Why Mac Is Still Around

[TiLoBrown]

arnott and clarkson have more talent then kovy?

ok no more posting for you

Sorry they dont score enough for you to consider them talented.

I think he's saying at the moment clarkson and arnott are playing better hockey than kovy and to be honest they are.even fans of other teams are saying clarkson has been the best player on the ice lately

Thats what I'm saying. Clarkson may not be scoring, but hes still finding other ways to help this team. He uses his body anyway he can to help out. Granted, Kovy doesnt have the body but thats not an excuse for having the lack of hustle he does.

Exactly. Most on here don't give Marty any credit for past achievements, so why should we for Kovalchuk.

This....so much this statement. And what achievements team wise does the have anyway?

I honestly think if Gabrik wasnt injury prone he'd be a bigger name than Kovy.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

That's the thing tilo if your basing it on present stats arnott has 9 goals 4 more than kovys 5 goals with clarkson and elias sitting 1 goal behind him at 4. Stats from previous years aren't doing us any good in the now.difference being there's times during the game you don't even notice kovy out there while arnott and clarky have been making plays.don't get me wrong I like kovy and think his problem is more of a mental one that he will eventually straighten out.but I'm not about to praise him because of past achievements I'm just trying to be rational.

 

[TiLoBrown]

Hmm? I mean even if we ignore stats from pasts years and even this year I think Clarkson is just talented as Kovy is. Kovy may have the edge is scoring, but Clarkson has the edge in defense (I'll be nice and count PK in there as well), the rest of the areas are pretty much a push between the two.

 

[MCDevils]

That's the thing tilo if your basing it on present stats arnott has 9 goals 4 more than kovys 5 goals with clarkson and elias sitting 1 goal behind him at 4. Stats from previous years aren't doing us any good in the now.difference being there's times during the game you don't even notice kovy out there while arnott and clarky have been making plays.don't get me wrong I like kovy and think his problem is more of a mental one that he will eventually straighten out.but I'm not about to praise him because of past achievements I'm just trying to be rational.

That's what kills me the most. Ilya is a better player than Travis. He's better than anyone else besides Parise. And if Ilya doesn't score he doesn't help this team at all. However, even though Zajac is having a career worst year, he's been having a huge impact in the faceoff circle, back checking, etc, etc.

No player scores every game, but you need to play a complete game to be really effective in this league.. That's the kind of player he was last year for 30 games, but it's not who he is this year.

 

[skrillex26]

arnott and clarkson have more talent then kovy?

ok no more posting for you

same. Sorry Clarkson more talented than kovalchuk isn't even comical.

 

[TiLoBrown]

same. Sorry Clarkson more talented than kovalchuk isn't even comical.

Read MCD's break down of Zajac above and you'll understand a little more the difference between talented and scorer

 

[TheRobotDevil]

same. Sorry Clarkson more talented than kovalchuk isn't even comical.

wouldnt say comical clarkson is a much more talented fighter.on a serious point the two are completely different players kovy is more of a sniper where as clarkson functions more like a power forward.kovys strong points are geared more toward getting in position and shooting clarkson is stronger on the boards and in front of the net.the difference between the two right now is clarkson like arnott is performing what he is supposed the jobs he is supposed to do while kovy just cant seem to get comfortable.also from what i've seen clarkson definately seems more comfortable with finishing on breakouts and shoot outs than kovy.point is they both have their talents clarksons are just more noticable right now.

 

[MCDevils]

Everyone here likes to blame players for not producing to their contracts, but all I hear is excuses for Kovalchuk.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

i agree mc i could care less what hes done in the past i care more about what hes doing in the present.just because you were a scoring machine or have a big name and big contract doesnt mean anything when your not producing.dont get me wrong was happy to see him in a devils uniform but he still has to earn respect.hell i would be happy just to see some effort.

