GDT: Game 5: Vegas Golden Knights @ Arizona Coyotes | 6 PM | It's like the last two games, but different.

[Vegan Knight]

Well wouldn't you feel damn sure if you created a website and did what he did? Of course he's not right all the time or even most of the time. He's got valid points at times and not so valid points at others. I do like that he posts a lot of stuff and seems to create some debate. What else do the fans have to work with, this team has lousy coverage for the most part and the posts on this site hardly elevate the analysis either.

Omg we found Ken!

 

[HanSolo]

Well wouldn't you feel damn sure if you created a website and did what he did? Of course he's not right all the time or even most of the time. He's got valid points at times and not so valid points at others. I do like that he posts a lot of stuff and seems to create some debate. What else do the fans have to work with, this team has lousy coverage for the most part and the posts on this site hardly elevate the analysis either.

I mean I've said it countless times and I'll say it again, he's a hardworking and effective reporter. But it's not hard to learn how this game functions. I mean granted, he's always been (in my opinion) too harsh on Glass and even said today that within 6 months of being drafted he was sure that Cody would never be a first line center (which he followed up by saying that nothing Cody has shown since then has done anything to prove him wrong, which beating your chest about how right you were given all the context of VGK's development of him feels incredibly silly but it's not surprising from him).

But to say that there's just no other option but to sit on Kolesar's one way deal and that missing time in a shortened season isn't really a big deal to Glass' development is just either totally disingenuous or demonstrates a functional misunderstanding of relative player values and player development. Anyone who follows this game more deeply than just checking boxscores knows that game time is vital to a young player's development. Anyone with half a working understanding of the sport knows Glass needs to be playing games to get back in form and come as close to his potential cap as possible. To say "ah nothing can be done cause muh cap, muh Kolesar one way deal" misses the mark so badly. We're talking about one of the most expendable guys in the system, who has plenty of prospect peers who can one day play on this team's bottom 6 being prioritized over the best prospect at our organization's most shallow position, center. It's not that nothing can be done, it's that the front office is prioritizing trying to maximize the sunken cost of the second round pick we dealt for Kolesar over the development of our best prospect (or second best if you put Krebs ahead of him). What can be done is expose Kolesar to waivers which, at this point wouldn't be some huge loss were he to be claimed, and get your top prospect some goddamn ice time. Or you can continue to sit your top prospect and hope that he can figure out how to be a star player on his own time before he hits his prime years. Which is what Ken seems to think is the best way forward. You don't have to be a hockey genius to know it's not.

 

[theslatcher]

I do wonder what the long term plan is for Kolesar considering they're so adamant on keeping him up. The only player he could replace down the line is Reaves, who has his contract expiring after next season, but what, are you going to keep Kolesar at 13F, or have him take a spot over better players simply because he needs to go through waivers? Or are you going to trade Reaves in the off-season?

 

[Knightmare]

I mean I've said it countless times and I'll say it again, he's a hardworking and effective reporter. But it's not hard to learn how this game functions. I mean granted, he's always been (in my opinion) too harsh on Glass and even said today that within 6 months of being drafted he was sure that Cody would never be a first line center (which he followed up by saying that nothing Cody has shown since then has done anything to prove him wrong, which beating your chest about how right you were given all the context of VGK's development of him feels incredibly silly but it's not surprising from him).

But to say that there's just no other option but to sit on Kolesar's one way deal and that missing time in a shortened season isn't really a big deal to Glass' development is just either totally disingenuous or demonstrates a functional misunderstanding of relative player values and player development. Anyone who follows this game more deeply than just checking boxscores knows that game time is vital to a young player's development. Anyone with half a working understanding of the sport knows Glass needs to be playing games to get back in form and come as close to his potential cap as possible. To say "ah nothing can be done cause muh cap, muh Kolesar one way deal" misses the mark so badly. We're talking about one of the most expendable guys in the system, who has plenty of prospect peers who can one day play on this team's bottom 6 being prioritized over the best prospect at our organization's most shallow position, center. It's not that nothing can be done, it's that the front office is prioritizing trying to maximize the sunken cost of the second round pick we dealt for Kolesar over the development of our best prospect (or second best if you put Krebs ahead of him). What can be done is expose Kolesar to waivers which, at this point wouldn't be some huge loss were he to be claimed, and get your top prospect some goddamn ice time. Or you can continue to sit your top prospect and hope that he can figure out how to be a star player on his own time before he hits his prime years. Which is what Ken seems to think is the best way forward. You don't have to be a hockey genius to know it's not.

