GDT: Game #61 Anaheim Ducks Vs Colorado Avalanche 02/21/2020 @ 10pm EST

[Paul4587]

Hampus has been disappointing for two years straight. He may have put on more weight but his skating is barely above average. His turnover today was so ridiculously bad. But then again all of our dmen handle the puck like a grenade at least once a game. I wonder if it’s poor coaching...

Lindholm has been very good this year, I don't know what games you're watching. Unless you're purely boxscore scouting and not paying attention to his underlying numbers.

The turnovers the past 5 games are completely unacceptable and he needs to be held accountable but the guy is by far our best defenseman.

 

[cheesymc]

Lindholm has been very good this year, I don't know what games you're watching. Unless you're purely boxscore scouting and not paying attention to his underlying numbers.

The turnovers the past 5 games are completely unacceptable and he needs to be held accountable but the guy is by far our best defenseman.

I’ve haven’t watched every unbearable shift but I have watch pretty much every game, and Fowler has played better than him. Fowler is soft, but his skating is exceptional. Unlike all of our other dmen he has escapability and puck handling. His problem is he is too much of a beta.

Hampus takes too many soft penalties and just doesn’t have good lateral skating and is often falling on his ass. I think he’s been getting more credit than he deserves the past few years. He’s pretty much on an Edler trajectory, a good #4 on a contender but he might never reach top pairing as we have hoped. We’ve all been holding out that he would, but he might need a change in coaching and training.

 

[gilfaizon]

Tight game tonight, dudes.

Gibson is a God and this is the best version of Josh Manson that I have seen all season.

Good luck the rest of the way. f*ck the Sharks and Kings.

This was literally the best result for Ducks fans. Played well but still stay in the bottom 5

 

[Magnus the Duck]

What a horrible turnover by Lindholm which also decided the game.

Seems Eakins will get a year leeway, but if we suck next season he will probably be fired very quickly.

 

[Paul4587]

I’ve haven’t watched every unbearable shift but I have watch pretty much every game, and Fowler has played better than him. Fowler is soft, but his skating is exceptional. Unlike all of our other dmen he has escapability and puck handling. His problem is he is too much of a beta.

Hampus takes too many soft penalties and just doesn’t have good lateral skating and is often falling on his ass. I think he’s been getting more credit than he deserves the past few years. He’s pretty much on an Edler trajectory, a good #4 on a contender but he might never reach top pairing as we have hoped. We’ve all been holding out that he would, but he might need a change in coaching and training.

Fowler plays much easier minutes - he gets more favorable zone starts, more PP time and plays against the oppositions second and third lines as opposed to their 1st. Cam is slightly better offensively but Lindholm beats him defensively by quite a bit. You say Cam is our only dman with escapability - Hampus (besides these recent turnovers) is also very good at evading forecheckers and getting the puck down ice, it's part of the reason he's had elite possession numbers all these years. His main issue is consistency, some nights he looks like an elite number one but other nights it looks like he's playing with a broken stick.

Hampus doesn't have the prettiest skating style but he's still a way above average skater. His lateral skating ability is fine. Corey Perry fell down a lot too, didn't mean he wasn't a top 5 winger in his prime. And I laugh at your suggestion that Hampus would be a number 4 dman on a contender. He's easily a top pairing defenseman, there's not a chance you can name 62 dmen who are better than him, you'll struggle to get to 30.

I have no issues with the amount of penalties he takes either.

In terms of his actual numbers this year (I know you didn't bring up anyones numbers but I will) - if not for putrid luck he would be having a pretty decent season. He's shooting at 1.8%, way down from the regular 6% he normally shoots at. If he was converting at his normal rate he has 7 goals on the year which would put him at an above 40 point pace. If we also had forwards that could finish worth a damn he would be putting up more points also. His PDO is also incredibly low - it's sitting at 960 which implies he's incredibly unlucky while he's on the ice.

How many points did MacKinnon get tonight by the way? Hampus caused a goal against, sure but the MacKinnon line who he and Manson were matched up against was held to zeros. MacKinnon did beat Lindholm once to get a quality chance but there is not a single dman in the league who would have fared well in that situtaion, when players like MacKinnon who are that explosive come through the NZ at speed after a turn over it's impossible to defend..

 

[KaseMeOutside]

What a horrible turnover by Lindholm which also decided the game.

Seems Eakins will get a year leeway, but if we suck next season he will probably be fired very quickly.

