2008-09 Rink Wrap: Milan Jurcina

I gave him a 6 – watching him during a lot of the year was frustrating, but for the streetch run and the playoffs, he was solid as a rock. Wonder if they’ll pair him with Alzner next year?

Great artcile J.P… you really summed up exactley what I think of Juice. Gave him a 7 because I didnt expect anything from him this year. Instead, he shows up playing physical with some top notch players, but most importantly playing so many games and still looking fresh. Yeah, he was inconsistent. But that was expected coming into this season, at least for me. To get a 10, he needs a) to put more shots on net. The same guy who breaks the plexiglass during practice only had 95 shots this whole season?? Somethigns wrong with that….. b) he needs to continue to play as much as he has. c)his 80 total PIMs need to drop to 40-50, and even that isnt too good. Ideally drops to 30. Finally, he needs to become a bigger emotional presence on the team. Hes a blue liner who could be with us for a while, and I want him to esatblish himself as the veteran-ish player that he could be.

The penalties have to effect his rating…and also the smile he always gives when skating to the penalty box.
You’re being punished, quit smiling!

1) Probably a 5 for the regular season, but his playoff performance bumped him up 2 to a solid 7. he was supposed to be one of the odd men out coming into the season. He especially seemed to come into his own when he was paired with rookie Karl Alzner back in December
2) He’s certainly earned a contract offer. At 900-1 mil/season he’s an affordable option as a #4-5 defensemen.
3) To garner a 10 next season ‘Juice’ would have to play 75+ games. Be a ‘plus’ player. Cut down his PIM’s. Perhaps attain 25 or so points, and play as a top 4 defensemen for a majority of the season

First off I’m a big Juice fan. I think it’s been understated how he’s the only Slovak on the team and I had read that the trade from Bos really shook him up.

The biggest thing that stood out to me was his play with Alzner. I think thats the Juice that we may see next year and beyond. There were a few posts this season talking about how Juice has always seemed to be paired with similar slow defensemen. When Karlzner came up he seemed to relax some.

I’m excited for next season for Juice, his play was better than we’d seen in the reg season and he stepped up in the playoffs. 5 for playing like before, 1 for the improving reg season, 1 for the playoffs, and one for the fact that I’m an optimist about Juice.

The Discussion: Who exactly is Milan Jurcina? Is a guy the Capitals can pencil in as a solid contributor for their future? Or is he a guy who’s merely acting as a placeholder until the team can find a better option?

I think he’s the latter. He’s a third-pairing guy who within 2 years will become more expensive than he’s worth (one year behind Mo on that path). He’s had plenty of chances to elevate his game. I think the Juice we saw during the regular season this year is Juice. That’s who he is, and he ain’t going to suddenly become a top two pairings kind of guy. If you’re asking more out of him, then you don’t have the depth you need to win the Cup.

I say sell high. He had a great playoffs. Last year the team sold high on a defenseman who played over his head in the playoffs (Eminger), and got a pretty good return. I believe there are teams who would pay good value to obtain Juice. And there are certainly things this team needs. But I, for one, don’t think Juice is ever going to meet his potential. The player we’re seeing is the player he’s going to be.

I’m going with a 6. I’m thinking that the expectations were merely pedestrian, and especially earlier in the season, that’s all he was. But he got better as the season wore on, despite the penalties. Every time I’d think that maybe he was improving in that area, then he’d do it again. But the improvement through the playoffs was nice.

He may be nothing more than a placeholder, but he’s earned a contract for next year without question.

At 26 and entering his sixth season, what we’re seeing from Juice (btw, is that really a good nickname these days?) is probably what he’s going to be. And that’s not bad. He’s not a top four defenseman on the Caps, but he’s a very solid 5/6. In his next contract, he’ll probably get a little over a million per year which would be a good deal for both sides. If he can cut down on his penchant for stick penalties (a guy his size doesn’t need to use his stick that much), put more shots on goal and contin ue to take the body like he did in the playoffs, he can be even more valuable. Let’s put it this way, at a million dollars a year I’ll take him any day over Erskine. I gave him a 6.

I’d add to “the bad” that behind-the-back hand pass into the center of the defensive zone against PIT that quickly ended up behind Varly. And that’s my problem with Juice – I’m fine, even pleased with his development physically and love the upside there. But he always seems one shift away from that critical, back-breaking mental error. It may be a confidence thing with him, but until his mental game catches up with the physical, he’s replaceable (though not necessarily easily).