I agree with all of this 100%. I will admit I do find myself listening to Sinbin’s podcasts and periscope’s because we don’t have a lot of content like that available here but.. I wonder sometimes if Ken even believes half the shit he says. I think he just loves the controversial hot takes for clicks.

I think if the front office traded Shea Theodore for a 7th round pick tomorrow and the fan base erupted, Ken would post a story titled “why I think trading Theodore for a 7th round pick was the right move”. I listened to one of their podcasts a month or so back and Ken was arguing for why he thinks they should trade Lehner lol.

Anyway, I like your takes on stuff and you seem to know your hockey and was wondering what you see Glass’ ceiling being.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I agree with all of this 100%. I will admit I do find myself listening to Sinbin’s podcasts and periscope’s because we don’t have a lot of content like that available here but.. I wonder sometimes if Ken even believes half the shit he says. I think he just loves the controversial hot takes for clicks.

I think if the front office traded Shea Theodore for a 7th round pick tomorrow and the fan base erupted, Ken would post a story titled “why I think trading Theodore for a 7th round pick was the right move”. I listened to one of their podcasts a month or so back and Ken was arguing for why he thinks they should trade Lehner lol.

Anyway, I like your takes on stuff and you seem to know your hockey and was wondering what you see Glass’ ceiling being.

I mean, REALLY?!? At that point, how/why could you keep listening to that?

 

[HanSolo]

I agree with all of this 100%. I will admit I do find myself listening to Sinbin’s podcasts and periscope’s because we don’t have a lot of content like that available here but.. I wonder sometimes if Ken even believes half the shit he says. I think he just loves the controversial hot takes for clicks.

I think if the front office traded Shea Theodore for a 7th round pick tomorrow and the fan base erupted, Ken would post a story titled “why I think trading Theodore for a 7th round pick was the right move”. I listened to one of their podcasts a month or so back and Ken was arguing for why he thinks they should trade Lehner lol.

Anyway, I like your takes on stuff and you seem to know your hockey and was wondering what you see Glass’ ceiling being.

I honestly feel like ceiling may be rendered irrelevant at this point. I think if everything had gone perfectly to this point and going forward we may have had a Schiefele-esque 85 point 1c on our hands. I know that's bold but I do watch a fair bit of prospects hockey when time permits and used to a lot more between 2009-2015. Glass to me struck me more than many others I've watched in the past for his vision, overall hockey IQ, general game sense, and a passing ability that to me stood out as outstanding. What I felt he needed work on was, obviously, his lean frame, his tendency to spend more time analyzing the situation on the ice and waiting for the right moments to get involved rather than actively pressing the issue with or without the puck, and his work along the boards ranged from average to poor. Also his skating was and still is pretty average but there are plenty of first line centers that aren't speedsters even today. But all his strengths to me indicated a potential playmaking phenom and someone I felt was on track to be a star first line center. (I think because Glass played a more cerebral style of hockey rather than an explosive and exciting McDavid-esque style, Ken at SinBin assumed that meant he wasn't 1c material, which was right about when I first stopped taking his opinions seriously).

Taking last season (and the situation this season) into account, multiple factors need to be considered.

