Alright TV... I can't speak to much of the Rampage this year, I've only seen a small amount of games and can't really judge them from that. Typing these things is not my strong suit, so hopefully it is clearer than swamp mud.
At a high level, what Roy wants is a team that plays with the puck at a high pace in the defensive and neutral zone... then when they get into the offensive zone they need to be able to work from behind the goal line and half boards if the quick plays are not there. Defensively, he wants to collapse towards the middle, but still be very aggressive defensively below the faceoff dots (try to keep the pucks out of the dangerous areas basically). He wants a team that reads the play well and can quickly pounce on mistakes and quickly counterattack... but when that doesn't work he wants players that can cycle and create offense through movement below the goalline.
The breakout is the biggest change that Roy keeps making. When Roy is trying to run his system... the very second the defensemen gets the puck, the forward (they are segmented by forwards and where they fell defensively, not position... Roy's system is more of a F1/2/3 vs LW/C/RW) on that same wall will shoot up the ice looking for the 2nd pass in this equation. The forward playing the center will open themselves up for a pass up the middle... usually curling towards the puck or going straight up the middle. The forward on the opposite will hang back, but inch toward the middle of the ice to be a secondary outlet. Now ideally, the defensemen can push the puck up quickly or hit the center in stride up the middle. Which then the system is designed for the player to continue with the puck or hit the winger streaking... whatever allows the team to enter the zone with puck possession. If that center isn't available, nor is the defensemen able to skate the puck out... the opposite boards forward is the next outlet. It is designed as a longer pass that if can be executed properly will allow that winger to immediately get the puck and hit the streaking winger or skate the puck through the middle to dump in the puck. The last option is to go straight up the boards to the streaking forward... a pass that is rarely open and hard to hit... results in an icing more often than not. If nothing looks good they hit the other defensemen and reset... Holden, Guenin, and Redmond do this far, far too often to be real successful in this system.
What this requires of the defensemen is to make 4 really quick reads over a wide view of the ice. They have to evaluate their pressure and if they can shake it, if the forward playing low is open in the middle, then across the ice if that winger is open, and then finally going back across the ice for the streaking winger. Depending on where the defensemen has the puck, they might have to scope a ~65 degree view in a split second. That is asking a lot from a defensemen and is quite an unusual read progression. Usually they are in layers that progress from one side to another to make it easier to read. Roy wants his defensemen to scan middle to opposite to same side ideally.
The big changes Roy makes are to the read progression, the forward playing low, and the same side winger. Instead of streaking, the same side winger typically holds the wall, the forward playing center curls then streaks up the middle, the opposite winger remains the same. Then the defensemen reads same side to middle to opposite side in that order. The first option is to hit the same side winger who will chip it to the center, hopefully with speed. Secondary option is to hit the center hopefully with speed. This simplifies the progression and gets the puck into better hands quicker. It also kills their speed through the neutral zone because instead of two forwards with speed streaking up the ice (with the potential of a pass to catch the other team flat footed), you have just one. There is no reason for the defense of the other team to back off and give the blue line. This leads to a lot more dumps. It allows the Avs to actually get the puck out of the zone, with easier reads and options... but it kills the counterattack.
On the forecheck, the Avs really want to run a very aggressive 1-3-1 (not a trapping 1-3-1 like Boucher's system). With the pure lack of footspeed on the backend, they are being forced to run a 1-2-2 with the speedy (relative term) forward on the line being the attacker. With the 1-3-1 that Roy wants to run best forchecker attacks up front while the 2 forwards up front and the defensemen eliminate any options for the other team. I'd rather Roy switch up to a simple 2-1-2 system there as it offers a better balance... but there might be more limitations than I'm seeing.
Roy's philosophy on offense is first to counterattack and try to have players that can win one on one battles... then secondarily, win the corners and attack from the half boards feeding the slot. The counter attack works for the Avs when the breakout is working well. That is what happened a couple years ago and the offense can come in spades off that is because the Avs have/had a bunch of dynamic forwards who can make some awe inspiring plays. The secondary part is where the Avs have some issues. MacK for all his talents isn't great down low yet (he is getting there). Landy and Duchene are good down low and creating offense from the corners and half boards. The rest of the team isn't very good there yet, but look at who they have brought in... Iggy's reputation was a player that could do that, and he can in spurts... but mostly is a shooter out of that cycle. Soderberg is a player who works the best off the half boards. Grigs is a player who has great potential in that area with his size, IQ, and hands combo... it just has to come together (seemingly it is). This is Rantanen's calling card. They don't have a great mix of players at the moment that can play at multiple paces and can win board battles with consistency. It isn't a secret as to why Roy's first year had the best offensive output... he had two players that could mesh well with speed, but also worked great down low and on the half boards (Stastny and ROR). The replacements are not as good in those areas (Soderberg and Iggy), but the Avs are working on it. If Grigs can pan out into a decent 2nd line player and Rantanen continues his progression... then the Avs can potentially have one player as good or better in that area of the offense and be more well rounded in the rest of the top 9 with regards to creating offense. To Roy's fault, he isn't tweaking the offensive system enough to compensate for the forwards not being as capable. He is just putting the best 3 together and telling the others they need to work harder and win more battles. Iggy isn't going to do that... partially because he isn't capable anymore, and probably partially because the fire isn't there as much. Soderberg can play the secondary offense part well, but paired with Comeau/Iggy/Grigs... there isn't a counter attack threat. Comeau is just Comeau... a bottom 6 player that shouldn't be in the top 6. The third line is more of a mess of a mix.
Long-term... I think we need Landy-MacK and Rantanen-Duchene pairings in the top 6 with a slower more cerebral player that can slow things down with MacK and Landy (maybe Grigs can fill that role). Then a faster higher energy player (preferably with size to just be a forechecking machine... but high energy is probably most important) with Dutchy and Rantanen. I think the system is moving in the right direction here with regards to the mix... Beaudin can play with speed has some size and is a multi pace player. Greer is the high energy player with huge forechecking potential. Rantanen fits to a T. Bleacks when on his game can fit. Compher even lacking size will be a forechecking machine in the NHL that can compliment in the middle 6. On defense Bigras is a prototype fit... 2 way player that isn't undersize and makes really good quick reads. Zadorov is supremely talented... just needs refined with regards to making correct decisions. Meloche is a great fit with the nasty streak. Wood... if his skating can come around (still a substansial question), he will be a good fit as well. If Siemens can clean up his decision making, he will fit as a complimentary player with his skating abilty.
When the system starts producing for the big club, I think we will really see Roy's vision. The question there is how patient are Sakic and Roy going to be?
