TSN: Garrioch: Boucher going nowhere

[BatherSeason]

Re: LD to run his system
His system is wayyyy too fickle. This isn't football. With the way hockey teams are assembled and turnover happens in the NHL, a coach cannot responsibly create a system that relies on having specific types of D on specific sides. It's just an impossible thing to maintain and we saw the result this season of trying to maintain it, which was Chabot and Claesson being forced to play their offside to both their own and this team's detriment.

Look at it this way. Guy Boucher had a top 4 LD all along, and he REFUSED TO USE HIM. Not only that, he created an unnecessary learning curve by forcing him to be used on his offside prior to (mostly) giving up on that recently. Chabot didn't just magically become a good player in the last month or so. He was NHL ready at the start of the season. He isn't a finished product in a sense that he was going to be able to take top d-zone faceoffs and shutdown Sidney Crosby, but he could have taken a lot of pressure off of the lineup by playing 16 minutes a night of somewhat sheltered minutes and contributing to our abysmal PP. Basically, what he's doing now.

Also, the take that this team hasn't given Boucher what he needs to run his system is absolutely insane. Maybe we didn't go out and specifically trade for a hard nosed LD, but look at the previous trade deadline, we were incredibly aggressive in order to acquire a bunch of Boucher guys. Look at the trade for Brassard, we acquired a C he had significant history with. We signed Didomenico, claimed Oduya. Dorion has done nothing but appease Boucher by aggressively acquiring players that were supposedly a fit in his system.

Re: Goalies
Goalies have stunk this season, but it's also partially a consequence of how bad our play has been in our own zone. It's a give and take. There have been times when Anderson has let in easy goals, but at the same point there have been more times where he has been hung out to dry. Neither side has lived up to their end of the deal. We could go out and trade for a .915 goalie, and under our system he'd probably have a 895-905 save percentage.

One of my biggest gripes I have had with Boucher this season is his unwillingness to switch around his D pairs. He has no problem mixing up his forward lines multiple times a game, yet on defence, its been status quo, aside from injuries, since Day 1. Its been painfully obvious for 2 seasons now that Phaneuf/Ceci is not a good match, it has also been painfully obvious that Johnny Oduya is a very bad fit for Karlsson, yet here we are. February 12, 3rd last in the league, one of the worst goal differentials in the league, bottom 5 in goals against and tomorrow night our top 4 remains the same as it was Game 1. He has allowed Thomas Chabot to play, however, it seems rather likely that the directive to play Chabot was given by someone who was not GB.

 

[coladin]

If the team wants to rebuild/retool and if that means younger guys in the lineup.. Boucher has done nothing as far as I am concerned to show me that he is the guy to bring these guys along and instill confidence in them to play important minutes and feel they are contributing... Boucher has to buy into the rebuild and the development of players while they are in the NtHL. From top to bottom.. there is not one aspect of the systems Boucher uses that should not be challenged , dissected, changed and improved. I do not want to see a young team forced to play "more or less" neutral zone trap hockey.

Just look at how Boucher plays Chabot and White... less now with Chabot.. but... Does he ever play him in a shut down situation? If he had iron fist D men ahead of him, no problem.. But he has guys that do not cover, do not exit the puck, and give it away at ridiculous rates .. White ,,., no PK where he has excelled at every level, No PP , he is playing vets that rarely produce ahead of him .. ok.. .. development starts now.,, we need to see him work with these guys to make them ready for more situations. It does not have to be all the time but get a taste.. change it up.

You want him to throw Chabot and White to the wolves? Boucher has done a lot of bad things, no question. But Chabot plays with Karlsson and is getting PP time. White is on the first line right now, and getting better each game. Both are. He is bringing them along slowly and , I think, responsibly.

I just don't see what is the rush is with our prized prospects, in the midst of a forgettable, disastrous season.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

You want him to throw Chabot and White to the wolves? Boucher has done a lot of bad things, no question. But Chabot plays with Karlsson and is getting PP time. White is on the first line right now, and getting better each game. Both are. He is bringing them along slowly and , I think, responsibly.

