I understand the personal attachment to guys that care the most and clearly Russell is one of those guys. But his compete level factors into his on-ice results - it doesn't supplement them. If Russell didn't have a high compete level, he wouldn't be in the NHL. The fact that he cares and competes hard allows him to have whatever modest on-ice results he gets. From an emotional perspective, it's a lot easier to like a guy who gives 100%, but only gets mediocre results than a guy who coasts a bit at 80%, but achieves similar results. But from a rational perspective results are results however a player gets to them.
The biggest issue I have with Loubo and these anti-stats rants is that they all claim "I know how these stats work" and then prove otherwise the rest of the time they talk. Loubo made a big deal about how Russell's possession numbers aren't all his fault - it's a team stat. Which could be true, but anyone with the faintest familiarity with the stats in question knows you can look at With & Without You numbers to try and isolate how other players on the same team do with/without Russell (essentially everyone has much better numbers). This is basic stuff and just goes to show that in spite of his pleas otherwise, clearly Loubo hasn't taken any time to truly understand what he hates.
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