That Forsberg trade still makes me nauseous.

Laine is having such an odd season, and it really doesn't appear that WPG favors him. He was invisible vs the Sabres, and it was and has been widely commented on. He kinda sounds like an NHL version of today's AN.
- TheSabresTaco

25 goals and 11 of them came in a 5 game stretch in November. Yikes.

1 goal in 2019.

4 goals since November.

25 goals and 11 of them came in a 5 game stretch in November. Yikes.
- CoHo_to_B-Lo

He’s a player I would trade a package for and never look back

He’s a player I would trade a package for and never look back
- gerbe75pts

Kyle Okposo has more goals in the last 14 games than Laine has in the last 3 months.

Good long term moves are just so rare at the deadline. We want a seller to trade us the kind of guy they should have no interest in moving.
- Lunaion

Sure. Make sure you speak with an agent of a pending UFA that the other team has no interest in signing or the player has no interest in signing. Zucc, Hayes, Panarin, Bob, Duchene, Stone, Dzing and so forth. It can definitely be done.

Kyle Okposo has more goals in the last 14 games than Laine has in the last 3 months.
- CoHo_to_B-Lo

Sure. Make sure you speak with an agent of a pending UFA that the other team has no interest in signing or the player has no interest in signing. Zucc, Hayes, Panarin, Bob, Duchene, Stone, Dzing and so forth. It can definitely be done.
- TheSabresTaco

Sure, tamper and hope is an option. I don't want to see them go anywhere near a UFA. We've already got our own to deal with.

He’s a player I would trade a package for and never look back
- gerbe75pts

I can't make heads or tails of him. He truly is having an awful season for his standards. Here's a little from The Athletic about him.

18. Back to the Jets for a second, specifically Patrik Laine. Since scoring 18 goals in 12 games in November, Laine has cooled down significantly scoring just four goals in 27 games. A guy with a shot that good won’t typically score at a 5.4 percent clip for long, but for Laine it’s particularly frustrating because he has one job and he’s not doing it right now. Laine is about as one-dimensional as it gets and while it’s a helluva dimension to have, when things aren’t going well in that area he’s rather invisible. Which is what he’s been for about two months now.

20. At 5-on-5 Laine is struggling this year in the defensive end. When he’s on the ice, the Jets give up 62 attempts-per-60, the highest of his short career. It’s 8.1 more attempts than when he’s on the bench, a number that has risen each season for him. That’s the 14th worst mark in the league. Defence is a serious problem here.

I wonder if it has something to do with an inability to clear the zone with control. It’s still a small sample this season, but on 59 tracked defensive zone touches, Laine has cleared the zone with control just 19 times – the same amount of times he’s failed to clear the zone completely. Nearly one-third of his defensive zone touches end up as failed exits. That number is the worst on the team and 10 percent higher than where he was last season. Among forwards with 50 or more touches, it’s also the worst in the league. The closest player I could find to Laine’s struggles was Nashville’s Nick Bonino, who failed the same amount, but in half as many touches.

There's also a little case study on how Fortnite is derailing his season. It's kinda half joke-half serious.

June?
- TheSabresTaco

yes, was watching a porn with jan and june in another window

yes, was watching a porn with jan and june in another window
- homiedclown

atta boy

That's only reason i Joined the site... I just don't know why 89 is all over Eichle. Risto is much bigger problem
- Slapjackzack

Just because he's the best player on the team doesn't mean he can't be better... what could he be better at, Lots of things. Back checking, scoring goals, less turnovers in high the slot, face-offs, Nobody is saying he's a bad player.... but at 10 mil a year it's NOT unfair to expect more from him, and more from him compared to other players.


we can still like Jack, but expect more from him, just because he the best player on the team doesn't give him a pass. It's a the same for every player, I just fail to see WHY when someone say something about him we are bashing him.... Is it really that out of line to say he's a great player but can be better? (sorry, but I don't think that's unrealistic)

Kyle Okposo has more goals in the last 14 games than Laine has in the last 3 months.
- CoHo_to_B-Lo

That doesn’t bother me I’m pretty confident he Will have a bunch of rocket trophies at the End of his career and a regular 30-40 Goal scorer every year

That doesn’t bother me I’m pretty confident he Will have a bunch of rocket trophies at the End of his career and a regular 30-40 Goal scorer every year
- gerbe75pts

He's one of the best pure goal scorers in the league. I have no idea what kind of money he's going to command this summer, but juuust maybe the Sabres could buy low on him.

That Forsberg trade still makes me nauseous.

Laine is having such an odd season, and it really doesn't appear that WPG favors him. He was invisible vs the Sabres, and it was and has been widely commented on. He kinda sounds like an NHL version of today's AN.
- TheSabresTaco

He's one of the best pure goal scorers in the league. I have no idea what kind of money he's going to command this summer, but juuust maybe the Sabres could buy low on him.
- TheSabresTaco

Can't imagine a player that young, with his scoring ability, could be a "buy low" candidate. I suppose with cap issues WPG could potentially get stuck between a rock and a hard place, but IMO the demand for him would drive the price up anyways.

