travel_dude

A little disappointing that the results we had were rewarded this way. I get that it's not all on the coach, but unless major changes happen to either the playbook or the roster, this shall continue. Playoff Bennett and Lucic won't be able to play that way for a full season. Monahan playing a more defensive game is fine, but not at the expense of team scoring. We really need to get the top line better starts as they are not successful when forced to start in the D-zone more. I thought it was obvious. As you say, maybe with a more concentrated camp (less guys that shouldn't be there) will allow him to find the right niche. That and whomever BT adds to the group are a fit like Lindholm was in Y1.

I would give up a 1st for Chychrun. Not interested in OEL (other target mentioned by Friedman). Not sure that ARI would even consider that, but that's the kind of player I would give up a 1st for. The goalie trade market is whacked. Murray for a 1st? Keumper for a 1st?

I really question Gaudreau's off ice antics and training. I won't get into the rumors, just that this summer was the first time he seemed to even commit to training. He got a Peleton and spent a lot of time roller blading. Hmmm, shouldn't conditioning already been his top priority, since he isn't one to do weight training or extreme workouts (tire/ropes, etc.). He's not going to have tree trunks for legs, but I would hope that Skittles isn't his method of training now. MSL should be a model for him, not Evander Kane.

All good points, but let's face it, they were bad coaches for the most part. What Ward has to be evaluated on is what his record was, what he did in-game to adjust, and what he did after a game to adjust. Was his record due to the new coach bump? The team breathed a sigh of relief after the BP fiasco. In-game I felt he didn't make smart decisions. It wasn't just the playoffs that the top line was getting more D-zone starts or playing top lines. After a loss, he was ok. No throwing playes under the bus, but demand better in practices. Some of the healthy scratches and players given a game were curious at best. It took till when that Bennett was played at center?

There is hope with the farm. Some interesting players that probably could or should have played this year. Some other that are a year or so out (Zav and Ruzicka, maybe Petterson). We don't have much defensive depth, but we do have a few guys that aren't on the radar yet (Swede - Larby or something like that, Poolman). Parsons and Wolf are the goalies we really can't be sure about yet. Other than size and line fit, Phillips should be in the NHL - IMHO. Gawdin showed a lot in the camp.

Blown out eh? Last year we lost to a good team because we couldn't close out 2 OT games. This year we blew a one goal lead in the last part of the 3rd to go up 3-1. The true statement is we lost in round one every year since VAN. Poor coaching and poor play last year cost us the 1st round. Poor coaching cost us the 1st round this year. Doesn't matter that we had trouble containing anyone. It does matter that we were winning in the series and in the final game, but managed to be outcoached. You can lump the core together and say they can't win, but you overlook the problems 50% of the playoff teams have. Key player hurt, poor coaching decisions, top line shut down, playing top line as a shut down line, etc. etc.. I think the team has some issues that can be fixed. Better coaching strategies, ability to swap players, not relying on useless thugs, etc. etc. Sacrifice a good player in trade to get better elsewhere. This team had the ability to be tops in the West, so it's not a stretch to say they can do it again.

So, what is the problem with the core? Unless you can define it and point to one or two players that create the problems or fix the underlying reason, you aren't doing much. We've had a variety of coaches, but none of them have managed to do anything to adjust to the playoffs. Ward didn't adjust properly. BP wasn't able to change even after we won the first game while giving up a ton of shots. Gully was useless. I'm not letting the team off the hook. Maybe we had a string of extremely useless coaches. Won't know for sure until some trades are made or a new coach is brought in. Ryan is a good player, but in a cap world it's tough to justify over $3m for a #4C.

The only things we don't know are what changes are needed. Some say Johnny. Others say we need a #1C. Still others are calling for a change to the D core. As far as the coach goes, we can't just give a guy the reins if he can't figure out what direction to drive. At times we seem rudderless. Almost like we have a bunch of individuals that can't think collectively.

I'm of the same opinion as Cross. I didn't like what I saw in the playoffs. I think that started in the regular season, after Backlund was moved back to C. And why did it take so long to use Bennett at C. He sat Janko. This club has more to give than what we saw in the playoffs. But first, they need a coach that doesn't force buy in on things that don't make sense. I think Ward is an excellent A/Coach. He just doesn't fit the head coach bill.

