GDT: Game 3: Islanders VS Team needing to flip the switch

[maacoshark]

i'm not even mad tbh. isles were much better in every single game so far. it's not like we are losing because of hot goalie or bad luck, we just suck and 3-0 after 3 games sounds as fair as possible

Can't argue. The Isles deserve to be up 3-0

 

[Roshi]

All our moves seemed right at the time they happened, but looking at it retrorespective it sure doesnt sound that cool..

- letting Trotz go, replace with Reirden
- trading Grubauer instead of Holtby
- not keeping Brett Connolly, replacing him with Panik
- trading Niskanen to Gudas
- finally moving on from Burakovsky

:/

 

[max21]

I liked it better when there was no sports

 

[mad4comp]

I'm not a Burakovsky fan but I have to admit he is a better player than Vrana. At least Bura did improve some parts of his game. Vrana's isn't improving his game at all and I believe alot of that is coaching.
I'm pretty sure if Trotz was still here Vrana would have been a healthy scratch for a few games this. I know people here didn't like when Trotz did that but it was the right decision. When a player doesn't want to play within the system. He has to be riding the pines.
This isn't the 80s when players freelanced alot. The league is very systematic now.

So did Vrana... look at his regular season stats this year. He was pretty fantastic. This team has no structure, no game plan.. no nothing. They don't make use of the weapons they have, they can't make easy passes and just flat out don't care. It's not on Vrana.. it's systemic.

Basically TR is the problem.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

All our moves seemed right at the time they happened, but looking at it retrorespective it sure doesnt sound that cool..

- letting Trotz go, replace with Reirden
- trading Grubauer instead of Holtby
- not keeping Brett Connolly, replacing him with Panik
- trading Niskanen to Gudas
- finally moving on from Burakovsky

:/

I agree with all of that except for letting Trotz go. That was bad.

 

[Roric]

i'm not even mad tbh. isles were much better in every single game so far. it's not like we are losing because of hot goalie or bad luck, we just suck and 3-0 after 3 games sounds as fair as possible

Yeah it's not like we're getting Halak'd all over again, we just suck

 

[kmart]

This talk of Trotz the brilliant coach is bizarre. He did wonders for Caps culture, and he’s *very* good at getting teams to play just like these islanders. But he’s still only been out of the 2nd round once, and I’ve still never seen him adjust in the playoffs. The team may seem all over the place under Rierden, but I’m not sure signing Trotz for 5 more years was the answer.

it was the job of trotz until he would lose it on his own. it has nothing to do with brilliancy. blysma got fired after he won the cup. sullivan is going to get fired in this offseason after 2 cups. and trotz probably would have been fired within 5 years of his big pay check contract. u let these things play out on the ice.

winning the cup means u dont have to fix anything, at least nothing big like changing coaches. its as if the caps dont have a winning culture from top to bottom and winning the cup caused them losers in management an allergic reaction so they immediately went back to the glory days of hiring nobodys as head coaches.

and speaking of brilliancy... trotz plays a very modern style, it may be not the nicest hockey to watch but its very effective. the vegas knights also over archived with the same tactic that counters finesse puck moving teams or any team that wants to run some kind of set up play for that matter. it basically challenges the players to make fast and correct choices, its a defensive system that forces and profits from mistake.

i was under the impression that reirden adopted it, maybe even invented it as an assistant coach... boy was i wrong. now he has to pack his shit, his teams proven that he has nothing to offer us against high energy playoff teams... be it isles or the canes from last year. actually i am not sure which positive thing he has going for him in his time as hc here. that backpass on the powerplay before entering the blue line that catapulted the powerplay into the average% what an improvement ! holtby losing his marbles, very good ! unlocked the first line potential of vrana, more pls!

 

[maacoshark]

So did Vrana... look at his regular season stats this year. He was pretty fantastic. This team has no structure, no game plan.. no nothing. They don't make use of the weapons they have, they can't make easy passes and just flat out don't care. It's not on Vrana.. it's systemic.

Basically TR is the problem.

