GDT: CAR@NYR; There's a game, but Zykov isn't playing. Time for Rage.

[Tryamw]

Well I made the poll. doubt I see many responses but I at least got HF Canes!

 

[Canes]

I can't wait to see Darling's sister thing rant against ECHL play by play guys in 1-2 seasons. Should be great.

 

[sheriff bart]

Well I made the poll. doubt I see many responses but I at least got HF Canes!

I added some video evidence to show that we win at losing

 

[dogbazinho]

I used to think Peters was just playing Darling to sort of rub Francis's face in it/support the boss's bad decision. Now I'm not sure what his goal is. Tanking? Praying he finds his form? Stupidity?

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Well I made the poll. doubt I see many responses but I at least got HF Canes!

What poll?

EDIT: NVM, I see it.

 

[DaveG]

I used to think Peters was just playing Darling to sort of rub Francis's face in it/support the boss's bad decision. Now I'm not sure what his goal is. Tanking? Praying he finds his form? Stupidity?

I'd venture it's 2 part: 1 - hoping he finds his form knowing that he has a f***ing huge salary that'll be painful to buyout, and 2 - giving evidence to TD that the buyout REALLY f***ing needs to happen if Darling can't get his head out of his ass. Which by literally all accounts he's not capable of, either mentally or emotionally.

 

[sheriff bart]

I'd venture it's 2 part: 1 - hoping he finds his form knowing that he has a ****ing huge salary that'll be painful to buyout, and 2 - giving evidence to TD that the buyout REALLY ****ing needs to happen if Darling can't get his head out of his ass. Which by literally all accounts he's not capable of, either mentally or emotionally.

Yup. I hope he rides him the rest of the season. Sink or swim

 

[Navin R Slavin]

When the playoffs are gone, what do they play for?

Their jobs. That's what they play for.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'd venture it's 2 part: 1 - hoping he finds his form knowing that he has a ****ing huge salary that'll be painful to buyout, and 2 - giving evidence to TD that the buyout REALLY ****ing needs to happen if Darling can't get his head out of his ass. Which by literally all accounts he's not capable of, either mentally or emotionally.

The thing that confuses me though, is either 1) He's dense or 2) He's been assured his job is safe already or 3) He doesn't care...because otherwise, Peters has to assume his job is on the line and what he does the rest of the season will determine if he's back or not. So playing Darling doesn't make sense, whether it's hoping he finds his form or showing Dundon a buyout needs to happen. Unless he's been already assured he's back, playing Darling is putting his own job at risk.

 

[bluedevil58]

Time to fire BP!

 

[DaveG]

The thing that confuses me though, is either 1) He's dense or 2) He's been assured his job is safe already or 3) He doesn't care...because otherwise, Peters has to assume his job is on the line and what he does the rest of the season will determine if he's back or not. So playing Darling doesn't make sense, whether it's hoping he finds his form or showing Dundon a buyout needs to happen. Unless he's been already assured he's back, playing Darling is putting his own job at risk.

I'd lean toward #2 there to an extent. He absolutely can't be sure of it until the new GM comes in, but with how TD has been just absolutely gushing over Peters I think he gets a decent bit more leeway then Francis did, mostly because I think TD has the impression that Peters is buying in. We'll see with the new GM though, but I think Peters gets at least 1 more year.

 

[Breakdowns]

I was iffy about Peters staying, but he has to go if this team want to progress, he is not the right fit for us. No coach stays at the same job without any progress. Pretty sure this year we are regressing.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The thing that confuses me though, is either 1) He's dense or 2) He's been assured his job is safe already or 3) He doesn't care...because otherwise, Peters has to assume his job is on the line and what he does the rest of the season will determine if he's back or not. So playing Darling doesn't make sense, whether it's hoping he finds his form or showing Dundon a buyout needs to happen. Unless he's been already assured he's back, playing Darling is putting his own job at risk.

At this point I have to believe that starting Darling is an organizational decision coordinated between Peters, Francis, and TD. He’s played far too badly for it to be a rational hockey decision or something a coach can do without accountability. TD might not be a hockey guy but anyone can understand “this guy is single handedly losing games, but we’re playing him anyway because X”. It only makes sense for him to be in there if X is an organizational priority, like preventing Ward from aggravating an injury, or evaluating Darling for a summer buyout.

