Re: Jonathan Cheechoo Depreciation Thread

[SpezDispenser]

I think this time you might be pleasantly surprised with Cheechoo's game. IF he's allowed to remain on Spezza's wing. Spezza doesn't need room to make a pass, Cheechoo can remain still gliding next to the net - and as long as he has his stick on the ice, there will be tons of opportunities. One of the problems is his confidence and that may have led to his sights being off, because I've never see anyone miss as much as he does.

Yesterday he made a nice move to wrap the puck around on Kipper, then when he wrapped it, it was right in the middle of the net, not along the post as it should have been. That 'miraculous' save Kipper made with his stick was a desperation move where he thought 'boy, I hope he doesn't put it right up against the post, or high' - and lo and behold, Cheechoo hits Kipper's stick with it. I was shocked and a little pissed that he messed that one up, but he came back strong and you could see his confidence rising.

[SpezDispenser]

Is Donovan good for another year you think?

You know, it would be nice, but I don't think so. I'd love for him to remain in the organization as a coach or a player development guy.

[Hoags]

It's up to Cheech to stay on Spezza's wing, keep generating scoring chance.

What's the consensus ? Was he robbed by Kipper ? Or was he too slow/not shooting high enough on his shots ?

ie. making the goalie look good ?

[hemlock]

It's up to Cheech to stay on Spezza's wing, keep generating scoring chance.

What's the consensus ? Was he robbed by Kipper ? Or was he too slow/not shooting high enough on his shots ?

ie. making the goalie look good ?

Wow. It's only Cheechoo that has his skill questioned when getting robbed of a goal. The guy's be outright robbed of probably a half dozen goals this year.

When someone else does it, it's a big save, but when Cheechoo does it, some people look to use it as a reason to further explain his "eroded skills".

[Guest]

Is Donovan good for another year you think?

If he is not it won't be due to being overworked. Dude is going to finish with less minutes played than Marty Brodeur's backup.

He still has wheels and good hockey sense (hands of stone but everything else is up to snuff) IMO.

[SeawaySensFan]

Is Donovan good for another year you think?

If he is not it won't be due to being overworked. Dude is going to finish with less minutes played than Marty Brodeur's backup.

He still has wheels and good hockey sense (hands of stone but everything else is up to snuff) IMO.

Wheels? Good hockey sense? Could be used on the penalty kill.

[sens4win]

Is Donovan good for another year you think?

If he is not it won't be due to being overworked. Dude is going to finish with less minutes played than Marty Brodeur's backup.

He still has wheels and good hockey sense (hands of stone but everything else is up to snuff) IMO.

Wheels? Good hockey sense? Could be used on the penalty kill.

are pk is fine, could be used on the power play

[Devo]

Is Donovan good for another year you think?

If he is not it won't be due to being overworked. Dude is going to finish with less minutes played than Marty Brodeur's backup.

He still has wheels and good hockey sense (hands of stone but everything else is up to snuff) IMO.

Wheels? Good hockey sense? Could be used on the penalty kill.

are pk is fine, could be used on the power play

Huh?

Don't mean to be rude, but Donovan on the PowerPlay.....

statements like that will result in nothing you say being taken seriously..

[sens4win]

Is Donovan good for another year you think?

If he is not it won't be due to being overworked. Dude is going to finish with less minutes played than Marty Brodeur's backup.

He still has wheels and good hockey sense (hands of stone but everything else is up to snuff) IMO.

Wheels? Good hockey sense? Could be used on the penalty kill.

are pk is fine, could be used on the power play

Huh?

Don't mean to be rude, but Donovan on the PowerPlay.....

statements like that will result in nothing you say being taken seriously..

i don't think i have ever been taken seriously to begin with

[Guest]

Cheechoo definately cripples us in landing any top players via trade or UFA signing.

He either takes up the cap room preventing the signing or he would have to be coming back the other way via trade which makes the trade far less attractive for the other team.

That being said he'll most likely be gone by the summer one way or another.

Donovan is competing with guys like Winchester and Smith for 4th line duty.

Just curious, what huge UFA's or trades could Murray possibly make where Cheechoo would be the difference btween signing them or trading for them?

