Calling Out Matt Barzal

[BillD]

A lot of solid points here about Barzal. He is a very frustrating player to watch exactly because he is supremely gifted. I don't want to question his hockey IQ but watching him screw up scoring chances by trying to do too much, by forcing plays that aren't there really makes you wonder if its ego on a scale of DiPietro, or he is a Jason Blake hot dog and puck hog. For every amazing play he makes, he makes an equal amount of dumb offense killers.
My most annoying habit is Barzal holding the damn puck on the PP around the left circle, looking and waiting for an open passing lane. They know he isn't shooting from there, so he holds and holds, eventually trying to force a pass through a closed lane. Results are a wasted 40 seconds and loss of puck.
So is it lack of hockey sense or attempted self glorification? He can be so much better but the coaching staff has to get him to play a smarter, more team oriented game.

 

[PK Cronin]

A lot of solid points here about Barzal. He is a very frustrating player to watch exactly because he is supremely gifted. I don't want to question his hockey IQ but watching him screw up scoring chances by trying to do too much, by forcing plays that aren't there really makes you wonder if its ego on a scale of DiPietro, or he is a Jason Blake hot dog and puck hog. For every amazing play he makes, he makes an equal amount of dumb offense killers.
My most annoying habit is Barzal holding the damn puck on the PP around the left circle, looking and waiting for an open passing lane. They know he isn't shooting from there, so he holds and holds, eventually trying to force a pass through a closed lane. Results are a wasted 40 seconds and loss of puck.
So is it lack of hockey sense or attempted self glorification? He can be so much better but the coaching staff has to get him to play a smarter, more team oriented game.

The PP is something I blame on the coaches. It's the same problem we had when Tavares was here. No movement of the puck, no movement of players. Too many one dimensional players on it. Ugh.

 

[Doshell Propivo]

The PP is something I blame on the coaches. It's the same problem we had when Tavares was here. No movement of the puck, no movement of players. Too many one dimensional players on it. Ugh.

I dunno man... How many coaching staffs and PP coaches have had a shot at it here the last few years. 4? 5? All with similar players and similar results. The Caps PP was pretty good under Trotz and his staff...

I think it's a talent issue.

 

[PK Cronin]

I dunno man... How many coaching staffs and PP coaches have had a shot at it here the last few years. 4? 5? All with similar players and similar results. The Caps PP was pretty good under Trotz and his staff...

I think it's a talent issue.

You're right. Ugh.

 

[Pumpkin Pal]

And there's loads of those talents just ready to be had.

In the meantime it would help the entire team if Barzal could dumb his game down to the talent on the roster.

Jason zucker, a guy who is signed through 2023, would look really good on barzals LW.

Damn shame that a guy like him would never get traded though.

 

[Newsworthy]

I’m asking an elite player to work with the talent he has next to him today.

Or Eberle and Lee and the other players could elevate their play and live up to the contracts they signed.

 

[scottywiper]

He's surrounded by ineptitude at moment

 

[Bood12]

ha people here are really getting on Barzal? lets hope he does not read these boards, Isles and Islander fans need to do nothing but kiss Barzals ass for as long as he is wearing an Islander jersey, Islanders need him alot more than he needs us

 

[dlawong]

I believe Barzy is frustrated. How many times he carried the puck into the zone, cycled & then only lost the pucks because no one can get to the open for him to pass to & when he does end up pass to someone in front of the net, the puck end up in the goalie pads (not enough shooters know how to lift up the pucks enough to go under the net). He needs a winger with a good wrist shot who knows how to sneak pass the defender into the open spot & receive the puck properly on the stick.

I think with Ebs is that he while still have good skills he is fighting the puck a bit too much & overthinking his shots. Really hope he can pick up the pace because right now he is still the best option for Barzal until they can either draft, promote within or sign an UFA to take that spot. The only reason why Barzal, Ebs & Beau can't be on the same line is because they are not solid defensively together, possibly due to their lack of physical strength. Offensively they could click but not if they can't get the puck out of their own zone on most shifts.

If Isles can't win in regulation before the deadline I do agree that Isles should be a seller instead of buyer. Winning too many 3 on 3 OT & shootout is not good indication that they can do well in the playoff. Also I just have no confidence in their PP but PP goals sometimes are the only goals that will be scored in post season.

 

[dlawong]

You're right. Ugh.

