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Everything posted by kloubek
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[Proposal] Virtanen to washington
kloubek replied to teepain's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
I totally understand where you are coming from and you bring up good points. My hope is that Jake plays lights-out to the deadline and then we can move from, as his stock must be pretty low right now. And you're right - his typical playing position doesn't provide a lot of opportunity to score. But that's all his own doing! If he were to be a remotely consistent player he would be in the top 6 nightly. He's only down on those lines because he has been unable to provide regular offense, and prior to this latest surge I don't think anyone can really blame Green for playing him there - he's been awful. Bo makes everyone better who play with him, so if you are expecting a new center to make the difference and Jake actually stays, I hope we get someone who can have a similar effect. Finally, I also understand your logic that if we lose Pearson that we need another body - and you are totally correct. But again, if Jake isn't able to find consistent scoring ability, I'd rather look elsewhere. If Podz CAN actually play in the top 6 as many are predicting (I have my doubts), then we're really only looking for a 3rd line player. At least Big Mac brings it every night, and there are other players in the system like Lind or Gadjovich who might end up actually amounting to something if we're lucky. Even Karlsson is ripping it up - albeit not in the best league. You're also right in saying that if we trade him now, we would not get a player back with the same upside. But if the alternative would be to keep him and watch him flounder like he has for most of 6 years, it's still worth the move to me. -
[Proposal] Virtanen to washington
kloubek replied to teepain's topic in Proposals and Armchair GM'ing
Sorry, I'm done with Jake. He's had six years to develop into "that guy", and given plenty of opportunity as a top 6, which he has squandered. Then there's the un-teamlike activity off the ice, and coming into two camps out of shape. And to top it off, although he is playing far better lately, 3 points so far this season is nothing short of completely unacceptable. I don't think the door is closed on Jake being an effective player, but unless he FINALLY "gets it" after the 29th time, he will need to be that effective player elsewhere. -
This. Jake has had his opportunities, but has chosen not to take advantage of them. He is playing strong now because he knows his lack of effort has him a hairs distance from the door, but I am highly doubtful he will keep it up. I hope he plays lights out. Buy low, sell high. As a side note, if I was one of our players working my ass off out there every game like Green insists I do, and then Jake saunters in and gets my ice time with his typical uninspired play, I'm going to be a little pissed. I believe I see it in clips of the player interactions and on the bench - I kinda feel like Virtanen is the odd man out... off the ice as well as on. I feel a team needs to be in sync and a complete unit, and as much as I've rooted for Jake since his arrival, I can't wait to see his spot filled with a guy who brings it every night. Podkolzin anyone?
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Schmidt has been playing well. You're living a few weeks behind, when, admittedly, he was looking seriously suspect. Plus, who else do we have back there to distribute the puck besides the already overused Huggy? Nope nope nope. You're fired as coach.
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...which, I may add, is impossible.
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Don't count on that. If he shows well, I imagine he will be in line to make far more post-covid.
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...words said many times.
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Going into this season, it wasn't exactly clear who would be our #1... but it certainly seems Holtby is working his way to backup status by now. There were two questions by the media tonight outright calling him the backup, and he didn't seem to flinch at the title. I know he didn't have the best game, but I'm not sure it's "quite" time to be labeling him - even if it strongly looks to be true. When we signed Holtby, most seemed pretty confident he would regain form with Clark, but I was wary, given his recent struggles. To be fair to him, he is subject to the same issues as Demko and Markstrom before him, which is a porus defensive structure most nights that doesn't provide an opportunity for particularly strong numbers. Still, I think it's safe to say that so far he has been unable to regain his former luster. If nothing else, he remains a good mentor to Demko.... albeit a rather expensive one.