I gave him a 6 – the higher-end of what I expected from him.

I’d add to "the bad" that behind-the-back hand pass into the center of the defensive zone against PIT that quickly ended up behind Varly.

Thanks for bringing that up again. I had just about erased it from my memory bank.
“Let’s see, we’ve only got a few seconds to get out of the period with the lead. What should I do? I could push the puck into the corner. That’d be a smart play. Or I could kind of hover over it and wait for reinforcements. That could work. Wait, there’s a wide open patch of ice right in front of my goalie. I’ll shove it there.”

I guess I just expected more from him. A 26 y/o in his 4th campaign I figured 25 pts, and 150 booming shots from the point. I got neither. Instead I saw a slow defender with a penchant for penalties and some unbelievable mental mistakes. Yes he’s big, yes he’s physical, but if you’re going to be a pylon you need to play like the best pylons in the game. And that he ain’t. 3. I’m with G.O.D., he’s a placeholder and/or trade bait.

I expected little from Juice going into this year, and I was right, the Caps got little from him. He should be entering his prime and get better each year, but he’s no better than the 23 year old we saw 3 years ago.

Offensively, he has a great shot, that he rarely if ever uses (esp. in the regular season). He used it more in the postseason and he got some results. If he will shoot the puck more in 2009-10, then he might be able to get from the 1-5 goals area to 8-12 goals. A goal every 10 games is not an unreasonable expectation for someone who can shoot harder than everyone on the team except one player (Ovie shoots harder…)

His playmaking on offense is usually adequate, he rarely looks to make a play to the net, usually opting to dump the puck to the corner, which is usually a safe play.

His play in open ice is dreadful, especially when he doesn’t have the puck. He usually ends up getting caught out of position at least once a game, and then, due to his speed, has to hook, trip, or hold someone to catch up , resulting in penalties. In his own end, it’s the same thing, he gets beat a lot because of his lack of speed, and lack of positioning.

It’s not that a slow player can’t play in the NHL and be effective on defense. Joe Reekie was slow and he was always in position to stop folks, he rarely got beat. Mark Tinordi wasn’t a speed demon either, and he was out there a lot against the top lines as well. It can be done if the player plays smart. Of course, now Reekie is a TV analyst discussing the game and Tinordi is a coach. Jurcina is slow and his decision making isn’t all that good.

Clearly, he is a place holder until the Caps develop some more defensemen. I don’t think Alzner is the replacement for Jurcina (if Morrisonn gets a nice big arbitration win, the Caps will let him go and Alzner steps into a top 4 role with the team). But a big defenseman with good presence in front of the net can usually be found either at the draft (in exchange for a pick) or at the trading deadline. Plus there is the free agent wire. If the Caps go after a Jay McKee type of player and land one, Juice’s days as a Cap may be over.

How does he get to a 10? Score 8 goals and cut the PIMs in half. That’d be enough for me.

Juice got 7 from me. He showed ability to elevate his game in the second season, and he showed marked improvement over 07-08 (particularly in playoff performance). He is a solid 4-5, and showed pretty well with the King, IIRC. Frankly, I didn’t expect as much from him this year—I am still wondering concerned if this is the ceiling, but I still hope GMGM gives him a decent deal and moves on to other more pressing issues. How about 2yrs/2M?

While the numbers may never lie I do recall not hearing Jurcina’s name nearly as often later in the season or seeing as many moments where Juice was the obvious culprit in a goal later in the season- certainly comparably to previous years.

6 seems low, 7 high. That’s probably a personal problem. I gave him a 7 and let it average out with the votes out there already.

His true value to the team is not his contribution on the ice, but the super high-quality interviews he gives between periods of a game. For those, I give him a 10. Keep those interviews coming so I can keep playing the “What the hell’d he just say!?” game.

Honestly, I loved this guy when we first got him. I thought he played better than he got credit for last year, and he improved this year over last, but he’s got to step it up again next year. Maybe a pairing with Alzner for a full year will be the key to his development.

I’ll admit Jurcina is inconsistent. (A mercurial Gemini, we could say.) He seemed to play well when teamed up with Alzner. I assume we’ll try that combo again next year. He did well in the playoffs (and was one of the few healthy D-men we had).

Odd note: he shares a nickname with my younger daughter (who was known as “Juice” back in first grade. She was “Juicy” while her friends were “Oreo”, “M & M”, and “Broccoli”.)

I’d say, it would be too soon to give up on him.