Skins - Bustchel - Laine
Player X - Mitts - Busthart

That does look pretty deeeec though.

how do you say law suit in eskimo?
- homiedclown

I had to respond...as late as it is...

Okposo is Chinese isn't he?

I can't make heads or tails of him. He truly is having an awful season for his standards. Here's a little from The Athletic about him.

18. Back to the Jets for a second, specifically Patrik Laine. Since scoring 18 goals in 12 games in November, Laine has cooled down significantly scoring just four goals in 27 games. A guy with a shot that good won’t typically score at a 5.4 percent clip for long, but for Laine it’s particularly frustrating because he has one job and he’s not doing it right now. Laine is about as one-dimensional as it gets and while it’s a helluva dimension to have, when things aren’t going well in that area he’s rather invisible. Which is what he’s been for about two months now.

20. At 5-on-5 Laine is struggling this year in the defensive end. When he’s on the ice, the Jets give up 62 attempts-per-60, the highest of his short career. It’s 8.1 more attempts than when he’s on the bench, a number that has risen each season for him. That’s the 14th worst mark in the league. Defence is a serious problem here.

I wonder if it has something to do with an inability to clear the zone with control. It’s still a small sample this season, but on 59 tracked defensive zone touches, Laine has cleared the zone with control just 19 times – the same amount of times he’s failed to clear the zone completely. Nearly one-third of his defensive zone touches end up as failed exits. That number is the worst on the team and 10 percent higher than where he was last season. Among forwards with 50 or more touches, it’s also the worst in the league. The closest player I could find to Laine’s struggles was Nashville’s Nick Bonino, who failed the same amount, but in half as many touches.

There's also a little case study on how Fortnite is derailing his season. It's kinda half joke-half serious.
- TheSabresTaco

Just stopped by ziggy's.

Oh, its Tuesday?????

Can't imagine a player that young, with his scoring ability, could be a "buy low" candidate. I suppose with cap issues WPG could potentially get stuck between a rock and a hard place, but IMO the demand for him would drive the price up anyways.

Skins - Bustchel - Laine
Player X - Mitts - Busthart

That does look pretty deeeec though.
- RhinoFan

- Der Kaiser

Golly

I think a real part of this problem is that we're asking square pegs to go into round holes.

The players we have drafted over the last few years have been speedy, skilled guys, but not skilled and "heavy." We don't have a forward whose first instinct is to get into the crease and muck it up with a defender. They're all perimeter guys by nature.

So to ask how to draw it out of them asks how do we get them to play a style different than what brought them into the league to begin with.

It's a drafting thing. Yes we need speed and skill. But there has to be speed and skill combined with a bit of "nasty" in the lineup, too.

EDIT: This idea plagiarized from PHam yesterday. Just because it's PHam doesn't mean its wrong.
- Der Kaiser

It’s (soft play) also embedded in the current culture of the players and that’s not easy to break

Just info:


- Der Kaiser

I must say, Kudo's.
Awhile ago you have turned the corner into relevance again.
Keep it up.

It’s (soft play) also embedded in the current culture of the players and that’s not easy to break
- lulags

Not only soft play, but also the idea that losing is an acceptable result. People who are around champions often say they hate losing more than they like to win. There are too many people on this team who have had the "hate of losing" driven out of them by the tank years.

I must say, Kudo's.
Awhile ago you have turned the corner into relevance again.
Keep it up.
- IonSabres

Suckit Ion

Suckit Ion
- Der Kaiser

Can't imagine a player that young, with his scoring ability, could be a "buy low" candidate. I suppose with cap issues WPG could potentially get stuck between a rock and a hard place, but IMO the demand for him would drive the price up anyways.

Skins - Bustchel - Laine
Player X - Mitts - Busthart

That does look pretty deeeec though.
- RhinoFan

that top line might score over 100 goals themselves...
they likely give away the puck like crazy in all three zones unless Jack has it 100% of the time...and they would give up 140 against.

they could use a finisher or two though for sure.

Just because he's the best player on the team doesn't mean he can't be better... what could he be better at, Lots of things. Back checking, scoring goals, less turnovers in high the slot, face-offs, Nobody is saying he's a bad player.... but at 10 mil a year it's NOT unfair to expect more from him, and more from him compared to other players.


we can still like Jack, but expect more from him, just because he the best player on the team doesn't give him a pass. It's a the same for every player, I just fail to see WHY when someone say something about him we are bashing him.... Is it really that out of line to say he's a great player but can be better? (sorry, but I don't think that's unrealistic)
- gordong

Players can always be better, and Jack has not looked like himself since the injury..so his recent play has declined as a result...from the eye test.
That said, he is truly the least of their problems, and is the highest paid...a wash.

getting some production from the following positions would help quite a bit

1RW
2LW
2C
3LW
3C
3RW
4LW
4C
4RW
there is what 3x the money tied up in those non-productive positions than they are paying Jack.