Around The NHL Discussion 2018-2019 - Part II

[simon IC]

Backes was my favourite Blue when he was here, and I still follow his career. It was heartbreaking, but I am glad we did not re-sign him. I wish him well.

 

[Brockon]

Backes is one of my all time favorite Blues, but Stevie Wonder could see he was declining the last couple years here. He was pretty good in the playoffs his final year, but his last 2 regular seasons he was a shell of his former self. His relentless physical style of play was missing. We are lucky we didn’t sign him to anything close to the deal Boston gave him.

Which is precisely why any talk of Simmonds to the Blues makes me cringe.

Simmonds is what Backes was in his prime, showing a similar career trajectory. Whoever makes the winning bid for his UFA contract is going to regret it in pretty short order.

Edit: spelling, because it bothers me that much.

 

[simon IC]

I can't figure out what Chiarelli is doing. That is not a dig at the Oilers, I really just can't figure out his recent transactions.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Anaheim's losing streak now at 12 [0-8-4] after a 3-1 loss in Detroit. It's the 4th game in a row they've lead going into the 3rd, only to give it away.

Want a symbol of it? Ryan Getzlaf is 1-3-4 in the last 12 [and 1-1-2 of that was in the loss to Pittsburgh on the 11th], and is -19. [No, that's not a misprint.] He's got a minus in every one of those 12 games. Even in the 8-game losing streak the Ducks had earlier this year, he was still 2-6-8 and only -1 with a couple 'plus' games in there. Ryan Kesler [who hasn't scored since December 2, is a massive 4-2-6 on the season, and left early tonight due to injury] is only -4 in that same stretch and has had 'plus' games 3 times in those 12.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

In other news, it turns out that having your CEO call your best players MF’rs may not be a silver bullet after all. Dallas has lost 3 in a row and 4 of 5 (and as we know all too well, was fortunate to win that one).

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I can't figure out what Chiarelli is doing. That is not a dig at the Oilers, I really just can't figure out his recent transactions.

I think some of that has to be Hitchcock's input. Maybe they just feel like they need some different guys to make it easier to change the culture. I can't tell either, but it also won't surprise me if they are the Blues' biggest competition for the wildcard spots.

 

[bleedblue1223]

I can't figure out what Chiarelli is doing. That is not a dig at the Oilers, I really just can't figure out his recent transactions.

He's just always been a GM that's prone to monumental mistakes. Seguin, Hall, Lucic, Griffin Reinhart, etc.

 

[BlueDream]

So 12 losses in a row isn't enough for a coach to lose his job?

Lmao. Keep it up though, Anaheim. I'm not complaining.

I think some of that has to be Hitchcock's input. Maybe they just feel like they need some different guys to make it easier to change the culture. I can't tell either, but it also won't surprise me if they are the Blues' biggest competition for the wildcard spots.

The Oilers? Nah. Least of our worries. Dallas, Colorado, Minnesota are much tougher competition.

Chiarelli doesn't even know what he's doing anymore.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

So 12 losses in a row isn't enough for a coach to lose his job?

Lmao. Keep it up though, Anaheim. I'm not complaining.


The Oilers? Nah. Least of our worries. Dallas, Colorado, Minnesota are much tougher competition.

Chiarelli doesn't even know what he's doing anymore.

There are more bad teams in the Pacific that they can rack up points against, and I've watched them play under Hitchcock. He's having an impact. They could go on a run, it wouldn't surprise me. Having Anaheim, Arizona, Vancouver and LAK in the division is nice for them. Its also part of the reason that the Pacific teams have better records than Central teams do.

 

[BlueDream]

There are more bad teams in the Pacific that they can rack up points against, and I've watched them play under Hitchcock. He's having an impact. They could go on a run, it wouldn't surprise me. Having Anaheim, Arizona, Vancouver and LAK in the division is nice for them. Its also part of the reason that the Pacific teams have better records than Central teams do.

What impact is he having? He had one in like his first 10 games.

They're 5-9-1 in their last 15 now.

