KK Members' Blog

Dustin Penner: He’s Not THAT Good

by JesGolbez on 11/02/11 at 08:07 PM ET
Comments (11)

Yahoo`s Puck Daddy decided to dedicate more time than deserved to the lazy-sack-of-crap Dustin Penner, wondering why/when Penner is going to start producing for the Kings.

Ever since the Oilers delivered trucks of money to Penner to join their club, the guy has been, somewhat unfairly, expected to be a premium goal scorer in the NHL. Remember, Penner was undrafted and never given much notice until the Ducks gave him a shot. I`d never reject that kind of money thrown my way, but that doesn`t necessarily mean he was worth that much or would ever produce enough value.

A quick answer to Greg, and anyone else holding their breath: Stop expecting Penner to be a good player.

Look at Penner`s career stats. It`s pretty clear what his true level of play is.

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Filed in: NHL Teams, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 Tags: Dustin+Penner,

James Neal: The New Brian Savage?

by JesGolbez on 10/14/11 at 10:33 AM ET
Comments (6)

After a tweet by NHL.com`s Brian Metzer about James Neal`s stats in October(s), I joked that perhaps Mr. Neal is the new Mr. Savage. Thus far, Neal has 5 points in 5 games to start the season.

Is there something to this comparison?

Let`s look at Neal`s career month-by-month splits (Apologies for the formatting)

                GP     G     A   Pts   PPG   +/-    Pct
October       40   19   16   35   0.875   7   0.178
November   29   12   10   22   0.759   1   0.146
December   42   16   11   27   0.643   -2   0.137
January       38   13     7   20   0.526   -7   0.143
February     31     7     7   14   0.452   -5   0.101
March         46     8   11   19   0.413   -6   0.075
April           13     2     3     5   0.385   2   0.067

Hmm, very good totals in October and November, and an obvious, steady, decline as the season wears on. This does look suspiciously like Brian Savage`s career, with a very clear trend.

Still, I think the reasons must be quite different. Neal plays a much more rambunctious style than Savage ever did, perhaps leading Neal to wear down as the season progresses. Also, Neal`s shots-per-game totals are consistent, while his shooting percentage declines. It`s not as if he`s not getting chances, he`s just not scoring.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Pittsburgh Penguins | KK Members Blog | Permalink
 Tags: Brian+Savage, James+Neal,

Enver Lisin - NHL’s Worst Defensive Forward?

by JesGolbez on 03/17/09 at 01:45 PM ET
Comments (2)

Enver Lisin, a 2nd round pick of the Coyotes back in 2004, is supposed to be a part of the team’s future. He’s got a lot of speed, that’s for sure.

The problem? he’s been hurting his team in the present, a LOT.

Over the course of his short career, Lisin has played a season’s worth of games and has an atrocious +/- stat.

I know +/- can be a flawed stat for many reasons, but when it’s a rather large number in any direction, it generally says something about the player. In this case, it is obvious that Lisin is on the ice for many goals scored against, and it isn’t a one-season fluke.

One has to wonder just how much better off the Coyotes would have been if they had not played Lisin at all. He doesn’t put up a lot of points, and has obviously cost the Coyotes quite a few goals against with his inattention to his own end. It’s not like Lisin is going up against top lines like Samuel Pahlsson.

Checking out Behind the Net’s advanced stats, Lisin is right down near the bottom, with only Rod “The Bod” Brind’Amour and his awful season below him.

I’d have to say, without digging too deep, that Lisin is the worst defensive forward in the league, and would be better off in the AHL until he isn’t such a negative nelly.

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 Tags: Coyotes, Enver+Lisin,