I just don't see what is the rush is with our prized prospects, in the midst of a forgettable, disastrous season.

Yah ... that's what I said ... man... ...
You could try to be less confrontational .. If you think they are doing fine as deployed , that's cool.

 

[Que]

Re: LD to run his system
His system is wayyyy too fickle. This isn't football. With the way hockey teams are assembled and turnover happens in the NHL, a coach cannot responsibly create a system that relies on having specific types of D on specific sides. It's just an impossible thing to maintain and we saw the result this season of trying to maintain it, which was Chabot and Claesson being forced to play their offside to both their own and this team's detriment.

Look at it this way. Guy Boucher had a top 4 LD all along, and he REFUSED TO USE HIM. Not only that, he created an unnecessary learning curve by forcing him to be used on his offside prior to (mostly) giving up on that recently. Chabot didn't just magically become a good player in the last month or so. He was NHL ready at the start of the season. He isn't a finished product in a sense that he was going to be able to take top d-zone faceoffs and shutdown Sidney Crosby, but he could have taken a lot of pressure off of the lineup by playing 16 minutes a night of somewhat sheltered minutes and contributing to our abysmal PP. Basically, what he's doing now.

Well I'd argue, or assert, that not replacing Methot was a dicey call. I was for it at the time, believing that Claesson and Harper were ready to step into bigger roles. History is not in our favour and we found out the hard way. Dion and Ceci are just terrible together, their strengths and weaknesses are similar and we get burnt because of it.

I would hate to see Chabot thrown into a step up LD role, so I don't think the wrong move was made there.

I want to go on record right now and say the loss of Chris Wideman was the beginning of the downfall to our season. He's not EK but he plays a very similar game. He, coupled with Erik's endurance last season only had us using Ceci as a RD 14 minutes a night.

Also, the take that this team hasn't given Boucher what he needs to run his system is absolutely insane. Maybe we didn't go out and specifically trade for a hard nosed LD, but look at the previous trade deadline, we were incredibly aggressive in order to acquire a bunch of Boucher guys. Look at the trade for Brassard, we acquired a C he had significant history with. We signed Didomenico, claimed Oduya. Dorion has done nothing but appease Boucher by aggressively acquiring players that were supposedly a fit in his system.

Boucher's current or old system, as we all know, revolves around hard nosed LD. It's the most important piece of the puzzle. It takes a man out of the play, takes away a shooting lane, leaving the RD to move the puck up the zone or the goalie with a low to medium scoring chance to stop. When we lost Wideman, then Boro, it really took a toll on our D corps under that system.

Re: Goalies
Goalies have stunk this season, but it's also partially a consequence of how bad our play has been in our own zone. It's a give and take. There have been times when Anderson has let in easy goals, but at the same point there have been more times where he has been hung out to dry. Neither side has lived up to their end of the deal. We could go out and trade for a .915 goalie, and under our system he'd probably have a 895-905 save percentage.

Absolutely. How our team is structured right now is bad. In the same breath I also don't blame Guy for his reluctance to give up on the step up system. It took him close to the SCF twice. But we don't have the personnel for it anymore and going forward we wot ever again likely.

We should give him a chance to create a new game plan for next season with PD in the offseason. Similar to how Winnipeg put up with Maurice. I believe there were similar complaints there with a coach who had a relatively stagnant and structured system that was hesitant to change or adapt and sheltered his young players from responsibility too much. Look where they are now.

I also would agree with Guy in taking a more conservative approach with the kids. I'd rather them hungry for more ice time every game challenging themselves then thrust into starting roles and have their confidence crushed by a poor season or bad plays. To me that shows me his intelligence, I pray that he can use it to evolve how he deploys his D.

