mikeyman109
Members-
Posts
2,730 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Everything posted by mikeyman109
-
The Red Wing model wasn't very good until Mike Ilitch took over as owner. They floundered like many teams until they drafted Yzerman in 1983 i believe. Then they just out spent everyone else to become and stay competitive. If you want a better example of how to go about a good rebuild have a look at Colorado who are building a massive talent base especially at D. Every team will go about rebuilding differently. Trying to build from the Center Ice position and drafting what some call BPA every year without regard for positional needs will get you a good team but will leave you with holes. At some point you need to find the pieces you are missing and draft them regardless of the criticism you may face. Yzerman did it this year with a selection of the Defenseman they wanted. Benning did it with OJ. The big issue has been Juolevi's injuries that have held him back. If he had been healthy and played well people would have less issue with the pick. I agree the future is brighter today than a few years back. You are spot on when you say it is difficult to balance an aging core with trying to stay competitive. We are past that now. Now we need a few of the prospects to over perform.
-
2019-2020 Western Conference Final Standings
mikeyman109 replied to J.I.A.H.N's topic in Canucks Talk
Theres a lot of room for improvement and everyone knows the injury bug hurt last season and the season before. But injuries happen every season its just to which extent. Theres no reasojn in my mind not to expect a jump up in the standings with a better D core and the addition of Miller to an emerging top 6. If Pearson and Horvat can gel and Beartschi stays reasonably healthy its not a bad top 6. They could make the playoffs this year and miss again the next or vice versa. Every year a team surprises, bad and good. If they get the same goal tending they got last season its possible to make the playoffs. I am however jealous of what i see as Colorado's future. They look scary good -
this i totally agree with. I believe you build a contender from the net out. This is what Edmonton has done wrong all along. Its exactly what St Louis did wrong until they got lucky and found a goalie in their organization that could solve the issue. We are strong in net for years to come. Now lets find a Norris caliber D man. Maybe Hughes is the kid, maybe not.Build the depth at all positions before we try to sign our way into contention.
-
2019-2020 Western Conference Final Standings
mikeyman109 replied to J.I.A.H.N's topic in Canucks Talk
I went with the 4th place vote as well. Cautiously optimistic that the injury bug might not hit the D this year as bad due to the leveling out of the minutes played. Myers should take a few hard minutes away from Edler and Tanev and Hughes should provide some Offense from the D. I think Hughes will provide some fun when we hit OT as well. The games he played in last season were pretty fun to watch once they took a couple skaters off the ice. I just think no matter what you think of Myers and Benn they are an Upgrade on Stecher and Hutton. Probably my biggest curiosity this coming season is who plays the point on the number one power play. Myers and Hughes? Hughes and Edler? If Markstrom plays well this season he will do it behind an improved defense and that could translate into a few less goals. Less chances given up. I dont think we are contenders yet. There's still some tinkering to do but the opportunity for a jump up the standings is there. Depth equals less loss of points when injuries occur. -
we can look at it that way for sure. I agree the D is still in need of some improvement but we dont have to have a true number 1-2. Just the fact that when not if Edler and or Tanev go down that we have Myers and Benn instead of Hutton and Stecher and Biega, makes me a little more optimistic as to our playoff chances, They were right there until they couldnt survive without Tanev and Edler. The playoffs are a completely different animal and as the roster is today it might be a short playoff run but just getting into the tournament should excite the younger players and give them a taste of what it takes to go further in the playoffs. The true wild card in this whole season will be the play of Markstrom. If he can take it to the next level and play well behind this Defense, we might have a different opinion of this team come playoff time. Again like you said anything could happen, I am just feeling a bit more positive about the changes than you are
-
Love it through the Fire and the Flames..lol just cause i'm over 50 doesn't mean I cant rock it.
-
This years D not in order of importance 1. Huges 2. Edler 3. Myers 4. Stecher 5. Benn 6. Tanev 7. Juolevi 8.Fantenberg 9. Biega 10.Sautner 11.Teves 11.Rathebone Lasat years D in no particular order of importance 2. Edler 3. Hutton 4. Stecher 5. Gudbranson 6. Tanev 7.Pooalot 8. Juolevi 9. Biega 10.Sautner 11.Teves 12.Rathebone Which D would you rather have? with the D we have some size to protect Hughes although I do think he will struggle to play D against the bigger forwards in the conference which means he has to play beside a larger D man. The size up front is better also and that will help QH out a lot as well. I think Hughes showed himself capable of doing exactly what he was brought in to be and that's a skating puck controlling D man. A passer and play maker from the blue line. He isnt supposed to be their best defensive leader just like a Karlsson has holes in his defensive game as well.