He's got very little to work with the ducks are a bottom 5 roster performing like a bottom 5 roster, if the kids don't develop then yes I agree with you

 

[Magnus the Duck]

He's got very little to work with the ducks are a bottom 5 roster performing like a bottom 5 roster, if the kids don't develop then yes I agree with you

For sure. Just thinking about the results. Carlyle was 21-26-9 when he was fired, but it was after a string of losses. We are currently 24-30-7.

 

[Leonardo87]

Welp they only gave up one goal. Gibson was Gibson. Lindholm’s mistake cost them at least a point.

 

[Exit Dose]

Welp they only gave up one goal. Gibson was Gibson. Lindholm’s mistake cost them at least a point.

While I don't want them to try to lose, the points at this time don't matter as much as the experience.

 

[Leonardo87]

While I don't want them to try to lose, the points at this time don't matter as much as the experience.

it was more the principle but yeah let’s stick to the bottom 5 and get a good chance for a Top 3 pick. I just want to see competitive hockey and some goals scored with the kids contributing for the last 20 games.

They kept Mackinnon off the scoresheet. Not easy to do. Just cannot finish.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

it was more the principle but yeah let’s stick to the bottom 5 and get a good chance for a Top 3 pick. I just want to see competitive hockey and some goals scored with the kids contributing for the last 20 games.

They kept Mackinnon off the scoresheet. Not easy to do. Just cannot finish.

Our 4th line is turning into a passable shutdown line.

 

[Leonardo87]

Our 4th line is turning into a passable shutdown line.

4th line has been more of a 3rd line with Grant leading the charge with 14 goals. Been really the only consistent line all season. Which is why I don’t want them to trade Grant. Need some stability in a rebuild.

 

[Exit Dose]

4th line has been more of a 3rd line with Grant leading the charge with 14 goals. Been really the only consistent line all season. Which is why I don’t want them to trade Grant. Need some stability in a rebuild.

Losing Grant would be a big mistake.

 

[dracom]

Are people ok with Gibson now or are there still people that think he's already washed up and should be traded? Or that Gibson has "checked out" and will want a trade out?

 

[bumperkisser]

Are people ok with Gibson now or are there still people that think he's already washed up and should be traded? Or that Gibson has "checked out" and will want a trade out?

He's had some better games recently but there's no doubt he was a contributing factor to where we are at in the standings so far this year

 

[Leonardo87]

Are people ok with Gibson now or are there still people that think he's already washed up and should be traded? Or that Gibson has "checked out" and will want a trade out?

D is so inconsistent. Think Fowler and Gudbranson have been the more consistent D. Manson had been bad and now when he is playing well, Lindholm is playing with his head up his ass. Then add Guhle and Holzer to the mix and it’s just not good enough but if they could finish better could make up some of this inconsistent play and that is the bigger issue, imo.

This is a game if they scored 2 goals would have won. Just two, heck one could have been enough if Lindholm doesn’t make that brutal turnover.

 

[dracom]

He's had some better games recently but there's no doubt he was a contributing factor to where we are at in the standings so far this year

won't deny that. It's just been ridiculous that Gibson isn't allowed to have an off season without people suggesting he's no longer a good goalie or that he's so checked out that he's gonna want a trade out.

 

[DigiDuck]

won't deny that. It's just been ridiculous that Gibson isn't allowed to have an off season without people suggesting he's no longer a good goalie or that he's so checked out that he's gonna want a trade out.

He isn't playing for anything other than pride at this point. Same thing happened last year too. Maybe it speaks to his professionalism, but I can understand him not playing to his potential in a lost season. It's tough knowing you have to play perfectly nearly every night just for your team to have a shot, especially when he watches them fail to execute time after time, then hang him out to dry. I don't think he's quit, but it seems more like he's got the "why bother?" attitude. Last night is a great example, stands on his head, only allows 1 goal, but the 1 goal came from an egregious turnover right in front of him.

 

[KyleJRM]

Are people ok with Gibson now or are there still people that think he's already washed up and should be traded? Or that Gibson has "checked out" and will want a trade out?

I think that goalies are fickle, that he's had below-average performance for over a year, and if you can get out from under the long-term contract while getting good value for him, you should do it. Because I never want to be committed long-term to a goalie.

But this is all theory-crafting because I don't think it's remotely on the Ducks' radar

 

[Ducks DVM]

Are people ok with Gibson now or are there still people that think he's already washed up and should be traded? Or that Gibson has "checked out" and will want a trade out?

