We could finish anywhere between 1st and 5th in our division without any real surprise. None of us, Rangers, Caps, Isles or BJs are enough better than the rest to really set themselves above the pack. What will be surprising is if those aren't the top 5 in the division. What sucks is its very possible for one of those 5 to miss the playoffs.
The pens will just never recover from losing those stalwarts like orpik and niskanen, and the rest of reirdens little butt buddies.
I think the rags regress this year.
How?Their core players are signed and they have an NHL coach.
Sutter has got to be the least impactful 20g scorer I've ever seen. The dude is very visibly the reason his line is ineffective the vast, vast majority of the time, yet he somehow stumbles and gets out-muscled on his way to 20g.
It's bizarre. The guy is not a dude I'd want centering my 3rd line at all. He's just far too invisible and ineffective for like 20 games at a time.
That being said, I think it's past the time when we could get a legitimate return for him. JR also seems committed to Sutter, sadly.
How?Their core players are signed and they have an NHL coach.
Mike Johnston's system worries me the most.Even more than the defense.
Mike Johnston's system worries me the most.Even more than the defense.
MSL left so they'll get a bit less prod & teams will have adapted a little better to them imo.
How?Their core players are signed and they have an NHL coach.
The zone entry never was good even when the team was healthy though.We saw a few months of his "system". Maatta went down. Ehrhoff couldn't stay healthy. And then Letang went down. You aren't playing the type of hockey he wants with the D-men we had last season.
People need to settle down with that **** and give the guy a chance with a healthy team.
I like Etem, but he's not Karl Hagelin and it's a longshot that he ever will be. They also turned MSL into Jayson Megna. Whatever MSL might have lost to age last year, they lose much more by replacing him with Megna.
They're in the mix, still, just not at the top of the pack. There's no way they beat Washington last season if Hagelin's Etem and MSL is Megna. Margin for victory was so, so slim.
There are other snippets about how JR thinks Sutter's a very good player and whatnot, but it's 4am and I'm too tired/lazy to find 'em.
How?Their core players are signed and they have an NHL coach.
How?Their core players are signed and they have an NHL coach.
I think that's wishful/hopeful thinking, sadly. If JR wanted to move Sutter, I'm sure he'd be gone. Like I said, 20 goals or not, he was awful last season and the season before. He'll command ~$5M or more on his next deal, and I have a feeling we'll give it to him.
The zone entry never was good even when the team was healthy though.
And...
Martin-Letang
Maatta-Ehrhoff
Scuderi-Despres
Vs
Maatta-Letang
Pouliot-Cole
Scuderi-Lovejoy
We saw a few months of his "system". Maatta went down. Ehrhoff couldn't stay healthy. And then Letang went down. You aren't playing the type of hockey he wants with the D-men we had last season.
People need to settle down with that **** and give the guy a chance with a healthy team.
The guy had a chance with a healthy team in the beginning of the season. The breakout, neutral zone transition, and offensive zone entry were quickly scouted and defended against. Johnston was never adequately able to adjust.
Johnston's systems were not effective at the NHL level for
more than a month, and Johnston could not adapt them to be more effective.
Or maybe they didn't have the personnel to execute what they were trying to do.
It also may take more than a month to get the team to skate in 5 man units after having years of stretch passing.
I saw Sid and Geno leaving the zone early constantly in the first half of last season. Sid really didn't hit his stride until he was playing a 200 ft game.