GDT: FOG DAYS ARE HERE AT LAST: OTT @ CAR 7PM

[FreshSeabass]

And if Lindy and Aho stay at center, do we NEED a huge number one? I know it's a nice thing to have but there aren't any available other than JT. With these three we can instead stock up on a couple of better wingers to play around them - and who would likely be easier to find.

you know with all im hearing about Necas not only within the org, but from people outside as well, this might be the guy we should be priming for our 1c. JT is truly a pipe dream at the end of the day. Also even if we were to land JT i'd hate to lock up a lot of money with him only to discover we had a guy already here, who is cost controlled for a little bit at least.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Playing a bit of devil's advocate, I'm not sure I believe that Peters would have played these guys if they were called up a few weeks ago. My rationale for saying that.

1. Peters before the deadline said he wanted to force Francis to make a trade and came right out and said help wasn't coming from within. (which I interpreted as his view is AHL callups aren't the solution).
   
2. Wallmark gets called up and he promptly plays him about 5 minutes and staples his butt to the bench the entire 3rd.
3. Even when it was painfully obvious, he refused to play Aho and Lindholm at center, even when there were seemingly no other choices. If he did, it usually lasted 1 perior.
4. In a postgame interview a while back, when asked about callups, he said those guys would get a shot once they were out of it.
5. Zykov gets called up and sent back down without even getting to the game.
   
6. When asked about callups at the deadline, Francis said he wasn't going to call guys up to play 7 minutes a night.

I'm not blaming Peters, as most coaches are going to stick with the guys they know and guys they trust vs. giving an AHL guy key minutes when games matter the most, just that I'm not sure we'd see any of these guys get playing time if the Canes were still in it.

What is done is done even though it's fun to speculate. IMO, we didn't have the goaltending to be a playoff team this year, plain and simple. Maybe in the end, letting these guys get Charlotte into the playoffs (and develop a winning culture) and get more confidence and then being called up now and put into positions to succeed might be the right call and may bode well for next year.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

What has gotten into PDG these past few games? He looked like a lifeless plug for the entire season and suddenly he looks like a skilled playmaker and sniper. Totally different player these last 3 games.

Williams is giving me an ulcer with his turnovers. Not that they are just turnovers, but seemingly at the worst spot on the ice which leads to the other team getting a great chance.

Foegele looked nervous at first, but he looked very good. The goalie gave up the short side (which we'd crucify Darling or Ward for) on his goal, but Foegele's hands and play along the board in getting the puck, getting separation and then taking it to the net were the most impressive part of the play. He's fast and physical and has a motor and he came in, played as advertised and even got to PK. I realize it's probably because it was his 1st game, but he looks like a player that just loves to play.

Zykov is a tank. Guys were bouncing off of him when they tried to hit him. Thought he was a little "too selfish" at times last night as there were a few plays where he had either Aho or TT but chose to shoot. Hard to complain though as the coach told him to do that and if he sticks in the NHL, that's what he's going to be, the shooter and he's been producing.

 

[Joe McGrath]

I know the lot of you aren’t this stupid. You can’t be. They won 3 in a row against teams that have already been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs playing goalies with stats similar to Darling’s. Now Peters is all of a sudden a great coach again? Faulk is clearly expendable? This is damning for Francis somehow that the guys he drafted and traded for produced wel in their limited call up?

Good for them playing well, I’m happy to see it, but calm the f*** down with it meaning anything significant. LAST YEAR they tore the entire month of March a new asshole and we mistakenly believed they were trending upwards and Skinner is an elite level scorer and Peters really can get it done, etc. etc. etc.

This year it’s 3 games against dogshit opponents and that’s all it takes?

 

[JCLA]

You guys aren't going to like this, but with actual forward depth, I kinda like Bill Peters. It's obvious to me that his hands have been tied by a total lack of skill. Bringing up Zeke (can this be Zykov's nickname, please) gave us three legit lines and helped Skinner. Bringing up Foegele gave us four legit lines. No more rearranging deck chairs. He's a good coach, who is totally willing to give deserving guys a chance to succeed, he just didn't have enough deserving guys the first five months of the season.

When has he done this not including the last 5 games?

I think it was a criticism of Peters all year and years past he hadn't given call ups a chance to succeed.

Not that I blame him, as BBA said, it's very easy to stick to the guys you know and trust. I just don't agree with your notion that he is totally willing to give 'deserving' guys a chance to succeed.

EDIT: BBA brought up good points.

I guess i kind of meant mid season AHL callups and maybe I'm also wrong about that.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

When has he done this not including the last 5 games?

He has in the past. Some of it was out of necessity (Slavin / Pesce) and some of it was very obvious (Aho), but Aho, Slavin, Pesce, Fleury, McGinn, Hanifin, Rask and probably PDG were all put in spots to succeed coming out of lower leagues.

 

[geehaad]

Some great input here in the last handful of posts. Everyone wants to blame RF for not bringing up scoring help, and it's *possible* that he's to blame, but it is *equally* possible that Peters is the one to blame. The latter actually makes more sense, given what we know about his penchant for hanging on to replacement-level players like life rafts.

Aho, Slavin, Pesce, Fleury, McGinn, Hanifin, Rask and probably PDG were all put in spots to succeed coming out of lower leagues.

...mostly because RF didn't supply a veteran in their stead, and Peters was nearly forced to play them. Fleury might be the only exception to that.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Some great input here in the last handful of posts. Everyone wants to blame RF for not bringing up scoring help, and it's *possible* that he's to blame, but it is *equally* possible that Peters is the one to blame. The latter actually makes more sense, given what we know about his penchant for hanging on to replacement-level players like life rafts.

