"Jeff is playing the best he's played in his career in this stretch. His plus minus ...sometimes it's a stat that you can look at and say it's a real good stat or it doesn't mean much. But every time you look up, he's on [the ice] for two goals for and none against. I think he's a plus 23, in less than 50 games, which is a real good indicator that when he's on the ice, something good is going to happen."
Bruce Boudreau on Jeff Schultz
over 2 years ago
J.P.
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Couple of things jumped out at me:
1) Schultz was long over-due to be praised by the Caps coaching/management team
2) I was intrigued to hear how BB described the +/- stat.
Excellence need not be constantly affirmed sir.
"I must be hallucinating. What's a good thing for a hangover?"
"Drinking heavily the night before."
by Bald Pollack on Jan 12, 2010 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
Besides, BB has been defending/praising Schultz for some time now. Tarik just hasn’t been putting it front and center.
Sometime in the off-season after the 2008 playoffs, Boudreau did a radio interview and was talked about the Capitals’ series against the Flyers. The commentators brought up how Eminger played during that series, which Boudreau acknowledged, but he added, “But we really missed Jeff Schultz.”
The man’s been a fan of the guy for a long time….
I’m in the camp that considers +/- a very telling stat, and it’s real encouraging to see Schultz’s numbers increasing every year since he’s been in the league.
www.dclandingstrip.com
Here’s where +/- is particularly useful – in comparing a guy to his teammates. To that point, since the lockout (min. 100 GP for the Caps):
Player +/-
Jeff Schultz 53
Mike Green 32
Tom Poti 20
Shaone Morrisonn 19
Milan Jurcina 10
Brian Pothier 5
John Erskine -1
Jamie Heward -1
Steve Eminger -30
Obviously those last couple guys aren’t the best comparables, but against the guys who are, 55 certainly distinguishes himself.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
by J.P. on Jan 12, 2010 1:35 PM EST up reply actions 4 recs
Rec’i tikki tavi.
Because now I can justify browsing and commenting during the work day with the argument that I am promoting my business.
by Sombrero Guy on Jan 12, 2010 2:16 PM EST up reply actions
when he’s on the ice, something good is going to happen."
Or something bad isn’t going to happen.
I’m not a stats guy, but he’s a defenseman whose main job is to keep the other team from scoring. Is there a “goals against per 60 minutes on the ice” comparison (against the other Caps D-men – and other team’s D-men) that might help here?
Yes. And Double-Nickel fares well there:
At 5-on-5, against other Caps and against the rest of the League.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
making me look foolish.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:31 PM EST up reply actions
Indeed it does and JP is quick draw mcgrawl with the BtN stats.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:57 PM EST up reply actions
Oh no. Am I the Alexandre Giroux of stat finders?
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 3:04 PM EST up reply actions
So, according these stats, he’s a total defensive stud. Which is, I think, all we need him to be. So why the hate? It can’t all be about one game (Pittsburgh) and one mistake. Like so much of our other good fortune, we’re lucky to have him.
I think it has less to do about one game and more the fact that J6P sees a 6-6 skater and automatically thinks he should be Chris Pronger. Toss in the near-immediate success of Ovechkin and Backstrom and expectations naturally heighten.
This may be in part (I think) why people are more liable to put more faith in the 16-1 Varlamov than to the 7-5 Neuvirth (even though they both need starts and ice time to prove their long-term value), but all of this is speculation on my part.
"I must be hallucinating. What's a good thing for a hangover?"
"Drinking heavily the night before."
by Bald Pollack on Jan 12, 2010 2:50 PM EST up reply actions
I agree that his size does seem to have a lot to do with why people don’t like Schultz (foolishly, IMO). Because he’s a big guy, people in general tend to expect him to play “bull in a China shop” hockey, rather than the positional game he plays so well. When Schultz is doing his job, he’s rather invisible; when he makes a mistake, it stands out like a sore thumb, so the tendency is to believe that he isn’t doing anything but effing up, when nothing is further from the truth, when you look at things realistically.
I need a snappy signature...
But he doesn’t hit like Scott Stevens!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because now I can justify browsing and commenting during the work day with the argument that I am promoting my business.
by Sombrero Guy on Jan 12, 2010 3:11 PM EST up reply actions
As does Pothier (vs. league), incidentally (surprisingly?) (min. 20 GP).
Game-Over Green? Canada-Over Carlson!
by Scott in Shaw on Jan 12, 2010 2:42 PM EST up reply actions
If I’m reading it right, Schultz and Green face the best quality of competition out of the rest of the top 10 +/- ON/60 also.
Indeed. Poti is also up there too in this regard. He has a considerably higher quality of competition also.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:46 PM EST up reply actions
lol but he sucks but Brooks Laich is a god tho he dont score nemore
My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.
