Telling Stat About Datsyuk's Goal Scoring

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

Going into this game, Datsyuk had 7 goals on 74 shots, with just over 20 minutes of icetime.

At the same time, Draper had 6 goals on 44 shots with about 12 minutes of icetime.

What is up with Datsyuk? I know the whole team is struggling, but this s*** started last year before the playoffs for him. How did he all of a sudden become so pathetic offensively? Is he hiding some injury? Was he possessed by aliens in mid April?

I know his defensive game is still solid, but a star player is supposed to carry a team offensively, especially when the team needs them like we need him now. I'm beginning to think that Datsyuk is only a star when everyone else is playing well. In other words just a very talented passenger on an offensive machine.

I hate to make this analogy, but can you imagine Crosby or Ovechkin sucking this bad offensively even if they have as many injuries as we have right now? I can't. To me, he's not a top 10 NHL player anymore.

Oh and don't blame the linemates. Draper has only one less goal and look who his linemates are.

[Carman 387]

Datsyuk needs to be traded now. He still has a lot of value, and is not what this team needs. He is obviously on the decline, and if he can't help them win games now, he isn't going to help them win games when he is older.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

Datsyuk needs to be traded now. He still has a lot of value, and is not what this team needs. He is obviously on the decline, and if he can't help them win games now, he isn't going to help them win games when he is older.

That's pushing it too far.

He's lost much of his touch and confidence, but trading him would be pointless right now. I'm just trying to figure out what happened to him to start this decline?

Or are you jesting again?

[teebo 22]

how many of drapers are empty net goals though? (honestly question, i know at least 1)

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

how many of drapers are empty net goals though? (honestly question, i know at least 1)

Then why doesn't Datsyuk score empty netters to pad his stats?

Besides, the Draper thing was just an example. The bigger issue is Datsyuk's sudden decline since the start of the playoffs last year.

Edited December 10, 2009 by GMRwings1983

[Carman 387]

That's pushing it too far.

He's lost much of his touch and confidence, but trading him would be pointless right now. I'm just trying to figure out what happened to him to start this decline?

Or are you jesting again?

Honestly I'm not. We should pack it in this year and tank. Trade Datsyuk for a franchise defenseman, use the picks to develop another top end forward.

Think of how much we could get for Datsyuk at the deadline, with his contract?

It will never happen, but until he starts playing like the Pavel of the beginning of last year I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't do it.

[skyphoenix 153]

I don't know what's going on with Datsyuk but maybe it's inevitable that he declines. He is getting a bit up there in age and maybe he can't move like he used to as much as he used to. He looks like he's getting tired easier this season.

Sorry to say it, but maybe he's past his prime.

[Shady Ultima 40]

Crosby has proven several times he sucks without good linemates.

Ovechkin is a pure goal scorer, where both Crosby and Dats are playmakers. Dats isn't a pure goalscorer, so his goals are usually nice set ups.

I'm not arguing that he's not playing poorly though. I think he needs a couple games off...

[Echolalia 2,961]

His goals column would be a bit more stacked if he knew how to shoot on net.

[Carman 387]

Crosby has proven several times he sucks without good linemates.

Ovechkin is a pure goal scorer, where both Crosby and Dats are playmakers. Dats isn't a pure goalscorer, so his goals are usually nice set ups.

I'm not arguing that he's not playing poorly though. I think he needs a couple games off...

Oh please. Look at some of Crosby's wingers.

Don't turn this into a Crosby thread, but wow your ignorance from that sentence makes your post hard to take seriously.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

whatever it is, you're right, it started at the end of last season. dats was tearing it up, had 97 points with three games left in the season and was all but guaranteed to hit a hundred. and then he did nothing the last three games of the season. and then he had a lousy playoffs, scoring once, i believe, the whole run.

who knows what's going on, but it started before the playoffs last year.

he's my favorite player, so it pains me to say this, but datsyuk doesn't seem to shine when the team really needs him. he tends to under-perform when the pressure is on. hence, the majority of his playoff performances have been sub-par.

i think it's a bit premature to be talking trade. why not lids? he's been awful this year by his standards. let's get rid of him. hell, the whole team is under-performing.

[Carman 387]

No one would take Lidstrom, and the Red Wing's would never trade their captain. They won't even trade Datsyuk, I'm just throwing it out there because that's my honest opinion right after a disappointing loss.

[Guest Crymson]

That's pushing it too far.

He's lost much of his touch and confidence, but trading him would be pointless right now. I'm just trying to figure out what happened to him to start this decline?

Or are you jesting again?

Carman's fad lately is trolling. I've found that whenever he says something pointedly absurd, he's just clowning around. I wish the same were true of you.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Crosby has proven several times he sucks without good linemates.

Ovechkin is a pure goal scorer, where both Crosby and Dats are playmakers. Dats isn't a pure goalscorer, so his goals are usually nice set ups.

I'm not arguing that he's not playing poorly though. I think he needs a couple games off...

Wrong. Fedetenko, Guerin, Dupuis, Recchi and LeClaire. Zetterberg, Holmstrom and even Bertuzzi are all better then them. Plus, Crosby plays with inferior defensemen getting him he puck.

No excuses for Pavel, he looks uninterested, last year he was hitting everyone, skating his butt off and just looked great. He looks tired this year, great players battle through adversity and still play great. He hasnt done that.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

Carman's fad lately is trolling. I've found that whenever he says something pointedly absurd, he's just clowning around. I wish the same were true of you.

