travel_dude

🫖 Can't email you a tea. Cheers.

The money a player makes compared to the average Joe has nothing to do with it. Brady make what $40m a year? A star from another sport over $100m? It's all based on the entertainment value and deals those sports get. Hockey probably has the hardest work out of the bunch of them. Don't see too many baseball players taking a punch or fearing hitting a metal post traveling full speed. Other than being hung over, sick or injured, you don't see many of them coasting out there. Trying and being effective in trying are two different things. I think that's where the Flames have changed under Sutter. In the past, if you were not being effective, the coach would just move pieces around, sit the player or let them get away with it. Now, I think Sutter is saying to them, hey you are really off, focus on doing this stuff tonight. Or, if you can't, give the minutes elsewhere. You can have a B game and still contribute. I think we are arguing semantics. A slow start isn't always on the players, it can be situational. I have seen that a few games. You get a good start and something derails it. Or the other team is doing things and you haven't adjusted yet. All opinion on my part. I don't know.

Tkachuk normally has the most shots, but Dube is due to get an easier assignment at home. I think Mangiapane will get back on the scoreboard tonight. He's just too dangerous to keep being stopped. Gaudreau should scored a slippery goal off the rush. Expect at least one bang bang PP play. And look for Kylington to get some on net.

Sutter touched on something we all just take for granted. They have 9 games in 15 days. Easy to think that a pro can be up for a game, with no motivation required. They ain't robots. Being a winner has nothing to do with it. Having a horse whisperer for you to find something in you to be competitive is another story, Throwing sticks doesn't cut it. Having a hissy fit doesn't fix it. Sutter has different expectations for different players. If your role is play hard minutes and move forward, scoring goals is not the goal. If scoring is the role, you do that or contribute elsewhere. If shutdown, you do that or score if you are not getting the job done. You do none, you don't play or lose minutes.

Love it or hate it, Monahan is now a more complete player. In the thick of it. But, I do enjoy a good Dutter presser. Makes guys like Francis look like the tool they are. The media must dread having to ask one of their canned questions. He comes back with "it's not like that at all" or "that's old school thinking" or "which players do you mean when you say line 3". Keep it coming Dutter. I was so sick of the Ward or Gully pressers. I don't know what I'm doing, so I will fall back on "pucks on net" and "200 foot game", etc. No mention of the fact they were in over their head or that they have no idea how to mentor.

We are a team in transition. Don't know the long term roster. Even if Tkachuk was ready and the logical person, do we know that he will be here? Lucic and Tanev are good ideas. But they are not long term fixtures maybe. I do think the C needs to be the guy they listen to. Doesn't have to be HIS team, just needs to say the right things to the team. Get them up when they are down. Be someone that the refs will respect.

Sutter - coach of the year so far? Probably. Team - they are playing like a 5 man unit. Attitude - no woe is me, get scored on? Go out and get the next goal. Toughness - undervalued at times but has been a shift in the team. Big teams are still an adjustment, but we have not been out of a game all season. PITTS may actually be the worst we played, but only parts of the game. Next Up - pound them with one shift. Follow up with same next shift. Speed of other team neutered. Depth at center - our #4 is a former #1. Dube is learning. Forecheck - essential for this team, create offense and not let other team have any. No Lazy Plays - you want to make a lazy play? You can try that on the bench or eat popcorn. Better PK - not tops yet, but we have been really good 4v5 and 3v5. OT - work in progress. Have been really good with possession, but small details killing us.

I'm thinking that either Tkachuk or Dube lead in shots. Hope it doesn't backfire. Dube with 8 shots. Shot leaders this season: Tkachuk Coleman Lindholm Gaudreau Dube Mangiapane Shooting % leaders Richardson 100% Mangiapane 30.4 Lucic 22.2 Lindholm 21.9 Notable Shot Conversion rate below career averages: Dube 3.4 vs 9.7% - they will start going in Monahan 10.5 vs 14.5% Pitlick 0.0 vs 11.0% Lewis 0.00 vs 5.9%

Either Peeps or myself managed to do exactly what was suggested. I just don't know if what I did worked.

I'm sure it can be moved, but I would muck that up. It persisted for some time, so merging it would make it tough to follow. The discussion was good, and sometimes we just let it drag on too long.

Zary to make his AHL debut tomorrow night. Has to be activated and assigned.

At home, we can shelter Dube. Give him plum starts. On the road, they will face top 6 lines. Tonight is dem Sharks. They can be easy to play or brutal. Players to look out for: Couture, Hertyl, Cogliano and Burns

Like I was saying, the losses should have made us a worse team. Yeah, I think we can agree that the depth guys and Coleman have been a welcome change to fringe guys like Leivo and Simon and Nordstrom. Losing a key FO guy like Ryan should have made us worse. But he was declining since the year we played Dallas in the playoffs. Bennett was a distraction. BSD was a missed opportunity. Poor usage under Wardo. Cooked him in the playoffs. On paper we are a lesser team, but the distractions are gone (Bennet, Gio's team, constant RW missing man). Sutter is using 12 F and 6 D to cover any holes. There is no one line that consistently gets creamed. No one pair that has a bad game and is left to rot. The country club is closed. Players have bought in.

