GDT: Around the League 2023-24: The Marathon Becomes A Sprint

[K1984]

He didn’t have a horrible game by any means. Definitely not to the extent of sitting out tonight’s game… I’m not too surprised though as Vegas is cutthroat, particularly with their goalies.

Just seems like a weird choice to make now. Hill has soiled his pants consistently since January more or less, just seems like a move you make if you're down in a series to get a spark, not tied after the goalie you're sitting got you there.

 

[Drivesaitl]

this series remind me of the Oilers-Flames series in 2022 where the games were played on Oilers terms...Flames tried to trade chances with the Oilers and got burned time and again
same with the Jets

Its very much like the Calgary series in that even though Calgary won game 1 they had already lost the war and the Oilers had already solved how to score on them.

But on paper Jets are a better team. I really do feel the coaching has been abysmal in playoffs They are not prepared at all, and much like last year they were just slaughtered. A Paul Maurice Jets team with this lineup would be dangerous.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I didn't see a second of Game 4, but am I missing something here? Thompson is arguably the only reason they're in this series still.

Hill is better at boxing out plays coming across crease. More physical than Thompson. He breaks up plays around net too. For instance Dallas have been executing 3pass pinpoint plays around net. Will be harder to do with Hill.

there. But its also just a reset as Dallas have found traction on Thompson. Vegas were not going to land with one goalie or another and pretty much said so. Their view more is to cycle through players and get the fresher player inserted. This won't be he end of Thompson. Vegas would continue to mix as long as they are in playoffs. Last year due to the health of the goalies they didn't have that option.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The Jets weren’t the real deal? Huh, who knew.

The Avs though… yikes.

Seemed like a lot of pundits were saying Jets were so strong, added scorers like Toffoli a TDL. I didn't see them being a contender and that starts with looking at their D. Vastly overated. Their low GA was mostly due to Hellebuck, and due a relatively deep club that could out work other clubs in regular season.

 

[oobga]

Seemed like a lot of pundits were saying Jets were so strong, added scorers like Toffoli a TDL. I didn't see them being a contender and that starts with looking at their D. Vastly overated. Their low GA was mostly due to Hellebuck, and due a relatively deep club that could out work other clubs in regular season.

I'm still a little shocked at how their regular season went. Seems like almost a whole year of overachieving for that group. But that was it, they peaked. No extra level for playoffs, worse they sagged, while the Avs just turned on their playoff mode and dominated.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Bowness said it lastvyear- team has no heart

Who knows. But I would say anybody that opts to play in Winnipeg longterm probably has a heart, or enough of it to want to remain there. The gig was up in Winnipeg since Paul Maurice was gone. They've been able to suck off the exhaust of that for awhile but their defensive structure is eroding. Past good habits deteriorating. Bowness seems not to instill tactical or positional play to that club.

I find this laughable. Bowness himself talking about how much growth there has been in the group, how much better than last season. They were Carbon Copy playoff exits and getting slaughtered every game.

Jets head coach sees growth in his group | Winnipeg Jets

Bowness: "You compare this team to last year, honestly there’s very little comparison."

www.nhl.com

lol at Bowness feeling game 5 was solid demonstration of the Jets getting to their best game. They were giving pucks up constantly. If that was their best game its amazing it wasn't a sweep. The fluked out game 1 because AV's weren't ready for some reason and still had shaky goaltending. Once that settled down even a bit the series was over. To underline that point the Jets were outscored 22-8. They weren't close in any of the games and the score last night flattered the Jets.

This is standard statement from a coach not wanting to get fired and pleading to stay the course. Jets didn't make one valid tactical, matching, or containing adjustment in series. Instead even by game 5 they continued to give up outman situations commonly, continued to give up puck in own zone and critical areas. When Jets did establish offensively it was mostly peripheral and harmless.

This is a team that managed to not utilize even Toffoli who is a guarantee of goals in playoffs,and didn't get one goal out of players like Villardi who is only on the ice to produce.

 

[FlameChampion]

I'm still a little shocked at how their regular season went. Seems like almost a whole year of overachieving for that group. But that was it, they peaked. No extra level for playoffs, worse they sagged, while the Avs just turned on their playoff mode and dominated.

I think Vancouver and Winnipeg are similar teams.

