Darren Eliot’s Big Three
Darren Eliot, a Sports Illustrated Columnist, has written about three players in the East he says need to step up to help their teams in the remaining weeks of the regular season. I take exception to two of his three choices, starting with
Sergei Samsonov: “An off-season signing, Samsonov has likewise failed to provide the Habs with the offensive spark they’d hoped for. With just six goals and 19 points in 46 games, he was a healthy scratch against Vancouver on January 16. Coach Guy Carbonneau looked me squarely in the eye and flatly stated, “We need him to be better. It’s not that he hasn’t worked hard, but he needs to be more productive.”
Maybe the problem was signing Samsonov to such a lucrative deal in the first place. $7 million over two years for a player who scored 23 goals last year seemed a little high over the summer, and it’s looking monstrously large after 7 goals in 49 games this year. I know the market for wingers was rather thin, and I know the Habs were disappointed after missing out on Jason Arnott, but signing Samsonov is the one move Bob Gainey has made that I’ve considered a big mistake from day one. Although I must admit I expected Samsonov’s health to be the real problem this year, and that has not been the case. Health wise he rebounded during the lockout year far better than I would have guessed. Production wise, however, he has not. Maybe it was Joe Thornton all along.
Next Eliot talks about
Matt Cullen: “Maybe he’s been pressing to impress, but it hasn’t worked out very well thus far for Cullen as a Blueshirt. Coach Tom Renney recently shifted him to wing from his natural position of center on the second line because of his lack of assist production (11) while skating with Brendan Shanahan.”
Yes, I know Cullen scored 25 goals last year, but look at his career stats. Before that his career high was 18 goals all the way back in 2001-02. Cullen deserved a raise but he deserved it because of his grit and leadership, not his offensive flair. Cullen’s salary and use (second line with Prucha and Brendan Shanahan) have created the expectations that last year’s 25 goals was a jumping point. It was clearly a peak and not a valley. Get used to it. If the Rangers are going to stay in the playoff hunt, it won’t be because of Cullen’s production.
But his leadership will be invaluable if they get there.
Eliot also talks about Brad Richards, but I’m going to leave that one for now. Richards is in the same situation this year that Martin St. Louis was in a year ago. He’ll pick up the pace when he puts the pressure of his huge contract behind him. Looks like that’ll be next year at the earliest, however.