Speculation: What to do with Jumbo

[OB34KNH]

I expect his usage to get heavily managed when the post season starts. Likely only will get 7-10 min of icetime then.

The only way I see him outright not be dressed is if things get ugly very early in the opening series.

Once pp scoring starts to normalize he will seem like less of an issue

Why does he deserve to be in the lineup? He can provide wisdom from the press-box.

Kerfoot, Engvall, Galchenyuk, Nash, Robertson all have a greater impact on ice than him.

Why should we keep giving him ice time when he's 42 years old & completely finished? The only difference between Thornton and Barabanov is that, Barabanov is the better player (he can skate faster and plays good D)

 

[Menzinger]

Why does he deserve to be in the lineup? He can provide wisdom from the press-box.

Kerfoot, Engvall, Galchenyuk, Nash, Robertson all have a greater impact on ice than him.

Why should we keep giving him ice time when he's 42 years old & completely finished? The only difference between Thornton and Barabanov is that, Barabanov is the better player (he can skate faster and plays good D)

Because if he has been playing a leadership role (and from the outside it certainly seems like he has), disrupting the dressing room dynamics on the eve of the playoffs doesn't seem seem wise to me. Especially since he seemingly along with the other off-season additions were in part because of their work ethic/attitudes ect.

If hes willing to embrace that off ice role without skating then I'm all for it. But looking at things right now I'm not expecting it to happen.

 

[OB34KNH]

Because if he has been playing a leadership role (and from the outside it certainly seems like he has), disrupting the dressing room dynamics on the eve of the playoffs doesn't seem seem wise to me. Especially since he seemingly along with the other off-season additions were in part because of their work ethic/attitudes ect.

If hes willing to embrace that off ice role without skating then I'm all for it. But looking at things right now I'm not expecting it to happen.

It will cost us the cup if we keep playing him. Do you see how he gets exposed by other teams' offenses? They skate around him like he's a fu-c-king pylon.

Doesn't matter, scratch him for the upcoming games, and, he can still travel with the team (he's being paid still) and can give them advice.

FFS he's older than our coach. He can't play anymore, face the reality.

 

[OB34KNH]

Because if he has been playing a leadership role (and from the outside it certainly seems like he has), disrupting the dressing room dynamics on the eve of the playoffs doesn't seem seem wise to me. Especially since he seemingly along with the other off-season additions were in part because of their work ethic/attitudes ect.

If hes willing to embrace that off ice role without skating then I'm all for it. But looking at things right now I'm not expecting it to happen.

Pay me 1$ Million to be a pylon and give them "wisdom".

 

[ShaneFalco]

It will cost us the cup if we keep playing him.

What a load
Step off the ledge

 

[Primary Assist]

Hopefully they can press bomb him and Simmonds on an alternating basis now that the depth forwards have been improved. Both those guys started off so strong on the year, and after they returned from injuries just weren't the same. Some load management should help them, and those two really shouldn't both be in the lineup at the same time.

 

[Menzinger]

It will cost us the cup if we keep playing him. Do you see how he gets exposed by other teams' offenses? They skate around him like he's a fu-c-king pylon.

Doesn't matter, scratch him for the upcoming games, and, he can still travel with the team (he's being paid still) and can give them advice.

FFS he's older than our coach. He can't play anymore, face the reality.

Again, I'd expect his role and usage to both be reduced. If he's essentially getting used as a 4th liner I doubt he will cost the team a series, let alone the cup

 

[CincoHolio]

Load manage him until the playoffs. Someone will get injured inevitably. His number will be called when the time comes.

 

[123offtheglass]

So I guess they're scratching Spezza first so Jumbo doesn't feel so bad when it's him, smart way to go about it if that is the plan.

"We're not scratching you because you've been bad, we're just getting some of the guys some rest & some other guys some reps; look we even scratched Spezza first"

 

[Wafflewhipper]

I expect his usage to get heavily managed when the post season starts. Likely only will get 7-10 min of icetime then.

The only way I see him outright not be dressed is if things get ugly very early in the opening series.

Once pp scoring starts to normalize he will seem like less of an issue

Thornton is horrible. Nothing works why. Everyone knows why.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

They squeezed all they could out of Jumbo Joe at the beginning of the season when he was playing with Matthews and Marner. I didn't understand the decision from Day 1, but he did better than I expected. Naturally, he has hit the wall that you would expect a 41-year old would hit as the grind of the season deepens.

Nothing wrong with sitting him in the press box and using him when need be. He's at the point now where he should be getting 5 to 7 minutes, primarily to give the other lines a quick break, and utilized on the 2nd PP.

 

[CapspaceKiller]

Engvall gets benched before Jumbo does