travel_dude

It's funny that we are back here. This was from the summer and now Bennett is back to wing. By contrast. the coach seemed to be determined to have Lindholm, Monahan and Backlund as the top 3 C's. I'm not 100% convinced we have the right mix. 5v5 scoring is not good. Only a few games for Dube, but it seems like he is playing in a tough situation. Did Bennett show up out of shape and didn't look good as a C? Or was the coach determined to have Backlund as the 3C? Bennett with Backlund hasn't looked dangerous. Bennett looks a little lost. Barely 500 hockey for us. Not sure what the problem is.

Almost every team has the equaivalent of Lucic on it. Most teams can get some cap relief for placing them on the taxi squad. The issue for us is coming years. This year, we would have to get rid of Lucic or Ryan+ just to sign Toffoli for a comp salary as he signed in MTL. Next year is the bigger problem with Dube and Valimaki coming off ELC's and Bennett's next deal. Year 3 is Mangiapane, Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Gio replacement. Short term it could have been done. Long term, we would have to have chosen between Tanev and Toffoli or Markstrom and Toffoli. Even with that, we have challenges with Tkachuk's nest deal. It starts at $9m just to meet the RFA qualifying offer

The guy in change of the PP may have made the change. There were things to like and things to not like about the setup. The most annoying change was moving Gio onto the top PP. Actually, I have a big problem using him at all. Not unless you actually have a D-man that can cover for him. Mr. Broken Stick One-timer. That's not the issue as much as being too slow if the line is broken. I would prefer Tkachuk Ras-Monahan-Gaudreau Lindholm That bring into play Ras one-timer from the Ovi spot. The other setup that would work is swapping Lindholm with Ras. Gives you the point shot. Also, Ras is pretty good at the line. As long as Lindholm is ready to cover if it's a missed pass. 2nd unit could be more traditional 2D setup. Lucic-Backlund-Mangiapane Hanifin-Valimaki Hanifin or Valimaki activate down low. Not both. Lucic is only there for 2 foot goals and being in the face of the goalie. Not ideal, but I just don't see anyone other than Dube that should be on that unit.

I wasn't sure if it was some other player. No, Toffoli was not an option after Markstrom and Tanev. Sure, many teams go over the cap to sign UFA's. Vegas did it to land AP, but gave up one of their better guys. In other words, they moved a valuable player for nothing. We would have to have traded Ras or Hanifin for a 3rd. Or paid someone to take Ryan.

Here's my crazy thoughts. The team has been twisted around by so many bad coaches over the last few years that I think the team is broken. Are you going to trust the A/Coach that gets promoted after the last guy was fired/quit? As that A/Coach tries to take over the room and instill his systems, he has to listen to the players. Many of them don't even know at this point. They have a frustrating end to the season that could be looked upon as a failure of the team and a failure to take action as a coach. Then that same guy is given the job without any other interviews. Maybe I am reading too much into the player only meeting, but it could be the start of the team working out the problems and getting the coach to buy into the ideas. You can only preach if the player buy in. Who knows. The leaders aren;t getting it done on the ice. Identify the things you shouldn;t be doing and move on.

Who are you trading for a pick? Or was it not signing Markstrom or Tanev. Oh, who is Veino?

It must be tough to be a fan of the AVS. Always seem like they are contenders. Have such young promise, but never are able to take the next step. Usually a fave for the cup. That must be frustrating. At least we are used to it.

I'm not really sure what this thread is for. It started as a discussion about needing to find an identity or at least not having one. It seems to have turned into the inevitable tank/draft/GM problems/glory days. Seriously? We are talking about Sutter or Crisp days? Maybe we should have a thread about complaints about the Flames for the last 30 years. Would be a great place to trading Hull or letting MSL walk.

$20m on two guys and they have to shorten the bench to just those two some nights. McD is just such a good skater that he gets away with so much. Draws penalties as much as Gaudreau, but has many more moves. Oilers will never go anywhere becuase the GM has no clue. Spent all that money this summer on retreads and didn't address the goalie issues. Signed the most defensive liable D-man out there to improve the defense. KooKoo is decent, but not a lot different than Nesterov. Turris is useless. Neal is nothing without McD.

He's been a work horse. He follows Gio's lead a bit too much instead of his own style. But his skill shines through any system problems. I just wish Gio would get back to being a defenseman. Leave the offense to Ras. Other than that, I think the players needs to talk about what part of the coaching isn't working. It's not all performance. Once they hash it out, make the suggestions as a group.

The team has Tkachuk's back when it makes "political" sense. Remember when Tkachuk was mauled by Kassian? Some of the "leaders" said he need to finish what he starts. You expect anything different when it's less obvious to the players? Spoiled kid or emotional leader in Tkachuk? I don't expect Monahan to have much emotional displays. But I want Gio and Backlund to lose it after a loss. The calm acceptance has to stop.

I'm afraid that the txi squad is nothing more than place to store extras, not viable alternatives for the coach to use. Buddy is a marginal NHL player, but I don't mind having one body like that there. Kylington and Mackey - what is the point? They won't get enough time to show they can do the job. Rinaldo - no freakin comment. Stone - okay, I won't get upset that we are payng the guy not to be on the team and paying him a full ride to not play for us. No better/worse then Nessy. Goalie - needed. I wasn't a big fan of the squad games used to select the so-called starting lineup and taxi squad. Guys weren't that good in some cases. Kylington hadn't played in forever. Gawdin was injured after a good play-in camp. Ruzicka was pretty decent but we don't play rookies with only one year in the AHL; forwards anyway. Zary maybe not ready, but who really knows. Phillips is too small, and hey nobody plays small players in the NHL. We've seen this for most/all of last season. Injury call up means you practice with the team, but don't expect to play over Rinaldo or the flaour of the week D-man from another team. We talk about lack of identity or culture here, but I'm not sure what the coach is doing. Good soldiers that can't handle the NHL trump skills or speed. No ned to change the NHL roster, since we just need to bear down to win. Attention to detail. Emotional investment.

