BM Q&A at Summer Beach Party

[WhatTheDuck]

I've always thought that power plays should be heavily structured from retrieval to finish, and ours has long looked unorganized and stagnant.

The best PP's have a variety of quick switches and pass options that you can tell have been worked on times over, very little standing still. Most coaches are going with higher pressure/swarm PK's and we have to do more to get them chasing.

I'm glad they are at least acknowledging that it's an issue.

 

[ADHB]

When was the last time we had a good PP? I think the personnel has as much to do with it as the coaching.

We had the number 1 PP in the league only 3 seasons ago (15-16). I don't really remember who was the number 1 unit at the time, but it couldn't have been far off from what we have now?

Getzlaf/Fowler/Perry/Kesler/Vatanen?

So now you'd have Rakell and Montour instead of Kesler/Vatanen? Or maybe Henrique. Doesn't seem like much of a drop off. I guess Perry's decline could have something to do with it, but he never has done much other than stand in front of the net and make plays from there or behind the goal line. I don't remember the setup then, but there's no way they could have been effective if their positioning was as static as it's been the last few seasons.

edit: And as heusy said, the PK's are so high pressure that you simply can't afford to stand around. The entries have to be worked on as well. I never understood why our best skaters on the unit (Rakell and Fowler) were rarely the ones trying to enter the zone. Usually Fowler would skate slowly up to center and then drop it back to Getz who would methodically try to enter the zone with a cute pass or similar.

 

[AngelDuck]

When was the last time we had a good PP? I think the personnel has as much to do with it as the coaching.

2015/2016 and 2010/2011.

The bottom line is Montour needs to fill the void left by Vatanen (and Visnovsky before him). Lindholm and Fowler aren't going to be that player. And the coaching staff needs to give him the chance to do it.

 

[Paul4587]

2015/2016 and 2010/2011.

The bottom line is Montour needs to fill the void left by Vatanen (and Visnovsky before him). Lindholm and Fowler aren't going to be that player. And the coaching staff needs to give him the chance to do it.

Montour being our main shooting option at the point would help (I don’t know why coaches keep using Fowler in that role) but I think it hurts that we don’t have any forwards with a really good one timer - Rakell probably has the best one but it’s not among the best league wide.

It also hurts that Perry has declined so much and isn’t as capable of being a good net front presence.

 

[Deuce22]

Montour being our main shooting option at the point would help (I don’t know why coaches keep using Fowler in that role) but I think it hurts that we don’t have any forwards with a really good one timer - Rakell probably has the best one but it’s not among the best league wide.

It also hurts that Perry has declined so much and isn’t as capable of being a good net front presence.

Teams don't respect Fowler's point shot and cheat away from him, taking away space elsewhere. I think the coaches like his ability to carry the puck into the zone, that's why he's on the first PP.

 

[duckpuck]

The elephant in the power play room is Getzaf. Why does he play the point rather than the half wall? The ducks have many good options at the point (Montour, Lindholm, Fowler) and playing Getz there takes one of them off the ice.

 

[Static]

When was the last time we had a good PP? I think the personnel has as much to do with it as the coaching.

Three years ago we were number one in both PP and PK.

Edit: man, browser did not update.

 

[dracom]

Three years ago we were number one in both PP and PK.

Edit: man, browser did not update.

Still have no idea how that happened.

 

[Paul4587]

The elephant in the power play room is Getzaf. Why does he play the point rather than the half wall? The ducks have many good options at the point (Montour, Lindholm, Fowler) and playing Getz there takes one of them off the ice.

Yeah I don’t get that either. Getzlaf has had some really productive PP years but it’s always seemed to be when we’ve used a 3 forward 2 Dman unit.

 

[ADHB]

Teams don't respect Fowler's point shot and cheat away from him, taking away space elsewhere. I think the coaches like his ability to carry the puck into the zone, that's why he's on the first PP.

Yet their entries are designed for someone else to carry the puck in. Boggles the mind.

 

[QuackinQuaker]

I've always felt like the PP was a strength of the team till last season.. I think having Getzlaf on the point was a cute idea, but it changes the overall attitude of the attack. With too much space, Getzlaf can slow things down too much and instead of attacking, he tries to make cute passes. There's too much standing around once they're in the zone, and while we don't have a one timer like Brent Burns, somebody needs to figure out how to get shots through to the net. Get the defense moving and create energy, instead of this whole "stay in my spot and hope the puck comes to me" vibe that I get from the current PP.

 

[AngelDuck]

I'd love to see Getzlaf play behind the net more with the man advantage. It's mind boggling that this many years later, him and the coaching staff haven't just watched a bunch of video of Joe Thornton and completely copied that role

 

[Paul4587]

I'd love to see Getzlaf play behind the net more with the man advantage. It's mind boggling that this many years later, him and the coaching staff haven't just watched a bunch of video of Joe Thornton and completely copied that role

Backstrom too. He and Thornton are incredible positioned behind the net, you would think we would have tried it before now.

