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Sobotka and the 2nd line


LGR4GM

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I'm not over this. It's ***** atrocious. We're 3 days away and it appears our coaching staff thinks Sobotka, one of the worst 5v5 producers in the nhl, should be paired with Skinner. Either Krueger is playing a different game or this is a terrible idea. I think it's terrible.

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Just now, LGR4GM said:

I'm not over this. It's ***** atrocious. We're 3 days away and it appears our coaching staff thinks Sobotka, one of the worst 5v5 producers in the nhl, should be paired with Skinner. Either Krueger is playing a different game or this is a terrible idea. I think it's terrible.

All I am hoping is Vaclav Prospal. He was the perfect example of a player that thrived when he played top six and was awful if not.

 

OR

He is a placeholder for a piece yet to be added.

 

Would agree both seem unlikely at this time but I know they are still trying to make a deal or two.

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I agree to an extent.  I want to believe in Krueger, but if he plays Sobotka with Skinner/Johansson, I’m going feel pretty sad.  Unless they perform very well somehow, then I’ll feel happy.

I have a hard time believing that Sobotka will really get regular top-6 deployment to start the season.  We’ll see I guess.

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14 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

If it happens, the only way I’ll be upset is if the line doesn’t work but they insist on continuing to roll with it after 7-10 games.

Does it say something about what the expectations for the season might be if they'd stick with an under-performing 2nd line for even that many games?

If Sobotka comes out game 1 and is Sobotka, and then he comes out game 2 and he's Sobotka again, that should be enough, combined with the entirety of last season's sample size, to know he's still Sobotka and therefore shouldn't be on your secondary scoring line with your 9 million dollar winger. 

Edited by Thorny
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2 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Kruger likes to pair freelance artists with defensively responsible players.    Having Sobotka on that line will free up Johansson to create with Skinner...

Do I agree with that approach?    

YES!

No?

Ok, I give up.  Just tell us!

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1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Does it say something about what the expectations for the season might be if they'd stick with an under-performing 2nd line for even that many games?

If Sobotka comes out game 1 and is Sobotka, and then he comes out game 2 and he's Sobotka again, that should be enough, combined with the entirety of last season's sample size, to know he's still Sobotka and therefore shouldn't be on your secondary scoring line with your 9 million dollar winger. 

 

The eye test matches his advanced metrics over the past two years as both are not good. 

The past two seasons indicate he should be in the AHL or KHL, not in the Top Six of any NHL Team. 

Playing him in the Top Six is a bad decision, keeping him there for numerous games is a horrible one. 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Kruger likes to pair freelance artists with defensively responsible players.    Having Sobotka on that line will free up Johansson to create with Skinner...

Do I agree with that approach?    

How can you free up your linemates if you're the easiest player on the planet to separate from  the puck? Ideal or not, all three players regularly touch the puck on any line

took me a roughly 30 seconds to find this clip, it isn't even one I already had saved


I've never seen a player easier to diagnose than Sobotka. The reason he's such a statistical extreme is evident every second he spends on the ice

Edited by Randall Flagg
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The man can't even get a shot on goal on a two on one.

The crazy thing is, that the thing the stats show he's so bad at - creating offensive shot attempts - even includes this play! Like, even if you call this a "dangerous chance" because of its location, and give him credit for it, he's still the worst in the league at impacting that stat. And when he can impact that stat, this is what he does with the puck 

It's one thing if we're Toronto, but this is literally the thing that we're the worst at relative to the other teams in the league, and so it's the thing that needs to improve the most for us to be good

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1 hour ago, pi2000 said:

Kruger likes to pair freelance artists with defensively responsible players.    Having Sobotka on that line will free up Johansson to create with Skinner...

Do I agree with that approach?    

Trick question. You like the approach, just not the classification of Sobotka as "defensively responsible".

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1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Trick question. You like the approach, just not the classification of Sobotka as "defensively responsible".

I don't like the approach, we've seen it before and those guys typically end up turning pucks over and whatnot, killing offensive chances. 

But, Kruger is new so we'll give him a chance here before crucifying him.

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This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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