E or J Johnson

[WhiteChocolate]

Hi All,

I have 1st overall pick in my keeper league this upcoming season. I need a d-man since my 3 keeper d-men are Ry Whitney, Carle, Redden. I am looking to draft a d-man this year, and hope to be very competitive in my league in 2-3 years....

That being said, just wondering what you project for these two D-men both short term (1-3 years), and long term (3+ years)? Goals, assists, PIM, +/- and ice time?

Thanks for your help.

[DAW]

To be honest I would go for EJ... Just think the upside is greater with him... but you really can\'t go wrong with eather of them... with the blues ej will be the goto guy in a short time... in la I think JJ will have a harder time to get to that point as the number one guy...

[raffi]

I agree with DAW.

However, the other thing to keep in mind is that LA promises to be a very competitive team in 2-3 years and so JJ\'s stats (especially +/-) might look a little better than EJ\'s in that timeframe.

But there\'s no doubt that EJ will be the #1 in StLouis in short order and so he may have a step on JJ with respect to overall development.

[GoJetsGo]

As a JJ owner I was orignally concerned about all the Free Agent D that LA signed as I was hoping for him to get decent ice-time and hopefully number 1 power play.

Now it looks like he will be in tough to get on the second power play. When I sat back and looked at the reality of what LA did, I was impressed. They have taken all of the pressure off JJ for this season. They have surrounded him with a veteran defense so he can learn the NHL game and not be counted on to be the go-to-guy this season.

Blake, Stuart and Modry are all UFAs next season leaving the room for JJ to step in next season and be \"the man.\"

In St. Louis, Brewer, McKee and Backman are all signed for the next three seasons and Jackman is an RFA next season. This gives St. Louis a solid core of defense, but they are not that offensive. That\'s where EJ steps right in, especially on the power play.

St. Louis will have a good power play this year and EJ will likely get more points this season, but watch out for LA next year and for 2-3 years after that, they will be lighting it up. St. Louis will be a defense first team and as long as that means wins, Andy Murray will remain the coach, and that approach won\'t change.

Just my thoughts on the Johnson\'s.

[WhiteChocolate]

Great, thanks guys! It\'s funny earlier this year when I learned I had the 1st overall, I was all for EJ. Now, looking at the potential of the Kings in 3+ years, it\'s scary good (the PITT of the west). The only thing that was scaring me away from JJ was the recent LA d-men signings (as was pointed out in this thread already). It\'s almost a coin flip for me right now, and hopefully someone or something will convince me to go one way or the other

[Sfarzo]

I had both EJ, and JJ this past off season, EJ was on my farm team and JJ i aquired late in the season.....

I actually just traded EJ, for Kariya, Hemsky, and Nabokov!

Three NHL players for a player that will be learning on the job!

I know Future is very important in a keeper league, im coming off of a rebuilding year and figured its time to add depth i was able to trade a young star.... thats why i keeped JJ, i couldnt get that value for JJ so thats why i traded EJ.

Hope that helps!
And remeber you wanna try to win every year... or at least not pay!

[pudge]

Sfarzo wrote:

I actually just traded EJ, for Kariya, Hemsky, and Nabokov!

Three NHL players for a player that will be learning on the job!

Lol terrible deal :P

[Chadosaur]

I like EJ because of the time he\'ll be given in StL. While it\'s unlikely that he\'ll get regular top 2 time this coming season, it\'s conceivable to think that he could take over the #3 spot ahead of Backman and Jackman. Plus, I would think that he\'ll be counted on for the PP. Depending on how he, Brewer and McKee perform, it\'s possible that he could be battling for a top 2 spot as soon as 2008-09.

As for JJ, it looks like he\'s got trouble in LA. At best he looks to be a 5th or 6th guy next season behind Visnovsky, Blake, Stuart, Preissing, and possibly Modry depending on how he or JJ do early. Looking ahead, both Visnovsky and Preissing are locked up long term, and I would think that LA at least takes a run at re-signing Stuart, so JJ may be looking at battling for a 3rd or 4th spot in 2008-09, and even then may not see much PP time.

Sum total, unless either of these guys does something to change my opinion, EJ is the guy, bar none. However, I will say that those people in leagues that value PIMs highly may find it a tough decision once JJ cracks the top 4, because he\'ll be kicking ass and taking names.

[gdon]

Chadosaur wrote:

Looking ahead, both Visnovsky and Preissing are locked up long term, and I would think that LA at least takes a run at re-signing Stuart, so JJ may be looking at battling for a 3rd or 4th spot in 2008-09, and even then may not see much PP time.

Sum total, unless either of these guys does something to change my opinion, EJ is the guy, bar none. However, I will say that those people in leagues that value PIMs highly may find it a tough decision once JJ cracks the top 4, because he\'ll be kicking ass and taking names.

I have to disagree chadosaur, JJ will be ahead of Preissing by next year. Preissing may be signed for that long, but realistically in two years he\'ll be the one battling for the 4th spot. He hasn\'t held down a top two spot with any team yet. If he holds off JJ, I would be quite surprised.

My pick is Johnson of the LA Johnsons.

[angus]

EJ will be the best defenseman out of the young crop (including JJ, Weber, and Phaneuf). I don\'t think he will surpass Jay Bouwmeester, but he is the total package.

[lambraf]

angus wrote:

EJ will be the best defenseman out of the young crop (including JJ, Weber, and Phaneuf). I don\'t think he will surpass Jay Bouwmeester, but he is the total package.

Weber and Phaneuf have already surpass Bouwmeester

EJ is the total package but JJ have a higher upside

[Pete]

Don\'t forget EJ hasn\'t play a NHL game yet !

[WhiteChocolate]

Thanks all for taking a look!

Very interesting comments. So am I to infer that EJ will have points,+/-,PIM but JJ has higher point upside but not better +/-, or PIMs (I would think he would have more PIMs than EJ)? What I take from this is that EJ will be better short term (1-3 years) but JJ could surpass him after 3 years.

[Kowalchuk]

lambraf wrote:

angus wrote:

EJ will be the best defenseman out of the young crop (including JJ, Weber, and Phaneuf). I don\'t think he will surpass Jay Bouwmeester, but he is the total package.

Weber and Phaneuf have already surpass Bouwmeester

EJ is the total package but JJ have a higher upside

on the stats sheet perhaps. They don\'t even compare to JBO defensively, or have the natural ability JBO has. Phaneuf and Weber are both in the Rob Blake mold, while JBO is in the Scotty Niedermayer mold. I am sure if Nashville or Calgary offered Jaqcues Martin Weber or Phaneuf for JBO he would decline. JBO\'s value is much greater then what appears on the score sheets.

E.J has a higher upside then J.J. E.J. is younger and has outperformed J.J. on the international stage. Whoever watched the WJC would clearly agree with this.

Post edited by: Kowalchuk, at: 2007/08/07 19:58

[angus]

lambraf wrote:

angus wrote:

EJ will be the best defenseman out of the young crop (including JJ, Weber, and Phaneuf). I don\'t think he will surpass Jay Bouwmeester, but he is the total package.

Weber and Phaneuf have already surpass Bouwmeester

in what world?

Bouwmeester gets little to no hype (strange, considering he was so hyped as a prospect) but is far and away the best young blue-liner in the league.

He was drafted to be the next Coffey but has emerged as a punishing defensive defenseman who can skate like the wind and rack up the points.

Post edited by: angus, at: 2007/08/07 23:44