Lehtera - How Many Points

[marshal]

45-55. Think he'll cool off, but what a fantastic start.

[mister_mcgoo]

Saying Tarasenko will only get 60 or even 70 at this point is silly. Sure he won't continue this torrid pace but the elite players can get 80-90 points. Tarasenko is elite, he just had to be allowed to play. Hitchcock has finally let him. As for Lehtera, 60 seems reasonable.

Oh puh-lease, the Blues haven't had a ppg scorer in over a decade. In fact, other than that weird year that Boyes became a fantasy juggernaut somehow, they haven't even had a 70 pt forward I don't think.
The team doesn't win that way, that's not the way they are built or the kind of game they play.

It's the first 1/4 of the season, we always see these weird anomalies and they always balance out by the end of the year, you'd think people would have grasped that simple concept by now.

Tarasenko is not going to keep pace and score 107 pts
Giordano is not going to put up 90, nor Brent Burns 80

[27Blue]

Oh puh-lease, the Blues haven't had a ppg scorer in over a decade. In fact, other than that weird year that Boyes became a fantasy juggernaut somehow, they haven't even had a 70 pt forward I don't think.
The team doesn't win that way, that's not the way they are built or the kind of game they play.

This makes total sense. Teams play the same way, always. They never change. The Blues will never have a 70 point player ever again. Ever. It's not the way they do things. Hitchcock won't allow it.

[mister_mcgoo]

This makes total sense. Teams play the same way, always. They never change. The Blues will never have a 70 point player ever again. Ever. It's not the way they do things. Hitchcock won't allow it.

No, teams do evolve over time, but they don't suddenly go 0-60 either, this could be a sign of things to come, but the far more likely scenario is that it's just an early season anomaly.
And as far as Hitch goes, he is definitely known as a defense-first coach so to ignore that affect on player scoring is obtuse. Hitch hasn't had an 80 pt player on his team since Modano back in the 90s.

[2014olympicgold]

If the line stays together, Lehtera can get 55-60. If the line keeps getting the chances they are now down the stretch, 60-70 is doable.

[larrylintz]

Saying Tarasenko will only get 60 or even 70 at this point is silly. Sure he won't continue this torrid pace but the elite players can get 80-90 points. Tarasenko is elite, he just had to be allowed to play. Hitchcock has finally let him. As for Lehtera, 60 seems reasonable.

Agreed, kind of, at least with tone. There seems to be a consensus that Tarasenko is for real, elite, superstar, you choose the word. IF you agree with that then we're talking 80-90, and i don't think that's a stretch if he stays healthy, and if you assume Lehtera remains his centre and isn't hurt, then 40-55 is just absurd. Look at the Backstrom-Ovi combo. Since when does a playmaking centre getting #1PP time, and that's where we're at now, have that big a gap in points with his sniper. In fact, centres tend to touch the puck more than wings, so he'll get assists off Schwartz and point guys that Tank won't necessarily be involved in.
I think some of you guys are too wedded to some pre-season projections which at some point you have to toss aside as reality settles in. Yeah, of course they don't stay this hot. But it is completely reasonable to suggest this could be one of the top 5-10 lines in the NHL. They are forechecking like madmen, Hitch loves that. He's 26, killing penalties, and fairly big. The centres of lines like that don't score 50 points.

[27Blue]

Most people on these boards post based on a player's reputation alone. They don't actually watch or know anything about the players they are posting about - just their reputations. Lehtera came into the league as an over-aged unknown, so how could he be any good. He was 26 and not even in the NHL... 40 point player, max, right there... Even though he has been the Blues second best skater this season, people still refuse to acknowledge that Lehtera might actually be good. Take away Tarasenko and he would be out of the league, right. He is a forty-fifty point player at best with Tarasenko, because nobody knows anything about him and even Dobber thought he would only get 30ish points and he plays for Hitchcock and nobody ever scores for hitchcock - he won't allow it... easy ticket to the press box. He has to tale off at some point because, well, because it is easier than actually watching him play and making an informed observation.

