PerreaultForever

Milk toast and meatballs, it's a volatile Irish Italian mix.

What's your point? You want to squabble just to squabble? You bored? Or do you fancy yourself above others? Come on man, you know what the point was. It's fanboy blind belief vs. facts and results. The actual results. and the actual results are another year of failure. I'm tired of "next year" aren't you? I don't want to hear any more crap about "we are the youngest" when it's a self fulfilling prophecy as we continually make ourselves even younger. There is no other successful team that operates on this sort of model and the results speak for themselves. That's the objectivity and if anyone rejects that, it's just blinders on fanboy speak and I personally have no time for that because there's no speaking to it. That mind is made up and it puts on it's hat and chants slogans regardless of facts. You can't have a discussion with that, it's just impossible and pointless.

In person hearing, repeat offender, I'm going to guess 5 games.

The thing to me is after the whack he picks up speed and hurries off the ice through his team mates rather than turning or facing the music he started. If you want to be a psycho goalie be a psycho goalie not a cheap shot coward. Thanks for posting though. This was fun to see.

Was that first line necessary? I'd address your points but with that line off the top you're not worth carrying on the discussion with. Have a nice day.

You are trying to use a point I made and paint it into a much wider stroke. I never said Skinner was "all the woes" that's silly. He is, however, an impediment to progress. This team would be better without him than it is with him. That line can end it if you like. I'm good with that one.

I understand that, and when they play, they are more like Colorado, but they still have quite a few guys who prefer an open game so they can get caught up drifting towards that when it presents itself. idk I'm trying to be optimistic. It'll probably be a shutdown game and Hyman will kill us in front. But you never know.

So they sort of realized that Dahlin Byram PP configuration wasn't working. It was nonsensical and confused. Still have that 3 quarterbacks and 2 units thing to work with though. Benson is your net front? Okay, put the little 18 year old in front why not. He does go there, but this makes no sense to me at all. It's almost like they want 2 equal units rather than 1 good unit but whatever. No matter who goes where the same basic dynamics apply and if we don't get in front and don't screen and tip we won't get the results either. I actually think they can win this game though. Not that they necessarily will, but it's a bit like Toronto. Edmonton likes to play wide open too so if we get them into that type of game it can come down to goaltending as the only difference. So we have a solid chance.

That's the argument I'm dead against. NOBODY WANTS TO BE NEGATIVE about the team, the team puts us in a position where there is no other option if you have any objectivity at all.

Exactly. Him and Ray sitting down and talking about their fight history for the celebration was a pretty normal conversation. Neither was ever the brightest light but they are functioning just fine like the rest of us. Andrew Peters is fine. John Scott is fine. Actually he's more than fine, he's pretty smart. Go further back if you want. Guys like Rick Dudley are still fully aware in their old age. Don Cherry had a lot of fights in his playing career and while you might have hated his views or thought he was a dinosaur he certainly wasn't a drooling vegetable was he. There is a really really long list of ex NHL tough guys and fighters who are doing very well. One must factor in these guys entire lives and lifestyles if you want an actual meaningful argument.

Well the results around Skinner's career say otherwise. Perhaps we'd surge to the top tier just like Carolina did.

Roger Neilson? I get your overall point though. I don't think he does know how to actually motivate them or lead them and with the absence of a solid veteran core, that's a real problem.

It's BS. You list off a small group of dumbasses and make a claim that it proves it for everyone. Why not make a list of all the fighters who are just fine and not worse than anyone else? The ones who are even NHL executives now. Smart guys. The lawyers. The players agents. On and on it's a much much much longer list. To the self righteous ones out there, just remember you can get CTE from falling off a bandwagon too. Be careful. Wear your helmet 24/7.

No, it absolutely does not mean that. It MIGHT mean that, but there is no necessary direct correlation. One example, Risto got lots of experience here and went from a young player to a veteran, but it was only when he got to Philly that he praised his coach and turned his game around. Just being in the league longer guarantees nothing. If we tread water long enough we simply get to the next round of people wanting out. Not saying that will happen, but the idea that it just takes more time is absurd.

Of course not, but then again, it doesn't take much to tip a scale one way or the other. The locker room argument is long and won't get us anywhere so no point to that (I'm sure we disagree) but you could simplify it by wondering how many points/games can any one player cost you and maybe that's enough.

Granato is well past the date for his expiry. No other team would have given his record a seal of approval. Adams has not been good, but for me he can redeem himself in the off season by firing Granato, hiring Brind'Amour (assuming Carolina doesn't), buying out Skinner, not bringing back Girgs, and trading a few prospects to fill our needs. Staying the course would just be more acceptance of failure. I do believe that we have enough pieces in place that all it would take is a good coach and smart GM.

"if" is an optimistic word but it's also an unlikely result. I've moved way past "if" and although it pains me to say it, on Skinner, Kreuger was right. and Skinner has never even been in the playoffs. Let's ask Brind'Amour.

I personally think he lacks a work ethic and it rubs off on the rest of the locker room. We need some hard "subtractions" like Philly did to start their rebuild. Skinner is simply too inconsistent and he plays like an individual. He is, as has been said in the past, uncoachable. He will quit on a play at any time, he will be out of position at any moment, and most of all he will giveaway the puck at the worst moments. I have said it before and I hold to it. We will not win until Skinner is gone.

Not exactly or that simple but sort of. We could have started the season much like they did. We'd have had to make the same sort of moves/additions they did. Get a Zadorov type. A Lindholm type. Make a few bold moves and a little roster rearrangement to suit the coach but overall I think we could definitely be in the hunt and maybe even ahead of the Leafs.

Veteran leadership and good goaltending, but the big thing is how they responded after the cancelled frill, the trip to the U2 show in Vegas. They were slumping and it was taken away, they responded. No country club without earning it. Similarly I read today in a Vancouver article how their locker room is now lightening up and having some fun. The words used were "we earned it". In other words they were not rewarded first as an incentive. The bar was raised and when it was met then and only then were they rewarded.

This is definitely possible but that's why I said 2 years not 1 (like Tochet has done). Skinner fits that bill no question. After him, I think the surrounding atmosphere may bring some of the others to where they need to be. It's optimistic, but I think many of them are young enough to be able to be turned around in the right climate. You look at the departures. Eichel, Reinhart, now Mitts. Their competitive edge is there in their new competitive environments. It may take less than you think here. I may be deluded, but I have to believe that.

imo if you took the players we have now (plus the prospects) and gave them a coach like Tochet or Tortorella in 2 years we would be a cup contender. We might have to add a few spare parts and maybe a tough guy, but the talent is more than enough. We are grossly underachieving.

I don't think they are better, just better coached.

Looking over that roster player for player I don't think so.

I found the Flyers response tonight and their excellent effort against the Leafs to be an interesting point of contrast. Torts causes a stir benching the captain and yet the team rises and plays better. Full accountability. Now would Granato have the balls to sit Skinner in the press box?