Notes: Not really sold on Dach on a line with Kane, but I like the fit with debrincat as long as Dach gets into tight spaces and fights for pucks. Hagel Toews Kubalik is something Im dying to see succeed. I know it should, but it hasnt happened enough yet, the chemistry is perfect and Kubalik and Toews were awesome together in 2019-20 and we all saw what Bagel did with Kuby last year. Also, Bagel is elite, throw him anywhere and he will be so valuable to winning hockey. 3rd line, Dylan Strome takes the faceoffs, but Henrik Borgstrom plays center. Strome on the wing is something Ive become more and more okay yet and Borgy sucks at the dot but is great defensively from the center position. Kurashev looks better and better since getting sent down and called back up and Im happy he got to reset his head. 4th line is a group of players I actually quite like. Lafferty is showing me a lot of good this year, very fast and impactful off the rush, cant believe we got him for a fleeting dream in Alex Nylander. Khaira and Carpenter flank him as physicality and defense fit the theme of the 4th line. Literally anyone on this line could be the center, but we absolutely need better faceoff work in these lines. Toews and Strome are great, so is Tyler Johnson when hes back, but Dach struggles and Borgstrom is a nightmare. Carpy and Khaira have been good though at the dot.
Defense is really simple. De Haan-S. Jones is okay, McCabe-Murphy is bad, however,
Seth Jones playing with Jake McCabe is absolutely incredible. I think Seth Jones got a bad rep last year, hes ****ing great, and the analytics say so as hes one of the best defenseman in the NHL. Weird to see coming from a guy who already secured his bag. If he does this for the next 8 years, the "worst trade and contract ever" will not be such. McCabe playing with Murphy is a disaster class as there isnt enough puck moving ability to make their strong defense worth it. They put themselves in terrible situations with turnovers, however, when McCabe is playing with Jones, an elite passer, he looks much better in the cover role. Murphy playing with De Haan is much better than the other way. De Haan has certainly played better than last year and while turnovers are a concern occasionally, its nowhere close to how awful it was last season. The final pair is stillman-galvas because OH MY GOD JAKUB GALVAS IS SO GOOD. The kid is so ****ing smart, Im genuinely wondering how nobody realized how elite this kid absolutely is and its a travesty he is getting sent back down. He just sees the game differently and watching him is different than watching any other defenseman play hockey because the reads he can make are so incredible. The way he unlocked Riley Stillman to bash people against the boards without feeling like hes giving up massive plays if it fails is incredible.
The goaltending is simple. Flower is awesome and has been since his horrible start, its hard to see lank struggling like he has because I love everything he did last year and I wish he got more opportunities for the fans to appreciate him when he was playing great.
Scratches
Gustafsson could go on waivers because I think his great start is pretty much over, but hes a valuable 2nd PP guy when we need that
Caleb has too many turnovers and he leaves his feet on odd man rushes when its not ideal. I just dont think hes really all that good, but he might stay as the 7th man cause waiving Seths brother isnt ideal.
Entwistle is a fine bottom 6 guy, but nothing special and I dont think we need him to be in the lineup to have success. Really did expect more, but he hasnt been great
AHL
Hardman is terrible, a complete non factor who just goes and hits guys and calls it a day
Gabriel "ditto". He gets in the right positions a lot but it would only be worth it if I wasnt a better skater than him
Reichel is not quite ready yet. Probably needs a few more weeks, still saw concerns with back checking which is an issue for a center and I think he can be better, but while I wouldve given him more than 2 games, Rockford is the best spot for him rn
Connolly is frustrating, he played well enough to earn himself back into the NHL, then he did that **** hit in his 2nd game back. I just dont think hes fast enough for the NHL level anymore, but I hope im wrong. I need more though man
Kalynuk, Mitchell and Beaudin are highly rated prospects who need to show us more soon, ESPECIALLY BEAUDIN cause hes been awful this year. I like Mitchell but its put up or shutup time, same with Kalynuk. Kalynuk did get in a fight last week, so at least we know this isnt Stan Bowmans team anymore.
