Steinberg's Slant: Curtis Glencross

[Otto-matic]

Pat Steinberg makes the case that Curtis Glencross is in the midst of the most impactful season in his NHL career.

If Glencross keeps on producing the way he has the last two months or so, it could end up being even more. 24 of his points have come in his last 29 games, which is a pretty decent sample size as well. For frame of reference, if his current clip continues, his point totals could finish closer to 60. Regardless, from a purely statistical perspective, Glencross is making a larger impact this season than he ever has before.
So why are his goal totals down? When you analyze his shooting percentage numbers, it starts to make a little more sense. Glencross has a career shooting percentage of 14.7 percent, which is significantly higher than the league average. Because we’re talking about eight seasons, it’s fair to say he’s been one of the league’s most accurate shooters. That’s been especially true in his time with the Flames, as he’s shot at 15.1 percent in his six seasons prior to this one.

Plain and simple, what Glencross is doing is extremely impressive. For him to have the defensive responsibility he has on his shoulders against the type of opposition he’s being asked to defend, lower comparable possession stats could easily be accepted. But that’s not the case, because Glencross is right there with his positional peers, and he’s putting up points to boot.

So, yes, the goal totals for Glencross are down a little bit through the first 40 games of the season. But, the reality is, he’s having one of the best seasons of his NHL career with more than half of it still to go. In fact, if you ask me, I’m comfortable saying Glencross has never been more important to the Flames than he is right now.

He's done fairly well this season, Pat is almost bang on with the entire article. I agree Curtis has had a few negative games but the amount of flack as Glencross gets on the forums - its a bit much.

http://flames.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=747183

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Doesn't matter, Glencross haters are always gonna hate. They look for something every game to get upset about and ignore the other 99% of the time he's on the ice.

He's an important player for the Flames right now, but I don't want to hold onto him after this year. Not that he's not good enough, but I don't think he'll truly be worth the money he'll be able to command on the open market, and the Flames could get a good asset if they were able to trade him at the deadline.

If the Flames are in a playoff spot at the deadline, I am very much undecided as to whether they should keep Glencross or not.

[codynw]

He's a lazy floater and he should be on waivers.

[Five-hole]

Interesting article. A couple of points:

Originally Posted by Otto-matic

I agree Curtis has had a few negative games but the amount of flack as Glencross gets on the forums - its a bit much.

It is too much, but I think it's for a pretty simple reason. I don't think there is a Flame (save maybe Wideman on occasion) that can have such a wildly different quality of play. Glencross can be so good, but he can also be mind-bottlingly dumb at times. When he's bad, he's no worse than anyone else on the team, but contrasted to how good he can be, it just seems so bizarre and frustrating.

I think when he has those frustrating stretches, it's two causes. I think he can be frustrated and get down on himself, and when he does, he skates slower, takes frustrating penalties, and seems to pout a bit. I also think he can freeze and panic in high-intensity situations which causes him to stop thinking. An example is a recent game we were pushing to tie at the end with the goalie out (Pittsburgh?) and Curtis makes a no-look pass from behind the net to no one and the puck is cleared and we lose.

Would anyone notice these things if the quality of his play when he is on wasn't so high? Who knows. He's enigmatic. But I agree with Pat - overall he's a positive for us.

Originally Posted by Steinberg

No player on the Flames, not even Mark Giordano or TJ Brodie, faces tougher opposition than Glencross does. The average possession percentage of his opposition is 51.1 percent, higher than names like Monahan (51.0), Brodie (45.8), and Giordano (45.8).

This may be an artifact of the forward/defenceman split. Gio and Brodie probably get the majority of tough defensive assignments, but they also get put out against weak lines when we have the last change or there is an icing. When you consider that they play 5 minutes a game more than Glencross does that probably drags down the quality of competition stats a bit.

His point is not wrong, but IMO the point should be he faces the toughest forward minutes full stop.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Cali Flames Fan

Doesn't matter, Glencross haters are always gonna hate. They look for something every game to get upset about and ignore the other 99% of the time he's on the ice.

He's an important player for the Flames right now, but I don't want to hold onto him after this year. Not that he's not good enough, but I don't think he'll truly be worth the money he'll be able to command on the open market, and the Flames could get a good asset if they were able to trade him at the deadline.

If the Flames are in a playoff spot at the deadline, I am very much undecided as to whether they should keep Glencross or not.

IMO his UFA status trumps all. I'd hate to see the Cammalleri situation repeat itself. It should be very clear to Treliving whether he can re-sign Glencross or not. He's clearly one of the best available rental players at the deadline IMO. Imagine him on an Eastern contender. He has all the attributes of a great playoff performer. The negatives attributed to him (taking games or shifts off, careless play) are the kind that vanish when the post-season comes along and games are meaningful.

[Phanuthier]

Great article, thank you. I never understood the criticism Glencross takes here... I see a steady, smart player, who does a lot away from the puck and makes lots of smart plays.... I guess other then his face looking like he doesn't care, I don't really agree with many critical posts about him here. I hope he is re-signed (at a reasonable price); but I get that a rebuilding team can't loose such a player for nothing. I think he's easily worth a mid-1st round pic, he's a really solid player and make be a huge boost to any contender.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Great article, thank you. I never understood the criticism Glencross takes here... I see a steady, smart player, who does a lot away from the puck and makes lots of smart plays.... I guess other then his face looking like he doesn't care, I don't really agree with many critical posts about him here. I hope he is re-signed (at a reasonable price); but I get that a rebuilding team can't loose such a player for nothing. I think he's easily worth a mid-1st round pic, he's a really solid player and make be a huge boost to any contender.

