CHI/STL/OTT: The Day the Earth Stood Still...

[anton]

Markovs injury is a complete fluke. Hes not brittle.

[The BBKL Insider]

He's a pussy! Lol

[cliff11]

Never a dull moment for bbkl eh boys

[Nick]

Markov hasn't played in two years. I'd Prefer JJ - his hit total should be way higher then it is as well, guy is physical every shift.

Add in cap, age, and the associated potential improvement and JJ is the easy pick. IMO.

[MSP4LYFE]

Markov hasn't played in two years. I'd Prefer JJ - his hit total should be way higher then it is as well, guy is physical every shift.

Add in cap, age, and the associated potential improvement and JJ is the easy pick. IMO.

Markov played large parts of 2009-10 (including the playoffs), please don't distort the facts to fit your argument... No matter how anyone spins this, when healthy, if healthy, Andrei Markov is a superior defenceman.

I am a fan of Jack Johnson because of his potential, but the current product is not even worthy of a top 2 distinction, let alone the #1 defenceman title that Markov has earned over the past decade. Jack Johnson is a career minus player because of tunnel vision with the puck, and questionable reads without it, this also hinders him on the power play. Looking at the stat sheet JJ looks phenomenal, but anyone who watches the Kings pp can see that JJ often hinders it as much as he helps it, much like Jay Bouwmeester with Florida. I should also note that the Kings power play finished 21st in the league, .1% higher than the abysmal Leafs pp unit. Anyone who watched the Kings with any consistency last season will attest that JJ was a big reason why.

From a H2H perspective, Markov is better across the board, including +/- which is a difficult stat to run the table on. Cap is not a good enough reason to write off this debate, frankly Markov should be making closer to 3 million dollars more than Johnson. The only argument against Markov is health, and we can only speculate on that.

[MSP4LYFE]

FTR, I don't dislike Jack Johnson at all. Much like Dion Phaneuf he flashes the of potential of a true defensive game breaker. Bone crunching hits, speed, a cannon from the point, and the ability to make a strong outlet pass. The problem is turning those flashes into consistent production. To date Jack Johnson has not been able to accomplish that, whereas Andrei Markov has done so consistently for the better part of a decade.

[Nick]

Ftr (iirc) JJ was like #2 or #3 in stpts for a dman. IMO from watching the kings PP they lacked forwards with enough skill for the PP- kopitar was alone up there.

Aside from that point - I'm not sure what has you loving markov so much, yes he was money from 05-09 -- but his early
Career production isn't much compared to jack's (which as u Said has also underwhelmed compared to expectations). But he has and will continue to score more goals from the back end.

[Nick]

Bah - still didn't get out my key point about why Id prefer JJ (Apology for multi post).

- he's entering prime years where dmen not only increase their scoring, but also become much more competent in their own end. Markov however is on the decline due to age, and you're lying of you don't think the injuries have set him back at least a lil.

[MSP4LYFE]

Ftr (iirc) JJ was like #2 or #3 in stpts for a dman. IMO from watching the kings PP they lacked forwards with enough skill for the PP- kopitar was alone up there.

Aside from that point - I'm not sure what has you loving markov so much, yes he was money from 05-09 -- but his early
Career production isn't much compared to jack's (which as u Said has also underwhelmed compared to expectations). But he has and will continue to score more goals from the back end.

The points are evident to anyone who looks at the stats, they are not however indicative of his play, IMO.

As for Markov, his production was actually always really good, especially from a 6th rounder.

2000-01: 63GP, 23 PTS
2001-02: 56GP, 24 PTS
2002-03: 79GP, 37PTS
2003-04: 69GP, 29 PTS

Not that I see your point, the argument is not that Markov was better at the same age..Jack Johnson went top 5 for a reason. That said, Johnson has not come anywhere close to matching what Markov has accomplished from 05-06 onwards. That is the argument, I have NO IDEA how JJ performs moving forward.

[MSP4LYFE]

Bah - still didn't get out my key point about why Id prefer JJ (Apology for multi post).

- he's entering prime years where dmen not only increase their scoring, but also become much more competent in their own end. Markov however is on the decline due to age, and you're lying of you don't think the injuries have set him back at least a lil.

The injuries have definitely set him back a little, but Markov isn't just a little bit better than Jack Johnson he is alot better. I don't care to speculate on the future of Jack Johnson because it is just that, speculation.

[Shep]

Markov is 32.. he still has lots of hockey left in him. lol

[The BBKL Insider]

Probably since he only plays a half a season

[Robin Hood]

\I'd Prefer JJ - his hit total should be way higher then it is as well, guy is physical every shift.

Add in cap, age, and the associated potential improvement and JJ is the easy pick. IMO.

This.

[bills09]

Markov is 32.. he still has lots of hockey left in him. lol

Whether he has a lot of hockey to play in his career is irrelevant and to expect his game to be at the same level as it once was is a joke...
he has hardly played in 2 years.

[anton]

Markov is 32.. he still has lots of hockey left in him. lol

Whether he has a lot of hockey to play in his career is irrelevant and to expect his game to be at the same level as it once was is a joke...
he has hardly played in 2 years.

and here we are as leaf fans all excited about how much lombardi is going to help our team.

[bills09]

Markov is 32.. he still has lots of hockey left in him. lol

Whether he has a lot of hockey to play in his career is irrelevant and to expect his game to be at the same level as it once was is a joke...
he has hardly played in 2 years.

and here we are as leaf fans all excited about how much lombardi is going to help our team.

1 year off vs 2
Also any leaf fan who expects Lombardi to play like he did in phoenix for us is delusional.
We hope for the best, but to expect it is unrealistic.

[bills09]

25-35 points tops for Markov IMO

[bills09]

In other news..

http://lakingsinsider.com/2011/09/11/ko ... ady-to-go/

[MSP4LYFE]

25-35 points tops for Markov IMO

I will bet a 2nd rounder he gets 36 points + this season. Minimum 65 games played.

[bills09]

25-35 points tops for Markov IMO

I will bet a 2nd rounder he gets 36 points + this season. Minimum 65 games played.

Wont be against an elite talent, but his skating will not be as effective.