The Curious Case of Cody Hodgson

[stokes84]

It's well known that he's not my favorite player, but even I never expected it to come to this point with him. I always thought he was a decent NHL caliber player who just needed to play a little further down the line-up to hide his defensive warts. But 18 games into the season, he's got 1 goal and 1 assist and a minus 10 on the season. He's been relegated to one of the last men on the bench by Nolan, and if something doesn't change, he looks like one of the worst contracts in the league. What's going to happen with this player?

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[ZeroPT*]

]It's well known that he's not my favorite player[/B], but even I never expected it to come to this point with him. I always thought he was a decent NHL caliber player who just needed to play a little further down the line-up to hide his defensive warts. But 18 games into the season, he's got 1 goal and 1 assist and a minus 10 on the season. He's been relegated to one of the last men on the bench by Nolan, and if something doesn't change, he looks like one of the worst contracts in the league. What's going to happen with this player?

That's such an understatement.

Cody has just had a rough start and the HF "what have you done for me lately" mantra is shining through

 

[gallagt01]

Bad player playing on a worse team.

I'll admit that I was wrong about Cody as a player. I thought he'd improve and become a legitimate top-six center.

Cody has just had a rough start and the HF "what have you done for me lately" mantra is shining through

I really don't think that's the case.

This Hodgson is the same Hodgson we've seen since he's come to Buffalo; he just doesn't have the numbers to insulate his overall play anymore.





You can only live off your 7-year-old WJC performances for so long.

 

[Takeo]

You should have seen this messageboard the day he was acquired. Pure ecstasy.

 

[TehDoak]

Cody's a 20-25 g, 50-60 pt player when put in a good situation.

I think most people are correct in assuming he's more suited for LW than Center, but, I think in the right situation he could play either on a good team.

All that being said, he's a secondary guy. He isn't going to create a ton for himself. I think he's a guy thats going to ebb and flow with how the team is playing.

The problem is that this team is just truly awful. Moulson, a guy who has scored 30 g 4x in this league...is on pace for 5 goals this season.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/team/stats/_/name/buf/buffalo-sabres

To sit here and call out any one player as being the issue really reeks of people trying to confirm their biases they had going into the season.

It's up and down the lineup. It's a coaching problem, its an environment problem, and, frankly, its a franchise problem.

 

[Jame]

It's well known that he's not my favorite player, but even I never expected it to come to this point with him. I always thought he was a decent NHL caliber player who just needed to play a little further down the line-up to hide his defensive warts. But 18 games into the season, he's got 1 goal and 1 assist and a minus 10 on the season. He's been relegated to one of the last men on the bench by Nolan, and if something doesn't change, he looks like one of the worst contracts in the league. What's going to happen with this player?

He looks like total garbage this year.

You can tell Nolan is in his ear, as these tiny little moments of effort/finish pop up on a single play or a couple shifts. But the consistent effort, style of play, etc that Nolan wants, just isn't there. Cody has no heart.

As for the contract... it's not even in the vicinity of one of the worst contracts in the league. Given his age, and the length of the deal only going through his mid to late 20s... it's simply not even comparable to something like the Clarkson contract.

Hodgson is a "passenger" player on a team with no drivers... if we are stuck with him for a few years, so be it. There is still the possibility that we get through the rebuild and he has value as a passenger player on a team full of drivers.

If we can trade him for something useful, I'm on board. If there is nothing useful out there in trade (im not interested in dumping him for futures of little value), Im fine with living with the growing pains for a few seasons.

Right now, he looks awful in a scoring line role, because there is no talent around him to lift and/or compliment his play. He needs players that create space, drive possession, and feed him opportunities to make plays in the space.

Right now, he looks awful in a bottom 6 role, because there is nothing about his game that fits in that role.

If we are stuck with him for the long haul, I hold some hope that he could potentially be a finisher on a line featuring a ReinMcEichel at center, and puck dominant power forward on the other wing.

regardless, he flat out sucks right now...

 

[Jame]

You should have seen this messageboard the day he was acquired. Pure ecstasy.

And rightfully so.

We had been suffering from the dearth of talent at center since the co-caps debacle.