 

[BatherSeason]

I just don't see what is the rush is with our prized prospects, in the midst of a forgettable, disastrous season

This season is partially forgettable and disastrous because Guy Boucher decided to play guys who were far less talented than Chabot and White. No reason that Chabot couldn't have started the season here playing sheltered minutes and growing into a better player as the season progressed. He was and still is better than Oduya, Ceci, Phaneuf, Boro, Claesson. His presence on the PP alone would have helped this season become less disastrous.

 

[BatherSeason]

I want to go on record right now and say the loss of Chris Wideman was the beginning of the downfall to our season.

I love how this keeps getting brought up, yet we all fail to remember that Wideman was playing as a forward the day he got hurt. Earlier in the season, Wideman was seeing upwards of 14 minutes of ice time a game, that dropped significantly in mid-October and from that point on, Wideman played under 10 minutes in 7 of his next 11 games. I, like you, like Wideman's game, but the coaching staff obviously did not, he wasn't a big enough part of this team to consider to be "the downfall to our season".

The only way I can see this as being the downfall is if Wideman's continually decreasing role pissed off a lot of his teammates.

 

[SensHulk]

He'a gotta be on a short leash and the sens may just wait to see who becomes available on the open market first before rushing to fire Boucher. FWIW, Bryan Murray received a contract extension shortly before firing Cory Clouston. If anything, with the new extension I think Dorion also has an extended leash on the coaching carousel. I bet alot will come out in the exit meetings

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

He'a gotta be on a short leash and the sens may just wait to see who becomes available on the open market first before rushing to fire Boucher. FWIW, Bryan Murray received a contract extension shortly before firing Cory Clouston. If anything, with the new extension I think Dorion also has an extended leash on the coaching carousel. I bet alot will come out in the exit meetings

This will be interesting. I am wondering if the players blame the coach or blame themselves.

 

[coladin]

Yah ... that's what I said ... man... ...
You could try to be less confrontational .. If you think they are doing fine as deployed , that's cool.

You said he has done " done nothing as far as I am concerned to show me that he is the guy to bring these guys along and instill confidence in them to play important minutes and feel they are contributing". That is a strong statement there. Maybe if you reel it back a bit then response are more measured I suppose?

 

[coladin]

This season is partially forgettable and disastrous because Guy Boucher decided to play guys who were far less talented than Chabot and White. No reason that Chabot couldn't have started the season here playing sheltered minutes and growing into a better player as the season progressed. He was and still is better than Oduya, Ceci, Phaneuf, Boro, Claesson. His presence on the PP alone would have helped this season become less disastrous.

Maybe or maybe not. Who knows? Wideman and Boro were healthy as well, there was nothing wrong for him to learn his craft in Belleville. Again, what's the rush? Chabot is not the saviour and his development, while slower than some may like, seems to be on the right path. I don't need him to win the Calder, but I also want him to be an NHLer and not end up like Lazar.

 

[Micklebot]

, but I also want him to be an NHLer and not end up like Lazar.

Why do people keep relating the two situations? They really are nothing alike. For one, Chabot is a full year older than Lazar was in his first year, and for two, he's offensive game and confidence with the puck aren't issues here.

If you want to argue playing in the NHL would stunt Chabot's development, fine, but do it with some sort of logical rationale rather than just stating the name of a player that didn't develop as some hoped. What about playing NHL minutes would have hurt Chabot?

 

[DanyHeatley]

Look at Winnipeg's roster.

look at our roster...
apart from a lottery pick in patrick laine, winnipeg and ottawa’s roster is pretty much the same. it’s just that most players in winnipeg are breaking out or having a career year and most of ours are underachieving. we got a taste of how good this team can be last year, it’s still practically the same roster with the addition of duchene. get colin white, chabot and chlapik a half season experience and watch these kids blow up next season, plus better seasons from our veterans were still technically in win-now mode.

 

[coladin]

Why do people keep relating the two situations? They really are nothing alike. For one, Chabot is a full year older than Lazar was in his first year, and for two, he's offensive game and confidence with the puck aren't issues here.