Both have good goalies.

I think Vancouver has more star power and Winnipeg has more depth.

But when push comes to shove, they don’t really rise above. And it’s looking like Vancouvers stars outside of maybe Miller, are closer to Toronto stars rather than Edmonton/Colorado stars.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I'm still a little shocked at how their regular season went. Seems like almost a whole year of overachieving for that group. But that was it, they peaked. No extra level for playoffs, worse they sagged, while the Avs just turned on their playoff mode and dominated.

With teams like Winnipeg, or Vancouver, or a couple years ago Calgary the read is that they are willing to outplay other clubs in regular season. Yet regular season does not have the same intensity and opponent preparation as playoffs. You can't just outwork opponents in playoffs because they will match your play. What seperates then in playoffs is elite skill, lineup, preparation, defending and goaltending.

In my mind the Jets do not have any elite D. I don't think they have a solid D group. I think its fairly average and that disguised by Hellebuck. If the Oilers had Hellebuck in goal we'd be considering a repeat SC W by now.

 

[Ritchie Valens]

I didn't see a second of Game 4, but am I missing something here? Thompson is arguably the only reason they're in this series still.

Strange they’d go to him when he’s struggled all year. But then again, this is Vegas. They are very much “what have you done for me lately?”. Doesn’t matter how well you played, wins or losses…that’s their deciding factor.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I think Vancouver and Winnipeg are similar teams.

Both have good goalies.

I think Vancouver has more star power and Winnipeg has more depth.

But when push comes to shove, they don’t really rise above. And it’s looking like Vancouvers stars outside of maybe Miller, are closer to Toronto stars rather than Edmonton/Colorado stars.

I think this is illusion. Albeit its NHL and media crafted. The only legit stars Vancouver has are JT Miller and Quinn Hughes. Who else there is really a star? The contract of Pettersson is obscene. He doesn't drive plays at the highest level of play. He does very well when opponent focus isn't up to par in regular season. Petey doesn't have the ability to fight through checking. Players like Nyqvist for Nashville and Petey for Nucks are non entities in playoffs.

The only other one you could consider star is Boeser who is an inconsistent and fairly one dimensional player. A scorer who feasts on open looks at net if you give it to him. Soon as opponents would bring Playoff level intensity and marking Canucks were done.

The Pettersson contract is the lol contract in the league imo. Just crazy to hand him that much money. He's not even a strong on puck player. He's not a player that can even dictate his game in playoffs. He's a lightweight constantly getting bounced off pucks and easily.

The highest paid Elias Pettersson has the same 2 soggy assists as Connor Garland, lol, and is -3. He hasn't even scored. In the series you wouldn't even notice Pettersson on the ice.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Strange they’d go to him when he’s struggled all year. But then again, this is Vegas. They are very much “what have you done for me lately?”. Doesn’t matter how well you played, wins or losses…that’s their deciding factor.

The Knights are interested in fresh bodies seeing the ice. By hook or crook they facilitate that. They run counter to collective wisdom to run with goalies which is old school thinking. In this case I think changing up goalies if you have them is good strategy and give opponents different styles in net to look for. Adin Hill is more suited to dealing with around net Scorers like Johnson. They might have thought Thompson was getting tired.

The Knights manage the goalie stable differently than a lot of teams. For instance Thompson got 42 games and Hill 35 games. They would have been even closer except Hill was unavailable due to injury. Knights philosophy seems not to commit to anyone one goalie. Have as many as possible and share the games load.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Petterson is being paid 11.6Mx8yrs. The guy has 2 assists in the playoffs, zero goals, and is -3 and getting easily pushed off pucks. You don't even notice him in playoff games. Which was entirely predictable.

I can't stop laughing at this. This is a guy making Connor McDavid money?

 

[oobga]

Petterson is being paid 11.6Mx8yrs. The guy has 2 assists in the playoffs, zero goals, and is -3 and getting easily pushed off pucks. You don't even notice him in playoff games. Which was entirely predictable.

I can't stop laughing at this. This is a guy making Connor McDavid money?

Hey don't bad mouth Elias Jr. too much or he will send his puffy jacket posse after you

 

[Drivesaitl]

Hey don't bad mouth Elias Jr. too much or he will send his puffy jacket posse after you

Who's the highschool dork in the middle?

