the fact the dressing room seems to love him, and I'd say there's a role for him here.

I'd argue Hendricks and Gyrba (and eventually Nurse) are more effective due to Gazdic being around. As they can, but don't need to, be the sheriff for the team, and can focus purely on playing the game. An example of this would be Neil in Ottawa; he was at his best when he had McGratton or Crakner on the team.


Do you need Gazdic every game? No. Will he stop everyone from doing something? No (the Benn point's already been discussed), nor do I think 1 player will ever limit it, that's a job for team toughness. But that's where Gazdic can be important, he frees up other players to play hard and focus on the game. I'd rather lose Gazdic for 5 or more, than Gyrba or especially Hendricks.


And for those pointing to lack of offence, If I'm down by a goal I'd rather double shift one of the top 6 wingers and have them play with Hendricks and Letestu, than have a lesser offencive talent like Slepyshev or Miller out on the ice.

 

[GretzkytoKurri9917]

No,bring in Raffi Torres and have Gazdic walk.

 

[n7]

Good guy who's not an NHL player.
It's not hard to figure out.

 

[joestevens29]

Why do we have to decide now? Seems like a rather pointless article to have at this time of year when there is so much more to talk about right now.