I guess it’s possible that Peters has gone completely rogue and is doubling down on Darling, but that would be so crazy that it just doesn’t seem realistic to me.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

I can't fathom another year of BP. He's done nothing to show he's worth keeping around. Unless giving Derek Ryan twice as much PP time as Aho is a smart coaching move.

 

[MinJaBen]

Unless he's been already assured he's back...

And there is your answer. Remember when Peters was hired the big deal Francis made about his presentation of what he would do with the team to turn it around? How prepared he was? I bet Peters pulled a similar full court press on Dundon the first time they met and he was impressed with his hockey systems knowledge. I bet he has Dundon convinced that it is the players in the system, not the system design, that is the problem.

 

[GoldiFox]

Keeping the same-ish team and the same coach and expecting different results isn't going to happen.

Either Peters goes or the team changes significantly to fit Peters. The only situation where I feel comfortable keeping Peters is one where he has laid out exactly what he needs to be successful next year (within the bounds of reason) and Dundon has bought into that plan. In my mind that entails (at the very least) bringing a solid #1C.

From the other side of where we are looking, I also doubt Peters wants to coach this same team going into next year. I'm sure he won't have trouble finding a job once he is gone.

 

[Svechhammer]

Forslund said it on 99.9 a couple weeks ago and it still rings true. The remainder of this season is purely to see what you have next year. Its to see what the future of this team holds and which guys do and do not fit in that long term plan. Right now we know what we have with Cam Ward. Starting him does not help us assess how we might be in the future.

Aho needs to be our 1C the remainder of this year, and Lindholm needs to be 2C or 3C as well. If that is the position you think these guys are going to play, do it now and see if they have what it takes. If they look comfortable, then you know you might have a solution there going into next year and you can focus on Wingers. Ride Darling to the end. See if he can play himself out of this mess. If he can, maybe you have something for next year. If he can't, its an easy decision to cut bait and know goalie is a priority. Call up all the young kids who you think will contribute. Now is the time to see what you have with the likes of Zykov, Saarela, Kuokkanen, etc. And when you call them up, PLAY THEM. You learn nothing by having them called up as a healthy scratch.

If Peters isn't willing to do all of the above, kick him to the curb the second the season ends. Zykov being a healthy scratch last night is infuriating because we learned nothing. You start Darling, you're already waving the white flag, so you might as well take advantage of that situation and plan for next year. But we can't even do that right.

 

[DaveG]

See I have no doubt that the team will change significantly this offseason. Even factoring in raises and keeping room to give Aho a big deal we still have better then 20 million to spend to round out the roster and a shit ton of ELCs that we should be using next year to fill those holes. I'm just hoping that Derek Ryan is one of the ones on the chopping block. Great story, great guy, but not a great player or even of late an NHL level one. Not even sure I want him back on a two-way if only to keep Peters from having the temptation to keep him on the team.

 

[StormCast]

See I have no doubt that the team will change significantly this offseason. Even factoring in raises and keeping room to give Aho a big deal we still have better then 20 million to spend to round out the roster and a **** ton of ELCs that we should be using next year to fill those holes. I'm just hoping that Derek Ryan is one of the ones on the chopping block. Great story, great guy, but not a great player or even of late an NHL level one. Not even sure I want him back on a two-way if only to keep Peters from having the temptation to keep him on the team.

One of the biggest issues I have with Peters is his absolute insistence on balanced handedness on the PP. That's literally why Ryan is there as a RH shot. In a telling comment, Ryan was quoted round the trade deadline as saying teams are interested in a RH C. Well...maybe...just not as much as BP is infatuated by it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

There’s no easy calculus to getting Ryan off the ice, as much as we would all like to see it. He started last night on the 4th line and was displaced when Rask got demoted because Rask is also awful. That put Ryan next to Skinner per usual, which means now you’ve got only two other lines where a C can play. Jordan Staal is a C under all circumstances, so now you’ve got one C slot for Lindholm and TT (and theoretically Aho) to fight over. Then you see Skinner and Ryan together on the PP because we don’t have enough competent D to fill out 2 units, hence Ryan ending up with obscene TOI even when he starts the game on the 4th line.

