travel_dude

This is exactly what a leader looks like.

So, I would point to regular season production. Only Tkachuk had better totals. They did finish the season the same way they worked in the playoofs. Mostly (if not all) PP production. Let's also not forget that the defense used to be part of the scoring for the team. The top line's production dipped because the D wasn't scoring or assisting on scoring much. I would point to the 2nd line as being a big reason why we are talking blow up. Yes, the top line didn't produce. In fact only the 3rd line really did.

What I am wondering is whether we have anyone on the farm that is ready or could be ready very soon. I'm probably higher on Zavgorodny than a lot here, but he has something we don't see much of in the top 9. Speed and finish. A RHS for a change. Perhaps another Dube in the making. And then there is Pelletier. Is he close this year or is another year in junior needed. I suspect the latter. And then there is Phillips and Gawdin. In that list there are perhaps 2 players that could be more impactful than Janko and Rieder. Or freakin Rinaldo. Could Gawdin replace the need to have Ryan? On defense, does Yelesin have enough cred to make the top 7. In the 4 games he played, he was steady. Do we really need a player like Gus for just PP skills? Where am I going with this. Well, I don't want to blow it up. But I also am tired of the mediocre players we tend to sign or trade for. Rieder was fine, but is that all we hope for? Janko - there's a player that could rebound, but he's too costly to take that chance again. Ryan - fine, but doesn't move the needle for me. He's the definition of a safe player. Gus and Forbs? We can do better. Hamonic - a warrior that lost 50% of his game. Gio - just doesn't show up for playoffs. Backlund - even with more offensive start, still had a rough playoffs. A change to the core is needed, just not sure that pieces playing on the top line is the place to start. They get you to the playoffs, but the rest of the team needs to carry some water in the playoffs. Like Bennett, Dube, Lucic, Ras and Talbot did. Rieder is the kind of player you need every once in awhile.

What part of that don't you get? He wasn't hired as head coach. Ward has said that if they hire a new coach, he would sit down with them (unless fired as Assistant Coach).

Ha ha. Appropriate isn't it. The cup contending team losing to a team that can pounce. I actually think we could have matched up against them this year, but that would have to have been 3rd round. I don't like the way we lost to Dallas, so there is obviously a problem. Just don't think it is scorched earth problems.

Rierdon got the axe after some strange decisions in the playoffs. There's good and bad with Ward. It seems like the team bought into what he was selling, but I don't know if it was the right thing. I tend to think that a proven coach is the way to go. Pick one that can work with other coaches. FFS, fix the defensive play. There was no reason for the collapse. Or getting shelled in other games. Whatever the defensive system we had seemed to get tossed. I don't think the players forgot how to play. It's like we adapted to a team, but the adaptation was flawed. There's much to fix with this team. Not from how we did in the playoffs. Regular season should have been a clear indication that we were headed this way. It's almost like we watched the way a team played in another century and picked that strategy. The first 10 minutes in game 6 was all Flames. Even allowing a goal shouldn't have sunk us.

Does he have to? If he decides to hire a new coach, he hasn't fired Ward. The coach and Ward would sit down and make that decision about stepping down as Assistant coach.

Honestly, I don't know how the team managed to collapse so quickly. It's nothing that happened behind closed doors. He pulled the goalie and the goalie fell apart, but the team normally has the goalie's back. You could see them almost thinkng that Rittich was not capable of making a save. Ras diving on the puck. It was an epic collapse. I guess COL has the same issues. One mistake magnifies the other ones. Every shot becomes a HD scoring chance even when it isn;t. I don't like some of Ward's decision making. Waiting too long and having no backup plan that's been tested. He had months to figure this out. And yet we see the reaction after it's too late to change course. A good coach over his head maybe.

Actually, BP did him a solid by quitting. He would not fire Ward, so it's not the typical MO as you suggest. Everyone has a part to play in the loss. Huska, Ward, players. BT didn't get them what they really needed to go deep. Lots of failed attempts. Gus and Forbort was not well thought out. ONe would have been fine. We still would have been able to compete. I suspect Gus would have made the most sense.

Sometimes it's just one game. Elimination game with power plays and Backs is nowhere to be found. No better option and they still didn't use him on the #1 unit. I have a feeling BT feels the same way. No real reason to go to an untested goalie. At least not with some of those goals being less his fault. That's potentially a firing offense.