 

[Masch78]

I've always felt like the PP was a strength of the team till last season.

On the top of my mind good PP years were the minority over the last decade. The last real good year was 2010/11

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I'd love to see Getzlaf play behind the net more with the man advantage. It's mind boggling that this many years later, him and the coaching staff haven't just watched a bunch of video of Joe Thornton and completely copied that role

He has in the past. Set up there a lot back when we had actual one-time options like Selanne and Pronger, or Visnovsky. We don't have anyone whose one-timer is better than average now.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

2015/2016 and 2010/2011.

Also 12-13 in that time span. And before that, in 09-10, 08-09, and 06-07. 07-08 was the Selanne/Nieds staycation season, no surprise that one sucked.

Kinda funny, looking back. In the cap era, the trend is almost entirely that we're either top-5 or we're in the 20s. Nothing in between.

 

[Duck Off]

I hear what you are saying but I dont think it is as easy for a GM to fire a coach who has made the conference finals and then the playoffs after the team was decimated with injury. I dont know for sure but I bet there is a lot more politics in making those decisions and it isnt as easy as just doing what he wants. Perhaps it may be hard to find the next coach if they see we fire coaches that make the playoffs 2 years in a row including making the conference finals and making the playoffs after those injuries.

I don't think he's putting that much thought into it personally. I think he's just reluctant to fire one of his good buddies. If anything, I think the chance to take over a team who appears close is more appealing to potential new coaches.

As fans that follow the Ducks closely we can all clearly see he is a dinosaur and needs to go and the positive to me about that q&a is Murray kind of thinks like us. I was actually more concerned that Murray was content with RCs performance. He had clearly stated what he is demanding of RC and even has the replacement coach on staff. I think the threat and backup plans are in place if RC doesn't do what is needed.

True, but that doesn't excuse doing basically nothing this offseason IMO. Re-hiring Carlyle was already a risk because everyone knew of the issues that he brought, and many of them are ones he's mentioning now. I don't see any excuse in keeping him personally. Yes, the way our team played while dealing with injuries was impressive, but the playoff performance was inexcusable. Add the complete ass performance in min management and firing him should have been a no brainer IMO.

And regarding roster changes, we absolutely did the right thing this off season. We have very limited cap space and have no idea how healthy Kesler and Eaves are or if the window is completely shut. The impatient move would have been to get a dominant winger only to find Kesler cant play and Steel isnt ready or give up prospects for a player when our team isnt even a playoff caliber team and we need to be rebuilding and collecting prospects. It makes a lot more sense to see how viable Kesler, Eaves, Steel and Terry are and whether our team is any good before going into buy mode.

I see what you're saying here, and in some ways, I agree. I was completely against adding someone like JVR because of exactly what you just said. I personally would have been more aggressive in targeting a guy like Galchenyuk though. His one timer and speed is something our team desperately needs and IMO, he would have been someone I would have prioritized trading for.

Even without adding a big name, I would be a lot happier or at least content with this offseason if he re-signed Grant, even if it was for slightly more than what we signed Rowney for. With the uncertainty around Kesler, not bringing him back is a big mistake IMO.

So I guess my ideal, realistic offseason would have been for Murray to target a younger scorer that could grow with the team and re-sign Grant. Obviously I would love to move on from kesler or Perry, but I said from day 1 of offseason that no one should expect that to happen. However, I'd like to think Murray could have topped that offer AZ gave for Galchenyuk. I think he's exactly what this team needed. Someone with a good one timer, speed, and a pure goal scorer is something this team desperately needs.

 

[Trojans86]

I'd love to see Getzlaf play behind the net more with the man advantage. It's mind boggling that this many years later, him and the coaching staff haven't just watched a bunch of video of Joe Thornton and completely copied that role

That is actually a great idea. He is also the biggest reason why we are slow to move the puck. A lot of times at the point you just need to move the puck around quickly and tire the d out rather than wait for that perfect pass because the d has already collapsed. behind the net he would be a lot more effective finding those sneaky passes and using his big body to maintain puck possession.

 

[Trojans86]

I don't think he's putting that much thought into it personally. I think he's just reluctant to fire one of his good buddies. If anything, I think the chance to take over a team who appears close is more appealing to potential new coaches.



True, but that doesn't excuse doing basically nothing this offseason IMO. Re-hiring Carlyle was already a risk because everyone knew of the issues that he brought, and many of them are ones he's mentioning now. I don't see any excuse in keeping him personally. Yes, the way our team played while dealing with injuries was impressive, but the playoff performance was inexcusable. Add the complete ass performance in min management and firing him should have been a no brainer IMO.



