I am, by no means, a hockey expert. That said, this organization continues to ignore obvious truths and it is not my job to mince words to shield players from criticism. Yes, the entire team is struggling, but no one embodies all those struggles more than Chandler Stephenson. I understand he was brought to the team to create scoring opportunities and win faceoffs. However, his inability to perform in other areas means we are giving up the goals he facilitates. Lack of hustle? Stephenson. Bad passes? Stephenson. No physicality? Stephenson. The list goes on and on. Not only does Stephenson embody the team’s struggles but whichever line he plays on develops his habits. We puck watch, don’t put sticks in lanes, give the opposing team too much room on the ice, and don’t reach for passes. As soon as Stephenson comes off the ice most of these issues disappear. Does this mean no one else is making mistakes? Absolutely not. However, his style of play is noticeably contagious. It’s gotten to the point where my partner is encouraging me to make GIFs from each game to share on social media. She can’t unsee it either. Stephenson’s plus/minus is currently sitting at -13. He has hovered between -7 and -13 all season. While I never expected him to be a physical threat, he is just above Daniel Sprong for hits this season (a player who sits on the bench most games). His lack of hustle resulted in a bad line change that allowed Vegas to score. And during last night’s game against the Avalanche, he routinely avoided getting into skirmishes at the boards. In fact, during one of his few attempts to battle at the boards, he used ONE HAND on his stick and allowed the Avalanche to take possession. 10 seconds later, Matty was at the other end of the ice fighting for the puck against the boards like his entire life depended on it. Both hands. Stick pounding into the ice. It was such a stark contrast it hurt to watch on replay. The last thing I want to do is write detailed posts criticizing one player, but I’m frustrated with the lack of a response from the coaching staff (especially since they won’t allow any lines to develop chemistry before switching things up) because he continues to get 20+ minutes every night. Why are we constantly meddling with lines that aren’t broken? Why aren’t we sitting players that genuinely deserve to sit? On any other team in the NHL Stephenson’s statistics would earn him 12-14 minutes a game. So why are we allowing him to get more minutes than Beniers? Or Wright? Assists do not matter unless we play every other part of the game. This isn’t rocket science. Also, paying nearly 7 million dollars a year for a player that is ONLY good at making occasional assists and winning occasional faceoffs is madness. I find it hilarious that Stephenson made these comments to reporters since he is one of the most significant problems with the team. Forgive me for being long-winded, but I needed the catharsis.
@@LockedOnKraken Awesome! I'm looking forward to these episodes and more info on Kakko. I can't wait for him to get practice time with Matty since they're already generating opportunities with limited experience on ice together. There is still so much potential here.
We should have tried to get Marner last summer. Merry Christmas Erica and hopefully a better Kraken new year.
Yeah, that was one of my favorite trade rumors
I am, by no means, a hockey expert. That said, this organization continues to ignore obvious truths and it is not my job to mince words to shield players from criticism. Yes, the entire team is struggling, but no one embodies all those struggles more than Chandler Stephenson. I understand he was brought to the team to create scoring opportunities and win faceoffs. However, his inability to perform in other areas means we are giving up the goals he facilitates.
Lack of hustle? Stephenson. Bad passes? Stephenson. No physicality? Stephenson. The list goes on and on. Not only does Stephenson embody the team’s struggles but whichever line he plays on develops his habits. We puck watch, don’t put sticks in lanes, give the opposing team too much room on the ice, and don’t reach for passes. As soon as Stephenson comes off the ice most of these issues disappear. Does this mean no one else is making mistakes? Absolutely not. However, his style of play is noticeably contagious. It’s gotten to the point where my partner is encouraging me to make GIFs from each game to share on social media. She can’t unsee it either.
Stephenson’s plus/minus is currently sitting at -13. He has hovered between -7 and -13 all season. While I never expected him to be a physical threat, he is just above Daniel Sprong for hits this season (a player who sits on the bench most games). His lack of hustle resulted in a bad line change that allowed Vegas to score. And during last night’s game against the Avalanche, he routinely avoided getting into skirmishes at the boards. In fact, during one of his few attempts to battle at the boards, he used ONE HAND on his stick and allowed the Avalanche to take possession. 10 seconds later, Matty was at the other end of the ice fighting for the puck against the boards like his entire life depended on it. Both hands. Stick pounding into the ice. It was such a stark contrast it hurt to watch on replay.
The last thing I want to do is write detailed posts criticizing one player, but I’m frustrated with the lack of a response from the coaching staff (especially since they won’t allow any lines to develop chemistry before switching things up) because he continues to get 20+ minutes every night. Why are we constantly meddling with lines that aren’t broken? Why aren’t we sitting players that genuinely deserve to sit? On any other team in the NHL Stephenson’s statistics would earn him 12-14 minutes a game. So why are we allowing him to get more minutes than Beniers? Or Wright? Assists do not matter unless we play every other part of the game. This isn’t rocket science.
Also, paying nearly 7 million dollars a year for a player that is ONLY good at making occasional assists and winning occasional faceoffs is madness. I find it hilarious that Stephenson made these comments to reporters since he is one of the most significant problems with the team. Forgive me for being long-winded, but I needed the catharsis.
@@KRAKENKRYPTED
Word. I agree with all that.
WHEW! You said a lot here and I can't say I disagree. I hit on this on the episode (two parts) dropping today and tomorrow.
@@LockedOnKraken Awesome! I'm looking forward to these episodes and more info on Kakko. I can't wait for him to get practice time with Matty since they're already generating opportunities with limited experience on ice together. There is still so much potential here.