2010-11 Nashville Predators Report Card: Shane O'Brien
by Dirk Hoag on May 30, 2011 1:00 PM EDT
in Nashville Predators Player Profiles
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PrintWith the season now over, it's time to take a look back and examine each player's individual performance. We'll briefly break it down, and then offer a letter grade for the year. It's report cards, Nashville Predators-style, from Blum to Wilson. Next up: Shane O'Brien.
Today's report card is filed by Buddy Oakes of Preds On The Glass, the professor emeritus of the Nashville Predators blogging community. Buddy's well known for consistently picking SOB in the Preds' #firstgoal contests before each game on Twitter, and filing his hours and hours of video compiled over the season featuring press conferences and interviews.
The Skinny: In early October, as preseason camp was winding down, the Predators appeared ready to start the season with the recently reacquired Ryan Parent and Alexander Sulzer as their sixth and seventh defenseman to complement the corps of Shea Weber, Ryan Suter,Kecin Klein, Francis Bouillon, and Cody Franson.
In a move that surprised everyone, David Poile pulled the trigger on a trade that sent Parent and Jonas Andersson to Vancouver in exchange for the much-maligned Shane O'Brien and the little known Dan Gendur.
Fans were baffled with the move as Andersson had been signed over the summer for his second stint with the Preds and sold as a much-needed scorer, while Parent had been picked up from Philadelphia in exchange for the signing rights to Dan Hamhuis.
The national experts and fans in the Twitterverse felt that Poile picked up a load of trouble in a player known for being a party boy and having a record of causing Alain Vigneault continuous heartburn in his time with the Canucks. At the time of the trade I was one of the few that was thrilled with Poile's wild-card move since I saw a few things the Predators were missing that were immediately filled withO'Brien's presence.
The Predators are clearly saying that they are not planning on just making the playoffs or hoping to finally break into the second round. They are saying that they are not happy with the early exit last season and are building a team that is tough enough to make a run at the cup.
O'Brien will make two players better immediately, Cody Franson and Pekka Rinne. Franson will benefit by being pared with another big guy that will have his back and allow him to use his offensive skills as he enters his first full NHL season.
Rinne will benefit by having another physical D-man on the ice that will help deter and clear out a lot of the bumping and bruising in the crease, giving Pekka (and Lindback) more freedom to focus on stopping rubber.
The team as a whole will be better by having a little more swagger when they skate on to the ice. There will be one more player that opponents will have to watch for every timethey take the ice.
As it turned out, my crystal ball was as clear as glass as all points played out during the regular season.
The Performance: Shane O Brien blended in with the team right from the start, becoming a favorite in the locker-room. He slimmed down, gave 100% on the ice, and stayed away from Tootsies and all the other local honky tonks that could have led him down the wrong path.
He played in every regular season game, except for two when he was suspended for a questionable hit on David Booth in Florida. His two goals and seven assists were gravy as any offense was a bonus. He led the team with 83 penalty minutes and ended up on the positive side of the plus-minus column with a +1.
O'Brien became a key player on the Predators penalty kill, averaging 2:50 per game,second only to Klein. He added grit to a team not known for playing on the edge. He made room for Pekka Rinne to play in net and was the first on the scene to answer any roughness on the ice.
Before the playoffs, Steve Sullivan described O'Brien's contributions, "He's hard to play against and gets a little nasty. He's the type of players others don't like to play against and that is the type of player you want on your team so he will be a huge contributor in the playoffs."
As it turned out, in the playoffs, he was a bit too gritty taking seven minor penalties against Anaheim in the first round series. After a talk with Barry Trotz, he only took two more minors in the last seven games while continuing to be sandpaper against his old team, the Canucks.
In spite of being scorned by the Vancouver media, he became a favorite among the Nashville fans and the media, even winning the first Nashville Media Award for open-ness in dealing with the press.
On July 1, O'Brien becomes an unrestricted free agent that will command more than his current $1.6 million salary since he rehabbed his reputation while in Smashville. With Shea Weber's contract in play and several budding prospects in the system, it is unlikely O'Brien will return for another season.
The Grade: Compared to the consensus opinion when O'Brien was acquired, there is little doubt that he surprised almost everyone and exceeded any meager expectations that anyone had for him in the preseason. Many fans will only remember the frustrating penalties that he took in the first five games against Anaheim and not the season long contributions that he made in the areas outlined above. Had the Predators won the second round, I might have given O'Brien an A, but as it turned out I will confidently give him a solid B+.
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I'm happy that SOB fit in well for you guys
While I didn’t always like his off ice actions and tendency to take dumb penalties at inopportune times, I always felt he never got a fair shake from AV. That doghouse is notoriously hard to climb out of. Just ask Keith Ballard.
"Playin hurt, baby that don't faze me. I don't got time for pain. The only pain I've got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is!"
