GDT: Game 6: Sabres @ Ducks, 6 PM PT

[Ducks DVM]

atleast we dont play again until friday...I dont know if we will be any more healthy, but hopefully we wont be any more banged up..

I'm hoping that is the real reason that Eaves and Getzlaf both sat tonight. Game against a bottom-dwelling eastern conference team, and they'll get a full week+ of rest to not heal by taking the night off.

 

[AngelDuck]

Carlyle has been pretty bad this year.

Murray should have gotten rid of Vermette this offseason, who looks to be done in this league

 

[HanSolo]

That's why we lost. He needs more ice time.

I was just gonna ask how did we lose.

 

[Exit Dose]

When did he play? He played four minutes almost, what the hell. WHEN.

Till I see photographic evidence, I'm just assuming that it was a clerical error.

 

[Frosted Tips]

Strong vote for getting a 3C from here too. Actually a player that would fill a need even with all the injured players back in the lineup. There's no way to replace our key players absence with trades and I don't think BM should even try it. They'll either sink or swim with these injuries. Hearing about Perry is sad, but what can you do... What I've seen he looks bad and slow. Hopefully he can be more effective in a lesser role. Too bad he'll be one of the top paid players for four more seasons.

 

[AngelDuck]

Boll is averaging 4 minutes per game this season.

I just find it hilarious that this is the hill Randy is willing to die on. It has cost him his job in the past

The thing with Perry is what it is. He's declining, going to be a long 4 years watching him flail around out there making big money. He looks slow and has no upper body strength or hands to be able to do what he used to do

 

[ducks8]

I heard from someone, that Hazy was talking about Lindholm and Vats could be available as soon as Friday. Is this true?

 

[IDuck]

I'm hoping that is the real reason that Eaves and Getzlaf both sat tonight. Game against a bottom-dwelling eastern conference team, and they'll get a full week+ of rest to not heal by taking the night off.

agree....instead of 4 days, its 6 days

 

[IDuck]

I heard from someone, that Hazy was talking about Lindholm and Vats could be available as soon as Friday. Is this true?

all I have heard was they are "very close"...but I also heard BM say "they will not be rushing them AT ALL", which I STRONGLY agree with.

 

[ducks8]

all I have heard was they are "very close"...but I also heard BM say "they will not be rushing them AT ALL", which I STRONGLY agree with.

Thanks and I agree, do not rush any of them, Hoping this 4 days off does a lot for Getzy and Eaves

 

[Duck Off]

If I were Murray, I'd be looking for a 3rd line center. A real one.

There is nothing he can do, realistically, to turn things around with this many players missing, but these injuries are emphasizing just how much Vermette is a face-off specialist and little else. He's not contributing in other ways, and that isn't going to change when the team is healthy.

Even if we assume Kesler and Getzlaf are going to be getting 20 minutes a game, when the team is healthy, they need a 3C who can actually play.

Edit: Also, get Boll the **** out of the line-up and try to put together a 4th line that can play more than 4 minutes a game. Again, that will be helpful when the team is healthy and it will help now.

Agreed. Honestly this should have been beyond obvious going into this season. I can't believe how poor Rasmussen is. I was not nearly as high on him as others. Some called him an upgrade to Thompson going into this year, but even though I didn't agree with that, I expected him to be better than this. He's not an NHL player, and that's pretty stunning honestly. Grant is an AHL player as well.

Anyway, I still think the team planned on having Rakell at center all along, which is why there is no 3rd line center. They're going to want to run Getz-Kes-Rakell-Vermette. I hate that because despite him being better than I expected, I think Rakell should still be on the wing. Need to add a top 6 forward desperately though, and ideally they are a center who's capable of playing wing if need be. Duchene is literally exactly what we need IMO.

 

[Elvs]

Agreed. Honestly this should have been beyond obvious going into this season. I can't believe how poor Rasmussen is. I was not nearly as high on him as others. Some called him an upgrade to Thompson going into this year, but even though I didn't agree with that, I expected him to be better than this. He's not an NHL player, and that's pretty stunning honestly. Grant is an AHL player as well.