Nesterov is a vet. 135 KHL and 138 NHL games The problem is styles. Gio-Ras not working as wll as Hani-Tan. Nessy is a gambler, and Vali can;t cover all of the ice. He's going to be prone to rookie gaffes. The 3rd pair is either going to be lesser guys or ou have a top 4 D-man playing 3rd pairing.

This is the cap roster for today. Dube not playing. Buddy up may not play. We shall see

I know the reasons why and the things we could have done, but honestly it's up to Bennett to actually do something. Passing plays not working, go hit someone. Linemates useless, dump it in and go get the puck. Shots not coming, go fight your way to the front of the net. Not getting offense, perfect your shot blocks. Simmonds is about as useless as they come but he scores goals by not being the man.

One thing I noticed was the call up of just Stone late yesterday (CapFriendly) That seems a bit unusual. Doubly so if you notice that there has been no recall of Ryan or Kylington today.

Dube gametime obviously. If he gets in, then the top line is fine. But, I'm really starting to question the use of Mangiapane. He generates chances, whether he finishes or not. He's as good at fishing out the puck as Simon. So, my ideal lines for now would be: Tkachuk-Lindholm-Dube Gaudreau-Monahan-Mangiapane Simon-Backlund-Ryan Lucic-Bennett-Leivo Roll the lines as they perform. Let Bennett develop some chemistry again with Lucic and now Leivo. Bennett and Leivo are just snakebit and needs reps together.

Simon has been positive, but he's more of a Ryan type that you can move up and down. He's not known for finishing, which Gaudreau needs. When Gaudreau had 99 points, the line had Lindholm. He needs at least a 15 goal guy there. Dube or Mangiapane are right now the best choices for top 6. And I would suggest that we could have Gaudreau with Lindholm or Monahan. Mangiapane-Monahan-Tkachuk Gaudreau-Lindholm-Dube I would need to see a game to be sure, but the OHL line could be a thing. The 2nd line may get bumped a bit more, but really the only difference is Lindholm. Chemistry is already there. Same is true of the OHL line, with the exception of Monahan.

I would suggest that the PP is one thing that is working. Less games than every other team, but good for 4th in the league so far. We have seen scoring from different locations, but I agree they still don;t have the easy tap ins like the Oilers get. That is due to good passes down low.

I think the identity is being pushed by the media. Eric Francis polarizing the fanbase. Stories about Johnny or Monahan. MSM telling everyone and directing the questions towards their own belief of the identity. EDM - fast team that scores at will, best top 6 in the league, generational player, Orange Crush, honerable compaired to CGY, bla, bla, bla CGY - no stars except a little guy who doesn't want to play here, aging D-man, coach killer, home of the Douchebag Tkachuk, little talent, trying to be tough It's like sometimes we read the press and play the game the media wants. Stories about Tkachuk, play accoring to media script (Kassian fight, Doughty nonsense, Draisaitl whinning about All Star game) by not playing hockey. Stories about how great Mike Smith is and we play like that's the only way we can break out. Maybe it comes from media availability, and the questions get into the player's heads. Can we ask more stupid questions before or during a game? Lead the answer with your stupid questions.

I'm there with you. Obviously, it isn't a 4th line grinder line. More of a energy, forechecking, transition line. Have defensive smarts to not get burned when stuck against a top 6 line, but mostly be there to inject some life. One good shift to build momentum, then follow up with top 6 lines.

Crosby and Malkin were worth what they signed for. Malkin is near the end of the contract but still there. Crosby was a 12 year deal, which is costing $9m for this and next year, followed by a deep dive to $3m. JR didn't sign those deals. He's better known for Jack Johnson, or the Reaves trade. And the host of bad decisions along the way.

He's been here for a year as HC. The leadership group needs to stop talking about what they needed to do nd work with Ward to identify the strategies. And implement. If Gio is leading by example, then what is he showing? Tanev blocks everything he gets in front of, but is anyone else? He's working with Valimaki, but I think that's not the entire problem out there. Ras is getting away from what he excelled in. I thought the PP in the last two minutes of the game was a complete failure. Dump and chase. Throw Gio out there because he is an offensive star? No thought to how to manage the last two minutes, no time out to plan. Maybe one chance that was bobbled and one extra pass that deflected out of the zone.

There's never any guarantee that a drafted D will become that #1 for you. Ras was a offensive machine in junior. He's also been solid on the D side of things since he got here. Kulak was not a top player here, and while I would have like to keep him, he isn't a big loss. Many of those guys out there in drafts or in FA. Really what we have is a few years before we know what players will be. Kylington could figure it out, but he needs to be consistent. He didn't have much of a chance at camp, but he needs to show up in practice. At this point, he may be a #7, but that's a testament to who is above him. Ras and Hanifin have room to grow. First year Hanifin doesn't have leg irons attached to him; Tanev affords him stability. Or Ras gives him a solid defensive player to pair with. Fox, if you believe that he was ever going to play as a Flames, could have looked as good here or fade into just an offensive player. As a Ranger, he's afforded top PP time. In a deep defense, would he get that here? Or on most teams? I'm not saying he's crap, but you have to look at the big picture. A lot of points (13) scored on the PP last year and 4 out of 5 this year.

Well, I don't think we can look at salaries back then and suggest that they were overpaid. The market was set. Look at any top 6 C/RW re-signed back then.