I agree. In fact, I would call him one of the best bargains in the NHL over the course of the past few seasons. Granted, once in a while he does something dumb and takes an ill-advised penalty, but I see a player that loves the team and city, and is reasonably productive for his salary. It's frustrating when he goes cold, but it's also something that happens with all but the most elite players.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Glencross can be so good, but he can also be mind-bottlingly dumb at times.

This pretty much sums it up for me, apart from mind-bottlingly (it's mind-bogglingly damnit!).

Glencross, while usually being able to produce, has always had something going against him in his time with the Flames. At first it was his undisciplined plays in the offensive zone leading to penalties at the worst possible time of the game.

Then he decided to become a finesse player who would only drop pass instead of driving the net. He stopped playing the power forward game and thought he was some super star play maker.

Lately Glencross seems to be back to playing his old game (but a more disciplined version). I'm constantly seeing him on the forecheck and in the slot. He generates so many quality chances due to his ability to battle for space. The guy can hit 3 posts in a game and still end up with 2 points.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

This pretty much sums it up for me, apart from mind-bottlingly (it's mind-bogglingly damnit!).

It's a Warrenerism.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

IMO his UFA status trumps all. I'd hate to see the Cammalleri situation repeat itself. It should be very clear to Treliving whether he can re-sign Glencross or not. He's clearly one of the best available rental players at the deadline IMO. Imagine him on an Eastern contender. He has all the attributes of a great playoff performer. The negatives attributed to him (taking games or shifts off, careless play) are the kind that vanish when the post-season comes along and games are meaningful.

Someone else mentioned it in another thread and I am not sure if it was verified, but it was stated that he has a child due in April of this year. If that is true and he declines to be traded based on that, I think the fans need to respect that.

Cammalleri was a little different. He didn't refuse to be traded, but other teams were lowballing and Burke didn't want to give the Flames a reputation that they sell players for cheap. I realize it is arguable if that should be a concern or not, but I agreed with him. Having him around seemed to be good for the young players playing at the end of the season as well.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by codynw

He's a lazy floater and he should be on waivers.

lol...doesn't matter if you're joking or serious.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I agree. In fact, I would call him one of the best bargains in the NHL over the course of the past few seasons. Granted, once in a while he does something dumb and takes an ill-advised penalty, but I see a player that loves the team and city, and is reasonably productive for his salary. It's frustrating when he goes cold, but it's also something that happens with all but the most elite players.

Yeah, very few players are consistent 82 games a season... even the elite ones. Glencross is more inconsistent then average, but if he were consistant, he'd be making $8M a year...

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

It's a Warrenerism.

This ism was ungoogleable unfortunately. I get why some people think it's funny to use, but now there are so many people that currently believe mind-bottling is the proper expression.

Anyways..

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

This ism was ungoogleable unfortunately. I get why some people think it's funny to use, but now there are so many people that currently believe mind-bottling is the proper expression.

Anyways..

I don't know anyone who hasn't used it tongue in cheek

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I don't know anyone who hasn't used it tongue in cheek

Could be a generational thing (I'm mid-twenties asking people around my age).

Also it's hard to know until you ask. I've gotten into the habit of asking anyone who says mind-bottling. You'd be surprised..

[Nme-Territory]

My little theory behind the accusations of his laziness is that Glencross can often be seen standing still while in a defensive position. It makes him look lazy and disengaged.

However, I think he's standing in that position because that's exactly where he's supposed to be. Other players might keep their feet moving, coast around a little bit. Glencross doesn't, he just stands.

[FlameZilla]

With a 45.4 percent offensive zone start, Glencross starts the least amount of shifts in the offensive zone than any regular player on the team. On top of that, head coach Bob Hartley deploys him against the top opposition players basically every single shift of every game. No player on the Flames, not even Mark Giordano or TJ Brodie, faces tougher opposition than Glencross does. The average possession percentage of his opposition is 51.1 percent, higher than names like Monahan (51.0), Brodie (45.8), and Giordano (45.8).

I was a Glencross hater, but this season I've come around. If he ends up with a contract extension at the end of the season I wouldn't be upset, as long as it was at an AAV lower than $5 million. He deserves a raise.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

This ism was ungoogleable unfortunately. I get why some people think it's funny to use, but now there are so many people that currently believe mind-bottling is the proper expression.

Anyways..

How to you propose new expressions be created?

[N-E-B]

Oh the Glencross debate... I find tht no matter what I come up with to defend him, the haters always come back with the same old stuff that really has no validity other than it's their opinion.

No matter what stats you throw at them, they always ignore it and remain convinced he's lazy and has a bad attitude. There's no point in even debating it.

Probably the most redundant argument on here, other than the Baertschi debates.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by FlameZilla

I was a Glencross hater, but this season I've come around. If he ends up with a contract extension at the end of the season I wouldn't be upset, as long as it was at an AAV lower than $5 million. He deserves a raise.

I'm not as worried about money as I am about term. We have cap room now, but the cap issues in the past were all caused by long term deals.

Glencross' problem here is that, while he is indeed having a good year, and his play has actually improved over the season so far, he's in a position where the Flames have long term depth IMO. So sort term - great. Long term with lots of money, not so much.