BRICK TEXT INCOMING: SORRY.

Just a couple things to consider for everyone (not singling you out but you just mentioned it) here in regards to marcus kruger this season, taken from war on ice(min 500 minutes played, centers, regular season):

The top ten players based on Dzone%, in worst to best order, in all situations are:

Gaustad, Kruger, Boyd Gordon, Glendening, Fehr, Dejardins, Carter, Stoll, Moore, auston watson

So this is grouping of players to contextualize how Kruger is used and how he performs in to closest players to him on the defensive side of the game:

All Strengths combined:
- 2nd highest TOI at 13.7 min (glendening)
- 3rd best Corsi For % at 41% (Desjardins, Watson)
- 2nd worst zone stars at -53.1% worse than teammates (gaustad)
- 2nd best scoring chance % at -9.2% in comparison to team (Dejardins)
- 4th best High danger chance % at -11.1% (watson, Dejardins, Moore)

5v5:
- 4th TOI/gm at 10.9 min (Dejardins, Glendening, Moore)
- 3rd best crosi for % at 48.4% (Dejardins, Fehr)
- 3rd worst zone starts at -81.2% (Gaustad, Watson)
- 1st (and only positive!) scoring for % at a 1%
- 5th best high danger chance % at 48.4% (Fehr, Watson, Glendening, Gordon)


Penalty Kill:
- 3rd highest PKTOI/gm (Glendening, Gordon)
- 5th highest Corsi For % at 8.3% (Carter, Dejardins, Moore, Gaustad)
- 5th worst zone starts at -97.3% (Fehr, Dejardins, Glendening, Gordon)
- 3rd best goals against/60 at 6.7 (Glendening, Gordon)
- 2nd highest TOI% for team at 54.6% (Glendening)


What does this all mean in the grand scheme of things? That's really up to you all.

I decided to base the player set on %Dzone starts, so that could skew the results a bit with not looking more at the PK specific details as well as limiting the results to centers (as defined by War on ice). I also cherry picked the stats I thought applicable in respect to each on ice strenth (though I kept the all and 5v5 stats the same, and changed pk for obvious reasons)

All in all, I took a couple things away from some digging in regards to how kruger played in the regular season this year, most importantly there is 1 guy that starts more in his own end (gaustad), and he performs worse, and less in every other aspect of his game.

So things to look at when it comes to how kruger played this year in what some could say his worst statistical year since being on the job full time, he is THE guy you want taking tough minutes. The tough time doesn't only include PK, which admittedly Glendening and Gordon may be better at, but taking showing the differences in 5v5 (Highest TOI% for all) and on the PK (what most of these guys are on their rosters for)

As for his health, with this past wrist injury being his only hiccup and a full summer to completely heal it up, I'm not worried at all. He's the second youngest in this group (watson).

He's also in the middle of the pack for AAV this past season, but will top the list next season (by 83k)

I'm happy with kruger, hope this is interesting to some.
- the_dough_boy

This is highly instructive. Thanks

Some here wanted the team to take more time with him, and definitely play him with Hjalmarsson.
- John Jaeckel

I thought that was the only way that it would work and still don't understand why it wasn't given 10-15 games to find out.
Did the hip injury screw up the plans, at least initially?

so...those total times of 21.00 combined minutes of determined this first round series?
... having Daley there makes the difference even though he won't buy in?



It is so very EASY TO PLAY ARMCHAIR GM AFTER THE FREAKING FACT.

look to the REAL culprits in the loss: Your super star girlfriend Panarin over handling the biscuit and his lack of conviction to SHOOT when he should, and the big guys not getting it over the line.

boo FFggnng hooo that all three adds at forward crapped the bed.
The add ons are NOT the be all cure all, and if they are, you team is not that great.

Yes ALL THREE if you really watched.

I wonder if Fleischmann was injured...but any one with craps the bed, so what that is not your core....