If you want to argue playing in the NHL would stunt Chabot's development, fine, but do it with some sort of logical rationale rather than just stating the name of a player that didn't develop as some hoped. What about playing NHL minutes would have hurt Chabot?

I think putting him out , and him being in over his head. Then , he could possibly resort to changing his game to chipping it out and being safe and responsible. We all want Chabot to be dynamic, mesmerizing, impactful. Putting him out there and him getting lit up in October would have made him question himself. Maybe Lazar felt the way to stay I the lineup was to not get scored on and making the safe play. Maybe he wanted to try things but lost his confidence.

I am happy with how things are going with both of our prospects. I think that sounds pretty logical and . really, nothing that hasn't happened in the past when dealing with prized rookies.

 

[BatherSeason]

Maybe or maybe not. Who knows? Wideman and Boro were healthy as well, there was nothing wrong for him to learn his craft in Belleville. Again, what's the rush? Chabot is not the saviour and his development, while slower than some may like, seems to be on the right path. I don't need him to win the Calder, but I also want him to be an NHLer and not end up like Lazar.

Quit with the Lazar garbage. Lazar was a bad hockey player. Chabot dominated the Q last season and was the best player in a tournament that featured many players who are playing in the NHL at with prominent roles this season. Guys like Barzal, McEvoy, Clayton Keller, Nico Hischier. Nevermind guys that didn't even make the teams like Nolan Patrick. Not all prospects need to be treated the same.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

look at our roster...
apart from a lottery pick in patrick laine, winnipeg and ottawa’s roster is pretty much the same. it’s just that most players in winnipeg are breaking out or having a career year and most of ours are underachieving. we got a taste of how good this team can be last year, it’s still practically the same roster with the addition of duchene. get colin white, chabot and chlapik a half season experience and watch these kids blow up next season, plus better seasons from our veterans were still technically in win-now mode.

Team speed and size up front ... are two things in Winnipeg's favor.. They are also deeper on D

 

[Micklebot]

I think putting him out , and him being in over his head. Then , he could possibly resort to changing his game to chipping it out and being safe and responsible. We all want Chabot to be dynamic, mesmerizing, impactful. Putting him out there and him getting lit up in October would have made him question himself. Maybe Lazar felt the way to stay I the lineup was to not get scored on and making the safe play. Maybe he wanted to try things but lost his confidence.

I am happy with how things are going with both of our prospects. I think that sounds pretty logical and . really, nothing that hasn't happened in the past when dealing with prized rookies.

Lazar played the same way in junior, only he was able to bull his way through.

As for Chabot changing the way he plays, idk, that's a pretty big leap if you ask me. Kid is confident in the same way Karlsson was. Talents like that don't change what made them successful so easily; these kids aren't fragile snowflakes. They're competitive and confident to the point of potential flaw.

The reality is, if Chabot stayed, he could have been used in a similar way to how Wideman gets used, which is to say low QOC, high OZ starts, and eased into a more rounded role. That's not a situation likely to result in him getting lit up.

We can't be afraid to let players make the odd mistake. Cut the umbilical cord, take off the training wheels and let the kids get a bump or bruise, it's how they'll learn.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Both White and Chabot are doing great at the moment.

While I definitely wanted to see them in action sooner, we might also consider that Boucher maybe isn't that out of touch.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I’d say the point where you change players rather than coach is the point where we have a GM that does not assemble a fundamentally flawed roster. For years now we’ve been trotting out the same guys, asking Karlsson to hide the blemishes and the pretending the issues that arise when Karlsson isn’t playing at a generational level are related to coaching or players (other than Karlsson) not living up to expectations.

