Not So Bright "Stars"

[flames_fan_down_under]

Well this current season of NHL hockey has been very interesting.

One of the more interesting subjects, for me at list, is the fairly significant step back that a number of the NHL's stars have taken this year.

Sidney Crosby:

Has 6 goals and is on pace for 55 points

Perhaps his current lower body injury was a nagging injury that has been impeding him, perhaps he is unhappy in Pittsburgh, perhaps he has lost a step. He is 28 years old and SHOULD be in his prime years, but whatever the reason is he is having a very unimpressive season and is on track to have his worst season as an NHL player.

Steven Stamkos:

Has 14 goals and is on pace for 32 goals.

He is 25 years old, and this should certainly be his "prime" years as a supposed elite NHL scorer. Being on pace for 32 goals isn't bad by any standards but this is a guy who has scored 51 goals in his second NHL season, 2 years later he scored 60, and he was also second in the NHL in goals last season. There are rumours of a rift between him and Coach Cooper. He thinks he should be a centre, Cooper likes him on the wing. Then there was all the talk of his ice time in the playoffs last year. Or could it be off ice issues? He has no contract next season, Toronto of course thinks its a foregone conclusion that he will want to sign in Toronto.

What is up with Stamkos?

John Tavares

Tavares has 13 goals, 12 assists and 25 points in 35 games. These totals aren't anything to sneeze at, but if your Tavares and you've been basically a point a game player for the last 4 seasons this season has to be called a disappointment so far. He has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 11 games. These are not elite NHL numbers, which is what we have all been expecting and for the most part getting, from Tavares. Is it the move to Brooklyn? I can't explain this one at all really.

Ryan Getzlaf

1 empty net goal.

The Ducks are a disaster that a lot of people have been trying to explain. They were in the conference finals last season and were pegged again this season to be Stanley Cup contenders. A lot of their failure has been directed at Getlzaf and this is understandable. He is having a very bad season. It should be noted that a few seasons ago he had a similarly disappointing NHL year where he scored 11 goals and ended up with 57 points.

Is father time catching up with Getzlaf? Boudreau is a bad coach and Getzlaf is unhappy? Kesler and him not getting along?

Corey Perry

Consistently a 30 goal producer is on pace for 27 goals and 51 points. That would be his worst full season point total since his 2nd year in the NHL. Again is father time catching up with Perry? Still feeling the lingering effects of the mumps? Whats wrong with Perry?

Jonathan Toews

On pace for 47 points this year.

Never a guy to rack up huge point totals however even by his standards he must be somewhat disappointed. Sharp is gone, Hossa is not the Hossa of old, and Kane is playing with Panarin and Anisimov. Has this all contributed to Toews not producing at his usual level?

Well CP?

Any players I missed?

What do you think is the reason for these star players to have taken such large steps back this season?

[GranteedEV]

-Crosby's footspeed is gone and it's obvious. Guy used to be one of the best skaters in the league now he's basically... David Jones.

-Stamkos' MSL is gone. Was never the ultra-star that his stats made you think he was.

-Getzlaf is playing injured almost certainly. Not going to the dirty areas.

-Perry's Getzlaf is missing. I think he's playing like himself but the surrounding cast isn't producing.

-Tavares is probably just in a minor slump. Not reading much into it.

-Toews is just Toews. Not shocked at his numbers at all. Will probably finish the season with 60+ points

Any players I missed?

Kopitar.

[sharkov]

Its funny how scoring 32 goals is considered an off year

[topfiverecords]

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

On pace for only 55 pts. What's wrong with RNH?Oh wait, he is only a 56 pt per season player the last couple years. Incoming news from Sportsnet...RNH is better than Crosby!

Jordan Eberle

On pace for 35 pts. His lowest point total yet. Is father time catching up to this 25 year old? Living in Edm does have it's aging effects.

Rob Schremp

0 points in the NHL so far this year and expected to finish out the full season with 0 NHL points. This former 1st round pick has been passed on the depth by all those #1 overalls. It looks unlikely that he will hit 600 goals and 1300 points this season.

[flylock shox]

I thought this thread was going to be about Taylor Hall.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton

OP specifically said "Stars"

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

OP specifically said "Stars"

All I saw was "Not So Bright".

[PepsiFree]

... totally understandable now

[flames_fan_down_under]

I won't disagree with anything said so far.

