What did y'all think of Latandresse?

[John Holmes*]

I swear, I read some of these comments, I and know most of the people have never played a sport in their life, and probably just sit on a computer 18 hours a day, acting like experts on every subject ever thrown at them.

Do you know how hard it is to miss a couple of weeks of hockey, then go back in at 100%, let alone 2 years off/on...

I expect to see so many silly threads the first couple of weeks....

Most 82 game seasons, with full training camps, your team doesn't get in sync until 10-15 games. They had a week of what 5 practises, no exhibition games, after a massive layoff.

Plus he's playing with guys he has never played with before. Every team needs time to gel.

 

[Vikes88]

So you are judging him on when he was 18, 19, and 20 years old? That is not fair either. Most players take 2-3 years in the league to reach their peak. Brian Murray says 400 games. Lats has now played 315. He was brought into the league too early by the Habs, but still scores 16 goals the two years in a row, at age 18-20. Then scored at a 20 goal pace the next year, at 21. Then he goes to the Wild and scored 25 in 55 games and you want to ignore that? I am not saying he is going to be great, but I think he has proven he can be at least a 20-25 goal scorer, if healthy. He has missed a lot of time in the past two years, but he is still only 25.

He's not a rookie, he's been around the NHL long enough for me to start making a judgement call on him meeting his potential, in my opinion. I know he's got time, but he's also not a rookie any more. I hope as much as anyone that he doesn't turn into a journeyman and that Ottawa has a reason to keep him, and I recognize that he is just 25, of course, but he's never been a very good player.

The arguments go both ways on Latendresse, and everything you've said is just as valid as what I've said. I hope Murray's right, and he explodes, if not this season, then next season.

 

[aragorn]

He looked to me like he's big on complaining to the ref and hoping for a call. I'm not interested in that. I'd rather see a guy working hard every shift and fighting through clutching & grabbing. If the official calls a penalty great, if not you move on and work hard. I'm not seeing that from Latendresse.

I agree with you, it`s dissapointing that the guy isn`t in better shape after being off so long. He has had plenty of time to get into shape, why wasn`t he here during the summer after he signed to get into shape like Turris & Wiercioch. Why doesn't he have a personal trainer like Tony Greco (Claude Giroux)? Where is his commitment to getting into better shape for the season & for his new team? That's what is dissapointing to me, his commitment & drive seem to be missing.

Having said that though, I like his size & that he goes to the net, he is hard to move from in front & he has soft hands & good skill in front. He needs to produce though & if he isn't I could see Regin or Greening taking his spot on the 2nd line sooner or later. I don't have a lot of confidence in him though having watched him over the yrs & my guess is that he disappoints & is replaced & does not resign but I hope I'm wrong & he has his best season ever.

 

[langcam]

This thread is jokes. Give me a break.. Can we at least wait 10-15 games before we try and run him out of town? Guys rusty, enough said..

 

[BadMcFadden]

But as the announcers have said 5 times a day - its a sprint!

No time for rust. Every game counts.

 

[GK]

But as the announcers have said 5 times a day - its a sprint!

No time for rust. Every game counts.

Regardless of if it is a sprint or not, almost every guy in the league has some rust. Even the Oiler players who have been in the AHL for a few months are going to need some time to adjust to the NHL system again. Just because it's a sprint doesn't the guy isn't allowed to get back into game form.

This thread is angering.

 

[H2O]

I predict he'll reach the 15 goals plateau if he stays healthy all season.

 

[Prajna]

He's not a rookie, he's been around the NHL long enough for me to start making a judgement call on him meeting his potential, in my opinion. I know he's got time, but he's also not a rookie any more. I hope as much as anyone that he doesn't turn into a journeyman and that Ottawa has a reason to keep him, and I recognize that he is just 25, of course, but he's never been a very good player.

The arguments go both ways on Latendresse, and everything you've said is just as valid as what I've said. I hope Murray's right, and he explodes, if not this season, then next season.

I think you missed my point. You are saying he is average. You also said the past two years don't count. He had average output overall in his first few years, yes. But for an 18-19 year old, that was above average. Most 18-19 year olds don't score 16 goals in the NHL.
You seem to be judging him now based on his results as a teenager.
Also, you ignore the fact that he did score 25 goals in 55 games for the Wild one year. Overall, he is averaging 20 goals per 82 games. Considering he has hardly played since he was 23; I think he can be better than a 20 goal scorer. Most recently scoring at 37 goal pace.
All of this points to better than average!
Average top 6 player maybe!

