Half-Assed GDT: Blues at Hawks

[Davimir Tarablad]

They keep stats on everything - I wonder what the league record is for number of games into the season having scored as many SHGs as PPGs.

Without going game by game, the highest ratio of SHG to PPG for a season since the lockout are:
2019-2020 Ottawa 30PPG to 15SHG
2015-2016 Ottawa 38PPG to 17SHG
2011-2012 New Jersey 46PPG to 15SHG

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Berube’s answer is always that they have to work harder. ALWAYS

When they're not working hard in the first place, ... yeah, "work harder" seems to be a good place to start. That, or "work smarter" which would also go a long way toward helping.

 

[JR1]

When they're not working hard in the first place, ... yeah, "work harder" seems to be a good place to start. That, or "work smarter" which would also go a long way toward helping.

Or maybe fine tune the scheme a bit.

 

[stl76]

Berube with some pretty blunt words about the team/effort:

"We've got guys that kind of wait around and see what type of game it is...we need more guys in the fight, that's for sure."

Woof

 

[JR1]

RIVERS WHAT THE f*** ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!?! HOW IN THE f***ING HELL ARE WE IN A GOOD SPOT YOU f***ING HOMER

Yeah. 2:25 minutes left,down three and on the PK. is there a better spot to be in? I miss Panger immensely.

Berube with some pretty blunt words about the team/effort:

"We've got guys that kind of wait around and see what type of game it is...we need more guys in the fight, that's for sure."

Woof

 

[Linkens Mastery]

 

[Spektre]

This. What does firing Berube do, other than signal "when you guys underachieve and slack off, I'll hold someone else accountable?" Armstrong knew this 8 games into last season. He kind of read the team the riot act but pointedly said he wasn't firing the head coach ... and they didn't respond, and the end result was selling off every UFA. To fire the head coach now signals "I'll let you guys dictate what happens here" which ... he says he's not for giving players a ton of power, but that would signal that the players have a ton of power and he'll bend to them.

No. If there's a move to be made, someone from the current core has to go. Preferably more than one, just to really drive home the message.

So your answer to fix the Blues is to trade who exactly and for what?

Army’s public comments are wishful thinking. He publicly states he doesn’t think the team will have a repeat of last year. The only reason he gives is the players are better than last year’s results and they have pride.

That’s it. This roster is worse than the roster at the start of last season. Practically speaking, his comments don’t hold water.

 

[stl76]

Woof

 

[simon IC]

McGing has energy and grit, I've liked his game for a while. Granted, he's basically an upscale version of MacKenzie MacEachern, and there's nothing wrong with that - you need someone like that on your team - but we've got a handful of those already.

I would say he is more like Nathan Walker than MacMac. Lots of energy, lots of grit, but really a liability defensively. He was on the ice for two goals against.
Like Walker, he is good for an injection of energy, but he can't sustain it.
And like Walker, he can stay in Springfield. I don't want him up with the Blues.

 

[BlueDream]

Kapanan is another guy, that should not be re-signed at all. I’ve seen some people talk about it and I understand why because he occasionally looks good.

But holy shit he’s invisible. I hardly ever notice him on the ice. He tries harder than Vrana but we need guys like this off of this roster. It’s part of why we are so unwatchable and boring. Kapanen has 8 points this season, and I never even know that he’s in the lineup. Not good enough so that trial should also be over at the deadline.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Berube with some pretty blunt words about the team/effort:

"We've got guys that kind of wait around and see what type of game it is...we need more guys in the fight, that's for sure."

Woof

stop teasing Chief, tell us who they are

 

[Blueston]

It doesn’t matter. It’s what happens and the team limps along to the offseason and hires the next guy

What is the point? You want 6 extra points to hurt our draft stock? Because at end of day this team sucks.

 

[Blueston]

Why am I ending a lovely evening (not having seen game but saw score) by watching replay of this game at 2am? Think is time for bed.

 

[Xerloris]

Berube with some pretty blunt words about the team/effort:

"We've got guys that kind of wait around and see what type of game it is...we need more guys in the fight, that's for sure."

Woof

So Berube needs to make the entire team watch Shoresy and learn what the f*** it means to set the tone? We need our version of Jim, Jim and Jim.