Anyway, I still think the team planned on having Rakell at center all along, which is why there is no 3rd line center. They're going to want to run Getz-Kes-Rakell-Vermette. I hate that because despite him being better than I expected, I think Rakell should still be on the wing. Need to add a top 6 forward desperately though, and ideally they are a center who's capable of playing wing if need be. Duchene is literally exactly what we need IMO.

The Ducks didn't bring in Rasmussen (or Grant) to be an improvement over Thompson. I don't know why people continue to compare them. Look at the contract Thompson was given. It should be obvious that he's better than any replacement the Ducks have brought in.

With that being said, I'd rather have Rasmussen or Grant making $650-700k as our 4th line center over Vermette at $1.75 mil, if it would help with clearing up capspace for a 3rd line center.

 

[PCDiesel]

I thought Silf had hands of stone last night, and that Megna can’t clear the puck if he needed to save his life.

 

[Duck Off]

The Ducks didn't bring in Rasmussen (or Grant) to be an improvement over Thompson. I don't know why people continue to compare them. Look at the contract Thompson was given. It should be obvious that he's better than any replacement the Ducks have brought in..

They brought them in to be a replacement for the 4th line center position. Whether that's all of this season or just until Getz and Kes get back, we won't know until they get back. However, my point is that many here said that simply having Rasmussen on our 4th line over Thompson was an instant upgrade. I disagreed then, but I thought Rasmussen would be much better than what he's been so far. I think it's pretty dang telling that Grant, who should be in the AHL, is ahead of him on the depth chart.

With that being said, I'd rather have Rasmussen or Grant making $650-700k as our 4th line center over Vermette at $1.75 mil, if it would help with clearing up capspace for a 3rd line center.

I'd rather just put Boll in the minors to get that 1 million in cap space and play Vermette on 4th line. Vermette isn't very good, but he's a much better player than those two AHLers. Assuming burying Boll is not an option, I guess it'd depend on what center we could get.

I thought Silf had hands of stone last night, and that Megna can’t clear the puck if he needed to save his life.

Silfverberg is up there on most disappointing players so far for me. He's not at the top, but I thought he'd be better. I know he's a slow starter, but when you're missing so many key players, you need guys like him to step up.

I can't believe how soft Megna is. I know he's never been that physical, but he's crazy soft. I still think he's a better option at LHD than Holzer though. Holzer is a better player, but he's not good on the left.

 

[mightyquack]

Outplayed by a team that is worse then our injury depleted team. What a time to be alive

And yes, it was obvious way before the season started Anaheim needed a 3c, and as Soj said the injuries have just further shown how badly Anaheim needs one. If the plan is to have Rakell and Vermette as our bottom 6 centers (which I think it is) it's going to be a long season because neither of them are NHL level centers. I really don't know why Anaheim has such a hard-on to have Rakell be a center long term, he has looked awful every single stint he has had at center while when he's played wing he's looked a a top level NHL winger. I'd much rather BM give up some assets to acquire a top quality 3c rather then hold onto all of them and weaken Anaheim's line up by having their best winger and goalscorer play a position that he isn't good at.

And RC? His unwillingness to have any sort of 4th line goes to show just how much he has 'modernised' his coaching. He's a dinosaur who is lucky that his best mate is still Anaheim GM otherwise.....yeah.

 

[Mallard]

Hopefully these 4 days off allows Getz & Eaves to rest up. This is straight up boring hockey and RC deserves a lot of the blame IMO.

 

[bsu]

Megna is basically a Lovejoy out there.

 

[KelVarnsen]

Totally agree with Mightyquacks last paragraph. RC insists on having a line that plays 4 mins a night. A line that includes an “enforcer” (even though Boll is not really one) even though he modern day NHL has gone away from strictly enforced types. This is a waste and an actual burden on the team because it forces the top guys to play way more than they should. This could possibly work with a younger team but as we are seeing, it simply wears down older guys.

Our top guys broke down last season and it is carrying over to this year. RC is truly an out of touch with the modern NHL coach.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I was thinking of looking though TOI league wide to check who else has a 4th line that plays as little, but I'm too lazy.