I realize we both hope for this. At least!

 

[Patvolcom65]

I saw Lats and he didn't show any rust at the buffet

 

[aragorn]

I saw Lats and he didn't show any rust at the buffet

This is what worries me, did he have a plate or platter in each hand?

 

[Patvolcom65]

This is what worries me, did he have a plate or platter in each hand?

Platter in each hand. He was seen with none other then Big Buff.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

I thought he was fine.

I think he looks rusty, but I think he will come around. He pretty well replaces Foligno pretty nicely, and so what can I ask for? I think its not terrible. And it was one game. If he stays this way, he will get some dirty goals and be ok. And if he gets better, its a huge win for the Sens.

 

[mat_sens]

I thought he played pretty well for only having played 20 games in the past 2 years.

He got a chance or 2 and was noticeable out there. Can't ask for much more. He created space for Alfie and Turris.

 

[DylanSensFan]

This thread is jokes. Give me a break.. Can we at least wait 10-15 games before we try and run him out of town? Guys rusty, enough said..

you know what is beautiful... adding them to the ignore list.

 

[Vikes88]

I think you missed my point. You are saying he is average. You also said the past two years don't count. He had average output overall in his first few years, yes. But for an 18-19 year old, that was above average. Most 18-19 year olds don't score 16 goals in the NHL.
You seem to be judging him now based on his results as a teenager.
Also, you ignore the fact that he did score 25 goals in 55 games for the Wild one year. Overall, he is averaging 20 goals per 82 games. Considering he has hardly played since he was 23; I think he can be better than a 20 goal scorer. Most recently scoring at 37 goal pace.
All of this points to better than average!
Average top 6 player maybe!

I realize we both hope for this. At least!

At least indeed! I'm hoping you're right.

 

[bert]

He looked rusty to me but hasnt played in a long time.

 

[bacon25]

This thread is jokes. Give me a break.. Can we at least wait 10-15 games before we try and run him out of town? Guys rusty, enough said..

You should have seen the clamour over Gilroy, many didn't give him any wiggle room either. Fact is many fans didn't like the trade so they are hyper critical.

 

[MiscBrah]

This thread is jokes. Give me a break.. Can we at least wait 10-15 games before we try and run him out of town? Guys rusty, enough said..

You should have seen the clamour over Gilroy, many didn't give him any wiggle room either. Fact is many fans didn't like the trade so they are hyper critical.

Once again this is just a discussion. For the most part everyone here seems to agree that he seems a little rusty and we can't wait to see more...

I'm not sure why a talk about one of our new players is "angering" to people? I haven't seen anyone in this thread try to run him out of town. Obviously we all want him to do well and like it or not we're all making judgement's of his play even after one game.

 

[Indrew]

He'll play the exact same way but tap that rebound home next time he gets it and we'll all love him for a few days.

 

[Legend Killer]

I thought he looked slow and lazy... but the whole game looked choppy and you cant make opinions based on one game...

Hopefully in time he will adjust to his linemates and do well

 

[Nordiques1979]

From what i saw, he still hasn't improved his skating, he's slow as hell. He made some good hits, but he need to clean the corner and put his big body in front of the net, as long as he's not doing it, he won't score a lot of goals. He used to be called Mr. Garbage Goals in Montreal....

 

[OgieO]

A little choppy/sloppy, but he got a few very good scoring chances around the net. Once he settles in and starts finishing those chances we'll all love him. His hands looked about a tenth of a second behind his head (i.e. like most players after a long layoff).

I think he's good for 15 goals this year if he can stay healthy (pretty big 'if').

 

[OgieO]

Also, I like that our top 2 lines each have a guy that appears to be very good around the net. Michalek and Latendresse both appear (a little early to conclude on GL) to have a knack for getting scoring chances around the net. I like it!

 

[Wondercarrot]

I didnt think either Alfie or Turris had particularly good games either and they will drive that line.
Latendresse could be a fantastic complementary player on that line.

im still excited about seeing what he can do over the course of the year.
if you are looking for him to show off flash and speed through the neutral zone you are certainly going to be disappointed.
if you are looking for him to finish plays around the net and be difficult to handle down low then i think you'll end up happy.

i guess we'll see.

 

[Icelevel]

Although i don't usually respond to any question with "y'all" in it, he is exactly what we need up there.

Lats should be awesome for us and keep getting better as the games go on.