Around The NHL 2022-23 Regular Season

[Broken Ankles]

3 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

All goalies are head cases. 

@PromoTheRobot

👀

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Ullmarki. Never heard of that guy. Sounds Russian. 🙂

I did think I was answering your question and we do agree that KA blew it with Ullmark. His analysis was dead wrong. Bruins fans were critical of Sweeney last year for that signing and now they want to give him Sainthood. GMs live and die by these decisions, it's their job. Sabres announcing "Andy's back" as if it was an accomplishment rather than a failure was kind of sad. 

I don't think Georgiev or Vanecek had no trade clauses but maybe they did. I doubt it though. They weren't established enough or big enough names to warrant that. 

The one area where I have a scathing criticism for KA is how he has addressed the goalie issue since he assumed the position of GM. He appears to have minimized the importance of the position. It just seemed as if it wasn't a priority for him. I honestly don't understand it. 

What's done is done; where we are at is where we are at. If the GM doesn't seriously address the position this offseason, then he is placing this team and his job in a precarious position. I'm excited about Levi as our future goaltender. However, if the GM is assuming that this young goalie is the immediate answer to solving the backstop issue he is making a big mistake. 

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

The one area where I have a scathing criticism for KA is how he has addressed the goalie issue since he assumed the position of GM. He appears to have minimized the importance of the position. It just seemed as if it wasn't a priority for him. I honestly don't understand it. 

What's done is done; where we are at is where we are at. If the GM doesn't seriously address the position this offseason, then he is placing this team and his job in a precarious position. I'm excited about Levi as our future goaltender. However, if the GM is assuming that this young goalie is the immediate answer to solving the backstop issue he is making a big mistake. 

My theory is because his Cup ring came with inferior goaltending with no clear #1, not to mention immense bad luck in injuries by Montreal, Buffalo, and Edmonton, that GMKA just does not value goalkeeping as much as he should.  If he fails as a GM, I would bet heavy money that it will be because of this apparent blind spot.

[CallawaySabres]

I hope the Penguins find a way into the playoffs. That is a deserving team that is been at deaths door for a while now, but still somehow finds away. It must be nice to actually have a team that can reinvent itself and make the playoffs even in the twilight years. 
 

That’s a team that can ice the different goalies every single year that are better than any of ours have been over the last decade

[Eleven]

2 hours ago, Marvin said:

My theory is because his Cup ring came with inferior goaltending with no clear #1, not to mention immense bad luck in injuries by Montreal, Buffalo, and Edmonton, that GMKA just does not value goalkeeping as much as he should.  If he fails as a GM, I would bet heavy money that it will be because of this apparent blind spot.

 

I gotta admit, it's an interesting hypothesis.

 

1 hour ago, CallawaySabres said:

I hope the Penguins find a way into the playoffs. That is a deserving team that is been at deaths door for a while now, but still somehow finds away. It must be nice to actually have a team that can reinvent itself and make the playoffs even in the twilight years. 
 

That’s a team that can ice the different goalies every single year that are better than any of ours have been over the last decade

 

This is the best chance of an early Boston elimination, so I'm all for it.

[Stoner]

9 hours ago, Marvin said:

My theory is because his Cup ring came with inferior goaltending with no clear #1, not to mention immense bad luck in injuries by Montreal, Buffalo, and Edmonton, that GMKA just does not value goalkeeping as much as he should.  If he fails as a GM, I would bet heavy money that it will be because of this apparent blind spot.

This is for @JohnC too... Does KA have a co conspirator in DG? I mean DG just talked about how defensive teams aren't feared, how scoring is fun for the players and fans, etc. High event hockey.

Edited March 23, 2023 by PASabreFan

[Randall Flagg]

8 hours ago, Eleven said:

 

I gotta admit, it's an interesting hypothesis.

 

 

This is the best chance of an early Boston elimination, so I'm all for it.

Florida is a better team playing better hockey right now than Pit, they have a better chance against Boston 

[JohnC]

37 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

This is for @JohnC too... Does KA have a co conspirator in DG? I mean DG just talked about how defensive teams aren't feared, how scoring is fun for the players and fans, etc. High event hockey.

I'll gladly answer your question: Yes. But there is a good reason for the approach he is taking. The rebuild constituted mostly young players (including the players who replaced the previous core). Look what happened to Skinner's and Dahlin's production under the tighter defense shackling system from his predecessor. It stifled the players and crushed the audience. Granato's often stated approach is that you have to go from A to J before you can get to Z. DG has openly acknowledged that his first priority was to establish an offensive system before focusing on a defensive system. Much more is involved in establishing the offense than the more basic defensive system. There is no hidden agenda. He has publicly spoken about it on a number of occasions. 

Let's not got sidetracked here. The coach's approach has absolutely nothing to do with the current catastrophic void at the goalie position, also acerbated with inadequate blue line depth. Those staffing inadequacies come under the purview of the GM. 

