Thoughts on Jimbo's moves and this off-season

[KyGuy123]

I’m hoping we go Defense the next 3 drafts regardless of where we are picking. First and second round picks if we have them. The next 5 years should be our window and we need some high end D prospects that are labeled “can’t miss” top 4.

[spook007]

2 hours ago, janisahockeynut said:

I am not trying to crap on your opinion

 

But I honestly think there will be a resuffling of the Dmen we have

I think that there will be guys that play on the PP more than others...aka Quinn Hughes

But at even strength, Hughes will get reduced minutes, especially becaue we have OEL who won't get as many PP minutes

but will get more even strength minutes than Quinn

This leads me to Rathbone, and Juolevi, both of whom I believe play better even strength than Hughes

Sooooo.........I feel

 

Hughes will get his 4 minutes a game of PP and about 14 minutes of Even strength.........................................................................17 to 19 minutes a game

OEL will see limited minutes on the PP average about half of Hughes PP minutes but will get more even strength minutes............19 to 21 minutes a game

Rathbone and Juolevi will fight for the scraps.........................

 

The point is Hughes will get less minutes even strength

Hope you're right Jan. 

QH was ridden like a rented mule at times last season, and his play dipped from it...

Less minutes should him play stronger during those minutes 

[Timråfan]

This off season is completely different from the other I seen from Benning. Now he was a normal GM that shows something close to intelligence.

Why didn’t he do something similar before?

Is it someone else running the show or?

 

[Devron]

15 minutes ago, spook007 said:

Hope you're right Jan. 

QH was ridden like a rented mule at times last season, and his play dipped from it...

Less minutes should him play stronger during those minutes 

The one thing that really bugged me with coaching last year was the use of Quinn. They shouldn’t have done him like that. Still a very young player 

[spook007]

1 hour ago, Devron44 said:

The one thing that really bugged me with coaching last year was the use of Quinn. They shouldn’t have done him like that. Still a very young player 

Agree. It was frustrating at times to down rigth worrisome as his confidence could be shattered or worse, severe injury could have been the outcome. 

[appleboy]

Our defense is weak. Very weak , defensively. Offensively,  they should be good .

 

Goal tending depends on the continued improvement of Demko  of coarse . Should be solid.

 

I like Garland and hoping Podkolzin turns into the stud that we think he is .

Dickinson is OK. Time will tell.

We need Petey back to 100%.

 

If this team is going anywhere this year we will need to be a offensive power house.

 

They will be very exciting to watch or the same disorganized mess that spends way too much time in their own end. It looks like they have the horses to take it to their opponents. 

 

Could be a fun year.

 

Now if this Covid garbage would go away.

[IBatch]

10 hours ago, Bob.Loblaw said:

The OP has a bizarre take.  We are literally on day 2 of free agency and the fans are trying to grade what happened.  That's not how things work.  When it comes to acquisitions, how can you assess how good or bad the signing truly was when they haven't even played a game yet?  Ferland seemed like a good signing.  Eriksson and Holtby seemed like okay signings.  The whole "let's wait and see" applies to Garland just as much as it does to the Poolman.  Hell it's going to apply to Hughes and Pettersson when they get paid too.  Let's say they both get $7 mil for however long.  If Hughes struggles as badly as he did this past year, it will be bad.  If Petey can't stay healthy, it will be bad.  The point being that acquisitions take time to figure out if it worked out or not.

 

Losses, on the other hand, can be assessed more quickly.  Last year, we lost a lot.  Markstrom, Tanev, Toffoli, Stecher, and Leivo.  The loss of talent wasn't really replaced, and the team really struggled because of it.  It also annoyed fans because all those five guys just walked.  This offseason, we let Edler walk.  Everyone else was either traded or bought out.  Every single player who did poorly was unloaded.  Eriksson, Beagle, Roussel, Holtby, Virtanen, Schmidt.  All gone.  Most of them were Benning's mistakes to begin with, but they are now gone.  Even if it was partly cleaning up his own mess and at a high price, he did what had to be done.

 

This is all coming from a pretty big Benning hater too.  Jet Black Jim, Benning, I love all them memes.

Letting players "walk" only happens if the don't have a NTC/NMC.    It also needs to looked at from what result occurred because we "let them all walk"...that is 17 playoff type games, fourth most in history...and even without MIN then still as many as the Sedins ever managed other then our fun to the final.    A team cant rebuilt forever ... even though it takes a decade now for a top team to recover after been a top team.    I agree we can't judge yet though.   But i'm sure if we threw out our pool, a couple firsts too, to jam in the exact same team that was thrashed by Vegas that would have been suicide as far as the next steps go.   JB took the hard but right route - not the easy one he already had.    Not sure it was the right path yet myself yet either, but for sure better then losing Demko, keeping JM, Tanev, TT etc.   Because we'd have zero cap left for anyone.   The team we have now is younger, and on paper at least, a better one.    Hopefully it all works out. 