[heep223]

I seriously doubt Crosby has lost a step at age 28. Wouldn't be surprised if it was the concussions catching up, has anyone seen him play this year? Does he look apprehensive? Also, bringing Phil Kessel onto a team basically means said team will start losing so no surprise there.

The most perplexing to me on this list is Getzlaf. He was never dependent on blazing speed, he should still be really good into his early 30s. What is up with him!

[codynw]

Malkin, while he's been better recently, certainly hasn't been himself most of this year.

[Gord_Wappel]

Injuries have played a factor but the triplets line in TB which was arguably one of the best in the league last year has produced almost nothing with Palat and Johnson injured for a large portion.

Gio - ??

[Aegypticus]

I watched Crosby on TV against the Kings a couple of weeks ago. What I recall is a player who looked totally uninterested in the outcome of the game. Didn't seem to be skating hard in regulation, but what really stood out was overtime. The Pens had an odd-man rush shaping up and they ended up going offside because Crosby was going for a change at the door inside the offensive zone. Was actually bizarre to watch.

Then, in the shootout, he was up with a chance to put them ahead, and his attempt was really weak. He just put his head down and slowly skated back to the bench. No emotion.

It was all a bit strange because Malkin was visibly pissed off and throwing his weight around. He very clearly wanted to win and was doing everything he could to get them win. Crosby, on the other hand, just... wasn't. I'm used to seeing Crosby fired up and Malkin (while not a floater by any means) taking it easy.

[DionTheDman]

Voracek -- 34GP 3G 20A

[Lanny_McDonald]

The defensive systems and over-coaching are killing the game. Not many mistakes out there for the skill players to take advantage of. The NHL has to do something about this. I would suggest that every team should have to play with Dennis Wideman and Kris Russell on their blueline. That will increase the number of gaffs by a substantial margin!

In all seriousness, go back to one coach behind the bench and cap the number of coaches/analysts on staff to three. That should make the life on the coaching staff a little more unmanageable and lead to less tightly integrated systems.

[Machiavelli]

^ Don't completely agree with your point, but I do think that in some ways, the NHL has become more methodical, almost clinical.

I've noticed a general trend of creativity taking a backseat to a more a careful game.

One example would be the way Therrien has effectively neutered Subban. When he entered the league he was an offensive firecracker. Yeah, he made a lot of mistakes, and yeah he's probably overall a better defenceman now, but he's become boring (on the ice.)

Coaches care about winning and not so much the entertainment aspect, whereas fans want the best of both worlds. That can be hard to reconcile.

[habernac]

PK has one goal this year. He changed his sticks before the season, I think he has changed them back.

This wasn't a problem early in the season when they won 9 in a row in regulation, but now that the well has dried up...

Therrien is fantastic at neutering players, he's also ruining Galchenyuk.

[Erick Estrada]

It's become a game of defensive systems, clogging up shooting lanes, blocking shots, and the last line of defense being these 6'2"+ monsters in net that can simply play the angles and even average goaltenders produce goaltender statistics today that were unheard of a few decades ago. The league took away the clutching and grabbing of the 90's for the most part but once again coaches have adjusted to shut down offenses without obstruction being the primary means.

[Benched]

Originally Posted by DionTheDman

Voracek -- 34GP 3G 20A

this.

guy is snake bit, at 7mill/yr? ouch!


But OP I agree, amazing that the stars are struggling so much this year. I mean Crosby is usually a lock, so is Stamkos and Getzlaf. Been ugly years for them.

On the other hand, makes the rising stars (Johnny!) or guys like Benn/Seguin all the more impressive.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by Aegypticus

I watched Crosby on TV against the Kings a couple of weeks ago. What I recall is a player who looked totally uninterested in the outcome of the game. Didn't seem to be skating hard in regulation, but what really stood out was overtime. The Pens had an odd-man rush shaping up and they ended up going offside because Crosby was going for a change at the door inside the offensive zone. Was actually bizarre to watch.

Then, in the shootout, he was up with a chance to put them ahead, and his attempt was really weak. He just put his head down and slowly skated back to the bench. No emotion.

It was all a bit strange because Malkin was visibly pissed off and throwing his weight around. He very clearly wanted to win and was doing everything he could to get them win. Crosby, on the other hand, just... wasn't. I'm used to seeing Crosby fired up and Malkin (while not a floater by any means) taking it easy.

The games I have seen Crosby play I have noticed the same thing. Disinterested is, like you, the best way I could describe his play.