Hitchcock isn't a very good coach anymore and their team sucks. He was supposed to have an impact in Dallas too and didn't. He hasn't been effective for at least 2 years now.

Anaheim is better than them, once they get their head out of their ass. So that's 4 teams that are better than the Oilers that the Blues should have more focus on in the WC race.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

What impact is he having? He had one in like his first 10 games.

They're 5-9-1 in their last 15 now.

Hitchcock isn't a very good coach anymore and their team sucks. He was supposed to have an impact in Dallas too and didn't. He hasn't been effective for at least 2 years now.

Anaheim is better than them, once they get their head out of their ass. So that's 4 teams that are better than the Oilers that the Blues should have more focus on in the WC race.

You seem to be suggesting he's only having an impact if the wins/losses reflect it. But to my eye, they play a lot more structured defensive game (shocking, I know). I expect this to pay dividends the last half of the season. There are some opportunities for them to move up in the standings when teams like Vancouver, Arizona, maybe even Anaheim (but who knows) and LAK become sellers and get even weaker. The Blues won't have as many games against those teams as their own division mates, which is a structural advantage for Edmonton.

 

[Blueston]

You seem to be suggesting he's only having an impact if the wins/losses reflect it. But to my eye, they play a lot more structured defensive game (shocking, I know). I expect this to pay dividends the last half of the season. There are some opportunities for them to move up in the standings when teams like Vancouver, Arizona, maybe even Anaheim (but who knows) and LAK become sellers and get even weaker. The Blues won't have as many games against those teams as their own division mates, which is a structural advantage for Edmonton.

Getting their top defenseman back soon should help too. When you only have like 6 legit NHL players and 1 is out can be big problem.

 

[Dbrownss]

What impact is he having? He had one in like his first 10 games.

They're 5-9-1 in their last 15 now.

Hitchcock isn't a very good coach anymore and their team sucks. He was supposed to have an impact in Dallas too and didn't. He hasn't been effective for at least 2 years now.

Anaheim is better than them, once they get their head out of their ass. So that's 4 teams that are better than the Oilers that the Blues should have more focus on in the WC race.

Hitchcock deffinently had a positive impact on Dallas. They went from being a gong show to a team that could win games sometimes and stopped getting blown out of the water on other nights.

Hitch is having to work with flawed rosters with zero depth scoring

 

[BlueDream]

Hitchcock deffinently had a positive impact on Dallas. They went from being a gong show to a team that could win games sometimes and stopped getting blown out of the water on other nights.

Hitch is having to work with flawed rosters with zero depth scoring

Not really... they should have had a playoff spot locked up and completely choked it away down the stretch by playing some of the worst hockey in the league.

Their team has gotten worse since Ruff left. He was better than Hitch.

 

[Dbrownss]

Not really... they should have had a playoff spot locked up and completely choked it away down the stretch by playing some of the worst hockey in the league.

Their team has gotten worse since Ruff left. He was better than Hitch.

They did have a collapse but the effect Hitch had on them was night and day. If Nill could build a competent roster, they'd be alot better.

 

[BlueDream]

They did have a collapse but the effect Hitch had on them was night and day. If Nill could build a competent roster, they'd be alot better.

Agree to disagree I guess. I haven't seen much from Hitchcock to prove that he's the answer for a team anymore. Especially with the way the league is trending.

 

[Dbrownss]

Agree to disagree I guess. I haven't seen much from Hitchcock to prove that he's the answer for a team anymore. Especially with the way the league is trending.

I wouldn't argue against that. I think he can just get team defensive struggles ironed out. He did that in Dallas and seems to have gotten Edm somewhat straightened out but their goaltending sucks and are relying on an import that started hot then faltered(I think)

 

[Blueston]

I wouldn't argue against that. I think he can just get team defensive struggles ironed out. He did that in Dallas and seems to have gotten Edm somewhat straightened out but their goaltending sucks and are relying on an import that started hot then faltered(I think)

He excels at building structure to improve defense. He isn't as strong at converting that to offense and he tends to grate on players over time. I think he was pretty good hire for Oil, but their problems run deeper than a coach can fix.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Not really... they should have had a playoff spot locked up and completely choked it away down the stretch by playing some of the worst hockey in the league.