 

[Porkleaker]

Its very much like the Calgary series in that even though Calgary won game 1 they had already lost the war and the Oilers had already solved how to score on them.

But on paper Jets are a better team. I really do feel the coaching has been abysmal in playoffs They are not prepared at all, and much like last year they were just slaughtered. A Paul Maurice Jets team with this lineup would be dangerous.

They got beat down and rittich was demoted to the Kings. And here we are again. If they do things right both of their goalies will be sent to the AHL.

 

[5 Mins 4 Ftg]

Canes are nuts if they don’t sign RB. There are 16 teams with coaching vacancies and probably a dozen more would let their coach go in a heartbeat to hire him.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

Canes are nuts if they don’t sign RB. There are 16 teams with coaching vacancies and probably a dozen more would let their coach go in a heartbeat to hire him.

I know i'm in the minority but i don't think Brind'Amour is the best coach ever like he's hyped up in the media. I quite dislike how the Hurricanes play hockey with a billion shots on goal with little results (especially when they play good teams). Paying the rumored 7 million dollars for Brind'Amour would be a huge mistake just like when Pittsburgh extended Sullivan for 5.5 million a year until 2026-2027 when he was hyped up as the best coach in the league at the time.

 

[Drivesaitl]

The Great Pettersson "Better than Draisaitl they said" has a measley 5 goals in 25GP since signing his near 100M contract. Nucks mortgaging the entire future on this smurf. Fwiw Connor Brown has 4 goals in that time frame and isn't even playing. lol Kostin, if anybody is curious has scored same 5 NHL goals than Petey since he signed the contract and isn't even in playoffs. With Kostin its 5 goals in 19 games.

I'm deepdiving on some of this. Petey also dropped in scoring race this season from right up at top to around 2oth place.

The Great Petterson isn't even top 20 scoring in NHL cumulatively since being in league. He's 26 in pts. Not even in conversation as a top producer.

How is this soft on pucks guy worth 11.6M? I know several Million doesn't buy much of a house in Vancouver but what a ridiculous contract.

Petey is dimes away from the 3rd highest paid player in the league. How does any of this make sense? Boston recently signed Pastrnak who is twice the player for less money.

 

[joestevens29]

Canes are nuts if they don’t sign RB. There are 16 teams with coaching vacancies and probably a dozen more would let their coach go in a heartbeat to hire him.

The hangup seems to be on assistants, like really how much of an issue can that be?

Especially if what fixed to ruin is saying is true about 7mil for the head coach.

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

The hangup seems to be on assistants, like really how much of an issue can that be?

Especially if what fixed to ruin is saying is true about 7mil for the head coach.

This is the tweet where it's believed that Weekes is referring to Brind'Amour.

 

[joestevens29]

This is the tweet where it's believed that Weekes is referring to Brind'Amour.

I do wonder if part of it is retro pay, lol.

Weren't they getting lower salaries at some point in Carolina?

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

I do wonder if part of it is retro pay, lol.

Weren't they getting lower salaries at some point in Carolina?

Maybe. I also vaguely remember that the owner is a moneyball/analytics type guy and thinks he can win without spending alot of money. I'm thinking all this noise is because the owner is probably trying to force the staff to take less and Brind'Amour is using his leverage to make the owner open up his wallet.

 

[joestevens29]

Maybe. I also vaguely remember that the owner is a moneyball/analytics type guy and thinks he can win without spending alot of money. I'm thinking all this noise is because the owner is probably trying to force the staff to take less and Brind'Amour is using his leverage to make the owner open up his wallet.

It seems messed up. What do assistant coaches really make 500k?

The amount that you could potentially lowball those assistants is really peanuts if you are willing to pay your head coach even 3mil let alone 7mil

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

It seems messed up. What do assistant coaches really make 500k?

The amount that you could potentially lowball those assistants is really peanuts if you are willing to pay your head coach even 3mil let alone 7mil

I agree but that's not how billionaires think.

I think this explains it perfectly.

 

[frag2]

This is the tweet where it's believed that Weekes is referring to Brind'Amour.

Didn't this come out shortly after Francis fired Hakstol? Insinuating Francis will pay Brind'Amour top dollar to join the Kraken