[MikeyD]

9 hours ago, Podz19 said:

I read a lot on Garland after the trade as i was upset we gave up the first and took on a long contract. 

 

AZ fans were pissed, they saw him as their best young player, better than Keller! 

 

Apparently, tons of speed, goes to the hard areas, competes, and is a leader. On the Canucks he will thrive and he has the attitude we need. Suggest just googling on him and you will see, he’s going to really make a difference in our top 6. 

 

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/primetimesportstalk.com/2021/02/05/arizona-coyotes-conor-garland-one-of-the-nhls-most-underrated-talents/amp/

 

 

 

The comparison of Yamamoto makes me excited. Because Yamamoto plays like Hoglander. 

 

And Hoglander is the goat. 

 

If the comparison to Gallagher is even remotely close a 1st round pick is a ridiculous thing to give him away for. 

[Dazzle]

50 minutes ago, MikeyD said:

The comparison of Yamamoto makes me excited. Because Yamamoto plays like Hoglander. 

 

And Hoglander is the goat. 

 

If the comparison to Gallagher is even remotely close a 1st round pick is a ridiculous thing to give him away for. 

If you watch the highlights, you'll see Garland drives to the hard areas. Guy is fearless, like Hoglander. His play will rub off on A LOT of players.

And it's interesting because Garland is actually 5'8, not 5'10. He confirms this size difference in the interview, but you'd NEVER see this size concern from last season's clips.

 

 

Edited July 30, 2021 by Dazzle

[Locke Lamora]

Jimbo getting a lot of kudos from all around the hockey world - with the exception being the negative nancy’s in the Vancouver media of course - and I love to see it. Sure, some of his moves were “fixing” his own mistakes but at least he manned up and dealt with them.

 

I’ll be in Abby for all of Training Camp. Hope to see some of you there!

[Dazzle]

1 minute ago, Locke Lamora said:

Jimbo getting a lot of kudos from all around the hockey world - with the exception being the negative nancy’s in the Vancouver media of course - and I love to see it. Sure, some of his moves were “fixing” his own mistakes but at least he manned up and dealt with them.

 

I’ll be in Abby for all of Training Camp. Hope to see some of you there!

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

[Devron]

1 minute ago, Dazzle said:

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

Almost chocked on my coffee there. Classic

[Locke Lamora]

6 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

If I were Jimbo, I’d view that as a badge of honour.

[bree2]

5 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

TSN said Vancouver was the most improved Canadian team this off season and Edmonton was the worst. sportsnet , i wouldn't worry about, their media guys and their stories are all full of bull!!!

[Dekey Pete]

9 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

Edmonton!??  

 

[Chris12345]

27 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

I saw that I was surprised....I mean sure give Van a D+ but Montreal gets a Z for what they did.

Edited July 30, 2021 by Chris12345

[JM_]

Not sure if it means anything but we may have as many as 9 US players on the 23 man roster next year if Lockwood makes it. 

[R3aL]

I’m still bitter Adam Larsson didn’t go to free agency.

 

having him with Quinn Hughes would have been my dream come true especially at the price and term he signed for. Damn shame. Don’t understand why he didn’t go to free agency he could have circled back to Seattle no problem. 

 

MY OFFSZN REVIEW

 

THE GREAT

 

1 Garland - literally one of the most under valued forwards in the NHL. Also a Right Hand Shot seemingly valuable to our forward group. He also completes our top 6 and I think he’s the perfect forward to play with Horvat. Everyone doubting this player is in for a big surprise. This also allows Pearson to play down in the lineup where he belongs. The chance Guenther becomes a better forward than Garland I would say are the same odds the pick traded for miller exceeds him. Highly doubtful and the return we get from these players now with their st certainty is 100% worth it.

 

2. Dickinson - bringing in a 3rd line C who’s young, has upside, embraces a checking role and is an awesome dude just brings a smile to my face. This also frees up Horvat for offensive deployments. And brings great depth to our team down the middle.

 

3. Hamonic - resigning hamonic was very important. By the end of the season the difference in his play was very noticeable. Coaching staff liked what they saw and wanted him back. His deal and term are very reasonable. And everyone should be stoked on this resigning.

 

4. Ian Clark contract - investing money into demko it only makes sense that we brought back Clark. Super happy they didn’t get weird about his contract. He’s the best goalie coach and has a great relationship built with demko was going to kill me if they didn’t sign him. 