1. He spent far too many of his 39 games in the NHL playing on his off position. For some centers like Malkin, Giroux, etc. this isn't a big deal as they can spend any amount of time on the wing and are naturally disposed for return to center duties as the need arises. Glass' playstyle and frame on entry in the NHL meant he wasn't going to be the guy to make space for himself and his linemates. Playing with Stone and Pacioretty he got the benefit of getting to take faceoffs and have his linemates open up space for him, which in a situation like that gives him the flexibility to organically learn on his own how to play the position in a much faster and bigger NHL. Having to play wing on a line with horrendous puck possession players like Eakin and guys with no finish like Nosek and the snakebitten version of Tuch he had to play with meant that Glass wasn't getting gametime faceoff conditioning, wasn't playing with guys who could hone his playmaking ability to an NHL star's level, and had to spend far too much time trying to get the puck back from bottom 6 grinders who largely played grinder style hockey. No amount of bulking up would ever make Cody a grinder. It's just not in his game. And wasting away playing that style of hockey when he should've been learning how to play an offensive star's brand of playmaking either in our top 6 or on the first line in Chicago was a terrible deployment decision. At the very least Eakin could've been moved to the fourth line C spot and let Cody ply his development at his natural position but they wouldn't even do that out of some clearly outdated sense of loyalty to Eakin whose confidence and play seemed destroyed by the Game 7 major penalty call.

2. Everything listed above along with the injuries he suffered as a likely direct result from having to muck it up against bigger grinders by the necessity of Eakin's constant turnovers probably significantly harmed his confidence. On his return there were parts of his game I liked but many I didn't. He was constantly getting the puck tied up between his feet, he seemed hesitant to go to open areas or engage in chasing 50/50 pucks and even seemed to be second guessing passing opportunities he'd normally attempt to execute. I mean this can just as much be a consequence of not having played a single game in about a year but yanking him for two consecutive games hot off his first goal of the year and not having a regular spot for a fourth line grinder's sake probably isn't doing any favors for what could be a shaken confidence.

3. This factor really can't be considered a direct and negligent failure of development so much as it is an unfortunate consequence of our coaching. But the little time Glass got to be play with real talent last year was on the powerplay. And then, continuing into now, Vegas' powerplay has been abysmal, especially with Glass out. But even with him in, the puck movement style and the lack of movement from the players without the puck has led to a powerplay that, for the most part, has to operate on kicking the puck back to the point for outside shots. Which means, all Cody has been and is getting out of it is a bit of practice passing the puck with one less defending player on the ice. He's not being asked to generate creative playmaking solutions to a penalty kill defense because there's nothing creative about VGK's PP approach. So there was and is nothing really growing Glass' innate talents on the rare occasions he gets to play with our team's more talented players.

Take that all together and considering the kid will be 22 in April, and players usually see their prime years between 23 and 27, I think Glass' development since joining the VGK roster has been bungled too significantly for him to reach his absolute ceiling. I think at this point, if the team pulls its head out of its ass and starts developing him correctly, I think the best we can hope for is a Monahan level 1c. Not elite, may put up 70-75 points with the right goal support from his wingers, but just a middling 1c talent at best. (Ironically enough, I see this as Krebs' absolute ceiling and that's if everything goes right. Cody's experience makes me doubt it will

I think more realistically though, with the way things are going and seeing what this team's priorities are, I think it's more likely Cody ends up a 40-55 point second line center. The longer the team drags their feet on this Kolesar bullshit, the shorter his sample of games in an already shortened season will be. I mean, maybe if Cody hires some premium dev coaches in the offseason he can get to his ceiling on his own, but that's a big maybe.

So TL;DR: Absolute ceiling 80-85 point star 1c. Best case scenario is 65-75 point middle tier 1c. Likely result: 40-55 point 2c.

 

[HanSolo]

I mean, REALLY?!? At that point, how/why could you keep listening to that?

I mean I gave up on the podcast when in the same one he said

1.) William Karlsson is a superstar center and one of if not the best goal scorers in the NHL. (this was said the year after the inaugural season).

2.) Marc Andre Fleury is without question the best goaltender in the NHL. Without question.

Like. I'm all for pumping the tires of your stars but those takes were so insular and incorrect I just couldn't bear stomaching whatever shit hot takes he'd have in future podcasts. I still roll by his twitter feed because he is a quick and concise reporter of the team's goings on. But as a pundit, I can't think of many worse in the NHL. If you can rouse suspicion that hockey is not your first, second, or even third sport, you're a pretty shit pundit.

