Yandle is an example of a bargain with the devil. You take what you gain in exchange for exposing yourself to what he takes away from the team. It's a net positive transaction, otherwise he'd have been traded.
They produced and thrived on teams away from Tippett. It's worth mentioning. Wolski was a bad teammate and Mueller got his brains scrambled, largely insulating Tippett from any potential criticism. Not every team is dogmatic about two way play. You certainly seem comfortable with sheltering Yandle and not expecting much out of him in his own zone. We do that for Ribeiro on a nightly basis. Why can't talented offensive players do that here? Is it because "the AHL is for development" as Tip puts it?
No one ever became an NHL regular in the AHL. You can lay the groundwork but you need a good environment at the next level. Quick hooks and garbage minutes do not develop players.
Develop two way play by playing garbage minutes with Biz, Belanger, all sorts of 3/4 misfits? Come on. The only regulars who got less TOI than him were Biz, Ebbett, and Boedker, funnily enough. The best thing to ever happen to Turris was spending nearly a full season in the AHL away from Tippett.
Really hbk? It's not like he sat out of the NHL, having proved very little, and teams called about him or anything. He got a warm, cushy environment in Ottawa. It let him develop as a player as he would have in a normal environment. Dave Tippett does not provide a normal development environment. It's part of his philosophy.
Yandle is an elite player when it comes to transition. We live with his 20-25 minutes per night because there is a net benefit. Yandle's actually performed better than I would have ever thought. I had him as a #3 guy when he first made the team but when a player finishes 5th, 14th, and 12th in the last three Norris votes I decided he was worth some respect and a nod as the top pairing D he has truly become. Keep in mind nobody has suggested more Yandle moves in the past two years than yours truly.
I think we are all in agreement the development path of Turris was not to his benefit. You say the blame goes to Tippett, I make the claim merely that Turris deserves to shoulder a good portion of the blame as well. Maloney gets tied into this as well as he's the one who demoted Turris in the first place.
Could Tippett and Maloney had made it more cushy for Turris? I think I need your interpretation of the word "cushy" because if you mean "easy" then I disagree. Tippet and Maloney wanted Turris and any player on the team to earn their minutes. Tippett had to "protect" his usage by matching him up against opposition lines that wouldn't eat him alive. Turris had issues with being able to create time and space for himself and this is/was not a roster that was flushed with much for skill past the Vrbata/Hanzal/Whitney line. Turris played periodically with Doan but for the most part this has been a lineup of slugs, hasbeens, and no talent never were's. Maybe I'm missing someone but for the most part our roster has been skill deprived. If your point is that our roster lacked appropriate linemates for Turris then I agree. We have been largely devoid of skill since the Tkachuk/Roenick years.
For all the criticism Tippett and Maloney receive on Turris, I would argue that they did set him up to be successful. Before his holdout he had to compete with Miele, Gordon, and Kekalainen for a top 6 C position. Langkow came into play as they made a panic move to replace Turris when he decided that he didn't want a part of this franchise anymore. It was Turris's decision to derail that plan. Not Tippett's btw.
In an ideal world, I would have preferred another year of NCAA followed by 2 years minimum at the AHL level. Had that been allowed to occur I think Turris would still be a Coyote. That being said after hearing the Treliving and numerous Maloney interviews on what was going on behind the scenes I can't say that I'm upset he's gone.
haha.