I strongly argue that this coach is the right coach for this team. Even with this recent downward spiral this team was still in the playoff race. Now that possibility is unlikely because our glaring inadequacies at certain positions have to an extent sabotaged what was positive about this team. That's on the GM!

 

[Weave]

 

[JohnC]

10 hours ago, Marvin said:

My theory is because his Cup ring came with inferior goaltending with no clear #1, not to mention immense bad luck in injuries by Montreal, Buffalo, and Edmonton, that GMKA just does not value goalkeeping as much as he should.  If he fails as a GM, I would bet heavy money that it will be because of this apparent blind spot.

There is no question that his Cup experience at Carolina influenced him. He has talked about not building a roster around one player (referring to Jack). His priority was to have a more complete reinforcing roster.  The weakness in relating it to Buffalo is that Carolina did have a fuller roster that played a tighter and more defensive oriented game. Their forwards from a collective standpoint were more defensively oriented. That's not how our roster is built. The game has changed. It is a faster north/south game. 

The stark reality that we are witnessing now is that no matter how your team is built quality goaltending is essential for success. That also applies to the blueline. We simply don't have enough depth to absorb injuries. Look what happened when Samuelsson got hurt? The defense cratered not because he is such a special player (he is a good to solid player). The unit failed because it wasn't able to fill the loss of one particular player, resulting in a cascading failure from the unit in general. 

In my view it will be easier for the GM to address the depth issue on the blueline this offseason. The greater challenge for the GM this offseason is to significantly upgrade the goalie position. If the GM believes that he can continue with the status quo approach and hope that Levi is the immediate answer, he will be making a big gamble that will again sabotage this team and fanbase next year. 

[Archie Lee]

10 hours ago, Marvin said:

My theory is because his Cup ring came with inferior goaltending with no clear #1, not to mention immense bad luck in injuries by Montreal, Buffalo, and Edmonton, that GMKA just does not value goalkeeping as much as he should.  If he fails as a GM, I would bet heavy money that it will be because of this apparent blind spot.

This does not really align though, with the fact that Levi has been a clear centrepiece of Adams’ rebuild. It remains to be seen what Levi will do for the team in either the near or distant future, but Adams clearly thinks he has a special player. If you could get Adams in a candid moment and ask him to reveal the most important and vital player acquisition he has made, I would guess he would say it is Levi. 

[Porous Five Hole]

More pride night cancellations. This one in Chicago and allegedly because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQIA+ rights in the country. 

How convenient. I say allegedly because something smells with all of these cancellations and it has everything to do with the temperature of this country on the topic and nothing to do with Russia. 

NHL owners don't mind forcing Russian players to honor the US Military every night, but supporting the LGBTQ+ community once a year? Thats just too risky for them!  🙄

[LGR4GM]

20 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

More pride night cancellations. This one in Chicago and allegedly because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQIA+ rights in the country. 

How convenient. I say allegedly because something smells with all of these cancellations and it has everything to do with the temperature of this country on the topic and nothing to do with Russia. 

NHL owners don't mind forcing Russian players to honor the US Military every night, but supporting the LGBTQ+ community once a year? Thats just too risky for them!  🙄

The Chicago Blackhawks are my most hated franchise in the NHL. They are a bunch of gutless asshats between the abuse scandal they deliberately hid and now this, spineless cowards. I'd demand a trade over this to be honest, otherwise you are just performing and don't actually care about these communities you claim to support. 

[Huckleberry]

28 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

More pride night cancellations. This one in Chicago and allegedly because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQIA+ rights in the country. 

How convenient. I say allegedly because something smells with all of these cancellations and it has everything to do with the temperature of this country on the topic and nothing to do with Russia. 

NHL owners don't mind forcing Russian players to honor the US Military every night, but supporting the LGBTQ+ community once a year? Thats just too risky for them!  🙄

Yeah they cancelled an Iftar for LGBQT muslims over here, because the muslim community already made threats so far in advance.  I don't care about promoting LGBQT stuff much, but as long as people can't let others live their lives as they see fit its much needed.

[Sabel79]

If the Blackhawks are worried about people being offended with Pride Night jerseys, wait until everyone figures out what they wear the rest of the time...

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

This does not really align though, with the fact that Levi has been a clear centrepiece of Adams’ rebuild. It remains to be seen what Levi will do for the team in either the near or distant future, but Adams clearly thinks he has a special player. If you could get Adams in a candid moment and ask him to reveal the most important and vital player acquisition he has made, I would guess he would say it is Levi. 

However, if I am correct, then it does mean that he thinks that dumpster diving for interim goaltenders is good enough until Levi is ready in 3-5 years and the team will make the playoffs in the meantime.