If Kovalchuk comes knocking on the door and Cheechoo's salary is the problem, Murray will buy him out. There is a reason he is kept in the lineup up and it's not because og his salary. He works his Donkey off and it sends the right message to the rest of the team. You start sitting guys who are giving 110% and not producing you will see a quick drop off in play because players start gripping the stick, worrying about themselves, and the team comes 2nd.

Cheechoo is a part of the winning team Ottawa has right now, and IMO and fairly important part.

If we want to talk about guys that are over paid by a million or two, lets throw Spezza right into the conversation.

[SpezDispenser]

Play devil's advocate for a second. A huge player becomes available - a player that would make a massive impact in our top 6 or on the D and the only way to do it is to ship Cheechoo out.

Same thing applies. Instead of potentially acquiring 4 million dollar player at the deadline, we're only looking at 1 million dollar players who make small impacts. He definitely impacts what we can do in terms of the big player acquisition, but that's okay, we don't really need a big player right now.

I also see your point, the guy gives it all he has - and frankly he's been pretty decent recently. But until he starts to produce - something - this will follow him around. I'm sure he's gripping a bit harder anyway, what can you do?

[Guest]

There is no one that is a "huge impact player". If Shea Weber or Johan Franze somehow become abvailable Ill eat my words.

Ray Whitney isnt going to be putting The Sens over the top and he is hardly a "huge" player to aquire.

Murray trading for anything more then some defensive depth would be stupid at this point. Up front they are fine and will be as is come playoffs.

[Guest]

My whole problem here is that I guess I would rather have about 5 guys ahead of him (or more)...

Donovan doesn't have a job here anymore other than being a black ace and I like what he brings to the table more in a fourth line role. Everyone whines that it is not about money but it sure as Diddle is about money. We haven't sat our $3M player, even when despite the hard work he has struggled mightily. Our $600K guy who doesn't complain gets sat repeatedly. I am willing to bet that if you asked Clouston privately, he would rather see Donovan playing on line 4 than Cheechoo.

Beyond Donovan I would like to see Smith play as he is a young up-and-comer who brings a lot to the table. I would also like to see Bass get a shot. Then who would I take out of the lineup on merit alone... Cheechoo.

All this talk about hard work and stuff is just frustrating to me. I think the guy is nice, hard worker, likely good in the room, has good hands, great... Diddling fantastic... I like all that stuff. At the end of the day I would prefer to see our prospects develope at this level and would like the cap space that is eaten up by Cheechoo. Neither is going to happen, but in a perfect world, with everyone's feelings aside, our team would be in a better spot if this was the case.

I am not saying you upset the apple cart while we are successful or that you pick holes in a winning formula... right now you do nothing that would jeopardize the role the team is on.

Adding Spezza to this discussion is silly. His contribution and value vs. salary is not in the same ballpark. Cheech is a guy is earning league minimum and is being paid second line money. Spezza is a very legitimate #1 center (who I believe personally is hampered by a bad back more than anything). So you can argue he is not worth $7 M but even the biggest Spezza hater (I am looking at you Neely)can't say he is worth less than $5M (relativew to other salaries).

[Hoags]

If Clouston wanted to bench Cheechoo he would. He did the unthinkable (in some people's eyes) and benched Foligno.

From all accounts Cheechoo is doing everything the coach asks, and outworks most of the team each night. Benching him because the puck hit a crossbar or Kipper robbed him is nonsense. I think it sends the right message that if you work hard and play the system you'll get ice time.

Yes he's making too much for the numbers he is bringing in right now, that's not unheard of in the NHL, pretty much every team has 1-2 guys like that.

[Guest]

If Clouston wanted to bench Cheechoo he would. He did the unthinkable (in some people's eyes) and benched Foligno.

From all accounts Cheechoo is doing everything the coach asks, and outworks most of the team each night. Benching him because the puck hit a crossbar or Kipper robbed him is nonsense. I think it sends the right message that if you work hard and play the system you'll get ice time.

Yes he's making too much for the numbers he is bringing in right now, that's not unheard of in the NHL, pretty much every team has 1-2 guys like that.

How do you reconcile that statement with Donovan?

