I still like Byron and I would love it if the Flames gave him another one year low paying contract before washing their hands of him.
I feel letting him walk now/after this season would be premature.
Byron seems like one of those guys who would work harder just to show people up and prove them wrong. Not saying he will be MSL, but if he has the same attitude as MSL when leaving, he will do very well.
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Location: F*** me. We're so f***ing good, you check the f***ing standings? Lets f***ing go! F***ing practice!
Exp:
4th on the Flames in hits with 83.
Tied for 1st on the Flames in takeaways with 41. Thats good for 6th in the entire NHL. (Johnny has 41 as well, but 52 giveaways where Byron only has 21)
4th on Flames for PK time (Second among forwards)
Leads the team in shorthanded points with 2.
All this for the lowest cap hit by far on the team at 600K.
Yes, he is snakebitten, I feel bad for the guy but he does make his own offense on those breakaways. They will start going in. Another overlooked thing by a casual hockey fan is how he backs up the defense when the Flames are coming out of their zone. They have to respect his speed and it opens up the neutral zone. He does all the little things right.
Some fans don't respect what he brings to this team. Good thing our coaching staff totally does.
__________________ Backlund for Selke 2017 2018
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Interesting topic, haven't read anything but the OP so not sure where the debate went.
I'm firmly in the Byron should get moved camp, but that's just because of his contract status and I think what he brings to the table can likely be replaced by someone in the system, who may bring more size, not because I'm upset he can't score.
As for the leash comment, I guess it's how you view his role. If you view Byron as the 4th line player he actually is, he's very effective at his role. Tones of speed and heart, but the only downside being he's small for a 4th line player, on a team that is already way too undersized (which is why I think we can afford to move him, especially considering this team isn't short on heart either). But on another team where they might lack some heart or don't suffer from our size issues, Byron's negatives wouldn't mean much.
If you expect more from Byron, 3rd line, 2nd line player even maybe, then his lack of finish would make you think he's underachieving. I don't think that he's that pedigree of a player, so I choose to evaluate him as a 4th liner, the fact he creates frequent breakaway scoring chances that he doesn't finish, while frustrating, is actually still a positive if you look at it that way.
So I don't think we should be critical of Byron, I think he's bringing everything to this team we can expect, and maybe a little more. Long term though, I just don't think we can afford to have a tiny 4th line player given how small we are through the rest of the line up.
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Exp:
Quote:
Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood
4th on the Flames in hits with 83.
Tied for 1st on the Flames in takeaways with 41. Thats good for 6th in the entire NHL. (Johnny has 41 as well, but 52 giveaways where Byron only has 21)
4th on Flames for PK time (Second among forwards)
Leads the team in shorthanded points with 2.
All this for the lowest cap hit by far on the team at 600K.
Yes, he is snakebitten, I feel bad for the guy but he does make his own offense on those breakaways. They will start going in. Another overlooked thing by a casual hockey fan is how he backs up the defense when the Flames are coming out of their zone. They have to respect his speed and it opens up the neutral zone. He does all the little things right.
Some fans don't respect what he brings to this team. Good thing our coaching staff totally does.
Would Bryon score on a breakaway on an empty net??
I'm not a hater, I think he's a very useful player as explained by many of the astute posters above.
I think when Bennett and Poirier are ready to play in the NHL, Byron's usefulness to this team will diminish.
Both Bennett and Poirier can do everything Byron can, speed to back up the opposition, play the Pk, be a threat on the PK, create opportunities with their speed. Plus, they can do all that and they have the size and strength and the finish too.
But until those guys are ready, Flames don't have a guy like Byron, and he should stay.
__________________
Calgary Flames, PLEASE GO TO THE NET! AND SHOOT THE PUCK! GENERATING OFFENSE IS NOT DIFFICULT! SKATE HARD, SHOOT HARD, CRASH THE NET HARD!
I love Byron's heart and how hard he works. He embodies everything this team stands for. If he didn't get these breakaways, he doesn't miss, and I really don't think this debate happens.
But he does get those chances, and time after time he fails to capitalize, and in a results oriented business eventually he's going to run out of chances.
Byron is such a polarizing player for me. Some days I absolutely love him, and others I'm arguing that Mason Raymond (who I can not stand) is better than him.
I really don't know what side of the argument to take.
I still like Byron and I would love it if the Flames gave him another one year low paying contract before washing their hands of him.
I feel letting him walk now/after this season would be premature.
Byron seems like one of those guys who would work harder just to show people up and prove them wrong. Not saying he will be MSL, but if he has the same attitude as MSL when leaving, he will do very well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle
Interesting topic, haven't read anything but the OP so not sure where the debate went.
