Quote:
Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina
I don't know what is so absurd about the theory that Johnny has become predictable. I think most of us can predict what he's going to do in a lot of cases.
Elite offensive players constantly adjust and add new moves/approaches to generate chances? Do we think Johnny has done this?
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I think he's had the same 3-4 moves since 2016
2015 / his rookie year was when he last was trying new and surprising things on the ice. Specifically I think back to that game against Winnipeg after he was bashed for not earning the moniker Johnny hockey and he did that 360 spin move off the boards and dangled to the net using his lateral speed and put up a few points, and his hat trick against LA where every goal was scored in a different way.
Dude was way more serious about his craft early in his career, then he settled on one way he would play and ever since he goes in and out of bouts frustration when he gets shut down cause he's trying to force the same few plays and opponents already have the book on it and he hasn't gotten any quicker to help compensate for his moves being figured out.
He even beats himself regularly when he's on breakaways or odd man rushes, where he rarely cashes in now.
You just think back to when he would strike on back to back rushes against the oilers 20 seconds apart and bring you out of your seat.
The killer instinct has been sucked dry. I dunno, did he just get too comfortable as an NHLer and forget the things he did to get there?
He oozed creativity early on.