What's wrong with Gustafsson?

[Choiker]

What's wrong with Chicago and Gus?
Drafted him pretty high and he is killing me.

I can wait for him and team to bounce back, but the problem is his peripherals.
He is not blocking shots and killing me at the +/- (with Karlsson and Dumba).
Other than Chabot, my Ds are underperforming.

Should I wait for Gus to bounce back? what can I expect from my Ds rest of the season?

Let me know what you guys think.

[sasquatch]

I think the real issue is why you rated him so highly to draft him so high.

Chicago is still a rebuilding side that will go through slumps. I expect Gustaffson to level out a bit across the season but hoping for more than he did last season was always going to be asking a bit much imho.

[Skippy]

I support this thread 1000%!!!

I used my 13th overall on him as FHG had as the 38th best skater and 8th best D to own - trialing only Burns, Carlson, Giordano, Rielly, Letang, Hedman and Ristolainen in that order. He’s beyond useless and is heading to the waiver wire soon.

[Blues_fan1000]

I support this thread 1000%!!!

I used my 13th overall on him as FHG had as the 38th best skater and 8th best D to own - trialing only Burns, Carlson, Giordano, Rielly, Letang, Hedman and Ristolainen in that order. He’s beyond useless and is heading to the waiver wire soon.

Ditto. I drafted him in both leagues i'm in. Same with Dumba...

[VincentVega]

Nothing wrong with him, what is wrong is the insane hype he got around here before the season. He should turn it around and get your 40-50 points, though. Not getting 70 as some had projected.

[Belexus75]

Klingberg, Ghoset Gust....non of them are as good as their first season...but they all good players and should be counted on for 40-50 year to year....some years it will happen, others it wont.

[JaysFan]

I kept him in my keep 7 in signature and am considering dropping him for Slavin...argh

[Daydream Nation]

The biggest reason for Gustafsson's lack of production is because of the slow start that Kane and Toews have gotten off to. So many of Gus's points are from pushing up the puck and getting it to Chicago's elite forwards. Much like Keith in his prime, Gustafsson benefited from Kane and Toews' brilliant season last year. While Gus had a nice year himself individually, he got a lot of easy assists last season. Gustafsson is not a 60-70 point talent but everything aligned perfectly for him last season. Personally, I did not anticipate this decline since there was no reason to predict Kane and Toews being so unproductive to start the season.

In terms of this season, I still expect Gus to be a 40ish point player. Their PP has been dreadful so that should improve. But a reason for concern is Gus's awful defensive play that Colliton is being less and less tolerant of. He has made comments to the press and it wouldn't surprise me to see Gus scratched in order to send a message. When you watch Gustafsson in the defensive zone, he just doesn't work hard. And he is not pinching and playing his freestyling ways like he did last season. I still hope the Hawks trade him at the deadline. Wish they had last offseason. We all knew he wasn't as good as his stats indicated last season.

[Dennis]

Awesome post Daydream. I'd rep if I could. Thanks!

[Fighting_Emu]

Im worried. Hes super reliant on the powerplay and when hes not producing he doesnt contribute much else. Also he doesnt make enough that they HAVE to make it work. Hes got plenty of internal competition and when Boqvist comes back the situation will get worse. These are all the things I was ranting about last year- lmao!! of course I BOUGHT him- haha! Ghost, Gus- if Emu buys an "out of nowhere" dman- AFTER theyve put up their monster numbers- its the kiss of death :P

[Fighting_Emu]

The biggest reason for Gustafsson's lack of production is because of the slow start that Kane and Toews have gotten off to. So many of Gus's points are from pushing up the puck and getting it to Chicago's elite forwards. Much like Keith in his prime, Gustafsson benefited from Kane and Toews' brilliant season last year. While Gus had a nice year himself individually, he got a lot of easy assists last season. Gustafsson is not a 60-70 point talent but everything aligned perfectly for him last season. Personally, I did not anticipate this decline since there was no reason to predict Kane and Toews being so unproductive to start the season.

In terms of this season, I still expect Gus to be a 40ish point player. Their PP has been dreadful so that should improve. But a reason for concern is Gus's awful defensive play that Colliton is being less and less tolerant of. He has made comments to the press and it wouldn't surprise me to see Gus scratched in order to send a message. When you watch Gustafsson in the defensive zone, he just doesn't work hard. And he is not pinching and playing his freestyling ways like he did last season. I still hope the Hawks trade him at the deadline. Wish they had last offseason. We all knew he wasn't as good as his stats indicated last season.

Nice post! Im fine with 40 and for a record- i agree thats closer to where he is. he needs ridiculously good deployment to post better numbers than that imho- and with Boqvist coming up eventually thats going to get worse not better. If a PP1/2 split in the 35-45 point range helps you- then hes good. In a cap league his lack of peripherals are not ideal but Ill take that production at that price point. Next year when he gets a decent raise? all bets are off...

[JaysFan]

The biggest reason for Gustafsson's lack of production is because of the slow start that Kane and Toews have gotten off to. So many of Gus's points are from pushing up the puck and getting it to Chicago's elite forwards. Much like Keith in his prime, Gustafsson benefited from Kane and Toews' brilliant season last year. While Gus had a nice year himself individually, he got a lot of easy assists last season. Gustafsson is not a 60-70 point talent but everything aligned perfectly for him last season. Personally, I did not anticipate this decline since there was no reason to predict Kane and Toews being so unproductive to start the season.

In terms of this season, I still expect Gus to be a 40ish point player. Their PP has been dreadful so that should improve. But a reason for concern is Gus's awful defensive play that Colliton is being less and less tolerant of. He has made comments to the press and it wouldn't surprise me to see Gus scratched in order to send a message. When you watch Gustafsson in the defensive zone, he just doesn't work hard. And he is not pinching and playing his freestyling ways like he did last season. I still hope the Hawks trade him at the deadline. Wish they had last offseason. We all knew he wasn't as good as his stats indicated last season.

Would you drop him for Slavin in the league in my signature?

[Schneider]

Nothing wrong with him, what is wrong is the insane hype he got around here before the season. He should turn it around and get your 40-50 points, though. Not getting 70 as some had projected.

Well, nobody wants to call out the people that keep the lights on around here, but the reason why he was so hyped up was because the Dobber's guide had Gus at 64pts.

What a huge swing and a miss. People have a right to be mad.

[Fighting_Emu]

Well, nobody wants to call out the people that keep the lights on around here, but the reason why he was so hyped up was because the Dobber's guide had Gus at 64pts.

What a huge swing and a miss. People have a right to be mad.

I agree with everything except the last sentence. Why do we have a right to be mad? Im not being a smart@ss- Im genuinely asking? Cause we paid for a guide? I mean we paid for predictions right? We all know that predictions are not prophecies :P

[RevRath]

Disappointing as an owner in a redraft league, but I also tempered my expectations for somewhere around 45-55 pts and grabbed him late so not leaning on him. I imagine those who bought into the hype and expected 60+ again are regretting that.

As mentioned above, what really hurts is the lack of peripherals so far (which I assume is a direct result of less ice time). He has 13 SOG, 10 hits, and 8 blocks in 11 games—yikes. Hopefully those rates increase as the season goes on. He did pace for 2 shots/game and over 100 blocks two seasons ago averaging 18 minutes a night, for whatever that’s worth.