Who cares whose fault it is? The bottom line is, he has to play better, because he's been playing pretty poorly. Outside of the Boston game, and the Pittsburgh game, he's actually been awful.

He's been tried with different linemates, and he's had little or no success with any of them.
- Jsaquella

I know.. I said that. He has been god awful.... I just never expected him to perform to his 4.6 cap hit either way...

Who cares whose fault it is? The bottom line is, he has to play better, because he's been playing pretty poorly. Outside of the Boston game, and the Pittsburgh game, he's actually been awful.

He's been tried with different linemates, and he's had little or no success with any of them.
- Jsaquella

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.

I know.. I said that. He has been god awful.... I just never expected him to perform to his 4.6 cap hit either way...
- GOA88

I don't think the Flyers did, either. They expected more than they have gotten, for sure, but they also knew an Umberger with one year left on his deal is easier to dump than a Hartnell with 3 years left-whether it's a trade or a buy out

That's the biggest factor in the trade.

So, in general, you'll argue that a 30-foot shot and a 6-foot shot are equally difficult to stop? I mean, I get what you're saying, and agree to an extent, but any stat is based on a principle that, over a large enough sample, each player sees more or less the same difficulty. This assumption is flawed itself to an extent, and I don't think anyone will argue that. However, there is no stat available that can accurately account for the actions of every player on the ice, their respective positions, the quality of the ice, the temperature of the puck, the quality of the stick blade, the position of every player as well as their skill level, etc.
- jmatchett383

If you think that in general I'll argue that a 30 foot shot and a 6 foot shot are equally difficult to stop, then you aren't understanding my point.
- MJL

I'm with you on this one. I'm not a big fan of trying to empirically measure something as subjective as shot quality. I guess that's why I'm ok with the Corsi. All corsi events are weighted equally, and it's left to the interpreter to add context.

That this mathematically tries to solve for interpretation/context doesn't really abide in my brain.

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.
- johndewar

Do you think they should take Schenn or Read off of the Couturier line. Or Simmonds or Voracek off of the Giroux line, so Akeson can play there?

Probably.... but there is no real evidence to suggest that was his intent. You could say that Umberger had his head down and that kept Campbell from driving his shoulder into his chest. Either way.... I think its pretty clear Campbell went into that hit hoping to hurt Umby.
- GOA88

Intent or not, the PPOC was the head. He'd get at least a game (more if it wasn't the playoffs) today.

Good stuff by Fedoruk. I'm sure that meant a lot for the kid. My prayers are with him for a full recovery. As far as the guys who did that to him, I hope they get what's coming to them.
- MJL

the good vs the evil but the evil will never win...God Bless him

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.
- johndewar

The biggest issue I have with Berube can be summed up by our good friend, Buts16, former Hockeybuzz poster extrodinaire and twitter legend:

Berube usually comes to the right decision, he just has to get it wrong 3 or 4 times before he gets there.

Honestly, when I posted line combos in pre-season, one of my suggestions was Akeson & Vinny. I just had Raffl on the LW, instead of Umberger. I'd put Bellemare there now and move Umberger to the 4th line....and I don't think Akeson played well vs Colorado

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.
- johndewar

Durrrrr! It was a DeLorean.

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.
- johndewar

Lol

If you think that in general I'll argue that a 30 foot shot and a 6 foot shot are equally difficult to stop, then you aren't understanding my point.
- MJL

No, I do understand you. You're arguing that a specific 6-foot shot can be harder to stop than a specific 30-foot shot based on about 6000 unaccounted-for factors. And like I said, it's far from a perfect be-all/end-all stat, but it sheds a small amount of light into play that should be weighed very lightly.

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.
- johndewar

How long before Akeson is demoted again for not making RJ have a pulse and Vinny skate better?

Durrrrr! It was a DeLorean.
- PLindbergh31

Yeah, I was wondering where the Lambourghini came into play.

The biggest issue I have with Berube can be summed up by our good friend, Buts16, former Hockeybuzz poster extrodinaire and twitter legend:

Berube usually comes to the right decision, he just has to get it wrong 3 or 4 times before he gets there.
- Jsaquella

I miss Butsy's stories and chatting with him. I thought maybe he was posting here under a different name. Why doesn't he post here anymore?

