oldnews
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they all fluff the hand that feeds them. RogersLeafsNet projecting the Leafs contending....yet again.... shocking. yet....yet to win a playoff series. easily the most overfluffed underachievers in the NHL for years running. you be you, though Toronto. It's almost pathetic enough to make me pull for them. how many times can you oversell that poor fanbase? They're not even a worthy joke anymore. God have mercy. Go Leaf Go.
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I love that kind of stuff. 11 of them fluffing the Laffs to win the division. and even better 12 of them believing they'll also emerge out of the playoffs. Simple question: did the Leafs improve in the offseason? If so - how so? I'd love to hear the answer to that, beyond 'er, we're tuffer!' nothing like high expectations to feed the continued? misery in the center of the universe.
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I think their success is more dependent upon Dave Tippet (McMe and Draisaitl are somewhat a 'given' - where they need to improve is where Tippet comes in, and if anything, they are notably improved since his arrival. Decades of patronage management and amateur player development probably won't be overcome in one season - but I think people around here are probably underestimating Edmonton overall. I think they still have work to do, particularly weak imo at LW and with center depth - but I'd probably give them an edge relative to Toronto's depth overall - and in coaching. Both these teams have ridden their lottery coat-tails, but at least Edmonton appears intent on changing - Toronto on the other hand looks like a team determined to continue to outsmart themselves.
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The Habs have a very solid top 4 - Weber, Petry, Edmundson, Chiarot...and Romanov looks pretty talented. The Flames - hard to argue with Giordano and Tanev....very good young talent as well with Hanifin, Andersson and Valimaki.... But I wouldn't consider Edler, Schmidt, Hughes, Myers, Juolevi and Hamonic second to either of those groups - and beyond that I think the Canucks depth also holds up. I'm not sure how I'd rate them - but I'd also factor in a pretty young forward group in Montreal - and while I think Calgary has good forward depth, in terms of defensive forwards, I like our group as much or better - so all things considered, I think the Canucks may have the most solid, integrative defensive hockey team in the North.
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I'm not a 'fan' of pairing Hamonic with Hughes. And I think it's likely that coaches will look to exploit them, particularly on the road....Tippett certainly seemed to fire McMe1st out there every chance he got with Hamonic/Hughes on the ice. I think they should limit Hamonic's minutes to pairing with Juolevi (who I think is better 'support' for him than Hughes is) and otherwise get him pk minutes. In fairness to him, if he had rust last night, that's understandable, but even at his best he has nowhere near Tanev's ability to stay with players like McMe1st. Myers imo is the guy you want getting more exposure with Hughes (and I think Hughes will benefit more from him / probably 'needs' him more than Juolevi does. I'm sure Green has his reasons - but I won't be surprised if Hamonic doesn't remain paired with Hughes.
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[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
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I think Bear, Nurse and Larsson are solid (I don't particularly care for Nurse as a player, but that's beside the point) And keep in mind that they are missing Klefbom. Jones is not a bad young depth D. I think they will miss Benning - and I'm glad Barrie did not land here (he unsurprisingly looked like the most vacant player on the ice last night...his underlying numbers will be propped up by Draisaitl and McMe1st) - but certainly he's a D to pick on/isolate among that group. I think I'd take that group over Toronto's. Reilly Brodie Muzzin Holl Dermott Bogosian. Imo Brodie is just not an adequate top pairing partner for Reilly. They likely intend to tilt the ice heavily for them, but I'm not convinced they have the depth of D or F to do so sufficiently, without getting killed elsewhere. Muzzin and Holl are probably in for a long/challenging season. Dermott and Bogosian - won't surprise me if that pairing gets rekt all year long (particularly given the makeup of the Leafs forward units).