Part talent, part willingness to skate/pass & the coach can only tell them what to do so much. Maybe change the personnel will give certain player more incentives to work HARDER on the pp. Skating, moving the pucks laterally and shooting all takes effort. Also faking the shots/passes will always help too. If what you do is predicable, the shots will get blocked or may even be intercepted. Goalies will stop all the shots if he can anticipate what you are going to do. Keep it simple, skate, move, quick pass, look for lane & get shot off stick quick, not slapping too hard but aim to be accurate/quick. Sticks can break if you shoot too hard and use the wrist as much as you can.

 

[dlawong]

Part talent, part willingness to skate/pass & the coach can only tell them what to do so much. Maybe change the personnel will give certain player more incentives to work HARDER on the pp. Skating, moving the pucks laterally and shooting all takes effort. Also faking the shots/passes will always help too. If what you do is predicable, the shots will get blocked or may even be intercepted. Goalies will stop all the shots if he can anticipate what you are going to do. Keep it simple, skate, move, quick pass, look for lane & get shot off stick quick, not slapping too hard but aim to be accurate/quick. Sticks can break if you shoot too hard and use the wrist as much as you can.

Oh another thing, don't try to dangle thru 3 checkers on the PP, you are up a man so why try to do it all by yourself? Use speed to get into the zone try to back up their Ds. If you take your time go up the ice, it allows their Ds to line up at the blueline to force you to shoot in. If you do not have the speed to retrieve the puck, the they will win the puck battle & send you back down the ice. There you just waiste 1/4 of your PP time.

Once you get into the zone, instead of keep going forward, freeze, spin & pass to someone open on the other side (use your good vision & no blind passes). Get puck control, skate laterally or spin to get away from checks, avoid going to the board as much as you can, keep doing this for 3 or 4 passes until the extra man can sneak into the middle to one time the shot. If can't open up a spot within 20 seconds, then get the better shooter to shoot from point (has to be accurate/quick) & have someone try to tip or screen. Use the back of the net if needed to confuse the defenders & break up their PK box.

 

[MJF]

Or Eberle and Lee and the other players could elevate their play and live up to the contracts they signed.

Now why didn’t I think of that?

 

[MJF]

He's surrounded by ineptitude at moment

He’s part of it.

 

[Newsworthy]

Barzal is a winning player as evidenced by his WHL championship and playoff MVP while with Seattle. He's always made other players around him better. I certainly would love to see him shoot the puck more and put up more points but at the same time he plays in a defensive friendly system.

 

[PotvinsCups4]

Where exactly are you getting this info that Trotz is only encouraging the players to shoot when theres a perfect shot? Barzal for example seems to be shooting more than he did in the past. This team is not built to crash the net at every opportunity. Outside of Lee all of the wingers are small. Speaking of Lee he has been absolutely horrendous. Our 50 million captain can step it up. That contract is about 2 years away from being Ladd part 2.

Its known that is what he does. Thats why the team is dead last in shots in the nhl. Al used to ENCOURAGE shots from everywhere. Caps players also used to bitch about this, but apparently shut him out and did their thing anyway. Hats off to the caps that they ignored his stupid idea of not shooting from everywhere

 

[PotvinsCups4]

Feel like trotz is having them play a way that he feels they HAVE to play to be successful. He probably gave his washingron guys more freedom, because they had more talent. He recognizes that we have to play a very regimented style here, becaus we simplu are not talented enough to be able to win any other way. And yes, that may handcuff out offense a bit, but we might have to sacrifice a little offensively in order to be stronger defensively. If we don’t play that way, and try to play more of a run and gun doug weight atyle, well, we saw how that worked out a few years ago. Based upon that, that’s where I want barzal to be mature, and recognize that we NEED to play the way trotz is asking us to play for us to be successful. This is where being unselfish comes into play, especially being willing to sacrifice your numbers for the good of the team. But its even more than numbers. Its also recognizing that due to our style of play (that we have to play for our own good) that sometimes you may get isolated with the puck for a split second, because your teammtes are holding in their own zone longer on our breakout instead if just “flying the zone”, and that when that happens, you need to maintain your discipline, and not try to constantly force things, or get frustrated when things don’t always work out on every offensive opportunity. I just don’t see him maintaining his composure in these situations, instead I see, as you said, frustration with what the coach is asking from him. Its immaturity as far as I’m concerned, and something he needs to get over.

