travel_dude

We are so starved for offense on this club. Absolutely no speed on attack. Most of the shot are at the crest. Call me crazy, but I think it would be a good idea to have a 4th line that might actually generate some offense. Simon-Ruzicka-Phillips The option is there to play Gawdin in the middle and just go with the kids. They might actually score at this level. They certainly can make passes, unlike several of our other lines right now.

The problem is no one can define what the problem is. As an outsider, we may focus on Gaudreau and Monahan as the problem, since they are played against the top lines (power vs power) in the playoffs it seems, and they fail to deliver. Or we could suggest that leadership is lacking, as Gio has not been part of the solution with his struggles during the playoffs. Or we could say that the room is tired of Tkachuk's antics. Unless you are sure of the reasons and the trade addresses the problem directly, you don't make the trade. For the coming TDL, I would recommend trading Gio to a team looking for a veteran leader to join the room. Do it early enough that any quarantine required happens soon enough to help (not sure what will happen with CDN players going to the USA - could change). It doesn't really fix the room, but it may provide a better dynamic for moving forward with any system changes. Pick up a bona fide top 6 RW. Use any cap gained trading Gio to weaponize cap space. Trade Bennett and move on. Bring in a real NHL coach and work towards the future; it may not be enough to fix this season, but it should provide the right platform for next year. Identify who is the right talent to keep; I don't trust Ward to be able to make that determination.

Well, consider that BP was the only coach to have any success, who actually knew something about coaching. Wasn't a hairboy with no knowledge of the game. Wasn't a mid-season replacement for a coach. Tried something diferent when the Flame were blown out in the playoffs. Maybe some misplaced decisions, but could have turned the team around. So, recent history would suggest that an old school coach that ran out of magic was replaced. A dink that had no clue about coaching was ired. A coach quit. Really two hiring mistakes and one that quit. And one that was past his prime. I care not about the iea that the team is uncoachable. I think that is overblown. It does seem that skill is not a good quality in this coach's mind. You need to be able to grind.

I wasn't being serious. There isn't a coach scout that provides opinions on our coaching. Maybe there should have been.

If coach A says he hasn't been contacted by any team, does that lead you to believe he's told them not interested?

In the early games, Nessy took some time to adjust and gradually got better as a pair. In recent games he was a liability too often. Bad pinches, getting undressed. I give him the benefit of the doubt where he was hooked long enough to get stripped of the puck. Other wise, he hasn't been great over time. Makes sense that you change up the team when you only shut out the Leafs for 5/6 periods. Not saying we played a perfect game or even close, but we executed the plans drawn up. We need to be bigger to play against a fast team. 🙄

If you can find any positives in the way the bench is being managed, please speak up. Doesn't matter what previous coaches have preached or done. Only matters if you think the right one is there now.

There was not even a single available coach mentioned as being interviewed that I can recall. Sounds like we took a month to have people try to convince BT that it was a mistake to name him head coach.

There will always be negatives from some fans. Some deadweight on the team and perplexing coaching/identity. I don't see a team that is lead by the right coach, so you can blames the goalie and skaters if you like. The so-called coaching is a failed state. Makes the goalie's look bad and any lines look worse. Didn't learn anything from coaching in the playoffs. "But, the team has had X coaches and can't get it together". Sure, we can continue to point to the players and say they aren't capable of winning no matter who the coach is. When have we actually had a NHL coach with any success as a head coach? Ward and his 2011 Bruins, that he wasn't even the head coach? Julien fired twice since then.

This is the kind of decision making I don't understand. You go out and commit to Tanev and Markstrom for long term, possibly risky deals for guys in their 30's. Was there no thought to the idea that a real NHL coach might have made a difference? I mean, they decided to keep the same players, so they must have felt it wasn't a player issue.

Gee, a player that shoots on the rush before the defender can get set. 9/10 times, we get the shot off into the defender's stick and it goes over the glass. Of course, this is AHL. NHL defenders maybe get a stick on it.

