GDT: Flames @ Canes 1/13 7:00
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cmaleski2
Well-known member
Ahhh..but with salary comes responsibilty. I would be less inclined to complain about Eric Staal and his pay if we saw a Sidney Crosby like effort out of him most of the time. I would rather see a balls to the wall Eric Staal out there getting 60 points than the coasting version who manages 70 points. I think the entire team would be much better with the former.
CarolinaPen
Active member
Actually, there is another rub. Some players in the league are taking less money than they could get in the open market as they realize giving up a small percentage of salary is beneficial to fielding the rest of a winning team. Winning over top dollar, you see it happen across all leagues in sports by some people.
That said I am not blaming Staal on his last contract as he was younger and trying to "set up" his family. Good for him on signing for the big bucks as he earned it with play until that point. I would knock him on his next contract or extension though if he decides to take top dollar from the Canes. For one he hasn't earned it recently and the Canes also need to spend money elsewhere to improve the team (but you could also fairly argue Canes aren't a max-cap team, so what is the point.)
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JamesNorthern
Active member
ALL of THIS. +1
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
At least we can rely on Luke to call a spade a spade around here....
His usual N&O column, links are forbidden for bad words!
He also has a link on Twitter, and Chip tweeted the link too.
His usual N&O column, links are forbidden for bad words!
He also has a link on Twitter, and Chip tweeted the link too.
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HeyKurtz
Well-known member
That link won't work because of Luke's last name!!!
HurryCanes
Well-known member
Summed up nicely what a lot of folks are thinking.
I do like Muller but i think he needs to also get the fact that the fans are important here too and the only worry is not just that he "keeps it in the locker" room. Maybe he is giving these guys a butt chewing for that lack of effort in private but personally, just once, i'd like for him to fess up and just say "we sucked and it needs to be changed". "It was everybody last night, we had a little bit of drop in our energy level". Bull crap, a little drop???? Saturday and sunday will be telling IMHO.
TheBigKahuna
Well-known member
If they don't come out on fire Saturday AND Sunday, and light up both teams, playing like they are extremely pissed off, I'll probably quit following them for the season. It's not worth MY effort only to continue to be let down by millionaires who don't care if they win or lose.
SlapShots
Well-known member
Interesting read from Puck Daddy regarding Semin's failure to make the Russian Olympic team:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/why-alex-semin-left-off-team-russia-140020157--nhl.html
Eric Staal isn't the only Canes player not earning his NHL salary and the comments made by the Russian Olympic personnel also call out Semin:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/why-alex-semin-left-off-team-russia-140020157--nhl.html
Eric Staal isn't the only Canes player not earning his NHL salary and the comments made by the Russian Olympic personnel also call out Semin:
I dunno about that. He played pretty well several times this year when Eric was either absent the lineup or not doing much on the ice.
I don't think you can discuss Semin without acknowledging the impact that the concussion played on his productivity. He was playing his way into some decent form when he got hurt, and just hasn't been consistent at all since returning. I also understand that he's playing through a wrist/hand kind of issue that has effected the power and accuracy of his shot ... which makes sense based on what I've seen from him. He's still shooting it from distance but he takes longer to wind up and the results have been all over the place. Sometimes he hits it on the screws, but it's erratic and his accuracy is well down from what I've seen from him in the past.
Bottom line ... we've seen a lot of guys over the years come of come and go on the ice after "recovering" from concussions ... even ones that result in a fairly quick return to action. Some of that kid of comes with the territory.
I actually think it's a really good idea for the national federations to be shying away from guys who have had concussions in the months prior to a big tournament. Especially if, like the Russians, they have plenty of other options. Why push it and risk either erratic form or further complications? If you have a good enough Plan B, then there's no way I'd even consider a guy who has had a freaking brain injury in the last 6 months for an Olympic team.
I don't think you can discuss Semin without acknowledging the impact that the concussion played on his productivity. He was playing his way into some decent form when he got hurt, and just hasn't been consistent at all since returning. I also understand that he's playing through a wrist/hand kind of issue that has effected the power and accuracy of his shot ... which makes sense based on what I've seen from him. He's still shooting it from distance but he takes longer to wind up and the results have been all over the place. Sometimes he hits it on the screws, but it's erratic and his accuracy is well down from what I've seen from him in the past.
Bottom line ... we've seen a lot of guys over the years come of come and go on the ice after "recovering" from concussions ... even ones that result in a fairly quick return to action. Some of that kid of comes with the territory.