Not sure if that is directed at me or at the general population, but I don’t think I’ve ever knocked Poti unfairly. Also, any folk hero praise for Laich on my part is in jest.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:59 PM EST up reply actions
General population. Everybody on here loves the superstats, but lots rail against Poti even though he is strong in most of the relevant ones.
My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.
Gotcha. On the other side of the coin though, this is the second day in a row where I’ve thrown out Poti’s name when discussing “superstats.”
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 3:06 PM EST up reply actions
Good, maybe people will pay attention.
Unlikely.
My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.
Yea, consider the source.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 3:16 PM EST up reply actions
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:27 PM EST up reply actions
All reformed former Schultz-haters say “aye!”
by thebigfoist on Jan 12, 2010 1:28 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
No. Most Schultz haters, at least who are truly Caps fans not casual folks, were in that camp well before that incident. I was in the hate camp until I came over to the other side after taking a fresh look at his stats, so I’d be an “aye”. Now I’m so pro CincoCinco I defend his honor like it is my own.
A man gotta have a code
Hey now...
1) Had Schultz done what he did in Game 1 on good ice or even average NHL ice, I would complain about his move. He tripped on what is possibly the worst ice in the league, made even worse that it was in the spring…
2) Schultz was also playing hurt when that happened and ended up making the situation worse. I have no doubt that if Jeff Schultz was healthy in the Pens series, one of the close games the Pens won might have gone the other way (Esp. Game 5 in DC) leading to the Caps winning the series.
Schultz is never going to be an all-star, never going to be a stand-out, but he doesn’t have to be. What he has to be is someone who can skate 18-22 minutes a night and when he’s out there prevent goals. He’s not an offensive powerhouse, yet in the last game in ATL, he was +5!! The guy is good at preventing shots and keeping pucks away from the Caps’ net. Good enough for me.
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 12, 2010 1:48 PM EST up reply actions
Of added utility is the fact that Schultz’s game doesn’t lend itself to huge paydays, so he should be unbeliveably cost-effective for years to come.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Amen… I can see him being on the back line here for another decade or so, then retiring, and all of us in 2022 remembering that Schultz was pretty damn good defender. Fans in New York remember Ron Greschner that way (except maybe for Carol Alt.)
Let's go Caps!
by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 14, 2010 1:52 PM EST up reply actions
BROKEN RIBS!
Game-Over Green? Canada-Over Carlson!
by Scott in Shaw on Jan 12, 2010 2:40 PM EST up reply actions
AYE!
It was exactly as other have said, big guy that lumbers around a little, high profile fall, and I was drinking the hateraid… but JP and the stats have set me straight. I’m a believer now.
DC, where Hockey is a baffling ordeal.
by Chris meet Alex on Jan 12, 2010 3:53 PM EST up reply actions
+1
My eyes were opened about a year ago, when I willed myself to watch his whole shift:
Attackers very rarely get to make their first (or second) choice play near him.
He has a way of Leaning On attackers that interests me. It’s low-risk, high-reward zen-clouseau physicality. And he’s doing more of it.
by redlineblue on Jan 12, 2010 5:19 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Schultz on how he’s become an even better player:
“I’m not worrying about making mistakes,” he said. “It used to be if something bad happened, I would be thinking about it for the rest of the game and would be dwelling on that. Now, I just take it and throw it out the window. I over-thought things. It’s just a change of attitude, which is something I thought about over the summer.”
Kung-fu Rink Rabbit
aw, I think he’s cute in a nerdy sort of way
by SeattleCapsFan on Jan 12, 2010 4:13 PM EST up reply actions
I’m so proud. I don’t I’ve ever contributed a nickname to anyone that’s actually stuck. Long Live Jeff CincoCinco!
DC, where Hockey is a baffling ordeal.
by Chris meet Alex on Jan 12, 2010 3:50 PM EST up reply actions
From the Washington Post:
Annapolis, Md.: I understand the need to make the trade, what with the extra defensemen on the roster, but why didn’t we trade Schultz?
Lindsay Applebaum: You know Columbus has to agree to the deal, too, right? Heh.
(This also serves as Gould’s cue to jump on me with an ad hominem attack.)
Why does everyone on this blog pick on Lindsay?
Signed,
ApplebaumRocks
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
In hindsight, it looks more like Lindsay was making fun of the Shultz haters, but it didn’t work.
"The Caps fan doesn't say, 'is the glass half full' or 'is the glass half empty'. He wonders when the glass is going to spill."
(This also serves as Gould’s cue to jump on me with an ad hominem attack.)
I apologize again (and I would definitely understand if you didn’t follow the other thread through to see my apology there). I perceived you to be making an ad hominem attack on Tarik, and that’s what provoked the over-the-top response. I probably should have let it slide for a while rather than commenting in the heat of that moment.
Atta dinnin stick a who!
by Gould Old Days on Jan 12, 2010 9:29 PM EST up reply actions
I was mad that Erskine didn’t make Team Canada as well.
"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."
by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 2:23 PM EST up reply actions
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