The question always comes up when player X comes up from the farm and doesn't play. I sometimes wonder what the coach sees, when a guy like Yelesin comes in and plays solid hockey. Why would he ever think Stone is a better choice. I get the whole "great attitude when he practices" but you are trying to win. Stone does not provide that. Same for RInaldo. Anyway, Ward annoys me with his decision making, but he takes input from other coaches. Huska determines the D structures, but I found them lacking. Maybe it's skill or usage, but I thought we could have done a lot better in the playoffs. D scoring was down. Goal differential negative. We need a good coach that can win with this or any group.

There's the point. WAS is going to interview Lavi. That leaves only a few (if not a single guy) that would be good. But, I also have to point to our defensive structure and how badly it failed during the playoffs. Was the system right and the players veered away from it or was it not a winning strategy?

I don't think they are "satisfied". They are willing to write big cheques to get FA's. And buy out blunders. But again, how do you improve enough to be a contender? Need a solid #1D. Not easy to get unless you trade a top player or sign in FA. A decent goalie. Well, you could say we had 2. Not quite at the Lehner level, but good. An impact forward. Again, what do you have to give to get? A rebuild is fine, but you need to keep some players that are young enough to become the vets. Trading away Monahan and Guadreau only compounds the problem.

Pretty harsh. Part of winning is being able to steal a game, and stay in the other games. We did. Yeah, there was a meltdown when we brought in Rittich. 2 goals should never have gone in. Good team lose. Bad teams don't belong. Not saying we would be beating VGK, as they are a superior team in the West. Then again, it's hard to get a sense of what the team is capable of. I don't buy into the line that Dallas was just getting rolling. They had a better defense for jumping into the play. Ours had trouble exiting the zone. There's your difference. Fix the defense and this team could easily be considered a contender.

One thing is certain. Defense wins playoffs games. TOR, CGY, EDM, WPG all had less than effective defense. Ours was not able to provide much scoring. 5 goals in 10 games rom the D. And we looked like crap in about 50% of the games. Forget about trading the forwards, how about an actual NHL defense.

Well, in a democratic system, each scout gets a vote. But Burke was running the show. He had good things to say about Mac, so I think he was the deciding factor. Smith was a Burkie call for sure.

Other than MacDonald, I think they have made good picks. I mean since the days of Ortio and Irving. That's another story. Gillies should have developed to be as good or better than Demko. He hit some kind of wall. The injury in his most important development year. The poor coaching he got after that. He should have spent a ton of time working on the mechanics. Catching hand. Angles. No excuse for him turning into what he is now. I think the drafting has been good. Valimaki was one of the few 1st rounders we have had. That was a very good choice. Ras and Dube were really good finds, and I think they had an idea they woulf be that good. Kylington is really just a development issue. The later round guys like Zav, Ruzicka, Phillips etc are guys that some teams slept on. I will say this. The GM sometimes has more say than the scouts. Sutter seemed to have a big say. Feaster and Weisbrod made the decisions. Burke had a big input in Y1 of BT. It's been more a group call since then. Some things become a coin flip and it comes down to making the case for a guy.

We had the choice of Demko and MacDonald. It was a poor choice. No sense to it at all, save for maybe the thought that he was an average goalie behind a great team. MacDonald was an average (at best) goalie behind a poor team. TBH, how often does a goalie come out of the Q league? I hated the pick then and more so now. Demko at least looks like he could be a good goalie.

What exactly are you expecting Monahan would have developed into by letting him play more junior hockey and perhaps some AHL hockey? Bennett is a different story, but also a cautionary tale when you have a dickwad of a coach. Had Bennett been given a similar path as Tkachuk or Monahan, then the development may have been different.

With Gio, I think they could convince him to go to TO, if the money worked. They need his leadership, and he would be a good fit there. Aside from that, if we keep Gio then he need to take a lesser role on the team. Just because he's the captain does not require him to play 24 minutes or PP time. And the coach has to be firm about what that role is. Backlund would be difficult to move, but it depends on the where. Certain teams might appeal to him. Maybe you just need to use him differently.