Identity also points to players. I think it was less the players themselves than the the way they played as a group. Yes, Sutter has instilled his view and people are buying in. Yes, the new players are identity type players. Sutter has Johnny playing the way they both want to play. Kylington is doing the things Sutter wants. Zadorov's game was what kept him out, not so much the not buying in. I want him to build back Valimaki. Monahan is now a 2 way C and I think he can still be a top 6 C here. Dube is getting the assignment so Sutter has depth. He hinted that you can get plum matchups at home. But you don't have just one set of lines. You have duos. Have heard that before, but we see duos from 4 lines.

Nice to see Marky leading in SO. Pretty high number in SA% and low GAA. We have gotten to 7-0 vs the East. Let's keep that going and manage the goalie starts on the upcoming roadie. SJS at home before the big trip. B2B against MTL then TOR; let's shut them fans up. Put Marner back on the Schnide. Keep Lucic with more goals than Matthews.

Just wondering if we still have the same mindset about this team. Was it a coaching problem all along or have we landed on a team structure that works. Perhaps a bit of both? Out: Gio Ryan Nordstrom Levo Nesterov Bennett Big Save Dave In: Coleman Zadorov Gudbranson Kylington* Pitlick Richardson Lewis Vladar The players subtracted should have made us a lot worse. Some had little impact (depth only). How is it that more or less the same top 9 and 3 of the same D has gelled a lot better so far? Sutter from day 1 of the season? More competition for the top 6D?

My only concern with Dube is that he needs to be positive in his FO%. The upside to that is that if he does become a >50% guy, then we have more options.

Sutter had very little context for evaluating him. Can't really fault him for that. First game? An uneven game against the Oilers. I don't know about your viewing this season, but I have seen a different Kylington. The skating was always there, but the defensive awareness has improved 100%. He ain't perfect, but he's been the kind of player that blends with Tanev. He's been a fit with basically every D he's played with. I hope that Sutter can get Valimaki back on track. Worth too much to let fail.

I would be inclined to find a deal with ARI that included Hanifin, but didn't sell low on a career (-1) 20 goal scorer. Hanifin + 1st may be enough. Yeah right. ARI is a mess. Add in Zary or Pelletier or Werner.

It's all about balancing skills with fit. As much as Sutter looks like a genious, the lines could be improved. That's a;; I am really after; the best possible lines. Monahan on the 4th may be fine for now, but that's not a great use of talent. Dube and Mange have struggled to register points in the last 5 but are getting the looks. Richardson with Lucic and Lewis may not be a sink hole; if they can stay even it's a win.

The salar risks are the big problems for me. And that's not all his fault. BT was unable to get a longer deal, at the time it was a cap crunch (Capt'n Crunch - new name for him?). Tkachuk wanted to maximize his options. Next year is a problem for the Flames. $28.5m cap and a bunch of players needing deals. We wouldn't move Tkachuk or Mangiapane or Gaudreau, and now we have to resolve that. If you are keeping all three then you need to look at the rest of the roster. Hanifin and Zaddy and Guddy and Valimaki and Lucic and Backlund and Monahan. One is playing a top pair role but has 2nd pairing results at times. Two are playing 3rd pairing. The 3rd D is getting scratched, but that is what it is. Backlund is aging and may be starting to hit the wall. Early results, but the offense is slipping. Monahan is playing 4th line C, but could come back to normal. Lucic is playing a valuable role, but >$5m for a 3rd or 4th liner is high. I don't know how we resolve the costs with the guys we need to resign or keep. Mangiapane, Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Kylington make us harder to compete against. Zaddy, Lucic and Guddy are nasty to play against. Backlund and Monahan can be top C for their roles. We don't have a replacement yet for Backlund and no real #2C to replace Monahan. We have been criminally easy to play against without Zaddy and Guddy. Lucic is the nuclear threat. If we had growth from Kylington and Valimaki, then we could trade Hanifin. We should keep at least one of Zaddy or Guddy. It's tough.

I'm not crazy about the Backlund line so far. Pitlick is all work with little reward. I might be inclined to draw up the lines differently, but it's early yet. You can leave the top lne as is for now. Perhaps move Coleman to Dube's line, if you aren't going to move Monahan there. Based on who dressed tonight, I would adjust as follws: Top line - leave alone Mangiapane-Monahan-Dube Backlund line - leave it for now Lucic-Richardson-Lewis As you say, it's impossible now to split up Mange and Dube. I wonder if Dube-Backlund-Pitlick might improve the Backlund line. Coleman would need to gel with Mangiapane and Monahan. It's a long season. We shall see what Sutter thinks.

Bolded is the biggest difference. There are no passengers.

The road trip will need it. I think they need Vladar in a tuneup against SJS. Then right away against MTL.

One more home game and then a big roadie. Original 6 teams, Sens (Tkachuk vs fight?), Broadstreet, NYI and Buttahole.