Komisarek

[jonlleafs]

So just wondering if we can stop bashing Komisarek since he's playing well now?  Or are we still bashing him?   

Just wanted to give kudos to this guy since I've been one of the few who supported this guy and wanted him to turn it around.  Looks like he's finally settled in and is turning in a good season thus far.

 

[anton girdeaux]

I say good for him and I can finally wear my Komisarek jersey without getting laughed at.

 

[Mikhail Bloodnovsky]

Looks like he's finally settled in and is turning in a good season thus far.

Took 2 years

 

[L K]

He's playing better and I'm glad that some stats suggest it to, but I would hardly consider him to be playing well.  He still can't do anything with the puck.  His passes are rarely on target and he takes himself out of position too much with bad attempts at hits.

I think most agree that Schenn has been pretty awful to start the year.  The difference between Schenn and Komisarek at 5 on 5 play is:
                  Goals For/60min    Goals Against/60min
Komisarek        3.04                      1.90
Schenn              2.81                      2.01

I hardly think that Komisarek, who is pretty much offensively stunted is contributing heavily to the offense while he is on the ice (I would probably say the same regarding Schenn).  So really we are talking about a 0.11 difference in goals/60 minutes at 5 on 5 play. 

* Stats not including last nights game.

 

[Kin]

I love the idea that Komisarek was "bashed". Like he wasn't justly criticized for the fact that he basically stunk for two solid years.

But as to the general point, LK is right. Right now Komisarek is the 5th defenseman. He's getting less time than Gardiner, a 21 year old rookie, and only more than Schenn, who's flirting with being benched. Despite a not very good powerplay, Komisarek is 4th on the team in SH ice time for defensemen.

So, basically, he's turned into Aki Berg. A reasonably serviceable bottom pairing defenseman. The difference being that the criticism of Berg(which I guess was that he was drafted too high) seems unfair whereas the criticism of Komisarek(that he's still not providing reasonable value for his cap hit) seems pretty fair.

 

[cw]

I've given Komisarek some credit for his play this season. I thought he deserved it. But I also thought he deserved criticism for his play the previous two years.

We've seen this before from him: stretches of good play. Hopefully this time, he can keep it going. 13 generally decent games (though it took him a few games to get going so it's actually less than that) doesn't erase two poor seasons for me yet. But I'm pulling for him. He seems like a nice enough guy.

 

[Deebo]

I love the idea that Komisarek was "bashed". Like he wasn't justly criticized for the fact that he basically stunk for two solid years.

When I read GDTs, here and on other boards I think he gets unfairly singled out for goals against on a regular basis.

But as to the general point, LK is right. Right now Komisarek is the 5th defenseman. He's getting less time than Gardiner, a 21 year old rookie, and only more than Schenn, who's flirting with being benched. Despite a not very good powerplay, Komisarek is 4th on the team in SH ice time for defensemen.

So, basically, he's turned into Aki Berg. A reasonably serviceable bottom pairing defenseman. The difference being that the criticism of Berg(which I guess was that he was drafted too high) seems unfair whereas the criticism of Komisarek(that he's still not providing reasonable value for his cap hit) seems pretty fair.

I agree that the cap hit is too high for the role he plays, but that criticism should be directed at Burke, not Komisarek. I think that managment would move him if they could but at this point he's stuck on the roster and the coaching staff seems to be quite happy with his performance in the role they've put him in. I think most teams have guys that are making too much for the role they play, but Komisarek does add something to the D, he's a good physical presence, leads the team in blocked shots and by all accounts is a solid leader. I know this doesn't constitute a 4.5M dollar defenseman, but again, I find it difficult to blame Komisarek for accepting a contract offer.

So I guess all I'm trying to say is he's a good, but overpaid 5th defenseman.

 

[Edeagle]

I don't blame him for getting paid.. but I really don't feel like he's been that good this year, or any other year. I like Komi but I find he makes a lot of bad decisions and he has cement blocks for hands. His stats are up because the team is playing well, I don't think he has a lot to do with it.

 

[Kin]

I know this doesn't constitute a 4.5M dollar defenseman, but again, I find it difficult to blame Komisarek for accepting a contract offer.

I know it's tough to keep it straight here what with the people who are angrily imagining things Gustavsson might say to hypothetical future benchings and reacting with indignation at the temerity of the make-believe things they're attributing to Gus but the criticism of Mike Komisarek is of Mike Komisarek, the abstract concept of a hockey player, and not Mike Komisarek as a person.

The worst hockey player in the league may be a splendid person and, accordingly, the criticism isn't personal. Aside from Sean Avery I'm sure every overpaid, underperforming player is a fine  person doing their best who'd much prefer to be thought of as immensely valuable.

I don't "blame" Komisarek for accepting the contract offer. I just recognize that his contract/price performance is part of his evaluation and whether or not he's contributing to the team. Again, I liked Aki Berg.

 

[Deebo]

I know it's tough to keep it straight here what with the people who are angrily imagining things Gustavsson might say to hypothetical future benchings and reacting with indignation at the temerity of the make-believe things they're attributing to Gus but the criticism of Mike Komisarek is of Mike Komisarek, the abstract concept of a hockey player, and not Mike Komisarek as a person.

The worst hockey player in the league may be a splendid person and, accordingly, the criticism isn't personal. Aside from Sean Avery I'm sure every overpaid, underperforming player is a fine  person doing their best who'd much prefer to be thought of as immensely valuable.