Their team has gotten worse since Ruff left. He was better than Hitch.

Remember that down the stretch, Bishop got hurt [again] on the 6th against Ottawa and the Stars had to rely on Lehtonen the rest of the way. When Bishop got hurt, the Stars were 37-23-6 and 5th in the West but 4th in the Central, just a point back of Minnesota and 4 points up on 9th-place Colorado. They went 5-9-2 the rest of the way, really doomed by an 8-game losing streak where they allowed 3 goals in every game and 4+ in 5 of the 8. By the time they won again, they were 5 back of us with 5 to play.

If you want to pin that on Hitchcock, go ahead and blame him for losing his #1 goalie and his backup [who was 11-7-2, 2.30, .919 after that OTL to Ottawa] failing to step up and do his part. I think most people will look at that and say, "that was shitty luck, with Bishop in net they pick up at least 3 points and probably get into the playoffs" and say that's not Hitchcock's fault.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Getting their top defenseman back soon should help too. When you only have like 6 legit NHL players and 1 is out can be big problem.

This. Edmonton is quite admittedly a 1-line team: McDavid, and whoever is on his wings - generally Draisatl and as of late Chaisson. They've tried to get RNH to be a 2C behind McDavid and spark a line and take some of the pressure off, and he simply can't. Their 5th leading goal scorer was Drake Caggiula with seven (7), and he got shipped to Chicago for defensive help. Puljujarvi is struggling, Lucic sucks [yet again], Brodziak is a 4th liner, and Zack Kassian is ... who the hell knows - and all of those guys are currently the next leading forwards in goals with four (4) and Kassian's only there because he doubled his season's total with a pair against Buffalo on Monday night.

The fact that Hitchcock is 13-11-2 with that group right now is remarkable. He's got an upper-tier NHL forward line, a pair of defensemen who'd make the top-4 on a number of teams around the league, a couple other defensemen who'd be 3rd-liners or #7 guys, an adequate NHL backup, and an otherwise AHL-caliber squad plus a goalie who's trying to make Allen look good. For a team who underwent a massive "tank to rebuild" to be where it is, it's a damning indictment of that entire process and a lot of people who had a hand in shaping that team to be what it is today.

 

[BlueDream]

Remember that down the stretch, Bishop got hurt [again] on the 6th against Ottawa and the Stars had to rely on Lehtonen the rest of the way. When Bishop got hurt, the Stars were 37-23-6 and 5th in the West but 4th in the Central, just a point back of Minnesota and 4 points up on 9th-place Colorado. They went 5-9-2 the rest of the way, really doomed by an 8-game losing streak where they allowed 3 goals in every game and 4+ in 5 of the 8. By the time they won again, they were 5 back of us with 5 to play.

If you want to pin that on Hitchcock, go ahead and blame him for losing his #1 goalie and his backup [who was 11-7-2, 2.30, .919 after that OTL to Ottawa] failing to step up and do his part. I think most people will look at that and say, "that was ****ty luck, with Bishop in net they pick up at least 3 points and probably get into the playoffs" and say that's not Hitchcock's fault.

lol this is the NHL. Injuries happen to every team. Boo hoo.

So Bishop got them to where they were, not Hitchcock. Got it.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

lol this is the NHL. Injuries happen to every team. Boo hoo.

So Bishop got them to where they were, not Hitchcock. Got it.

You're missing the entire point here, but that's OK.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Rask for Niederreiter. Makes me laugh at the threads of Wild fans putting Niederreiter with or above Schwartz.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Rask for Niederreiter. Makes me laugh at the threads of Wild fans putting Niederreiter with or above Schwartz.

The Canes just hosed them so hard in this deal. This should help us out a bit.

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

That's a REALLY good trade for CAR. Rask has looked rough since hand/wrist issues. Although I'm confident that he will produce better for MIN than he did for CAR. How much better? Depends on the severity of Rask's injury.