Well, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Poor cat for putting up with numerous methods. We have sufficient talent that could be turned into a contender team. We do not consistenly play to that talent level. Not more than 30% of the games and very few (if any) of the playoff games. So while the team is "broken", they are no far from being fixed. Good coaching would help. While I support Ward as a good guy to work with, the overall performance under his watch is less good. Questionable decision making at best. He gets the team to buy in, but then goes out and tells them to start doing X. While I suggest that moving on from Gio and Backlund, as I said they are not the reason we lost. But keeping them when they have shown to be less than tops in their category. If Gio is only capable of providing secondary defensive play and almost zero scoring, then stop playing him 24 f'in minutes. If the top line can carry the team in scoring most nights, why would you expect them to do that, shut down top lines, start in the D-zone more and perform on the PP. Backlund was as quiet as the top line, yet he was being trotted out there for O-zone starts. In my mind, we need a D-man, a top 6 C, and a consistent backup/starter. Whether they ruined Rittich by early play (too often) or he can play more than 30 games at a top level, who knows. They botched it by not using him at all in the playin round or last playoffs. Ideal to have a franchise goalie, but that's pretty rare. Most teams luck into one, then have 5 great years and that's about it. Needing a top 20 prospect C or W is a much greater need for this team, IMHO. We should know a lot more about Wolfie by this time next year. That should mean he's a pro by 2021/22 which is about right.

I seriously doubt the fanbase wants #3. The more vocal ones maybe. Most of the fans want to improve the team while keeping the highest producing ones. I think many have the belief we need to get rid of Gio. He's actually never won a single round, other than the fake round this year. Most people noticed the struggles last and this playoffs. Had we had Norris Gio last playoffs, we might have beaten COL. Anything other than the Gio we saw this playoffs would have meant a 2nd round. I'm not going to say Backlund and Gio are the reasons we lost. But I will say they had a lot to do with not winning. In other words, had they been better at what they normally do well, we wouldn;t be talking about blowing it up this week. I know neither Gio nor Backlund is going to get yu that #1D. That the biggest need we have. A proficient top 6 C would also help. Losing Backlund means we have to use Bennett or Lindholm in that spot. Doesn;t really improve us, so we need better.

There a couple of things that could happe: 1) we add/subtract from the current roster - nothing majot, just tweaks 2) we trade from the core for core replacement players 3) we trade core for futures Any one of these could result in a lotto pick. 3rd option is much more likely, and potentialy have multiple 1sts. But, and it's a big butt, those are more likely to be 2020 picks. Unless the trade is in year or after the draft. I would prefer we go to option 2. We get a top 6 forward that fits the team better than what we have or we end up with a 1/2 D-man. I may be one of the few, but moving Bcklund makes more sense than Gaudreau. EDM is reportedly shopping Larsson and Klefbom. I can;t stand Larsson, but Klefbom would be interesting. Brodie with a slapshot. Backlund for Klefbom and Puljujarvi. Or Ryan for Puljujarvi. Not that I think Poolparty is good, just that it would be a top 9 RHS player Play him with Bennett.

Funny but this feels a little early. Normally, you would be proclaiming the "next one" a month or two into the season. 🤔

To say 5v5 mattered more is forgetting the obvious. PP goals and shorties are usually the differences that matter to a game. Bennett, Monahan and Gaudreau had 4, 5 and 6 PP points respectively. Those were needed goals. The more unfortunate stat is GA. But it also shows that none of the above were scored upon even strength. Bennett even. JH and Monahan even. So, while I agree 5v5 is important, when you skate EV to a draw, it's PP that matters. If the other lines were all even at 5v5 we would be in the 2nd round.

If you believe Francis, the entire fanbase is out for blood. I think it's closer to fans hate losing. Some want change to demonstrate a commitment to a winning team. If there's something concrete done (coach, starter goalie, top 6 forward added, or defense holes fixed or all of the above) I think the majority would be happy. Would Kadri made that much of a difference? Probably not, but it adds a new dynamic. Every move that makes the team better can have doubling effects. Cut down on GA, and suddenly we are able to outscore other teams in close battles. Exploit other team's weaknesses (coaching) and you have an edge. Add a player that could fit in a multitude of spots and suddenly you have new looks.