deadhead
Registered User
- Feb 26, 2014
- 49,215
- 21,617
Talent matters:
Hayes was a big upgrade over last year's Patrick
Lindblom has taken a step up, TK is over his Gordon hangover, of course, they're 23 and 22, why would you expect them to improve?
Braun and Niskanen are as advertised, past their physical peak but smart, reliable veteran defensemen who anchor the defense
Twarynski and Bunnaman add size and speed over Weise, Lehtera, Knight and Varone
Pitlick is a solid 4th line forward
A deeper, faster, bigger, more physical team.
And fit matters:
One reason Hagg is in there over Myers is he's been coached to KISS, Myers right now tries to do too much and that's a bad fit with Ghost.
Hagg played better last year with Ghost than Myers, and we're seeing the same this year. Sometimes less is more.
Ghost-Hagg: CF 49.14%, xGF 57.81% [2017-18: CF 45.50%, xGF 46.44%]
Ghost-Myers: CF 47.06%, xGF 37.82%
Small samples, but Myers is used to being the "man", so is Ghost, so they may not mesh well right now.
Down the road, maybe Morin/Myers is a good pairing, but if Provorov/Braun and Sanheim/Niskanen are working well, that leaves Ghost without a spot. If you pair Ghost with Provorov or Sanheim, you suppress their development (only one puck, and Ghost isn't a stay at home defender). But things change over a season.
I think Lindblom - Couts - TK was an experiment, much like moving Giroux to LW with Couts, but it's working so well AV will probably ride with it for a while, it's important for a HC to find different combos that work, b/c injuries will happen.
G -Hayes - Voracek may not be ideal, but they're all talented and experienced, maybe they just need time.
JVR is a bit lost with Laughton as his center, changes will be made down the road.
It's Frost's job to take, but AV expects kids to earn a spot, not be gifted one.
Twarynski is working out right now at 3RW, it's not permanent, but it makes him more valuable with that experience (you want bottom six guys who can move around as needed, like Raffl at 4C).
Bunnaman is getting good experience and holding his own, but he's probably the most vulnerable of the top 12 when Patrick returns/Frost or Farabee force their way up/Rubtsov shows he's ready.
Nothing is set in stone, I can see moves being made after they return from the road, depending on how the team looks the next three games, but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Hayes was a big upgrade over last year's Patrick
Lindblom has taken a step up, TK is over his Gordon hangover, of course, they're 23 and 22, why would you expect them to improve?
Braun and Niskanen are as advertised, past their physical peak but smart, reliable veteran defensemen who anchor the defense
Twarynski and Bunnaman add size and speed over Weise, Lehtera, Knight and Varone
Pitlick is a solid 4th line forward
A deeper, faster, bigger, more physical team.
And fit matters:
One reason Hagg is in there over Myers is he's been coached to KISS, Myers right now tries to do too much and that's a bad fit with Ghost.
Hagg played better last year with Ghost than Myers, and we're seeing the same this year. Sometimes less is more.
Ghost-Hagg: CF 49.14%, xGF 57.81% [2017-18: CF 45.50%, xGF 46.44%]
Ghost-Myers: CF 47.06%, xGF 37.82%
Small samples, but Myers is used to being the "man", so is Ghost, so they may not mesh well right now.
Down the road, maybe Morin/Myers is a good pairing, but if Provorov/Braun and Sanheim/Niskanen are working well, that leaves Ghost without a spot. If you pair Ghost with Provorov or Sanheim, you suppress their development (only one puck, and Ghost isn't a stay at home defender). But things change over a season.
I think Lindblom - Couts - TK was an experiment, much like moving Giroux to LW with Couts, but it's working so well AV will probably ride with it for a while, it's important for a HC to find different combos that work, b/c injuries will happen.
G -Hayes - Voracek may not be ideal, but they're all talented and experienced, maybe they just need time.
JVR is a bit lost with Laughton as his center, changes will be made down the road.
It's Frost's job to take, but AV expects kids to earn a spot, not be gifted one.
Twarynski is working out right now at 3RW, it's not permanent, but it makes him more valuable with that experience (you want bottom six guys who can move around as needed, like Raffl at 4C).
Bunnaman is getting good experience and holding his own, but he's probably the most vulnerable of the top 12 when Patrick returns/Frost or Farabee force their way up/Rubtsov shows he's ready.
Nothing is set in stone, I can see moves being made after they return from the road, depending on how the team looks the next three games, but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
