Barzal is lighting the world on fire. It wouldn't surprise me if Gropp is just a passenger. Good that he's producing though. If it inflates his value he can become a trade chip.
Barzal is lighting the world on fire. It wouldn't surprise me if Gropp is just a passenger. Good that he's producing though. If it inflates his value he can become a trade chip.
Was just gonna say the same thing. If the Rangers have doubts, and as I've read, they do, then this is only a good thing for them. It dramatically improves his value on the trade market.
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Where'd you read that?Originally Posted by Phil in Absentia
No way a streak like the one Gropp is on could make him a passenger. He's got six straight multi-point games and has 31 points in his last 14. I don't care if he's playing with Wayne Gretzky - you don't do that and be a passenger.
Small sample, but Gropp's 3 points last night weren't because of Barzal - though he finished the 2 on 1 feed.
http://www.sendtonews.com/latest-vid...ory/StTM0HMX3V
For reference Gropp this season has 14 points in 20 games without Barzal and 47 points in 31 games with him. Props to Gropp for producing, but Barzal being in the lineup helps him tremendously. Barzal creates space because he's the focus.
I mean yea, every player is good when they play with better players. That's especially true for goal scorers when they get paired with a playmaker.
Gropp has 24 goals, though. It's not like he's lighting the world on fire. He's on pace to score even fewer goals that last season.
The Chris Kunitz/Pascal Dupuis effect doesn't benefit players in junior leagues. Benefiting from a superior player often doesn't translate if you can't already create much on your own. Look at players like Evgeny Grachev.
Yea but he's pacing more assists and points, which could just as easily mean that he's developing a more balanced game than he has in the past. Konowalchuk mentioned that he's focused a lot more on being a complete player rather than just being a goal scorer this year. And the decline in goals is pretty minimal anyways. Over an 82-game season we're talking about 42 vs 38 goals.
Barzal was also on the same team last year, though I can't say whether or not they ever played on a line together. It's not as if Seattle just traded for him and all of a sudden Gropp improved.
Barzal and Gropp have often played together. I don't really see this as a strong reflection of his game improving. He's an overage player. He should be producing at this level. You also often see references to players "improving other aspects of their game" when their production strays. Most of the time I don't buy it.
The decline in goals is minimal, but that's not the point. As a goal scorer at that level, he should be working to outproduce his season prior. For a guy who is a "goalscorer", he's not putting up enough goals. I know Barzal has been around, but this season he's been around less so because of the cup of coffee he got at the start of the season and then the WJC.
I don't either, and I"m not even saying that Gropp is some great prospect or anything.
But the point is, you don't go on a run like he's on as a "passenger." He's just as much a catalyst to that team right now as anyone.
He's a passenger on his line. His production doubles with Barzal. That's insane. He's an asset to his team, but it's clear that Barzal has a considerable effect on his ability to produce.
You don't get 31 points in 14 games being a passenger, especially when he's played with Barzal and not had the same production in the past. It's not as if Barzal showed up and the production jumped.
Except that's been exactly the case this season.
Barzal has been back for 30 games. Gropp's streak didn't start until, what, 16 games ago?
Barzal missed the first 10 games. Played 13. Left for another 10 because of the WJC. Has played the last 18.
Every time Barzal comes back, Gropp's production trends upward.
In the first 10 games Gropp went 9-10. In the subsequent 13 with Barzal he went 12-13. Barzal leaves for the WJC and he goes 5-10. Barzal comes back and he goes 35-18.
Last edited by Drew a Penalty; 02-15-2017 at 04:13 PM.
Ok, but production spiking does not mean he's a passenger. Especially when there's essentially no difference in production in first two stretches you mentioned there.
I disagree. We're just going to end up going back and forth with the same argument though.
Lol, no kidding.
I like that he has 37 assists in 51 games for a guy that's considered a goal scorer. Considering Barzal has a whopping 8 goals, it can't all be him doing the work. He's not a great prospect but an interesting one. We'll see for sure next season when he's in the AHL
As for the Grachev comparison... not sure it's fair as Grachev split time with Hodgson and Duchene who combined had 75 goals and 160 points in 110 games. He was far more of a passenger than Gropp I think
Three games remaining in the regular season. Seattle is going to the playoffs. Will be interesting to see how they do. Better that they go on a long run as there's no reason for Gropp to go to Hartford because they're very much out of the AHL playoffs. I don't know if it would serve him to go to Greenville, but they're doing very well in the ECHL.
80 points in 63 games for Gropp.
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