Appreciate the comments. I tried to watch the 1st game, but it was after a Flames blowout so I didn't have it in me. Philp was a slow starter last year IIRC, but started being in on goals as the year went on. I think he finished strong. Funny that you mention Ryan, since they had very similar careers up to the point of Ryan going overseas.

I think tonight's game was a good indication of what you should expect frm this team this year. Low event, sitting back, prevent hockey. It seems to work against the skilled players and dumbs it down to gritty players. And we wonder why we don't score much? This is the 2nd year of Wardo hockey. The playoffs were the blueprint for this season. It was not a successful playoffs or one where I felt that coaching was doing anything positive.

The things they say seem to be the same every game. Show me the effort and I will watch this after the fact.

I agree with you. He has never been a liability on the AHL teams, so get him (Phillips) playing.

To be fair, I think he is being honest. He doesn't know about how things boiled up into the players only meeting, so there may be something with Tkachuk and Bennett that is causing a rift in the room. But I don't think that is causing on ice issues for players as much as it may be Tkachuk dialing back the nastiness just a bit. When I hear a former player that was part of the room, as well as him seeing the usage during the playoffs and this year, I think it's a fair thing to say that the coach is missing the point. We had last change during the playoffs for 3 games, yet we failed to give the high ground to offensive players. My issues with Ward are the following: not sure what criteria he uses to bring in or take out players. he does not adjust in the games, other than using a line blender. he's using the blender once we have fallen behind, and when he does, he is not changing how he deploys the line, just one or two players on it. I'm not interested in Julien. I have no issue with changing the coach at all. There is certainly a lot of precedent for doing it. It would need to be a professional coach that we expect to keep for multiple years. He would also have the option to replace all of the assistants by next season.

I don't mind a heavy forecheck, but I don't see that a winning formula with some of our okayers. It takes skill out of the game.

Projected lines from today: Tkachuk – Lindholm – Mangiapane Gaudreau – Monahan – Bennett Lucic – Backlund – Dube Nordstrom – Gawdin – Leivo Giordano – Andersson Hanifin – Tanev Valimaki – Kylington

I think most are. Mistakes made over time. Current usage a mixed bag. He has some responsibility, though others do get a free pass.

I don't think it was a good game. Adequate maybe. On the unassisted McD goal, he won the race to the puck but didn't manage to touch the puck. Fair he couldn;t do much there. The next goal he was floating, not really covering anyone. Came back to the circle, warched the play behind the net and waited there. 3rd goal was a bit of a broken play on the PK. Halfway between Nuge and the other winger. Who stood out for me was Mangiapane. There's not much positives you can say in a 7-1 loss.

Yes, color and all. If you think what he has been the last 5 games is classic Tkachuk, I don't know what you are seeing. For me that is a letdown.

Okay, last time for the suggested lines for a bit. Johnny-Mony-Lindy Mangiapane-Backlund-Tkachuk Lucic-Bennett-Dube Simon-Gawdin-Leivo Monahan is not scoring, so they need a 2nd shooter. 3M is the only way to go now. Bennett needs to be more consistent at C, abd bring what he did in the playoffs. Gawdin wasn't bad and may benefit from players that have some experience.

They started the game on time and were outshooting the Marlies by like 7 to 0. You can see that they haven;t played at all. Hard to judge at tis point, but I did like Zav and Ruzicka so far.

I'm most anxious to see Ruzicka, Phillips, Zary, Zavgorodny, Pettersen, and Wolf

Okay, I get you now. I thought you were saying the opposite in the other thread because you mentioned turning it around. I think it's a mistake to not trade Gio at this point. He still has some value. Even that alone does not signal re-tool as much as a change in direction. We don't have too many players that you need to retain salary, but if you get better offers, then sure. Gio - for sure, a team gets a top 4 LD for a bargain. Ryan - at less tha $2m he's a 3C on a lot of teams. Bennett at less than $1.5m worth more than he is at full salary Gaudreau or Monahan at $4m - you better be getting a lot more than at full price.