Player Discussion Zack Kassian

[nabob]

I said he's had a few weak calls. Not every call was a weak call. He's done a lot of stupid stuff out there. I have no idea how someone could watch this player and not see that.

Which penalties would you say we purely stupid penalties and not incredibly weak calls? He has gotten penalties for perfectly clean hits and for lightly pushing a player in the back after a whistle, penalties for being mad and hitting the glass in the box. Which penalties were stupid that hurt the team?

Im not saying every call has been weak, of course all players take some penalties, but would you rather the penalty be 2 minutes for finishing a hit and punishing a opposing player on the forecheck or would you rather it be for him not hitting that player and looping around to hook or hold the player who the puck went to?

 

[Evilsports]

Let's be honest here, Kassian is profiled by officials based on his history and his appearance. I mean if the options as a ref are to penalize one of these two faces, which one are you most likely to send to the box:

OR:

 

[iFan]

Why is everyone so down on him lately? He's over played really well in his time here.

Same reason why Canuck fans turned on him, people really want to see him as a top 6 power forward and get disappointed when he doesn't hit that, when really he'll likely be a great bottom 6 player. I liked Kassian with the Nucks and didn't want to see him go, he's a solid 3rd line winger and he ups his play in he playoffs. Oilers should hold on to him and just accept him as a good bottom 6 guy.

 

[MessierII]

Same reason why Canuck fans turned on him, people really want to see him as a top 6 power forward and get disappointed when he doesn't hit that, when really he'll likely be a great bottom 6 player. I liked Kassian with the Nucks and didn't want to see him go, he's a solid 3rd line winger and he ups his play in he playoffs. Oilers should hold on to him and just accept him as a good bottom 6 guy.

That's all I ever wanted out of him. A tough 3rd liner with some functional skill. That's exactly what he is.

 

[belair]

I'm on the fence with him. He's a physical player but he's a fourth liner through and through. If a guy in camp can fill that spot that $2m could be spent elsewhere.

 

[MessierII]

I'm on the fence with him. He's a physical player but he's a fourth liner through and through. If a guy in camp can fill that spot that $2m could be spent elsewhere.

Where are you going to find that combination of size, agitation, physicality and skill? He's still a young guy. Give him a legit offseason and training camp to see what he does next year.

 

[PBandJ]

Where are you going to find that combination of size, agitation, physicality and skill? He's still a young guy. Give him a legit offseason and training camp to see what he does next year.

Well said, I think Chia would be foolish to not give him an off season to train and see what he has with a fully ready Kassian.

 

[guymez]

He's had a couple weak calls against him, but when you push a linesman you shouldn't be surprised when they don't give you the benefit of the doubt.

I'd rather see a guy like Pakarinen get his minutes to be honest. He doesn't produce quite as well offensively (though it's close) but he's nowhere near the liability with his moronic penalties.

Hopefully Chiarelli has other guys to step into his spot so we can all move on from the experiment and I wish Zach the best in his life.

This is exactly the problem with trying to make Kaissian a fit on this team. He gets reputation penalties all the time which severely limits his effectiveness.

This will continue follow him throughout his career.

For that reason I will be surprised if he is on the team for much (if any) of next season.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

This is exactly the problem with trying to make Kaissian a fit on this team. He gets reputation penalties all the time which severely limits his effectiveness.

This will continue follow him throughout his career.

For that reason I will be surprised if he is on the team for much (if any) of next season.

Though in some aspects having a guy that can inject a little life is never a bad thing.

I think he got targeted this year because of the push, but I'd give him the benefit of the doubt for that not to carry over (too badly) into next year.

Parkainen and Kassian as my bottom 6 right wingers is the least of my issues for the team next year. At least with them you know what you're getting: an occasional spark of offencive talent, and consistent physical play. Plus he's a RH shot with some skill on a team with limited options there.

For me, Kassian's got a role and he fills it well, and for 2 million that shouldn't be a problem. Also considering the makeup of the west, you'd think the team should be trying to get more big guys, vs. getting rid of the ones they have.

If this team is going to potentially compete, I'd be willing to bet Maroon, Kassian, and even Khaira are going to play roles in that.

 

[Soundwave]

I think he's generated some good chances, but has hit some posts and or just missed. I still like what he brings and want him back for next season. Maroon and Kassian means Chia has much less to do upfront on the size front, I think what we need now is a bigger/stronger veteran 3C. A Jordan Staal would be perfect but the cap hit is probably for too long.

 

[Stud Muffin]

How much does he have to be qualified for?

 

[Spawn]

How much does he have to be qualified for?

2 million.

 

[doulos]

Which penalties would you say we purely stupid penalties and not incredibly weak calls? He has gotten penalties for perfectly clean hits and for lightly pushing a player in the back after a whistle, penalties for being mad and hitting the glass in the box. Which penalties were stupid that hurt the team?

Im not saying every call has been weak, of course all players take some penalties, but would you rather the penalty be 2 minutes for finishing a hit and punishing a opposing player on the forecheck or would you rather it be for him not hitting that player and looping around to hook or hold the player who the puck went to?

I'm not going to go back and review every single penalty of his.

I feel as if you're the type of player that is going to take 100+ PIM in a season then you better be scoring goals like Lucic did when he was in that range, in an attempt to balance out the way you're hurting the team.

Kassian has taken 114 PIM in only 35 games, and only put up 8 points to boot. That hurts my brain to think he spends that much time in the box costing the team without doing much of anything on the score board.

I like it when he plays on the edge, and that means he's going to cross the line - at times. When he's consistently obliterating that line, including pushing around officials, it's clear he doesn't have enough control over his game to be the player that I personally think he 'could' be if he would cut that stuff out. He's a much more skilled hockey player than I think he even gives himself credit for.

