Is Ryan Getzlaf What Everyone Thinks He Is?

Ryan Getzlaf used to bring me out of my seat multiple times every game with his spectacular play-making. Those days are long gone. I'll grant you this: He's still a physical beast on the ice, and I don't think that shows too well on TV. But here are the major problems I see with the Ducks captain:rnrn1) Captain Yapping: On a Fox Sports special, his coach said he got the C stripped from him in juniors because he couldn't keep his mouth shut on the ice. Fast forward 15 years and he still can't keep his mouth shut when the officials are around. Scott Niedermayer handled it much better. With Getzlaf leading the way, is it any wonder the Ducks don't get very many calls? Kesler would be a much better captain.rnrn2) Defensive Positioning and Apathy: Centers have serious defensive responsibility. Getzlaf is supposedly a top defensive center according to our broadcasters. I disagree. He's constantly out of position. And I can't count how many times he's been coasting while his responsibility scores a goal. Just look at Sunday's game against St. Louis. He can be great offensively. But he's a train wreck in his own end. The Ducks have plenty of guys who can play defensively sound games. Getzlaf and Perry just don't. Having them on the same line is a huge liability, and it's why Chicago beat the Ducks a few years ago in the Conference Finals. Getzlaf should be warming the bench with Perry on the PK until the last 30 seconds.rnrn3) Over-Confident Toe Curve: Getzlaf has a huge toe curve on his stick. He also thinks he can do anything, and I mean anything, successfully. That confidence causes him to make horrible plays over and over. I'm guessing every team's scouting report says to push Getz to his backhand and pounce on the weak pass to the middle. And with that huge toe curve, he just can't consistently make the play on his backhand. The problem is his huge ego just does not recognize it. So he makes horrible plays on his backhand over and over again, and the opposition is just waiting for it. Tuesday's game had no major gaffes. But that was after he coasted behind his man while that man scored the game winner on Sunday. You can tell he's working on it. He'll go a couple of games without a huge backhand gaffe. But then he gets confident and it creeps back into his game. Someone needs to tell him to flatten out that stick if he's going to be the player he should be. I doubt much can be done with his ego at this point.rnrnThat said, I certainly want Getzlaf on my team. But is it any wonder the lines were...ahem..."reshuffled" recently. Come on folks. Getzlaf was demoted to the third line before his "injury." And as much as I have not been a fan of Coach Carlyle, I applaud him for doing this to the guy who got him his job. Carlyle is gaining my respect back a little more every day. There is hope in Duckville.

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