You don't like my posts?

[aw1340 0]

Oh please. Look at some of Crosby's wingers.

Don't turn this into a Crosby thread, but wow your ignorance from that sentence makes your post hard to take seriously.

Look at Malkin's, seems to do fine.

I think Pavel would be having a better season if Franzen was healthy.

[dat's sick 1,002]

I hate to make this analogy, but can you imagine Crosby or Ovechkin sucking this bad offensively even if they have as many injuries as we have right now? I can't. To me, he's not a top 10 NHL player anymore.

Uhh did you miss that stretch of games where Malkin and Gonchar were injuried and Crosby had like 3 points in 6 games or something?

Datsyuk is not a top 10 NHL player RIGHT NOW. I find it hard to believe that this is what we're going to see from him the entire season and the rest of his career though. Something is definitely up (or down) with him, but he's had back-to-back 97 point seasons, and before that back-to-back 87 point seasons. He didn't suddenly become much worse for no reason.. nor can you call him a "passenger". That's really unfair. Last season he carried us a lot of the time when Zetterberg was playing bad, Franzen looked lazy and Hossa had scoring droughts. Years before that he's been a, if not THE, leader of less talented teams.

To me it was like he hit a wall when he scored his 97th point last year. He went without a point in the last couple of games of the reg season and looked a bit off in the playoffs, though still imo played good. This season he hasn't been himself for more than maybe 2-3 games, and looked flat out terrible the last couple of games.

Who knows what's wrong with him. His skating doesn't look great to me, so I wonder if whatever that injury he suffered in the playoffs is still bothering him, or if it's something else.

[Carman 387]

Look at Malkin's, seems to do fine.

I think Pavel would be having a better season if Franzen was healthy.

Huh? Crosby is doing fine as well. I don't get your point.

Pavel needs to be having a better season, period. Obviously his stats would be better if Franzen was healthy. But he just isn't making good decisions with the puck and it's frustrating to watch.

[tubaguy 0]

Oh and don't blame the linemates. Draper has only one less goal and look who his linemates are.

I agree with you that Datsyuk needs to "earn his paycheck" and bring more of an offensive presence. That is his role on the team. Right now, he is not an offensive threat to other teams. He is trying to play too pretty and needs to get a bit grittier. I would go so far as to say the same with Zetterberg. (If Zetterberg takes the puck to the net and then drives it behind the net, only to get pushed off the puck when he tries to wrap around in front of the goal mouth once more, I am going to hit the TV)

Now, I do not agree with your arguement above. Datsyuk plays against other team's top lines and top D pairing. Draper plays against the opponents lesser players.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

I agree with you that Datsyuk needs to "earn his paycheck" and bring more of an offensive presence. That is his role on the team. Right now, he is not an offensive threat to other teams. He is trying to play too pretty and needs to get a bit grittier. I would go so far as to say the same with Zetterberg. (If Zetterberg takes the puck to the net and then drives it behind the net, only to get pushed off the puck when he tries to wrap around in front of the goal mouth once more, I am going to hit the TV)

Now, I do not agree with your arguement above. Datsyuk plays against other team's top lines and top D pairing. Draper plays against the opponents lesser players.

Yeah, but that's always been the case. It never affected him before no matter who he was playing against.

[datsyukismyfriend 4]

But he just isn't making good decisions with the puck and it's frustrating to watch.

i thought he looked great tonight. he was controlling the puck, making passes, getting the puck out of the corners and winning board battles. he just couldn't finish (which, for the record, the rest of the team couldn't do either).

when he plays with homer and bertuzzi, i don't think he knows what to do. when he gets them the puck, they lose it. when he tries to hold on to it forever, teams collapse, and he loses it. i think he doesn't know how to play with that line. there aren't many 1st line centers (playmakers) in the league that could produce much between bert and homer the way they're playing.

[titanium2 867]

Carman's fad lately is trolling. I've found that whenever he says something pointedly absurd, he's just clowning around. I wish the same were true of you.

I don't know if it's trolling per se. Lots of members here have their own schtick with their own special schtank. There's that one dude that hates Holmstrom; that one Gary Bettman-like clown; and then Drake I think is the stats guy, the SPSS guy, except he's useful.

[aw1340 0]

Huh? Crosby is doing fine as well. I don't get your point.

Pavel needs to be having a better season, period. Obviously his stats would be better if Franzen was healthy. But he just isn't making good decisions with the puck and it's frustrating to watch.

Nevermind I misread something.

Yes I agree this is extremely frustrating, even with Z on his line we're still getting shutout. He's to good a player to be struggling this much.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

I don't know if it's trolling per se. Lots of members here have their own schtick with their own special schtank. There's that one dude that hates Holmstrom; that one Gary Bettman-like clown; and then Drake I think is the stats guy, the SPSS guy, except he's useful.

You forgot that guy who hates McCarty and the one who always raves about Lilja's manhood. Oh and there's eva's man crush on Hudler also, or UK's crush on Downey.

But apparently Carman is serious about trading Datsyuk, although I don't think that would be a good idea. It would wake the team up, but may also upset the balance of the team.

[Carman 387]

I don't know, Datsyuk doesn't seem to be that embed into the team. I can see him without the Wing's logo.

Winning would cure all the issues though, if the trade happens there will be PO'd fans, but once we get that Cup everything will be forgotten.