I don't "blame" Komisarek for accepting the contract offer. I just recognize that his contract/price performance is part of his evaluation and whether or not he's contributing to the team. Again, I liked Aki Berg.

I don't think I said anywhere that I thought the criticism was personal or even that criticism of his play was unwarranted, I certainly didn't mean to imply that I thought either of those things. He hasn't been very good for the majority of the time he has been here.

I just said that we are stuck with him on the roster due to his contract and that I felt he is doing an good/adequate job as a 5th defenseman this season but is overpaid for that role.

I actually thought I was agreeing with your original post in the thread.

 

[Britishbulldog]

He's playing better and I'm glad that some stats suggest it to, but I would hardly consider him to be playing well.  He still can't do anything with the puck.  His passes are rarely on target and he takes himself out of position too much with bad attempts at hits.

I am not quite nutman but I am pretty optimistic about the Leafs.

Even still, I am with LK on this one.  That is exactly how I feel.

 

[Kin]

I actually thought I was agreeing with your original post in the thread.

The reason I cut your post to the part I did is that I was really only replying to the idea that people were "blam(ing) him for accepting a contract offer" rather than simply factoring in his salary into their evaluation of him. 

 

[moon111]

A perfect game would have Komisarek's name barely being mentioned, with the exception of a legal, thunderous hit on an opponent.  I believe with a winning team, it's equally important to have an A+ 5th defenseman as it is to have an A+ 1st defenseman.  A team needs a blueliner that can make terrific passes, but also needs players in a Komisarek-type mold.  I expect Komisarek to pass as well as John-Michael Liles fights.  When he stopped trying to be an all-star last season and settled down to doing what he does best, the team was firing on all cylinders last season.

 

[princedpw]

A perfect game would have Komisarek's name barely being mentioned, with the exception of a legal, thunderous hit on an opponent.  I believe with a winning team, it's equally important to have an A+ 5th defenseman as it is to have an A+ 1st defenseman.  A team needs a blueliner that can make terrific passes, but also needs players in a Komisarek-type mold.  I expect Komisarek to pass as well as John-Michael Liles fights.  When he stopped trying to be an all-star last season and settled down to doing what he does best, the team was firing on all cylinders last season.

I really think a team is best if all defensemen can pass better than Liles fights.  Now, I don't need Komi to skate it up out of the zone like Liles, but I would like him to be able to pass.  Or simply not to panic when he has the puck and no one on him like he often does, tossing the puck right back to the other team.

 

[Kin]

A perfect game would have Komisarek's name barely being mentioned, with the exception of a legal, thunderous hit on an opponent.

You know, I know a lot of people say that as a way to kind of gloss over the problems with one dimensional players but it's not even true in the way it's intended. How many times during games do you hear "Heck of a  defensive play by _____" or "Great work on that 2 on 1 by ____" or even the patented break-in by the colour guy with "Now let's take a look at the stellar work by _____ on the penalty kill".

A great defensive game is not just the absence of defensive blunders and announcers notice and comment on great defensive plays and players.

 

[moon111]

A perfect game would have Komisarek's name barely being mentioned, with the exception of a legal, thunderous hit on an opponent.  I believe with a winning team, it's equally important to have an A+ 5th defenseman as it is to have an A+ 1st defenseman.  A team needs a blueliner that can make terrific passes, but also needs players in a Komisarek-type mold.  I expect Komisarek to pass as well as John-Michael Liles fights.  When he stopped trying to be an all-star last season and settled down to doing what he does best, the team was firing on all cylinders last season.

I really think a team is best if all defensemen can pass better than Liles fights.  Now, I don't need Komi to skate it up out of the zone like Liles, but I would like him to be able to pass.  Or simply not to panic when he has the puck and no one on him like he often does, tossing the puck right back to the other team.

It would be nice if Komisarek could get an assist every 2nd game instead of every 7th game.  But combine that with another guy who gets 1.3 penalty minutes/game on average, you wind up with Chris Pronger.  If you want the toughness attribute, you have to accept the play-making isn't going to be there for a 5th/6th defenseman.  15-20 assists/season would be nice, but he's doing very well in other areas.  I'd back-check a little harder for him if he'd be willing to step into a fight for me any day.

 

[princedpw]

Moon, I'm really not looking for assists -- I'm looking for simple tape to tape defensive zone passes to get the puck out of trouble.

 

[Zee]

Leafs are 4-1 since Komisarek got hurt.  Now I don't want to pin anything on Komi, and he was playing fairly steady during his time, but maybe with Franson getting a regular shift we have some better puck movement which leads to a better overall game?

We'll see how we fair against Boston this week, but I'd be hesitant to change up the D when Komisarek is healthy again based on how the Leafs are playing right now.

 

[Mikhail Bloodnovsky]

Still can't believe this slug makes more than Liles. What a waste of cap space. I miss his clearing backhand onto an opposing player's stick.

 

[Champ Kind]

Leafs are 4-1 since Komisarek got hurt.  Now I don't want to pin anything on Komi, and he was playing fairly steady during his time, but maybe with Franson getting a regular shift we have some better puck movement which leads to a better overall game?

We'll see how we fair against Boston this week, but I'd be hesitant to change up the D when Komisarek is healthy again based on how the Leafs are playing right now.

Good point, Zee.  Franson has been solid, decently physical and brings an added offensive dimension.  Certainly much better than his first few games would have suggested.  With that said, though, I think Komi brings an element of toughness, especially in front of the net, that is lacking without him.