|
Petr Prucha |
Games
|
Goals
|
Assists
|
Points
|
+/-
|
|
Regular Season
|
79
|
22
|
18
|
40
|
-7
|
|
Playoffs
|
10
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-1
|
Petr Prucha we hardly knew yee. At least thats what the vast majority of the fans out there are thinking. Will he or won’t he be traded, its all anyone in ranger land is talking about….ok maybe thats a stretch, but still, its a popular talking point.
Before we get there though, lets talk about the season that we just had. Petr had a respectable 22 goals, though down significantly from last years 30 goal total. He was a healthy scratch for 3 games this year, and he was only 7th on the team in terms of total point production with 40 points. But does that tell the full story? Well no, it really doesn’t. You have to look at 2 things. First, Petrs playing time at even strength and on the PP was very very low. Second, Petr didnt play with a true playmaking center all year, and since hes a player that doesnt necessarily create by himself but finishes what others start, its a point worth noting.
First lets talk about time on the ice. Petr averaged 12:59 per game. That ranked him 19th on the team, below the likes of Brad Isbister, Jason Strudwick, Kaspar, and others. In terms of forwards he ranked 9th on the team for time on the ice, which is borderline 4th line playing time. So his 22 goals actually speaks volumes when you look at the playing time. Now I recognize that its not a linear progression for the kid. Clearly his size and frame makes him wear down quicker than bigger guys, but you have to believe he could have duplicated last years superb performance with just a little more playing time. According to the Rodents stats, he scored a goal every 46.6 minutes on the ice, those numbers are better than Havlat, Getzlaf, Tkachuk, Straka, Knuble, Nash, Jagr, etc.
So for all these positives, why do so many people want him gone? They dont. People seem to misconstrue accepting a trade, and forcing a trade. People, like me, would be OK using Petr to upgrade elsewhere, if we are in fact, upgrading. The reason being that he is young, has a very very low salary, and is a proven producer at a young age. Also many people believe his small stature, and style of play will eventually lead to a career ending injury, and we should sell high before we lose him for nothing. These are all ok with me, so long as we use him to upgrade our #1 center dilemma. If we can trade him, and more to get a guy like Nathan Horton, who has the size and skill to produce at an exceptionally high level for a good long time, then I would do it in a heartbeat. What I dont want is to do something stupid like trade him for a guy like Boynton or something idiotic like that. I know Sather won’t let me down, so I think we can expect that if Petr is moved, we get a good return back, and if he isn’t traded, I’m sure Sather will have exhausted every available door.
Either way its a win win for us. If he stays with us, I think he can produce more (so long as he is healthy) and if he is traded, im sure Nigel Dawes can step into his role, and we can have a better, more balanced team long term.
-Inferno