I was in rhe vanguard of the “the contract is too long” club the day the contract was announced. I don’t think that he’s washed up by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t know if his slump will last a day, a week, or 3 years. The position is just too volatile in most cases.

If he can’t handle the losses because of the retool/rebuild/tank/whatever it actually is BM is doing, I do think he needs to go though. His on-ice body language and post-game comments don’t appear to be benefiting the team. If they aren’t going to try to compete in the near future, I don’t see him being in a better place mentally after 2-5 more years of this level of play.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

Goalies are weird I think you guys are reading too much into things lol

 

[dracom]

I think that goalies are fickle, that he's had below-average performance for over a year, and if you can get out from under the long-term contract while getting good value for him, you should do it. Because I never want to be committed long-term to a goalie.

But this is all theory-crafting because I don't think it's remotely on the Ducks' radar

I was in rhe vanguard of the “the contract is too long” club the day the contract was announced. I don’t think that he’s washed up by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t know if his slump will last a day, a week, or 3 years. The position is just too volatile in most cases.

If he can’t handle the losses because of the retool/rebuild/tank/whatever it actually is BM is doing, I do think he needs to go though. His on-ice body language and post-game comments don’t appear to be benefiting the team. If they aren’t going to try to compete in the near future, I don’t see him being in a better place mentally after 2-5 more years of this level of play.

Fair points. But if we trade him then we don’t have a goalie. Dostal is years away from being an nhl caliber starter and Stolarz is certainly not good enough to be a starter. We see plenty of good teams suffer because they don’t have a good goalie or even average goalie. Gibson is far from even being bad so just have an average goalie who can still play very well (Avs game for example) puts us in a better position to succeed in the long run. Plus the returns for goalies are so weird that the return we get for him probably won’t be worth it.

Plus Gibson’s cap hit isnt even that high, he could easily be getting Price/Bob money on the open market. Yeah it’s long, but unless Gibson pulls a Jones (which doesn’t look likely) then the way I see it is we don’t need to worry about the goaltending position for years until someone in the system forces us too.

 

[KaseMeOutside]

Are people ok with Gibson now or are there still people that think he's already washed up and should be traded? Or that Gibson has "checked out" and will want a trade out?

We're wasting his prime. I have no concerns about him other than the workload he's faced the last 3 years. We need to put a better team in front of him soon

 

[Leonardo87]

We're wasting his prime. I have no concerns about him other than the workload he's faced the last 3 years. We need to put a better team in front of him soon

Well said. This is why they shouldn’t blow it up and start from the bottom. Make the moves needed to improve scoring and the D. I feel it’s a few pieces and not an entire overhaul then add the kids coming up hope the ones on the roster now develop better. I think Terry for one example has looked much better as of late.

These last 20 or so games should really be about the kids and their contributions. Even if they are losing at least they look competitive.

I look back at all those 2-1 regulation losses or one goal losses. A few more goals here and there and maybe they are knocking on the door of a playoff spot.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Fair points. But if we trade him then we don’t have a goalie. Dostal is years away from being an nhl caliber starter and Stolarz is certainly not good enough to be a starter. We see plenty of good teams suffer because they don’t have a good goalie or even average goalie. Gibson is far from even being bad so just have an average goalie who can still play very well (Avs game for example) puts us in a better position to succeed in the long run. Plus the returns for goalies are so weird that the return we get for him probably won’t be worth it.

Plus Gibson’s cap hit isnt even that high, he could easily be getting Price/Bob money on the open market. Yeah it’s long, but unless Gibson pulls a Jones (which doesn’t look likely) then the way I see it is we don’t need to worry about the goaltending position for years until someone in the system forces us too.

It’s not his play that bothers me as much as his attitude at times. His body language looks openly petulant/defeated on occasion, and I don’t think he's played well enough consistently to be taking “they need to play better” shots in the media over “we/I need to be better”. Miller doesn’t look like he’s quit on the game ever, even in blowouts

This team won’t be competitive for at least 2-3 years. He can’t act like he’s acted this year for the entirety of that.

We're wasting his prime. I have no concerns about him other than the workload he's faced the last 3 years. We need to put a better team in front of him soon

I think it’s safe to say that’s an accurate statement, but it is not a thing that is actually feasible. At least 2 years to be competent, 3 to be competitive you’d think.