 

[shoop]

2 million.

That's reasonable for what he brings. People can't expect him to be a tip six guy. Hopefully the penalties are cut down a little.

 

[McPuritania]

Same reason why Canuck fans turned on him, people really want to see him as a top 6 power forward and get disappointed when he doesn't hit that, when really he'll likely be a great bottom 6 player. I liked Kassian with the Nucks and didn't want to see him go, he's a solid 3rd line winger and he ups his play in he playoffs. Oilers should hold on to him and just accept him as a good bottom 6 guy.

I'd be A-OK with that personally. Regardless of where Kassian plays in the lineup, he's gotta bring more physicality though. He started off quite nicely in this regard, but towards the end of the season he really stopped pushing the pace physically. The guy can truck people, and cause some chaos with his size, he needs to get back to doing that imo.

 

[Blitzago*]

I'd be A-OK with that personally. Regardless of where Kassian plays in the lineup, he's gotta bring more physicality though. He started off quite nicely in this regard, but towards the end of the season he really stopped pushing the pace physically. The guy can truck people, and cause some chaos with his size, he needs to get back to doing that imo.

It might of been cause everytime he breathed on a guy he would get a penalty cause of who he is.

 

[Giggli G]

2 million.

If they offer him two or three years at $1.5 million I could see him going for it. He needs a contract with term.

 

[nabob]

I'm not going to go back and review every single penalty of his.

I feel as if you're the type of player that is going to take 100+ PIM in a season then you better be scoring goals like Lucic did when he was in that range, in an attempt to balance out the way you're hurting the team.

Kassian has taken 114 PIM in only 35 games, and only put up 8 points to boot. That hurts my brain to think he spends that much time in the box costing the team without doing much of anything on the score board.

I like it when he plays on the edge, and that means he's going to cross the line - at times. When he's consistently obliterating that line, including pushing around officials, it's clear he doesn't have enough control over his game to be the player that I personally think he 'could' be if he would cut that stuff out. He's a much more skilled hockey player than I think he even gives himself credit for.

You do realize that 89 of those minutes came on 5 plays where he got into fights or got 10 minute misconducts late in game simply for being on the ice? And the only time the Oilers were shorthanded was the boarding call against San Jose where he totally let up and barely even touched the guy, yet he got 2 minutes for boarding, a 10 minutes misconduct and a game misconduct.

You're the one making the claims about how moronic all his penalties are and how much they are hurting the team, but you are unable to show a single instance where anything he has done has hurt the team more than a lazy hooking penalty by any other player hurt the team. Also its hilarious that according to you the only players who can "take 100+ PIM in a season then you better be scoring goals like Lucic did when he was in that range". So they better play like the best power forward in this generation in the league in his prime? That's just plain unrealistic for a guy who is playing 4th line minutes and making 1/3 what Lucic does.

 

[McPuritania]

It might of been cause everytime he breathed on a guy he would get a penalty cause of who he is.

Could definitely be a factor, yup.

 

[Spawn]

If they offer him two or three years at $1.5 million I could see him going for it. He needs a contract with term.

Dude hasn't earned a 3 year contract. He's been nothing more than a marginal 4th liner this 1/2 season.

 

[guymez]

Though in some aspects having a guy that can inject a little life is never a bad thing.

I think he got targeted this year because of the push, but I'd give him the benefit of the doubt for that not to carry over (too badly) into next year.

Parkainen and Kassian as my bottom 6 right wingers is the least of my issues for the team next year. At least with them you know what you're getting: an occasional spark of offencive talent, and consistent physical play. Plus he's a RH shot with some skill on a team with limited options there.

For me, Kassian's got a role and he fills it well, and for 2 million that shouldn't be a problem. Also considering the makeup of the west, you'd think the team should be trying to get more big guys, vs. getting rid of the ones they have.

If this team is going to potentially compete, I'd be willing to bet Maroon, Kassian, and even Khaira are going to play roles in that.

I just think that Kassians effectiveness is quite limited. He gets penalties based on reputation alone.

If I am Chiarelli I would try and upgrade with a player that doesnt come with so much on ice baggage. If he cant find one then Kassian is better than nothing provided his contract doesnt exceed 2M on a 2 year term.

 

[harpoon]

Dude hasn't earned a 3 year contract. He's been nothing more than a marginal 4th liner this 1/2 season.

He's not worth two million for sure.

 

[nuck]

Where are you going to find that combination of size, agitation, physicality and skill? He's still a young guy. Give him a legit offseason and training camp to see what he does next year.

He scored 14 goals in 13-14 on 12 minutes of ice time. There is at least a chance he can produce in a middle 6 role. I hope they find a way to give him that opportunity.

 

[doulos]

You do realize that 89 of those minutes came on 5 plays where he got into fights or got 10 minute misconducts late in game simply for being on the ice? And the only time the Oilers were shorthanded was the boarding call against San Jose where he totally let up and barely even touched the guy, yet he got 2 minutes for boarding, a 10 minutes misconduct and a game misconduct.

You're the one making the claims about how moronic all his penalties are and how much they are hurting the team, but you are unable to show a single instance where anything he has done has hurt the team more than a lazy hooking penalty by any other player hurt the team. Also its hilarious that according to you the only players who can "take 100+ PIM in a season then you better be scoring goals like Lucic did when he was in that range". So they better play like the best power forward in this generation in the league in his prime? That's just plain unrealistic for a guy who is playing 4th line minutes and making 1/3 what Lucic does.

That's a lot of words trying to defend a guy who looks lost on a 29th place team but whatever.

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

I think he has a role here, for cheap.