Comments on: Eberle signs new deal

By: Racki

Racki — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 22:13:16 +0000

I mentioned on Twitter that I think fans here are just being accustomed to setting the bar/expectations low because we’ve had to or we’d always be disappointed. So we now instinctively feel the need to dial it back a bit, or we’ll look like idiotic fans. Well, screw that We have 3 players (minimum) that are pretty damn superb players.. guys that have potential to be superstars in the league. Having 2 of them locked up fairly long term for a reasonable contract (it’s not a bargain, but definitely not bad) is great. Having them spaced 1 year apart like that is also great asset management, dare I say it (although granted, Eberle probably negotiated that as much as Tambo since he wanted a shorter deal than Hall’s).

I think Hall will have as good a season, should he stay healthy, because it’s clear he likes to bombard the net with shots, generates a lot of quality chances and drives the play. If you believe in S% evening things out over time, his S% also is right around league average. I don’t put TOO much stock in the whole S% thing, but I don’t think it’s a bad argument either.

As for Eberle, well, I fully expect his own S% to drop, but when he’s playing with the likes of Nuge and Hall, each of whom will be better players, he should be generating more quality chances. I would be surprised if he scored over 30 goals again this year, but at the same time, 30 goals is a pretty tough thing for most players to achieve. I think if Hall stays healthy, I would be surprised if he (Hall) DIDN’T score more than 30, however.

Perhaps some more food for thought here… while Eberle has an unusually high S%, his shot count is also quite a bit below average for guys in that 30+ goal scorer bracket. He put out 180 shots while the 30+ guys averaged 255 for the past 3 years. These guys might score on less chances, but they are going to GET more chances.

By: Alan-NottsUK

Alan-NottsUK — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 21:28:24 +0000

I can see no reason why Ebere would regress, the only arguement I’ve seen used frequently is shooting percentage and it’s nonsense.

If you look at the kind of shots Eberle takes then they are high percentage shots, next season he will be getting more ice time, which will lead to more shots, so even if his shooting percentage drops slightly he should still be good for 30+ goals.

Now look at his potential line mates and their career highs in goals.

Hall 27 Goals (61games)
Hemsky 23 Goals
RNH 18 Goals (62 games)
Gagner 18 Goals
Yakupov – no NHL totals yet, but broke Stamkos OHL rookie scoring record and was on pace before injury to break his overall record as well before he took a cheap shot.

We should be starting the season with 3 good puck moving D men:

A healthy Whitney
Petry
Justin Schultz

We should have 2 solid scoring lines making it harder for other teams to match up lines.

And most importantly in my mind anyway, Eberle has always exceeded peoples expectations.

There are more things pointing towards Eberle matching or exceeding last years totals than there are pointing to a regression on his part.

Hell you can even look at the first 8 or so games when he missed a bunch of easy chances from RNH passes, those go in and he hits 40 goals.

By: john

john — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 17:37:16 +0000

I would liked to have seen Hall & Eberle sign a similar length of contract but at something closer to $5.5 per but as they say, it is what it is. I guess it’s more important to tie up your 2 most skilled players at close to market value with no bickering over money than brag to the rest of the league about getting superstars on discount. Lets Nuge know what his $$ ceiling is; unless he turns into a 100+pt player of course.

By: Racki

Racki — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 00:56:11 +0000

Ya definitely would be good to have ebs playing the pk and adding an element of danger for (in the good sense). I think Hall actually can handle himself on the pk too but I think he lost the coach’s confidence at it last year. He likes to try and play keep away, which safe coaches don’t like. RNH will likely make a fine pker too.

By: chucker

chucker — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 20:35:46 +0000

I see both sides of it. I really like both guy and with increased ice time and a more cohesive PP, they will keep betting better. I do see guys out there that will poopoo all over the place if one of them gets injured or has a 50-65 point season. The key is they are young and this is not Horcoff and Smyth. They are already better than those guys in my estimation at the same ages.

I think the thing that would be great to see is Ebs killing penalties. I think he has the makings of a guy who could elevate a PK to top ten in the league. If he can do that, then this is a steal. I won’t complain so long as he produces and carries himself with pride and passion like he has. Hall I have zero worry about, and really, Ebs too, but you know the bar is set high by the critics.