I see what you're saying here, and in some ways, I agree. I was completely against adding someone like JVR because of exactly what you just said. I personally would have been more aggressive in targeting a guy like Galchenyuk though. His one timer and speed is something our team desperately needs and IMO, he would have been someone I would have prioritized trading for.

Even without adding a big name, I would be a lot happier or at least content with this offseason if he re-signed Grant, even if it was for slightly more than what we signed Rowney for. With the uncertainty around Kesler, not bringing him back is a big mistake IMO.

So I guess my ideal, realistic offseason would have been for Murray to target a younger scorer that could grow with the team and re-sign Grant. Obviously I would love to move on from kesler or Perry, but I said from day 1 of offseason that no one should expect that to happen. However, I'd like to think Murray could have topped that offer AZ gave for Galchenyuk. I think he's exactly what this team needed. Someone with a good one timer, speed, and a pure goal scorer is something this team desperately needs.

Not signing Grant makes zero sense to me. I have no idea what they were thinking. He was a diamond in the rough that could be a great cheap 4c but also fill in just fine as a 3c if needed. Just what we needed.

As for other trades, I still contend waiting to January makes sense for us. There will be guys for us to target and we get to see if we want to waste future assets on guys that can win now or if we want to go full rebuild and start selling. If things go south I'd love to start piling up picks and maybe even look to trade up next draft to find a franchise 1c. It also doesnt hurt to have a worse record at the draft if your team isnt in the playoffs anyways. Sounds horrible to say but that is just how they set up the system and you have to play by their rules.

 

[Duck Off]

Not signing Grant makes zero sense to me. I have no idea what they were thinking. He was a diamond in the rough that could be a great cheap 4c but also fill in just fine as a 3c if needed. Just what we needed.

Agreed. It really doesn't make sense when you consider Murray's comments after the season about a strong desire to re-sign him. As I mentioned in the Rowney thread, I have evidence to support this, but I think Murray got frustrated at negotiations with Grant and his agent. I have a strong feeling the contract he signed Rowney for was the last offer he had to Grant. I think when they didn't take it, he just called Rowney's agent and offered that deal because he was frustrated and just wanted it done. There's just no other logic that I can see that illustrates why Rowney would have gotten that much when he had no leverage. Personally, IF that did happen, I think Murray rushed it. As we can see by Grant's new contract, we weren't exactly competing with many teams for his services. It backfired on Grant too, clearly, but I think it's a loss for both parties as the fit seemed right for both.

As for other trades, I still contend waiting to January makes sense for us. There will be guys for us to target and we get to see if we want to waste future assets on guys that can win now or if we want to go full rebuild and start selling. If things go south I'd love to start piling up picks and maybe even look to trade up next draft to find a franchise 1c. It also doesnt hurt to have a worse record at the draft if your team isnt in the playoffs anyways. Sounds horrible to say but that is just how they set up the system and you have to play by their rules.

I agree somewhat. Really depends on the player for me. I wanted no part of trading significant assets for Patches or giving big term to someone like JVR. In those scenarios, it's better to wait and see how the team performs as there's a lot of variables in play that could affect this year (Kesler's health, young players progression/lack of, etc.). However I keep circling back to Galchenyuk because he's someone I could have seen us keeping long term due to age, need, etc.

 

[caliamad]

I think there is 2 problems with the pp.

No point shot and lack of movement.

Without an accurate powerful shot from the blue line, the ok forwards can cheat defensively. Additionally once we have the pick we are way too stationary and pass the puck along he perimeter.

When we have movement it shifts the pk out of position and opens up passing lanes.

Break in are also a problem but I lm not sure it’s any worse than other non elite teams.

 

[QuackinQuaker]

As someone else pointed out, the ducks were top of the league a couple of seasons ago. In hindsight, I think I should've (and meant to say) that the PP hasn't been a glaring weakness like it was last season. It was embarrassing to watch at times.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I think two people can help the PP unit - F Eaves and D Welinski. I dunno if Welinski will get a long enough look, but he's got that booming shot from the blue line.

 

[Ducks in a row]

Our power play the last 5 seasons.

2017-18 ~ 17.8%
2016-17 ~ 18.7%
2015-16 ~ 23.1%
2014-15 ~ 15.7%
2013-14 ~ 16.0%

 

[Paul4587]

Our power play the last 5 seasons.

2017-18 ~ 17.8%
2016-17 ~ 18.7%
2015-16 ~ 23.1%
2014-15 ~ 15.7%
2013-14 ~ 16.0%

Was the Walrus the PP coach in 15-16? I’m trying to work out what was different that year that it was so good. We had McGinn and Perron who were great at finishing in close and Perron had a good one timer but they weren’t here for the full year.