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Nuxfan has got to be the board leader in necroing his own old threads
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[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
sorry Zzz - you've achieved yawn status. not a word you've posted is worth bothering to engage 'seriously' with. emoji on emoji-san. -
Thanks for this. It's beyond old - reading the vacant accounts of posters that throw players like Motte - and Beagle in particular - under the bus - based on what? A default, knee-jerk tendency to fluff the 'stars'? Beagle 27.3% ozone starts (8 dzone starts was second only to Edler). 50% corsi (13 on ice shot attempts for, 13 against). Motte 30% ozone starts 50% corsi (15/15). Outstanding. Particularly on the road imo. What more do people expect. Add to those 5 on 5 outcomes that fact that they gave up nothing short-handed. 13 and 15 shot attempts for, playing 15 and 16 minutes....not only were they outstanding without the puck/defensively - but they also did a great job hounding and grinding in the Coil zone, creating chances of their own. I have no idea how Sutter gets separated out from those two, but whatever. How they wind up on the "not as good" list is noob material. By contrast we see endless fluffing of the "stars" - but let's be real for a moment. Quinn Hughes, for example, is sublimely talented - however, he does not perform in a vacuum. Hughes 17 offensive zone starts, 1 dzone, 94.4%. How is it the team manages to provide that - who reverses the ice and produces those ozone starts? 64.3% corsi - taken out of context - appears outstanding - however, in context, are his 'possession' numbers actually 'better' than Motte and Beagle's? Not so much. It's a team game. I 'wish' people would stop playing the 'stars' off the hard minutes players who deserve every bit as much credit, in other ways - but that would require perspective a lot of people evidently don't care to gain. Myers - another 'not so good' 37.5% ozone starts 50% corsi - playing with a rookie defenseman - on the road - where Tippet has last change - and is able to pick spots where he can matchup Draisaitl or McDavid against a rookie... Juolevi - who himself was 42.9% / 3o4dzone starts - had a team best corsi of 76.5% (13 shot attempst for, 4 against).....and yet, the most talked about thing is a micro-take on one play where he fell/was tripped....fishbowl material.... 'the average'. For me, the most promising thing about that game - beyond the obvious impact that Hoglander had on the Horvat-Pearson line - was how solid Juolevi was and how improved Gaudette looks - a critical factor in my opinion if the team finds itself facing any injuries at center - something the loss of Miller confronted them with right out of the gate. The entire team was 'good' - bar none. Hamonic may have struggled a bit parachuting in (maybe an 'exception') however, I was not expecting him to look like mid-season form Chris Tanev (scarcely anyone handles McDavid types as well as Tanev) - and Hamonic winding up one on one with McDavid in a handful of situations - is not on Hamonic alone. Edler was unreal imo.
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[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
I have much to learn from you, emoji-san. -
[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
I wouldn't be sure of that. Amid the ingenuous self-depracation - he actually doubled down to repeat that he disagrees with the idea PLD was not up to Toews speed at comparable stages (age 21) - but all he's got to 'qualify' that absurdity is a two word hail Mary about a 'tremendous ceiling'. It's classic Zepp. His ego gets so wounded when you disagree with him that he'll follow you around and emoji 20 posts like a teenager that felt he was scorned. All in good fun though / a day on CDC lol -
[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
you don't know what you're talking about - as usual. your attempts to use weak sarcasm as a substitution only underline that. -
[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Wadr to Tortorella, what a crock of shat response. 'I think conflict is great....two people being honest....' Tortorella creeping back to the coach he was when he needed to reform to earn another shot at the NHL level? Too thick/obstinate to realize that him going on his public/bench tirades, yelling, ranting, throwing his fn pointy little finger in players faces (as he's done many times with Dubois) - one thing you never see is a player yelling in his face, "being honest" in kind. Put Leipsic on that and call it "honesty" all you want Torts - no wonder you're oblivious to why certain players can't stand you. Ballbusting tirades don't necessarily 'work' on all players, period (if any). You tried that shizz over and over - with guys like Jannick Hansen of all people - Scott Hartnell....and wtf were you expecting the result to be? Anyhow - if he hasn't learned yet, he's unlikely to. Is Tortorella the coach worth it? I don't think so. I'd probably fire him before trading yet another player at this point. -
