This is going to be a rather informal post. I've been thinking about doing a weekly jumbling of thoughts for quite some time. So here we go.
On the Habs
I'm really enjoying Radulov this season. I've always liked him as a player. He's a rare mix of skill and insanity. That has led to some ridiculous lows and ridiculous highs. From being one of the greatest junior players of all time to being a pariah and setting a Cold War between two leagues, to being one of the best players in the world that wouldn't play in the NHL to being the best Predator forward in the playoffs but unable to shake his demons, to where we are today...a 30 year old top-6 forward that plays with grit and determination with a reckless abandon.
When he was signed I loved the narrative people started. They didn't know anything about his play style. "Semin 2.0!" was one of the biggest calls. Let alone the SeCalder (Jiri Sekac) comparisons. Anybody who has seen Radulov play knows he is nothing like these two, Semin in particular is the most annoying comparison. Semin is an odd mix of ultra-talent with slow movement. Even at his best, he "looks" lazy. Mainly because he slows the play down at all times. As he slowed physically, he slowed his ability to slow the game down and became stagnant. Very similar to Dany Heatley. Unlike Joe Thornton and Jaromir Jagr that are still able to slow the game to their pace, but reach the speeds needed to play within it.
Radulov is a frightening ball of energy. Even when "lazy" his "lazy" stems from his voracity. He will fall into the trap of taking bad penalties because he is constantly pushing the play as fast as he can, and when others attempt to slow it down, he will take a penalty out of frustration.
What I'm getting at is that fans of the Habs must be happy. No offense to Pacioretty, but he's the opposite of Radulov. He won't get mad. He won't play with stupid intensity. He has one setting and when it's on, he's a dangerous number one winger and when it's off, he's a solid defensive option that is soft as hell.
Radulov has been fantastic early on and dare I say it...their best forward.
Speaking of "best," let us talk about Shea "Wheelchair" Weber. What a start to the year. He has been amazing. At the very beginning I liked this trade for both sides. Knowing that Nashville would stand to gain over the long term, but the Habs would be able to look to contend in the East for another 2-4 years. Watching last night's game in particular showed the best of Shea Weber. He is a nightmare to play against, unless (big UNLESS) you can catch him completely on the fly. The Habs haven't had a player of his style or his skill set since Sheldon Souray...and let's be honest here, Souray is the joke version of Weber.
Let's end this. I put forth the opinion that the Habs will shock the East. They will make the playoffs (Shocking!). They aren't as bad as people think. A strong start doesn't guarantee this by any means, just see last year. However, their strengths and their successes are exactly what we had all thought and hoped they would be...sans the snake-bitten Plekanec who is having a really hard time this season. Plus...Carey Price. U wot mate?
On The Leafs
I’m lukewarm about the Leafs right now. I’ve watched all but one game and I come away mostly with the same sensation. MattLander is going to be a duo we hear about for years to come. Marner REALLY doesn’t want to be a Knight again. Gardiner is the most baffling player to lace them up. The Leafs defense is a joke. Komarov forgot he was actually a fourth liner. Andersen continues the Pacific Goalie Curse.
Every game, I come away with that…except the Enroth game obviously. That said, I truly am enamored with the Nylander-Matthews duo. They have been electric. So dangerous at every turn. I know it’s early, but this has to one of the best rookie duos in the last decade. Hall-Eberle to Toews-Kane levels. Maybe even Eichel-Reinhart levels!! For my Sabres fans. I haven’t been this excited to watch two players on the Leafs since Grabovski-Kulemin! And wow, doesn’t that just say bloody volumes?
One thing I’m on the fence about though is the hate on Andersen. I see both sides. A lot of people are saying very little of his poor play is on him because the defense is catastrophic. Plus he is coming off an injury. I can get behind this somewhat. The Leafs defense is terrible. So much so that people are clamoring for Frankie Corrado to come in to…exist? Hunwick could barely make a playoff team as a seventh defenseman a few years ago, let alone after he has been plastered five times already this year. So I’m sympathetic to Andersen’s plight.
However, he has been bad. Contradiction? Yes, but a truthful one. Andersen is swimming in the net more ferociously than Gustavsson fresh off the boat from Sweden with a heart attack. He is all over the place. I don’t know if this is due to the poor defense blanking his mind, if it’s a correction from the injury or if it’s the goaltending coach…or if that’s just his new style of play. All I know is that it is horrifying. He’s on his knees the second the opponent crosses the blue line. He’s lunging like a lunatic at every puck movement. He’s made some incredible saves, but only because he had to because he was so out of position.
I’m willing to give him more time, but his positioning has been dreadful.
Overall though, this is a frustrating team that is fun to watch. So there’s that at least.
Random Thoughts
So…Artem Anisimov leads the league in points and Richard Panik leads the league in goals…alright.
The Oilers look like they are finally what everybody has been lying that they were for years. An offensive juggernaut. That lie has been around so long it’s pretty much in our lexicon. Oilers = Offense. Now they might finally be that way. Which is lovely to see. It’s early (obviously), but McDavid looks like the best player in the world and five steps ahead of everybody. Yakupov and Hall both look like they are doing well enough for their respective teams, but not everything is about absolutism. Is this the year they finally make the playoffs?! Probably not.
Is there anybody luckier than Jonathan Marchessault? Huberdeau goes down and the coach kept telling “Johnathan” to hop over the bench with Barkov and Jagr, so he did and he’s playing great. Nobody ever likes injuries, but everybody loves watching players make the best of their opportunities.
Them Rangers. They were pegged to finish behind everybody else (for the degenerates in my audience of 3). Yet they are playing great. Girardi isn’t a dumpster fire, he’s merely a mediocre fire. I put my faith in McDonagh having a breakout year offensively and he seems on his way to doing that. The team as a whole has shown it has an interesting depth dynamic and is able to roll its line effectively.
So much for the Devils "revitalized offense." Speaking of things going ill, will the Islanders ever fire the worst coach in the league? Ever? Yes, I'm insinuating he's worse than Randy Carlyle.
That’s my Brain Dump of the week and thanks for reading.
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