Speculation: Acq./Rost. Bldg./Cap/Lines etc. Part LXXV (Dog Days - Woof!) Galiev waived

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Langway

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Jul 7, 2006
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My thing, though, is that it implies that they truly tried their best all year. The mentality shouldn't be "we tried so hard and failed, why bother", it should be "where are we not trying hard enough?"

that comes from within.
That's the problem with an approach that places almighty work ethic on a pedestal. What did that approach lead to last year? It's just not that simple as wanting it. There needs to be more of a scientific approach to what works, what doesn't and where they are both individually and collectively in a number of different areas. Switching around the lines doesn't matter if players aren't executing good habits. Hammering down their neutral zone transitioning is long overdue and should be a priority regardless of dropping a couple regular season games in a row.

Fact is losing will force them to understand that what they're doing isn't good enough. It should re-dedicate them to the process. But, like I said, it may also just force them to revert to shell mode and hunker down for wins. That's fine in the regular season when they're seriously desperate but longer-term trends should also be what's driving the coaching staff and players. It's how development happens. I'm not too sure either are that plugged in at this stage, much like they haven't truly been at crucial stretches in either of the past two seasons. Maybe some adversity helps them this year and they're forced to re-examine their offensive game more seriously. I just tend to doubt they re-examine any more than the scoreboard forces them to and that's a problem in itself. It can't just be about the scoreboard and the short-term. There's no real conceptual perspective with that approach. It leads to ugly wins, bending and not breaking only to mask issues that inevitably crop up later.
 

HecticGlow

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Mar 14, 2016
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I am sure you guys would rather not see Orlov just dropped to the 3rd pair, the kid scratched, and Kuzy and Burt demoted. Burt was demoted but he is playing with Oshie and that softens the blow a bit. It might be that Kuzy was the one really demoted. Will be interesting to see how the TOI gets spread.

I would give them 20 games to work thru it.

I think the other key thing here is striking a good defensive/offensive balance - Mojo is trusted to be defensively responsible, and partnering with Wilson and Kuzy will be forced into more of a primary playmaking role than when playing with Backy and Bura/Oshie, where he's the third guy. Oshie + Ovi have achieved very little together lately, and Bura needs strong defensive help along with a more veteran presence. It might work.

I still find it curious though that Trotz hasn't yet tried:
8-19-77
65-92-14

To me that's something of an indictment of last year - that those lines didn't just run cold, but can't be trusted upon again now, so he needs proven alternatives at the very least.

Did we ever get to the bottom of who Trotz slotted into the top-6 during training camp when Mojo-Eller-Williams was a thing? Was it 2RW Willie?


Edit: Also, Alzner-Niskanen hasn't looked nearly as sharp so far this year, which greatly undermines the argument for keeping them together if Orlov-Carlson doesn't get better. That said, placing Carlson in a shutdown role isn't great either - the only way I can see Orlov-Niskanen becoming a thing is if they can trust Orpik-Schmidt with a larger, primarily defensive role. There is potential there, though.
 

txpd

Registered User
Jan 25, 2003
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I think the other key thing here is striking a good defensive/offensive balance - Mojo is trusted to be defensively responsible, and partnering with Wilson and Kuzy will be forced into more of a primary playmaking role than when playing with Backy and Bura/Oshie, where he's the third guy. Oshie + Ovi have achieved very little together lately, and Bura needs strong defensive help along with a more veteran presence. It might work.

I still find it curious though that Trotz hasn't yet tried:
8-19-77
65-92-14

To me that's something of an indictment of last year - that those lines didn't just run cold, but can't be trusted upon again now, so he needs proven alternatives at the very least.

Did we ever get to the bottom of who Trotz slotted into the top-6 during training camp when Mojo-Eller-Williams was a thing? Was it 2RW Willie?


Edit: Also, Alzner-Niskanen hasn't looked nearly as sharp so far this year, which greatly undermines the argument for keeping them together if Orlov-Carlson doesn't get better. That said, placing Carlson in a shutdown role isn't great either - the only way I can see Orlov-Niskanen becoming a thing is if they can trust Orpik-Schmidt with a larger, primarily defensive role. There is potential there, though.

I think the advantage of Kuzy with Jojo and Willy is that both of the wings are defensively responsible. Kuzy will be able to cut loose. Wilson has not yet brought the offense but his level of defensive play is downright amazing for a player of his type.

Again, Johansson and Kuznetsov have real chemistry and the pair does allow Kuzy to play the finisher role. I am kind of looking for Wilson to crash the net and pick up the loose change that should be there if 90 and 92 are up to snuff
 
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