Truth is we have had a decent amount of player turnover. In the last few years we’ve lost Turris, Zib, Methot, MacArthur, Spezza, Alfredsson. What we haven’t had is a significant shift in management perspective. We went from Murray to his mentee who seemed to keep the ship going in the same direction. How long have we been looking for « a top 6 forward » (unsuccessfully I might add). All the while we’ve been pretty obviously missing a top 4 defenseman for seemingly the past decade (with the possible exception of last season). Unfortunately we’ve now decided to extend our GM, despite a very poor track record, and we look to be lineing ourseves up to scape goat another star out of town.

Honestly, I really don't see much of Murray in Dorian, and I do see a lot of opposites. Every GM in the league likes character and intangibles in their players, but PD hasn't shown an over abundance of loyalty to vets, and he's been pretty bold in turning the team into something that reflects his image. When the team on the ice showed that it was going to make a playoff run, he went out and made some bold moves to support them, and it panned out wonderfully for them, LAST YEAR WHEN THEY NEEDED IT.

No, Murray was PD's mentor, but they are not the same, and they don't appear to have the same vision. That truly is an HF myth created as lazy way to slam management and PD, without actually looking at what the team looks like and what the man has done.

 

[BonkTastic]

While I definitely wanted to see them in action sooner, we might also consider that Boucher maybe isn't that out of touch.

People need to not freak out when a rookie with less than a dozen pro games in their entire career against adults old enough to grow a proper beard spends a few months on an AHL roster before immediately being given important minutes in the best league in the world.

 

[Sensung]

Again, when Alfredsson left the Senators, he released a public statement, that in no way indicated that "working with" Melnyk was even a small reason. in fact he thanks the Senators for the opportunity to work for them (for the two years), and that can be seen as actually thanking the Owner.

Unless you work(ed) for Melnyk, you're only basing your theroy on innuendo and rumours, and whatever you need to advance this negative narrative.

If you don't want to take Alfredsson's own words for his parting with the Senators, then feel free to continue to stick your head into your Melnyk hate filled echo chamber.



“After two enjoyable years learning about the front office of hockey with the Senators, I’m pleased to pass along that I’ve made the decision to step way from the game and will take this time to evaluate what professional challenge I will pursue next. I want to thank the Senators for the opportunity; it has enabled me to understand the type of commitments require to work in hockey should I determine that to be my future path. Our first order of business is getting established in our new home in Ottawa and returning to Gothenburg, with my family, to visit Swedish family and friends for the summer. We look forward to sharing the details of what’s next for the Alfredsson family in the future.”
Daniel Alfredsson

So your position is that everything an individual says in an interview or press release is the unvarnished truth...

Sure thing sparky.

As I said, you'd have to be intentionally obtuse to believe that Eugene Melnyk is not a MASSIVE problem for this franchise. The evidence is clear and no it does not all make it into interviews...

 

[Bileur]

Honestly, I really don't see much of Murray in Dorian, and I do see a lot of opposites. Every GM in the league likes character and intangibles in their players, but PD hasn't shown an over abundance of loyalty to vets, and he's been pretty bold in turning the team into something that reflects his image. When the team on the ice showed that it was going to make a playoff run, he went out and made some bold moves to support them, and it panned out wonderfully for them, LAST YEAR WHEN THEY NEEDED IT.

How have Dorion’s moves pan out NOW, WHEN WE NEED IT?

The truth is his moves have actually hurt the team. We’re apparently going into a rebuild/retool without a prospect who is looking more and more like a gem in Dahlen so we could throw money and term at a guy who is no longer NHL calibre. On a cash strapped team no less. Where is Burrows now, when we need him? Dorion sold this guy as someone who can play up and down the lineup, a middle six guy, and based solely on performance he should be in Belleville at best. On top of that he’s suspended for a ridiculous incident that reflects negatively on the team.

We’re going into a retool having acquired Brassard for Zibanejad and a 2nd. Giving up the younger player with significantly more upside and a future asset in order to supposedly acquire a more consistent vet? Sure Zibanejad had an 8 game scoreless drought this season. SO HAS BRASSARD. Despite significant time with Stone. Brassard has also had a 7 game drought, Zib hasn’t. Zib is larger, faster, younger and the kicker is he has the same cap hit. How has that worked out? This year? What about going forward?