I'm not talking about stats. What is wrong with you people? Vrana doesn't have a clue how to play without the puck. He has possibly the lowest hockey IQ in the league. Yes he is that bad. He doesn't back check, he doesn't forecheck, he doesn't hit, he doesn't go to the front of the net, he doesn't cycle the puck well, he lacks strength so it is easy to knock him off the puck, he also makes poor decisions wit the puck too, like the play that cost us game 2.
What does he do? He floats around and gets the odd breakaway. And he hasn't been able to score on one of those either.
I already said earlier, this isn't the 80s. You can't float around in today's game. The game is too systematic for floaters. It doesn't matter if he scores the odd breakaway goal if his style of game is costing us 4 or 5.
He is not playing within the system. He is a selfish player.

 

[ArmadilloThumb]

- letting Trotz go, replace with Reirden
- trading Grubauer instead of Holtby
- not keeping Brett Connolly, replacing him with Panik
- trading Niskanen to Gudas
- finally moving on from Burakovsky
:/

Agree about Gruby and maybe Trotz. Trotz may have not worked out long term.

Nisky was in deep decline, moving on was correct. Gudas hasn't been great, but look ahead to the young D, reason for optimism there!

Burk needed the change in scenery.

Laviolette or Gallant, and new support staff. May help revive Kuzy and Jake. If those two don't respond they should be moved in hockey trades.

If GMBM is smart there can be a long period of strong competitiveness, and windows tend to open to teams who are in that state. But change has to happen this offseason.

 

[tenken00]

Got 2020'd again!

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

All our moves seemed right at the time they happened, but looking at it retrorespective it sure doesnt sound that cool..

- letting Trotz go, replace with Reirden
- trading Grubauer instead of Holtby
- not keeping Brett Connolly, replacing him with Panik
- trading Niskanen to Gudas
- finally moving on from Burakovsky

:/

That’s a lot of mess ups in 2 seasons.

Add trading a pick for washed up Kovalchuk after he was on waivers for free and the entire league passed on him

 

[mad4comp]

I'm not talking about stats. What is wrong with you people? Vrana doesn't have a clue how to play without the puck. He has possibly the lowest hockey IQ in the league. Yes he is that bad. He doesn't back check, he doesn't forecheck, he doesn't hit, he doesn't go to the front of the net, he doesn't cycle the puck well, he lacks strength so it is easy to knock him off the puck, he also makes poor decisions wit the puck too, like the play that cost us game 2.
What does he do? He floats around and gets the odd breakaway. And he hasn't been able to score on one of those either.
I already said earlier, this isn't the 80s. You can't float around in today's game. The game is too systematic for floaters. It doesn't matter if he scores the odd breakaway goal if his style of game is costing us 4 or 5.
He is not playing within the system. He is a selfish player.

Neither did Bura... or Stephenson for that matter.. Both seem to be flourishing at the moment. I wonder what changed?

 

[maacoshark]

Agree about Gruby and maybe Trotz. Trotz may have not worked out long term.

Nisky was in deep decline, moving on was correct. Gudas hasn't been great, but look ahead to the young D, reason for optimism there!

Burk needed the change in scenery.

Laviolette or Gallant, and new support staff. May help revive Kuzy and Jake. If those two don't respond they should be moved in hockey trades.

If GMBM is smart there can be a long period of strong competitiveness, and windows tend to open to teams who are in that state. But change has to happen this offseason.

I think the guys we miss are obviously Trotz first of all. Beagle because of his defense, pk and faceoff ability. Maybe Stephenson if Trotz was still here. Trotz seemed to know how to utilize him. Stephenson did have some good aspects to his game, good skater, solid defensively and was smart with the puck. Didn't turn the puck over often.
Connolly was a bit of a loss but not the end of the world and Bura just needed a change of scenery.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

I liked it better when there was no sports

Even sucking is better then no Sports

 

[hb12xchamps]

Vrana had 24 ES goals. Good for 11th in the league. He scored more ES goals than Connor McDavid. Trading him would absolutely be a mistake.

