Kunitz for Toews

[westcoaststicks]

I would go with Kunitz. Barring any injuries, I think that Kunitz will at least maintain a PPG pace.

Toews has that name brand, but a lot of what he does on the ice doesnt translate directly to your format.

Really, its probably a wash, but Kunitz has more upside (not considering injury concerns). That's my opinion anyways.

[newfcollins]

Do points get transferred with a trade? If so, then definitely Kunitz.

[Pengwin7]

I'll take Toews.

Kunitz is having a nice year, but he's also shooting at 29%.
He's a career 12% shooter.
Knock his 17 goals in half and he's got 8G,19A = 27pts. A little closer to Toews.
Kunitz also has 12 PPP this year... to go with 24 ESP.

Toews has just 4 PPP this year... to go with 18 ESP + 1 SHP.

Let's not forget with Toews... he's a two-way player.
If Chicago has a lead, he'll sit on it and play defensive hockey.

With Sharp out and the Hawks struggling for goals, you'll see him be a little more offensive-minded for the next 22 games.

My predictions for next 22 games:
Toews: 22pts in 22games.
Kunitz: 20pts in 22games. (14% shooting, little bit cooler PPP)

[bigbabybuda]

I'll take Toews.

Kunitz is having a nice year, but he's also shooting at 29%.
He's a career 12% shooter.
Knock his 17 goals in half and he's got 8G,19A = 27pts. A little closer to Toews.
Kunitz also has 12 PPP this year... to go with 24 ESP.

Toews has just 4 PPP this year... to go with 18 ESP + 1 SHP.

Let's not forget with Toews... he's a two-way player.
If Chicago has a lead, he'll sit on it and play defensive hockey.

With Sharp out and the Hawks struggling for goals, you'll see him be a little more offensive-minded for the next 22 games.

My predictions for next 22 games:
Toews: 22pts in 22games.
Kunitz: 20pts in 22games. (14% shooting, little bit cooler PPP)

See if Penguin says go with Toews I must be right but jeez I hope Kunitz keeps it up so I can ride him and Sid to a championship then move him in the off seasin

[Skin Blues]

Kunitz is playing way over his head right now.

It's not like this is the first time he's played with Crosby... they were on the same line in 2010-11 as well, and that season he posted 48 points in 66 games.

If we're talking about the rest of this season (ie: the remaining 20 games or so), then perhaps you can make the argument that he'll ride the hot streak (I still wouldn't bet on it), but over the course of a full season there's no way he'll match Toews.

In 2010-11 Crosby missed half the season. With Crosby in the lineup Kunitz had 32 pts in 34 games, and without Crosby he scored 16 in 32 games.

Yeah, if we're only looking at even strength points, then Kunitz takes a big hit. But he's on the PP for 4 minutes a game alongside Crosby, Neal and Letang, and when he's healthy, Malkin joins them. That isn't going to change any time soon, so it's not a reason to knock his production.

[laurier51]

Ive been trying to sell high on kunitz all season working under the same assumptions posted here that he just can't keeep this production up. I tried trading him for benn early in he season and it got turned down, then he scored 4 goals in one game. I tried including him in a trade for perry when he was slumping, then he goes on a 8 or so game point streak capped off by a 5 point night. The guy has been the definition of consistency this year and while I don't think he is a 100 point player, I don't think youll be kicking yourself at the end of the season if you keep him over teows.

[larrylintz]

In 2010-11 Crosby missed half the season. With Crosby in the lineup Kunitz had 32 pts in 34 games, and without Crosby he scored 16 in 32 games.

Yeah, if we're only looking at even strength points, then Kunitz takes a big hit. But he's on the PP for 4 minutes a game alongside Crosby, Neal and Letang, and when he's healthy, Malkin joins them. That isn't going to change any time soon, so it's not a reason to knock his production.

Wow, Skin, thanks. Like others i've wondered since early February if i should trade Kunitz (i have him and Sid, riding a 34-point lead in an all-points non-keeper league), because when i look at both his career and his shooting percentage i find this production freakish. But then i watch them play together, as i have at least 7 times this year, and i can totally "get" this -- he has a fantastic snap-shot from the slot, just a bullet, and the best player in the world always knows where he is (http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=659688&print=true) and keeps teeing him up. I wondered if i should offer him for Getslaf, ot Toews, but almost every other team -- especially in West -- tends to be in 3-1 defensive battles. There are NO easy blow-out teams in the West, whereas in the East there are a number of teams that can be blown out on any given nite. When the Pens face one of those teams, look out.

But until i saw your comment i had absolutely no evidence to back up my gut feeling. Kunitz getting essentially a point a game during his time with Sid suggests strongly that this isn't a complete aberration, because i really think Sid has hit another gear this year and is a man on a mission. Take away his slow start and he's pretty well a 2-pt a game player, which puts him in Mario/Gretzky in their primes territory and makes plausible all sorts of Kevin Stevens/Rob Brown scenarios.

[larrylintz]

And if you extrapolate Kunitz's ppg pace with Sid over an 82-game season he would have finished tied for 10th in league scoring, ahead of a bunch of superstars no one would dream of offering us for K a month ago.

[bondon]

Surprised that so many people are going Kunitz. i'd take Toews rather easily. It's not about what he's done so far, it's about what he will do down the line.

[lucifer316]

Surprised that so many people are going Kunitz. i'd take Toews rather easily. It's not about what he's done so far, it's about what he will do down the line.

sure but how do you determine what he will do down the line

[larrylintz]

Surprised that so many people are going Kunitz. i'd take Toews rather easily. It's not about what he's done so far, it's about what he will do down the line.

You seriously don't think every single person posting here isn't aware of that reality?

[newfcollins]

sure but how do you determine what he will do down the line

And how far down the line? I'd rather a the guy who will get more points the next two years than the guy who will get more points three years from now.

[lucifer316]

And how far down the line? I'd rather a the guy who will get more points the next two years than the guy who will get more points three years from now.

well it is a one year forum so down the line means the rest of this season

[newfcollins]

well it is a one year forum so down the line means the rest of this season

Haha. Ignore my post then. Forgot it was a one-year forum.

I still think I'd rather Kunitz the rest of the line of this year than Toews.

[bondon]

You seriously don't think every single person posting here isn't aware of that reality?

sure but how do you determine what he will do down the line

What I see here is a guy who can create for himself and others playing with great players, versus a guy who is a complementary player to a really great player.

Toews is being his typical consistent self, scoring at just under point per game. He still has upside, but nothing is out of the ordinary for him, might as well call him Captain Consistent while we're at it. You don't have to worry about him dipping too far because he hovers around a steady number.

Kunitz on the other hand, as many have mentioned, is on pace to set career highs at the age of 33. He's shooting a ridiculous percentage of .300. There is no way he's going to maintain this scoring pace.

How many people bought high on Patrick Marleau 7 or 8 games into the season? I get that 27 games into the season is significantly different from 7 or 8 games in, but history isn't in Kunitz's favour.

I don't know about you guys, but I've found buying low and selling high to be the best way to winning pools. More often than not down the road it usually ends up coming up millhouse.