The Ovechkin thread got me thinking more about it. Last summer I said signing him to a major contract was a mistake. You can’t just give a guy that has one good year a multi-million dollar contract like that. Having one 40+ goal season doesn’t instantly qualify you to make 6+ million a year.
His 2005-2006 season he had 25 goals, 23 assists, with a +/- of -11. He is basically on pace for the exact amount this year. 42 games played so far this season, 12 goals and 13 assists, -1. Last year he had a +47 +/- rating. Someone in the ovechkin thread said he needs some conditioning. I agree, when he skates with the puck he just looks slow. I can’t think of too many times this year that he has impressed me. The shootout the other night when he fumbled the puck stick handling and almost didn’t even get the shot off was horrible. He had a ton of opportunities last night against the Senators but couldn’t finish.
He still has his break aways, but without maxims explosiveness of last year to draw some attention and him not being on the crease for PP’s I think a lot of the wind has been pulled out of his sails…
IMO he’s a great player, he is a finisher and a decent play maker. He’s not getting the passes into finish, and the passes he does make they aren’t being finished.
I also feel the Sabres Offense is predictable and very beatable no one knew how to do it last season in the start
Vanek is not a top flight player in this league. He is too much of a head case to be successful every nite. He looked great by way of his playmates last year. He cannot handle the pressure of being the #1 guy on the team and its showing.
But get used to it because he will be here for a while sucking and being unproductive. Unless they get him a line mate that can take the spotlight off of him.
I agree he needs to hit someone … there was instance where if it was goose, mair, or kaleta the guy would have been dead… vanek just turned and went for the puck didn’t even nudge the guy…
But, Hockey is a very team oriented sport, so your team has to do well for you to do well. Its not like basketball where you can have a guy put up 81pts.
he blows. effortless. heartless. if i see him skate in one more circle i will pop a fuse. i can’t stand him, never could. i’d rather watch a mediocre guy skate hard than watch him drift around the ice
imho what it comes down to, teams aren’t keying on briere or even drury anymore, vanek is the “guy” on this team that other teams are looking to shut down. the vanek/roy/max line didn’t see much opposition from other teams checking lines last season, and they took advantage of it. they just don’t have that luxury anymore. and for some reason he’s just not finishing on those chances that he does end up getting.
i will say this tho, the guy takes a BEATING in front of the other teams net night in and night out, and i gotta give him alot of credit for standing there and not backing down.
One mediocre season and everyone freaks. Look at the rest of the offensive production. If the whole team is BLOWING, obviously the star isn’t going to be doing great either.
Granted Vanek could be doing better in some areas, but he is on pace with the whole team at this point.
BTW, Vanek has never been an explosive, flashy skater, and even when he is skating fast, it never did look like he was in the past. His size makes him look slower than he is.
Great answers. this is still only his 3rd season though everyone has on off seasons. I have a feeling that when the team becomes a team again you will see vanek in the spot light more often
I think this is 90% of the issue. He’s good for 20 seconds a shift and then he doesn’t hustle back, falls a step behind and starts hacking instead, and takes undisciplined penalties. He comes off a shift like a woman that just had a 20 hour birth. His conditioning is abysmal and when you’re that out of breath you can’t get your body to do what it needs to when opportunities arise.
Not only that, but many skills simply do’t work without full fledged execution, like that bullshit drag move he tries to pull all the time. It will never work unless you fully commit and have the proper change in momentum that guys like Roy, Connely, Crosby, etc. understand is required. Before someone says it’s because he’s too big to pull those moves, watch Chara. He cuts cats up like Iverson.
Vanek is definitely a pretty skilled player, but he can’t half ass his way to the production we’re all expecting on talent alone. He needs greater effort on and off the ice.
I was bitching about Vanek last year for the same reason, but it’s much worse this year. I would absolutely love to see Ruff bench him a game so he can sit and think about his effort this year. He’s like the smart kids in school that never study, take their B, and call it a day because it doesn’t require much effort and gets them by. We’re expecting him to put that extra effort in to be that A student and it hasn’t happened.
the funny thing is when he wants to hustle back he really does move and looks like one of the fastest skaters on the ice, but only when he’s on the back check.
He will come around. He has always been a streaky player, he’s just in a (very very long) slump, and cant seem to get acquainted with his line mates this season.
On the other hand, there is no doubt in my mind that Mair has been the best player in the last 10 games. Not only has he been hitting/physical like he always is, but it seems that his puck handling and skating skills have just came out of nowhere. He is making plays, getting around guys, and creating opportunities, - more so than he ever has in his career.
none of us truly know his off ice conditioning habits.
also, ruff would be vocal about vanek if he wasnt conditioning properly off ice, like he was with spacek last year. this year, ruff commented on spaceks change in conditioning. also, correct me if im wrong, but towards the beginning of the season, i heard vanek is about 5lbs lighter than his playing weight last year.
as far as his effort is concerned on the ice, i have NO problems with his effort. he is in a vicious slump, and he needs to get out of it. but, he is consistently giving 100% effort on his shifts, not something i can say for everyone on this team right now. he is breathing heavy because he is probably the hardest back checking forward we have, and he is working his ass off.
the opportunities WILL start dropping. this guy got to the nhl as a finisher. he didnt just forget how to finish plays, nor did he just lose his talent. he will end up going on a tear and put up some goals real quick.
typical buffalo sky is falling mentality. are they winning now? no. are they in the playoffs if the season ended today? no. BUT!!! we are only a couple of points out of a playoff spot, and we have another half of the season to hit the reset button. plus, i have really liked the efforts against nj and ottawa the last two games.
Sure it would be great if he’d score some goals, but the lack of scoring isn’t what’s bothering me. He has a ridiculous number of undisciplined penalties this year and the VAST majority of them are blatant cases of him being a step behind and hacking away at someone til he gets a slash/hook/trip call against him because he’s too slow to get in position to play D properly. It’s not like he’s playing Campbell’s ice time and it’s not like this only happens at the end of games…there’s a consistant lack of either effort or conditioning throughout the game in the second half of any 45-60 second shift.
None of us really know if it’s lack of effort or lack of conditioning. I really don’t care which it is…maybe he works out but he needs to put more time in than the other guys to get where he needs to be. One way or the other he needs to find a way to make it happen or he’ll continue aggrevating me LOL.
I’d rather watch guys like Paille, Kalleta, etc. going balls to the wall on every back check all night than a Vanek who occasionally pulls a nice move, but doesn’t show the hustle I enjoy seeing. I play ice hockey and I know what it takes to shift a minute at a time full blast. They’re professionals and far too many of them make it happen for me to say Vanek isn’t slacking.
