Long Term: Byram or Power

[Crusader1969]

9 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

He is still a defensive liability, especially in front of his own net.  Bad decision making and absolutely zero aggression, which is not good for a top 4 defender.  I’ll admit he made a nice offensive zone play, but that doesn’t offset his inability to shut down the opposition when trying to protect a lead.

Here's a thought.  Build a balanced D corps where he isn't out there trying to protect a lead. 

[Kristian]

Trade Power before the league finds out how piss poor he is on D.

[Archie Lee]

11 hours ago, JohnC said:

The model for upgrading should be the Washington Capitals. Adding a few solid mid-range experienced players who round out the roster and provide veteran presence to an error prone young group. Adding a Zucker like player and a tough big fellow like Greenway, in addition to a veteran defensive defenseman, would make this roster thicker and tougher to play. Last offseason was the time for our timid GM to act. It's not an issue of being bold as it is about being smart about what your roster needs are and the resources $$$ required to get some beneficial deals done. 

Agreed. My Eastern model is the Caps and my West model is the Stars. When I look at their rosters I am convinced that a good GM, supported by a committed owner, could remake our roster in one offseason (and not dramatically) to the point where it could be a playoff team. I do think a change in coaching would also be needed. I’m not saying it would be finger-snapping easy, but it would be very doable. I don’t think it is in the cards though. The plan here is to wait on our youngest roster players to catch up to Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin, and then to support them further with the next wave from Rochester and/or the 18 year old who we draft 6th OA and who wows everyone in camp. It seems almost as though Adams is afraid to try to win as once he fails while actually trying, then there are no more excuses. 

Edited 15 hours ago by Archie Lee

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

Agreed. My Eastern model is the Caps and my West model is the Stars. When I look at their rosters I am convinced that a good GM, supported by a committed owner, could remake our roster in one offseason (and not dramatically) to the point where it could be a playoff team. I do think a change in coaching would also be needed. I’m it saying it would be finger-snapping easy, but it would be very doable. I don’t think it is in the cards though. The plan here is to wait on our youngest roster players to catch up to Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin, and then to support them further with the next wave from Rochester and/or the 18 year old who we draft 6th OA and who wows everyone in camp. It seems almost as though Adams is afraid to try to win as once he fails while actually trying, then there are no more excuses. 

There is not one NHL hockey analyst who would consider KA a good GM. Is the current owner committed? I don't know, he's not talking. How do you overcome this self-handcuffing situation? I don't know. 

[Carmel Corn]

8 hours ago, Crusader1969 said:

Here's a thought.  Build a balanced D corps where he isn't out there trying to protect a lead. 

So you don’t want an $8 million player out there when you are trying to protect a lead late in a game?!?!

2 hours ago, Kristian said:

Trade Power before the league finds out how piss poor he is on D.

If we all know this, so does the league!!!

[Kristian]

6 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

So you don’t want an $8 million player out there when you are trying to protect a lead late in a game?!?!

If we all know this, so does the league!!!

Nah, maybe the league thinks it’s a team thing. We can hope, right? 😂

[Crusader1969]

9 hours ago, Carmel Corn said:

So you don’t want an $8 million player out there when you are trying to protect a lead late in a game?!?!

If we all know this, so does the league!!!

Why don't you give me a list of 22 year old (or younger) dmen in the world that you want out there defending a 1 goal lead? 

Edited 6 hours ago by Crusader1969

[DarthEbriate]

1 hour ago, Crusader1969 said:

Why don't you give me a list of 22 year old (or younger) dmen in the world that you want out there defending a 1 goal lead? 

Can't give you the world, but there are only 28 defensemen who have played an NHL game this season at age 22 or under.

Daemon Hunt, Logan Mailloux, Tristan Luneau, David Jiříček, Helge Grans, Denton Mateychuk, Seamus Casey, Lian Bichsel, Simon Nemec, Kevin Korchinski, Jack Thompson, Victor Mancini, Maveric Lamoureux, Owen Pickering, Emil Andrae, Isaiah George, Jamie Drysdale, Wyatt Kaiser, Pavel Mintyukov, Nolan Allan, Olen Zellweger, Luke Hughes, Simon Edvinsson, Brandt Clarke, Jake Sanderson, Lane Hutson, Owen Power, Brock Faber

----

I've bolded the short list that I would trust to get positioning and attempt to maintain it to give their goalie a chance, tie up a stick, battle or race for a loose puck, and get it out of the zone ahead of Power. Admittedly, many of them I simply haven't seen in action.

The big question to ask is this: When they're all 23, age 24, and age 25, how many surpass Power defensively (plus any future incoming d-men)? Or does Power improve sufficiently to stay near the top of the list?

[ska-T Palmtown]

I'd be happy to see either of them go if it was a Panthers-Flames, Huberdeau for Tkachuk type trade.

Sadly, since neither is a Huberdeau, we are not likely to get a Tkachuk back.

Double sadly, any player who desperately wants out of their current situation would probably sign a life-long extension before coming to the Sabers 😞 

[Crusader1969]

2 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Can't give you the world, but there are only 28 defensemen who have played an NHL game this season at age 22 or under.

Daemon Hunt, Logan Mailloux, Tristan Luneau, David Jiříček, Helge Grans, Denton Mateychuk, Seamus Casey, Lian Bichsel, Simon Nemec, Kevin Korchinski, Jack Thompson, Victor Mancini, Maveric Lamoureux, Owen Pickering, Emil Andrae, Isaiah George, Jamie Drysdale, Wyatt Kaiser, Pavel Mintyukov, Nolan Allan, Olen Zellweger, Luke Hughes, Simon Edvinsson, Brandt Clarke, Jake Sanderson, Lane Hutson, Owen Power, Brock Faber

----

I've bolded the short list that I would trust to get positioning and attempt to maintain it to give their goalie a chance, tie up a stick, battle or race for a loose puck, and get it out of the zone ahead of Power. Admittedly, many of them I simply haven't seen in action.

The big question to ask is this: When they're all 23, age 24, and age 25, how many surpass Power defensively (plus any future incoming d-men)? Or does Power improve sufficiently to stay near the top of the list?

I would assume that a player good at defence would be used on the penalty kill 

Luke Hughes.  1min of PK time 

Simon Edvinsson -  68 mins 

Brandt Clarke - 1 min

Lane Hutson - 15 mins

Brock Faber - 74 Mins

Jake Sanderson - 83 mins 

for comparison Power had 72 mins killing penalties so far this season 

there is a reason why only 4 guys in the NHL, who are 22 or younger, have more than 20 mins killing penalties on the season    Learning to play D takes time

like holy *****, we just we through the same argument 3 years ago with Dahlin   
 

there is no reason to think, just like every other dman who ever played in the NHL, he will improve by the time he is 25   
 
If he improves his D and stays about the same offensively, he will be one of the better 2nd pair dmen in the league 

If he improves both his D and his O progress further, he may be the best 2nd pair dman in the league