They thought daley wasn't the answer and I can live with THEIR decision, not no non insider after thought
- wiz1901

The problem is NOT "they thought" Daley wasn't the answer, it's they got JACK for him. They essentially traded a guy very capable of big minutes on a playoff team's back end. SO, he wasn't "cut out for the Hawks"...FINE, move him then, fair enough. But at least do it for something credible. NO argument exists to support this trade whether you think Daley was great or not.

Pulling for Sharks, but I'm neither here nor there usually on the Preds (though I think their homer arena policies are ridiculous). Got a good belly laugh seeing this after the triple OT last night:

https://vine.co/v/iQzutLpnjjx
- pdx2ord

A couple of really tough officiating calls kept the Preds in the game until they won it in the third OT. I thought Pavelski was pushed into Rinne on the waved-off goal, and there definitely was a Pred player laying on the puck in the crease, which should be a penalty shot.

I don't really have a rooting interest in this match-up, but I'm definitely enjoying the series.

The problem is NOT "they thought" Daley wasn't the answer, it's they got JACK for him. They essentially traded a guy very capable of big minutes on a playoff team's back end. SO, he wasn't "cut out for the Hawks"...FINE, move him then, fair enough. But at least do it for something credible. NO argument exists to support this trade whether you think Daley was great or not.
- kwolf68

You answered that like I wanted to be seemingly was unable to

Here's a trivial item for everyone to ponder, the average NHL hockey player gets about 25 hours of ice time during the entire 82 game regular season. That means Toews and Kane make about $400,000 per hour....!!!! Don't know why I thought about this last night, but that just blows my mind. Have a good one All.

The problem is NOT "they thought" Daley wasn't the answer, it's they got JACK for him. They essentially traded a guy very capable of big minutes on a playoff team's back end. SO, he wasn't "cut out for the Hawks"...FINE, move him then, fair enough. But at least do it for something credible. NO argument exists to support this trade whether you think Daley was great or not.
- kwolf68

It does if the goal was to shed cap space to make deals at the deadline which they did...whether you agree with those or not is a different argument.

Crawford + Tuevo + Q to Anaheim for Freddy Anderson + Lindholm/Vatanen just kidding Joel

Does anybody have a link to the IIHF games today??? Would LOVE to watch some at work today

Does anybody have a link to the IIHF games today??? Would LOVE to watch some at work today
- EnzoD

I don't have a link, but have you seen the IIHF website?? Makes the NHL.com site look like a dream.

With the year Kruger had, it may have been a better favor if had priced himself out of town and the Hawks could have gotten a bit in return by trading him at his highest value. I've always liked Kruger, but he wasn't worth the 1.5 M for the performance he provided this season.

This season (only talking this season) he was so-so at the dot. Scored exactly 0 goals and wasn't as effective as usual on the PK. He has to bounce back next year, or else his contract is another anchor (not Bickell bad, but not a value) because it is really all about the cap hit/term. The NHL is a business and all about "what have you done for me lately". Kruger may come close to living up to his contract, as he has the work ethic, but the health/talent might hold him back.
- breadbag

Kruger has to pick it up big time, 3 million in the cap world for 0 goals in 50 games is a disaster. I know he brings a lot to the table but at this point he dosn't look like he could score if the other team was using soccer nets. The Hawks will need him to score 15 goals n about 40 points and average a lot more then 13 minutes a game to justify his contact. I think he could do it but he is 25 or 26 next year time to pick it up a level

I don't have a link, but have you seen the IIHF website?? Makes the NHL.com site look like a dream.

- DMChi2010

http://onhockey.tv/


USA! USA!

Kruger has to pick it up big time, 3 million in the cap world for 0 goals in 50 games is a disaster. I know he brings a lot to the table but at this point he dosn't look like he could score if the other team was using soccer nets. The Hawks will need him to score 15 goals n about 40 points and average a lot more then 13 minutes a game to justify his contact. I think he could do it but he is 25 or 26 next year time to pick it up a level
- HamiltonHawk

2011-2012, when he was like 21, he had 9 goals and 17 assists in 71 games and was +11.

Point being, he can contribute more offensively, if anything, he can do better than that because he has matured physically since then. It is a matter of how he is used and the earlier post about how he has been used recently is highly instructive.