Perhaps they can sign Poolparty.

If the reaction to a team losing to a team like Dallas is "blow it up", then we are certainly overreacting. We were beat mostly by a couple of D-men and some secondary scoring. We had some D-men playing that wouldn't be the types you would roll into the playoffs with. Admittedly, the top 4 were on for more goals except maybe Forbort. The top line was barely able to generate any offense. Even the Backlund line struggled. So, that really means we have a few pieces that impact how the team played. Gaudreau able to generate some rushes, but neutralized fairly quickly. Johnny is unable to lend a hand defensively. Like at all. Would never be able to block a shot. Backlund struggled. There's no two ways about it. With a struggling Backlund and no Tkachuk, the line was doomed. Defense. Inability to transition to offense. Defending was a lot of chasing. Goaltending. Talbot was what we needed except for one game where he lost the puck. No backup ready considering it's the one thing a team needs in the playoffs. Rittich was ruined by the time he got the start. So, really, we are a couple of pieces away from being able to contend. Not a perennial contender but one that could work hard and contend. As good as Backlund and Johnn are regular season, they seem to take a step back in the playoffs. We need a player like Bennett to take over the C spot. And a winger to be able to do things you need. Monahan isn;t going to be worse off with a player with speed. Tkachuk wouldn't be worse off playing with a more offensive C. I've got nothing against Brodie, but between him and Gio we needed a bit more. 3rd paid isn't a huge need. We have some pieces we could use or add a RD.

If the trade was just Hammy for Lindholm, that may have worked, but what would we have in place for top 4. Many would be screaming louder for that particular trade. Perhaps people can move on from a situation that never played out. Whether we would be able to sign him is super important to the discussion. Would we have gotten the return CAR got is unknown. Hanifin is not as bad as you suggest. He's got some growing to do, but a season and a half of BP, plus playing with Hammer was not a good place to be. Blow it up is all or nothing. The wreckage afterwards can be difficult ot fix. Nothing is closer to the real situations with most clubs face and shoud do. JH needs to go to improve the overall top 6. We won't go anywhere with him on the wing. Backlund has as much to do with the lack of success as he does. A number 2 that doesn't score and doesn't prevent in 6 playoff games and 4 playin games. Last year no different. He's no ROR. He's a valuable player to a team that doesn't have a quality #3 and no real #1. Those two moves alone would help fix the top 6. Moving Bennett up adds to it. Lucic is a playoff weapon, but you don't need him playing 15 minutes a night regular season. Sign Hall as he adds an element we don't have on LW. A guy that can skate. Whoever we go after for a D-man, it needs to be a puck mover and a solid defensive player. Should be a 3 or better and a RHS. Montour or Vatanen (UFA).

Was it painfully obvious after last season we needed to trade Guadreau? A terrible playoffs where nobody played well. In hindsight, we had an elite top line able to score a lot of goals. Would we have gotten a ton more then? Depends on the market. As far as goaltenders, I would suggest there are less than 3 bona fide ones even playing. None are capable of playing 60+ games. I think most of the fans understand the risks of keeping JH. They are too high for a team wanting to move forward. We need a couple of top 6 C's to be a contender. And we need that top defender. Whether that pushes Gio down or necessitates a trade.

If NJ would take Gaudreau for wither Hischier or Hughes, that would be my preference. I don't see a stud D available without overpaying. Maybe what we need to think about is a more solid RD than elite. Montour comes to mind. Maybe Backlund for Montour does it. As I mentioned, I don't have an issue with Backlund, but he's had two playoffs where he's been less than regular season good. He's aging out of the core. Hischier or Highes could be that elusive #1 or 1b C we need. The age is right for a long term. Both are compeitive which makes up for lack of size. Hall seems to be the popular discussion. Which is fine, but not better than Gaudreau just different. Perhaps I am smoking something with regards to NJ, but we just don't know their priorities. He's a complimentary player they do not have. He would fill seats. Perhaps does as much as what Hall did for them in injury plagued season.

If we were to trade Gaudreau for your most suggested player in Necas, would that get us closer? I think we should be exploring trading Backlund as he is a great #2 but we could have that in Necas. Allows Bennett to be a shutdown C on the 3rd line. Moving out Backlund and Gaudreau would allow us some shopping money for Pietrangelo. Thoughts?