Again, let’s bitch about Vrana for “losing the game” but not bitch about Carlson playing terrible D on Barzal for the GWG. Plenty of guys have missed scoring chances in all 3 games. Vrana had a much better game today even if he didn’t get on the scoresheet. Ovechkin hasn’t gotten ridiculed at all yet he was fairly invisible out there other than a few big hits. He was a turnover machine and looked disinterested

 

[maacoshark]

Neither did Bura... or Stephenson for that matter.. Both seem to be flourishing at the moment. I wonder what changed?

You really don't know this game at all. Stephenson is a good player without the puck. It's always been his strength. He is known as a checker and pker. He also makes smart decisions with the puck. He doesn't turn the puck over very often.
Trotz utilized Stephenson fairly well, moving him up and down the lineup using him as a checker. Trotz called him a Swiss army knife because he could use him on any line and could pay him at either of the 3 forward positions. He could also kill penalties. He even got some time on the PP.
Once Reirden took over Stephenson wasn't utilized at all.

 

[maacoshark]

Vrana had 24 ES goals. Good for 11th in the league. He scored more ES goals than Connor McDavid. Trading him would absolutely be a mistake.

Again, let’s bitch about Vrana for “losing the game” but not bitch about Carlson playing terrible D on Barzal for the GWG. Plenty of guys have missed scoring chances in all 3 games. Vrana had a much better game today even if he didn’t get on the scoresheet. Ovechkin hasn’t gotten ridiculed at all yet he was fairly invisible out there other than a few big hits. He was a turnover machine and looked disinterested

So what if Vrana scored 24 regular season goals. Any player that floats around like Vrana is going to get his share of scoring opportunities.
He doesn't understand the details of the game. Obviously you don't either.
So in the post game when Alan May, Laughlin and Brent Johnson say that they dont like Vrana's game. Do you think they are wrong?
I think I'd believe them.

 

[hb12xchamps]

So what if Vrana scored 24 regular season goals. Any player that floats around like Vrana is going to get his share of scoring opportunities.
He doesn't understand the details of the game. Obviously you don't either.
So in the post game when Alan May, Laughlin and Brent Johnson say that they dont like Vrana's game. Do you think they are wrong?
I think I'd believe them.

I’d love for your idea to replace his 24 ES goals. That’s a lot of goals over the course of a season.

You hate Vrana, we get it. You constantly shit on him because he’s not a good ole Canadian boy like Chandler Stephenson

 

[DanTHEMan71]

it was the job of trotz until he would lose it on his own. it has nothing to do with brilliancy. blysma got fired after he won the cup. sullivan is going to get fired in this offseason after 2 cups. and trotz probably would have been fired within 5 years of his big pay check contract. u let these things play out on the ice.

winning the cup means u dont have to fix anything, at least nothing big like changing coaches. its as if the caps dont have a winning culture from top to bottom and winning the cup caused them losers in management an allergic reaction so they immediately went back to the glory days of hiring nobodys as head coaches.

and speaking of brilliancy... trotz plays a very modern style, it may be not the nicest hockey to watch but its very effective. the vegas knights also over archived with the same tactic that counters finesse puck moving teams or any team that wants to run some kind of set up play for that matter. it basically challenges the players to make fast and correct choices, its a defensive system that forces and profits from mistake.

i was under the impression that reirden adopted it, maybe even invented it as an assistant coach... boy was i wrong. now he has to pack his shit, his teams proven that he has nothing to offer us against high energy playoff teams... be it isles or the canes from last year. actually i am not sure which positive thing he has going for him in his time as hc here. that backpass on the powerplay before entering the blue line that catapulted the powerplay into the average% what an improvement ! holtby losing his marbles, very good ! unlocked the first line potential of vrana, more pls!

The fact is our organization was too frugal when it came to coaches, over-confident after the cup win, and too stubborn towards making Todd the next HC. I completely agree that after you win a Cup you don't try to make big changes, you keep things going for as long as you can until they stop being successful.

Trotz wanted 5 years at $5M. I agree with BMac that coaches don't last 9 years these days, and he's right. The next closest thing today is Jon Cooper in Tampa. BUT, I fail to understand why it was such a big deal for Leonsis to give Trotz his 5x5 even if he was likely going to last only 2-3 more years. Ted is one of the wealthiest owners in sports and, with the added revenues from winning the cup, would have easily been able to stomach Trotz's extension even if he wasn't going to last the whole duration of it.