He may be the most undervalued and probably the most misunderstood player on the roster.

so...those total times of 21.00 combined minutes of determined this first round series?
... having Daley there makes the difference even though he won't buy in?



It is so very EASY TO PLAY ARMCHAIR GM AFTER THE FREAKING FACT.

look to the REAL culprits in the loss: Your super star girlfriend Panarin over handling the biscuit and his lack of conviction to SHOOT when he should, and the big guys not getting it over the line.

boo FFggnng hooo that all three adds at forward crapped the bed.
The add ons are NOT the be all cure all, and if they are, you team is not that great.

Yes ALL THREE if you really watched.

I wonder if Fleischmann was injured...but any one with craps the bed, so what that is not your core....

They thought daley wasn't the answer and I can live with THEIR decision, not no non insider after thought
- wiz1901

This post is way to accurate, please rewrite it.

As much as some want to "blame" Q because he didn't play that mouth breather Gustafson more....or whine because he didn't spoon feel Leddy....or criticize Stan when they have ZERO ideas of what trade or salary demands of players were - the 100% fact is the salary cap is the one to blame for the Hawks (and/or any team for that matter) repeating in this day and age.

The Hawks - and this includes Q AND BOWMAN - did exactly (without fail and better than ANYONE) what a team needs to do. Win multiple championships while their 2 best players are on their entry/RFA contracts.

Pitt & Det got their twice, only able to win one. Boston got their only once and made horrible decisions. People want to blow Nill - but lets see what happens when he has to pay Seguin and Benn ...while he also has 2/3 of his D going to UFA this off season.

I'd really like to know who has done it better than Stan and Q in their respective roles. They won in their first "era" of Toews and Kane entry level/RFA contracts. Now just need to find the right formula to win in the 2 "max contract players" - which hasn't been done - yet.

A couple of really tough officiating calls kept the Preds in the game until they won it in the third OT. I thought Pavelski was pushed into Rinne on the waved-off goal, and there definitely was a Pred player laying on the puck in the crease, which should be a penalty shot.

I don't really have a rooting interest in this match-up, but I'm definitely enjoying the series.
- Hank_Greenberg

That was some great overtime action. And it could be the fastest pace I've seen in OT as well.

Agree, Pavelski was shoved, but he didn't attempt to put on the brakes either. Hard to do when the puck is laying right there.

On that Pavelski no goal call I found it interesting that two different angles showed two different things. Pavelski hit the puck with his hand and then with the stick as he banged into the goalie. He has to hit the puck with the stick before the puck fully crosses the line. One angle showed he hit the puck as it was barely still on the line. But the second angle showed that the puck was on end and it was barely across the line. My guess is that they bailed out and called goalie interference so they wouldn't have to deal with that. They were going to be in deep poop no matter what.

2011-2012, when he was like 21, he had 9 goals and 17 assists in 71 games and was +11.

Point being, he can contribute more offensively, if anything, he can do better than that because he has matured physically since then. It is a matter of how he is used and the earlier post about how he has been used recently is highly instructive.

He may be the most undervalued and probably the most misunderstood player on the roster.
- John Jaeckel

I told my boss this when I asked for a raise. No dice.

This post is way to accurate, please rewrite it.

As much as some want to "blame" Q because he didn't play that mouth breather Gustafson more....or whine because he didn't spoon feel Leddy....or criticize Stan when they have ZERO ideas of what trade or salary demands of players were - the 100% fact is the salary cap is the one to blame for the Hawks (and/or any team for that matter) repeating in this day and age.

The Hawks - and this includes Q AND BOWMAN - did exactly (without fail and better than ANYONE) what a team needs to do. Win multiple championships while their 2 best players are on their entry/RFA contracts.

Pitt & Det got their twice, only able to win one. Boston got their only once and made horrible decisions. People want to blow Nill - but lets see what happens when he has to pay Seguin and Benn ...while he also has 2/3 of his D going to UFA this off season.

