Bonjour! I'm so hyped for tonight's game that I could tolerate a Frenchman! I've always been a fan of Tangs so it'll be good to see him again, even if it's on the other side. I'm also hoping the Flames can keep this momentum we've sustained, Boyd will be back, which is good and bad. Good 'cause I like the guy, bad 'cause the team has something going and I'm worried this'll throw a wrench in the works of a functional and successful team. I'm always the pessimist.
I confess to being a quasi-Habs fan, they're perhaps my second favourite team in the league and have been for quite some time. It doesn't hurt that they've been pretty good recently, but most importantly they're a fun team to watch. The atmosphere at the Bell Centre is amazing, it seems to pump up the players who play in the arena (on both teams) and result in a disproportionate number of good hockey games. Or so it seems, anyway.
I'm not sure why everyone has the hate-on for Bertuzzi as a disappointment. The man signed for 1 year at $1.95M. I look at disappointments from the angle of salaries combined with expectations. My expectations with Bertuzzi were fairly low given his recent years' performances, and the salary is undoubtedly low. For what he's being paid, I'd assert that Bertuzzi is what I expected and not a "disappointment". On the other hand, Lombardi's performance has been decidedly lacking and definitely beneath his potential. Sadly, if I had to peg a disappointment so far this season...it'd be Lombo.
TRAGEDY: Johnny Gaudreau, Brother Killed in Biking Accident
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The NHL and the Columbus Blue Jackets confirmed the tragic news early
Friday morning. Former Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother
Matthew ...
2 months ago
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Heh. I think you're the only one I know defending Bert at this point.
ReplyDeleteLombardi is paid less than Bertuzzi and most of his underlying stats at ES are superior to Bert (despite playing the first couple of games with the flu) - he scores at a better rate and doesn't get scored on as much. Not to mention, he hasn't had the benefit of over 5 minutes a game on the first unit PP like the big man, which is what's propping up Bertuzzi's totals (12 of his 18 points have come with the man advantage).
Kent, powerplays are a big part of the game. I'm not sure why you focus on ES play so much and then disregard proficient PP results.
ReplyDeleteLombardi's cap hit is 100k less than Bertuzzi's, his potential much higher, and Bertuzzi has 3 times as many points as Lombardi. Lombardi is better defensively, for sure, but I don't think the impact difference between the two is as big as you think it is.
The bottom line is Bertuzzi was signed knowing he was a risky, aging, defensively-unsound powerforward who would do best on the PowerPlay and basically, that's what we got. At least, that is how most reasonable people's expectations were.
Lombardi's expectations are far higher than Bertuzzi's, which he's never delivered on.
So in terms of who is the biggest disappointment, it really should be clear.
i responded to this over at htp before i realized you also commented here....
ReplyDeleteLet's not forget here that Lombardi first had the flu, then was out for a significant stretch with the shoulder injury.
ReplyDeleteAnd anyway Dave, Bertuzzi's power play "proficiency" amounts to a couple of lucky bounce goals early on, and some admittedly nice passes from behind the net or off the boards that others are capable of. Fact is, he takes up a roster spot, and is a huge loafer who shies away from physical contact, plays smaller than his size, and hurts the players around him because his presence can be exploited. This is also true on the power play. If you gave ME that kind of power play time with the other regulars on the Flames, I'd probably have at least five points.
The one good thing I can say about him this year is that he's taken fewer bad penalties than I expected. Also, I like his single-digit number.
Kent, powerplays are a big part of the game. I'm not sure why you focus on ES play so much and then disregard proficient PP results.
ReplyDeleteLombardi's cap hit is 100k less than Bertuzzi's, his potential much higher, and Bertuzzi has 3 times as many points as Lombardi.
The point is, Dave, ES accounts for 70% of the play in the game. If you're a liability at ES, you're a problem for a huge portion of the contest. There's a reason Jason Allison is retired.
In addition, Bert has triple the points because he's played more games and way more on the PP. If Lombardi had 5 minutes a night on the PP with Jarome and Phaneuf and Bert had 2 minutes on the 2nd unit...what would the totals look like then?
My complaints with Bert haven't been his PP play anyways, which I have gone out of my way to say has been decent. The guy has a goons level of production at ES. He has a team worst plus/minus rating and he's played with many of the clubs best players from day one.
The bottom line is Bertuzzi was signed knowing he was a risky, aging, defensively-unsound powerforward who would do best on the PowerPlay and basically, that's what we got. At least, that is how most reasonable people's expectations were.
I call a spade and spade, personally. Expectations are moot. If someone serves me a shit sandwich and it tastes like shit, Im going to say so. "But I told you it was a shit sandwich!" Yeah. And it still sucks.
I'll give Bert this Dave - he's been unlucky so far by the percentages. I don't actually expect his ES results to be this bad forever. But, unless he drops or reduces the stupid dipsy-doodles and soft as butter board play that leads to so many missed opportunities in the offensive zone, Im going to continue to tell people I think he's lousy.
The best thing about him, as you point out, is his contract.
While ES accounts for 70% of the play in the game, how much of the scoring does it account for this year?
ReplyDeleteIf it's his ES production that is something you find to be an issue, then it sounds like your issue is with Keenan and not with Bert particularly.
Frankly, for what he's being paid what he's delivering seems acceptable to me. There are far, far bigger issues with the Flames than Bertuzzi and I find the disproportionate criticism towards him a bit weird.
He's exactly what I expected this year, no more and no less. If other people had such high expectations for him that his results right now are considering the biggest disappointment on the team, then the only real thing to say is those expectations were obviously way too high to begin with.
I don't know how anyone could vote Bertuzzi as the biggest disappointment with Keenan on the list.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at the first line for tonight:
Bertuzzi-Cammalleri-Iginla
What the hell!?!
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." --Albert Einstein
If it's his ES production that is something you find to be an issue, then it sounds like your issue is with Keenan and not with Bert particularly.
ReplyDeleteFair enough on that one, and you could add Sutter to the mix for even having him on the team in the first place. But that doesn't mean Bertuzzi shouldn't, you know, PLAY WELL when he's on the ice. I'm never going to be happy because a guy just plays to my shitty expectations.
I'm not that disappointed in Bertuzzi either. As Dave says, he's doing about what I expected him to do. Sure he's still not back to the player he was in Vancouver before the Steve Moore incident, but he's a lot closer than he was when he was in Florida or Detroit...
ReplyDeleteThe guy can still play the game. Not as well as he used to, obviously, but he's not exactly Tony Amonte all over again either...
How much would it cost the Flames to get another player that could fill a top six spot? His VORP can't be that low...
But given that, I'm sure that a little time on the 3rd line wouldn't be a bad thing for him...