2015-16 Lineup Discussion

[The Mighty Duck Man]

So I actually took the time to look it up, and my argument was actually not for Kesler. It was for Phaneuf. But a lot of the underlying issues remain the same. And in fact this could also apply to Bieksa, who is 2 years older. The point was that physical guys from that draft are slowing down, meaning that other guys from that age group are probably approaching their best buy dates soon too. And you were one of the most vehemently anti cases then too. In fact I feel like you are very generally against ever using comparables.

To use only Richards would not be a strong case. That is true. But the case was bigger than that. a) Multiple guys from that draft are slowing down, with some looking like they are completely done b) The historical trend of all players is that this is the norm c) It feels like this downward trend is even more pronounced for physical players like these and d) It also feels like this trend is more of an issue for players whose main strengths were physical tools.

I'll make an visualization. Normally you expect a population (of pretty much anything) to be a normal bell-type curve. We are already seeing the far edge of people who are declining from that draft cohort. We don't know how far away the tail ends are from the main body of the population, but more likely than not the main body is coming.

I'm not even disagreeing with that, just saying that Richards is an awful example in any context. You led off with him and he's the only guy you even mentioned, it's terribly misleading.

Understanding why Richards went downhill fast actually gives me optimism for Kesler. It wasn't so much his playing style as him not taking care of himself. Kesler's the exact opposite, he appears to take very good care of himself. He's a lot closer to Rod Brind'Amour than he is Mike Richards.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

 

[Exit Dose]

Were Wagner and Friberg terrible in the Islanders game or something?

 

[The Duck Knight]

Were Wagner and Friberg terrible in the Islanders game or something?

I don't think they were noticeably bad, although they barely played. I just think they want more skill in the lineup hence the Ritchie/Sgarbossa call-ups.

 

[Exit Dose]

I don't think they were noticeably bad, although they barely played. I just think they want more skill in the lineup hence the Ritchie/Sgarbossa call-ups.

I understand why Ritchie got the call, but demoting both of those guys for Sgarbossa seems really suspect.

 

[bumperkisser]

not the biggest fan of this move personally. unless we actually play them significant minutes.. namely ritchie.. dont see the point in him ebing up here playing 4th line minutes.. if hes up and we're gonna give him a real shot at least give him 3rd line minutes aka 10-12+

 

[Opak]

Sure, let's bring in more rookies and see if that fixes the elephant-sized holes this roster has. As if the big club's roster juggling wasn't bad enough, they're now juggling the AHL affiliate too.

Not a fan of Ritchie getting the call-up, and I fail to see what role Sgarbossa would play for this team (other than man the press-box).

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

To be honest, I'm not even sure if Kesler's really regressed all that much. It's not what you think, I just think his "prime" was vastly overrated. 20-25 goals, 50ish points, that's really always been Kesler. The 70 point seasons were two different flukes IMO, one with 50 assists and the other the 40 goals. You look at the year to year comparisons in both columns, and those two years in those two categories really jump out. He went from like 30 to 50 to 30 assists and 25 to 40 to 25 goals.

Fair enough, but his last two years have been 43 and 47 points. With this year's start I'll go out on a limb and say he won't hit 50 again this year. His style of play just doesn't lend itself to longevity.

But I'll say he could still be an effective 2C for maybe a couple of years if Getz and Perry would dominate like they used to. But collectively I don't see that happening.

 

[Opak]

I understand why Ritchie got the call, but demoting both of those guys for Sgarbossa seems really suspect.

They played 4 minutes each last night, they had to be returned, as Bruce wasn't giving them ice time. I just hope that they won't have to go through waivers.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

Camshaft will be happy. Finally, our saviors.

 

[Goose of Reason]

See nothing wrong with the move. I know we want to let Ritchie dominate there but the big club is having problems and there's nothing wrong with rewarding his play so far.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

ritchie and sgarbossa have both earned this opportunity. don't see how this is bad for ritchie at all, it'll give us a good idea of where he's at

 

[Getzmonster]

Seems a little trigger-happy to expose both Friberg and Wagner to waivers. Unless I'm mistaken and they are still in the safe window since being recalled. Same with Sgarbossa, won't he need to pass through waivers to go back down eventually?

Hopefully Ritchie can stick, not banking on it, but it's a good time to see if he's ready for this level yet or not.

 

[ChaseANA]

Sgarbossa is a more skilled Wagner. Glad to see Ritchboi up too.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

call ups are official now, friberg and holzer have been sent down

 

[AngelDuck]

Calling up Ritchie has to be the last move before a major trade/firing happens, I would think

 

[ADHB]

Were Wagner and Friberg terrible in the Islanders game or something?

Wagner was noticeably bad. In nearly every shift he had in the defensive zone, he had control of the puck with a chance to clear and failed to get it out, once leading to a goal.

I don't understand why Holzer is being sent down though. Going on a long road trip, we're only carrying 6 d-men?

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Wagner was noticeably bad. In nearly every shift he had in the defensive zone, he had control of the puck with a chance to clear and failed to get it out, once leading to a goal.

I don't understand why Holzer is being sent down though. Going on a long road trip, we're only carrying 6 d-men?

Possibly means Despres is coming off IR.

 

[ADHB]

Possibly means Despres is coming off IR.

As far as anyone knows Despres hasn't even started off ice work yet. So don't think that's the reason. There has to be another move somewhere.

 

[Ducks DVM]

What are the waiver wire numbers on Wagner? That may play into this too.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

 

[ADHB]

So if Wagner clears and is sent down, another D must be coming back up. Theodore? Montour? Or simply a press box d-man?

 

[Sojourn]

I'm not really sure Theodore or Montour makes any kind of sense. We'd need their defensive game more than their offensive game, and I don't think either one of them are ready to play NHL level defense.

 

[CrazyDuck4u]

Staple Ritchie to the top line and leave him there. Otherwise no point in the call up.

 

[Goose of Reason]

Maybe a trade's coming?