 

[Boris Zubov]

I honestly feel like ceiling may be rendered irrelevant at this point. I think if everything had gone perfectly to this point and going forward we may have had a Schiefele-esque 85 point 1c on our hands. I know that's bold but I do watch a fair bit of prospects hockey when time permits and used to a lot more between 2009-2015. Glass to me struck me more than many others I've watched in the past for his vision, overall hockey IQ, general game sense, and a passing ability that to me stood out as outstanding. What I felt he needed work on was, obviously, his lean frame, his tendency to spend more time analyzing the situation on the ice and waiting for the right moments to get involved rather than actively pressing the issue with or without the puck, and his work along the boards ranged from average to poor. Also his skating was and still is pretty average but there are plenty of first line centers that aren't speedsters even today. But all his strengths to me indicated a potential playmaking phenom and someone I felt was on track to be a star first line center. (I think because Glass played a more cerebral style of hockey rather than an explosive and exciting McDavid-esque style, Ken at SinBin assumed that meant he wasn't 1c material, which was right about when I first stopped taking his opinions seriously).

Taking last season (and the situation this season) into account, multiple factors need to be considered.

1. He spent far too many of his 39 games in the NHL playing on his off position. For some centers like Malkin, Giroux, etc. this isn't a big deal as they can spend any amount of time on the wing and are naturally disposed for return to center duties as the need arises. Glass' playstyle and frame on entry in the NHL meant he wasn't going to be the guy to make space for himself and his linemates. Playing with Stone and Pacioretty he got the benefit of getting to take faceoffs and have his linemates open up space for him, which in a situation like that gives him the flexibility to organically learn on his own how to play the position in a much faster and bigger NHL. Having to play wing on a line with horrendous puck possession players like Eakin and guys with no finish like Nosek and the snakebitten version of Tuch he had to play with meant that Glass wasn't getting gametime faceoff conditioning, wasn't playing with guys who could hone his playmaking ability to an NHL star's level, and had to spend far too much time trying to get the puck back from bottom 6 grinders who largely played grinder style hockey. No amount of bulking up would ever make Cody a grinder. It's just not in his game. And wasting away playing that style of hockey when he should've been learning how to play an offensive star's brand of playmaking either in our top 6 or on the first line in Chicago was a terrible deployment decision. At the very least Eakin could've been moved to the fourth line C spot and let Cody ply his development at his natural position but they wouldn't even do that out of some clearly outdated sense of loyalty to Eakin whose confidence and play seemed destroyed by the Game 7 major penalty call.

2. Everything listed above along with the injuries he suffered as a likely direct result from having to muck it up against bigger grinders by the necessity of Eakin's constant turnovers probably significantly harmed his confidence. On his return there were parts of his game I liked but many I didn't. He was constantly getting the puck tied up between his feet, he seemed hesitant to go to open areas or engage in chasing 50/50 pucks and even seemed to be second guessing passing opportunities he'd normally attempt to execute. I mean this can just as much be a consequence of not having played a single game in about a year but yanking him for two consecutive games hot off his first goal of the year and not having a regular spot for a fourth line grinder's sake probably isn't doing any favors for what could be a shaken confidence.

3. This factor really can't be considered a direct and negligent failure of development so much as it is an unfortunate consequence of our coaching. But the little time Glass got to be play with real talent last year was on the powerplay. And then, continuing into now, Vegas' powerplay has been abysmal, especially with Glass out. But even with him in, the puck movement style and the lack of movement from the players without the puck has led to a powerplay that, for the most part, has to operate on kicking the puck back to the point for outside shots. Which means, all Cody has been and is getting out of it is a bit of practice passing the puck with one less defending player on the ice. He's not being asked to generate creative playmaking solutions to a penalty kill defense because there's nothing creative about VGK's PP approach. So there was and is nothing really growing Glass' innate talents on the rare occasions he gets to play with our team's more talented players.

