conundrumed

Just me, but I can see a lot more shaking up will be needed. He just keeps moving 2 LWers around isn't going to solve it. I can see eventually there is going to be a need to break up Kadri's line. It's the best line by a lot, but we're dangerously close to try everything. The cause is Huberdeau and Mangiapane, but I think you have to try to move things around more than just them. Zary and Pospisil with Kadri works, we created a good line. It doesn't necessarily mean, "that's it, that's all, don't touch it". That was a successful 1st attempt. Coleman and Sharky seem very effective together, for example. Zary is exceptional at puck possession, Pops should be turned into the stalwart net-front guy. But I guess we'll see if this change does anything...colour me skeptical.

Honzek at 1g/1a in the WJC opener, somewhat of an upset over the Czech Republic. Weak in the 1st, but over-powering final 2 periods, currently up 6-2 late. I think Honzek is 3rd line, no PP, but don't quote me.

Merry Christmas and Happy Yuletide!!

Well the goalies are now Reimer and Hutchinson...week-to-week on Husso and Lyon. Completely overwhelmed with injuries, pretty much since Kane started. Zero to do with him, just bad luck. Larkin back but might still be feeling the effects. Says he has zero recollection of the incident. Gotta get back on track as FLA and TML starting to get away.

That's pretty much how I see it. Beyond a puck that was played maybe a few minutes ago, he looks like he's moving too fast, over-compensating passes to the point of losing where he is a bit. Just kind of throws a hiccup into his focus of just staying square and angling correctly. He has great athleticism, but forces himself to need it too often when he's hyper/over-stimulated.

Hopefully Marky spent IR time reviewing his past few games. He stayed in his net last game. Regardless of the play-the-puck result, it looks to me like it affects his crease play in that he's moving too much when he's going out of his crease too often. Looked great last game. Forget the puck play, that's the job of the 5 skaters. Hoping this is a trend that he saw and is fixing. Any risk below 80-20 is too high, just stop whatever play/breakaway results from not playing a 60-40 chance. I've always championed that he's a great goalie, but just stay in your crease where the puck's always in front of you.

Lol, I knew there was a bright side!!

In-coming 5pt night!🤪

Make that 86.7%. 2a vs Van.

How about Jones then? That seems inoffensive. "umm, Tod, who is Jones IX? I like the looks of his scouting reports". "Oh, that's lil Iggy". "Will he still be available at 13 if we trade down"?🤠

There was a fair bit of negative reaction to it, which should hopefully give people some pause on future deals. Let things progress before passing judgment and hyperbolizing the actual value of players/contract status. Toffoli is a finished product. I liked Sharky's one-timer last night. He's still progressing to find those areas and improve his reads. I expect the same from Zary, Pospisil and all younger players. The TOI doesn't really matter vs the learning curve of translating your strong suits and how to apply them. One thing I dislike is punishing mistakes, rather than correcting them. e.g. Solovyov is sitting a lot while 3 other replacement Dmen shouldn't be full-timers. Anyone following Kuznetsov much? Need to find some better answers at 5 through 7 without Tanev. Not just Solovyov.

The last 2 losses, 2-1 and 1-0, really magnify how much of a difference maker Larkin is for the Wings. It's just a different team without him. G has been solid so hopefully that keeps up because I assumed we'd need to make up some ground when he's back. Toronto and Florida are getting away from us when they shouldn't be. Perron is a big loss due to stupidity, but Larkin's a massive loss. He makes nearly everyone better than they actually are. His return is being rumoured for early next week. Fingers crossed. They really shouldn't be losing to anybody when their G is on and they have a full roster. Hopefully the constant injury run dissipates and then they can get on a run. Husso seems like he's getting back to normal after a shaky 2 months. Of course Lyon's injured now because he's been great. Par for the course.

I ended up happy with the draft and maybe should have just left it as is, outside adding Hill. So hard to wait on guys that will maybe have A LOT better 2nd halfs, but were torture. My entire team went cold a few weeks ago. Like ice cold where 80pts from a full roster was a top shelf night. I coulda kept E. Kane but that's too dirty for me. No Leafs, no Oilers and I'm good with 10th.lol I have standards. Heart over head. It keeps Fabbri and Walman on my roster. Wish the Flames had a Walman. I really should have taken Hill and Thompson at the same time, which I strongly considered. Wasn't ready to bail on Vanacek and I should have known better. RD's killing it. Who invited him, anyways?lol Red's being Red, Zirak hunting, Ox and Chucky on nice runs. I've gotten zero IR this year, just guys "out" for weeks with zero updates. Timo Meier got paid, and has been god awful. Took at least a 200pt hit with him from expected. Could have had Greer.lol

Adam Jiricek is who I'll be watching closely. Good size RD, younger bro of David, who is progressing nicely. Dickinson's a great player, but at 3 is a pretty big stretch. Ahead of Eiseman was a laugher.

I didn't mean the picks alone, just hoping they can *also* garner 1sts. Teams wishing to acquire them will not be picking higher than 18th, not even maybe.

Tunnel vision/name recognition worries me the most...scout everyone like their last name is Smith. Just remember their actual name when you call it, Carey Price.lol

How about 8th, 20th and 27th? Can Handypants (NYI) and Lipbalm (DAL) garner 1sts? I feel like both of those teams are going to want to add a piece or 2 this year. Especially with the Isles playing better, Lou won't wait. Nill's gotta be thinking the same with some aging vets.

aaaannnnd....Craig Berube's been fired. Perchance to dream. He'll land on his feet without question. Our D strategy drives me nuts. Collapsing way too early or playing way too deep, name your poison. Vegas came out in the 2nd just looking to create chaos at our crease. A very good plan when a team just wants to defend from the hashmarks down. Earlier I thought Oesterle was struggling with gap control, but it's actually the entire team falling way too low constantly. Then we struggle to get pucks out because the closest guy to the blueline starts from 12' away from it. We have an 8' x 8' box that starts at the top of the crease. Of course teams will move in tighter to shrink it even more...my 2 (s)cents.

I'd argue that it would create the toxic locker room environment that we're tired of hearing about. Sad, but true. I believe they mentioned it was illness pregame, and Vladar also wasn't 100% due to illness. Pospisil could also be a little banged up, but he hasn't been playing particularly well either. I'm fine if he sits, not worried, it's a big adjustment. A very small number of a special few just walk into this league with no need for patience. Pospisil will be fine and doesn't need to be hurried.

A great night met with the, "will you stop running 11/7 please". Turned into 9/7 in a hurry losing Larkin and Perron. Oh well, I got the Korpisalo that I've always championed adding to the deflation. Highlights, met Vernon on his "honoured" HOF night with the Cup and trophies on display. Kane's 1st goal, the crowd went wild. It was loud most of the game. Awesome food again at UWM, post-game at the Hockeytown Bar & Grill, where the old bartender seems to be madly in love with my woman.lol They're besties.lol He announced "free appetizers to anyone who gives up their seats" at the bar so we got seats. He sees us maybe 5 or 6 times/yr and she's like his long-lost daughter. I always get the, "what's your name again".lol As for the game, that's a lot of talent. Losing Larkin can't be a thing. Veleno's absolutely solid, but he's not Larkin. A few more years maybe he gets close. Stuetzle, Giroux, Tkachuk, near everyone really, the Sens look great with that kind of goaltending. Kane is just a great player. I don't even know what to say. He sees what he thinks might develop way ahead of it. No Larkin changed everything in this game. Kudos to Veleno for trying to fill the void, but that's a massive void. My goathorns go to the usual suspects, but I'll leave the whining alone. Bad results night all over the league.

I'm in Ontario, it's permeating beyond just me invested in Flames news. My buddies know him because we watched his first call up. Now they seem to text me whenever they hear his name.lol I have little doubt that he may get sensationalized as more audiences see him. He's something people really haven't seen before. I myself have never seen a goalie so lightning fast in the crease, it's almost a spectacle. I'm not sure why you'd hold him back from a mgmt perspective, fans will turn rabid, or you're selling more tickets. It's a pretty obvious choice, imho. You didn't sit Zary or Pospisil after successful, "prove it", auditions, not sure why you'd move the goalposts for Wolf. Unless you enjoy a venomous fanbase. The bonus is he'll always remind me not to run out of any or all of... And I still have my favourite book from Gilroy, just a different cover...

I believe they are recalling Campbell, for what it's worth. Carolina and Toronto are also entering the quagmire. I have no idea why Buffalo refuses to properly address the G position. Somebody needs a Reimer. He's not the greatest nor my fave, but he can hold his own. He wants to kick every rebound away by 20 feet is when the adventure begins. That's just how he plays. Who knows what Yzerman told Reimer upon signing though. They've been carrying 3 goalies all year. It's been, and likely to continue, Husso and Lyon since the Sweden trip. Hard to up the ante on Reimer with that, but everyone knows what he is. Those teams will need to do something at G.

Definitely deserving of the props. Compher's become a fave for me. Consistently avoiding taking risks while capitalizing on chances. Just a really solid all-around player. Ice 12 guys like him and 3-2 will go your way a lot. Big miss for the Avs I'd guess, moreso than Kadri. His game should age really well too. https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/versatility-is-compher-s-calling-card-for-red-wings

Well thanks for ruining my Friday...this IS dumb. This is going to annoy the crap out of the fanbase. If Vladar happens to falter, hopefully they take it out on Huska and not him. *maybe Vladar's in the starter net to have the shooters accustomed to a typical goalie and not a lateral-moving bullet.lol

With Wolf being a prospect that plays a ton, should we not worry about the "break him in slowly" part? For me, I'd be willing to give him Markstrom's role as starter. As I said, he's been playing the majority of his team's games for 5 years now and counting. He's won all the hardware he possibly could by playing a lot, so....play him a lot? This isn't based on 1 game, but that playing a lot is his normal rhythm. I was thinking it would kind of be a bummer to bring him up as a backup, because you never get a read if he only gets random games once every 10 days. Has to be one of the most decorated goalies to enter the league. I get the "only 22" argument, but I question relevance. Why not give him a chance to take the starter's role? We already know what Vladar is, a solid backup. You don't know without a fair look. If he needs more time, fair enough. "Ruining confidence" is just an excuse, he's not a 12yo.