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wallstreetamigo

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Everything posted by wallstreetamigo

  1. Causation and correlation. Could it be that older players who are actually good hockey players might be part of that? You are really arguing that stacking your team with any old player you can find is better than adding young players? Aside from the top nhl teams proving you completely wrong, it is a ludicrous argument. Skill is what is important, not age. And most of the older players are simply not adding enough to justify not giving good young prospects a shot especially in another lost season.
  2. So if you dont give prospects jobs how do they become nhl players? Every nhl player was once a prospect you know.
  3. This is definitely in the running for most cherry picked pov in cdc history. To use your (highly flawed) stat that does not actually represent individual defensive skill, Henrik was -27, Daniel -16, Edler -20, Sutter -20, Gudbranson -14. None of them babysat anyone on their line and all got prime opportunity yet still managed to drag themselves down. How many of those players would you describe as top young players like Lind, Gadjovich, Rathbone, etc.?
  4. Not that I am advocating hiring him or not but Jim Rutherford basically epitomizes all of those qualities, has a solid record as a GM, and is unemployed and has said he wants to get back into a GM chair. Aquilini would never hire him though. Because he likes doing things his way and is not really able to be browbeat into deviating from the plan with kneejerk interference in hockey ops by the owner. But just putting it out there that good talented guys are available. One could even say that the next stage of the team needing to surround the core is right in Rutherfords wheelhouse.
  5. What people don't seem to understand is that Highmore and Gaudette are different players. Highmore replaced Gaudette only because the Canucks wanted him to be a bottom 6 defensive forward, which he is clearly miscast as at this point. No one can ever convince me that Jimmy Vesey playing on the top line is any kind of improvement over what giving Gaudette a chance there would have been. Gaudette was notoriously snake bitten this year but he probably would have been able to produce some offense there. Essentially Vesey is the one who replaced Gaudette. And he has done nothing with it.
  6. You are assuming the only possible reason he hasnt played is because Chicago thinks he is garbage like Benning does. Chicago is one of the best teams at getting full advantage out of of their players. And of trading high on them if they dont see them as a long term fit. Stark contrast to the Canucks actually who are one of the worst teams in the league in that regard. They sell low regularly on players.
  7. Why after a couple of games are you assuming he is a poor fit in Chicago though? There are any number of reasons he could be out of their lineup right now. Maybe they are taking extra care with him if his conditioning after covid is not 100%. Maybe they want to see him in some practices to figure out where they see him fitting in the lineup. Maybe they have other guys they want to see play. I find it hard to believe that they would have traded for him if they were then going to determine he is as useless as you suggest after a handful of games. I know people have to justify trading low on him any way they can to prop up Benning but lets give him more than a few games. Chicago is really good at putting players in positions and with linemates that play to their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
  8. But that same bottom feeding team was keeping Highmore out of the lineup too. Maybe they are getting him some practice time or maybe they are just happy going with the lineup they had prior to trading Highmore as trading him did not actually open a spot in the lineup like trading Gaudette did. I know people have a more intense need to slag on Gaudette because he got traded but not playing much yet in chi says literally nothing definitive about his game at this point. Gaudette was a poor fit in Vancouver but not because he is a garbage player. Its more that the Canucks tried to shoehorn him into a role that doesnt really fit his game at this point and he struggled. Highmore has played pretty good so far. He is a high energy guy. But offensively pretty sub par. Gaudette is defensively sub par but also hustles and competes and has far better offensive gifts. The Canucks have 2 waiver pickups and a CHI healthy scratch playing in their lineup. One was playing top 6 and pp time. That really says more about the Canucks injury situation and lack of depth than anything. If Roussel, Beagle, and EP were healthy, none of them would be playing.
  9. Read my post above. Gaudette was a full time roster player on the Canucks. Trading him out created a roster spot for Highmore to be able to get right in the lineup. Highmore was scratched 9 of the last 12 CHI games. They didnt really open a lineup spot by trading him as they werent using him anyway. Gaudette not playing yet doesnt necessarily mean he wont or he is garbage. Calling him a guy who scored 33 points last year an ahl player masquerading as a scoring winger is pretty unfair. Scoring in the nhl is not easy. Far more ahl guys that play in the nhl are more like Highmore and less like Gaudette bud. Hustling is easier than scoring in the nhl. Highmore has taken 0 faceoffs this year. Quite the 4th line center.
