PerreaultForever

That's true about Boston although it also just kind of fell into place with the 3 Czechs. When the season started everyone assumed it would be Hall with Krejci since they had previous chemistry but Zacha fit with the other two and there it was. (didn't help in the playoffs though). The thing is we missed the playoffs so there's no reason to think ANYTHING has to or should stay exactly the same. Granato should still go into camp with everyone equal and everyone earning their spots. If that means totally new lines so be it. If it's similar lines okay. Just get the right chemistry together, play the system and style you have decided to play and go for it. Everyone should have to earn it though, that's the thing.

It's an interesting idea. I'm going to wait and see before deciding on Savoie's readiness. I really don't want another year of "development". Greenway as a relentless forechecker appeals to me. I am hoping that "aggressive forechceck" is part of the team strategy going forward. I know people disagree, and they might be right, but I still think the possibility of Thompson on the wing with Cozens and Mitts centering Skinner and Tuch is a possibility. So MAYBE (just maybe) Skinner-Mitts-Tuch, Thompson-Cozens-Greenway, Peterka-Savoie-Quinn, Krebs and ? (possibly Girgs or Kyle or Jost or?) Have to wait and see what else happens in free agency etc.

My questions on Greenway will remain into next season. What exactly is he? He just seems like such an in betweener but that also makes him less than great at anything in particular. Granato has to assess him fully (as he might have already done), decide his best role and then he has to rise to that position. Will he become a late bloomer like Tage? A power forward? A 2 way checker? A bottom end physical guy? He can be many different things. We will have to see what he becomes if anything, but he needs to find his role and maximize it.

I was just going to post about that. Must be a new rule we missed out west only one guy gets to score for the loser teams. Kind of weird.

Wait, what? I don't think this is true at all. Eichel wanted out, and I would guess that when he let it be known he wanted out Terry felt betrayed and said well F him then, trade him. Either that or he just gave up on the old crew and told Kevyn to start over. That's it. Occam's Razor.

Nice honor to be in the three finalists. Beniers will win it though.

I would add that he is the guy that your fan base loves, and every other fanbase you play hates.

He is in hockey. He's the assistant GM in Seattle and they are doing pretty darn good. Wouldn't be shocked if he interviews for or even gets the Pittsburgh GM job.

The guy was a great hockey player but his injuries in the playoffs have hampered the Bruins. End of the Chicago final when he couldn't go they missed a cup. Also banged up and hampered in the St. Louis final. Last year and this he was not the best player on the ice in playoff match ups and they lost first round both years. He is simply not a #1 center any more. You're sidestepping the point though. NOT EVERY player on your roster has to be a physical banger. You obviously need skilled players. But you do need a mix and the Bruins with Bergeron only won the cup when they had a physically dominant team. Even their goalie threw a check in the final.

That's what Torts has decided too. Risto is on a lower pair and his responsibilities have been reduced and simplified. He is capable of a simple game and that's about it. There are many ways I can see the D fixed. Too many to list, but it does require a few moves. the one I like the best: Trade for Parayko and for Gryzelyk. Possibly take Reilly off Boston's hands (cap) for the last year of his deal in the Gryzelyk deal to make the price bargain basement low (they make the move for cap issues). Your D becomes: Samuelsson-Dahlin, Power-Parayko, Gryzelyk-Lybushkin, extra pairing Stillman-Jokiharju, Reilly as a Rochester call up along with Clague. A deep and balanced D. Then draft at least 2 D men in every draft now and forever.

The Svechnikov injury levels things a little, and maybe Schmid is the X factor. He's been outstanding and if he puts on a Conn Smyth worthy show you never know. But they are the underdogs for sure.

The ideal season for me would be 62 games. Home and away game against every team and that's it. Then the top 16 make the playoffs east or west. Not going to happen though. Too much revenue at stake for them ever to consider shortening it. They're more likely to add games and have even more teams in the playoffs than to shorten it.

I don't think it's any more complicated than they were available and he considered them better than what we had. They are both stop gap measures. Parayko is a solid D man and a deal I would try to make if I was Adams and he was in fact on the block as rumored. No trade clause though so he has to want to be here.

That's true, but used at the right times, they can have an impact. Risto was just too stupid to know when to keep making the play and when to switch plans. Once the little hamster on his brain wheel decided to take a run at somebody he kept going no matter how out of the play it took him. He's just horrible at making quick decisions. This is also why he's been a LITTLE better now for Torts, because Torts simplified his game and his responsibilities. A lot of people have been raving about Gudas this year and suggesting we look at him as a possible D upgrade. Gudas was notorious for making that extra hit and getting suspended for it in the past. Seems like he's learned where that line is now and thus is a more effective presence, As a whole, although they might get suspended now and again, there's no question a guy like Trouba and/or Gudas added to our mix would make us a better team.

and they won the games he wasn't playing in and lost the ones he was in. He was -6 in the series. If you don't think Florida hitting the Boston D on the forecheck and around the net was the deciding factor in the series, you were watching a different series.

I was comforted by what he said about analytics. My fear has been, as many of you know, too much reliance on them, so when he said he looks at the eye test and they sit down and try to figure out what/why when things don't mesh, that to me sounded like the right approach. Clearly, wants to build a fast offensive oriented team (as we are seeing). Not sure I'm down with him in terms of how he views defense and definitely don't agree about hits. He's right, it's not the old league, and you don't have to pursue reckless hits all over the ice and puck possession is important, but as you can see in the playoffs with Florida and others, aggressively hitting on the forecheck and knocking the other team off the puck in their end is a key to winning. Boston drove a lot of their O from their D and their D was scrambling and coughing it up under the onslaught. It is important. If you want to win in the playoffs that is.

Except, he lost in the playoffs because he was hit and the Bruins didn't hit. The only time he won the cup he was surrounded by a team of big hitters.

For me personally, it's just to make a sentence sound better and provide a little variety. I can switch to truculence if you prefer 🙂

Oh ya, I have no idea if Josh Bloom will ever be anything. Vancouver maybe thinks he will be. Stillman's a bottom end journeyman mediocre defender. Apples and oranges there but not really a comparable. All I'm saying is we were HOPING Bloom might be a gritty forward as he developed. We need some of those. That's all.

I was hoping he'd be a Captain Canada type guy but I guess not. not many players volunteer for this thing these days. Definitely not many top names or veterans.

No, we wondered why they traded Bloom because he was one of the few prospects we had that was supposed to have had some sandpaper in his game. Most of the guys we have are skill and speed guys.

Final score Kraken 5 Pavelski 4 Dallas no score. Surprisingly non physical game for this stage but fast and fun. Sabres could have played this style I think. We need to become as relentless and fearless as this Kraken team. We have the speed, we just need the tenacity. Tampa really misses Gourde. That guy is a playoff warrior. We need a Gourde on our roster.

I wouldn't like it, but it'd be better than Leafs Oilers. For now though, I'm pulling for Lindy with NJ and the longshot underdog Kraken.

Kind of figured they would dump Gallant. In many ways the Rags mirrored Vegas. Gallant had that team playing well and they were a unified bunch with some players over achieving and then Rags got greedy and destroyed the chemistry by bringing in a bunch of big name has beens. Gallant had to play them regardless of how bad they played. No win situation for him. He never gets along with GMs so hardly surprising he'd be dumped. Hiring Sutter instead however is sort of head scratching. NJ on the other hand is playing fast well structured hockey. That Carolina series should be incredibly FAST. Earlier I thought coach of the year would be handed to Montgomery, but now the man who should get it is clearly Lindy.