-
if you didnt post your business no one would care about it
-
[Discussion] Hard to move Contracts
mikeyman109 replied to J.I.A.H.N's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
we need look no further than our own back yard for a goalie that took until last year to figure it out in Markstrom. -
The issue here is that so many"fans" here have been fortunate to live through the Naslund, to Sedin era and think this is how it goes all the time. That GMs' can always attain or develop players like we have for the last 20 years.I know there are enough of us on here that started watching when Pat Quinn was a player not a coach and GM. Every team goes through Ups and downs and four years is not a long time to miss the playoffs at all. Look at what Detroit had to go through in the 21 team league until they finally drafted a 18 yr old Yzerman or Quebec(that became Colorado) that drafted, i believe someone can correct me if i am wrong but i think it was 5 years in a row at last in the league. Regardless teams go through down cycles when the talent changeover happens. We have been lucky and privileged to watch our team make the playoffs most of the last 20 years. I think once we get going again this season it could be the beginning of another 20 years. As a kid born in the mid 60s there hasn't been a lot to cheer for in the last 50 years. a few grey cups, one NASL championship and three finals appearances. Not a lot of major sports accomplishments. One thing i have learned is every team, regardless of city, manager, players or fans will have their ups and downs. Its not accepting failure so much as understanding that we will rise again. The Blues took 52 years to win their cup. Toronto hasn't been to the finals in the last 50 years or seen their team in the finals in color. As for what Benning has done, built a great core, fixed a sad sack D core, added a few needed pieces while adding a few not so needed. At this point this season and next are the ones to decide what he has done. There were way too many handcuff issues he was dealt to start with. I will watch again this season, my 50th and cheer when we score and win and throw my hat when we lose but I will know we are on the cusp of better times. I am going to enjoy the ride
-
Sometimes its just about finding the right partner to play with for the kid to find success. Myers has been in Winnipeg and last season had to step up in his role and minutes when the other D got hurt. We need someone to play more solid minutes here and Hutton and Stecher were not cutting it. They had a better season last year but neither moved up the ladder that much thus the need to go out and get better potential players and the decision to let Hutton go with his Arbitration rights available and the cost could have been 4 mill for him. I believe the extra 2 million to get Myers is money well spent because his ceiling is higher than Hutton and he can play the bigger minutes. There's a reason so many were looking at the Jets players in free agency. Travel in and out of Winnipeg is not a lot of fun either. I agree the travel on the west coast is brutal. Its been a major disadvantage for years. but i dont think Myers is the only player on the team that will have to endure or work through that. I think its a major reason Petey tailed off at the end of last season and also part of why Brock seems to tail off at the end of the season each year so far. We dont need Myers to play like Chara,we just needed some D to take the workload off of Edler and Tanev so that they dont get injured as often. Myers and Benn will be able to take some of the hard minutes away from those two and this should result in a fresher D, less injuries, and a better effort in front of Marky. Having a bit more size at the back end should result in less injuries for all. Its not about them shelling out the abuse.... its more about them surviving the abuse sent their way.
-
I think we make the playoffs this year most likely as a wild card team but you never know. Every year some team over achieves or surprises. If we make the playoffs and its still only an if in my mind due to the uncertainty of injuries, we will find out more about Bo, Jake, Beagle, Miller,Roussel and the second tier of forwards that Benning has assembled. Once the space gets taken away and the whistles go in the refs pockets, how will our depth perform. Due to the limited number of games in the playoffs we have seen from a lot of the Forwards its a complete crap shoot. We could come up snake eyes but a hot goalie can change all of that once the tournament begins. Look at what Binnington did for the Blues this season. I am cautiously optimistic, the wild card isnt out of the question but it will still be a lot of work to get there.