  10. Highmore hustles for sure. He has been a pleasant surprise. Not lights out or anything, but decent in his role. Offensively he is pretty limited though.
  11. I dont think its impossible for Gaudette to become an effective bottom 6 player tbh. I just dont think it will be as a center and it would be on a team that uses their 3rd line a bit differently than Vancouver does. I could even see him still have the potential to be a top 6 winger down the road. He is reasonably fast, has a good shot, and - despite the vitriol from fans here - he always at least hustled and competed. He just hasnt rounded out his game defensively yet. Maybe he can, maybe he never will, who knows? He still has upside though. I could see Seattle maybe taking him and giving him a bigger offensive role. I hope for the best for him.
  12. I am betting strongly on the Hawks developing Gaudette into a useful player in their system. They have had a lot of success putting players in roles and with linemates that take advantage of their strengths and limit their weaknesses.
  13. Could be. I think its important to remember that Chicago traded for him without losing a regular off their roster though. Highmore was scratched 9 out of the last 12 games he was with the Hawks. He had lost his spot so unlike with Highmore coming in to the Canucks with an open roster spot to take, Chicago may just be comfortable with who they were playing before the trade for Gaudette and want to get him some practice time to see where they think he might fit. Unlike some on here, I dont think it proves anything negative about Gaudette yet.
  14. Its frustrating when certain teams get retroactively punished like the Luongo recapture. The Canucks should have fought that tooth and nail as high as they could have because they easily had a case to get that penalty thrown out. All it did was allow other teams to open up another bigger, worse loophole of avoiding cap recapture penalties by having players go on permanent ltir rather than retire. Hossa suddenly allergic to his equipment? Lol. Just one example. Those players non retiring should be punished exactly the same way as Luongo retiring or the Luongo recapture should not have been implemented. Certain teams can willingly break the spirit of the CBA because the CBA is so vague that its almost just discretionary when it comes to punishment.
  15. I cant remember specifically which players were involved but there was definitely this kind of cap circumvention going on where a player would magically get injured and go on ltir just as another was cleared to play. I know it revolved around being able to fit all of Hamhuis, Erhoff, Bieksa, Edker, Salo, and Ballard on the roster.
  16. His most recent contract though is going to make it very likely he gets let go to UFA status if not traded. No way Benning can qualify him at the necessary number.
  17. If Virtanen was drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round most would see it as a decent pick. The opportunity cost of selecting him where they did is already long gone. I think he is a decent option for a balanced 3rd line and a decent option to fill in a top 6 role as needed. Those kind of guys are important too.
  18. Probably not. But that doesn't mean he is a bust or won't be able to figure things out. You know who was a pretty inconsistent and immature player early on that did not always put everything together despite having the talent? JT Miller. Ask him or ask AV. Both will tell you that. Virtanen is a better player than he gets credit for. Does he need to grow up a bit, put in the work, and commit to building his consistent effort level? Absolutely. But his draft position, who was drafted after him, who Benning should have taken instead, why isnt he Bertuzzi or Cam Neely, etc. are all the wrong things to focus on at this point. I know Benning will probably trade him or let Seattle take him. I think there is a good chance though that he will end up a better player than many on here think he can be.
  19. I think it balances the lines better as well. That 4th line would cause fits with their aggressive forecheck. And Virtanen has shown he can distribute the puck fairly well with good linemates. And he has been more physically aggressive lately. It just feels like a better way to get the most out of both Virtanen and Mac. Both are fine in either spot really but I feel Hoglander and Miller would have more space to create offense with Virtanen thete as another option offensively. Plus it would be nice to give Virt a shot of confidence.
  20. I saw Chatfield especially playiing like a rover at times and getting caught out of position. He panics a bit too.
  21. I would rather see Virtanen with Hoglander and Miller and Mac with Highmore and Boyd. Virtanen has played ok lately.
  22. Hopefully motte and mac provide a bit more of a physical, aggressive puck hound mentality. Playing Ottawa it is critical to neutralize their speed and pressure them consistently.
  23. This is spot on. Given how Green wants them to attack with speed and often chip and chase the puck then aggressively forecheck, the inability to cleanly break the puck out really limits their options through the neutral zone. Its not just a defenseman issue either. The forwards are often not in the position to accept a pass quick enough. You can see the defense often waiting a bit too long for a good option to open up.
  24. Based on last game and many games this season i hope the team is working on the basics of how to make and accept a pass. Blendering the lines again might make that even worse. Lets hope not.
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