I'd really like to know who has done it better than Stan and Q in their respective roles. They won in their first "era" of Toews and Kane entry level/RFA contracts. Now just need to find the right formula to win in the 2 "max contract players" - which hasn't been done - yet.
- PatShart

Well said!

In category 1, you've got Tampa Bay knocking on the door... strike now before the cap totally blows up that team. (Dallas, too?)

In category 2, you've got Pittsburgh knocking on the door, but it seems the "max contract players" have to be supplemented with a ton of youngsters who are playing out of their mind. Pitt probably needs to strike now in case there is a regression to the mean for the newbies.

@FrankSeravalli
Difficult to handicap Caggiula sweepstakes, but sense is it's down to VAN or EDM. Believe PHI, CHI, PIT, NYR and OTT are all out. We'll see.

McKenzie is hearing Vancouver

Well said!

In category 1, you've got Tampa Bay knocking on the door... strike now before the cap totally blows up that team. (Dallas, too?)

In category 2, you've got Pittsburgh knocking on the door, but it seems the "max contract players" have to be supplemented with a ton of youngsters who are playing out of their mind. Pitt probably needs to strike now in case there is a regression to the mean for the newbies.
- DMChi2010

Good point - Tampa is in the same boat with DAL. Their window of youth/early conracts is about to be slammed shut with Stamkos UFA and the 5 big RFA's they need to sign...then Bishop will be a UFA the following year.

And they have won nothing.

Yet 3 Cups (2 after overhauls of rosters) and Stan/Q are failures for not "repeating"

@FrankSeravalli
Difficult to handicap Caggiula sweepstakes, but sense is it's down to VAN or EDM. Believe PHI, CHI, PIT, NYR and OTT are all out. We'll see.

McKenzie is hearing Vancouver
- Marlowe

I wouldn't be surprised to see Caggiula sign in Vancouver. They can offer him a chance to play with UND teammates and they'll probably guarantee him some playing time next season.

Good point - Tampa is in the same boat with DAL. Their window of youth/early conracts is about to be slammed shut with Stamkos UFA and the 5 big RFA's they need to sign...then Bishop will be a UFA the following year.

And they have won nothing.

Yet 3 Cups (2 after overhauls of rosters) and Stan/Q are failures for not "repeating"
- PatShart

The Stan and Q hate has really gotten out of hand. I knew it was coming though, iv gotten used to it.

Like I said, our fan base is incredibly spoiled and it shows when you read through these pages.

2011-2012, when he was like 21, he had 9 goals and 17 assists in 71 games and was +11.

Point being, he can contribute more offensively, if anything, he can do better than that because he has matured physically since then. It is a matter of how he is used and the earlier post about how he has been used recently is highly instructive.

He may be the most undervalued and probably the most misunderstood player on the roster.
- John Jaeckel

What are the goal/point totals for an average 3C, and what is their salary (non-ELC)? I believe that Krugs is above average (maybe top third in the league) because of his intangibles. The fact that he takes so many draws in the defensive zone, first PK line, playing agianst the other team's top lines, etc. He may never be in the top half of 3C scoring, but that's not where his value lies.

Good point - Tampa is in the same boat with DAL. Their window of youth/early conracts is about to be slammed shut with Stamkos UFA and the 5 big RFA's they need to sign...then Bishop will be a UFA the following year.

And they have won nothing.

Yet 3 Cups (2 after overhauls of rosters) and Stan/Q are failures for not "repeating"
- PatShart

You almost forgot: Toews sucks, Mashinter is great at 4LW, and Tuevo is a gift from the Finnish hockey Gods.

Also, Toews sucks, Mashinter is great on the 4LW, and Tuevo is a gift from the Finnish hockey Gods.
- EnzoD

Toews was a bigger failure in the playoffs with the inability to put the puck in the net than Q or Stan....but is untouchable

Mashinter is insignificant. People that blame him instead of the PP's inability (especially in game 1) don't understand the game as well as they think

TT is valued because of his contract and ability to play several positions and specialty teams (kind of like Versteeg did and was missed). People that expect him to run through defencemen or put up 75pts at 21....well...that's a "their" problem in expectations, not his short comings.