And I would disagree that on the whole this season he did not deserve a benching. He lost a game for us single handedly with a couple of killer neutral zone infractions that lead to goals. Plus he has had some invisible nights this year. You do not only bench people because of effort level. If that was the case Donovan would always be in the lineup.

[DirtyDave]

If Clouston wanted to bench Cheechoo he would. He did the unthinkable (in some people's eyes) and benched Foligno.

From all accounts Cheechoo is doing everything the coach asks, and outworks most of the team each night. Benching him because the puck hit a crossbar or Kipper robbed him is nonsense. I think it sends the right message that if you work hard and play the system you'll get ice time.

Yes he's making too much for the numbers he is bringing in right now, that's not unheard of in the NHL, pretty much every team has 1-2 guys like that.

How do you reconcile that statement with Donovan?

And I would disagree that on the whole this season he did not deserve a benching. He lost a game for us single handedly with a couple of killer neutral zone infractions that lead to goals. Plus he has had some invisible nights this year. You do not only bench people because of effort level. If that was the case Donovan would always be in the lineup.

If you bench Cheechoo his trade-ability will never increase.

[SeawaySensFan]

If Clouston wanted to bench Cheechoo he would. He did the unthinkable (in some people's eyes) and benched Foligno.

From all accounts Cheechoo is doing everything the coach asks, and outworks most of the team each night. Benching him because the puck hit a crossbar or Kipper robbed him is nonsense. I think it sends the right message that if you work hard and play the system you'll get ice time.

Yes he's making too much for the numbers he is bringing in right now, that's not unheard of in the NHL, pretty much every team has 1-2 guys like that.

How do you reconcile that statement with Donovan?

And I would disagree that on the whole this season he did not deserve a benching. He lost a game for us single handedly with a couple of killer neutral zone infractions that lead to goals. Plus he has had some invisible nights this year. You do not only bench people because of effort level. If that was the case Donovan would always be in the lineup.

I agree that Donovan is getting Diddled over, plain and simple. I remember the infractions you're talking about. Cheechoo probably thought he was sticking up for Alfredsson with some decidedly poor decisions. That was one game, though.

If anyone goes through stretches of being invisible and even longer stretches of being ineffective, it's Del Shannon.

[SpezDispenser]

How do you reconcile that statement with Donovan?

And I would disagree that on the whole this season he did not deserve a benching. He lost a game for us single handedly with a couple of killer neutral zone infractions that lead to goals. Plus he has had some invisible nights this year. You do not only bench people because of effort level. If that was the case Donovan would always be in the lineup.

Donovan knows his role well though, he knows that he's an energy player that could be called upon within a moments notice. Right before he got benched he couldn't bring it on the ice the way he was at the beginning of the year and that cost him his job right now - but what a fantastic player to be chomping at the bit to get back in. With him and Z.Smith chomping, you know we'll be deep at forward come playoff time.

I think he's a victim of being the 'vet' player that is paid league minimum to be prepped all the time, but won't see more than 35-40 games a year.

[Hoags]

How do you reconcile that statement with Donovan?

I think Donavan is finished personally, as far as Ottawa is concerned, Clouston has never seemed big on him anyway despite Brennan's best efforts. Zach Smith will be here next year.

It may be due to the 3.5M one-way contract, Murray isn't going to waive him, he's just too nice for that and I can't even see a buyout by Melnyk considering how many buyouts we have on the books still.

Ultimately, Clouston hasn't said anything bad about his game, he's been benched in the 3rd a few times. He's only said we need more.

The team is winning and I'm just gonna trust Clouston on this one. He seems to think he can get him going. I mean he got Kovalev going so he seems to know what buttons to push.

Maybe things will change as near the postseason but he had 2 good chances against Calgary and set up the game winner.

I'm at least getting my wish of seeing him with Spezza and MM.

[Guest]

If you bench Cheechoo his trade-ability will never increase.

That ship has sailed... if you were looking to go trade route. You would have to add something to Cheechoo to zero him out, then you make the deal. i.e. Cheechoo plus a fourth for nothing. That is not going to change unless you whisper in his ear before every game "hey buddy, isn't this your 500th?"