 

[Reality Czech]

Berube’s answer is always that they have to work harder. ALWAYS

And he's right. There is no reason to fire Berube now. The team is going nowhere and they aren't gonna fire Chief with over a year and a half left on his contract. We're just gonna have to take our licks and hope that we start going back in the right direction next year. I don't see any reason to fire the coach right now.

Man, what an embarrassing weekend. Vrana is gonna be playing in Europe next season as well he probably should be. Nice that that McGing's parents got to see him go -3 in person. That line got eaten alive, not that it mattered when your top guys can't even score one goal. Fuel up the tank boys, it's almost time to ride!

 

[ChicagoIsBedarded]

This team has no balls. A top draft pick isn't going to change that.

The fact we're .500 is astonishing.

I'm almost hoping for some injuries at this point.

 

[Spektre]

What is the point? You want 6 extra points to hurt our draft stock? Because at end of day this team sucks.

I’m not advocating that Berube gets fired. I just think it will happen if the team continues to lose. I have been consistent since before the season started that I think the franchise needed more of a rebuild than a retool.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

So your answer to fix the Blues is to trade who exactly and for what?

This presumes that I have access to all the information needed to know what trades are available and who is available in any possible trade ... and we both know neither one of us has that info, but I'm sure you already know that. That said, I've offered thoughts on who I'd trade in the past. Maybe even recently.

Short: there is no easy fix coming. The next few years are going to be a mess.

Army’s public comments are wishful thinking. He publicly states he doesn’t think the team will have a repeat of last year. The only reason he gives is the players are better than last year’s results and they have pride.

That’s it. This roster is worse than the roster at the start of last season. Practically speaking, his comments don’t hold water.

If they do have a repeat of last year, ..... then do we maybe start questioning Armstrong's judgment? Or do we do the annual noonecoodaseenitcoming shoulder shrug, again proclaim never-ending faith in his work because he got lucky with a Cup run after his original plan blew up spectacularly, and expect different next season because we might have 5+ kids in the roster and all their immense, hyped-up talent?

Because at some point, the Super Genius is going to have to solve the mess he created, and I don't know if Blues fans are going to be patient enough to deal with 3-4 years of this stuff like we could easily be looking at unless someone delivers a swift kick in the ass to the locker room that finally resonates.

 

[Thallis]

This presumes that I have access to all the information needed to know what trades are available and who is available in any possible trade ... and we both know neither one of us has that info, but I'm sure you already know that. That said, I've offered thoughts on who I'd trade in the past. Maybe even recently.

Short: there is no easy fix coming. The next few years are going to be a mess.


If they do have a repeat of last year, ..... then do we maybe start questioning Armstrong's judgment? Or do we do the annual noonecoodaseenitcoming shoulder shrug, again proclaim never-ending faith in his work because he got lucky with a Cup run after his original plan blew up spectacularly, and expect different next season because we might have 5+ kids in the roster and all their immense, hyped-up talent?

Because at some point, the Super Genius is going to have to solve the mess he created, and I don't know if Blues fans are going to be patient enough to deal with 3-4 years of this stuff like we could easily be looking at unless someone delivers a swift kick in the ass to the locker room that finally resonates.

I've long questioned his judgement, but he deserves the chance to rebuild. I don't think he's being forthright with his public comments due to the amount of long term dollars tied up in the roster. Even so, the moves made at the end of the year last year and off-season are pretty clear that this was going to happen.

We are going to be bad for the short term at least. How bad and how long we are bad is the question at hand. So far we have been not bad enough imo, which I believe will lengthen the how long piece.

 

[GoldenSeal]

If we have players in the locker room with the mentality that they can pick and choose when to play and when not to, that’s from coaching and decisions being made by the front office. It all flows down.

If Chief knows about this and isn’t benching these people, I’d fire him on the spot. If we got people who won’t fight for the Note, then they shouldn’t be wearing it, period. If Army is allowing this behavior for whatever reason and forcing Chief to play them, like if one of these folks is Kyrou and he wants him played because of his contract, that’s enough for me to say fire him. The team comes first, it’s the brand and the identity and what I’m seeing is that they’re a group of lazy, sloppy, spoiled children that only play their all when they think they can win - so basically cowards.