Do you think they should take Schenn or Read off of the Couturier line. Or Simmonds or Voracek off of the Giroux line, so Akeson can play there?
- MJL

Im open to try just about any combo so that they can have 3 balanced scoring lines.

I'm with you on this one. I'm not a big fan of trying to empirically measure something as subjective as shot quality. I guess that's why I'm ok with the Corsi. All corsi events are weighted equally, and it's left to the interpreter to add context.

That this mathematically tries to solve for interpretation/context doesn't really abide in my brain.
- BulliesPhan87

That's one of the biggest problems I have with the stats community. No matter how much margin of error there is, or ambiguity there is, in an invented stat. They'll find "some value" in it. Even if the stat doesn't come within light years of being definitive in any way, they'll find some value in it. Sometimes the conclusion needs to be, that it just doesn't work. Too many variables involved to measure a goalie by the variable of shot quality, which is measured by the distance of the shot.

The biggest issue I have with Berube can be summed up by our good friend, Buts16, former Hockeybuzz poster extrodinaire and twitter legend:

Berube usually comes to the right decision, he just has to get it wrong 3 or 4 times before he gets there.
- Jsaquella

So true.

I love how, the only way Akeson is getting a sniff at the Top 9 is to find a way to play with Vinny and RJ.

I hope Akeson has Doc Brown's number and knows how to drive a Lamborghini.
- johndewar

Akeson should (on paper) be a good fit for Vinny. You have a player whose strength is a playmaker and a player whose strength is a finisher. Whether they can mesh, and whether or not Umberger pulls his weight, is yet to be determined.

No, I do understand you. You're arguing that a specific 6-foot shot can be harder to stop than a specific 30-foot shot based on about 6000 unaccounted-for factors. And like I said, it's far from a perfect be-all/end-all stat, but it sheds a small amount of light into play that should be weighed very lightly.
- jmatchett383

No, I'm arguing that all 30 foot shots are not equal. Or all 6 foot shots are not equal.

You have to wonder if heart is still in it, or is he just going thru the motions to collect the paycheck. I don't know, maybe the injuries have made him play too cautiously? He just seems to be taking up space out there
- BiggE

he said his heart is in Columbus and thats where he will return

How long before Akeson is demoted again for not making RJ have a pulse and Vinny skate better?
- exlund

And if that happens, Akeson's failure will be blamed on Lecavalier, and Umberger. And there is nothing wrong with Lecavalier's skating. He's skating pretty well, and his quickness is much improved from last year.

I'm with you on this one. I'm not a big fan of trying to empirically measure something as subjective as shot quality. I guess that's why I'm ok with the Corsi. All corsi events are weighted equally, and it's left to the interpreter to add context.

That this mathematically tries to solve for interpretation/context doesn't really abide in my brain.
- BulliesPhan87

I can agree with this assessment. One of the major reasons for statistics was to remove some of the subjectivity from simple observations so when you start being too subjective it starts to defeat the purpose. If a bunch of people got together and decided what is a "quality shot" and used that as the measuring tool than that's a different story but the stat provided by Yost is still a new born in a way.

Akeson should (on paper) be a good fit for Vinny. You have a player whose strength is a playmaker and a player whose strength is a finisher. Whether they can mesh, and whether or not Umberger pulls his weight, is yet to be determined.
- jmatchett383

Future line needs to be Raffl-Vinny-Akeson.

Umby can play 4th line duty well Im sure. He is holding everyone back. Although the Umberger-Couts-Read line had a couple good games. What happened with that idea??

Do you think they should take Schenn or Read off of the Couturier line. Or Simmonds or Voracek off of the Giroux line, so Akeson can play there?
- MJL

I really don't have an answer.

The only thing I will say is that I really like BSchenn with Couturier. That seems to be working out well and I don't want to mess with that right now.

I think Berube is doing what he can, given the cards he has to play with, to get Vinny and RJ going.