Speculation: 2018 Off-Season: We fell short again... now what do we do?

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DFC

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The teams he says are interested in TJ are: MTL, NYI, and CAR. Considering the other rumor (31 thoughts) that Yzerman is after a Dman, I see only CAR having a roster Dman that Yzerman would want.

Sounds like Tyler Myers is available, and he's the blueprint of a Steve Yzerman defenseman.

Can't see MTL dealing with Yzerman so quickly. And I think it would be a big mistake for them to acquire Johnson when what they really need is Tavares. Then again, MB does like making big mistakes, so...
 
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DFC

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So, something we haven't been talking about: What do we do about a backup?
 

Rschmitz

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Sounds like Tyler Myers is available, and he's the blueprint of a Steve Yzerman defenseman.

Can't see MTL dealing with Yzerman so quickly. And I think it would be a big mistake for them to acquire Johnson when what they really need is Tavares. Then again, MB does like making big mistakes, so...

Very risky, this is the first year Myers has earned his contract.
 

These Are The Days

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What does that have to do with anything? Are you gonna try to demean my hockey knowledge? LOL. Tell me I don't know a thing about hockey? Or I've been a fan for a year? I've been to three SCF games, how about you? I'm a season tix holder, how about you? I grew up in Detroit as a Red WIngs fan. I've been to games at the Joe. Honestly, who cares about any of that?

Simple answer, who cares?

Sooooooo you're saying you have a high level of experience as a fan then?

Because you have all this criticism and nothing better than blanket statements like "preparedness" when asked specifically. I must admit I'm disappointed. I'd have expected more from someone who has watched for 20 years. Carry on. It's not like the Knights were completely eviscerated and their game 1 victory was a mere formality to what should have been a sweep despite the fact they have the best coach in the game at the bench. Meanwhile we pulled off 3 wins against a system we categorically fail against because we have one defender who can shoot through traffic and little else but undersized forwards who struggle inside the crease.
 

Steazy Doo

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Because you have all this criticism and nothing better than blanket statements like "preparedness" when asked specifically. I must admit I'm disappointed. I'd have expected more from someone who has watched for 20 years. Carry on. It's not like the Knights were completely eviscerated and their game 1 victory was a mere formality to what should have been a sweep despite the fact they have the best coach in the game at the bench. Meanwhile we pulled off 3 wins against a system we categorically fail against because we have one defender who can shoot through traffic and little else but undersized forwards who struggle inside the crease.

The guy is from the Cretaceous period.
 

T REX

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Feb 28, 2013
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Sooooooo you're saying you have a high level of experience as a fan then?

Because you have all this criticism and nothing better than blanket statements like "preparedness" when asked specifically. I must admit I'm disappointed. I'd have expected more from someone who has watched for 20 years. Carry on. It's not like the Knights were completely eviscerated and their game 1 victory was a mere formality to what should have been a sweep despite the fact they have the best coach in the game at the bench. Meanwhile we pulled off 3 wins against a system we categorically fail against because we have one defender who can shoot through traffic and little else but undersized forwards who struggle inside the crease.

So? Pulled off 3 wins? I can't wait for that banner!
 
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DFC

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Sooooooo you're saying you have a high level of experience as a fan then?

Because you have all this criticism and nothing better than blanket statements like "preparedness" when asked specifically. I must admit I'm disappointed. I'd have expected more from someone who has watched for 20 years. Carry on. It's not like the Knights were completely eviscerated and their game 1 victory was a mere formality to what should have been a sweep despite the fact they have the best coach in the game at the bench. Meanwhile we pulled off 3 wins against a system we categorically fail against because we have one defender who can shoot through traffic and little else but undersized forwards who struggle inside the crease.

That's like a video game answer.

Maybe, if we don't have defensemen who can shoot through traffic, the coach should adjust to suit that rather than sticking to the exact gameplan that's clearly failing.
 
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These Are The Days

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That's like a video game answer.

Maybe, if we don't have defensemen who can shoot through traffic, the coach should adjust to suit that rather than sticking to the exact gameplan that's clearly failing.

You gotta take what the defense gives you sometimes and they weren't giving us anything. The most conventional would be to move your feet to open shooting lanes but that again doesn't play to the strengths of the majority of our defense. Nor would putting a player behind the net to cycle be a conventional option either if you want to risk odd man rushes. We don't have a balanced defense. Not yet -not until Sergachev matures some more. For what it's worth I thought Cooper has managed him better than any prospect we've had. He looked comfortable in the playofffs. But the on good news side, when he does mature some more I don't see how teams are going to beat us with that structure again when he's so fluid in skating and smooth in passing and shooting. He'll be able to lace a shot through in a lane he creates himself and likely leave perfect rebound chances for the likes of Gourde and Cirelli -who may not even need to be in the crease taking punishment. I can only hope it starts as soon as next year because add that along with a good call up from Syracuse who's good at screening and I think we'll be celebrating a year from now as champions
 

Sky04

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Sunny's strategy is that despite having one of the most if not the most talented/stacked roster in the league is the assemble even better and more perfect players because teams in the past have traditionally won by having perfect rosters without fault. I see where he's getting at, we must add more Erik Karlsson's and Connor McDavid's to win, maybe a prime Hasek wouldn't hurt either or a Bobby Orr.
 