Outplayed by a team that is worse then our injury depleted team. What a time to be alive

And yes, it was obvious way before the season started Anaheim needed a 3c, and as Soj said the injuries have just further shown how badly Anaheim needs one. If the plan is to have Rakell and Vermette as our bottom 6 centers (which I think it is) it's going to be a long season because neither of them are NHL level centers. I really don't know why Anaheim has such a hard-on to have Rakell be a center long term, he has looked awful every single stint he has had at center while when he's played wing he's looked a a top level NHL winger. I'd much rather BM give up some assets to acquire a top quality 3c rather then hold onto all of them and weaken Anaheim's line up by having their best winger and goalscorer play a position that he isn't good at.

RC tried with similar persistence to make Bobby Ryan a center, when it was obvious he was not one, and is even less capable at the position than Rakell.

And RC? His unwillingness to have any sort of 4th line goes to show just how much he has 'modernised' his coaching. He's a dinosaur who is lucky that his best mate is still Anaheim GM otherwise.....yeah.

Why are you such a soft p***y?

 

[AngelDuck]

Megna is basically a Lovejoy out there.

He's a poor man's Lovejoy. Say what you want about Lovejoy but the guy is closing in on 10 years in the league. He must be doing something right to keep getting a job for that long in a league that is shifting more and more to young players

 

[Elvs]

They brought them in to be a replacement for the 4th line center position. Whether that's all of this season or just until Getz and Kes get back, we won't know until they get back. However, my point is that many here said that simply having Rasmussen on our 4th line over Thompson was an instant upgrade. I disagreed then, but I thought Rasmussen would be much better than what he's been so far. I think it's pretty dang telling that Grant, who should be in the AHL, is ahead of him on the depth chart.

I'd rather just put Boll in the minors to get that 1 million in cap space and play Vermette on 4th line. Vermette isn't very good, but he's a much better player than those two AHLers. Assuming burying Boll is not an option, I guess it'd depend on what center we could get.

Honestly, I think they were brought in to be the 12th/13th/14th forward for a cheap buck. I think the plan was always to experiment with Rakell (based on comments made in the past), with Vermette centering the 4th line thus making him Thompson's "replacement".

There are exceptions such as Daniel Winnik, but typically a legit 4th line player on a cup contender is going to cost you a minimum of $1 mil on todays market. With the salary cap, you're only gonna have good depth if you have young players on ELC's stepping up, or if you lack top end talent.

Look at Chicago and see how much money the spend on a few players. The Ducks are structured the same. We sacrificed depth when we got rid for Bonino and Perreault and brought in Kesler. Of course, paying Bieksa $4 mil doesn't exactly help either ... The lack of depth isn't new, we're just feeling it more than ever because of a ridicoulus injury situation. Had this happened last season Sam Carrick, Corey Tropp and Emerson Etem would have been up here.

For the salary guys like Shaw, Rasmussen and Grant are making, you're either getting a offensive player who struggle to produce in the NHL and are lacking defensively (Seth Griffith, Tomas Jurco, Brandon Pirri etc) or you're getting an offensive black hole who isn't a defensive liability in a limited role (Grant/Rasmussen/Shaw).

Frankly I can't think of a single turnover from Grant. Turns out he's the only one with 0 giveaways, except for Eaves (who played two games) and Boll (who's touched the puck about five times this season). He's also 54% on faceoffs and has 9 blocked shots. That's the 5th most on Ducks. All 4 ahead of him are defensemen, and the next three trailing him are also defensemen. He's also just inches from having two goals. All in all, I'd say he's done ok for his paycheck.

The problem imo is not having these players. It's being forced to play too many of them all at once. It wouldn't surprise me if Kossila or Roy is called up before our next game, but I wouldn't bank on them improving our team. Just like Kerdiles and Fiore has done nothing in the little they have played. It's one thing to be skilled, it's another thing to be able to play a skill game at the NHL level.

He's a poor man's Lovejoy. Say what you want about Lovejoy but the guy is closing in on 10 years in the league. He must be doing something right to keep getting a job for that long in a league that is shifting more and more to young players

Yeah, as much critcism Lovejoy was getting on our board, he was much better than anyone we have can put on our 3rd pairing now. He'd ice the puck more than anyone, but he wasn't someone who would constantly do costly mistakes, and his game without the puck was underrated.

 

[Carelton CA]

I look at long term contracts for guys with injuries the last two years. Getz, Kesler, Eaves all have serious medical issues and years to go on their contracts. Then toss in Perry's money and you realize this is heading south up front. The D are set up well with their long term contracts.

