The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
This has pretty much happened in Toronto for Nazem Kadri, and could as well happen to us with Larkin. Our higher drafted kids could just overtake him as more talented players. Kadri is currently second liner and Babcock has started matching against opposite team top lines as a defensive top center.
Kadri after 2014-15 season:
250 games, 64+88=152, 0.61 points/game, 16:44 AVG TOI.
Larkin after 2017-18 season:
242 games, 56+84=140p, 0.58 points/game, 17:32 AVG TOI.
Kadri became a third liner a few weeks ago.
Kadri has always been decent on special teams, I think Larkin has more room for growth there. To me Larkin has a higher ceiling than Kadri. He has a more explosive element to his game. Larkin needs to consolidate last year, but I believe he will. He looks to have figured out controlling pace of the game and making big adjustments to his game night in and night out. I believe in why I think he improved but again he needs to consolidate it. While Kadri is a good #2, I don't think Larkin is capped out there, I think he has more potential growth and I think we see that again this year. He is a tireless worker, but that is a part of why I believe he will get there.