GDT: Avalanche @ Senators 03/16/23 5:00PM Mountain Time (Emergency GDT)

[LOFIN]

You can win with mediocre/shit goaltending. Plenty of teams have done that. You can’t win with mediocre/shit Center depth.

Are you asking if a Center has different responsibilities and impact on the game vs a winger? Is that a serious question?

Yes I am. Tell me, who bares more defensive responsibility on the same line, Landy or MacK?

Or rather let me rephrase it, MacK bares more responsibility, but who actually carries it?

I think the line is more blurred than we think. Yes, the center is usually more active on defence and won't be the first guy on the forecheck. But the traditional view of a center has been of him being a playdriver, the engine of a line. That hasn't been the case for a long time with certain wingers.

Rantanen is as much of a playdriver as MacK is, if you separate them. Marner is probably even more so in Toronto. Do I need to mention Kaprizov? Their respective lines live of from them, not the C.

I think we have excellent top-6 wingers, and such good D, that it will offset the lack we have at center. Provided we are healthy, of course. I don't buy this narrative of "you can't win if you don't have this or that".

Also, I forgot to answer your first sentence. No, teams usually don't win with mediocre or shit goaltending. They can win with mediocre or shit goaltenders, but they happen to play great. Antti Niemi, Matt Murray, Jordan Binnington... They are all mediocre goalies, who happened to play great. Kuemper was just shit. Shittiest in decades.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Yes I am. Tell me, who bares more defensive responsibility on the same line, Landy or MacK?

Or rather let me rephrase it, MacK bares more responsibility, but who actually carries it?

I think the line is more blurred than we think. Yes, the center is usually more active on defence and won't be the first guy on the forecheck. But the traditional view of a center has been of him being a playdriver, the engine of a line. That hasn't been the case for a long time with certain wingers.

Rantanen is as much of a playdriver as MacK is, if you separate them. Marner is probably even more so in Toronto. Do I need to mention Kaprizov? Their respective lines live of from them, not the C.

I think we have excellent top-6 wingers, and such good D, that it will offset the lack we have at center. Provided we are healthy, of course. I don't buy this narrative of "you can't win if you don't have this or that".

Also, I forgot to answer your first sentence. No, teams usually don't win with mediocre or shit goaltending. They can win with mediocre or shit goaltenders, but they happen to play great. Antti Niemi, Matt Murray, Jordan Binnington... They are all mediocre goalies, who happened to play great. Kuemper was just shit. Shittiest in decades.

Yup

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

I still think we can win the cup with this roster, provided everyone is healthy. On the other hand, if Landeskog is still out, I don't know if there was a trade to be made that would enable us to win without him. At least not any easier than with him.

That's a big if and then we can have zero new injuries. Any top guy out and it becomes very thin lineup.

Rant, MacK, Makar, Toews, Georgie, Nuke, Landy and Byram needs to stay healthy for us to have a chance. Add our second line center Compher to list too.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

You can win with mediocre/shit goaltending. Plenty of teams have done that. You can’t win with mediocre/shit Center depth.

Are you asking if a Center has different responsibilities and impact on the game vs a winger? Is that a serious question?

The first part is really wrong. Shit goaltending is very hard to win with. Centre depth is pretty important, but don't forget we won the last two runs without Kadri for half of it and he was playing with one hand.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

The first part is really wrong. Shit goaltending is very hard to win with. Centre depth is pretty important, but don't forget we won the last two runs without Kadri for half of it and he was playing with one hand.

Pretty confident with Georgiev. I think we got big upgrade there.

 

[Yall are crazy]

Yes I am. Tell me, who bares more defensive responsibility on the same line, Landy or MacK?

Or rather let me rephrase it, MacK bares more responsibility, but who actually carries it?

I think the line is more blurred than we think. Yes, the center is usually more active on defence and won't be the first guy on the forecheck. But the traditional view of a center has been of him being a playdriver, the engine of a line. That hasn't been the case for a long time with certain wingers.

Rantanen is as much of a playdriver as MacK is, if you separate them. Marner is probably even more so in Toronto. Do I need to mention Kaprizov? Their respective lines live of from them, not the C.

I think we have excellent top-6 wingers, and such good D, that it will offset the lack we have at center. Provided we are healthy, of course. I don't buy this narrative of "you can't win if you don't have this or that".

Also, I forgot to answer your first sentence. No, teams usually don't win with mediocre or shit goaltending. They can win with mediocre or shit goaltenders, but they happen to play great. Antti Niemi, Matt Murray, Jordan Binnington... They are all mediocre goalies, who happened to play great. Kuemper was just shit. Shittiest in decades.