-
Just the added Defensive depth should get the 5 games we needed to get into the playoffs. We may need more than that this year as last season a lot of teams around us floundered. Biega played half the season as I recall and a lot of minutes as well. For a lot of games our top D pairing was Hutton and Stecher. They played better than expected but they still are not 1-2 D men. This season with the depth at D we wont have to play Edler and Tanev to death and hope they stay healthy.Between Myers and Benn they can take some of the hard defensive minutes away for CT and AE and allow a more balanced workload for all. This alone should produce a fresher D and perhaps a less injured blue line. If Marky has it figured out especially with the better D in front of him, we should have a better PK and reduced goals against. The offense is there when healthy. They put up 8 goals in Boston last year. they can score. they just have to score one more than the other team. I think they will make the playoffs. Probably as a wild card team but who knows. I am sure those same sports guys had Vegas in the Cup finals two years ago. Teams surprise every year
-
having some young D players that are almost ready to break into the lineup will help as depth guys through the next two seasons. We know it takes more than 6 D men in a long season and especially come playoff time. Up front its going to be interesting to see what they can do. We need to sign Brock and then figure out the extra pieces as the season goes along. Moving Louis contract and maybe Sutters as well would help. Although I like Sutter when he is healthy
-
Offensive: 1- Hughes- I think the overtime games last year show how much impact he can have offensively especially once the open ice is available. 2- Myers, has great shot and can score 3- Edler- Despite his amazing one goal on the power play in a calendar year he can score on the rush and in OT, maybe Myers on the first power play with Hughes 4- Stecher- wish he could score more but he has not produced as much as he seemed like he was going to be able to 5- Tanev- Never was a O d man, plays great D moves the puck well. 6- Benn- Defensive D man Hits a bit also Defensive: 1- Tanev, still the best defensive D man on the roster, blocks a lot of shots 2- Edler- can be good if he doesnt have to play 30+ a game 3- Myers- has been crucified for his D at times but sometimes you need a better partner. Maybe he finds that here with Edler. 4- Benn- Good D man but struggles with forwards with speed. 5- Stetcher- Plays small and has struggled way too much against the bigger forwards in the west, Kopitar, Thornton, Getzlaf etc 6- Hughes- His speed will be an asset defending but he isnt big enough to be a net clearer. Hope he can stay healthy.hes gonna get hit.
-
Power forwards usually do take longer to develop due to the fact that when they are drafted and come into the NHL it takes time to figure out how to use their size against men not boys. In Juniors they can run rough shod over the younger players but when they are playing against the top 60 D NHL men each night( top 2 from each team) it becomes more of a challenge and they need to learn how to use their size and strength. Most of the time Bertuzzi and Neely situations come from an impatient management or fan base that isnt willing to give the kid time to become what they are going to be. The most annoying thing about this discussion is the lack of understanding that a power forward is not an enforcer. How many times did Bertuzzi really drop the gloves? Neely could fight and maybe did it more than most power forwards but he was way more valuable on the ice scoring goals. Donald Brashear was not a power forward neither was Gino. Neely, Bertuzzi, Keith Tkachuck,Tim Kerr, Phil Esposito, those were power forwards , strength, size, net presence, not afraid of the dirty areas, not necessarily fighters.
-
we were in a wild card spot until Feb when Tanev and Edler were injured. With the added depth we should be in a better spot/. I am not sure that we will jump up into a playoff spot but a wild card is definitely not out of the question. the added depth will help Marky out as well. If Miller clicks with Petey or Bo we may have two scoring lines. I get that its optimistic, but im a glass half full kind of guy.
-
We agree on moving Loui to get the room but its not an easy move. Vegas didnt need to improve to be better than us. Neither did Calgary. San Jose is still a good team and when looking at a wild card you have to consider Colorado, Arizona, Edmonton and Chicago. But I am hopeful we have a better Power play and definitely expect a better effort on D which should also help Marky
-
The added D today improves the back end for sure. Even if Edler and Tanev are injured this season, which they always are, we have a bit more depth to whether it. Now the real challenge becomes how to get more out of the power play. With Petterson being the trigger man with the One timer on the power play we need to get more from the D. Bo in front, Brock on the other wing.Maybe Hughes and Edler on the point? Depending on How Miller pans out we might have a decent second unit s well. Myers is no slouch and i am not sure but i thought Benn played a bit of PP as well. We may have an improvement there and this could give us enough goals to jump up in the standings. Baer being healthy would make a difference. Theres some pieces there.
-
I wouldn't say we are a cup contender as the teams around us got stronger as well.Dallas improved. Arizona is improved. Edmonton has a goalie. its still going to be difficult to make the playoffs. Calgary will still be there. Vegas will still be there. San Jose will most likely still be there. Now if we stay healthy we have a chance at the wild card as much as anyone. Goaltending will be important that it stays as good or better than last season and with the added D it should be a bit better. Now if we can move Loui and use that cap money to bring in another top 6, we might improve our chances. With him we are still a wild card challenger.