 

[MCDevils]

I'll honestly say that if Ilya had the same point totals and was a +/- of 0, I'd be ok with it. Because he isn't helping us lose. If all 18 skaters help the team not lose, we'll win.

 

[TiLoBrown]

i agree mc i could care less what hes done in the past i care more about what hes doing in the present.just because you were a scoring machine or have a big name and big contract doesnt mean anything when your not producing.dont get me wrong was happy to see him in a devils uniform but he still has to earn respect.hell i would be happy just to see some effort.

This is why I dont think I'm being hard on Kovy. I wasnt happy to see him in a Devils uni last year and still not happy now, but I am atleast willing to admit when hes doing fine. With that said, I just cant call him the most talented player on the team.

 

[nj_cup]

so i want a SIMPLE answer to this question

who is the most TALENTED hockey player on this roster

simple question simple answer PLEASE

 

[nj_cup]

i find it sooooooooooo funny that you rely on +/- as a legit stat o too funny!


kovalchuk skates into the zone takes a shot play goes the other way other team scores on the rush oh no kovy gets a -1

if your really want to look at +/- and worry look no further then andy greene whos SOLE JOB is to be one of the last lines of defense and what is he? -16? ouch! i mean it is called DEFENSEman isnt it?

by no means am i using a double standard but lets be real here!

 

[nj_cup]

im not making excuses for kovy either he has sucked this year...but i think you make some trades get the cap fixed and get rid of mac you will see him turn it around

 

[MCDevils]

i find it sooooooooooo funny that you rely on +/- as a legit stat o too funny!


kovalchuk skates into the zone takes a shot play goes the other way other team scores on the rush oh no kovy gets a -1

if your really want to look at +/- and worry look no further then andy greene whos SOLE JOB is to be one of the last lines of defense and what is he? -16? ouch! i mean it is called DEFENSEman isnt it?

by no means am i using a double standard but lets be real here!

Of course that's no Kovy's fault, but 99.9% of the time he's coasting back to the Devils zone.

They've both sucked.

 

[MCDevils]

so i want a SIMPLE answer to this question

who is the most TALENTED hockey player on this roster

simple question simple answer PLEASE

It depends how you want to define talent. So it's not a legitimate question. Based of your posts, you'd say Ilya. Based of my opinions that Two way play is key to winning, I'd say Parise. Then Zajac closely followed by Elias. Ilya is by far the most offensively gifted though.

 

[MCDevils]

My big hypothesis about Kovy is that he doesn't thrive under huge amounts of pressure. He says he does, but I'm not buying it, he's just saying what people want to hear. Right now, he's being asked to carry the entire team while adapting to a new system, while trying to win over his teammates. If Zach had been healthy and spearheading the scoring this season, I have no doubt that Ilya could have kept pace, but so many things went wrong for Ilya this season all culminating in that shootout disaster. I also have no doubt that he can turn it around.

 

[devils30mb]

If Kovy was in Toronto, Hockey capital of the world, the media would have eaten him up and spit him out at the 15 game mark of the season. Kovy would have run for the hills.

I mean they are on Kessel for going on a 7 game scoring drought. They are saying that Kessel needs to turn it around since he is the one that has to lead the Leafs. He has 10 goals, 16 points, and is a -9 in 26 games. Kovy, which is playing with a better group of players than what the leafs have, has 5 goals, 11 points and is a -17. Pathetic!

I always look back to the olympics where team Canada came out and crushed Russia. The thing was when the going got tough for Russia, they checked out.
I see much of this with Kovy, no drive or heart to step up and turn up his play to another level.

 

[MCDevils]

I'm sure Kovalchuk would have liked a nice quiet road to the playoffs while potting 40 goals after the fiasco this summer.

 

[devils30mb]

I'm sure Kovalchuk would have liked a nice quiet road to the playoffs while potting 40 goals after the fiasco this summer.

Life isn't always that easy. If you demand the big bucks, then you should show that you're worth the big bucks.