Comments on: Neil Greenberg on the Tony Kornheiser Show

By: Forestfor Trees

Forestfor Trees — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 23:45:00 +0000

Interesting, Neil gets paid to analyze hockey, and sport he never played and couldn’t possible understand the intricacies associated with it. I’m in the wrong line of work. Yet everyone is drinking the kool-aid it seems? I’m not biased, but i know hockey, and I know this team is much better then their record, and much better then bottom ten 5 on 5. Sorry bro, you be wrong. Hockey ain’t baseball, and it never will be.

Ovechkin – All about consistency. All the caps need is for him to be the consistent power forward he has shown in the last ten games (minus Philly). He’s getting chances, hes making passes, he’s plowing through. So he didn’t get a shot vs canes, he had a marvelous game and the stats lie on that one. Wouldn’t be the first time.

“Kornheiser: …He was overpowering, right? He was a big strong overpowering guy.”
Glad he shut you up on that last night. No one in the league can power through Chara and get calls like he did last night. NO ONE.

You are right about one thing, he ain’t Crosby. But guess what? His brain ain’t mush either. Crosby is one decently hard hit to the head away from eating food out of a straw full time.

Erskine – worth every penny. How was that Jets game? Fan fucking tastic. Blocked shots, pushed everyone around and made the QUICK and EASY plays out of the zone. He might not have the foot speed, but he gets the job DONE, and keeps important pucks inside the O zone. SHultz is the weak link and needs to be shown the door. Olesky was a welcome addition.

On the caps top 6 – Sure doesn’t look pretty, but Oates just gets it. You need a grinder on the top line with Ovie, you need a guy to do the trench work. If you have three skill guys all wandering around asking for passes shit don’t get done. Hendricks is that guy until Brooks is back. He puts his hard hat on night in, night out and creates space for the other two. He has hands and decent vision, or has everyone not been paying attention to how that line operates? Fehr has shown he has the legs, the shot and the hands to play with Backstrom. Just because he had a horrible year last year means jack in the present. Did you need a youtube clip of the goal last night for proof? The top six ain’t perfect on paper, but I guess thats all you look at, is stats n paper. With Brooks back, there are zero issues with the top six. Top 10 in the league.

Now bottom 6. Mr overpaid Joel Ward as some would call him. Not me, that guy is money. Big man that can move, makes the smart play and bangs home pucks. Matty P is finding his niche, not backing down and working his tail off. Chimera skates real fast. He is my weak link this year, too many giveaways not enough finish. Jay beagle the hardest worker on the team, wins the majority of his draws, finishes checks and wears his heart on his sleave. Joey Crabb has been a pleasant surprise, didn’t really know what to expect from him. Not really sure where wolski fits in, but not very high marks for him. When brooks comes back and hendricks drops back down to the third/fourth line, bottom six is plenty deep.

Future? Kuznetsov, Forsberg. Nuff’ said.

I just can’t keep myself from thinking just how smart is the hockey IQ of caps nation. I hail from the white north where I was baptized on the rink and played until junior and college. Not quite the same in the US of A. The fact that the majority of the feedback on this post is “omg yer right caps suck what wuz i THINKING!?!?” is a real big question mark for me. I support GMGM because I see exactly how he has owned the draft the past 8 years. The lack of Stanley and early season adversity has everyone calling for his head, but I shit you not there would be another Dale Tallon situation if he got axed. Shit, maybe thats what we need to cure the curse.

I’ll resurface in a month and a half when the caps are situated in the playoffs, and my opinion of the caps depth, skill, and just how strong their bottom/top six is, are validated.

By: Pat Magee

Pat Magee — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:23:00 +0000

Also, Carlzner is phenomenal. I don’t care what anybody says lol

By: Pat Magee

Pat Magee — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 02:22:00 +0000

Teemu Selanne has scored 40 goals as a 40 year old. (I think)

I mean yeah, he’s a rare talent, but isn’t ovechkin? Is Ovi the nest Cheechoo?

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

I agree with him with the oveckin statements, however, some of his statements about us having to realize we are a bottom ten team, and we have been for a few seasons, are just flat out wrong. I understand looking at numbers to get an indication of how a teams playing but looking at it in the perspective of how a team should be playing is useless to me because otherwise we just shouldn’t play the games at all. I play hockey and there are just so many things that just dont translate to paper that can effect a team or a game. Another that “grinds my gears”, is that he made no mentio of Brooksie. I truly believe that his absence has created such a void in our team. He is our Ryan Callahan. The guy goes 100 percent and has the top 6 skill that Greenberg says we are missing.
Look by no means do I think we are the best team in the NHL, or even the East, but we certainly aren’t bottom ten.

By: sonja n a

sonja n a — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 00:26:00 +0000

I don’t know if I agree with Greenberg … I’m always hesitant to reduce human action/behavior to numbers (and I say that as the daughter of a statistician who worked psychiatric research … I absolutely know that there are limits to what those numbers can tell us). Humans are very surprising creatures and can be counted on to do unexpected things now and again. I really respect what he had to say and the stats he uses to back it up; they definitely have a place in describing the team. But I don’t take his work as gospel.

Thanks for an amazing work of transcription … that’s some tough work. I only saw a couple of typos (say for saw, for example), but they were easily overlooked in the sea of correct verbiage!

By: Hatfield

Hatfield — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:50:00 +0000

Good interview.

I’m not sure GMGM knows about the depth issue, though. I think he sees Chimera as a 25-goal scorer and sees a sidelined 30-goal scorer in Brooks Laich. He overvalues all of his players, especially the ones he’s drafted or those who have experienced success as Caps in the past. Thus the overpayment for RFAs, the playing of underdeveloped prospects in the NHL, resistance to cutting bait with bad players, etc.

By: Bryant Thomas

Bryant Thomas — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 15:36:00 +0000

make it happen, neil! seriously i would love to watch a fact-based hockey show and have him rip into (or god forbid agree with) people like melrose & milbury

By: CM

CM — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:26:00 +0000

Right or not (and I think he is). He’s gonna start seeing a lot more work. He knocked their socks off! Congrats Neil!

By: johnnymorte

johnnymorte — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 03:38:00 +0000

I think this guy is dead wrong about everything. This team has plenty of depth and Holtby is getting better every day. Forsberg and Wilson’s arrivals are just around the corner and hopefully Kuznetsov’s in a year and a half. Ovechkin will come around again, just like Jagr and Bure had low moments in their careers and came back. Ribs is a good center for him and they are going to get better as the season progresses.

By: Hockeynightincanada

Hockeynightincanada — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 23:53:00 +0000

Nope, my opinion of Greenberg is even better. I have an appreciation for statistics, so I always enjoyed reading his analysis at the Washington Post. He nailed everything he talked about to TK.

Not all will agree with me obviously, but I for one have been calling for the canning of General Manager George McPhee on numerous occasions. I remember the first time I began to lose confidence in him when he hired Bruce Cassidy.