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oldnews

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Everything posted by oldnews

  1. There were a lot of assumptions that the team was going to take a serious "step back" this season with the departing veterans. I think the counterpoint / counter-possibility to that was - how well do the young talent they have step up? I think it's pretty clear that Juolevi improves the lineup with his presence - and there is no situation where he's in over his head - something that is rare to say about a rookie defenseman. I also think it's pretty clear that in spite of Toffoli's inclination to wreck this team head to head, Hoglander is otherwise fully game to replace him overall - and at the bonus of doing so on an ELC. Obviously, replacing Tanev has been a challenge, particularly when Hamonic struggled as much as he did, and then his injury forced the team to pair Hughes with a 7/8 LHD (not a shot at Benn, who has been much better than he was last year = the player they hoped he'd be when he signed). Unfortunately - the other major elements in the equation - are a top 6 that just hasn't been itelf thus fart this season - particularly EP, Miller, Horvat and Pearson.....once those guys truly gain traction, it's conceivable that this team steps up to comparable performance to last season. Schmidt may not be producing at a typical clip thus far, but he's also played hard minutes with solid possession and goal metrics, so how far back the blueline has stepped - really comes down to Hughes' struggles for the most part (again, the question of how much the young players would be able to step up/uptick). I think it's been understandable to some extent that a few of these guys haven't quite sustained - the 'foundation' has been thinned a bit by virtue of the offseason. And of course, at the back of it all we haven't quite had that Markstrom quality of consistency in goaltending. But I still love this group - and particularly how promising their ability to uptick remains. For the most part the real breakdowns this season have come down almost exclusively to poor puck management / too high risk puck carrying in the dzone, poor first passes - turnovers in critically high risk areas - that they've been managing to clean up for the most part. They've outplayed their opponents in general the past 5 games (and none of those opponents were the struggling Senators...). I think things are looking quite promising again - particularly if EP, Horvat and Hughes can get rolling.... Juolevi though - has been outstanding. 44% ozone starts .937 on ice save percentage = best on the blueline (Virtanen leads the team at .953) 2.9 on ice goals for per 60 at es 2.1 on ice goals against (only a few bottom six wingers have given up less). Secondary pk duties (over a minute/game). +3 leads the team (in anything but 'sheltered' minutes - is impressive). And clearly the eye test adds up / reconfirms his outcomes.
  2. I like Sautner - he's another level-headed defenseman in the system who's has a solid game without the puck. Not sure the team has ever had this much serviceable depth on the blueline.
  3. Nonsense. Centers that can handle 38% ozone starts, generate territory for your top 6 in the process, win 53.4% of their faceoffs, kill 3 minutes of penalties a game - and bring that high end shutdown 'foundation' are not easy to replace. You are deluding yourself if you believe that's the case - there are typically about one player that hits the market any given summer with those kinds of credentials, and not necessarily who come with Sutter's ability to counterpunch (capable of scoring 20 goals in the process = those players are actually very rare). If you believe Gaudette can/is ready to step into that roll - you haven't been paying attention. The bottom six that people complain so much about around here - have 'dragged this team into the fight' this season - the've been the only consistent, hard working, performing element of this team thus far, aside from a few of the blueliners (ie particularly Edler).
  4. Don't like that whatsover. 185lbs 176lbs 191lbs.... And the 191 plays the lightest game. Zero interest in seeing Pettersson get bullied down low without the support he needs/could use - to avoid/keep him from spending his energy battling in areas we have better options. I love Hoglander's game without the puck - but if it aint broke, don't fix it. EP Miller Boeser is a far, far better line - one that enables EP to do his thing. Btw - Boeser doesn't deserve the 'demotion' - not in the least - he's a better scorer than Nylander, he's a better forechecker than Nylander, he goes to the net with more intent than Nylander, he hits more than Nylander, his plays the game without the puck with more grit and intent than Nylander, his contract is better than Nylander's - there's really nothing to argue here in favour of Nylander (who also happens to play with John Tavares on a team that was rolling, so his 12 pts aren't particularly impressive relative to Boeser's 12 goals (and 21 pts).... Don't see a case for elevating him to the top line here - and again, don't consider him the kind of complete player that Hoglander is already showing himself to be.
  5. This team has no use for Nylander. He's another RW - if they're dealing Virtanen or Gaudette for a forward, imo it would be for a center or natural center playing LW. And further - committing that kind of cap and term to Nylander - would be a horrible idea. This team has it's own youth to pay in due course - and no shortage of young players to fill their R winger spots. Boeser is better than Nylander and no way in hell I'd be displacing a steal like Hoglander (on an ELC, and a 200ft buzzsaw) with the 7 million double flamingo - the absolute last direction this team needs to be going at this point. If they left a spot for Hoglander open at the cost of having to forego signing Toffoli, why tf would they take on considerably more cap to accommodate a lesser player than Toffoli? Future team needs are pretty evident - Hughes' partner and succession C/LW. Tryamkin might be an option for Hughes - Chatfield is good depth = room to upgrade, but not urgent. They could use more succession options at center, but again, not urgent - a possibilty Sutter re-signs at lesser term and cap, and they have options at LW (including Podkolzin who can probably play either wing quite effectively). Pearson, Roussel, Sutter successions - not particularly urgent - but if they could shift some of their depth using Gaudette or Virtanen, they test the market.