An interesting guy in the minors is Isaak Phillips, hes really young but he looks great for a 2020 5th round draft pick. I think he might be an interesting guy for the bottom 2 pairs after 1-2 more years in the AHL.
Soderblom is a really nice goalie prospect, but hes not ready and the options we have right now are enough of a stopgap. I miss Subban, but not more than the two we got rn.
Interesting Discussion and I am pleased to see the optimism.
As bad as Gus is on the eye defensively, he is one of the few if not only guy on the team with a positive +/-. Incredible to think really, but the numbers don't lie and I am as surprised as everyone.
Entwistle, I completely disagree. I think he is going to be good on those bottom lines for us. He has had his rhythm broken up with injury and illness but I like what he brings. Like Dach, needs to learn a few things with the puck on his stick but they both still young and I expect them to feature for us for many years to come.
One if not both of Strome/Borgstrom will have to go at some stage. We cannot accomodate both IMO.
Carpy and CDH are likely going to depart at the TDL to competing teams who just want to stabilise their depth on PK and defensively.
Reichel needs to stay in the AHL this year, Rushing these prospects through has got us where we are at and I think its played a part in why we have discarded so many of our previous first rounders. Its good to see them send him back and I'm hoping its a sign of things to come with new management.
Ultimately though, I think we need to find Hockey Ops, GM and lock in a coach to get a real gauge on what we are really doing as a club. I feel as though we are in limbo, we are a bottom 10 team still talking about playoffs. We need to get real and start to stabilise. This isn't going to happen overnight and this season for me at least is now out the window but I expect different coming next season. I want to know from management what their expectations are and what path they are aiming to go down.
They’ll play it safe. Not rebuild not push for the playoffs. They’ll aim for a winning season and that’s probably about it at this point?
Thats what I'm most afraid of. The perpetual cycle of mediocrity. We need leadership from the top down and I believe that will come once we've locked in those key positions within the organisation.
Interesting Discussion and I am pleased to see the optimism.
As bad as Gus is on the eye defensively, he is one of the few if not only guy on the team with a positive +/-. Incredible to think really, but the numbers don't lie and I am as surprised as everyone.
Entwistle, I completely disagree. I think he is going to be good on those bottom lines for us. He has had his rhythm broken up with injury and illness but I like what he brings. Like Dach, needs to learn a few things with the puck on his stick but they both still young and I expect them to feature for us for many years to come.
One if not both of Strome/Borgstrom will have to go at some stage. We cannot accomodate both IMO.
Carpy and CDH are likely going to depart at the TDL to competing teams who just want to stabilise their depth on PK and defensively.
Reichel needs to stay in the AHL this year, Rushing these prospects through has got us where we are at and I think its played a part in why we have discarded so many of our previous first rounders. Its good to see them send him back and I'm hoping its a sign of things to come with new management.
Ultimately though, I think we need to find Hockey Ops, GM and lock in a coach to get a real gauge on what we are really doing as a club. I feel as though we are in limbo, we are a bottom 10 team still talking about playoffs. We need to get real and start to stabilise. This isn't going to happen overnight and this season for me at least is now out the window but I expect different coming next season. I want to know from management what their expectations are and what path they are aiming to go down.
I wasn’t really trying to build a plan of attack for trade deadline, I was more or less just looking at how the team should look until said deadline. There are absolutely guys who need to be on the move if we dont come within striking distance of a playoff spot in the next month or so, (I’m thinking De Haan to give Galvas Mitchell and Beaudin more chances) and I don’t expect us to become a playoff team. I just want the best lineup on the ice until that time comes.
Thats what I'm most afraid of. The perpetual cycle of mediocrity. We need leadership from the top down and I believe that will come once we've locked in those key positions within the organisation.
The lack of a 1st round pick this year (or potentially next) really complicates what you can do here.
- Fully bottom out and hope the pick is 1-2? Otherwise, you risk just giving a better pick to CBJ. Even then, it just means an unprotected 1st for CBJ next year.