Take that all together and considering the kid will be 22 in April, and players usually see their prime years between 23 and 27, I think Glass' development since joining the VGK roster has been bungled too significantly for him to reach his absolute ceiling. I think at this point, if the team pulls its head out of its ass and starts developing him correctly, I think the best we can hope for is a Monahan level 1c. Not elite, may put up 70-75 points with the right goal support from his wingers, but just a middling 1c talent at best. (Ironically enough, I see this as Krebs' absolute ceiling and that's if everything goes right. Cody's experience makes me doubt it will

I think more realistically though, with the way things are going and seeing what this team's priorities are, I think it's more likely Cody ends up a 40-55 point second line center. The longer the team drags their feet on this Kolesar bullshit, the shorter his sample of games in an already shortened season will be. I mean, maybe if Cody hires some premium dev coaches in the offseason he can get to his ceiling on his own, but that's a big maybe.

So TL;DR: Absolute ceiling 80-85 point star 1c. Best case scenario is 65-75 point middle tier 1c. Likely result: 40-55 point 2c.

That's a lot to digest, & I'm not keen when it comes to watching prospects & predicting their future as NHL players. (For example, I didn't think Suzuki had the goods from what I saw in the VGK prospect camps) However, that's quite a gap between Glass' potential ceiling & floor. It's such a crap shoot for these kids & it doesn't help when the team that drafts you doesn't develop you correctly or put you in the best possible position to succeed.

 

[Knightmare]

I mean, REALLY?!? At that point, how/why could you keep listening to that?

At this point I’ll listen to it for the comedy. Dude thinks he so right about everything and everybody else is just flat out wrong. Like Dr. pepper is the greatest beverage ever invented and if you don’t love it your wrong and you’re an idiot. The dude fully believes he’s the greatest GM/coach/ref/linesman/agent all wrapped into a blogger in Las Vegas. It’s comedy.

 

[Knightmare]

I honestly feel like ceiling may be rendered irrelevant at this point. I think if everything had gone perfectly to this point and going forward we may have had a Schiefele-esque 85 point 1c on our hands. I know that's bold but I do watch a fair bit of prospects hockey when time permits and used to a lot more between 2009-2015. Glass to me struck me more than many others I've watched in the past for his vision, overall hockey IQ, general game sense, and a passing ability that to me stood out as outstanding. What I felt he needed work on was, obviously, his lean frame, his tendency to spend more time analyzing the situation on the ice and waiting for the right moments to get involved rather than actively pressing the issue with or without the puck, and his work along the boards ranged from average to poor. Also his skating was and still is pretty average but there are plenty of first line centers that aren't speedsters even today. But all his strengths to me indicated a potential playmaking phenom and someone I felt was on track to be a star first line center. (I think because Glass played a more cerebral style of hockey rather than an explosive and exciting McDavid-esque style, Ken at SinBin assumed that meant he wasn't 1c material, which was right about when I first stopped taking his opinions seriously).

Taking last season (and the situation this season) into account, multiple factors need to be considered.

1. He spent far too many of his 39 games in the NHL playing on his off position. For some centers like Malkin, Giroux, etc. this isn't a big deal as they can spend any amount of time on the wing and are naturally disposed for return to center duties as the need arises. Glass' playstyle and frame on entry in the NHL meant he wasn't going to be the guy to make space for himself and his linemates. Playing with Stone and Pacioretty he got the benefit of getting to take faceoffs and have his linemates open up space for him, which in a situation like that gives him the flexibility to organically learn on his own how to play the position in a much faster and bigger NHL. Having to play wing on a line with horrendous puck possession players like Eakin and guys with no finish like Nosek and the snakebitten version of Tuch he had to play with meant that Glass wasn't getting gametime faceoff conditioning, wasn't playing with guys who could hone his playmaking ability to an NHL star's level, and had to spend far too much time trying to get the puck back from bottom 6 grinders who largely played grinder style hockey. No amount of bulking up would ever make Cody a grinder. It's just not in his game. And wasting away playing that style of hockey when he should've been learning how to play an offensive star's brand of playmaking either in our top 6 or on the first line in Chicago was a terrible deployment decision. At the very least Eakin could've been moved to the fourth line C spot and let Cody ply his development at his natural position but they wouldn't even do that out of some clearly outdated sense of loyalty to Eakin whose confidence and play seemed destroyed by the Game 7 major penalty call.

