What's wrong with....X?

[rataylor22]

Obviously this happens every new season, but it bears reminding. Nothing is wrong with player X. They've all played 4 games or fewer. What's wrong with them? Variance. Only variance.

The only thing that should change your opinion from preseason to now is drastic changes in usage. Jesper Bratt is getting way more usage than expected. Adjust your expectations. Alex Galchenyuk is getting worse usage than expected. Adjust your expectations. If the usage is what you thought but the performance isn't what you expected, it's just variance. Alex Ovechkin is not going to score 164 goals this year. He's probably not going to score 50 in 50. Mike Hoffman is not going to score 0 points this year.

Everyone is dealing with small sample sizes right now. That creates a lot of variance.

[Sulla]

Most sensible post I’ve seen since my sabbatical lol

[cfmd28]

Thank you for that Rataylor22!

Most sensible post I’ve seen since my sabbatical lol

[Shift Disturber]

True enough. The negative variance is wreacking havoc with my week 1 H2H match up.

[Jouko-Pouko]

What's wrong with Ovechkin? He doesn't know how to pass the puck? Zero assists?!

What's wrong with Kuznetsov? He doesn't know how to shoot the puck? Zero goals?!

Worthless bums.

[lucafen4]

I think one player that fits in 'X' might be Sam Bennett... since this question was asked about him all of last year as well. With 2min of pp time per game to start the year... what is wrong with him?

[audiopile]

Ovechkin, Dustin Brown, Bratt, Yakupov, Butcher, Green. All unsustainable on the other end of the spectrum, just as much as "whats wrong with player x".

[lucafen4]

Ovechkin, Dustin Brown, Bratt, Yakupov, Butcher, Green. All unsustainable on the other end of the spectrum, just as much as "whats wrong with player x".

Ovie's still the best bet to go 50 in 50 in the league, even at 33.

[audiopile]

Ovie's still the best bet to go 50 in 50 in the league, even at 33.

SH% = 32 I know what you are saying though. He should be at 0.5 GPG, not 2.0 GPG.

My point was, in the spirit of this thread, for every under performer after 3 games, there is an over performer to match.

[reggiebarnes]

But be aware of some slow starts that may actually be because the player isn't as good as we thought , or overachieved last year. None are popping in my head though

[2014olympicgold]

But be aware of some slow starts that may actually be because the player isn't as good as we thought , or overachieved last year. None are popping in my head though

I'm Playoff Bobby Ryan and I have Direct TV

And I'm regular season Bobby Ryan and I have Cable

[reggiebarnes]

I'm Playoff Bobby Ryan and I have Direct TV

And I'm regular season Bobby Ryan and I have Cable

Literally y complete opposite of what I said since he's having a great start

[StuntMan12]

Am baffled at how many freak out by certain players not producing the first few games. Too small of a sample size to gather anything from it. Is a long season and we are about 4 or 5 % through the NHL season. Still lots of hockey to be played.

[Fighting_Emu]

I dont know though- seems to me like player X is running out of plank here. I mean he was also streaky for that collegiate/junior/european team and has only really had one to twelve quality seasons for his or her (likely his) NHL team. I think we should definitely be worried or not worried about this current trend or lack thereof. Definitely maybe something absolutely definitive should be done about player X and their place on your roster or status as a free agents. I completely disagree with the sentiment here and adamantly believe that hair trigger decisions are important- specifically in this case as player X has a clear history of over or under achieving. Now is not the time for restraint. Hold or sleep on player X at your own risk- just dont come crying to me when he does or doesnt pan out....

[Sulla]

We should probably start a ‘team you’d never have drafted to start the season’ thread...

Bratt, Brown, Yakupov, Green, Butcher, Varlamov for starters