[Signing] Blue Jackets re-sign Pierre-Luc Dubois
oldnews replied to -Vintage Canuck-'s topic in Trades, Rumours, Signings
Sorry - 'nothing complex' isn't cutting it / a one-liner about '1st/2nd' line centers. And the Toews "when he was young" comparable is just not a good one. Dubois is not even close to comparable. Jonathon Toews, age 21. Captain of the Stanley Cup Champions. 25 goals, 68 pts, +22 Lead all Hawks forwards in ice time. 60.7% ozone starts, 59.7% corsi 57.3% faceoff guy - 800+ wins. 69 takeaways, +45 differential. Primary/secondary penalty killer. Dubois at 21 18g, 49 pts, -2 4th among CBJ forwards in ice time. 61.9% ozone starts, 50.9% corsi 44.6% faceoffs 27 takeaways, 46 giveaways (-19) Lead the GBJ forwards in powerplay minutes, but not a penalty killer - nowhere near as versatile player as Toews. Yeah - Dubois has a 'tantalizing' skillset - with size and speed - but if we're real here, he's nowhere near "Toews when he was young." -
Hamonic may have had his hands full - understandably - and Tanev was a rare player - that probably defended McDavid as well as anyone (a bit spoiled here in years past with his elite anticipation and quickness/mobility) - but still, overall as a group I thought the blueline defended quite well - and moved the puck very decisively - excellent zone exits tonight imo. They may not have quite as high end a primary shutdown matchup pairing as they did with Tanev (and Edler) - however, they might still manage to gain overall.
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Yeah - I love Toffoli - but you could see what Hoglander's footspeed and puck pursuit (saying he has "a step" on Toffoli is an undersatement) relatively brings - to go with sheer will/battle - vision/awareness - playmaking - he covers so much ice/space - with Horvat and Pearson's power games....he's an explosive addition/complement.
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I thought the Canucks won the 'possession' game in an impressive way tonight. First - with Miller out - EP's line played on heavily tilted ice (89% ozone starts). What I thought was impressive was their ability to provide that - while Gaudette was also centering a line (7 minutes and 4 of 7 dzone starts...) Every line outshot their opponent Pearson Horvat Hoglander (75% corsi). Roussel Gaudette MacEwen 67% Motte Beagle Sutter 63% Virt EP Boeser 62% Overall 53 shot attempts to 38.... Without Miller - need the Horvat line to step up. But also Gaudette's - and they held their own very well - and added a critical goal.
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There's nothing wrong with Dumba - or the idea. I think the poster was referring to a certain tone that was 'underlying' - certainly a lot of questions about Boeser's game, skating, play without the puck, etc. Players like him - if he's not scoring the highlight reel goals, people tend to question their value. For me - he was very good in the playoffs in a lot of areas that were not necessarily his bread and butter - he didn't seem to be able to get his grade A shot off (Miller either) - but he was very good in a lot of ways - forechecked very hard, backchecked hard, went to the hard areas constantly and battled for 'playoff' goals - really worked hard and had an impact in spite of not being able to snipe as we come to expect.
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The thing is - the reality was/is that the team had/has a pair of young RW - Hoglander and Podkolzin - so signing Toffoli, having Boeser - and Virtanen....would have resulted in a bottleneck in short order regardless. It couldn't be 'assumed' that Hoglander would emerge this quickly - but at the same time, he looked like a damn solid bet to earn an NHL spot - and as it turns out, that 'spot' made sense to keep open to competition. I think it was the priority to commit the cap to a defenseman instead - and Schmidt seems like the right one to me. But as it turns out - I'm not sure the team will be giving up much in Hoglander relative to Toffoli - and they have more cap flexibility in the younger ELC (and then RFA).... I also think Hoglander's speed - and playmaking - might actually make a better fit for Horvat and Pearson. Toffoli is a talented player - and goalscorer - but Hoglander may be the better fit as a 'catalyst' - I don't see Horvat as a 'playmaking' center (Pearson likewise, as a winger, could probably use a playmaker) - so having a winger like Hoglander is a pretty exciting complement for that line. And then there's Podkolzin...so - they look deep in youth at RW. It's only one game - but Gaudette also looks stronger - and more solid battling down low in his own zone (perhaps a bit more aware as well) - so that could bode well if he in fact has taken another step in development as a center.