Newsflash: we didn’t win the cup last year.
That’s the objective of sports. To win, not to come close and fall short. Had we won last season I could entertain an argument that Dorion’s moves were a success. They very clearly weren’t. Even judging only on the short term Dorion’s moves last season were failures.

You can’t just look at results in a one season vaccum, the job is to ensure continued success.

Even if you want to be a synic and say the objective is to make money, look at our attendance. This is a garbage product and fans are responding in kind.

Let’s be real here too, even if we had scored the winner in game 7, our team was decimated by injury by then and likely wouldn’t have been able to hang with Nashville in the final. The main reason we got to where we did was absolute hero hockey from Erik Karlsson.

This season, we’re going into a rebuild/retool having traded our first from last year (who is by all accounts playing well and the tied as the leading rookie goal scorer in the NCAA) and more importantly our first in one of the next two drafts, a first which will end up being a key asset for Colorado going forward in order to acquire a minor upgrade on a core member of the locker room who was clearly loved by all. Our franchise leader in Playoff OT goals. A tremendous guy in the community.

Where are we now Ice-Tray? We’ve made all these « win now » moves? How are we doing? We’re THIRD LAST IN THE LEAGUE. This season has been an unmitigated disaster. I mean that quite literally, by any measure a team the GM sold as a contender being 3rd last is a disaster. The only saving grace would have been a great draft pick but because of Dorion’s moves we may or may not keep it.

Many posters around here argued Dorion’s moves increased the likelihood of resigning EK. How does that look now? Who really thinks Karlsson wants to stick around for the mediocrity that is coming up?

I’m not being a hater. I’m a frustrated fan watching his team being driven into the ground.

No, Murray was PD's mentor, but they are not the same, and they don't appear to have the same vision. That truly is an HF myth created as lazy way to slam management and PD, without actually looking at what the team looks like and what the man has done.

You can disagree that Dorion had followed the same path as Murray, that’s fine, I’ll even grant that he has been more aggressive than Murray. But how can you argue that we haven’t addressed our defense or that we haven’t kept the same « looking for a top 6 forward » messaging?

We lost our second best defenseman in the offseason and have done nothing to replace him.

I don’t appreciate the the suggestion that my narrative is lazy; argue the points not the position.

To be quite honest I wouldn’t be throwing around accusations of not looking at what the team « looks like » and « what [Dorion] has done » in your place. Our team made a series of « win now» trades giving up futures, and is currently third last in the NHL for the first time in (I don’t even know, maybe we sank that low the Zib draft year but ultimately finished higher. Before that was what 1996?), now we’re conceding it’s time to retool. How can you still be looking at Dorion’s performance through rose coloured glasses?

 

[coladin]

How have Dorion’s moves pan out NOW, WHEN WE NEED IT?

The truth is his moves have actually hurt the team. We’re apparently going into a rebuild/retool without a prospect who is looking more and more like a gem in Dahlen so we could throw money and term at a guy who is no longer NHL calibre. On a cash strapped team no less. Where is Burrows now, when we need him? Dorion sold this guy as someone who can play up and down the lineup, a middle six guy, and based solely on performance he should be in Belleville at best. On top of that he’s suspended for a ridiculous incident that reflects negatively on the team.

We’re going into a retool having acquired Brassard for Zibanejad and a 2nd. Giving up the younger player with significantly more upside and a future asset in order to supposedly acquire a more consistent vet? Sure Zibanejad had an 8 game scoreless drought this season. SO HAS BRASSARD. Despite significant time with Stone. Brassard has also had a 7 game drought, Zib hasn’t. Zib is larger, faster, younger and the kicker is he has the same cap hit. How has that worked out? This year? What about going forward?

Newsflash: we didn’t win the cup last year.
That’s the objective of sports. To win, not to come close and fall short. Had we won last season I could entertain an argument that Dorion’s moves were a success. They very clearly weren’t. Even judging only on the short term Dorion’s moves last season were failures.