The fundamental problem here is you have both Rask and Ryan on an NHL roster, and neither of them can flex over to wing. Until they are no longer both playing here at the same time, we’re going to continue to get regular servings of Ryan because there’s only one 4C spot and Ryan has that history of working with Skinner. And this only gets reinforced when Ryan is on the ice for 2 of our 3 goals, as he was last night.


Edit: Another way to say this is, if you've got the TSA line working together (which makes sense as they're our most cohesive line) and you're benching Rask (which is what happened last night) and you've got Lindholm at center (which is what everyone wanted) then the logical conclusion is you're about to see a lot of Derek Ryan.

 

[NotOpie]

Other than Darling, I'd like at least like to see how some of these guys do under a different coach (Faulk, Skinner, Rask, Hanifin, Lindholm, etc...) before considering selling low or buying out. I'm not saying keep them all, as some changes are needed, but it seems to me that this coach doesn't get the most out of his better players, but gets the most out of his below average players.

There's enough dead weight in Ryan, Nordstrom, PDG, Stempniak to allow room for some AHL guys and some new blood (UFA/trades).

I agree with this, @Boom Boom Apathy, especially as it pertains to Rask. While Victor may not be having the year he needs to have this year to live up to his contract, 40-45 point centers get paid $4 million in this league - Anisimov, Perreault, Smith, Bjugstad and Bonino are all examples. After seasons of 48 and 45 points, what appears to be a 30-35 point season shouldn't define Rask.

 

[The Stranger]

Edit: Another way to say this is, if you've got the TSA line working together (which makes sense as they're our most cohesive line) and you're benching Rask (which is what happened last night) and you've got Lindholm at center (which is what everyone wanted) then the logical conclusion is you're about to see a lot of Derek Ryan.

Ryan has deservedly taken ice from Rask.

He is a journeyman player on a 1 year $1.4M contract and is a UFA next season while Rask is homegrown 2nd round pick on a $4M AAV contract that has 4 more years on it.

I understand the frustration/anger with Ryan...sort of...but what is the expectation for a player of his ilk/pay grade...the much more significant issue is Rask.

For what he costs, I'd be fine bringing Ryan back as depth guy....it should be on the other players to keep his ice time and utilization down by simply out-playing him.

 

[NotOpie]

The thing that confuses me though, is either 1) He's dense or 2) He's been assured his job is safe already or 3) He doesn't care...because otherwise, Peters has to assume his job is on the line and what he does the rest of the season will determine if he's back or not. So playing Darling doesn't make sense, whether it's hoping he finds his form or showing Dundon a buyout needs to happen. Unless he's been already assured he's back, playing Darling is putting his own job at risk.

Related to this, what I don't understand is how he can, with a straight face, say that we're pushing for a playoff berth and start Scott Darling. Or, better yet, keep him in after giving up the 3 tallies. Either Peters is incredibly shallow or he's disingenuous. If we're really pushing for the playoffs, you just have to play Cam every single game.

See I have no doubt that the team will change significantly this offseason. Even factoring in raises and keeping room to give Aho a big deal we still have better then 20 million to spend to round out the roster and a **** ton of ELCs that we should be using next year to fill those holes.

I think there will be changes, but I'd be fairly surprised if there were wholesale changes. The core is solid and adding a true bigger body scoring threat....or just another scoring threat would do wonders. I'm also not for buying Darling out....I'd send him down to Charlotte and let him work his shit out down there. Sure we're paying NHL salary, but longer term, as the younger guys get bigger paydays, that 6 years of Darling's buyout would come back to bite us. My guess is we'll see a free agent signing (more likely a scoring wing than a center and one significant trade (maybe for a 1C). I'd also be surprised if a 3rd tender wasn't brought in to at least fight for the crease (assuming Darling doesn't get bought out).

For what he costs, I'd be fine bringing Ryan back as depth guy....it should be on the other players to keep his ice time and utilization down by simply out-playing him.

I readily admit to being a bit of a Rask fanboy, but he hasn't earned his contract this season. My sense is that he's given stuff to work on in the offseason and potentially regains his form. I'm also of the mind that Rask is a fairly obvious trade chip where the pitch is "he's due for a rebound". Because of this sentiment, I want absolutely nothing to do with Ryan. Frankly, even though he's a lefty, with Wallmark in the fold, you have to look to him first. He's almost Ryan's equal at the dot (55% to 56%) and has more offensive upside. There are just too many other options that are bigger and/or better than Derek Ryan.