[mister_mcgoo]

Most people on these boards post based on a player's reputation alone. They don't actually watch or know anything about the players they are posting about - just their reputations. Lehtera came into the league as an over-aged unknown, so how could he be any good. He was 26 and not even in the NHL... 40 point player, max, right there... Even though he has been the Blues second best skater this season, people still refuse to acknowledge that Lehtera might actually be good. Take away Tarasenko and he would be out of the league, right. He is a forty-fifty point player at best with Tarasenko, because nobody knows anything about him and even Dobber thought he would only get 30ish points and he plays for Hitchcock and nobody ever scores for hitchcock - he won't allow it... easy ticket to the press box. He has to tale off at some point because, well, because it is easier than actually watching him play and making an informed observation.

The homer is strong in this one -lmao

Lets lay some money on this, how much you wanna bet that Tank posts an 80 pt season this year? Put your money where your mouth is little man, enough with the posturing already.

[ericdaoust]

Determined to get better at this game of making projections, I want to ask how many games I have to watch before my opinion becomes informed. Three? Seven?

Actually, wouldn't it be better to just poll all Blues' season ticket holders about Lehtera?

[Vanek! at the Disco]

I don't want to get my hopes up too high, it always leads to disappointment. I'm going to stick with a 50-55 point projection. That line however looks very dangerous and has excellent chemistry, he could hit 60.

I agree with your assessment, they'll come back to earth over the next few months but it is still a solid line, they'll put up good numbers for the season, perhaps as high as 60 pts. St Louis reminds me a little of LA at the moment, you have one line tearing it up and you start to forget that they have some excellent players on their other lines too. Kopitar only has 7 points right now, same as Backes. Lines never remain hot all season though, they hit slumps and the coach shakes them up, players get injured or come back from injury. Both Stastny and Oshie have missed significant time, them being back in the lineup will change the balance somewhat.

[austeane]

I think both Tarasenko and Lehtera will tail off significantly. That doesn't mean they won't be very good, just that they have gotten lucky. For more in depth reasons on why they have been lucky, read here.

[larrylintz]

ooops

[austeane]

Excuse me before i write because i have to go and then my head off. That's pretty brave! First you predict 52 points and then talk tough by predicting and waging a bet he won't go over 80! I have to to the courage of that stand. Big man vs. little man indeed!

He predicted Lehtera for 52 points, and then said that Tarasenko wouldn't go above 80. Not that unreasonable.

[mister_mcgoo]

Excuse me before i write because i have to go and then my head off. That's pretty brave! First you predict 52 points and then talk tough by predicting and waging a bet he won't go over 80! I have to to the courage of that stand. Big man vs. little man indeed!

Before you do anything to that questionable head of yours I suggest you read a little more carefully.

The Lehetra prediction was for 52 pts because that's what the thread is asking for. It's my personal prediction, but I can see him scoring as high as 60 too, I just think it's more likely he falls into the 50s somehwere.

The 80 pt comment was with regard to Tarasenko, that's why I said:

how much you wanna bet that Tank posts an 80 pt season this year

The bet is in response to various homers and dubious posters (such as yourself) saying 80 pts is a possibility.

[larrylintz]

You saw the oops, right? I erased it. My bad. The thread is about Lehtera prediction, and the thread that was quoted was solely about Lehtera, so my old brain just assumed the bet was about Lehtera. Kind of weird McGoo would jump in and get all aggressive focussing on Tank. But really, unless you are friends and this is friendly trash-talking the "little man" thing was over the top -- the guy made an intelligent argument and there is indeed something to be said for seeing a player play, in the context of other more established players like Steen or Stastny who you wouldn't really flip out over if they were projected at 70 pts. Hockey isn't like baseball where stats and analytics and "minor league equivalents" give us a fairly clear understanding of a player's potential in the big leagues.