interesting facts on brayden schenn/courturier/laughton

[flyercanuck]

@brelic

As bad as Couturiers been, so has everyone else. I still think they rushed him.

[flyercanuck]

@Polaris922

Carters 13 playoff goals in 47 games doesn't exactly scream clutch. I think the guy was vastly underappreciated here for his regular season. His skating and reach made him look like he didn't give a lot of effort, but he was solid defensively and scored well. He tended to disappear come postseason sometimes though.

I think the best thing that happened to him was getting traded though. He seems to have taken his game up a level, something we rarely saw out of him in Philly. He was always skilled enough to get by without working his arse off. But when he puts in the effort he can be a really good player. I think he's finally realized that.

[mojo1917]

@flyercanuck

talk about a beautiful skater...

Carter makes it look effortless, which was a huge problem for him here, he would look like he was coasting, until you had a frame of reference ie another player to gauge him by then he would catch that player or pull away from him.

i do think the trade was a wake up call for him and Richards . too bad they needed that.

[Polaris922]

@flyercanuck

That's why I said he's clutch "now". He had some big game winners in playoffs for the Kings last year. But I agree he was always a goal scoring talent. Just depended on his effort. And agree with both you and @mojo1917 that the trade sparked a bit more out of him.

[flyercanuck]

@mojo1917

It is too bad. Remember when Richards went down and Carter came in and played the way he could? That was the guy I saw playing for the Soo. And it looks like he's back in LA.

[flyercanuck]

@Polaris922

Right, you did say "now" looking back at it. I'm still pretty happy with the return on both of them. And I think 5 years from now it's going to look a whole lot better.

[fan4ever]

I can remember calling Carter "high and wide" all the time...and will never forget the shot that, IMHO, potentially lost us a chance at Lord Stanely!!! For that alone, I'm soooo glad he is gone!

[King Knut]

Everyone in Philly hated Carter by the time they shipped him out of town.

Why would anyone of us want these guys to be more like Carter?

But if that logic doesn't work try this:

Voracek is now outscoring Carter when Carter was Jake's age.

Schenn is outscoring Richards when Richards was Schenn's age.

Couturier is outscoring them both at Coots' age since Richards and Carter were both hoping to stay with the Phantoms when they were 20.

I'll add, that we're not rational people, Philly Phans... we can't really see things clearly in the moment.

Carter wasn't bad. He didn't earn the hate and vitriol he received from the phan base while he was here. Neither did Richards. Their importance on this LA team should be evidence of that.

But we hated them because they didn't have "heart" or work ethic or something. They didn't give it their all. Well this team we have now doesn't seem to either. Maybe it's just hard to be better than everyone else.

We hated Carter because even though he scored a lot of goals, he sucked in the finals and had the chance to send it to a game 7, but screwed up. He had no work ethic. He didn't care. He had no heart... even though no one remembers that he was playing on two broken feet in the Finals when his game was so lack luster. Reall, I still think most Pholks hated him because he got laid more than they did.

But The point remains... we don't want these kids to be like Carter. WE want more out of our players than Carter was able to give. Schenn, Couturier and Laughton all seem to have way more heart and intensity than Carter ever did. That's a good thing. What's even better is that right now, there's plenty of evidence to suggest these kids will in fact be better than Richards and Carter.

Carter and Richards are obviously key to the Kings right now. #2 & #3 in scoring on the team and Carter is among the league leaders in goals. That's big. PLUS oh yeah, by the way, they won a cup there. But We got a pretty good return a return whose dividends are still growing and are yet to really be seen.

The real problem with those trades is the asterix next to them. They were both made to make long term cap room for a goalie. And we got Bryzgalov. And while I'm on the record not hating him like others here (because I'm slightly more realistic) I am on the record as saying the deal that brought him here was asinine and the REAL problem with his presence now. He's an acceptable 3.5-4 million dollar a year goalie for 4 year duration at most. The deal he got has destroyed this team's ability to be competitive in the marketplace of top quality players.

Bryzgalov is the bitter herb that makes the Richards and Carter deals taste sour now. Not Jake, Coots, Schenn or Simmer.

why everyone is high on these guys, you really think going to be like carter? i dont see it.

[murraycraven]

The deal he got has destroyed this team's ability to be competitive in the marketplace of top quality players.

\

-- and that is why he should be bought out.

[King Knut]

And God willing, Homer and Snyder will see it that way too.