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[Waivers] Stefan Noesen, Jarred Tinordi
kloubek replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Surprised Tinordi's stock has fallen so much. Wasn't he picked in the first round? -
Laying down on the Job. Myers reverting to his Buffalo +- days
kloubek replied to Primal Optimist's topic in Canucks Talk
As much as I haven't been a fan of Myers and his contract, I think he looks pretty decent this year. Considering most of our players are playing poorly defensively, I am not sure it makes sense to rag on Myers specifically. -
Initially, I was super stoked Podz fell to 10. As I understood it, teams passed largely due to the time he had to spend in Russia before he arrived, but was touted as being... well... exactly what he is. I suppose if I'm being honest, I was a little tempered by the history Russians sometimes have when coming over, but still stoked. I also didn't find as much footage on him that I would have liked to, and even now I still haven't been able to get the kind of look I would like with him being oddly stifled overseas and placed with the worst linemates. I don't know how much we can read into his lack of production, and believe from what I've seen that if given more ice time he could be far more impactful. Perhaps the Jr's were the best show of what he can do when given a looser leash. Anyway, on the day after the draft I researched Hoglander (which I had not done prior), I had a feeling his skillset would show well in the NHL, and felt he might be another huge gem from Benning. The more I saw, the more I believed. I still maintain I feel Hoglander likely has the higher ceiling between the two when it comes to actual skilled play, and if he develops as I believe he will, I feel he is a quality 1st liner in the making. But man, having another energizer bunny in Podz is gonna be great - even if he doesn't become a top 6 guy. If I was forced to guess, I'm gonna go with average 2nd line as his ceiling. Which might not be what people wanted from a 10th pick, but if that's what he turns out to be I think that's not unreasonable given the law of averages...
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I was initially more stoked for Hoglander at the draft. His skill at lesser levels is undeniable. Special, even. His ability to transition to the NHL was impressive. His drive is fun to watch and is making him an instant fan favourite. I'm hopeful for a smooth transition for Podz as well, and his drive will prove similarly impressive. He obviously has the size advantage which should serve him well, and may end up the deciding factor on who ends up the better player. With that said, I voted for Hoglander. He's already strong for his size, but I feel if he is already this strong, he might be a real ox in 2-3 years despite his shorter stature. I also feel he is simply the more skilled of the two, and will put up some real points once he polishes his game a little. We will be in great shape if both prove to be solid top 6 material. I'm sure Hoglander will. I am also sure Podkolzin will be an NHL player, but I can see anywhere from top three to top nine for him.
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Can one bad contract ruin a whole roaster?
kloubek replied to LeafsFanDan's topic in General Hockey Discussion
To be fair to Miller, his first year here blew away all expectations. I am not surprised to see a regression - in particular when most of our entire team isn't exactly producing like they should either. But you are right - the only time I saw the majority on CDC content with anything is when we were in the height of the Sedin years. Presidents trophies tend to do that. Even still, you got the complaining about the trade for Ballard or "Burrows, do we need him" and similar threads. -
Not at his salary, no. I think we can all agree he is overpaid. But as aGent said, if we were to retain 50%, I think Sutter is a solid 3rd line center to a team at just over 2m.
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Can one bad contract ruin a whole roaster?
kloubek replied to LeafsFanDan's topic in General Hockey Discussion
LE ended up a bad signing, but I really don't think there is much point in ragging on JB for it either. Those of us who understand hockey also understand why he did it, even though it was universally agreed the final years may not have looked so great. Who knew it would have been the entire remainder of his career where he sucked. What's done is done. As for TT, you're right - nobody can predict the future. But that's kinda moot, since it applies to *any* contract signing. At least in this case we knew TT had chemistry with the team and worked well on the Canucks before he left. I'd say that mitigates a lot of the risk right there. I will say, however, that as good as TT would likely have looked remaining on the Canucks that he is producing more than I would have expected this season, making him leaving looking worse than it really should. IMO, TT is a medium end (at best) 1st line player who is playing like a star right now. Given that this is likely Pearson's last season with us, I would have rather had TT signed making Podkolzin a luxury instead of a necessity that he works out. Oh well. A lot is going to happen soon with re-signing Petey and Huggy, expiring contracts and the end of Luongo's unfair recapture penalty in a couple of years. Despite a flat cap world, hopefully Benning can find a way to finally make it all work. -
Can one bad contract ruin a whole roaster?
kloubek replied to LeafsFanDan's topic in General Hockey Discussion
I don't think so. While I supported the signing, LE has been a shell of his former self as soon as ink touched paper. 6m is enough for a really good player. It could have covered 150% of TT's salary, as an example. Where would we be with an extra 11 goals? Well, for starters, I think we would be the highest scoring team in the NHL. (With extra games played). We would have won more of our 1-goal games, and would probably be sitting in a playoff position. I'd say that's worth stating. Plus there would be some left over. Combine the 6m cap hit for LE, Luongo's penalty, etc, and we'd actually have a reasonable amount to work with right now in a perfect world. Man, that Skinner contract looked brutal at signing but now it's going to end up one of the worst contracts in the NHL for quite some time if they don't manage to rectify it somehow.