GDT: #65 ⋅ ANA @ CHI ⋅ 5:30 PM PDT

[Ducks DVM]

I agree there are probably a lot of guys playing injured like Gudas and McTavish. There's a lot of juggling and not all of it is Cronin's fault. But I'm still carrying a tiny pitchfork for Cronin. He just hasn't done anything where I'm really impressed. The team as a whole looks confused, lazy and uninspired.

Verbeek is more on my shit list than Cronin though.

Yeah, this is all on the house that Verbeek has built.

I don’t think you can judge Cronin on this roster, but his system is boring AF (at least the way this roster plays it), and the improvements he may or may not have made suppressing shots (still not 100% sure that’s not roster based) is exponentially less impressive than just how much better Eakins was at having the team ready to play 60 minutes, regardless of the ineptitude.

The strength and conditioning group needs to know what Cronin is wanting/doing to the players though, in order to keep players healthier. The rampant injuries (aside for the freak ones)are unacceptable.

 

[DavidBL]

Yeah, this is all on the house that Verbeek has built.

I don’t think you can judge Cronin on this roster, but his system is boring AF (at least the way this roster plays it), and the improvements he may or may not have made suppressing shots (still not 100% sure that’s not roster based) is exponentially less impressive than just how much better Eakins was at having the team ready to play 60 minutes, regardless of the ineptitude.

The strength and conditioning group needs to know what Cronin is wanting/doing to the players though, in order to keep players healthier. The rampant injuries (aside for the freak ones)are unacceptable.

I really wonder how much is Cronin being unable to balance the workload with the travel

 

[Daz28]

It's becoming extremely hard to watch. No idea what this pre-season mentality is post-deadline. The guys you've invested in, and have been trying to develop should 100% be playing over waiver wire fodder. Sure, maybe slot them in here or there, but the shuffling the deck nonsense is awful for the players AND the team overall. Zell's tiny twig is a HUGE issue when he's paired with Fowler giving up odd-man rushes 3x/game. Plenty of guys in SD you could give a couple game peek, but go out and get Ben Meyers, and play Ross EVERY SINGLE NIGHT? Cam is a -30, Silf 1 pt in 11 games, Groulx 2 pts in 37 games, and Gibby 3.31 .893?? Strength and conditioning gets an F-. If Verbeek is happy with more than 10% of what's happening, then he's delusional. I know this is a rant, but I can't be alone here after the Hawks looked 10x better than us last night.

 

[MMC]

It's becoming extremely hard to watch. No idea what this pre-season mentality is post-deadline. The guys you've invested in, and have been trying to develop should 100% be playing over waiver wire fodder. Sure, maybe slot them in here or there, but the shuffling the deck nonsense is awful for the players AND the team overall. Zell's tiny twig is a HUGE issue when he's paired with Fowler giving up odd-man rushes 3x/game. Plenty of guys in SD you could give a couple game peek, but go out and get Ben Meyers, and play Ross EVERY SINGLE NIGHT? Cam is a -30, Silf 1 pt in 11 games, Groulx 2 pts in 37 games, and Gibby 3.31 .893?? Strength and conditioning gets an F-. If Verbeek is happy with more than 10% of what's happening, then he's delusional. I know this is a rant, but I can't be alone here after the Hawks looked 10x better than us last night.

I can't agree with this, and curious who you think these players are

 

[Mr Rogers]

Yeah, this is all on the house that Verbeek has built.

I don’t think you can judge Cronin on this roster, but his system is boring AF (at least the way this roster plays it), and the improvements he may or may not have made suppressing shots (still not 100% sure that’s not roster based) is exponentially less impressive than just how much better Eakins was at having the team ready to play 60 minutes, regardless of the ineptitude.

The strength and conditioning group needs to know what Cronin is wanting/doing to the players though, in order to keep players healthier. The rampant injuries (aside for the freak ones)are unacceptable.

I think he’s trying to implement a system that he doesn’t have the horses for. He apparently hasn’t made any changes to it to suit his players better either because he’s stubborn or doesn’t know how.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I think he’s trying to implement a system that he doesn’t have the horses for. He apparently hasn’t made any changes to it to suit his players better either because he’s stubborn or doesn’t know how.

Yeah, when he was complaining early on that Zegras Carlsson Terry wasn’t willing to dump/chase the puck I lost faith in his ability to evaluate the roster’s strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Yeah, when he was complaining early on that Zegras Carlsson Terry wasn’t willing to dump/chase the puck I lost faith in his ability to evaluate the roster’s strengths and weaknesses.

I think they fundamentally misunderstood Zegras as a player - now I feel like I saw a recent comment from Pat saying he will be a wing so hopefully they finally concluded on that. Maybe he can be a little better defensively but I don’t think they should be zeroing in on that as much going forward especially if he’s gonna be a winger. Maybe it was largely because every podcast was asking him the same question (re: Zegras’ defense) last summer, but Cronin could not stop talking about turning that around for him and just generally introducing structure into his game.

I almost felt there was an underlying tone last summer of wanting him to “behave” better and cut the antics a bit. Could just be me reading into it too much, but I felt that. They need to just let him be, there will be other guys who become the go-to leaders, we don’t need to neuter Zegs, he’s important for the overall team appeal and buzz as well.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I think they fundamentally misunderstood Zegras as a player - now I feel like I saw a recent comment from Pat saying he will be a wing so hopefully they finally concluded on that. Maybe he can be a little better defensively but I don’t think they should be zeroing in on that as much going forward especially if he’s gonna be a winger. Maybe it was largely because every podcast was asking him the same question (re: Zegras’ defense) last summer, but Cronin could not stop talking about turning that around for him and just generally introducing structure into his game.

I almost felt there was an underlying tone last summer of wanting him to “behave” better and cut the antics a bit. Could just be me reading into it too much, but I felt that. They need to just let him be, there will be other guys who become the go-to leaders, we don’t need to neuter Zegs, he’s important for the overall team appeal and buzz as well.

I think he needed to be told to keep his mouth shut with the officials, and eliminate the selfish temper tantrum type plays. He also doesn’t need to be a Selke contender, but he does need to be in the camera field when the other team comes down ice.

He was MUCH better this year defensively, and I think most of his offensive struggles team from rust from missing camp. Lots of people just making drama about it.

 

[Daz28]

I can't agree with this, and curious who you think these players are

I'm not saying anyone is ready, but give some guys a taste of the NHL instead of going out and getting Ben Meyers to play a handful of games.

 

[Leonardo87]

F this game, Locked!