Dan Boyle broke his foot against Minnesota on November 10, but only the San Jose Sharks and Boyle's family knew that fact. In the month that followed, he had no goals, one assist and a minus-six rating in 12 games.
During that time, there were numerous calls for him to be traded, including from many of my colleagues here. He is washed up, he has lost a step, he is not good in his own end...
Never mind that Boyle leads the team in ice time and shots on goal, is second in assists, third in blocked shots and tied for fourth in plus-minus. Never mind that he was second in the league last year in ice time and had one of the best seasons of his career—he has obviously suddenly become terrible.
Fans often overreact to slumps without considering the potential causes. Fortunately, teams tend to be much more patient and faithful in the players they have chosen, because it pays off. In his last 14 games, Boyle has two goals, 10 assists and a plus-13 rating.
Thus, we found out that Boyle is indeed still one of the elite defencemen in the world. And his three goals, 19 assists and a plus-18 rating in the 28 games in which he has not had a brok ...
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Article written by MJ Kasprzak
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January 14th, 2012 by MJ Kasprzak Leave a reply »
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