3.24.2007

Drury's Troubles Stems From Him Being Too Good; We Need A Fourth Line

In response to an e-mail stating Drew Stafford is the same player as Chris Drury, only finishes better-

We haven't seen Chris Drury with a good finishing line...most of the things he does he ends up doing on his own (except the end of games and some powerplay goals, because of the 'hero' lines). Drew Stafford's good, of course, and I want him to be a Sabre, but I really think that Drury's a better finisher. Especially around the net. Stafford, as I have said, has been the beneficiary of a few brilliant passes, making his job MUCH EASIER. Drury is usually outsized in front of the net, and he finds some way to put it in. Or he runs a sweet wrister/slapper from the slot. I can't believe that Stafford's a better finisher until I see Drury on a line where he has the opportunities to finish like that.

Last year, Drury had Mike Grier (now with the San Jose Sharks) and Jochen Hecht as his linemates. Both very good players, but both grinders. To put up Drury's numbers with one TRUE grinder (Grier) and one sniper/grinder mix (Hecht) is quite an accomplishment. There's a reason Drury's probably the best team player in the league- he can play with ANYONE. Look at this year! If anyone has the right to complain about the injuries, it's Drury. First his lines have changed seemingly every week since mid-November, and then he got his face knocked off on a cheap shot.

Stafford IS good, but he also has Derek Roy, who is very good at setting things up, most of the time, and Thomas Vanek, who really pulls some of the opposition's defense towards him. The league knows he's good, and his linemates benefit. Roy also instigates the piss out of people because he's so little and they can't ever seem to light him up.

The only person in the league I could really see playing so well while playing musical chairs with their lines is Joe Thornton, right, of the San Jose Sharks.

In response to a message about Adam Mair not hitting everything that moved, and the possibility of having an Adam Mair/Ales Kotalik/ Pat Kaleta or Andrew Peters line.

Adam Mair turns it on in the playoffs. Granted it was only a few games last year, but he played extraordinarily well. He plays well in big games. Plus, it's really hard to get an idea of how effective he is when he only plays five minutes a game. Two hits in five minutes isn't bad. Think about it- Chris Neil plays about 12 minutes with Ottawa, and he averages about 2-3 hits a game...and he leads the league in hits. If Mair gets two hits in five minutes, that's pretty sweet. Mair-Kotalik-Kaleta, I think, are talented enough to get ten minutes a game. If you think about Kaleta's 4 hits per game average, and Mair's 2, that's six hits per game, which is actually quite a chuck of hits, especially because the three of them are forwards. And if Kotalik decides to throw around his mammoth body, we're talking a possibility of ten hits a game! That's not only impressive- that's elite.

Kotalik has a very heavy shot, and might play hard with the 'demotion' to the third line. With his heavy shot creating rebound chances for the big guys, this could really work to all of their advantages. I know Kotalik's a winger, but before he was injured, he was trying his hand at center, and played well as a pivot.

Mair isn't the kind of player Kaleta is- Kaleta will take himself out of a play to take someone else out of the play. And that's awesome, don't get me wrong, I love the way he plays. I want him wearing blue and yellow all next season. Mair actually has more hockey plays than Kaleta. He is good at getting in front of the net (and he does, frequently) just having Peters as a linemate takes away from his production. Obviously, Mair is no 20 goal scorer...but I could see him having ALMOST as many points as a healthy Paul Gaustad. Mair will dig in corners and clean out someone who's being disruptive to his teammates.

Peters IS a pylon. He doesn't skate well and the entire NHL knows it. He is a good fighter, he wins a bunch more than he loses. Fighting in playoff hockey won't happen that much (unless we play the Senators) I think. So he's good to be dressed just in case. But I'd much rather see a BIG HITTER (Kaleta) a grinder/teammate player (Mair) and a guy with a rocket (Kotalik). I could see Mair having five or more goals in the playoffs on this line, disrupting everyone, second chance goals or tip ins off of a Kotalik slapper.


Any other questions? Drop a comment. I'd be happy to respond.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hrm...yes...much better than that OTHER "blog" haha. I think i'm going to stop by here more often.

keep it up =)

~Mel