Hodgson was a young, 1st round, strong resume center
Vancouver fans were livid when he was traded, "future captain" was a term thrown around by a majority.
He had a 2 way resume, international success

acquiring young, valuable centers is hard... and He fit exactly what we needed in a desperate way.

it hasn't worked out, that doesn't mean the elation at the time wasn't justified

 

[stokes84]

Cody's a 20-25 g, 50-60 pt player when put in a good situation.

I think most people are correct in assuming he's more suited for LW than Center, but, I think in the right situation he could play either on a good team.

All that being said, he's a secondary guy. He isn't going to create a ton for himself. I think he's a guy thats going to ebb and flow with how the team is playing.

The problem is that this team is just truly awful. Moulson, a guy who has scored 30 g 4x in this league...is on pace for 5 goals this season.

http://espn.go.com/nhl/team/stats/_/name/buf/buffalo-sabres

To sit here and call out any one player as being the issue really reeks of people trying to confirm their biases they had going into the season.

It's up and down the lineup. It's a coaching problem, its an environment problem, and, frankly, its a franchise problem.

He was the leading scorer on a similarly miserable team last as a 23 year old. Now, almost 1/4 through the year, he is on pace for a 9 point season and is consistently getting benched. I think it's pretty fair to ask what's going on with him. It's just as easy to say the team is this bad because of what he's giving them as it is to say his struggles are caused by the team. They are not independent of each other.

 

[CrookedCrook]

Cody looked good in this years WC roster for Canada. Don't remember his linemates but he even had a hatty there. 6 goals in 8 games.
Could that be the case of better teammates and/or bigger ice? Or just worse competition..

 

[Jame]

He was the leading scorer on a similarly miserable team last as a 23 year old. Now, almost 1/4 through the year, he is on pace for a 9 point season and is consistently getting benched. I think it's pretty fair to ask what's going on with him. It's just as easy to say the team is this bad because of what he's giving them as it is to say his struggles are caused by the team. They are not independent of each other.

You can ask, but you won't accept the answer. 40% of Hodgson's shifts last year were with a driver. Christian Ehrhoff. A puck moving, possession creating, defensemen. He also played the most with a forward who won faceoffs, creating said possesion (Ott). In the beginning of the season he was effective with a scorer on his wing (Vanek). and when he was moved to wing towards the end of the season, he played with another driver of possession in Girgensons.

Last year he was on the 1st PP unit... where he racked up 19 points. This year he's on the 2nd unit with no talent.

Hodgson has sucked. But there are underlying reasons that are contributing to his suckage.

The team isn't this bad because of what Hodgson is giving them. That's just silly talk.

 

[Clock]

I'm happy that the team's future success is clearly not contingent on Hodgson amping his game up as a key player.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

He looks like total garbage this year.

You can tell Nolan is in his ear, as these tiny little moments of effort/finish pop up on a single play or a couple shifts. But the consistent effort, style of play, etc that Nolan wants, just isn't there. Cody has no heart.

As for the contract... it's not even in the vicinity of one of the worst contracts in the league. Given his age, and the length of the deal only going through his mid to late 20s... it's simply not even comparable to something like the Clarkson contract.

Hodgson is a "passenger" player on a team with no drivers... if we are stuck with him for a few years, so be it. There is still the possibility that we get through the rebuild and he has value as a passenger player on a team full of drivers.

If we can trade him for something useful, I'm on board. If there is nothing useful out there in trade (im not interested in dumping him for futures of little value), Im fine with living with the growing pains for a few seasons.

Right now, he looks awful in a scoring line role, because there is no talent around him to lift and/or compliment his play. He needs players that create space, drive possession, and feed him opportunities to make plays in the space.

Right now, he looks awful in a bottom 6 role, because there is nothing about his game that fits in that role.

If we are stuck with him for the long haul, I hold some hope that he could potentially be a finisher on a line featuring a ReinMcEichel at center, and puck dominant power forward on the other wing.

regardless, he flat out sucks right now...

The passenger / driver analogy is absolutely spot on.

 

[Zip15]

I don't think it's all that curious. He's a one-way offensive player on a team that doesn't have the puck much in its offensive zone. He's a poor defensive player on a team that's largely hemmed in its defensive zone. That's a poor fit. Also, he's struggling to generate his own offense from the wing position, and this team presently lacks the centers to help him generate sufficient offense during those fleeting moments when we have the puck in the other team's zone.