- Try to convince yourselves that you can make a playoff push and give up more assets for help right now? CHI might be a little better than their awful start showed, but doing this only buries the hole deeper. Unless these guys can find themselves a McDavid or McKinnon (or guys like Toews and Dach turn into them), I don't see them as anything more than a fringe WC team, and that is being generous.
Honestly, trying to ride the wave of what you have, maybe trade a UFA or two at the deadline, is the best option. IMO if they're an RFA, you hold off until after the season unless someone offers a Godfather deal.
The lack of a 1st round pick this year (or potentially next) really complicates what you can do here.
- Fully bottom out and hope the pick is 1-2? Otherwise, you risk just giving a better pick to CBJ. Even then, it just means an unprotected 1st for CBJ next year.
- Try to convince yourselves that you can make a playoff push and give up more assets for help right now? CHI might be a little better than their awful start showed, but doing this only buries the hole deeper. Unless these guys can find themselves a McDavid or McKinnon (or guys like Toews and Dach turn into them), I don't see them as anything more than a fringe WC team, and that is being generous.
Honestly, trying to ride the wave of what you have, maybe trade a UFA or two at the deadline, is the best option. IMO if they're an RFA, you hold off until after the season unless someone offers a Godfather deal.
Yes a bottom out achieves us a top 2 pick this year and unprotected next. We are too good to be at the bottom though we are still likely to give them a pick around 8-12 mark. A huge loss.
Our division is far too strong to realistically think about getting a playoff spot this year. Whilst we are better than our start which killed the season for us, we are still some way from whats needed to make playoffs. We lack consistency and a full 60 min game. Dach is not going to be a massive point production guy but he will still be a quality 1-2C for us moving forward (gee I hope I'm wrong and he turns into a stud)
I know this year we have to ride the wave, however we need a plan for next year and for that we need to know who's going to be leading the team forward (GM, coach etc).
Come next year I think we need to decide if we going to continue to try run the clock back with Kane and Toews or actually try and gain some draft capital and attempt to have a Strong draft in 2023 to springboard us back into relevance before this decade ends.
Yes a bottom out achieves us a top 2 pick this year and unprotected next. We are too good to be at the bottom though we are still likely to give them a pick around 8-12 mark. A huge loss.
Our division is far too strong to realistically think about getting a playoff spot this year. Whilst we are better than our start which killed the season for us, we are still some way from whats needed to make playoffs. We lack consistency and a full 60 min game. Dach is not going to be a massive point production guy but he will still be a quality 1-2C for us moving forward (gee I hope I'm wrong and he turns into a stud)
I know this year we have to ride the wave, however we need a plan for next year and for that we need to know who's going to be leading the team forward (GM, coach etc).
Come next year I think we need to decide if we going to continue to try run the clock back with Kane and Toews or actually try and gain some draft capital and attempt to have a Strong draft in 2023 to springboard us back into relevance before this decade ends.
I agree on all fronts. Coming from a CBJ fan who has perpetually lived this existence in all but, idk, three years of this franchise’s existence, the realistic scenario is hope for some develop from the young guns, hope Flower keeps up his play and can net you a good return at TDL, and see where the lottery takes you.
Toews and Kane have no future with the teams, at least in the sense that they are on the back nine of their career, and would likely just be eating checks if they stick around, as opposed to playing a lot of meaningful hockey.
And I mean, their run did net you three cups. Even if the obvious ominous shadow covers them.
I agree on all fronts. Coming from a CBJ fan who has perpetually lived this existence in all but, idk, three years of this franchise’s existence, the realistic scenario is hope for some develop from the young guns, hope Flower keeps up his play and can net you a good return at TDL, and see where the lottery takes you.
Toews and Kane have no future with the teams, at least in the sense that they are on the back nine of their career, and would likely just be eating checks if they stick around, as opposed to playing a lot of meaningful hockey.
And I mean, their run did net you three cups. Even if the obvious ominous shadow covers them.
Totally agree. I think the hope for Kane and Toews is that they take a bit of a discount as they age. Toews appears to be the guy closer to retirement but I still think he has enough hockey in him to help bring through the next brigade.
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