You can’t just look at results in a one season vaccum, the job is to ensure continued success.

Even if you want to be a synic and say the objective is to make money, look at our attendance. This is a garbage product and fans are responding in kind.

Let’s be real here too, even if we had scored the winner in game 7, our team was decimated by injury by then and likely wouldn’t have been able to hang with Nashville in the final. The main reason we got to where we did was absolute hero hockey from Erik Karlsson.

This season, we’re going into a rebuild/retool having traded our first from last year (who is by all accounts playing well and the tied as the leading rookie goal scorer in the NCAA) and more importantly our first in one of the next two drafts, a first which will end up being a key asset for Colorado going forward in order to acquire a minor upgrade on a core member of the locker room who was clearly loved by all. Our franchise leader in Playoff OT goals. A tremendous guy in the community.

Where are we now Ice-Tray? We’ve made all these « win now » moves? How are we doing? We’re THIRD LAST IN THE LEAGUE. This season has been an unmitigated disaster. I mean that quite literally, by any measure a team the GM sold as a contender being 3rd last is a disaster. The only saving grace would have been a great draft pick but because of Dorion’s moves we may or may not keep it.

Many posters around here argued Dorion’s moves increased the likelihood of resigning EK. How does that look now? Who really thinks Karlsson wants to stick around for the mediocrity that is coming up?

I’m not being a hater. I’m a frustrated fan watching his team being driven into the ground.



You can disagree that Dorion had followed the same path as Murray, that’s fine, I’ll even grant that he has been more aggressive than Murray. But how can you argue that we haven’t addressed our defense or that we haven’t kept the same « looking for a top 6 forward » messaging?

We lost our second best defenseman in the offseason and have done nothing to replace him.

I don’t appreciate the the suggestion that my narrative is lazy; argue the points not the position.

To be quite honest I wouldn’t be throwing around accusations of not looking at what the team « looks like » and « what [Dorion] has done » in your place. Our team made a series of « win now» trades giving up futures, and is currently third last in the NHL for the first time in (I don’t even know, maybe we sank that low the Zib draft year but ultimately finished higher. Before that was what 1996?), now we’re conceding it’s time to retool. How can you still be looking at Dorion’s performance through rose coloured glasses?

I heard today that Zbad has 6 primary assists in 1500 minutes of playing top minutes. 6. NY media are on to him.

 

[Que]

I love how this keeps getting brought up, yet we all fail to remember that Wideman was playing as a forward the day he got hurt. Earlier in the season, Wideman was seeing upwards of 14 minutes of ice time a game, that dropped significantly in mid-October and from that point on, Wideman played under 10 minutes in 7 of his next 11 games. I, like you, like Wideman's game, but the coaching staff obviously did not, he wasn't a big enough part of this team to consider to be "the downfall to our season".

The only way I can see this as being the downfall is if Wideman's continually decreasing role pissed off a lot of his teammates.

While he may have been playing forward and being subjected to a decreased role he still gave Guy valuable flexibility in switching his d-pairings around. It sheltered Ceci considerably, we could have definitely used that during our first stretch of trouble.

Ceci confounds me. Makes a great play followed by an epic fail all the time. I have no idea what's goin going on.

 

[Bileur]

I heard today that Zbad has 6 primary assists in 1500 minutes of playing top minutes. 6. NY media are on to him.

I don’t know where to find primary assist stats to compare.

Either way, Zib is not a perfect player but he has scored more goals than any sen other than Stone (also second on NYR) and has more PP goals than any of our guys (or theirs). He would certainly be useful.

 

[BigRig4]

I heard today that Zbad has 6 primary assists in 1500 minutes of playing top minutes. 6. NY media are on to him.

Mika would be better suited as a shooting power forward type winger I think. Every time we tried him on the wing in Ottawa he didnt play very well though iirc.