Nikita Zadorov on Buffalo's Stance on Russians

[Thorner]

In general. And I too believe Murray viewed Nylander as superior to Sergachev. Frankly, if we had taken Serg over Nylander, the "hates Russians" meme would be deader than dead. At least now we can still cling to it :)

It's true.

[Peter]

It just goes to show you how much GMTM did not like Pysyk - he even traded him for a Russian?!?!

 

P.S. I wish that Nikita Zadorov had not been included in the ROR deal.

 

P.P.S. I have a feeling that GMTM has a bit of the bias you see in old school Canadians (e.g., Don Cherry). 

[BuffaloBorn]

Pretty well-established fact that all Russian players choke in the play-offs %100 of the time. #notafraidtosayit

[3putt]

Malkin Datsyuk Federov and Molginy would disagree.

[BuffaloBorn]

Exceptions. there's also: Dmitri Kalinin.

[darksabre]

Kalinen was severely underrated.

[French Collection]

I wouldn't use the word choke, it's more like a lack of engagement.

I believe there are a number of reasons:

 

The Stanley Cup is not what they grow up wanting to win. Olympics and World Championships are more important.

The pay cheques stop at season's end and they don't understand why you need to play harder and not get paid.

Many other players find another gear, give 110%, play through pain that would sideline them in the regular season and block shots with any body part during the playoffs. These other guys don't get it, while not getting paid.

I'm not sure what the bonus is for winning the Cup, but it's probably a fraction of annual salary.

The playoffs are usually tighter checking and more intense physically, not their games.

 

That's all I've got off the top of my head, but there are probably more.

[Randall Flagg]

I think the competitive drive it takes to become a professional athlete is more than enough to overcome all of that. These guys made it this far; their nationality doesn't make them "choke more" in the playoffs than people from other areas. Datsyuk has had some insane playoff performances. Ovie too, his playoff PPG is still about 1.00 even with the notorious lack of penalties. Geno won a Conn Smythe recently. Tarasenko crushed the reigning champs led by Captain $10million-Intangibles Toews. I'm sure Zubov did quite well on defense when Dallas beat Hasek and the rest, though I wasn't old enough to watch/care about hockey then. Kovalchuk dragged that Devils team to the finals in 2012. I'd bet that the percentage of these guys relative to all Russian NHL players is the same as the percentage of "clutch" North Americans we speak of relative to their pool of players.

[beerme1]

Anyone blame Ovie for the Caps exit this year? I didn't think so.

[WildCard]

Anyone blame Ovie for the Caps exit this year? I didn't think so.

I blame Kusnetsov

[Randall Flagg]

I blame Kusnetsov

Who, sure enough, had a pretty insane playoff in 2015. 

[TrueBlueGED]

I feel so bad for the Caps, they just never seem to fire on all cylinders at the right time...except that one time that Dominik Hasek possessed Jaroslav Halak, so they still lost.

[WildCard]

Who, sure enough, had a pretty insane playoff in 2015.

Did he? I recall him playing terribly

 

Edit: you're saying last year, not this year?

I feel so bad for the Caps, they just never seem to fire on all cylinders at the right time...except that one time that Dominik Hasek possessed Jaroslav Halak, so they still lost.

President Trophy winners don't win it all Edited June 29, 2016 by WildCard

[Randall Flagg]

Did he? I recall him playing terribly

 

Edit: you're saying last year, not this year?

President Trophy winners don't win it all

Yeah, the 14-15 season. He was tremendous. Not so much this year, though, as you mentioned.

[Thorner]

Did he? I recall him playing terribly

Edit: you're saying last year, not this year? President Trophy winners don't win it all

I never liked that "presidents trophy winners don't win it all" argument. Maybe they don't win as much as one might think they should, given that they finished first, but last time I ran the numbers, they still win more than any other individual seed. Any individual seed loses FAR more than they win.

 

It would be like looking at Tiger Woods' career when he was stil winning and saying, wow he loses way more Majors than he wins, he never gets it done.

[PromoTheRobot]

Didn't GMTM just trade for a Russian D man?

 

Does this mean he hates Russian players unless they are a perceived upgrade and fill a need?

Obviously the move was cover for his anti-Russian stand. Kulikov is just Murray's beard.

[Drunkard]

I never liked that "presidents trophy winners don't win it all" argument. Maybe they don't win as much as one might think they should, given that they finished first, but last time I ran the numbers, they still win more than any other individual seed. Any individual seed loses FAR more than they win.

 

It would be like looking at Tiger Woods' career when he was stil winning and saying, wow he loses way more Majors than he wins, he never gets it done.

 

Exactly. The numbers will always be with the rest of the entire field. It's an unfair comparison.

[Peter]

Obviously the move was cover for his anti-Russian stand. Kulikov is just Murray's beard.

That is funny.  Well done.