2. Everything listed above along with the injuries he suffered as a likely direct result from having to muck it up against bigger grinders by the necessity of Eakin's constant turnovers probably significantly harmed his confidence. On his return there were parts of his game I liked but many I didn't. He was constantly getting the puck tied up between his feet, he seemed hesitant to go to open areas or engage in chasing 50/50 pucks and even seemed to be second guessing passing opportunities he'd normally attempt to execute. I mean this can just as much be a consequence of not having played a single game in about a year but yanking him for two consecutive games hot off his first goal of the year and not having a regular spot for a fourth line grinder's sake probably isn't doing any favors for what could be a shaken confidence.

3. This factor really can't be considered a direct and negligent failure of development so much as it is an unfortunate consequence of our coaching. But the little time Glass got to be play with real talent last year was on the powerplay. And then, continuing into now, Vegas' powerplay has been abysmal, especially with Glass out. But even with him in, the puck movement style and the lack of movement from the players without the puck has led to a powerplay that, for the most part, has to operate on kicking the puck back to the point for outside shots. Which means, all Cody has been and is getting out of it is a bit of practice passing the puck with one less defending player on the ice. He's not being asked to generate creative playmaking solutions to a penalty kill defense because there's nothing creative about VGK's PP approach. So there was and is nothing really growing Glass' innate talents on the rare occasions he gets to play with our team's more talented players.

Take that all together and considering the kid will be 22 in April, and players usually see their prime years between 23 and 27, I think Glass' development since joining the VGK roster has been bungled too significantly for him to reach his absolute ceiling. I think at this point, if the team pulls its head out of its ass and starts developing him correctly, I think the best we can hope for is a Monahan level 1c. Not elite, may put up 70-75 points with the right goal support from his wingers, but just a middling 1c talent at best. (Ironically enough, I see this as Krebs' absolute ceiling and that's if everything goes right. Cody's experience makes me doubt it will

I think more realistically though, with the way things are going and seeing what this team's priorities are, I think it's more likely Cody ends up a 40-55 point second line center. The longer the team drags their feet on this Kolesar bullshit, the shorter his sample of games in an already shortened season will be. I mean, maybe if Cody hires some premium dev coaches in the offseason he can get to his ceiling on his own, but that's a big maybe.

So TL;DR: Absolute ceiling 80-85 point star 1c. Best case scenario is 65-75 point middle tier 1c. Likely result: 40-55 point 2c.

Thanks man. This was very informative, yet kind of a bummer to read. It would be such a shame to think we gave up on developing a potential Schiefele style player over Codey Eakin and Keegan Kolesar. I know they’ve said it would be bad asset management to possibly lose Kolesar on waivers due to him costing a 2nd. But it seems like worse asset management to me to give up on developing a 1st round center (which is the position we need fixed the most). They’re playing ping pong with our 2017 1st round center and our 2017 early 2nd round defenseman over a 2nd round pick that could be most a 4th liner. And thanks if the dude even fleets claimed. SMH.

 

[HanSolo]

That's a lot to digest, & I'm not keen when it comes to watching prospects & predicting their future as NHL players. (For example, I didn't think Suzuki had the goods from what I saw in the VGK prospect camps) However, that's quite a gap between Glass' potential ceiling & floor. It's such a crap shoot for these kids & it doesn't help when the team that drafts you doesn't develop you correctly or put you in the best possible position to succeed.

Not an easy answer to give without explaining why.

I don't think it's that much of a crap shoot with guys like Glass. With a guy like him you develop as common sense dictates, (to me Glass always struck me as a lock to be a future top 6 player no matter how his development went) but Vegas' priorities have constantly seemed at odds with common sense.

It wasn't hard for him to avoid his floor but unless they start prioritizing his development and fast, that's more or less where he's gonna end up. Barring some unexpected developmental miracle.

