#17's #s: 69 games, 20 goals (6 ppg, 2 shg, 5 gwg!), 24 assists, +9, 54 PIM.
Take the good: I refuse to back down from my long-time belief that Dubinsky can be Jason Arnott and there were moments where Dubi lived up to that expectation, using his size and skills to go to the net with passion and pot a few goals. I mean, seriously, look at the hands he flashed on this play. When the team buckled down late in the season, he stepped up to the plate and played some of his best hockey. If you recall, during the run, he hammered at Jeff Finger when Finger hit Gabby - one of the few times this season when a Blueshirt stood up for his 'brother'. Dubi actually fought just two times this season - less than he did the last two years - but he actually won both fights! Take the bad: Dubi missed the first week of training camp because of a contract dispute and then had to skip a slew of games in November with a broken hand. He had a 10 game goal slump prior to the injury and a pair of seven game skids after that coincided with team slides. When Rangers lost five straight at the end of January, Dubi had all of one assist. For someone who was penciled in as the first-line center, Dubi never filled that role the way we hoped and did some of his best work when not paired with Marian Gaborik.
Take them both and then we have: As I said over at NBC's ProHockeyTalk, I found Dubinsky to be the most frustrating Ranger this season. His potential is still there, it is still great, but he didn't come close to living up to it this season.
5 comments:
dubi is simply over rated.
We just can't expect Brandon Dubinsky to be a number one center. He's not
Dubi has many years of good hockey ahead of him. He will only be 25 when next season rolls around and improved a good amount from last season to this. In less games he scored more goals and had more points. He might not be a #1 center but he is certainly a bright spot on this team.
If the Rangers traded him, I would not be sad. He is overrated.
He only fought twice, probably because of the Broken Hand. Its one thing to take a slapper 6 weeks after injury, its another to risk it against someones helmet or cheekbone. The fight against Richards towards the end of the season showed an improvment in that category. Got me back on the Dubi train a bit. 20 goals in an injury shortened season on a team that cant score is nothing to sneeze at. Next year will tell the tale. I expect 25+ goals and some grit.
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