"You can't come in my kitchen, kick my dog, and take a box full of ballpoints! Your ass must be crazy!"
A.
Based on his expectations, he more than delivered. I would love to see him paired with a better skating partner next year… if he’s back. I would like to see him back.
I spent most of the second half of the year thinking he was on his way out, and not a good fit. The playoffs and the run leading up to them proved me absolutely wrong. He fits in well here.
Embrace the Black and Blue Checkerboard.
by ExcellenceThroughGuesswork on May 30, 2011 1:32 PM EDT reply actions
Gave him a solid B
I liked his attitude and energy and it reflected in those he played with. He kinda has that Hornqvist puppyness to him where he seems to be jumping around ready to go, go, GO.
Speaking of which, one of the practices I attended at Centennial, O’Brien and Horny almost got into it when they were slashing at each other during a PP drill. They made things right, and afterwards, they seemed to get along that much more. Isn’t it always the case that you end up being friends with the bully once you stand up to him?
Would love to have SOB back, but we gotta make room for Josi/Ellis.
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 2:06 PM EDT reply actions
Fire Trotz!
All these A players and we can’t get past the 2nd round of the playoffs!
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 30, 2011 2:41 PM EDT reply actions
???
Only 12% give him an A above.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and HockeyGearHQ, a site devoted to hockey equipment. Catch me on Twitter, or join OTF on Facebook!
No comment. You know what I mean.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 30, 2011 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions
You know...
He did grade a B+, right? Sheesh. Aside from the bonehead penalties in the Anaheim series, he did a damn good job, and I think, as Buddy stated, SOB provided the bulk of the D on that line and allowed Franson the opportunity to showcase his seeing-eye wrister and slapshot. FWIW.
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions
I like SOB a lot.
And I even defended his overagressiveness against the Ducks.
But a B+ for being a 3rd D pairing? A B+ for 9 pts? Cmon.
I gave the dude a B for all the reasons listed. But where is the spread?
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 30, 2011 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
To paraphrase someone: “you truly don’t get it, you’re going to miss everything cool and die angry”
You constantly have yourself all worked up with this pretentious Mr. (or Mrs.) Panties In a Twist Contrarian crap, and everyone about here is really nice about the whole shtick. It is one thing to disagree with a grade or method or process, but it is something entirely different when you actively antagonize people, including the talented and honest people that provide the content for this blog. If you really dislike so much of what is written here, then why not take the initiative and start your own blog. I understand that you were making a joke, but it was confusing, pretentious, and antagonistic.
Frankly, I don’t know what you mean, I can only infer based off of your previous comments and opinions about content, authors, and commentors.
by 3DLink on May 31, 2011 12:01 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Some objectivity would be helpful.
Else nobody knows who had a good season and who didn’t. Sounds to me like we won the cup with rainbows and unicorns for grading criteria.
You sure I’m the one with my boxers bunched up?
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 31, 2011 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Allow me to put words in everybody's mouth
I think the basic disconnect is that SWFP and others thinks the grades should be able to compare player-to-player, be they a fellow Predator or someone else in the league.
What the problem is is that most (if not all) of the graders (myself included) are instead comparing players to their expectations, rather than to other players. Thus, a 9/15 season for Marcel Goc earned an A-. If you were ranking every player in the league on performance, would Goc end up in the 90th percentile (which would be an A-)? No, of course not. He’d probably be in the mid 70s (maybe). If, however, you ranked every player in the league relative to their expectations (or, if you prefer a more concrete measure, relative to salary), Goc would likely be much higher. That’s the method I chose to use (I had the advantage of being relatively close to the middle of the roster, so I got to review what other graders did).
Also, grading players is REALLY hard, let me say. Despite the fact that SWFP and the erstwhile DFTB seem to think they are the be all and end all of removing subjectivity from their rankings (found on some other thread, though I thought it was this one), I think in an honest moment, they’d admit that at least once, some level of bias crept in. Did I grade Goc higher than most people? Yeah. Would I grade Colin Wilson lower than many people? Also yes. My biases are well known on this board – perhaps even as well known as my penchant for flying off the handle – and I don’t think they shock anyone.
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
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by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 31, 2011 1:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Of course we have our biases
Everyone does. But you can’t sit here and tell me that its in any way appropriate, or descriptive to give everybody on the team an A. Or an A-. That’s is patently absurd…summer school koombaya grades if you will. Why not just cut to the chase and just post something that says: “Everyone gets an A this year.”
And don’t make me out to be some kind of a dickhead here. I have an opinion, just like everyone else does. And mine matters too. I rate Legwand as low as others rate him highly. The things me and DFTB say are not untrue, but now its come down to shoot the messenger, not the message. And that’s fine too (obviously). We can make a case that favors what we say, just like you can make a case against it.
