kipwinger 8,440 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 I see the point your trying to make and it does have basis But our 08/09 teams were twice as good as the one we have now. We also had Lidstrom/Raffi, Kronwall on the second pairing, and Ericsson as a sixth defenceman. That year our PP was absolutely lethal. Having a legit 1st,2nd,3rd,4th line opened up Datsyuk and Zetterberg tremendously. All of our lines could score. None of that changes the fact that Datsyuk's production is likely not being noticeably affected by Helm's lack of offense skill. As a matter of fact, it supports my argument. Regardless of the fact that the 2008 and 2009 teams were better (and they totally were), Dats still had a 35-40 point guy on his line to do the heavy lifting. Just like he does now. It didn't seem to drag him down then, and it doesn't seem to drag him down this season either. Very few centers have two superstar wingers flanking them. And if they did, the team probably wouldn't be very good anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingsallTheway 383 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) None of that changes the fact that Datsyuk's production is likely not being noticeably affected by Helm's lack of offense skill. As a matter of fact, it supports my argument. Regardless of the fact that the 2008 and 2009 teams were better (and they totally were), Dats still had a 35-40 point guy on his line to do the heavy lifting. Just like he does now. It didn't seem to drag him down then, and it doesn't seem to drag him down this season either. Very few centers have two superstar wingers flanking them. And if they did, the team probably wouldn't be very good anyway. Yeah but that was 6 years ago, Datsyuk was also in his prime. He also got to play better matchups because other teams had to defend all of our top 9 There have been countless times this season where Dats has made an unbelievable play and Helm fails to finish. Sure, hes getting points, but so has any other line thats played with dats other then cleary/abby. There is no argument that Helm is not a finisher. I honestly question he has NHL hands. He scores the ugly goals which is great for Datsyuk's style of play, just like Holmstrom was. The thing with Holmstrom is he seemed to finish on almost every chance he ever got, it was crazy. Edited March 12, 2015 by WingsallTheway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kipwinger 8,440 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 Yeah but that was 6 years ago, Datsyuk was also in his prime. He also got to play better matchups because other teams had to defend all of our top 9 There have been countless times this season where Dats has made an unbelievable play and Helm fails to finish. Sure, hes getting points, but so has any other line thats played with dats other then cleary/abby. There is no argument that Helm is not a finisher. I honestly question he has NHL hands. He scores the ugly goals which is great for Datsyuk's style of play, just like Holmstrom was. The thing with Holmstrom is he seemed to finish on almost every chance he ever got, it was crazy. Exactly, so what's the problem. If nobody thought Holmer was a millstone around Datsyuk neck, then they shouldn't think so about Helm either. Also, over 50% of Holmstrom's goals in 07-08 AND 08-09 were on the powerplay. He actually finished less frequently (5 on 5) than Helm does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingsallTheway 383 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) Exactly, so what's the problem. If nobody thought Holmer was a millstone around Datsyuk neck, then they shouldn't think so about Helm either. Also, over 50% of Holmstrom's goals in 07-08 AND 08-09 were on the powerplay. He actually finished less frequently (5 on 5) than Helm does. Holmstrom was a monster on the boards, Helm isnt. Datsyuk and whoever else would just do their thing and give Homer a tap in. Helm misses those all the time Edited March 12, 2015 by WingsallTheway Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barabbas16 499 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 Holmstrom was a monster on the boards, Helm isnt. Datsyuk and whoever else would just do their thing and give Homer a tap in. Helm misses those all the time Helm is a ridiculously fast skater. Holmstrom wasn't. Helm isn't a defensive liability, taking some of that burden off of Datsyuk. Holmstrom was, and didn't. 1 PavelValerievichDatsyuk reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mckinley25 677 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 Holmstrom was a monster on the boards, Helm isnt. Datsyuk and whoever else would just do their thing and give Homer a tap in. Helm misses those all the time Holmstrom was definitely better at some things than Helm, but Helm is a much better skater and creates a lot of chances with his speed in the same way Holmstrom did with his size. It just comes down to what you want the makeup of the line to look like. I have a soft spot for Holmstrom because I feel his net front presence led to a lot of goals he didn't get credit for, but someone may be able to make a similar argument for Helm. I'm not an authority on the matter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canadian wings fan 305 Report post Posted March 12, 2015 I'm curious to how Holmstrom's advanced stats would look..I mean based on the eye test Homer was one of the strangest guys to watch out there. I loved him for us though and he was a warrior who could put the puck in the net sometimes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites