travel_dude

They should put out a line of golf wear. Maybe have a screenprint t-shirt saying "A waste of 8 days".

The source was Meredith. I stopped listening to Servalli a long time ago. He's a loud mouth snook. Sarge at least has some inside knowledge, while I find Steinberg to just be a mouthpiece. Just regurgitates what he hears from various people. The joke about Hubey taking a crap and the what-number-is-he comment are the type of things Sutter thinks are harmless. The humor is lost when people aren't 100% sure you are joking and the jokes are just insulting. He insults the media at times for asking questions he thinks are beneath him to answer. Phillips, line makeup, etc. Some of the anger is justified. But, what I fail to see how calling out a guy not scoring on chances helps. Yet, he doesn't call out a goalie that has fallen to new lows. Pretty quick to undersell a win by Vladar, since that's his job, he's the backup. Sutter actually did Duehr a solid by letting him know when he would play, so that his fam and friends could make the trip. Considering that Coronato is from NY, it might ne a nice thing that he gives him some idea of what game he might get in.

Just what the world needs, more Oilers merch.

RobRob, you make good points, so don't think I am trashing you. I just get tired talking about how we ruined players by not sending them to the AHL. Some players are NHL ready because of the way they think the game. Or because they are the size that means they are not going to benefit from lesser competition.

Yes, which is part of the problem is it not? I am so sick of his BS. Didn't really help the team his first season. The 2nd season was a top line exceeding all expectations and scoring most of the goals. I guess his line about using prospects only applies to this year. Were we not in a favorable spot last year? What exactly would Monahan become with going to the AHL. Would have had to stay in the CHL if not going to the NHL. So, he starts in the AHL a year later. Bennett was a weird one. Looked ready his first year and had they continued support, he would have been better sooner. Valimaki's injury derailed his development years. Good enough to re-sign to an expensive contract. Just not good enough for the coach. Wasted his waiver year. I'm on the fence about Coronato because I have not seen him in a NHL lineup. A free game isn't going to hurt and frankly it's a good news story for the fans too. Gauge where he is. He sees what he needs to do. Shows up at camp ready. At some point the coach has to stop being a Richard to players. Nobody gives a flying F if Lucic or Ritchie are in the lineup.

Well, one is never sure. Sutter talked about Zary like he was ready but needed more pro time. Not called up at all, so we have unknown prospects. Same for the other guys you mention. We saw DeSimone for a bit, but Gilbert is grittier. We don't have enough cap (at present level) to keep the team together. We have 11F 7D and 2G, and a couple hundred bucks to fil the roster. That's not even re-signing Duhr. Backlund or Hanifin or Tanev or Coleman gets you enough to sign a couple of pieces. Not a better roster. Two of those guys for a C and some cap and maybe equal.

JJ is trolling everyone here with his narritive. Using past players as examples to match his point. Inventing stories like Gaudreau wasn't developed here or that Monahan was ruined. Bennett seems fine, don't you think? Got away from Sutter. Prior and last usage suggest we pushed him down and out. Clean slate, here's Lucic for you. Do you think Valimaki has entitlement issues? It's one thing to work with a player that is on your roster. It's quite another to publicly criticize him. And push him out of the lineup because the team made lots of mistakes. Valued Mackey over him, then Stone over Mackey. The AHL may be a development league, but at what point is development ever complete? Phillips now that he's a pending UFA while leading the league? Duehr, where he is only capable of 4th line? And that was sitting out after his first goal. Ruzicka and Pelletier where they are only useful as a motivator for your vets sitting out? Whatever culture we had last year, buoyed by team success, is gone. You make a mistake as a kid, you are out. You make one as a vet, you get a couple more chances to prove yourself. If you re on the nice list, you get to stay in.

Check out Dube's (lack of) beard. Must be hoping to grow one for the playoffs. Or getting ready for the golf season....

I referred to it as the 4th line because if they were ever played, they would get that many minutes. So, if you think about who is signed for next year and who we have available, let's look at this: Mangiapane-Lindholm-Toffoli Huberdeau-Backlund-Coleman Dube-Kadri-Duehr Pelletier-Ruzicka-Coronato Weegar-Andersson Kylington-Tanev Hanifin-Zadorov Gilbert I wouldn't really go with these lines as such. I would think you put Hubie on the top line. Mangiapane back with Backlund. Pending trades of course. Hanifin out. Backlund out. Coleman out. Trade chips and getting younger.

^^^^^^ Like that 4th line. Oh well, maybe next season.

Today's practice lineup: #Flames at practice Thursday. Stone back, Tanev still not skating: Mangiapane-Lindholm-Toffoli Huberdeau-Backlund-Coleman Ritchie-Kadri-Dube Lucic-Lewis-Duehr Pelletier-Ruzicka-Coronato Hanifin-Andersson Zadorov-Weegar Gilbert-Stecher/Stone Markstrom Vladar

Personally, I would rather bet the farm on young AHL players and young NHL players. The failure to stick for Pelletier and Ruzicka (and Phillips and Zary) is on fixing blame to a small group. Phillips may not be a traditional NHL player, but we saw a ton of crap since he went back to the AHL. Seeing Duehr have to overcome playing low minutes and who he plays with should show something.

