GDT: Game 2 - Avs Vs. Blues - Redemption Round - 7PM MT

[The Kingslayer]

Its amazing how many Preds fans claim Girard would just be a depth defenseman on that team.

Denial. They will all bend the knee eventually. Pred fans, Hawk fans, Sens fans. All of them.

 

[Foppa2118]

Calling it now, Timmins, not Cole, will be the one scratched in order to give Byram some ice time. Which will be a big mistake because of how well Timmins is playing right now.

I like Timmins, but he had a bit of an up and down game. He made some good plays in the first half of the game, but when Bednar started giving him more ice time later on, he made a few non NHL style turnovers and mistakes.

He needs to clean that up a bit so it's not a regular occurrence. It feels like he's trying really hard to play at the pace Bednar wants his team playing at, but at times his hands and feet are a tad quicker than his head.

Cole's been pretty bad the first two games too though, so it's hard to tell which one would sit first. Seems like they could both sit whenever EJ and Byram are ready to go. Then they'll evaluate if Bo should stay in the lineup or not.

 

[Avsboy]

Calling it now, Timmins, not Cole, will be the one scratched in order to give Byram some ice time. Which will be a big mistake because of how well Timmins is playing right now.

To fit Byram they will have to scratch someone else too

 

[The Kingslayer]

I like Timmins, but he had a bit of an up and down game. He made some good plays in the first half of the game, but when Bednar started giving him more ice time later on, he made a few non NHL style turnovers and mistakes.

He needs to clean that up a bit so it's not a regular occurrence. It feels like he's trying really hard to play at the pace Bednar wants his team playing at, but at times his hands and feet are a tad quicker than his head.

Cole's been pretty bad the first two games too though, so it's hard to tell which one would sit first. Seems like they could both sit whenever EJ and Byram are ready to go. Then they'll evaluate if Bo should stay in the lineup or not.

I like the idea of pulling both Cole be Timmins out and inserting Bo and EJ. From there you sub out Graves or Cole or both if applicable. If EJ is healthy hes playing

 

[The Kingslayer]

To fit Byram they will have to scratch someone else too

Cole and Timmins out. Bo and EJ in.

 

[Avsboy]

Cole and Timmins out. Bo and EJ in.

What I think will end up happening, and it should happen, is the locks stay in, Cole becomes 7th D, and Timmins OR Byram becomes the 6th D. The other guy plays for the Eagles until Graves is taken by Seattle next year. Hopefully Timmins is auto-protected.

I think trading Timmins, which is also a possibility, is a big mistake. He's already playing like a Top 4 and has much more potential. Would much rather trade a known commodity like Graves.

 

[Pokecheque]

So does Timmins have to be protected in the expansion draft? This is an important question. They'll be protecting 4D either way, but you don't want Timmins to become Shea Theodore on Seattle.

Not sure if they’ve gotten a definitive answer from the league yet.

 

[McMetal]

Not sure if they’ve gotten a definitive answer from the league yet.

I bet you they have, they just haven't told anybody, and none of our reporters have thought to ask.

 

[Perratrooper]

Man I cannot wait for EJ to replace Cole. At the very least he’s better on the PK and in a more sheltered role I think EJ will be fantastic this year, not because he can’t play more, but because of the wear and tear of a season.

Once EJ comes back I see us rotating out our sixth dman between Cole, Timmins and Byram. Up until then I think Timmins comes out of the lineup for Byram and those two take turns playing.

I see some people clamoring for Jost getting moved up to the third line, I think it would be wise to allow him to get his confidence up playing with PEB and Calvert before anything official. I also think Calvert should stick with Jost, I personally think Jost plays best with physical puck retrieves (Landy, Calvert or to a less extent PEB). If Jost can continue to show well and our “third line” continues to sputter I could see Jost and Calvert getting bumped up with Donskoi and moving Nuke and JTC down to play with PEB.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Jost should only use his long ass stick when hes killing penalties. Any other time he should look to use a shorter stick. He seems to lose pucks alot in corners in and around his feet. Short stick should help with that. It also forces you to move your feet alot more. Dont know why Sakic hasnt gotten him to use a shorter stick like he did to Duchene.

 

[PAZ]

What I think will end up happening, and it should happen, is the locks stay in, Cole becomes 7th D, and Timmins OR Byram becomes the 6th D. The other guy plays for the Eagles until Graves is taken by Seattle next year. Hopefully Timmins is auto-protected.

I think trading Timmins, which is also a possibility, is a big mistake. He's already playing like a Top 4 and has much more potential. Would much rather trade a known commodity like Graves.

Graves is older, but I wouldn’t say we know exactly what we have in him yet. He has a total of 97 NHL games, and has improved gradually since joining the team. He just had his best game in an Avs uniform.

I do think something has to give eventually, and we’ll most likely see either Graves or Timmins gone starting next season. I also think that we won’t see whichever one is gone at their best, which is a shame.

 

[tigervixxxen]

So does Timmins have to be protected in the expansion draft? This is an important question. They'll be protecting 4D either way, but you don't want Timmins to become Shea Theodore on Seattle.

He doesn’t. Go look on Cap Friendly to see who is exempt and who isn’t. He didn’t play a game in the 2018-19 season and therefore wasn’t counted as a professional season. This is his second one and is exempt.

 

[Foppa2118]

Not sure if they’ve gotten a definitive answer from the league yet.

I feel like they must have received a definitive answer by now. Teams need to be able to plan for expansion, and there's no reason to put off that decision anyway.

The problem is getting info like this out of the team. I wish they'd be more forthright. We've been wondering about this for a couple years now.

 

[JoeSakic13]

I bet you they have, they just haven't told anybody, and none of our reporters have thought to ask.

We have reporters?