I actually think it's a really good idea for the national federations to be shying away from guys who have had concussions in the months prior to a big tournament. Especially if, like the Russians, they have plenty of other options. Why push it and risk either erratic form or further complications? If you have a good enough Plan B, then there's no way I'd even consider a guy who has had a freaking brain injury in the last 6 months for an Olympic team.
cmaleski2
Well-known member
I'm not sure what is going on with Semin. When he was 'on' last year, which seemed to be most of the season, he was a pain in the neck in the offensive zone and seemed to be in the way of every outlet pass teams tried to make. This year I barely notice him harassing anyone in the offensive zone. The whole Tlusty-Eric-Semin dominating magic completely disappeared early this year and there have been no signs those guys are capable of getting it back. Without that dominant offensive trio, it exposes Semin's overall play, which has been pretty soft looking.
It looks to me like Semin has completely lost all cofindence in his shot, which is understandable since he has been brutal in his ability to put shots on net. I don't know how you fix that as Semin is well known for spending a lot of time practicing his shot. I think he would be better served by trying to get shots off quickly and not 'thinking about it'. More quick shots rather than what seems to be his predictable 'set myself up for the perfect shot opportunity'. Too often he get's the puck and by the time he gets around to shooting the other team has positioned themselves to block the shot. I would love to see 'Alex the goal scorer' with a little less 'Alex the playmaker'.
Whatever it is the Canes need Semin to play better and it needs to happen quickly. Before the 2 shutouts here he actually had 8 points in his last 8 games including 3 goals...so it might not be as bad as it seems. But they really need Semin to score more goals consistantly. Hopefully he's not sitting back now that he has the big contract, the Canes can ill afford that situation. As JB said above, some of this might be working back from his concussion. Lack of confidence in his shot...etc. Hopefully he snaps out of it.
It looks to me like Semin has completely lost all cofindence in his shot, which is understandable since he has been brutal in his ability to put shots on net. I don't know how you fix that as Semin is well known for spending a lot of time practicing his shot. I think he would be better served by trying to get shots off quickly and not 'thinking about it'. More quick shots rather than what seems to be his predictable 'set myself up for the perfect shot opportunity'. Too often he get's the puck and by the time he gets around to shooting the other team has positioned themselves to block the shot. I would love to see 'Alex the goal scorer' with a little less 'Alex the playmaker'.
Whatever it is the Canes need Semin to play better and it needs to happen quickly. Before the 2 shutouts here he actually had 8 points in his last 8 games including 3 goals...so it might not be as bad as it seems. But they really need Semin to score more goals consistantly. Hopefully he's not sitting back now that he has the big contract, the Canes can ill afford that situation. As JB said above, some of this might be working back from his concussion. Lack of confidence in his shot...etc. Hopefully he snaps out of it.
JamesNorthern
Active member
The only time I am willing to cut the higher paid players some slack, is when they are out injured. Otherwise, if it's lack of intensity - no excuse. if it's lack of work ethic - no excuse. if they are PLAYING INJURED - no excuse. That last one has already bothered me. NHL teams have farm systems. There is a concept of depth (or lack thereof, sure). By sitting and healing up proper, this gives younger guys opportunities to step in and make a name for themselves. In the right situation. (good example of that in my opinion is how our 3rd and 4th lines have returned to 'respectability' and not 'a liability' arguably since bringing in Malhotra. (good attitude, good situation = players thrive).
Injured players shouldn't play through injury. Especially during pre-season/regular season. I can understand if we're looking at a playoff situation.
Injured players shouldn't play through injury. Especially during pre-season/regular season. I can understand if we're looking at a playoff situation.
Last year, Semin took 150 shots in 44 games for an average of 3.41 per game. This year, he's taking 100 shots in 34 games for an average of 2.94 per game.
The other thing that's stunning is the decrease in his shooting accuracy. In his Caps career, his accuracy was 14.1% (197 goals on 1,400 shots), including his first and last years which were bad, 10.9% and 11.5%, respectively. In his 2 years here, he was at 8.7% last year and he's at 6.0% this year.
Elsker
Well-known member
Yikes! 6.0% shooting percentage is Dwyer (6.1%) territory.
At least he's still taking a lot of shots, whether confident in them or not. Currently 4th on the team in that category, trailing only Gerbe, Skinner, and Staal (in that order).
Again ... I think a lot of his shooting issues come from that lingering wrist thing, whatever it is. The club haven't even whispered about it for obvious reasons, but I've caught several comments from the various media types that indicate that it IS a concern.
Bottom line ... as the County boys say, his "towards" is broken.
Bottom line ... as the County boys say, his "towards" is broken.
Elsker
Well-known member
I've seen discussions about that wrist of his, as well. Including those that are into the nuances of such things noting that he does better when he can bring the puck from slightly behind him when he shoots instead of having it out in front of him...which may contribute to the slight hitch in getting his shot off as quickly as pre-injury.
