Quote:
Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen
Tough crowd. Over the previous two seasons his 122 points put him 40th overall for all forwards. The exact same 122 points that Monahan, Forsberg and Rantanen had. 2 point shy of Ehlers 124.
Sorry, can't disagree more. First off he's played just two seasons in the NHL and he's only turned 22. His point production already puts him first line on at least half the teams in the NHL. He might not develop into a bonafide first line center, but really his lower level is a bottom-tier first line winger. Which is nothing to scoff at, again 40th overall production over the previous 2 seasons.
Well, if Toronto could get that I'm sure they would jump all over it.
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I guess the argument with his points comes down to the chicken or the egg argument (which can go either way). Personally I see a lot of the production coming from playing with good players (various players like Matthews, Marner and JVR). Not to take away from his own skill, but I do think he had finishers to play with as well. So I do think I'd discount that a little. One other problem I see is his need to look down when someone is coming at him - I'm really not sure what that bodes for his future health by keeping his head down (though that's beside the argument). This is not scientific by any stretch but I do think this is more or less his ceiling because of the aforementioned tendencies. I don't think he's overrated. Teams probably see a young guy who can score and may have upside, plus he plays for the Leafs which gets extra attention. Even a $7.5M contract though? To me, it's a bit of a stretch given what he brings. I'd say that about a lot of players though, where GM's panic for a variety of reasons and sign out of obligation (or ownership pressure to do so).