And is it REALLY hard to grade players? Apparently not, considering that everyone on here gets an A. That said, where you and me sound like we’re coming from, I KNOW its hard to grade players for the season. But I would also expect for the distribution of the grades of the team as a whole to look like, well, a bell. Not the Sears Tower.
And since:
most (if not all) of the graders (myself included) are instead comparing players to their expectations, rather than to other players.
we’re glad to have you on board and in agreement that Leggy is not an A player. Although that’ s not the point here. I know its difficult to grade players. Especially after an entire season with ups and downs and ups again. But really, its not that hard to criticize these grades. After all, the staff of this blog puts an awful lot of time into trying to make good stories / news flashes / informational pieces, I guess its just hugely disappointing that they’ve gone out to get random people to grade the players in a manner that is……..silly.
That’s what I"m saying.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 31, 2011 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Pardon me
But, against my better judgment, I was actually trying to defend you – my (in hindsight fairly unnecessary) sideswipe about the perception that you think your method is better than everybody else notwithstanding.
I was actually trying (and obviously failing) to make the point that all metrics of grading players have some kind of a flaw.
The fact is that grades are always going to spark disagreement and discussion, because this isn’t a math test where there are right and wrong answers.
I’m not sure the distribution should look like bell curve. You think it should. That’s where the disagreement is. I don’t think the players should be compared to each other; they should be compared to how well they fulfilled the role they were put in. There’s nothing wrong with either of those views, but they are different.
And, no, I don’t think Leggy was an A. He was a C at best.
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
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by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 31, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions
BTW
Nice piece in the City Paper.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 31, 2011 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions
The Scene?
Or did you mean my awesome story about esoteric foreclosure laws in the CP?
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
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by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 31, 2011 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Must've been the Scene
Or did I perhaps see you on the View?
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 31, 2011 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Man, I wish. I’d command a big time appearance fee. Especially since the 3HL guys nor Plaz paid me anything when I was on with them.
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
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OtF Resident Rascal
by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 31, 2011 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions
And is it REALLY hard to grade players? Apparently not, considering that everyone on here gets an A.
It’s kinda silly to make this case in the thread of a report which is getting a B in the writeup, don’t you think? Mueller got a B, Klein got a B, Hornqvist got a C, Geoffrion a B, Franson a B, Fisher & Erat B’s, Dumont a D, Bouillon a C, etc.
Naturally, given the positivity surrounding the team after the playoffs the grades are going to skew higher than a bell curve, but that’s beside the point.
The intent of bringing in the guest bloggers was to give other voices from around Nashville the opportunity to opine on one of their favorites, as the launching point for a discussion. These aren’t doctoral dissertations here. At some point down the road I plan on doing a comprehensive review of the good, the bad, and the ugly, but this exercise is to walk through the team person by person and take the temperature of the community.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and HockeyGearHQ, a site devoted to hockey equipment. Catch me on Twitter, or join OTF on Facebook!
take the temperature of the community
I hope you have one of those forehead scanners ;)
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 31, 2011 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I think those were YOUR grades Dirk.
Which I respect. And what I expect from you.
But these guest evaluators are the ones that have (in SOME cases) somewhat increased the temperature of most of the community. With some help from current and former members of the community.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 31, 2011 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey, I’m happy to raise GOC’s temperature.
Wait. What?
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
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by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 31, 2011 5:58 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Your version of SOB was better than ours
Trotz did a far better job with him than AV did.
Bieksa reminds me of Han Solo, except without the charm...or the Wookie at his side, unless you count Alberts.
B
Thought he did a great job for us.
My question is who do we have or target that can fill SOB’s role for 11-12? Josi/Ellis aren’t going to cut it physically. (I still believe Ellis’ NHL career goes through Milwaukee.) You could roll the dice and move Klein to that role, but you would have to make Klein play more physical. Cube? Who knows what we are going to get out of him. (Personally I hope a ton).
I still think Poile has to target a Wallin, Sopel, O’Donnell, Gill, or Salo to play alongside Franson. Or simply re-sign SOB. By bringing one of those guys in (or back in SOB’s case) you provide insurance in case Cube isn’t healthy in Oct. Josi can play 7th dman or can be packaged with picks for a forward at the end of camp.
Maybe, just maybe, considering Cube’s comments a few weeks ago about being more worried about his family and his future than hockey due to the concussions, he’ll retire if he hasn’t improved the way he needs to. I’d bring SOB back if he wants to stay in a heartbeat if that situation arose.
by Grizzledbear on May 30, 2011 3:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I agree and would like to see us resign SOB
But I’d be much more enthused about us getting a guy who can put the puck in the net than one whose job is to keep it out. We got plenty of them dudes.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 30, 2011 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions
True...
but do you really want to be like Anaheim or other teams that only have a solid Top Pair on Defense? I would rather spread the love and have solid defense on all three lines than
1st Pair=Holy Crap Awesome
2nd Pair= OK
3rd Pair= Meh
Keep in mind, I’m talking about the defensive aspect of the game, not everyone can put up offense like Weber and Franson, and had Suter not been setting up Weber all year, I’m sure his point totals would be down also.