These Are The Days

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Sunny's strategy is that despite having one of the most if not the most talented/stacked roster in the league is the assemble even better and more perfect players because teams in the past have traditionally won by having perfect rosters without fault. I see where he's getting at, we must add more Erik Karlsson's and Connor McDavid's to win, maybe a prime Hasek wouldn't hurt either or a Bobby Orr.

Yeah because Karlsson and Bobby Orr are the only guys who know how to move their feet and shoot through traffic. You are truly dense. Even Nikita f***ing Nesterov could do it. How DARE I suggest something like that. It must be that damn Cooper again holding back the hidden talents of Girardi, Coburn and Stralman!
 

DFC

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Yeah because Karlsson and Bobby Orr are the only guys who know how to move their feet and shoot through traffic. You are truly dense. Even Nikita ****ing Nesterov could do it. How DARE I suggest something like that. It must be that damn Cooper again holding back the hidden talents of Girardi, Coburn and Stralman!

What is Jon Cooper's job description?
 

Rschmitz

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Yzermans job is to constantly improve the roster. Cooper did make adjustments in the Cap series and they worked. Are any of you trying to argue something different?
 

These Are The Days

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What is Jon Cooper's job description?

He's the head coach

1. Game plan the x's and o's with the assistants
2. Manage lines and line combinations during the course of the game
3. Distribute ice time accordingly to the needs of the game
4. Consultation with assistant coaches on what is and is not working
5. Change the strategy accordingly to win i.e open the attack or close it down
6. Deciding who will and will not be in net and when to pull them
7. Time outs and challenges
8. Benching players as needed
9. Running practice and practice drills
10. Keep the team prepared and focused -hopefully with the captain's help because (in my opinion) he's the liaison between coach and team

If you're trying to make the point that it's his job to find a solution and have the team prepared then I get it. You're not wrong. But all together if you're seeing something he could have done that I'm not then please point it out. I'm not saying "our d can't shoot" and "we're small up front" because I like the guy. I'm saying that because that's how we're built and I can't think up a way of how we would've won. Effort was a problem all series long but again -how does a coach enforce effort when his own captain is seldom the best player on the ice? But conversely if you can convince me Cooper has truly lost the room I'll back down and advocate his firing tonight because to me that's the point of no return.
 

DFC

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He's the head coach

1. Game plan the x's and o's with the assistants
2. Manage lines and line combinations during the course of the game
3. Distribute ice time accordingly to the needs of the game
4. Consultation with assistant coaches on what is and is not working
5. Change the strategy accordingly to win i.e open the attack or close it down
6. Deciding who will and will not be in net and when to pull them
7. Time outs and challenges
8. Benching players as needed
9. Running practice and practice drills
10. Keep the team prepared and focused -hopefully with the captain's help because (in my opinion) he's the liaison between coach and team

If you're trying to make the point that it's his job to find a solution and have the team prepared then I get it. You're not wrong. But all together if you're seeing something he could have done that I'm not then please point it out. I'm not saying "our d can't shoot" and "we're small up front" because I like the guy. I'm saying that because that's how we're built and I can't think up a way of how we would've won. Effort was a problem all series long but again -how does a coach enforce effort when his own captain is seldom the best player on the ice? But conversely if you can convince me Cooper has truly lost the room I'll back down and advocate his firing tonight because to me that's the point of no return.

He didn't do about half the things on that list. But you forgot about "adjusting your strategy to your opponent." He missed pretty hard on that one.

If what you're doing isn't working, you should probably try something different.

I don't think Cooper has lost the room. Nor am I saying he should or will be fired. I'm just saying the lion's share of the blame goes to him, because he kept the same gameplan regardless of how poorly things were going. He's not the only reason we lost, but he's probably the biggest. If he'd changed things up a few times and we still lost, I wouldn't be so hard on him.
 

These Are The Days

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May 17, 2014
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He didn't do about half the things on that list. But you forgot about "adjusting your strategy to your opponent." He missed pretty hard on that one.

If what you're doing isn't working, you should probably try something different.

I don't think Cooper has lost the room. Nor am I saying he should or will be fired. I'm just saying the lion's share of the blame goes to him, because he kept the same gameplan regardless of how poorly things were going. He's not the only reason we lost, but he's probably the biggest. If he'd changed things up a few times and we still lost, I wouldn't be so hard on him.

Fair enough. I already spoke my part as well
 

Maelmoor

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Sport fans always have such a short memory. We are in a position to compete, that is all we can ask. You cannot order Cup wins. There is no reason to panic, a few tweaks and we will stand a good chance of winning next season again but it will never be a guarantee, no matter who will coach us.

I remember with agony the dark years, when we we absolutely dreadful or more recently when we had the "chaos" management..

TyJo is probably my favourite player in the current roster ut if Yzerman can find a trade that will improve our team, then I understand the move.
 
