Quote:
Originally Posted by #-3
Well we wont get a fastest skater comp, so it's hard to say. But in my opinion McDavids biggest asset has always been his ability to move with the puck with speed.
McDavid is still 2-3 years younger than most guys who really start to see a drop in foot speed, but it's possible that he has been harder on his body than others and the almost 20% reduction in point pace vs the past 2 seasons, and the reduction in drawn penalties could be leading indicators that he will come up slower this season than his pretty consistently been the past 3 seasons.
Wishful thinking from a Flames fan, but hopefully this is a trend.
https://behindthenet.ca/playercards/8478402.html |
And that's the argument: that, with his speed, he should be drawing a ton of penalties. And he does, but they didn't use penalties, they used penalties per 60, because it fits their narrative.
Two points regarding his rushes:
1) He isn't doing it as much this year - maybe he is saving himself for the playoffs, maybe he has been banged up, but he does fewer of those rushes this year than he has in the past.
2) As I said in my prior post, teams know that the way to beat the Oilers is to stay out of the box. Call me crazy, but I think if every team is trying to avoid taking penalties when they play the Oilers, that the number of penalties will probably go down.