Dubnyk explains resurgence

[McDNicks17]

By all means keep telling yourself that, but no goalie will ever perform well in the "system" Eakins ran. So it should be no surprise that Dubnyk took a while to recover after that. Just surprising that he's found such a high level

He's credited his turnaround to two major things that he got from outside this organization.

There's far more to it than him just getting away from Eakins.

 

[stevrock]

He's credited his turnaround to two major things that he got from outside this organization.

There's far more to it than him just getting away from Eakins.

Maybe, maybe not.

What we can say is that it's normal for young goalies to struggle, and during his years here his stats were not terrible considering the **** show that was infront of him.

Just remember that the habs almost gave up on price, and the senators did give up on bishop/elliott.

 

[oobga]

He's credited his turnaround to two major things that he got from outside this organization.

There's far more to it than him just getting away from Eakins.

So, what's the argument? That he never could have got back to his level of play in 12/13 or better with the Oilers? Can you take that a step further and question why that would be the case?

One thing Dubs credits (the biggest thing actually) is the head trajectory teachings he picked up last summer. Crazy coincidence, but that the guy we replaced Chabot with also pushes that method. Since we love drawing on familiar faces from the Oil Kings I bet we hire that same guy if we fire Chabot during the 13/14 season. More what-if's of course, the Dubs ship has sailed.

 

[McDNicks17]

So, what's the argument? That he never could have got back to his level of play in 12/13 or better with the Oilers? Can you take that a step further and question why that would be the case?

One thing Dubs credits (the biggest thing actually) is the head trajectory teachings he picked up last summer. Crazy coincidence, but that the guy we replaced Chabot with also pushes that method. Since we love drawing on familiar faces from the Oil Kings I bet we hire that same guy if we fire Chabot during the 13/14 season. More what-if's of course, the Dubs ship has sailed.

Sure, he could have. But did the Oilers have the time or resources? He was absolutely brutal. They didn't have time to wait for him to figure it out. And obviously they didn't have the resources since Chabot seemed like more of the problem than any kind of solution.

You said earlier that they should have supported Dubnyk. Do you think that involves firing a goalie coach he loves?

 

[oobga]

Sure, he could have. But did the Oilers have the time or resources? He was absolutely brutal. They didn't have time to wait for him to figure it out. And obviously they didn't have the resources since Chabot seemed like more of the problem than any kind of solution.

You said earlier that they should have supported Dubnyk. Do you think that involves firing a goalie coach he loves?

I would always argue the first move would be to fire Eakins, very early into the 13/14 season when it was obvious to everyone he was awful. Then we could have go back to being able to properly evaluate what we had on the roster. If Dubs continued to struggle I can't see how he could argue against bringing in a new perspective to help him work on his game and it turns out the guy we likely would have brought is exactly what he needed to take the next step.

To be honest, it's hard to imagine any scenario of Dubs being here still and taking a step forward where MacT is the GM. That GM hiring and the eventual hiring of Eakins put the team on a course of across the board player regression and 1.5 years of wasted time where we had no ability to evaluate what any of our players were capable of anymore. That's all I'm really trying to argue in the end, MacT is terrible, Eakins is terrible and Dubs is just an example of a player that debacle costed us and it's created another hole on the team on top of the ones MacT inherited.

 

[McDNicks17]

I definitely don't disagree on that.

Eakins and Chabot should have been gone ages ago.

 

[stompinstoms]

Dubnyk's back in net tonight, baby! One last game against his former squad for the season.

Here's a little write-up I did on Dubnyk this morning:

http://alongtheboards.com/2015/02/devan-dubnyk-goes-sixth-win-season-vs-oilers/

And hey, before you guys say hindsight is 20/20, here's a piece I wrote last summer:

http://alongtheboards.com/2014/07/o...crivens-viktor-fasth-being-difference-makers/

I believe that Dubnyk is a very solid goalie (I always have). He struggled at the beginning of last season, but he was also publicly doubted by his GM the previous offseason.

If all goalies are head cases (which is likely), then that's largely on the GM.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Dubnyk's back in net tonight, baby! One last game against his former squad for the season.

Here's a little write-up I did on Dubnyk this morning:

http://alongtheboards.com/2015/02/devan-dubnyk-goes-sixth-win-season-vs-oilers/

And hey, before you guys say hindsight is 20/20, here's a piece I wrote last summer:

http://alongtheboards.com/2014/07/o...crivens-viktor-fasth-being-difference-makers/

I believe that Dubnyk is a very solid goalie (I always have). He struggled at the beginning of last season, but he was also publicly doubted by his GM the previous offseason.

