Tuesday, March 17, 2009

So Uhhh, Where's Shawn Horcoff?


What in the hell has happened to this guy? Did he sell his soul for one reealy good and one great offensive season before having it cut short because he didn't read Satan's fine print on the soul contract? He is a good player right now, but he isn't being paid to be a good player, he is being paid to be a very good player or dare I say, a GREAT player. Greatness doesn't necessarily mean Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby great, he could be Rod Brind'Amour in his prime great as well he should be collecting the kind of coin that he is.

He's currently producing like a 2nd line player, but he really doesn't seem to create much for his linemates. I called out his play on my blog in late January after the Buffalo 10-2 sodomizing of the Oilers at Rexall, but nearly two months later it really hasn't changed. Andy McDonald again showed me what Horcoff should be, at his pay range he should be able to create offense, I just don't see it in Horcoff anymore.

Patrick O'Sullivan is a younger and cheaper version of Horcoff and if he played at center and worked on his faceoffs, we probably wouldn't even miss #10. However at his salary cap hit we had better cross our fingers and toes, rub our lucky rabbit's feet, and tie ti leaves to our vehicles in the hope that next season and beyond we will see the '05-06 or '07-08 version of Shawn Horcoff, if not he makes Dustin Penner look like a hot commodity.

With Gagner and Cogliano finishing strong rookie seasons last year, I have to wonder aloud why Lowe gave Horcoff carte blanche for such a long length, especially since he finished the year on the shelf. Perhaps Lowe didn't want a redux of the Smyth fiasco, instead it maybe a lot worse, because there is no way in H-E-L-L that he could command the contract that he has in his back pocket after this season, we know it, Lowe knows it, and every GM in the NHL knows it.

6 comments:

Jonathan Willis said...

He is a good player right now, but he isn't being paid to be a good player, he is being paid to be a very good player or dare I say, a GREAT player.

Yeah, because the market is full of GREAT players making 3.6M per season.

RaoulDuke said...

I still have some faith left in Horcoff to return to last season's form. If the Oil are in the playoffs I'm thinking he'll be earning his money real quick.

He just has to realize he's not Dany Heatley and lay off that one timer BS. Simplify his game and play like he's Shawn Horcoff again.

Bryanbryoil said...

Hey Jonathan, what's his salary looking like from next year on? I guess he can just work that much harder next year to make up the salary gap from this year to next :)

RD-I agree, he's looking for the onetimer every time that he hits the ice. He used to be a pretty damn effective passer, I'd like to see more of that. That and for a guy with his speed he RARELY gets breakaways or gets in on 2 on 1's.

RaoulDuke said...

He used to be somewhat effective at finding the back of the net when he played his game in tighter to the net. When I think of classic Horcoff goals they're all tighter to the slot, but the Oilers have this idiotic belief that the game is won on the perimeter.

Which of course goes back to everyone's favorite jackass, Craig MacTavish.

dstaples said...

Horc would -- and the team -- would have been better off in life and on the ice if Horc had agreed to take $4.5 million a year.

That's the kind of sacrifice that would have helped the Oil deal with cap issues, and kept the fans off of Horc's back.

I know I'm talking a million a year here, lots of money, but other players have taken that kind of hit for their team and their own peace of mind . . .

Of course, Horc is an NHLPA diehard. . . .

I love the player, but not this contract . . . the term is OK, not the amount, and Horc is going to hear about it, on and on and on and on and on.

Bryanbryoil said...

Agreed, outside of Hemsky who has really taken a little less dough to help the team out? Look at O'Sullivan, he's an effective player making under $3 million. Of course he has 2 more years on it, but he was a RFA and IMO left some on the table.

Why is it that no one here seems willing to sacrifice a little for the long term good of the team? Is it the fact that Edmonton has such a poor image league wide? Is it the management? A lack of loyal souls in the dressing room? Or a GM far too willing to overpay just to keep the body count high in the dressing room?