Like

...mostly because RF didn't supply a veteran in their stead, and Peters was nearly forced to play them. Fleury might be the only exception to that.

True for sure with guys like Slavin, Pesce, Hanifin, Rask and Aho. I think McGinn and PDG probably fits the bill of getting put in positions to succeed as well as Fleury, although there may not have been good vet choices there either, but they were mid season callups. Oh, I also forgot to add Derek Ryan.

 

[UNCCHcane]

I'm convinced that it's a culture issue. The big club is infected with losing, and the Checkers, at least the last couple of years, come from a system that's competitive and winning. Some of these guys may not be expendable per se (like Faulk and Skinner and Staal) but I think they're expendable for the purpose of changing the culture. Nine years of not just consistent losing, but being barely competitive, would f*** anybody up.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Loved this play by Zykov.

 

[Breakdowns]

Loved this play by Zykov.

that was amazing

 

[JCLA]

He has in the past. Some of it was out of necessity (Slavin / Pesce) and some of it was very obvious (Aho), but Aho, Slavin, Pesce, Fleury, McGinn, Hanifin, Rask and probably PDG were all put in spots to succeed coming out of lower leagues.

Fair enough on that end.

I meant more along the lines of mid season AHL callups where players were getting 6-7 minutes a game. I think he's done fine on PDG from this end.

I could also be deluded from people complaining about this so much that it doesn't happen quite as often as I think.

Edit: it could also be that he's trended toward this direction the past two seasons when his job security is getting a little less and less as expectations to make the playoffs have began to ramp up.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Fair enough on that end.

I meant more along the lines of mid season AHL callups where players were getting 6-7 minutes a game.

I could also be deluded from people complaining about this so much that it doesn't happen quite as often as I think.

Edit: it could also be that he's trended toward this direction the past two seasons when his job security is getting a little less and less as expectations to make the playoffs have began to ramp up.

No doubt it still happens. Wallmark is a recent example this season, but there have been others.

The guys that got callups early/mid season and were given decent minutes in recent years:

Slavin + Pesce: This was more out of necessity when Wizniewski and Murphy both got injured right away that season.
McGinn, PDG, Chris Terry, and Ryan: All mid season callups who got decent minutes and lots of games under Peters. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[tarheelhockey]

What has gotten into PDG these past few games? He looked like a lifeless plug for the entire season and suddenly he looks like a skilled playmaker and sniper. Totally different player these last 3 games.

He's looked better, but some of the little bad habits are still there. He has such good hands that it's enticing to see him with the puck near the net, but I'm still not sure I want him handling it in the neutral zone.

 

[geehaad]

I'm still having difficulty reasoning through the snub of Zykov a month or so ago...if RF truly was the roadblock, Zykov would've played that night instead of being sent back down before the game, right? The only thing I'm not clear on is the non-emergency call-up issue...maybe that enters into the equation.

 

[CanesFanBudMan]

a fourth line next year of Foegele - Wallmark - PDG wouldn't be the worst thing in the world

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

He's looked better, but some of the little bad habits are still there. He has such good hands that it's enticing to see him with the puck near the net, but I'm still not sure I want him handling it in the neutral zone.

True, but that applies to probably 8 of our 12 forwards. Skinner and Williams are the most cringeworthy in that regard.

BTW, I'm not advocating for bringing him back, just saying that he looks like a totally different player to me right now these last 3 games. I recognize t's only 3 games and it's against bad teams that didn't play well in those games though.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I'm still having difficulty reasoning through the snub of Zykov a month or so ago...if RF truly was the roadblock, Zykov would've played that night instead of being sent back down before the game, right? The only thing I'm not clear on is the non-emergency call-up issue...maybe that enters into the equation.

A lot of guys were banged up and IMO, they could have legitimately sat a guy (Nordstrom, Rask, etc..) and played Zykov that time and still met the emergency criteria.

 

[tarheelhockey]

True, but that applies to probably 8 of our 12 forwards. Skinner and Williams are the most cringeworthy in that regard.

Don't forget Stempniak!

LOL just kidding, everybody forgets Stempniak

 

[RodTheBawd]

My takeaways:
I loved seeing McLovin's excitement. In a sport that neuters any type of individualism, it's refreshing to see a guy that outwardly happy.
Ottawa is terrible and lacks any semblance of an identity. Amazing what shitty ownership and mismanagement can do, as we've seen firsthand.
What JM said.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

My takeaways:
I loved seeing McLovin's excitement. In a sport that neuters any type of individualism, it's refreshing to see a guy that outwardly happy.

Not only that, you could see how genuinely happy the guys were for him. I get the impression he'll be a well liked guy in the locker room.

 

[GoldiFox]

I've been surprised by how big Zykov and Foegele are/play. Get used to seeing Aho, TT, Skinner, Ryan, etc. and all of a sudden Zykov and Foegele look like Goliaths out there. Their games both have translated well, albeit against bad teams thus far.

 

[Tryamw]

I've been surprised by how big Zykov and Foegele are/play. Get used to seeing Aho, TT, Skinner, Ryan, etc. and all of a sudden Zykov and Foegele look like Goliaths out there. Their games both have translated well, albeit against bad teams thus far.

Good way to get your feet wet though.

 

[Stickpucker]

This exists

I'm gonna get Dem digits

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

calling @Bub. Where is the GDT for tonight's game?