Ryan Wilson: What Should the Realistic Expectations Be For Chris Kunitz In 2013-2014? Expectations should be tempered for Chris Kunitz

Love the blogs Ryan, keep em coming!

As for Kunitz, I think 25g and 40a is realistic and solid production.

Ryan Wilson: What Should the Realistic Expectations Be For Chris Kunitz In 2013-2014?
Expectations should be tempered for Chris Kunitz
- Ryan_Wilson

I think 25-28 goals and 35-45 assists would be a good year for him.
And I mean good as it what to expect, not good as in overachieving.

I think 25-28 goals and 35-45 assists would be a good year for him.
And I mean good as it what to expect, not good as in overachieving.
- jmatchett383

Agreed. I think those are attainable numbers whether he plays with Crosby and Dupuis or Malkin and Neal.

Malkin retires! haha j/k

Malkin retires! haha j/k
- cuethenoise

Malkin seems to be different then the "Russian" sterotype. If he was all about money he wouldn't have signed his extension here, and could have gotton a max deal in FA next summer. Teams would pay it to get him.

I'm just happy we have our top end talent locked up for a while. I'm in a good mood today. As for Kuni I think 65-70 pts is where I'd slot him. Goals could reach 30 if he is on the top pp.

I'm just happy we have our top end talent locked up for a while. I'm in a good mood today. As for Kuni I think 65-70 pts is where I'd slot him. Goals could reach 30 if he is on the top pp.
- dbell646

Agreed.

As long as he is healthy that's a solid expectation. For a guy that plays his kind of style he has stayed on the ice a lot. I hope he keeps that trend going.

I honestly believe that Malkin loves Pittsburgh and will probably play his whole career here unless something unfortunate happens. The way the city loves his parents I think plays a huge part in that also. I think that fact that he goes back home to mother Russia every off season helps too, I hope for a fully healthy Malkin this year. I can see him going back to his 2011-12 play.

I honestly believe that Malkin loves Pittsburgh and will probably play his whole career here unless something unfortunate happens. The way the city loves his parents I think plays a huge part in that also. I think that fact that he goes back home to mother Russia every off season helps too, I hope for a fully healthy Malkin this year. I can see him going back to his 2011-12 play.
- Thorny

Do you think he'll be comfortable playing second-fiddle his whole career? I'm not saying he will or won't, but he'll never be the #1 center assuming Crosby is healthy.

Do you think he'll be comfortable playing second-fiddle his whole career? I'm not saying he will or won't, but he'll never be the #1 center assuming Crosby is healthy.
- jmatchett383

I actually think he likes it. He still doesn't know the language well, and Crosby takes all the media attention away from him.

Do you think he'll be comfortable playing second-fiddle his whole career? I'm not saying he will or won't, but he'll never be the #1 center assuming Crosby is healthy.
- jmatchett383

I get the sense that winning is way more important than stats to Malkin. I could be way off, but when he speaks...you never see him talk about his stats, only about winning. As long as he has wingers he likes, I don't think he looks at it as 2nd center. I think the Malkin, Neal, Iggy line last year would be most teams top line. In Pittsburgh, he gets treated like the top center. I think he even stated that playing with Sid the next 8 years was important to him.

Do you think he'll be comfortable playing second-fiddle his whole career? I'm not saying he will or won't, but he'll never be the #1 center assuming Crosby is healthy.
- jmatchett383

No such thing as a second line on Pitts. He plays with Neal and had Iginla. This year he probably will be between Bennett and Neal. Or Neal and Kunitz.

Eberle had a broken finger and his SH% dropped this year because of it... just sayin'

Do you think he'll be comfortable playing second-fiddle his whole career? I'm not saying he will or won't, but he'll never be the #1 center assuming Crosby is healthy.
- jmatchett383

Crosby and Malkin may not hang out but they seem to have a ton of respect for each other. I think they share the pressure and Sid takes the media scrums which is more than fine with Geno. Also they seem to push each other when one does something amazing the other is almost certainly going to do something amazing as well.

I think a lot of players like Kunitz and Duper benefited from the shorter season last yr. It will be interesting to see how they hold up for a reg season and what their stats look like. My guess is that they each have 20-25 goals a piece.

Shocked by Ilya....If Im a GM in the league, Im done with Ruskies.

Chris Kunitz has done everything he has been asked to do since he came to Pittsburgh. Along the way, he won the Cup, and had his best season this truncated year.
My expectations for Kunitz are to stay healthy and provide the same rugged play he is known for, and keep the stats needle atleast where it has been .

Ryan Wilson: What Should the Realistic Expectations Be For Chris Kunitz In 2013-2014?
Expectations should be tempered for Chris Kunitz
- Ryan_Wilson

Good analysis and Jordan Eberle is an example of someone who shot at a rate unsustainable over a career for the length of an entire season.

It still may not be the best example though, and here's why: To get to that 12% shooting and those 16 goals, he had a real tale of two seasons.

First 24 games: 5 goals on 73 shots - 6.8 SH %
Last 24 games: 11 goals on 60 shots - 18.3 SH%

In essence, his 2nd half was closer to last year than this year was to a "normal" year. I think this does show that him shooting at 18ish% is unsustainable over each season, but his 2012-2013 campaign was characterized by bad puck luck as much as it was "coming back down to earth". The fact that you can shoot 18% for half a season and end up below 1000 in PDO should indicate that.

I actually think he likes it. He still doesn't know the language well, and Crosby takes all the media attention away from him.
- cap1681

Exactly, he's been quoted as saying it's his preference to let Sid be the face of the team. You can tell he's still not exactly comfortable with interviews and the limelight. From what I've heard about the guy is he's pretty much a fun loving character in the locker room. Certainly not a prima donna type. Who knows what he's really thinking, but one thing is for sure, if he leaves the Pens, the burden on his shoulders will get whole lot heavier.

It's funny how much Russian players are stereotyped. As if all players are like OV or Kovaluchuk. It's almost like Gonchar, Federov and others didn't exist.

Malkin said himself when he was playing in the KHL early last year that he knows what Crosby is like being in the spotlight and that he didnt like it.

No such thing as a second line on Pitts. He plays with Neal and had Iginla. This year he probably will be between Bennett and Neal. Or Neal and Kunitz.
- IronCity

So basically, the second line.

Exactly, he's been quoted as saying it's his preference to let Sid be the face of the team. You can tell he's still not exactly comfortable with interviews and the limelight. From what I've heard about the guy is he's pretty much a fun loving character in the locker room. Certainly not a prima donna type. Who knows what he's really thinking, but one thing is for sure, if he leaves the Pens, the burden on his shoulders will get whole lot heavier.

It's funny how much Russian players are stereotyped. As if all players are like OV or Kovaluchuk. It's almost like Gonchar, Federov and others didn't exist.
- madmike71

I could totally see him going back to the motherland for more money.

I just want to know how many disallowed goals he will have this season

Kunitz seems to be a streaky goal scorer. If he gets on a couple good hot streaks, he could hit 30. Having the year he did might get him shooting more too.

A side note to the Devils saga...

People were talking about Connor McDavid in the last blog, he will not be eligible for the draft until 2015, so the Devils won't be missing out on him.

I could totally see him going back to the motherland for more money.
- Orpik44

Even if it's not about the money, I just can't see him playing in North America for another 8 years.