Mark my words, this Era will change how the winger is appreciated. More and more ppl are taking notice that the playmaker is better than the center as they actually act as a center. They're kicking the door down

 

[LOFIN]

Mark my words, this Era will change how the winger is appreciated. More and more ppl are taking notice that the playmaker is better than the center as they actually act as a center. They're kicking the door down

I'm not going crazy like saying we are getting rid of positioning in hockey or whatever. And you still need those positional guys as well. There's always room for a good stay-at-home -defensman a la Manson.

But the traditional view has been that center is the guy driving the line. Well, we have plenty of capable wingers doing that as well now.

And we have Cale Makar, who is a unicorn. I don't think there's anyone in the league who is in the same class as him, as being a line driver from defense. Not even Fox, who I think is a stud. So yeah, we only have MacKinnon as a true good centerman. But we have other playdrivers that other teams don't have.

 

[John Mandalorian]

I'm not going crazy like saying we are getting rid of positioning in hockey or whatever. And you still need those positional guys as well. There's always room for a good stay-at-home -defensman a la Manson.

But the traditional view has been that center is the guy driving the line. Well, we have plenty of capable wingers doing that as well now.

And we have Cale Makar, who is a unicorn. I don't think there's anyone in the league who is in the same class as him, as being a line driver from defense. Not even Fox, who I think is a stud. So yeah, we only have MacKinnon as a true good centerman. But we have other playdrivers that other teams don't have.

You massively undersell MacKinnon. He’s a great Center - for any era great.

But your overall thesis, has merit. When you look at what the Avs entered the season with, and then when you reconcile that with a lack of TDL moves, it indicates that they see 2C as being similar to 1G.

To further this, the Avs traded ROR in a game of hardball.

They then traded Barrie for Kadri in a game of money ball.

It’s been mixed results. We all want to assume they learned from last year.

 

[LOFIN]

You massively undersell MacKinnon. He’s a great Center - for any era great.

I think MacKinnon is the 2nd best C in the league, I'm not underselling him. I'm just underselling the C position in general.

 

[Polite HKYDiscussion]

I think MacKinnon is the 2nd best C in the league, I'm not underselling him. I'm just underselling the C position in general.

I’m just going to say Mackinnon is the best C. Every time we go head to head with Mcdavid, Mackinnon looks like the better player. And what’s our record against The Oilers the last few years? 8-1?

Mcdavid might get more points, but Mackinnon gets a shit ton more wins. And that’s what really matters.

And Mackinnon doesn’t have to hang out with that bitch faced Draisaitl. So that’s another easy win for our guy.

 

[dahrougem2]

Saying MacKinnon is better than McDavid is like saying Yzerman is better than Gretzky/Lemieux.

I don't understand it. Nate is phenomenal, but McDavid is the best player since Mario and in all likelihood finishes his career as a top 5 player with multiple Cups, Conn Smythes, and MVPs. It's not a matter of if McDavid wins but when.

Remember, the greats ALWAYS find a way to win. McDavid will be no different.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

Colorado’s dangerous because they have the best 3 player core in the league.

Do they have enough around those three this year? We’ll see.

I’d say that if they finish at, or near the top of the West without their Captain and a plethora of other players, they shouldn’t be taken lightly.

 

[Avs_19]

Avs don’t have the same depth but they go into any non-Oilers series with the two best players in the series.

I like their chances.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Pretty confident with Georgiev. I think we got big upgrade there.

Compared to Kuemper hes Hasek. George has stolen games for the Avs all season. Hes had a few stinkers but thats going to happen with his workload and they are few and far between. I dont remember George letting in a goal like the one Kuemper let in on Hedman backhand or a Jan Rutta slapshot with no screen. In conclusion Darcy Kuemper sucks.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Saying MacKinnon is better than McDavid is like saying Yzerman is better than Gretzky/Lemieux.

I don't understand it. Nate is phenomenal, but McDavid is the best player since Mario and in all likelihood finishes his career as a top 5 player with multiple Cups, Conn Smythes, and MVPs. It's not a matter of if McDavid wins but when.

Remember, the greats ALWAYS find a way to win. McDavid will be no different.

Yah I dont get it either. Its no slight to Mackinnon who is great in his own right but there are levels to this and when it comes to offense nobody on the planet makes it look easier than Mcdavid. Its just fact. Im perfectly fine with Mcdavid winning all the scoring titles and Harts so long as Mackinnon wins the titles in Denver.

 

[the_fan]

MacKinnon is not better than McDavid but MacKinnon has a cup McDavid doesn’t, so something something suck on that Connor yeahhhhh!!!!