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions
Correction...
….I meant a forward as a dude who could put the puck in the net instead of a Dman to keep the puck out of the net.
Personally, I think that this past year play by our D corps was as good as one can hope.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 30, 2011 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions
+1,000
Sorry if I misread that part.
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Nah, I miswrote it.
The truth is always the right answer....
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on May 30, 2011 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Keep O'Brien, Trade Franson
Franson doesn’t bring alot to the table besides a good, quick shot. He’s slow, doesn’t have exceptional vision, and cannot step up on the play consistently due to his lack of speed. We have players with just as much offensive ability, but with greater ability to play defense like Josi and possibly Eckholm. O’Brien brings a physical edge and swagger that can no one in our organization can match, plus helped anchor our highly ranked PK. Trade Franson, a goalie prospect, and a pick for a significant scoring forward. I like James vanRiemsdyk from the Flyers. They don’t have the room to resign him and he’s got loads of talent/speed. The important thing is we do something aggressive with our assets this year while retaining Ward, Weber, O’Brien, and Kostitsyn. Everyone else is expendable including Goc, even though he has continually impressed me.
B for SOB
I have to admit that I hated the trade when they made it. Why that money for a Dman when our offense needs help I asked? But I have to say that except for the Ducks series and a stretch at about the 3/4 mark of the season where his bonehead past resurfaced, he did a real nice job for us and gave us that physical edge we lacked.
All that said, it doesn’t look like re-signing him is in the cards considering the youngsters who need a spot on the roster and Cube having another year on his contract. But he filled a void while he was here.
by Grizzledbear on May 30, 2011 3:51 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Gee, I’m gonna miss him if he goes. I thought he was just fine, did a fine job of what was asked of him. Maybe some way can be found to keep him. We need his s.o.bness!
"I am you, you are me, and we are all together" Beatles
by amyinsparta on May 30, 2011 6:49 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
s.o.bness?
I like it. Call Merriam-Webster, we have a new addition :D
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Emeritus means "retired"
I sure hope Buddy hasn’t retired.
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
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by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 30, 2011 8:09 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Whoops!
Darn, I thought it just meant “super duper” in Latin.
Managing Editor of On the Forecheck, SB Nation's blog covering the Nashville Predators, and HockeyGearHQ, a site devoted to hockey equipment. Catch me on Twitter, or join OTF on Facebook!
You, sir, have the power.
After that ban-hammer, it got real quiet, real quick. ;)
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions
BTW..
“Super-duper in Latin is
Shea-to Slapshoticus.
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions
I used to think the same thing
It’s a false friend. Made the mistake in a sports column for Sidelines about 10 years ago. One of those usage things I won’t forget.
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
Your favorite member of the mainstream media
OtF Resident Rascal
by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 30, 2011 9:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Not retired...
I did a rare thing and took the weekend off. Just recharging for the busy month ahead. Looking forward to a busy week in Las Vegas at the Awards and then to Minny for the draft. Awards are a blast but the draft is hard work. They need to flip the order. Partying in Vegas is not good prep for 24 hrs of balls to the wall at the draft just to keep up.
by Preds On The Glass on May 30, 2011 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions
That's why you should take JR and I...
we’ll do the drinking and partying in absetium of you, then you won’t have to worry about your reporting and preparation. Win-win if you ask me. ;)
by HardCorePredFan316 on May 30, 2011 9:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I just took a week’s vacation. If I go to Vegas, it’ll have to be a working vacation. I’m not opposed to that, but if The Employer sends anybody, Boclair will have first dibs.
Known by George Plaster since 4/13/2011
Your favorite member of the mainstream media
OtF Resident Rascal
by JRTheByLineGrinder on May 30, 2011 10:42 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I gave him and SO…. B+
Canucks new slogan: Show us some hits, we'll show you our tits
by Creeping Death on May 30, 2011 10:47 PM EDT reply actions
I liked SOB in his time with the Canucks
and also felt he wasn’t given a fair shake. However, he is a tremendous teammate and is a valuable guy in the locker room who keeps guys loose and will always have your back out there.
He clashed with the coaching staff here because they only saw a limited role for him but he felt he was capable of much more. Which I agree with – he’s got potential and I hope that he reaches it wherever he signs, whether that be in Nashville or anywhere else. And he had trouble staying out of the doghouse, which also wasn’t entirely his fault but that’s the way it is.
Rogers Arena - the Sugarbowl!
B+
Chewed up some big minutes, especially on the PK. And made sure no one took cheap shots on Pekka. Would love to have him back next year but he’s due a big raise. Big question: who’s going to fill his role next year?
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