Complete lunacy from Caps management to squander a real shot at B2B cups and waste 2 more years of Ovechkin and this roster. Seems like they didn't value Mitch Korn and Lane Lambert enough either.

 

[EroCaps]

So what if Vrana scored 24 regular season goals. Any player that floats around like Vrana is going to get his share of scoring opportunities.
He doesn't understand the details of the game. Obviously you don't either.
So in the post game when Alan May, Laughlin and Brent Johnson say that they dont like Vrana's game. Do you think they are wrong?
I think I'd believe them.

Vrana's game didn't prevent them from winning a Cup. He scored important goals on that run. He played responsibly.

People want to scapegoat players.

It's the leadership.

 

[um]

So what if Vrana scored 24 regular season goals. Any player that floats around like Vrana is going to get his share of scoring opportunities.
He doesn't understand the details of the game. Obviously you don't either.
So in the post game when Alan May, Laughlin and Brent Johnson say that they dont like Vrana's game. Do you think they are wrong?
I think I'd believe them.

Vrana has sucked, but behind him it’s Hagelin, Panik and Kovalchuk. And they suck even more.

 

[Roshi]

That’s a lot of mess ups in 2 seasons.

Add trading a pick for washed up Kovalchuk after he was on waivers for free and the entire league passed on him

All those moves made perfect sense when they happened though. Just havent worked for us at all, and the big question should be why?

It cant be just coinsidence that everyone who has left DC has upped their game elsewhere while everyone who we have brought up has regressed. While also our own core players are regressing aswell.

I dont normally attack on coaches, but it has all been downhill since Reirden took over Trotz.

Grubauer has been better than Holtby in COL, but it might not be the case if we traded Holtby instead. Caps defence under Reirden doesnt look solid as a whole team effort and that has to effect goalies confidence.

Niskanen started to regress under Reirden, but turned it around in Philly. While Gudas has not been good here. All our new guys are not performing as well as they did before moving here. Kovy was pretty good in Montreal, Panik has lost his touch to produce anything, even Dillon was very good in a really bad Sharks team.

Burakovsky needed change of scenery and has been great as expected after that. Maybe some other coach than Reirden could have provided that change of scenery in DC?

I still trust that this team has all the tools to go all the way, but it just looks like Reirden might be blocking us. And like said, im normally the last one to go after the coach.

 

[mad4comp]

You really don't know this game at all. Stephenson is a good player without the puck. It's always been his strength. He is known as a checker and pker. He also makes smart decisions with the puck. He doesn't turn the puck over very often.
Trotz utilized Stephenson fairly well, moving him up and down the lineup using him as a checker. Trotz called him a Swiss army knife because he could use him on any line and could pay him at either of the 3 forward positions. He could also kill penalties. He even got some time on the PP.
Once Reirden took over Stephenson wasn't utilized at all.

Reirden couldn't utilize Bura, Stephenson, now Vrana and a bunch of other players. So somehow you think the problem is "vrana?" Every player we traded that played under Reirden has been flourishing for their new team... now why is that? (hint: it's not a problem with any of the aforementioned players).

 

[twabby]

When you are getting 30% of the expected goals I’m not going to pin anything on any individual play. Yeah Vrana and Wilson didn’t score on a breakaway and Carlson flubbed his coverage but this game should have been a blowout.

It’s a bad system with players who look lost. When coaches don’t have any answers players often look disinterested. Change the coach, don’t get rid of talented players.

 

[maacoshark]

Reirden couldn't utilize Bura, Stephenson, now Vrana and a bunch of other players. So somehow you think the problem is "vrana?" Every player we traded that played under Reirden has been flourishing for their new team... now why is that? (hint: it's not a problem with any of the aforementioned players).

Duh the Caps had problems with Vrana and Bura when Trotz was coaching both were benched several times for their lack of details.
I suggest you quit because it is quite obviously you don't understand the details of the game.
Maybe you understand what a goal is but nothing more.