Well, it's sort of the AHL as well, isn't it? Even a ATO doesn't get him into the AHL playoffs, or even a guarantee to play AHL games this season. The player had some leverage, and we either respected it or we decided to do it to get him exposed now. Exposed to the game, the coaching, the practices, regardless of whether he plays 0, 1 or 7 games. Exposed to the hunt for the playoffs. Every player is different. He's 20, not "18 year old Sam Bennett TM". There is no set right way to develop the player. And right now you are just project failure without knowing what the plan is or how he takes steps. Yeah, why not trade him for a prospect to develop. Makes total sense (sarcasm). I do have to ask, do you think Gaudreau, Tkachuk and Bennett were development failures? Usage and coaching failure maybe for Bennett.

I'm the opposite of you. I am normally one of the last to give up. I don't like our chances against NAS. We haven't beaten them all year and they look to be getting Josi back. He's huge for their scoring. Markstrom is the only reason why we are having this debate. He was part of the biggest problem we had. Now that he's playing closer to his normal level, we are struggling to score again. Low scoring games this month, we are 4-2-1. We have a good schedule where we can exploit non-playoff teams. The two games in VAN will likely be the deciding point for us. Lose the first one and we have no margin for error. WPG is only one factor in our run. NAS is another one. The standings of the top teams will determine what team they ice for those games they play. What I mean is that COL, MIN and DAL all have games against the two teams we are fighting with. If they are trying to get home ice, the division or the conference lead that means they ice top players. If they have the seed set, they can chose to sit key players. They may even decide they position the lineup so they face a certain team.

AVS didn't have the money and it would have reduced what they have. They needed to re-sign Nate, re-sign Nichushkin and wanted to sign Manson. Nothing left for Kadri long term. Kadri plays like a power forward, well maybe just a gritty pest type like Tkachuk. Duehr. I'm not going to discount what he does on the ice. Expecting the 4th line to survive in a playoff game may be something else. Certainly not on the road. And not the way Sutter rolls the lines. Would a Duehr be a better choice for Kadri's RW? No worse than being played with Ritchie and Dube (RW). I like Dube, but I'm not sure he fits with Kadri.

We have several players not playing to their level. Huberdeau, Kadri and Mangiapane have shown what they are capable of. Not this year. What we haven't found is a place for each of them. How many games does it take to realize a LW is not a RW. Kadri is not as much a skill player as a power forward type, so play him with someone like Nichushkin. Yeah, we don't really have that. Mangiapane played with Backlund and Coleman last year, but they were the 2nd line, not just a shutdown line. My positivity is that we can ice a lineup that matches players to each other. Duehr's limited icetime shows that we haven't learned. Suggesting that it's a 4th line that dominates is a little rich. Untapped potential for a good player.

Funny that we are talking about the Gaudreau FA signing in CBJ in regards to Coronato. All the signing shows me is that we had a NCAA prospect seemingly ready to take the next step. Gaudreau wanted to complete his degree because he made a promise to family. Coronato sees that the roster is going to have some turnover in the summer. Signing now for the NHL shows the Flames are willing to burn a year and not just toss him to the AHL to play a few games. The team there is set. If he plays a NHL game or two now, then he has a leg up on knowing where he stands. As far as where he fits, hard to say. What we need is good RW players and not force players into that spot. If a LW can, great. Not everyone is Tkachuk. We need players on ELC or cheap contracts replacing more expensive ones. I'm not sure we have the right coach to do this.

Saying we have the easiest schedule is like we dominate the non-playoff teams. We don't and tend to play down to the competition at times. Of the games remaining, the only one I am confident about winning is ANA. The home and away B2B is going to be a loss of one. We haven't fared well in those all year.

I read the scouting report from 2020, which suggests a strong skater. Let's see how he works in the AHL game... Strömgren is a winger with fast and powerful skating. Along with his great puck handling skills he can find creative solutions carrying the puck down the ice maneuvering through the defense. He is more of a shooter rather than a playmaker with a quick and accurate release but he also sees the ice very well to set up his teammates. (Erik Ohlsson, EP 2020)

Not another Meredith marryer. The world will come to an end.

I forget now, who did he have playing with him? Hiberdeau on the wrong wing. Had Pelletier on LW for 5 or so games. Who else has played LW while Huberdeau was on RW? Lucic? I forget. Sorry for the sarcasm. Duehr played one shoft with Kadri, then switched up.

Do you really need to ask? But, at the time, I believe that at the time, the leading scorers were: Phillips Pelletier Zohorna Not sure if Zary was up there at that point. Duehr got in on Jan. 10th, Pelletier not until Jan 21st. The annoying thing is Duehr only ever plays with the 4th line, almost like they want to justify the 4th line. Meanwhile Kadri stagnates on the 3rd line with Ritchie.

remaining schedule: Canucks, Ducks, Hawks, Jets, Canucks, Predators, Sharks remaining schedule: Red Wings, Devils, Flames, Predators, Sharks, Wild, Avalanche remaining schedule: Penguins, Blues, Stars, Vegas, Canes, Jets, Flames, Wild, Avalanche

NAS needs only 12 points in 9 games to hit 93. We need 10 points in 7 games. If CGY, NAS and WPG all played 500 hockey exactly, we would be last of the 3. 92, 91, 90. That's a lot of suckage. LOL