[Archie Lee]

27 minutes ago, Marvin said:

However, if I am correct, then it does mean that he thinks that dumpster diving for interim goaltenders is good enough until Levi is ready in 3-5 years and the team will make the playoffs in the meantime.

Fair enough. I’m not defending how Adams has handled the goaltending situation. My position 2 years ago was that the Demko deal (5x5) was what it would take to get Ullmark signed and I still think that was true and what should have happened long before Ullmark got to free agency. I just think that, right or wrong, the timeline that the organization is on is not the same as the timeline most of us fans would like to see them commit to. I don’t see though that they consider top-level goaltending as non-essential to our future success.
 

 

[LGR4GM]

Florida has some excellent jersey designers. 

 

[JohnC]

2 hours ago, Marvin said:

However, if I am correct, then it does mean that he thinks that dumpster diving for interim goaltenders is good enough until Levi is ready in 3-5 years and the team will make the playoffs in the meantime.

I'm as vocal as anyone for the need of adding a quality goalie this offseason. With respect to when Levi is ready to play NHL games I see the preparation period of being one year or less. That doesn't mean that he will be our primary goalie within that timeframe but I do see him being on a NHL roster within that time. 

[Thorner]

14 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

I hope the Penguins find a way into the playoffs. That is a deserving team that is been at deaths door for a while now, but still somehow finds away. It must be nice to actually have a team that can reinvent itself and make the playoffs even in the twilight years. 
 

That’s a team that can ice the different goalies every single year that are better than any of ours have been over the last decade

I think a vote of NHL players just named Crosby the league’s best player, too

Edit - most complete 

 

At his age this is very remarkable. Top 5 all time, imo.

[Thorner]

5 hours ago, Weave said:

 

Honestly always did get THAT vibe from TV

[Taro T]

3 hours ago, Marvin said:

However, if I am correct, then it does mean that he thinks that dumpster diving for interim goaltenders is good enough until Levi is ready in 3-5 years and the team will make the playoffs in the meantime.

You may be correct but he still might finally realize that he needs to actually bring in a legit goalie until Levi is ready for the full workload.  Really hoping for that.  Because have been saying for a long time as well that Adams' experiences in Carolina have significantly shaped his views and  that team won it all with a rookie playing the best hockey of his career and a journeyman spelling him when necessary.

He definitely doesn't value GT the way some of us here do.  But even with that, he has to see how much further this team could be with a legit honest to goodness NHL caliber netminder.  

And if bringing in another goalie gives him an excess of riches there because 1 or 3 of the guys in house figured it out, well right after buying a lottery ticket for that night's powerball, he can worry about that good problem to have and use that to fix another hole or extend out the team's window.  Not going to worry abot it as it in all likelihood isn't happening.  But he can and should bring in that extra goalie that is actually established.

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, Porous Five Hole said:

More pride night cancellations. This one in Chicago and allegedly because of security concerns involving a Russian law that expands restrictions on activities seen as promoting LGBTQIA+ rights in the country. 

How convenient. I say allegedly because something smells with all of these cancellations and it has everything to do with the temperature of this country on the topic and nothing to do with Russia. 

NHL owners don't mind forcing Russian players to honor the US Military every night, but supporting the LGBTQ+ community once a year? Thats just too risky for them!  🙄

You'd think Chicago would put a little more effort into making things like this happen after the abuse scandal they went through but I guess memory is short in sports and things are slow to change. Sad. 

[PerreaultForever]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

You may be correct but he still might finally realize that he needs to actually bring in a legit goalie until Levi is ready for the full workload.  Really hoping for that.  Because have been saying for a long time as well that Adams' experiences in Carolina have significantly shaped his views and  that team won it all with a rookie playing the best hockey of his career and a journeyman spelling him when necessary.

He definitely doesn't value GT the way some of us here do.  But even with that, he has to see how much further this team could be with a legit honest to goodness NHL caliber netminder.  

And if bringing in another goalie gives him an excess of riches there because 1 or 3 of the guys in house figured it out, well right after buying a lottery ticket for that night's powerball, he can worry about that good problem to have and use that to fix another hole or extend out the team's window.  Not going to worry abot it as it in all likelihood isn't happening.  But he can and should bring in that extra goalie that is actually established.

Except Cam Ward won the Conn Smyth trophy did he not? Shouldn't Adams know that you don't win without good goaltending? 

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, PerreaultForever said:

Except Cam Ward won the Conn Smyth trophy did he not? Shouldn't Adams know that you don't win without good goaltending? 

Except he was a ROOKIE.  

Hellllllooooo Devin Levi.

That's the durn fly in the ointment.  He got by with a rookie playing by far his best hockey and a friggin' journeyman.  That coupled with only 1 injury the entire playoff run and that happening when a 1st liner was ready to come back from a regular season injury and take his place with no bumps in performance.