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GDT: 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Part 2

S E P H

S E P H

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Cousin Eddie said:
Hopefully watching his old club hoist the mug lights a bigger fire than ever under EJ once he resumes summer training.
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Not sure if off-ice training will help EJ's decline, he needs a power skating coach, but those don't stop stupid decisions with the puck. I say this as someone who wants to keep him and have him be the solution.

Ivan13 said:
****ing hurts watching him lift that Cup with the Blues. He could've done that here, if it wasn't for Lacroix
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No doubt Avs screwed up that deal and didn't trust him as a rookie when we should've, but lets not act that he's a saint either. He did all he could to get to UFA status as fast as humanly possible.

henchman24 said:
I think people would be shocked on how little teams pursued ROR... complete nonsense especially in hindsight.
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Does that go against your "skating cannot be entirely finished" quota? He fell to the second round because of skating issues and it absolutely boggles my mind how 20 other NHL teams couldn't give him any sign of hope before we drafted him.
 
henchman21

henchman21

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S E P H said:
Does that go against your "skating cannot be entirely finished" quota? He fell to the second round because of skating issues and it absolutely boggles my mind how 20 other NHL teams couldn't give him any sign of hope before we drafted him.
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ROR still has skating issues (his skating will always be a bit wonky)... he's an average skater and you're right he did fall because of skating issues. He went from an average OHL skater and worked his way to being an average NHL skater. It is an improvement certainly, but he didn't take a weakness and make it a strength. There were also talent questions too. I've always talked about a sliding scale with centers and their skating, ROR falls on a different part of the scale than many talked about.
 
Hornstar

Hornstar

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Feb 3, 2018
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the_fan said:
Avs had a legit chance at winning the cup if they won the game 7 against the Sharks. Watching the finals, both Blues and Bruins looked beatable. I mean all the games in finals were pretty much blow outs, and it came down to who made the most mistakes in the game 7 which was Boston. It's not like they were all close games where both teams were tough to beat, went neck to neck, overtimes and stuff.
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There's no way we beat the blues. Mack was injured and rants and EJ as well. Even if they weren't injured they would have been worn out. We have to have a legit 2nd like to best the blues.
 
S E P H

S E P H

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henchman24 said:
ROR still has skating issues... he's an average skater and you're right he did fall because of skating issues. He went from an average OHL skater and worked his way to being an average NHL skater. It is an improvement certainly, but he didn't take a weakness and make it a strength. There were also talent questions too. I've always talked about a sliding scale with centers and their skating, ROR falls on a different part of the scale than many talked about.
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I agree with that, I personally believe that you can fix skating, but to a certain degree. You're right that ROR is still a very average NHL skater, but because his anticipation is so high especially on the defencive side of the spectrum he tends to be in good positions regardless if it's MacKinnon, Jack Hughes, or McDavid out there. He has limitations, but he definitely is an exception.
 
henchman21

henchman21

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S E P H said:
I agree with that, I personally believe that you can fix skating, but to a certain degree. You're right that ROR is still a very average NHL skater, but because his anticipation is so high especially on the defencive side of the spectrum he tends to be in good positions regardless if it's MacKinnon, Jack Hughes, or McDavid out there. He has limitations, but he definitely is an exception.
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I've never said you can't fix skating... I've said there is a better chance at improving skating where there is a technical flaw. When a player is refined it is harder to make them improve. Some disagree with that and say as a player gets stronger, the technique puts that to better use and improves. I just haven't see a ton of results from that. I've seen more of the average skaters with a flaw that can be corrected dramatically improve. Even ROR to an extent is that... he is a funky skater and always will be, but his improvements to technique combined with strength have allowed him to not make it a weakness... and it helps he is 6'1" 215lbs who might be the smartest player in the NHL. The latter really makes him an exception and not the rule. Having an elite trait like that will allow a player to shine through.
 
Pokecheque

Pokecheque

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Vaslof said:
You wouldn't be saying that if we missed the playoffs this season and last season. Which was more likely to happen than us making them. We got lucky.
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Any successful team in any given year (including the Blues) can attribute some measure of it to dumb, random luck. It's silly to say Bednar didn't play a part in the Avs' turnaround, especially given the fact that management came back with largely the same roster. It was a bubble team then and it's a bubble team now. Now...if they make some real stride in the offseason and still remain a bubble team then that's a different story, but to say after the team's postseason run that Bednar is akin to Yeo is inherently ridiculous.
 
shadow1

shadow1

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Pokecheque said:
Actually no, it's not hard at all to blame them. Botterill is an incompetent GM and the Sabres are an incompetent franchise from top to bottom. They handed over a future Selke winner and reigning playoff MVP over to another team for a busted prospect, the lowest 1st rounder possible, and two awful players on awful contracts. Just because Armstrong nearly panicked before going on a Stanley Cup run midway through the season doesn't mean the Sabres should be let off the hook for their idiocy.

I have more admiration for Sakic in light of the Duchene situation after seeing what happened in Buffalo with O'Reilly. Sakic held firm past the deadline, through the offseason, through camp, and into the regular season before finally finding the right deal despite screams from fans (including me) and pundits from all over hockey for him to just get a deal done. Buffalo on the other hand rushed O'Reilly out the door and in turn may have gotten the worst possible return. Even Peter Chiarelli would have scoffed at that.
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Yeah, I agree with all that...which is why my first sentence was “It was an awful trade”.
 
dahrougem2

dahrougem2

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Dec 9, 2011
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Muffin said:
If McKenzie and Friedman voted for Binnington he should've won. The rest of them don't know **** as far as I'm concerned.
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I don't get this "Binnington should have won the Conn Smythe" argument.

Sure, he was great getting them to the playoffs, but the guy was 7th amongst goaltenders in G.A.A and 10th in Sv% during this post-season run.

He was good, but not great. One can even argue that the reason the Blues had a couple of long series' is because of Jordan Binnington's regression.

Congrats to him on the Cup win, but I have my doubts about him maintaining his level of play as a legitimate starter moving forward. Blues fans won't give a **** because they have a cup, and rightfully so. But no way did he deserve the Conn Smythe.

If any goaltender should have warranted Conn Smythe, it was Rask - not Binnington. Rask was 3rd in G.A.A, 2nd in Sv% and tied for 1st in SO.
 
the_fan

the_fan

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Hornstar said:
There's no way we beat the blues. Mack was injured and rants and EJ as well. Even if they weren't injured they would have been worn out. We have to have a legit 2nd like to best the blues.
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We saw throughout this playoffs, anything is possible. If Avs got through the Sharks, they could go all the way, and getting through the Sharks almost happened perhaps if it wasnt for controversy
 
Avsboy

Avsboy

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Still can't believe St Louis won. They were a cursed team. The league needs a cursed team.
 
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