Hopefully he keeps it up. But we've seen Smith have hot streaks before
We have? When?
Hopefully he keeps it up. But we've seen Smith have hot streaks before
FWIW, Kronwall didn't establish himself in the NHL until age 26, Ericsson until age 26, Franzen was a 4th liner until age 28 when he randomly out of nowhere scored like 20 goals in 20 games or whatever, Abdelkader is working on his 2nd straight 20 goal/40 point season after somewhat breaking out at age 27 last year, Filppula was a ~40 point guy until age 27 when he put up 66 points, etc.
So, not like it would really be all that unprecedented around here.
Kronwall also had a lockout and a freak broken leg back up his arrival, while Ericsson was a converted forward who was doing all of his converting once he got here. Bit of a special case that.
I don't like lumping defencemen and forwards together in these conversations, though. Everyone knows that they develop differently, but what we always hear is that it takes longer for D. But I've long wondered if they don't plateau sooner without a constant challenge. We've had this low and slow development plan for quite awhile now, and how many D have benefited from it? Serious question, but have any really benefited from it? Maybe Ericsson, but again, a bit of a special case with his converting from forward. I have nothing to base this on, but I think it's easier for forwards to continue growing their games and finding new niches than it is for D. It's why we see a guy like Abdelkader find a niche on a scoring line and (hopefully) becoming a 15-20 goal scorer.
I don't mind at all if Smith really is turning the corner and becoming the player we thought he could be, though.
Just as an FYI, Smith converted from forward at 17, Ericsson at 18...
Smith has played well for a little while now, nice to see the points finally coming. Without seeing PP time though we cannot expect tons of points, that is where NHL D-man do the bulk of your damage. But we are certainly seeing the version of Smith we have seen in the playoffs a lot more this season. It is a good thing.
Curious decisions ahead with the return of Quincey. I am inclined to get Ericsson and Kronwall some rest. I think both are carrying knocks.
Curious decisions ahead with the return of Quincey. I am inclined to get Ericsson and Kronwall some rest. I think both are carrying knocks.
Is smith on pace for his best season?
It will be interesting to see what happens. Marchenko is getting some good ice lately, too.
Here's the deal with our defense... I feel like we're stuck with them. Given that we're probably not going to see anything but, at best, a veteran rental added by the deadline, I think the answer to the blueline's offensive woes need to come internally. And given that, Smith, warts and all, is the best possibility at a partial solution. If he can continue to flex offensive swagger, it goes a long, long way to helping this team.
He is, barely. Only because of this huge burst, though. His best season is 19 points. He's got half the season to get another 10 points. Depends if he goes back to the 3 points in 23 games pace or not.
He's been scoring like Karlsson over the last 8 games, so we can assume that slows down significantly.
Is smith on pace for his best season?
Hes obviously going to cool down from his current pace but he was playing well for a while before the points started coming. Lots of people said it but Smith was likely the guy to benefit most from Blashill coaching. He fits Blashills system better, still plays mean out there and is finally producing. He looks kinda like the Smith that got called up from GR before Babcock neutered him.
With the new NHL stat page I cant find even strength scoring but I wouldnt mind seeing how his even strength scoring measures up with some other dmen in the league
Hes obviously going to cool down from his current pace but he was playing well for a while before the points started coming. Lots of people said it but Smith was likely the guy to benefit most from Blashill coaching. He fits Blashills system better, still plays mean out there and is finally producing. He looks kinda like the Smith that got called up from GR before Babcock neutered him.
With the new NHL stat page I cant find even strength scoring but I wouldnt mind seeing how his even strength scoring measures up with some other dmen in the league
Among all defensemen in the league who have played 300+ minutes (174 total) Brendan Smith is 66th in 5v5 points per 60 minutes @ 0.79.
Leaving out Quincey (who has only played 7 games) Smith is 2nd among Wings defensemen in 5v5 points per 60 minutes (behind Dekeyser). Kronwall is last on the team.
Determine what's the best?
On points, yeah.
But with cardinal mistakes and continuously bad plays he is also team leader.
Perfect trade bait. Looks better on paper than on the ice.
Where did you find that? I feel like I'm looking over something that should be blatantly obvious to me
This is a very good point. How come other team find and develop Dmen but we can't.If you look at the top 20 defenseman in points, you will see that only Detroit defenseman take 79 years to become productive NHL defenseman.
The vast majority of the leagues best defenseman were productive players by their second full NHL season and most of them were drafted in the second round or later.
And this. Some players benefit a lot because of Blashill.Hes obviously going to cool down from his current pace but he was playing well for a while before the points started coming. Lots of people said it but Smith was likely the guy to benefit most from Blashill coaching. He fits Blashills system better, still plays mean out there and is finally producing. He looks kinda like the Smith that got called up from GR before Babcock neutered him.
With the new NHL stat page I cant find even strength scoring but I wouldnt mind seeing how his even strength scoring measures up with some other dmen in the league
This is a very good point. How come other team find and develop Dmen but we can't.
Not True. Not that good a point actually.
V. Hedman is not yet a great D man.
But he is improving. It takes years and years for most D men.
Most are not good 1-2 years in.