I disagree respectfully. Al Arbours system was Defense first, but as soon as you got the puck, go for it and be free and be creative. Then as soon as you lost the puck, transition to d quickly. There is nothing good about handcuffing players in the O zone. He should never tell a player to not shoot unless perfect play. Bad system, that the caps players bitched about

 

[PotvinsCups4]

Caps never had issue scoring under Trotz because they had good offensive players which this team is still lacking. If Trotz wasn’t the coach of this group they would not be anywhere near a playoff team this year or last year.

yes we have less talent than they did. but the system trotz is pushing on THIS team is not helping them. They have all lost their confidence, they have lost their motivation, trotz has lost them completely. Nhl players not making regular passes to each other is a huge sign of this. He has totally lost them. That is on trotz

 

[PotvinsCups4]

Feel like trotz is having them play a way that he feels they HAVE to play to be successful. He probably gave his washingron guys more freedom, because they had more talent. He recognizes that we have to play a very regimented style here, becaus we simplu are not talented enough to be able to win any other way. And yes, that may handcuff out offense a bit, but we might have to sacrifice a little offensively in order to be stronger defensively. If we don’t play that way, and try to play more of a run and gun doug weight atyle, well, we saw how that worked out a few years ago. Based upon that, that’s where I want barzal to be mature, and recognize that we NEED to play the way trotz is asking us to play for us to be successful. This is where being unselfish comes into play, especially being willing to sacrifice your numbers for the good of the team. But its even more than numbers. Its also recognizing that due to our style of play (that we have to play for our own good) that sometimes you may get isolated with the puck for a split second, because your teammtes are holding in their own zone longer on our breakout instead if just “flying the zone”, and that when that happens, you need to maintain your discipline, and not try to constantly force things, or get frustrated when things don’t always work out on every offensive opportunity. I just don’t see him maintaining his composure in these situations, instead I see, as you said, frustration with what the coach is asking from him. Its immaturity as far as I’m concerned, and something he needs to get over.

I would also like to point out that Trotz has made it clear in the media that he feels we don't have enough players. Now I know that we all now this to be true. But how do you think that is going to make the current players feel? Even if trotz feels this way, he should never have allowed those players to know that he doesn't have confidence in them. Make no mistake about this, this team is a mess and it starts with Trotz mouth, and his handcuffs in the O zone.

 

[brachyrynchos]

Some of the criticism Trotz received from some of the Caps fans:
-selective shooting: don't risk losing puck possession by taking a shot if it's not an optimum scoring opportunity.
-rookies/younger players and how they were handled: Schmidt, Vrana, Burakovsky, etc.
-lines: 1st line Beagle (Jay), and 'why is he playing ____so much? Why is ____out there when the team is ____?.
-in game adjustments: 'change it up Barry! '

Trotz is a defensively minded coach that puts an emphasis on structure, he doesn't encourage risks and for some of us creativity. It took him 7 seasons in Nashville before he had a 30 goal scorer (2005/06: Kariya 31, Sullivan 31), Arnott would score 33 in '08/09, Hornqvist 30 in '09/10. Those were the only 30 goal scorers he coached there, only Hornqvist was a homegrown talent. Washington already had the offense there, Barry didn't develop any of it.
Lou hires defensive minded coaches that put an emphasis on structure. He doesn't hire coaches that play 'run and gun'.
In terms of Barzal, it'll be interesting to see how negotiations go and how much Barzal asks for and what Lou will pay. I always get nervous with Lamoriello and contracts, will he trade one of his few offensive bright spots? Would he trade his 1C? Would Lou trade a core member of his team if negotiations get ugly? He did with Verbeek, Muller, and Guerin years ago. Hopefully Barzal sees that there's a good thing going on here and is willing to earn his salary.