Sorry I’m drunk, courtesy of pink Whitney

 

[sethro109]

Saying MacKinnon is better than McDavid is like saying Yzerman is better than Gretzky/Lemieux.

I don't understand it. Nate is phenomenal, but McDavid is the best player since Mario and in all likelihood finishes his career as a top 5 player with multiple Cups, Conn Smythes, and MVPs. It's not a matter of if McDavid wins but when.

Remember, the greats ALWAYS find a way to win. McDavid will be no different.

Meh. I bet he ends up being the NHL version of Dan Marino.

 

[JoeSakic13]

Meh. I bet he ends up being the NHL version of Dan Marino.

He’s going to be kidnapped by vengeful transgender?

 

[MacKaRant]

Saying MacKinnon is better than McDavid is like saying Yzerman is better than Gretzky/Lemieux.

I don't understand it. Nate is phenomenal, but McDavid is the best player since Mario and in all likelihood finishes his career as a top 5 player with multiple Cups, Conn Smythes, and MVPs. It's not a matter of if McDavid wins but when.

Remember, the greats ALWAYS find a way to win. McDavid will be no different.

You really think he's going to win multiple Cups? I guess it depends where he goes when he leaves Edmonton.

 

[mackinnon29]

Yes I am. Tell me, who bares more defensive responsibility on the same line, Landy or MacK?

Or rather let me rephrase it, MacK bares more responsibility, but who actually carries it?

I think the line is more blurred than we think. Yes, the center is usually more active on defence and won't be the first guy on the forecheck. But the traditional view of a center has been of him being a playdriver, the engine of a line. That hasn't been the case for a long time with certain wingers.

Rantanen is as much of a playdriver as MacK is, if you separate them. Marner is probably even more so in Toronto. Do I need to mention Kaprizov? Their respective lines live of from them, not the C.

I think we have excellent top-6 wingers, and such good D, that it will offset the lack we have at center. Provided we are healthy, of course. I don't buy this narrative of "you can't win if you don't have this or that".

Also, I forgot to answer your first sentence. No, teams usually don't win with mediocre or shit goaltending. They can win with mediocre or shit goaltenders, but they happen to play great. Antti Niemi, Matt Murray, Jordan Binnington... They are all mediocre goalies, who happened to play great. Kuemper was just shit. Shittiest in decades.

Completely agree with your theory on positioning in hockey, it’s been happening for a while. More and more d-men are jumping up in play as well to the point there are even d-men now in front of the net on the pp as a screen and an occasional tip in goal. The only big thing left for the center is winning face-offs which this team is horrible at. If you couldn’t get a 2C a couple of guys who could just win face-offs I think would have been better so you start with position instead of chasing down the puck for the first minute of play half the time.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

On the downside, Compher hasn’t shaken out of his slump.

He probably wasn’t as good as he showed earlier in the year, but he’s definitely not as bad as he’s been these last 8-10 games.

You mean to tell me once the TDL passed and his 2C spot was completely secured, he went into a “slump!?!?”

Who could’ve saw that coming?

 

[The Abusement Park]

I’m just going to say Mackinnon is the best C. Every time we go head to head with Mcdavid, Mackinnon looks like the better player. And what’s our record against The Oilers the last few years? 8-1?

Mcdavid might get more points, but Mackinnon gets a shit ton more wins. And that’s what really matters.

And Mackinnon doesn’t have to hang out with that bitch faced Draisaitl. So that’s another easy win for our guy.

I mean does Edmonton win the cup last year if you swap Mack and McDavid?

 

[dahrougem2]

You really think he's going to win multiple Cups? I guess it depends where he goes when he leaves Edmonton.

Definitely. It may only be 2, but I am certain he will get at least 2. It may not be with Edmonton but it will happen.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I’m just going to say Mackinnon is the best C. Every time we go head to head with Mcdavid, Mackinnon looks like the better player. And what’s our record against The Oilers the last few years? 8-1?

Mcdavid might get more points, but Mackinnon gets a shit ton more wins. And that’s what really matters.

And Mackinnon doesn’t have to hang out with that bitch faced Draisaitl. So that’s another easy win for our guy.

Nathan MacKinnon is an incredible hockey player. Probably our best player of all time tbh, if not then it’s debatable with him, Joe and Foppa. He’s amazing.

Connor McDavid is head and shoulders above everybody else on the planet. Like, by a wide margin.

 

[S E P H]

You know, I was going to agree with the McDavid vs MacKinnon remarks here, but the number of points that McDavid feasts on the PP are definitely a negative in my book. He's definitely the better player no doubt, but a lot closer than you lot think. I think the better argument is between McDavid and Makar where it is a lot closer for me. Give me Conn Smythes over Art Rosses or Harts' any day personally.