He's from Ontario, so I would sugget we have a better chance of signing him than Buffalo. Toronto? No way can they even think abou that. They are already about $50m over the cap. STL is pooched unless they make big changes and TBH they probably want to move on. I don't see CGY's chances any worse than most teams. We lost in the same number of games as they did. Do we have some things he would like? A competetive team needing some direction. I see it as a snowball's chance in Alberta in October. Goaltending is an issue for more than 20 teams. We aren't as bad off as a lot of teams that made the playoffs. I don't know that JH has lost a lot of value. You won't be able to trade him to a Cali team, but the East is wide open (not Florida teams). NY, NJ, Philly, even PITTS and BOS. What is he really worth? At the very least a 1st a high end prospect and a NHL player. Playoff results don't impact the player's value as much as it does to us. You could argue that he was a victim of a poorly designed team. I fall somewhere in the middle. While it's possible to remake this team with him a part, the chances are remote. Too many moves. I don't know that the GM has enough vision to build it. Most GM's would not. So, his value is in the now in a trade.

Gaudreau is not hoing to het you a top 3 player today. He may get you a potential top 3 player. Teams get impatient as do fanbases. Interesting that Servali suggested that the team shouldn;t be trading Gaudreau but looking for the right compliment. I don't know if I agree, but it does make sense. We have not ever been able to find the right player both rregular season and playoffs. Ferland was the closest to that we had in years. Lindy was that for regular season. He's potentially a top 6 C that we use on the winh. To me, it only makes sense to trade Gaudreau to fix problems not create more. Trade Gaudreau and Backlund and impact the core. Get back a top 9 C and a top 6 winger. Impact the way the top 6 looks. Sign Pietrangelo, This only happens because we are moving out 12m and taking back less than 8m. Our D consists of Gio, Pietrangelo, Ras, Hanifin, Kylington, Valimaki, Mackey. One approach. I haven;t calculated exactly, but it does seem doable.

The eventual goal on the Heiskanen shot was not the definition of fragile response. They were doing well up to that point. I get what you are saying. Fragile in the sense of not being able to stop the bleeding. They had a poor start to the 2nd. Easy goals scored with not pressure the other way. How do you describe the following: Talbot let in 3 goals on 9 shots. Ritter couldn't even handle the puck. He let in 3 on another 9 shots. One expects a team to shoot at the goalie and the goalie to stop 90% of the shots. They did stop playing when down by 1, 2 or 3 goals. They might have been guilty of doing things that are risky. But, TBH, what difference does it make. We are arguing about things that don't really matter. They sucked when they needed to not suck. Changes have to happen because we can't continue to lose series we have no business losing.

Yes, please. I've got no beefs with Gaudreau or Monahan or Backlund. We just aren't getting it done. It may be something else holding them back, but I don't know. I don't think Gaudreau is the right fit, mostly due to how he has tailed off and not shown up in the playoffs. It's not even a question of being soft. It's just overall performance.

I think what he is saying that these C's had 5 years and nothing has improved. Backlund is a fine player, no question. Same way Gaudreau is a fine player. I don't think that's up for debate. Your core doesn't get it done, time to look at improving/trading the core. Barrie and Kerfoot not helping the AVS get it done. Time to move on.

Is it really fragile? They blew a lead in a game and couldn't stem the tide. It happens that every once in awhile a combination of things results in a blowout. How poor a decision it was to try to change momentum by switch to an ice cold goalie. Does not excuse the team at all, but I don't see it a fragile thing. If anything, this team developed a thick skin with all the distractions and such. Doesn't mean they played well, but they never seemed to panic. Poor performances and fragile are two separate things. 2018/19 fragile? Yes, I suspect. They overcame no adversity.

The lack of success he had elsewhere should have been of concern. This year was a testament to his ability I think. Last year's success was partly the coach and career years from players. Does the coach deserve the credit? I dunno. BTW, I'm not calling for BT's removal. I think he's done a lot of good things. Next steps are crucial.

Every firing has been followed by a poor GM search. Gully, BP. Those are on the GM for sure. Firing the coach makes sense if you have done an exhaustive search and aren't settling with the guy that just says the right things. Gully should never have been a coach. BP came from a losing organization. Why was that a smart hire. The GM owns the failures of the coach and team. Did he improve in the areas that were weakest? Doesn't seem so.

Of any sports, this has been the least impacted by COVID. Even though guys were "unfit" to play, there was zero positives in the past month.