 

[PotvinsCups4]

Some of the criticism Trotz received from some of the Caps fans:
-selective shooting: don't risk losing puck possession by taking a shot if it's not an optimum scoring opportunity.
-rookies/younger players and how they were handled: Schmidt, Vrana, Burakovsky, etc.
-lines: 1st line Beagle (Jay), and 'why is he playing ____so much? Why is ____out there when the team is ____?.
-in game adjustments: 'change it up Barry! '

Trotz is a defensively minded coach that puts an emphasis on structure, he doesn't encourage risks and for some of us creativity. It took him 7 seasons in Nashville before he had a 30 goal scorer (2005/06: Kariya 31, Sullivan 31), Arnott would score 33 in '08/09, Hornqvist 30 in '09/10. Those were the only 30 goal scorers he coached there, only Hornqvist was a homegrown talent. Washington already had the offense there, Barry didn't develop any of it.
Lou hires defensive minded coaches that put an emphasis on structure. He doesn't hire coaches that play 'run and gun'.
In terms of Barzal, it'll be interesting to see how negotiations go and how much Barzal asks for and what Lou will pay. I always get nervous with Lamoriello and contracts, will he trade one of his few offensive bright spots? Would he trade his 1C? Would Lou trade a core member of his team if negotiations get ugly? He did with Verbeek, Muller, and Guerin years ago. Hopefully Barzal sees that there's a good thing going on here and is willing to earn his salary.

Good stuff! It is absolutely asinine to tell your players this " don't risk losing possession if its not an optimum scoring opportunity" It sends the wrong message, and causes lower goal totals. In no way shape or form should you be thinking about this with the puck in the offensive zone. Its supposed to be all natural, creative, go with your gut etc. You can see they are always too hesitant in the o zone. Horrible thing to tell them

 

[buud]

yes we have less talent than they did. but the system trotz is pushing on THIS team is not helping them. They have all lost their confidence, they have lost their motivation, trotz has lost them completely. Nhl players not making regular passes to each other is a huge sign of this. He has totally lost them. That is on trotz

(opens mouth... shakes head... turns and walks away...)

 

[buud]

he has been a bit frustrating to watch, but if i had to pinpoint one thing that frustrates me the most, is his lack of shooting, while in a prime position. imo, every other part of his game has developed.

being in Niagara Falls, i'm not in a prime position to evaluate properly, but i see it like this: as a youngster, in his 1st few years, he was like a deer in the headlights, which is not uncommon with any player his age (the exception being, generational players). and being the strong willed person that he is, after getting over this phase, he began to stand his ground, speak his mind a bit more, which is cool. not perfect, but we don't want him being a total f***ing wuss. this year though, and just quite recently, he seems to have taken a step toward maturing, being more of a leader. again, being so far away, i miss a lot, but this is what i see.

 

[Konk]

I dunno man... How many coaching staffs and PP coaches have had a shot at it here the last few years. 4? 5? All with similar players and similar results. The Caps PP was pretty good under Trotz and his staff...

I think it's a talent issue.

Talent is definitely part of it, but some of it is also technique. We spend too much time on one side or the other on the PP. Point shots are never just wrist shots while moving laterally. Lee is always trying to twerk in the goalie's face rather than come away from the crease a bit more and just tip shots. A lot of the time he's not even in front of the net when a shot is released from the point. A couple of those simple adjustments would definitely lead to more goals.

Toews, Pulock, Leddy, etc. need to move that puck laterally along the blueline and just fling it towards the net as players are passing in front of the goalie. They don't ever do that. It goes from high to low on one side, then across, then high to low, back to high, then across, it's very easy for the goalie to track and the defenders have an easy time keeping it to the outside because they never really have to break formation.

Oh, and decisions are made INCREDIBLY slowly instead of fast passes. We need to move the puck a lot more quickly, everything is telegraphed.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Barzal has picked it up the last couple of games. For me he has been noticeable and assertive.

 

[MJF]

Talent is definitely part of it, but some of it is also technique. We spend too much time on one side or the other on the PP. Point shots are never just wrist shots while moving laterally. Lee is always trying to twerk in the goalie's face rather than come away from the crease a bit more and just tip shots. A lot of the time he's not even in front of the net when a shot is released from the point. A couple of those simple adjustments would definitely lead to more goals.

Toews, Pulock, Leddy, etc. need to move that puck laterally along the blueline and just fling it towards the net as players are passing in front of the goalie. They don't ever do that. It goes from high to low on one side, then across, then high to low, back to high, then across, it's very easy for the goalie to track and the defenders have an easy time keeping it to the outside because they never really have to break formation.

Oh, and decisions are made INCREDIBLY slowly instead of fast passes. We need to move the puck a lot more quickly, everything is telegraphed.

Add in the fact that only Ryan Pulock has anything that resembles a one-timer (Boychuck has a huge windup but everyone knows he’s doing it) and it makes for a flaccid, predictable power play.