Edit: also I don't think you were unjustified in your dev camp analysis of Suzuki. I had a similar takeaway. At least at those two camps he seemed to have good hands and played at a relatively exciting pace but shyed away from traffic and operated largely from the perimeter which didn't scream future star center to me. Could've just been, ultimately, that he didn't want to risk injury at a dev camp.

 

[HanSolo]

Thanks man. This was very informative, yet kind of a bummer to read. It would be such a shame to think we gave up on developing a potential Schiefele style player over Codey Eakin and Keegan Kolesar. I know they’ve said it would be bad asset management to possibly lose Kolesar on waivers due to him costing a 2nd. But it seems like worse asset management to me to give up on developing a 1st round center (which is the position we need fixed the most). They’re playing ping pong with our 2017 1st round center and our 2017 early 2nd round defenseman over a 2nd round pick that could be most a 4th liner. And thanks if the dude even fleets claimed. SMH.

Exactly my takeaway. I mean this is a seasoned management team we have. How and why they think they can be cavalier with a player who clearly needed adjustment to the NHL and missed 52 out of a possible 91 games of hockey is completely beyond me. How and why the ego of not getting value back for a draft day acquisition (who at the very best will top out as a 30 point third line winger) is the reason for it is absolutely insane to me.

I mean I've seen a fair share of questionable decisions with the development of top prospects league wide, including Glass' deployment last year. But I can't think of a single case of a team's top prospect riding the bench because the team doesn't want to lose a fourth line grinder to waivers. It's honestly one of the most baffling management decisions I've ever seen in 20+ years watching the sport. Especially considering this season had about 26 games slashed off its length.

 

[Vegan Knight]

I mean I gave up on the podcast when in the same one he said

1.) William Karlsson is a superstar center and one of if not the best goal scorers in the NHL. (this was said the year after the inaugural season).

2.) Marc Andre Fleury is without question the best goaltender in the NHL. Without question.

Like. I'm all for pumping the tires of your stars but those takes were so insular and incorrect I just couldn't bear stomaching whatever shit hot takes he'd have in future podcasts. I still roll by his twitter feed because he is a quick and concise reporter of the team's goings on. But as a pundit, I can't think of many worse in the NHL. If you can rouse suspicion that hockey is not your first, second, or even third sport, you're a pretty shit pundit.

I mean, you can understand why he would think the Fleury thing if he digests mostly VGK material. Have you seen our broadcasts? Even now that we have another starting goalie.

Fleury and Lehner have the exact same type of game and they are portrayed waaayyy differently by ATTSN. Fleury is just treated different by the media and according to Pitt fans I've talked to this is nothing new.

I mean, last game in the post game interview Stormy talked up Fleury to set up Wild Bill to sing his praises and Bill seemingly passed. He played it off saying it was always good for your goalie (don't even think he said Flower) to get a shutout but he thought they played solid D and made it easy and had their best game yet.

Our broadcasts in general play close to the line of overboard with the homerism. That hockey guy on YouTube even stopped using the three stars on his reviews because of us! ATTSN was constantly giving all three stars to our guys no matter how good a night opposing players had.

 

[willy702]

Omg we found Ken!

Yeah sure. I wish I got sponsors for my hot takes and all, but sorry guys I'm not Ken. Just pointing out the obvious there, he's filled a void. He may not have filled it with great quality or honed insight, but he's there and we all are not.

 

[Vegan Knight]

Yeah sure. I wish I got sponsors for my hot takes and all, but sorry guys I'm not Ken. Just pointing out the obvious there, he's filled a void. He may not have filled it with great quality or honed insight, but he's there and we all are not.

He was already a part of the industry in town and had the connections to make it work, he also had the foresight to get in early. Good for him. Doesn't mean his hockey knowledge isn't bad.

Especially since one part of what he does, reporting, is never really criticized and in fact gets praised. It's his punditry that comes in for criticism.

But then again, you only have to turn on ESPN for a few minutes to see bad pundits get paid well because it's more entertainment now than information or substance. Being a bad pundit in an entertaining way is an easier way to make money than being a good pundit.

But I was just making a joke.