Lemaire on Kolanos

I wasn't going to post about Kolanos' reassignment to Houston because it was such a quick turnaround and the reason for the call-up (Olden Nolan's bum "lower body") is still in effect, I don't quite believe it will stick.

But Good King Stensaaslas had a quote from Lemaire in his article today talking about Kolanos:

"He's got some offensive skills," Lemaire said of Kolanos this weekend. "I just wish that his game would be more focused on the concept: how we play, how we support. All this."

Presumably he's speaking to a lack of defensive attention and kind of a cherry-picking style of play. Now I thought that was going to be a problem in Houston, but Constantine has let him play his game in exchange for ridiculous goal scoring. I'm not sure what kind of message that sends to guys who may feel like if they didn't have to be so responsible in their zone, they'd score more.

Here's my silly theory: In one of either Andrew or John's articles a few games back, Constantine praised these top scorers (presumably Kolanos and Locke in particular) for adjusting their games the way the coaches have asked them to. And looking back with that in mind, it does seem like lately Kolanos is doing more passing, keeping his linemates involved in the play, not just charging the net every time (unless it's a clear breakaway opportunity).

The guy has fantastic hockey sense and vision on the ice, so his strengths really should include a little more playmaking for his line than it did. And it's reflected on the score sheet: Kolanos has 13 goals and 5 assists, and three of those 5 assists were earned in the last 3 games. Maybe that's not enough evidence to point to a clear priority shift for him on the ice, but it's something to keep an eye on.

So, this behavior modification is keeping him on Constantine's good side. But perhaps he's working so hard to prove himself to Lemaire that he's reverting to a more selfish, independent style of play to show off his offensive prowess when he's with the big club. And homey don't play that, of course. But surely he's smarter than that. It's not like it's a secret what a "Jacques Lemaire Player" looks like.


Good Lord. *catches breath*

Anyway, like I said, this is pure conjecture, haven't asked KC about it, but there you have it anyway.