I don't see Cogliano getting the money here, he can get on the open market this summer as FA and the same will go for Wagner if he keeps playing like he did in the playoffs and the way he's started.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

He's a poor man's Lovejoy. Say what you want about Lovejoy but the guy is closing in on 10 years in the league. He must be doing something right to keep getting a job for that long in a league that is shifting more and more to young players

Other than being marginally skilled players who could skate well, they have little in common. Lovejoy was physical in open ice and could win board battles; he sucked at passing transitions and made poor decisions. Megna is not the least bit physical but is actually a good playmaker (he hasn't shown that yet but it's true).

 

[Duck Off]

Honestly, I think they were brought in to be the 12th/13th/14th forward for a cheap buck. I think the plan was always to experiment with Rakell (based on comments made in the past), with Vermette centering the 4th line thus making him Thompson's "replacement".

I agree, but my response was clearly in regards to the many who thought Rasmussen was our new 4th line center. Many also thought he was an upgrade. He clearly isn't IMO.

There are exceptions such as Daniel Winnik, but typically a legit 4th line player on a cup contender is going to cost you a minimum of $1 mil on todays market. With the salary cap, you're only gonna have good depth if you have young players on ELC's stepping up, or if you lack top end talent.

I agree for the most part, but Anaheim was one of the finalists for Marleau. I don't think our offer was as high as Toronto's but clearly we would have had to ante up some $ for him. I think there was room to add another 4th line player if Murray wanted too.

Look at Chicago and see how much money the spend on a few players. The Ducks are structured the same. We sacrificed depth when we got rid for Bonino and Perreault and brought in Kesler. Of course, paying Bieksa $4 mil doesn't exactly help either ... The lack of depth isn't new, we're just feeling it more than ever because of a ridicoulus injury situation. Had this happened last season Sam Carrick, Corey Tropp and Emerson Etem would have been up here.

Obviously the injuries are probably the worst they've ever been to start the year, but I don't agree with the Kesler/Bones-Perreault example. Not saying Kesler's signing has nothing to do with it, but that's not the sole reason our depth took a hit. One of primary reasons we couldn't spend more is because of Murray's infatuation with physical, shitty defenseman. Bieksa, Sutton, Allen, Souray, etc.. He's not spending 4 million on #6 guys, then he's able to use the money in other areas. that's just always been a weakness of Murray.

I agree that the injuries would have put us in a similar position last year, but the difference in last year and this year is that he at least brought some options in to look at. I'm just kind of dumbfounded that with the injuries, he didn't feel the need to invite any guys on PTOs. I'd feel differently if we'd seen some of these young guys get more of a shot, but when I'm seeing Boll and Shaw dressed every night, I can't help but think "really bob? Winnik isn't an option worth considering?"

For the salary guys like Shaw, Rasmussen and Grant are making, you're either getting a offensive player who struggle to produce in the NHL and are lacking defensively (Seth Griffith, Tomas Jurco, Brandon Pirri etc) or you're getting an offensive black hole who isn't a defensive liability in a limited role (Grant/Rasmussen/Shaw).

agreed, although it'd be nice to get a mixture of them. I'd like to see someone who's got more of an offensive game here. I can't believe we didn't even give Jones 9 games.

Frankly I can't think of a single turnover from Grant. Turns out he's the only one with 0 giveaways, except for Eaves (who played two games) and Boll (who's touched the puck about five times this season). He's also 54% on faceoffs and has 9 blocked shots. That's the 5th most on Ducks. All 4 ahead of him are defensemen, and the next three trailing him are also defensemen. He's also just inches from having two goals. All in all, I'd say he's done ok for his paycheck.

He's a 13th forward who won't be garbage when needed. He's as high as he is in some of those categories because he's getting way more ice time than he should.

T

he problem imo is not having these players. It's being forced to play too many of them all at once. It wouldn't surprise me if Kossila or Roy is called up before our next game, but I wouldn't bank on them improving our team. Just like Kerdiles and Fiore has done nothing in the little they have played. It's one thing to be skilled, it's another thing to be able to play a skill game at the NHL level.

Agreed.