Everything Else

These Pictures Of Q

By Sam Fels 1715 0

This is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while, and some have asked me to write. One of the things I think the internet and blogs and just the wealth of outlets have sadly done to most debates (sports and non) is that every issue is either black or white. There’s two sides to everything. Sometimes there’s only one, and sometimes there’s a whole bunch.

I haven’t done a good job of balancing out my full view on Joel Quenneville. I point out what I don’t like an awful lot, and that throws me into the “Thinks Q is a complete idiot” category. Well, he simply can’t be a complete idiot. Nearly 700 NHL wins would tell you that. But ’tis the season to be nice and all that, so let me try and round out the picture that I and a lot of others have of Q by illustrating what I think he’s done and does well. You already know most of the complaints.

Everything Else

Atop The Sugar Pile – Post Circus Trip

By Sam Fels 1311 0

Haven’t done one of these in a bit, so we’ll kind of wrap up the past two weeks instead of just the previous one. And boy is there so much to get through.

The Dizzying Highs

Duncan Keith – I mean, what else is there to say? Did you know he’s only taken two minors on the year? As for the absurd amount of assists he’s racking up, I can’t help but feel it’s all a result of his defense. He’s not a playmaker or kickstart my heart rusher like Karlsson or Subban (though he skates as well). Keith’s assists mostly spring from closing down opposing threats quickly and rapidly getting the puck up to the forwards to do their thing. It’s why 17 of his 24 assists are secondary. In his Norris year he put up 69 points. The next two years when his defense definitely slipped, he couldn’t muster more than 45. Last year he was just about on pace for 50 over a full year when his defensive game returned. You know he’s playing his game on the back end when he’s racking up points on the other.