 

5. Bringing in Coach Shaw - our defence sucked. I truly believe Shaw will help with the development of our young dmen and also with the entire teams approach to defending. Very happy with this addition especially since green wanted it.

 

6. Bringing in the Sedins in - not only did we los bracket and linden but we didn’t replace them. Believe it or not they did a lot of work and supported JB. Now those bodies have been replaced and they are phenomenal resources and are going to help the org at all levels. Especially with player development in Abby.

 

7. AHL IN ABBY - well look at the team. We were able to attract quality ahl players mostly hometown guys who love what we are doing here and love that they will stay in the same city between call ups.

 

8. Aquilinis- green lit spending and it looks like they’ve giving JB space to work. All round a great thing for the club.

 

THE GOOD

 

1. Signing Sutter - 1 year contract 1 mill. Can’t go wrong we needed this C to preferably be right handed. There weren’t many options better than sutter here he can kill penalties, win draws, he has a good presence and he will score goals. Something our fourth line C don’t usually do.

 

2. Podkolzin Coming - this was bennings  pick and we were patient with him. we have a third line wing spot ready for podkolzin to earn in camp. Top 6 spot will be a battle between him and hoglander throughout the year and this healthy competition and mix of players will be great.

 

3. Dumping Dead Weight - we cleared out all that dead weight and don’t have to talk about these guys anymore: beagle antoine , JV, little things

 

4. Clearing Holtby and bringing in Halak - perfect back up for demko. Will work well with clark and I like the cap hit and bonus structure he is signed to.

 

THE JURY IS STILL OUT

 

1. OEL - this is a polarizing discussion. His contract is big, or will take him to about where edler is now who was making 5 million. With the retention him at 7.25 isn’t horrendous especially since the cap should go up by then. He was a top 2/3 dman in the league not so long ago. The explanation for his drop off in play is understandable, he is motivated and he has taken accountability. The gamble that a motivated and inspired star player can return to form after a down couple years at the age of 30 I think is not too hard to digest. If this fails and he is awful/mediocre, on par with edlers play that would be a fail. But I’m going to remain optimistic and hopeful. He also brings great leadership and mentorship to our young players. If he comes out next season and has a monster season we should all be praising JB and our team for an unreal pick up and could go down as one of the greatest trades of all tiem for our org. If he continues to struggle and his play declines each year this will be a tough contract to stomachs and the market will get very dark and the fire JB crowd will be very loud.

 

2. Tucker Poolman - honestly I’m personally a big fan of this signing. I think he could even skate with Hughes leaving hamonic to play with Rathbone/juolevi/hunt. I like his skating, his size and I loved how he played in UND last season was a bit weird coming back from that facial injury then getting covid so think this season we will see him take another step in his development. 

 

3. Will an AhL guy stunt Rathbone / juolevi - have this feeling brad hunt could earn the bottom pairing left side spot out of camp pushing Rathbone / juolevi down. But healthy competition is good and the best player needs to play. So healthy competition should actually be good for them.

 

4. Losing Lind - honestly we had to lose someone and it was him or gadj. I prefer to keep gadj as well cause I can envision him in his prime being a bottom 6 guy who slots in top 6 in playoffs and scores dirty goals and makes space for petey. He’s also a harder kind of player to replace and I still get holmstrom vibes from him.

 

THE BAD

 

I’m biased don’t think anything bad was done by GMJB except he hasn’t signed our big RFAS yet. Offer sheet risk is making me uneasy for petey and I want these guys signed ASAP.

 

 

Other than that amazing offseason. Big concerns were addressed. He was aggressive. We have a deep and improved team.

 

Now the guys need to gel together, compete and perform. 

 

We should all be very pumped for next year!!

 

 

[JM_]

41 minutes ago, Dazzle said:

FWIW, Sportsnet gave Jimbo a D+, but gave Edmonton a B+, and Toronto got a C+...

did you notice who wrote that article - the "Sport Logiq staff". So the slide rule kids don't like Jim's moves. Oh well. Most of their take on the changes are two paragraphs whining about Poolman 

 

 

[Tyndall2]

5 hours ago, appleboy said:

Our defense is weak. Very weak , defensively. Offensively,  they should be good .

 

Goal tending depends on the continued improvement of Demko  of coarse . Should be solid.

 

I like Garland and hoping Podkolzin turns into the stud that we think he is .

Dickinson is OK. Time will tell.

We need Petey back to 100%.

 

If this team is going anywhere this year we will need to be a offensive power house.

 

They will be very exciting to watch or the same disorganized mess that spends way too much time in their own end. It looks like they have the horses to take it to their opponents. 

 

Could be a fun year.

 

Now if this Covid garbage would go away.

And, part of that offensive power house is getting a power play that is dominant.