M.Michalek

[Zorro]

With Michalek poised to get 70-80 points this season in SJ and at the age of \"only\" 23 years old, do you really think his long-term upside is only 80??

Is it wrong for me to expect more of him for his career??

What do you guys think he will do in the next few seasons?
What do you think his upside is??

Thanks guys.
Zorro..

[angus]

I think he is close to his upside. With Thornton he could maybe have a 90 point season, but he is more of a two-way guy than a pure offensive player.

[NYR9394]

If Joe Thornton has another 90 assist season and Michalek reached 80 points then I think you\'ve found his happy medium. He certainly wouldnt score over 80 points without Thornton but I think 35 goals & 75-80 points is very feasable in the future. I cannot see him scoring over 50 goals like Cheechoo a few years ago unless Thornton gets over 100 assists. Teams are learning how to \"limit\" Big Joe by really hounding his linemates and I think that will put a ceiling on Michalek\'s point totals. Therefore, it comes down to how many assists you think he\'d have when discussing total point production and I dont see him as a assist heavy guy. I think 35 goals and 40-45 assists is his upside for the future. Any more than that and you\'re talking 85-90 points, which is damn near elite point production. Do you see Michalek doing that? Because I dont really see it.

[ultrawhiteness]

angus wrote:

I think he is close to his upside. With Thornton he could maybe have a 90 point season, but he is more of a two-way guy than a pure offensive player.

+1

[JHM]

I like Milan Michalek a lot. We all think he \"dropped\" a bunch last year. 2 goals and 9 assists. It\'s reasonable to be optimistic that he \"bounces back\" this year. It\'s also reasonable to think that Thornton\'s results impact Michalek\'s results. How about before we worry about him getting 90 points, we see him get comfortable in that 70-80 point window. I think owners would be pretty happy seeing him in the 70-80 window, with silent hopes of continued upside. Jere Lehtinen has spent almost his entire career with Modano.... Michalek shows a much better aptitude to set things up.

[hammer2003]

Michalek should do much better this year. Old coach RW held everybody back last year. Michalek has great skill, good playmaker and can shoot and is good defensively. He is still so young, if he learns to use his size more and stops being shy in traffic I believe when he hits his prime he can surpass 80 with or without Thornton.

[Zorro]

Thanks guys, great responses. I like Michalek aswell and am pleased to sit back and watch him get even better..

[ccsitdown]

I\'ll be happy with 70 next season, any thing beyond that is gravy. Still a number of years away from peaking.

[Isles78]

A coaching change might make a slight difference with Michalek but if he can get around 65-70 points this year I think that\'s pretty solid at this point in his career.

[rticinelli]

Zorro wrote:

With Michalek poised to get 70-80 points this season in SJ and at the age of \"only\" 23 years old, do you really think his long-term upside is only 80??

Is it wrong for me to expect more of him for his career??

What do you guys think he will do in the next few seasons?
What do you think his upside is??

Thanks guys.
Zorro..

Who said he\'s poised to reach 70-80 points this season?

I am not a fan of his work, and would be ecstatic if he reached 70 points in any given year. Long-term, he is no better than a point-per-game player, imo, which isn\'t too shabby... but not something to go bonkers over. I\'d rather have a guy like Semin (who, again, I\'m not crazy about).

[Caporal]

Zorro wrote:

With Michalek poised to get 70-80 points this season in SJ and at the age of \"only\" 23 years old, do you really think his long-term upside is only 80??

Is it wrong for me to expect more of him for his career??

What do you guys think he will do in the next few seasons?
What do you think his upside is??

Thanks guys.
Zorro..

Hello Z.,

Personnaly, I really believe in Michalek. I live in Quebec but closely follow the Sharks, and I think the guy can be a beast soon. He\'s got the skill set and this all-around awareness that are, for me, great signs of what\'s coming.

We can\'t really judge the guy only by taking into account last season : it was an aberration for the whole San Jose team offensively, and with an offensive-minded coach finally in town, Milan will blossom.

And you\'re damn right : let\'s not forget the kid is only 23. It is quite obvious that phenoms like AO, Sid and Phaneuf make us forget that young guns, usually, take some time to develop and adjust : patience still is a virtue. I own the guy in my two keepers, and I can tell you he\'s not going anywhere. Can I be wrong ? Sure, but I\'ve got this great feeling telling me that I won\'t be.

As for his upside, it\'s hard to say, Zorro. Personnaly, I feel that he will soon be an 80 points player on a regular basis. Let\'s say, to be conservative, something between 30-35 goals and 40-45 assists. Considering the talent surrounding him, he could flirt with the 90\'s a few times, but 90 points is quite a feat, and not that many guys reach that.

75-80 points a year : I\'d be curious to see a list of the guys that consistently did that in the last 5 years. If a player can give me that every year, then I\'m a happy owner.

In Milan we trust. B)

[Zorro]

Thanks CapRad, I totally agree with you.

rticinelli, who said Michalek is poised to get 70-80 points?? I s that what you asked me?? Well you obviously chose not to buy DOBBER\'s guide. And I totally agree with Dobber when he says Michalek gets 75 points this season.

Maybe you should buck up and purchase the guide rticinelli, and start to believe in M.Michalek.

[Shoeless]

Well hell - I dunno! But it is funny how us fantasy hockeyists get vibes about guys. Some times they pay, sometimes they don\'t - I think I am about 50-50 over the years which I think is pretty damn good.

My three present vibe guys are Michalek, Wolski and Benoit Pouliot. Not sure this is worth anything in the debate - just felt like sharing.