I'm firmly in the Byron should get moved camp, but that's just because of his contract status and I think what he brings to the table can likely be replaced by someone in the system, who may bring more size, not because I'm upset he can't score.
As for the leash comment, I guess it's how you view his role. If you view Byron as the 4th line player he actually is, he's very effective at his role. Tones of speed and heart, but the only downside being he's small for a 4th line player, on a team that is already way too undersized (which is why I think we can afford to move him, especially considering this team isn't short on heart either). But on another team where they might lack some heart or don't suffer from our size issues, Byron's negatives wouldn't mean much.
If you expect more from Byron, 3rd line, 2nd line player even maybe, then his lack of finish would make you think he's underachieving. I don't think that he's that pedigree of a player, so I choose to evaluate him as a 4th liner, the fact he creates frequent breakaway scoring chances that he doesn't finish, while frustrating, is actually still a positive if you look at it that way.
So I don't think we should be critical of Byron, I think he's bringing everything to this team we can expect, and maybe a little more. Long term though, I just don't think we can afford to have a tiny 4th line player given how small we are through the rest of the line up.
I agree with both of you, particularly the points that I bolded. It's beyond frustrating seeing Byron not score, but reading this thread helped keep my perspective in check a little. I think we can afford to have Byron on this team for one more year at a low salary, but after that, it's probably time to let him walk if he doesn't blow our pants off, plus we'll have more kids coming up by then. I don't see Byron being in our long-term future, but for right now at this present moment he does the job correctly, just has rock hands.
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One day this season, this team is going to go deep into a shootout against another team, and it'll be Paul Byron that they have to resort to.
And he's going to bury it.
I know that was tongue in cheek, but I'd like to see what Byron does when he isn't skating faster than he's thinking, which is the difference between SO and a breakaway.
Tied for 1st on the Flames in takeaways with 41. Thats good for 6th in the entire NHL. (Johnny has 41 as well, but 52 giveaways where Byron only has 21)
4th on Flames for PK time (Second among forwards)
Leads the team in shorthanded points with 2.
All this for the lowest cap hit by far on the team at 600K.
Yes, he is snakebitten, I feel bad for the guy but he does make his own offense on those breakaways. They will start going in. Another overlooked thing by a casual hockey fan is how he backs up the defense when the Flames are coming out of their zone. They have to respect his speed and it opens up the neutral zone. He does all the little things right.
Some fans don't respect what he brings to this team. Good thing our coaching staff totally does.
I stated this in another thread and is totally overlooked by most. Great post btw. It's totally bang on.
Complaining about a guy's breakaway finishing ability is a pretty damn good problem to have because it obviously means he gets a lot of them - and it's especially great knowing he gets the breakaways without cheating the rest of his responsibilities.
Islanders fans say the exact same thing about Michael Grabner, by the way, and most would agree he's a decent player.
__________________ "I think the eye test is still good, but analytics can sure give you confirmation: what you see...is that what you really believe?" Scotty Bowman, 0 NHL games played
Disagree. In a weird way, Byron's lack of finish is less concerning than Lombo's, because Byron brings a lot more intensity and physicality and defenisive ability than Lombo. Lombo, to be a good player, needed to have finish, Byron needs it less.
What he needs is 10 breakaway/shootout practises per day developing a "move" he can go to for each situation.
Here you go Paul, you should bat around .500 pulling this one:
Similar to the cat and fox story in Aesop's fables, I think he should focus on 1 move or 2 very different moves and master those rather than have 10 moves and never knowing which one to use.
He's not going from hands of stone to hands of gold.
Him mastering the Datsyuk would be something to behold.
Tied for 1st on the Flames in takeaways with 41. Thats good for 6th in the entire NHL. (Johnny has 41 as well, but 52 giveaways where Byron only has 21)
4th on Flames for PK time (Second among forwards)
Leads the team in shorthanded points with 2.
All this for the lowest cap hit by far on the team at 600K.
Yes, he is snakebitten, I feel bad for the guy but he does make his own offense on those breakaways. They will start going in. Another overlooked thing by a casual hockey fan is how he backs up the defense when the Flames are coming out of their zone. They have to respect his speed and it opens up the neutral zone. He does all the little things right.
Some fans don't respect what he brings to this team. Good thing our coaching staff totally does.
For those stuck in the "team size is everything" mode, I believe are missing the new emphasis on skill and speed. Sure size is an advantage, when you can combine it with all the things that someone like Byron can do without it. However, in a cap system, you have to get as much as you can for your buck...and Byron more qualifies in that regard. I would be happy if he became a permanent part of our team. Hopefully, with the backing of our coaching staff, that will happen.