The organization just has to ride this out. His numbers will rise as the team improves its possession numbers and as Reinhart and McEichel come into their own. I don't doubt that he's a 50-60 point player once he's riding shotgun with one of those players.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

@SabresStats

Nikita Zadorov has played in 7 games but has already been on the ice for more #Sabres goals (5) than Cody Hodgson has in 18 games (4).

 

[ZeroPT*]

Bad player playing on a worse team.

I'll admit that I was wrong about Cody as a player. I thought he'd improve and become a legitimate top-six center.



I really don't think that's the case.

This Hodgson is the same Hodgson we've seen since he's come to Buffalo; he just doesn't have the numbers to insulate his overall play anymore.





You can only live off your 7-year-old WJC performances for so long.

He was good last year. He produced like a legitimate 2nd liner on a terrible team. I don't think h'll be a big part of the future as I once did, but I do think it's unfair to completely throw him under the bus. I'd like to see more from him, but I'm willing to give him the season to prove that this was just a rough stretch.

 

[Sabretooth]

I'd just like to point out that Ennis started the season last year with just 2g in the first 20 games of the season last year.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

Gees, the guy is struggling. Happens to almost everyone. Maybe we should wave him or fire Nolan or trade away Myers....

 

[CatsforReinhart]

I'd just like to point out that Ennis started the season last year with just 2g in the first 20 games of the season last year.

exactly....Hodgson could get 10 points in 10 games then all the hosgson fans will be posting I told you so threads.....Maybe we should wait a season or even two before deciding a player is finished as a top 6.

 

[stokes84]

I'd just like to point out that Ennis started the season last year with just 2g in the first 20 games of the season last year.

That's right. Through 17 games last season, Ennis only had 5 points. Which would have placed him 4th on this current team in scoring and outpacing Hodgson by 150%. And he wasn't getting benched. And we had a thread about it.

 

[tsujimoto74]

I'd just like to point out that Ennis started the season last year with just 2g in the first 20 games of the season last year.

Very true. Hodgson is off to a cold start. And he's going to have a difficult time digging himself out of that hole playing 4th line minutes and limited PP time.

Also agree with the passenger stuff said above. This team is full of passengers, and Hodgson is just one of many. A handful of our forwards are guys who have reasonably filled top 6 roles in the past when they had better players around them. Our problem is that those guys are supposed to be our best forwards, and they're just not capable of producing at that level when they're being relied on to be the primary drivers of an offense.

 

[Jame]

That's right. Through 17 games last season, Ennis only had 5 points. Which would have placed him 4th on this current team in scoring and outpacing Hodgson by 150%. And he wasn't getting benched. And we had a thread about it.

your defense mechanism is showing

 

[Jacob582]

His 6 goals in 8 World Championship games last spring gives me hope that he will be useful in the future.

 

[Jamie Walker]

That's right. Through 17 games last season, Ennis only had 5 points. Which would have placed him 4th on this current team in scoring and outpacing Hodgson by 150%. And he wasn't getting benched. And we had a thread about it.

so last year, Ennis would be 4th this year? and he'd be outpacing Hodgson, who is sitting on the bench not playing? ???

 

[Heraldic]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8474589&view=log&season=20132014

Ennis was such a scoring beast during the October last year!

So a player has a rough start for the season. Hasn't happened ever before.

I'm not a fan of Hodgson (or Ennis), but saying after 20 games in the same sentence "Hodgson" and "one of worst contracts in the league" is pretty premature or agenda driven. You can make your pick.

 

[JLewyB]

You can ask, but you won't accept the answer. 40% of Hodgson's shifts last year were with a driver. Christian Ehrhoff. A puck moving, possession creating, defensemen. He also played the most with a forward who won faceoffs, creating said possesion (Ott). In the beginning of the season he was effective with a scorer on his wing (Vanek). and when he was moved to wing towards the end of the season, he played with another driver of possession in Girgensons.

Last year he was on the 1st PP unit... where he racked up 19 points. This year he's on the 2nd unit with no talent.

Hodgson has sucked. But there are underlying reasons that are contributing to his suckage.

The team isn't this bad because of what Hodgson is giving them. That's just silly talk.

It's been pretty confusing why he hasn't had a shot at the 1st PP unit. The talent, lately, seems to even out now that Risto and Zads are on the 2nd unit.

As for his 5 on 5 play right now, you could swap him out with Luke Adam and not notice any difference. Luke might actually produce more.