If all goalies are head cases (which is likely), then that's largely on the GM.

He's not a "very solid goalie" he's a goalie, who's on a hot streak who isn't consistent, but looks like he should be physically better at the position then he is. See Mathieu Garon.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Hey good thing it only took him 10 years to realize all this, and also figure out that he is in fact taller then a 3 storey building.

Every time I see or hear someone praise Dubnyk I just think back to all the times when guys fly down the wing bury themselves in the corner and beat Dubnyk over the shoulder from a near impossible angle.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Hey good thing it only took him 10 years to realize all this, and also figure out that he is in fact taller then a 3 storey building.

Every time I see or hear someone praise Dubnyk I just think back to all the times when guys fly down the wing bury themselves in the corner and beat Dubnyk over the shoulder from a near impossible angle.

My favourite was the line from either DVD or Tych, "How does a 6'6" goalie get beat over the shoulder so much?"

 

[TheRebuild]

 

[stompinstoms]

Guys, c'mon!

Dubnyk had a .910 save percentage in his career in Edmonton, and that includes the beginning of last season's atrocious numbers.

He's actually a good goalie. These Mathieu Garon comparisons need to stop. He had one season since the lockout (2007-08 with the Oilers) where his save percentage was above .910. Dubnyk's has been above .910 every season except for last year and his rookie year.

Dubnyk played every single one of his games with the Oilers behind one of the league's worst defenses, and came out with a .910 save percentage over 171 games. I'm telling you, he was solid. His numbers have been solid for his whole career.

And to those who say 'but Nashville gave up on him, and so did Montreal and Arizona - he was bad!'... well, he played a grand total of two games in Nashville, and zero in Montreal - he wasn't given a real fair shake anywhere he went, until he went to Arizona, where he played so well that Arizona had to trade him to do right by him (Smith's contract makes him the de-facto started for Arizona).

 

[Mr Positive]

Imo it's more to do with the team in front of him than anything he did. I know that he was letting in weak goals by any standard, but he has always been a psychologically fragile goalie. Minnesota plays a perfect style for him. They make the game really calm and boring, and the goalie gets a lot of support from the whole team, not just the D.

Even when he was here I defended him but said we needed a guy more like Roloson. Scrivens is even better. We need a guy who has good lateral movement and can make improvisational saves, and that will even be true if our team becomes a contender. As for why Dubnyk wasn't good in Nashville, like I said Dubnyk had suffered psychologically from playing on a team not meant for him. A psychological wound can take longer to recover from than a physical one.

edit: and as for what Dubnyk has said, he's always saying that kind of thing after playing well for a while. It's the same reason that he refused to blame the change in goalie equipment for his downfall: he wants to tell everyone that everything is good now and that his good play is permanent. He likes this head tracking explanation because it means he'll be this way forever as long as he keeps doing this.

 

[CornKicker]

"devan you are supposed to stop the puck"

"oohhh"

 

[shoop]

edit: and as for what Dubnyk has said, he's always saying that kind of thing after playing well for a while. It's the same reason that he refused to blame the change in goalie equipment for his downfall: he wants to tell everyone that everything is good now and that his good play is permanent. He likes this head tracking explanation because it means he'll be this way forever as long as he keeps doing this.

He said in an interview with Scott Burnside that he had five good years in the league before last years melt down.

Hmmmm, really? He had four years of development in the league before last year. Good years?

Dubnyk really seems like a guy who needed a huge kick in the arse. He wasn't accepting being coached here. Montreal and Nashville didn't have time for him. (Nashville in particular. There is a story about how Dubnyk was making some mistakes in his first few practices. The coach asked him to work on them, yet he still kept making the same mistakes. So they cut him.) He signed a one-year deal with Arizona as likely his last chance and he ran with it.

Power to Doobie for playing so well, but I don't see it being sustainable. He's more likely to be bought out at the end of whatever overpay contract he gets this off-season as he is to win the Vezina, lead a team on a deep playoff run, etc...

 

[oobga]

Guys, c'mon!

Dubnyk had a .910 save percentage in his career in Edmonton, and that includes the beginning of last season's atrocious numbers.

He's actually a good goalie. These Mathieu Garon comparisons need to stop. He had one season since the lockout (2007-08 with the Oilers) where his save percentage was above .910. Dubnyk's has been above .910 every season except for last year and his rookie year.

Dubnyk played every single one of his games with the Oilers behind one of the league's worst defenses, and came out with a .910 save percentage over 171 games. I'm telling you, he was solid. His numbers have been solid for his whole career.