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CupsOverCash

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Sport fans always have such a short memory. We are in a position to compete, that is all we can ask. You cannot order Cup wins. There is no reason to panic, a few tweaks and we will stand a good chance of winning next season again but it will never be a guarantee, no matter who will coach us.

I remember with agony the dark years, when we we absolutely dreadful or more recently when we had the "chaos" management..

TyJo is probably my favourite player in the current roster ut if Yzerman can find a trade that will improve our team, then I understand the move.

Ill say this. I didnt expect us to beat Boston the way we did. That is what made Washington series a letdown. I thought when we beat Boston we would be able to beat anybody. Playoffs are a different animal. We play really good playoff hockey but we just dont seem to have it late. Seems like everytime we go far we look like we are gassed, injured, maybe even scared. Coop has a hand in that as he is the coach, but the players are the ones on the ice. There are a lot, including Coop, the players and maybe even SY that can share some of the blame.

Also have to give credit to Washington. They were just the flat out better team than any other team this postseason. It was clear how much they wanted it. I just didnt think we matched that intensity/urgency to win it. Sometimes thats the factor that wins it. Especially in a close 7 game series. Luck plays a part too. I still get nightmares of Yanni Gourde play that would have tied the game. That happens who knows what happens the rest of the game. They lost and it doesnt really matter how it happened. They all have to go make corrections if they want to win it all. Should be an interesting offseason.
 

DFC

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Ill say this. I didnt expect us to beat Boston the way we did. That is what made Washington series a letdown. I thought when we beat Boston we would be able to beat anybody. Playoffs are a different animal. We play really good playoff hockey but we just dont seem to have it late. Seems like everytime we go far we look like we are gassed, injured, maybe even scared. Coop has a hand in that as he is the coach, but the players are the ones on the ice. There are a lot, including Coop, the players and maybe even SY that can share some of the blame.

Also have to give credit to Washington. They were just the flat out better team than any other team this postseason. It was clear how much they wanted it. I just didnt think we matched that intensity/urgency to win it. Sometimes thats the factor that wins it. Especially in a close 7 game series. Luck plays a part too. I still get nightmares of Yanni Gourde play that would have tied the game. That happens who knows what happens the rest of the game. They lost and it doesnt really matter how it happened. They all have to go make corrections if they want to win it all. Should be an interesting offseason.

I think it's also proof that coaching matters. Some of Cooper's decisions paid off against Boston and he deserves credit for that. Likewise, he deserves blame for how weak we looked against Washington. To me, we didn't look gassed so much as we looked confused. We kept trying the same plays that Washington was eating up. That's on Coop.

But even if Cooper had made adjustments, I'm not sure we could have beaten Washington. They looked like a monster. But I think it's important to remember that not so long ago they were in the exact position we're in now, coming up just short and wondering what to do about it.

I'm putting my hopes on Bowness's replacement to make us better on D. And Cooper DOES seem to learn from past mistakes and change gears. It always just takes him a full summer to do it.
 
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Stammertime91

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"Move your feet to take shots"
"We went 7 games"

Lol. First of all, we went 7 games because of Vasilevskiy making unreal save after unreal save in 2/3 of those wins and basically stealing two of them. Secondly, go look at the Hawks who played pretty much 3-4 defenseman for entire games and managed to win the cup. Look at the pens with Dumoulin, Schultz, Maata, Cole, Letang, etc., they aren't inept at getting the puck through but their group on the backend is inferior to what we have.

As a coach, you play to your strengths the most that you can and limit what a team can do to play against your weaknesses. We played a series where we let Washington play to our weaknesses by hemming us in the zone. Continuously trying to make plays in our end and failing to get the puck out after 2, 3, or 4 attempts cost us quite a few goals. Allowing late goals to kill an entire game untimely hurt as well. We rarely played to our strength as our players struggled on connecting with passes - with speed - and entering their zone. Our defense showed a huge weakness which I imagine stems from Bowness of how much we respected them at the blue line as by the time we "started" to defend we were at the tops of the circles and 2/3 forwards were already beaten. We had no game plan on how to make it uncomfortable for them or how to adjust. Nearly every period of that series was a carbon copy. If anyone thinks we won more than one game (I'll grant us that) because we outplayed them and didn't rely on Vasy to bail us out is in denial.

There's no "we took them 7 games" to be proud of. Anybody that remembers this for years to come knows it was Vasy that CARRIED us to 7 games. And that was after letting in a lot of goals in games 1 and 2, where we had home ice advantage.

My biggest problem is, look at the make up of this team. We are small and that series made it tough on a lot of guys, the usual suspects disappearing, etc, but compare it to previous years. That Pens defense was a pretty well oiled machine for TWO years where they didn't have Letang for one of them. They had a style that played to their strength and that was offense. One pass, out of the zone. Under pressure? Get it out and deal with it as a 5 man unit. Hawks relied on 66% of their defensive group and still won a cup doing that. You play to your strengths and you coach and make adjustments so you can maximize the ability to play to your strengths. This ECF didn't show me that. At all.
 
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