  6. they would consider a RHD Dreger is a garbage source where this team is concerned - a troll - doesn't know shizz. Take anything he says with a box of salt.
  7. Yeah that was a dumb penalty. Reminded me of the Schmidt penalty the game before (on who other than Tketchup).. I think this one was on Backlund? - who has an impressive ability to get under people's skin. I'm glad they killed that one - actually that was a great penalty kill = if Calgary had scored there poor Jake would never live that down - there's such an itch to whip him in this market. I found it interesting late in the game - Green seemed to be feeding him ice time - and it's almost as though he was told to go out and take some risks - Virtanen looked a bit off the leash there - and took the liberty of a few rushes where he was intent to challenge and beat guys one on one. We haven't seen much of that - perhaps the pressure being eased with a lead/margin may have been some tonic for him.
  8. True - with a lead you want to expose Hughes less - but it's also the case that they're coming off a very tight game - where Hughes taking double shifts / 2+ minutes shifts cost them - he was exposed more than once - and I suspect Green had a chat with him about that. It was Hughes taking a penalty at the end of one of those, late in the game, that necessitated the short-handed tying goal - and then cost them the ot pp goal against. I think there might be a bit more to it than simply leading this particular game. The other reason I think it makes sense to limit his minutes a bit more would be the reality that they don't have an ideal set of circumstances with a #7/8 LHD placeholding as his partner. Benn has been quite good - but 15/16 minutes good, not 20+ minutes good....They might be a bit better 'structured' when he's not up in the 25 minute range.
  9. I think Calgary has a well built team. But they have a vulnerability right at the top of their forward group imo. Monahan and Gaudreau - are just not very good possession players. They're 26 and 27 years old - and still lack attention to the game without the puck. Gaudreau notoriously blows the zone all the time, looking for the stretch/breakaway passes....but in the process he leaves his team vulnerable. And you could see it tonight - the Canucks forecheck, the puck pressure - was turning the puck over and the Monahans and Gaudreaus - don't provide the necessary puck support. That was a formula that was costing the Canucks games - but at least in this team's case, the forwards that are 'cheating' the game have generally been their youth. They were not taking care of exits earlier this season - somewhat understandable at times - but with a veteran group, it's hard to excuse. Calgary has two excellent two way puck possession centers imo - both Backlund and Lindholm are very good two way players that do not need the ice tilted for them. It surprises me that that team can be as easy to handle as they are at times - and for me that largely comes down to being able to build momentum against their alleged 'best players'. Monahan and Gaudreau were both vacancies/passengers tonight - and wound up -2 each = not surprising in the least. It's almost to the point (such a large sample of it) that it might be time to break those two up.
  10. Interesting to see Hughes mintes down inside the stratosphere - and OJ playing a larger chunk than him for the first time. One thing is for certain - whatever minutes Juolevi has played - he's handled them exceptionally well - and if anything, there has been a real correlation between him and results (some of that is obviously 'coincidental' - but at the same time I think he brings a level-headedness that almost compensates for the loss of Tanev's hockey intelligence).
  11. I don't think it's a condemnation of Green at all - I agree - there have been circumstances where their best chances of winning are with LE in the lineup (they're generally M.A.S.H. circumstances, but at least he's a solid 14thish forward). When you need to shut down a pair of opposition lines sometimes it's enough to simply neutralize - and certainly when you're on a Beagle line getting 25% ozone starts - breaking even is actually a considerable 'gain', particularly if the top 6 take advantage of their opportunities...So he doesn't 'hurt' the team, but I just want to see more engagement beyond positioning at times.
  12. Yeah - and he's been getting sub 50% ozone starts - and some pk duties this season - so clearly Green doesn't feel the need to shelter him.
  13. I don't disagree regarding his positioning - my point is that that is virtually all he is bringing. There are circumstances where positioning is not enough. I think Roussel has been much better lately - so I can't share that perspective with you - and where Jake is concerned, Jake also generally gets to the right areas of the ice, particularly in his zone (something Green has obviously emphasized with him since Utica) - but at least with Jake there's the possibility he's going to lay the body, or drive the net...With LE it's as though he's entirely content to do nothing beyond gaining a zone exit (and even there, when it's necessary to get his nose dirty, he's spotty - and when you're 35 and making 6 million, my expectations are not on par with a young 24 yr old).
  14. It's too bad one of Hughes or OJ weren't a RHD - the two of them coulda made a helluva future pairing otherwise. But whatever - having them on separate pairings - 6 of 1, really.
  15. I hear what you're saying - and kudos for identifying two of worse moments this game - but I think you're being overly generous in your description of the "other than that". He generally does get to the right areas of the ice and read the play well - but he's also too aloof at times, particularly in the dzone, where he just doesn't get to the puck battles, doesn't do the necessary grinding, particularly on those long shifts where he's hemmed in - just too finesse for me. The difference between that line with Motte and that line with Eriksson - is massive. LE just doesn't attack the play - positioning is great, but if it's too passive it's annoying af. I'm glad they're able to harm reduce at least with him in the lineup - but I'd say there were more like a half dozen annoying incidents - not just the two obvious miscues.
  16. The principal thing that convinced me Juolevi was a good pick - even if 'risky' - is that his bread and butter is his hockey intelligence (about as 'safe' a basis as there is imo). He may have been slight - but the brain is the most important 'muscle'.
  17. Puck pursuit was dogged all night long. That's the game Green wants to see.
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