And to those who say 'but Nashville gave up on him, and so did Montreal and Arizona - he was bad!'... well, he played a grand total of two games in Nashville, and zero in Montreal - he wasn't given a real fair shake anywhere he went, until he went to Arizona, where he played so well that Arizona had to trade him to do right by him (Smith's contract makes him the de-facto started for Arizona).

It's just the way it is. Goalies take the brunt of the blame on crap teams. Even when Dubs was putting up good numbers he was still always the guy people would point fingers at the quickest. People seem to enjoy rooting for him to fail now, hard to change anyone's mind, it's up to Dubs to do that over time.

It's good that he got some new coaching perspectives over the last year, he really did need someone to bring something new to his training. Chabot seemed to have 9 lives with the Oilers, I guess that's no different than a lot of guys in our org though. Still would love to know how on earth he got a new contract last summer.

 

[Baby Nilsson]

While his new head tracking technique may have helped him, his goalie coach in Nashville has been quoted as saying that he wouldn't listen as he was a firm believer in Chabot. It wasn't until he was traded to Phoenix did he think "gee, I guess I better listen now"

 

[oobga]

While his new head tracking technique may have helped him, his goalie coach in Nashville has been quoted as saying that he wouldn't listen as he was a firm believer in Chabot. It wasn't until he was traded to Phoenix did he think "gee, I guess I better listen now"

Not that unbelievable that some stubbornness would creep into Dub's psyche near the end of that awful season. What he did worked fine for him for 3 years before Eakins came along, he likely wanted to keep running with it.

He discovered the head trajectory on his own and it's not a fundamental style change at all. He says still that Chabot's coaching is still the main part of his style and only credits Burke with small tweaks. I believe him too looking at how he plays, it's the same, but with the head trajectory he is now more patient and letting the game come to him instead of acting prematurely. I think I heard him or someone else describe following the head trajectory techniques as being able to do what you always did before when you're on your game, only before you never knew you were doing it, and when you stopped doing it unknowingly, your game would suffer a bit. Now he can understand it and practice it and bring it every night.

 

[stompinstoms]

Okay, if Dubnyk was so bad when he was with the Oilers, let's look at his wins and losses each year and compare it with the team's overall record. We'll exclude his rookie year, as it was only 15 games or so:

2010-11: Dubnyk: 12-13-8; Oilers: 25-45-12
2011:12: Dubnyk: 20-20-3; Oilers: 32-40-10
2012-13: Dubnyk: 14-16-6; Oilers: 19-22-7
2013-14: Dubnyk: 11-17-2; Oilers: 29-44-9

Every season, his winning percentage was at least as good or better than the team's. That means that the team always, statistically speaking - and including last season!!! - had a better chance with Dubnyk in net.

 

[Tyrolean]

Good for Dubnyk and his resurgence. Hope he wins a SC with the Wild.

 

[SupremeTeam16]

Dubnyk was never a good goalie here, I don't care what his numbers say because a good goalie can win you games, a good goalie comes up big at crucial times and gives your team a save when they absolutely need it.

He's made some changes to his game which you can see have made him better but I think the biggest factor in his turn around is probably the fact that he was about 5 minutes away from having to find a new career. Once the playing for your life feeling wears off and he settles in with a team with a nice multi year contract I bet he ends up as a middle of the pack starter who probably gets unseated after 3-4 years by a younger goalie.

 

[shoop]

He's made some changes to his game which you can see have made him better but I think the biggest factor in his turn around is probably the fact that he was about 5 minutes away from having to find a new career. Once the playing for your life feeling wears off and he settles in with a team with a nice multi year contract I bet he ends up as a middle of the pack starter who probably gets unseated after 3-4 years by a younger goalie.

Agreed for the most part. I think middle of the pack starter is his high end.

If he signs more than a three year deal I could really see him getting bought out at some point.

 

[shoop]

Okay, if Dubnyk was so bad when he was with the Oilers, let's look at his wins and losses each year and compare it with the team's overall record. We'll exclude his rookie year, as it was only 15 games or so:

And excluding the rookie year conveniently makes your case stronger. Power to the citizen journalist.

 

[SomeDudeOTI]

I liked the quote from him they showed during tonight's game, talking about last year...

blah blah blah... "I forgot to stop the puck"

Seems like a good guy, i wish him well, glad we finally beat him tonight.

 

[azashi]

And excluding the rookie year conveniently makes your case stronger. Power to the citizen journalist.

Are you actually using wins to judge a goalie? I mean, that's a terrible way to judge in general, doubly so for a goalie on a team that's perpetually rebuilding.