It’s not an issue that I have no faith in this team, I just have no respect for them at this point and have better things to do than follow along and watch them ‘decide’ when to show up or not. I have no time for that mentality.

If that’s the room the new kids are coming into down the road, then this team, and franchise is lost and someone better do something about it now before they screw up and it’s lost for good.

 

[Spektre]

This presumes that I have access to all the information needed to know what trades are available and who is available in any possible trade ... and we both know neither one of us has that info, but I'm sure you already know that. That said, I've offered thoughts on who I'd trade in the past. Maybe even recently.

Short: there is no easy fix coming. The next few years are going to be a mess.


If they do have a repeat of last year, ..... then do we maybe start questioning Armstrong's judgment? Or do we do the annual noonecoodaseenitcoming shoulder shrug, again proclaim never-ending faith in his work because he got lucky with a Cup run after his original plan blew up spectacularly, and expect different next season because we might have 5+ kids in the roster and all their immense, hyped-up talent?

Because at some point, the Super Genius is going to have to solve the mess he created, and I don't know if Blues fans are going to be patient enough to deal with 3-4 years of this stuff like we could easily be looking at unless someone delivers a swift kick in the ass to the locker room that finally resonates.

We always question Army’s decisions when they’re not popular. It’s just talking points at the end of the day.

Saying he got lucky in winning the Cup isn’t exactly fair. There is of course some luck involved in the playoffs, but that team definitely earned the Cup.

Army deserves his fair share of credit.

If we all agree the roster was worse at the start of this season compared to last season, then I am perplexed by the amount of expectations.

 

[Celtic Note]

If we have players in the locker room with the mentality that they can pick and choose when to play and when not to, that’s from coaching and decisions being made by the front office. It all flows down.

If Chief knows about this and isn’t benching these people, I’d fire him on the spot. If we got people who won’t fight for the Note, then they shouldn’t be wearing it, period. If Army is allowing this behavior for whatever reason and forcing Chief to play them, like if one of these folks is Kyrou and he wants him played because of his contract, that’s enough for me to say fire him. The team comes first, it’s the brand and the identity and what I’m seeing is that they’re a group of lazy, sloppy, spoiled children that only play their all when they think they can win - so basically cowards.

It’s not an issue that I have no faith in this team, I just have no respect for them at this point and have better things to do than follow along and watch them ‘decide’ when to show up or not. I have no time for that mentality.

If that’s the room the new kids are coming into down the road, then this team, and franchise is lost and someone better do something about it now before they screw up and it’s lost for good.

Why only call out the “children”? I mean our vets have shit the bed too.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Why only call out the “children”? I mean our vets have shit the bed too.

Anyone and everyone who feels and plays like that, should be benched. If you mean Kyrou, I was using him as an example only to show why Army might be in the way of him being benched if it turned out he was 'one of those' people Chief alluded to.

I mean the 'children' who are being called up into this environment. We got a lot of great potential downstairs and I for one don't want them brought up into this potentially poisoned well of a locker room. I want that swamp cleared first.

 

[Celtic Note]

I mean the 'children' who are being called up into this environment. We got a lot of great potential downstairs and I for one don't want them brought up into this potentially poisoned well of a locker room. I want that swamp cleared first.

Ah ha. I must have misread/understood.

I am not sure we need to clear out everyone. I am not even sure it’s a poisoned well. But there are clearly problems that need correction. I am starting to think we have to move on from Berube and Ott. There are players to move too. And Army needs to start righting the ship. If he cannot find adequate interim to long term leadership and also get out of his bad contracts by next offseason then I could say our ownership group needs to find someone else too.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Ah ha. I must have misread/understood.

I am not sure we need to clear out everyone. I am not even sure it’s a poisoned well. But there are clearly problems that need correction. I am starting to think we have to move on from Berube and Ott. There are players to move too. And Army needs to start righting the ship. If he cannot find adequate interim to long term leadership and also get out of his bad contracts by next offseason then I could say our ownership group needs to find someone else too.

Agreed. Everything has a shelf life.