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News broke yesterday that Mason Raymond was re-signed for 2.275 million. Ordinarily, a signing like this would fall by the wayside, with not much being mentioned about it. But yesterday was July 9th, and there was absolutely nothing going on in the world of hockey. Mason Raymond was even trending on Twitter, with teenage girls in Vancouver swooning that Raymond would be back for another year, while everyone else whined and complained about the signing.
I sit on the fence with this signing and here is why. I like Mason Raymond a lot. He has the speed and skill to be a top 6 forward in the NHL. He plays well in his own end and has scored 25 goals in the past. I love his resiliency to come back from one of the most gruesome injury the game has ever seen. And he's in his prime.
Gillis also has little patience for players that don't work on their game in an effort to be the best player they can be. Trying to get better all the time is part of the culture Gillis has instilled in Vancouver, so one has to believe that Raymond will come to camp stronger and better than ever. The sky should be the limit for Raymond this year right?
Well not exactly…
Mason Raymond is also a player whose future production will be tied to how the game is officiated. If the NHL decides they want wide open, skilled hockey, than Raymond is a bargain at 2.275 million. If they decide they want to let the clutch, grab, hack, pick, and whack style back, than Raymond becomes pretty well useless.
The numbers don't lie...
In 2009/10 and 2010/11 Raymond scored 92 points in 152 games. That is a 50 point average if spread over an 82 game schedule.
At the start of this season, when the game was more wide open, Raymond had 8 points in his first 14 games back. That is a 47 point pace if spread out over an 82 game season.
Then in January, the NHL decided to start bringing clutch, grab, hack, pick, and whack hockey back in order to slow things down. Over the final 41 games, Raymond, would get 12 points. That is a 24 point pace is spread over 82 games.
Then you look at Raymond's almost non-existent playoff resume, (16 points in 51 games, a 31 point production or 82 games) and you can see that when the referees put the whistles away, Mason Raymond goes away.
In a lot of ways I consider Raymond the Anti-Penner. Slow the game down with clutching and grabbing, and Penner looks like a rock star. Open the game up with speed, skill, and eliminate obstruction, Penner looks more like an overweight beagle, struggling to catch his own tail.
Now we all know that the league isn't changing for the playoffs. The league has made is very clear over the years that the NHL playoffs are no place for the game of hockey. But if they open things up during the regular season, Mason Raymond may just have a spot in Vancouver's top 6 and that could lead to a decent return via trade.
While the mystery is still out there as to which Raymond we will get over the next 12 months, one thing is solved, and that's there are a few NHL officials who obviously do not love Raymond.
Vote Five Hole For Food
Five Hole For Food has been nominated as a CFL Game Changer. Take a couple of minutes and vote
HERE to help them get $100,000 towards their great cause.
Well that’s a wrap.
Ian
Five Hole For Food
Five Hole For Food is coming to a town near you this summer. For those of you that don't know, the concept was brought forward by some friends in Vancouver, who decided they would travel the country setting up street hockey games. The price to play in the game is a can of food or donation to the local food bank.
To date Five Hole for Food has raised over 70,000 pounds of food for food banks and is continuing the fight against hunger all over North America!
2012 Tour Dates
St. John’s – July 3rd
Halifax – July 5th
Charlottetown – July 6th
Saint John – July 7th
Montreal – July 9th
Ottawa – July 10th
Toronto – July 12th
Winnipeg – July 14th
Regina – July 15th
Calgary – July 17th
Edmonton – July 18th
Victoria – July 20th
Vancouver – July 21st
So get out and support this great cause this summer. For more information on Five Hole For Food
CLICK HERE
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