Pavel Zacha is not being pushed so hard by management and this org as being the building block for the franchise as much as Nico and Jack. That is why fans lately aren’t as hard on Zacha. He is what he is at this point, a complimentary player and fans can accept that. However if Nico is one of the saviors of this franchise, he is going to need to put up some points. I believe he is doing alright personally, but if he isn’t “producing” like other top 6 franchise centers around the league, he is going to get hate for it.
Just watching his game from a few years ago, he doesn't really try as many creative plays in my opinion. He looks far stronger and looks to use that along the boards as much as possible. I do miss mixing in some of the finesse plays.
I think this is what's throwing a lot of folks, myself included, off. The creativity, the spark, whatever you want to call it, seems to be missing right now.
I totally get it. Nico had the year from hell last season with a broken leg, COVID, a broken face, and the weight of being named captain at such a young team with rising expectations and not a ton of talent (yet). He even made public comments earlier this year about how he struggled last year/this offseason.
This team in general has struggled for so long. We're all yearning for the day when that spark, that weightlessness, that creativity and confidence is back.
Timely goals, saves, catches, hits, throws are all huge in sports. Tough to win championships without that. In the playoffs, do you want clutch players or analytic darlings? As an Oakland A’s fan, I can tell you it’s the former.
Pavel Zacha is not being pushed so hard by management and this org as being the building block for the franchise as much as Nico and Jack. That is why fans lately aren’t as hard on Zacha. He is what he is at this point, a complimentary player and fans can accept that. However if Nico is one of the saviors of this franchise, he is going to need to put up some points. I believe he is doing alright personally, but if he isn’t “producing” like other top 6 franchise centers around the league, he is going to get hate for it.
Just watching his game from a few years ago, he doesn't really try as many creative plays in my opinion. He looks far stronger and looks to use that along the boards as much as possible. I do miss mixing in some of the finesse plays.
I think this is what's throwing a lot of folks, myself included, off. The creativity, the spark, whatever you want to call it, seems to be missing right now.
I totally get it. Nico had the year from hell last season with a broken leg, COVID, a broken face, and the weight of being named captain at such a young team with rising expectations and not a ton of talent (yet). He even made public comments earlier this year about how he struggled last year/this offseason.
This team in general has struggled for so long. We're all yearning for the day when that spark, that weightlessness, that creativity and confidence is back.
Timely goals, saves, catches, hits, throws are all huge in sports. Tough to win championships without that. In the playoffs, do you want clutch players or analytic darlings? As an Oakland A’s fan, I can tell you it’s the former.