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The useless Zees


dmitri

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You guys have been ripping on Volchenkov in the GDT, but you don't pay attention to the really useless players: the Zs: Zubrus, Zajac, and, to a lesser extent, Zidlicky.  Zidlicky gave up the puck for no good reason twice in the first 10 minutes tonight, but at least he goes and attacks and does something.  The other two fellas, with big contracts, skate about every night and do NOTHING.  Nothing.

 

Scream for their head instead.

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I'm not gonna get on any of the offensive guys right now because it hasn't been what's hurting the team. They've been scoring without them. Of course it'd be nice for them to get going but right now it's the defense that's killing them hence the hate on Volch since he's been at the forefront of it all.

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Volch apologists. I can't think of one thing that he has done tonight where I went "great play", However I can think of quite a few "that was atrocious".

He's a tough stay at home defenseman. He's got going to make a lot of great plays. His job is to be rough on opposing players in the corners and block shots. It's not conducive to pretty plays.

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I'm not gonna get on any of the offensive guys right now because it hasn't been what's hurting the team. They've been scoring without them. Of course it'd be nice for them to get going but right now it's the defense that's killing them hence the hate on Volch since he's been at the forefront of it all.

 

But they have been doing it for years.  Let me rephrase that: they have been doing nothing for years.  Zubrus and Zajac have been useless since day one.

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Zajac's lack of offense is a huge problem but there's not exactly much that can be done about it right now unless we clone Parise and have that player with Zajac.  Zubrus is about 18th on the list of problems right now, and Zidlicky looks like Norris material compared to Volch.

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But they have been doing it for years.  Let me rephrase that: they have been doing nothing for years.  Zubrus and Zajac have been useless since day one.

 

LOL since day one? I'm not even gonna waste my time justifying that with a response.

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He's a tough stay at home defenseman. He's got going to make a lot of great plays. His job is to be rough on opposing players in the corners and block shots. It's not conducive to pretty plays.

Volch is on the receiving end of more roughness then he dishes out, I rarely see him giving it to anyone. And I don't see him winning many puck battles ever. I haven't seen much in the way of blocking shots either. So why is he out there? Next thing you guys will be defending Salvador.

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Volch is on the receiving end of more roughness then he dishes out, I rarely see him giving it to anyone. And I don't see him winning many puck battles ever. I haven't seen much in the way of blocking shots either. So why is he out there? Next thing you guys will be defending Salvador.

Try watching him objectively. You'll see him cross checking guys in front, giving extra shots in the corners and taking passing lanes. Those are all little things that he's supposed to be doing. He may not be worth 4 million a year but he brings a physicality to the back end that no one else is bringing.

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Alright, Zajac was alright in the first two years, but it's been downhill from there.

 

Jennifer-Lawrence-ok-thumbs-up.gif

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Try watching him objectively. You'll see him cross checking guys in front, giving extra shots in the corners and taking passing lanes. Those are all little things that he's supposed to be doing. He may not be worth 4 million a year but he brings a physicality to the back end that no one else is bringing.

 

Objectively he makes a big mistake almost every time he's on the ice.

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Zidlicky is tied for the lead in points on the team right now. He's very valuable for his offensive game, even if it means that there will be some mistakes on defense.

 

I don't see what the problem is with Zubrus, honestly. Yeah, his contract seems like an overpayment, but I don't think he does any more or less than what he is expected to do at this point. I could be wrong about that, though. Maybe you're expecting 50+ points from him every season.

 

I can agree to some extent about Zajac. Something has got to change if he's going to be the #1 center we're all hoping for. It's a shame that his offensive game looks like it may be a product of other players to a large degree. I hope I'm wrong about that.

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Zajac has been a completely turned it around in my opinion. I like what I've seen from him. Maybe his play last year really muddied my judgement, but he's been moving his feet, winning battles on the boards, making some huge defensive plays, bringing the physical game, the things you need someone to bring to the table. He hasn't been moving the puck any worse than anyone else. No one else is going to play that hard nosed game. Sure, he needs to do something to start getting his point total up, but he's really been playing hard, and that what we need on the ice from guys with letters. But hey, if I knew sh!t, I wouldn't be posting on this forum, would I?

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Zajac has been a completely turned it around in my opinion. I like what I've seen from him. Maybe his play last year really muddied my judgement, but he's been moving his feet, winning battles on the boards, making some huge defensive plays, bringing the physical game, the things you need someone to bring to the table. He hasn't been moving the puck any worse than anyone else. No one else is going to play that hard nosed game. Sure, he needs to do something to start getting his point total up, but he's really been playing hard, and that what we need on the ice from guys with letters. But hey, if I knew sh!t, I wouldn't be posting on this forum, would I?

 

If the story about his stick is true, he needs to go back to his stick ASAP!

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I don't so much agree on the useless "Zs".  Like every team, confidence makes your roster look unbeatable, and lack thereof makes it look porous and poorly constructed.  Zajac is a good player, contract aside.  He's not a #1 center at this point in his confidence. Neither is Lokti.  Neither is Henrique.  Zidlicky is not a good defensive defender, but he adds something on the other side.  Whether it's positive value overall is worth debating.  Zubrus is a big lug with big effort who will score points on nights when the chemistry is there, and who will come up empty on most others.  He is what he is.

 

The bigger issues are:

-Salvador (in general... and on the PP tonight... wtf?)

-Gionta occupying a starting spot

-Bernier getting too much ice time and too much PP time

-Harrold being *anything* more than a 7th

 

The roster decisions to this point are laughable. 

 

If you want to fix as much as you can fix for this team, it happens this way:

-Send Gionta to the AHL

-Always play Olesz who looked great tonight

-Never bench Larsson

-Never bench Fayne (altho a spot rusty tonight, he is a solid 3-4 guy)

-Only play Harrold when another D is injured [or rotate him in and out for Salvador]

-Play Schneider more than 50% of the games

-Let Josefson switch on/off time with a guy like Bernier

 

If Doboer keeps going with his unquestioning devotion to the Giontas, Harrolds, and Berniers of this team, it's going to be a tough season.  If he wakes up and ices THE MOST SKILLED LINEUP POSSIBLE, then we may have a chance of even being good and developing some chemistry as a team.

 

PS - Liking Brunner, Jagr, Ryder thus far.  Clowe needs to wake up tho.  If the coach does the things mentioned above, you'll start to see more coming naturally from every one else on the team, including some scoring from Henrique, Zajac, etc.  I fear though that the dumb decisions are going to continue.

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i dont think zubrus has been completely useless he just hasnt scored any goals doesnt mean hes useless. Zajac on the other hand god his entire line (henrique&ryder) cant even keep any pressure in the offensive zone forget about an attempt on net. that line needs to be changed, ryder is the best looking one on that line. Its becoming clear that zajac and henrique need to be paired up with some top talent in order to shine... which is obviously going to be a problem.

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