tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215652504344172254.post8704281711149917470..comments2024-01-15T09:53:40.089-05:00Comments on Black Aces: On Lee... Part TwoJeremy Milkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09719907099819957578noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215652504344172254.post-27311101562340707372010-09-21T16:26:32.982-04:002010-09-21T16:26:32.982-04:00I agree with the anon above.
First off, big kudos...I agree with the anon above.<br /><br />First off, big kudos to Jason York for those little nuggets of insight that he consistently delivers.<br /><br />Secondly, just to be clear, York wasn't dumping on Lee (at least I didn't get that impression). He just said that his game was better suited to lining up against the skilled guys that he would see, if he was in a top 4 role.<br /><br />That being said, I'm gonna defend Lee, because I think that he helps our team.<br /><br />Hockey's a simple game. You gotta score more than your opponent. Look at the following stat, it's our goal differential over the last five years:<br /><br />05-06 +103<br />06-07 +66<br />07-08 +14<br />08-09 -20<br />09-10 -13<br /><br />I think this reflects our decline from an elite team, to an average team. We score less than our opponents. We need scoring.<br /><br />Last year, the leaders in goal differential were: <br /><br />Washington +85<br />Chicago +62<br />Vancouver +50<br />San Jose +49<br /><br />They were all also the highest scoring teams in the league, and considered Cup contenders. Many people also would say that this group will contend this year as well.<br /><br />Here's another stat. It's points from our defensemen, our final points standing as a team, and our place in the conference:<br /><br />05-06 203 113 1st<br />06-07 191 105 3rd<br />07-08 146 94 7th<br />08-09 134 83 11th<br />09-10 140 94 5th<br /><br />It's not an exact science. But, it all correlates pretty well.<br /><br />When we can't generate offence from the back-end, it's tough to score goals, and it's tough to win.<br /><br />Now, I understand the fever about being tough to play against. But, to me, a team that is tough to play against is a team that beats you on the scoreboard and wins the game. <br /><br />Chicago, Pitt, and Detroit have won the last three Cups. But, Calgary is probably a "tougher" team to play against. But, who wins games?<br /><br />If you look at our Cup Final season of 06-07, we had Corvo and Preissing as our third pair. We had four mobile d-men.<br /><br />Guess who led our D in scoring? Tom Preissing. Our #6 d-man.<br /><br />I think the fact that we lack a pure sniper like Heatley, just makes the need for a guy like Lee more pressing. We need skill at the back end to help with our offense.<br /><br />For all the optimism coming out of camp, I think the results will be the same as previous years unless we get our skilled d-men more involved with the play.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215652504344172254.post-10425360646721431952010-09-21T08:23:56.495-04:002010-09-21T08:23:56.495-04:00I'd have to respectfully disagree with both yo...I'd have to respectfully disagree with both you and Yorkie on this one. Lee is 6'3" and over 200lbs. He has the size to be a shutdown D.<br /><br />I see him as being less like Redden and more like Phillips when he started. Phillips was drafted as an offensive defenseman - he struggled for the first couple of years under Jacques Martin - even being shifted to the wing for parts of a season. It took him awhile to transition from being a power-play QB to a shut-down type of player and I would argue that it wasn't till he was paired with Chara that he developed to his full potential.<br /><br />Lee doesn't have the ability of Karlsson - and he will likely never be the player we'd hoped for when he was picked in the first round. But he does have the size and talent to develop into a serviceable, regular defenseman.<br /><br />The real question is - does he want to?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com