GDT: Game 7: Nashville Predators Vs Vegas Golden Knights | 7:00PM | I don't have enough letters for a wit

[HanSolo]

The defense is turning into a pretty significant problem.

 

[Boris Zubov]

The defense is turning into a pretty significant problem.

As most of us thought it would. We need Schmidty back.

 

[Vegas07]

Anyone else get the feeling that this season is gonna be a lot like last season....Really strong wins followed up by really ugly losses.

Last season the offense and defense were both garbage at the start of the season. When the team was at its best before the Stone Age, there were a lot of low scoring games. Seemed like every win was 2-1 or 3-2. The team would need 50 shots to get 3 goals.

This year it’s better offense and very shaky defense but let’s see what happens when Nate comes back.

The team is inconsistent without Nate so far. But last year the team was garbage without him (and without Stone and Glass).

 

[Vegan Knight]

The defense is turning into a pretty significant problem.

I think it is likely to be an issue until the trade deadline, would Tanev as a rental take our 1st?

 

[IceNeophyte]

The defense is turning into a pretty significant problem.

Indeed. I'll give Fleury a mistake, he doesn't make them like that often. Engo should be coaching, Merrill was okay, Holden looked like Holden again, and Hague had his new worst NHL game.

Someone remind me why they benched and then traded Hunt again?

 

[Vegan Knight]

Indeed. I'll give Fleury a mistake, he doesn't make them like that often. Engo should be coaching, Merrill was okay, Holden looked like Holden again, and Hague had his new worst NHL game.

Someone remind me why they benched and then traded Hunt again?

Why did they bother signing Holden if they could have kept Hunt for 1.5M less? They didn't get anything for Hunt.

I will say, Merrill and Engelland are playing fine for bottom pairing defensemen. Theodore has played badly and so has McNabb. They need to get to a top 4 level and we need Schmidt back. That would only leave Hague or Holden playing a top 4 position they are not suited for yet. But we could try to address that at the deadline if it continues to be a problem.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Why did they bother signing Holden if they could have kept Hunt for 1.5M less? They didn't get anything for Hunt.

I will say, Merrill and Engelland are playing fine for bottom pairing defensemen. Theodore has played badly and so has McNabb. They need to get to a top 4 level and we need Schmidt back. That would only leave Hague or Holden playing a top 4 position they are not suited for yet. But we could try to address that at the deadline if it continues to be a problem.

Theodore did a lot of good tonight, I thought. McNabb didn't look like a top 4, but he is better than this.

 

[ltsthinaz]

Hague will be great - in the future. Right now, he does things too slow for the NHL. When Schmidt comes back, he needs some more AHL seasoning. Holden is OK for a bottom pair, McNabb needs to be second pair, not first, probably with Theodore.

Glass is going to be a star. Great hockey sense, smooth skater.

Real stinker tonight after the first - I left early for first time in a long time, since I have a 2 hour drive home.

Not real worried about VGK - top-flight team, PK and PP are top notch, shore up the defense at TDL with one puck-mover and we're on our way.

 

[CupInSIX]

Hague looks more and more comfortable with each game.

Why did they bother signing Holden if they could have kept Hunt for 1.5M less? They didn't get anything for Hunt.

I will say, Merrill and Engelland are playing fine for bottom pairing defensemen. Theodore has played badly and so has McNabb. They need to get to a top 4 level and we need Schmidt back. That would only leave Hague or Holden playing a top 4 position they are not suited for yet. But we could try to address that at the deadline if it continues to be a problem.

Unless Gallant wants to not use McNabb-Theodore as much, Hague can play 16-18 even strength minutes with Schmidt when he gets back. Though that would leave Merrill-Engelland as the bottom pair so I wouldn't be surprised if Engelland sat out a game or two.



Aside from adding another depth Dman at the deadline there's nothing much GMKM can or should do to the defense. Hague, Coghlan, Whitecloud need to get a lot of NHL games in by the end of the year unless they want another offseason of uncertainty.

 

[IceNeophyte]

Now here's glass half full:

Last year, we were 3-4 without Schmidt, with wins over Flyers, Wild, and Sabres. This year, we are 4-3, with two wins over (a declining) Sharks, and wins over Flames and a Kings team that isn't back but looks to be climbing out of the hole. 3-1 in division so far. Having more healthy forwards, having Stone on the team, and having Glass on the PP have helped weather the storm.

My fear is that we're over-selling the loss of Schmidt because of the turnaround last year, and we don't see a similar turn when he comes back.

 

[Boris Zubov]

My fear is that we're over-selling the loss of Schmidt because of the turnaround last year, and we don't see a similar turn when he comes back.

He's our best defenseman, so it stands to reason the back end will improve when he returns. Will he cure all our blue line deficiencies, absolutely not.

 

[IceNeophyte]

He's our best defenseman, so it stands to reason the back end will improve when he returns. Will he cure all our blue line deficiencies, absolutely not.

A big difference is that last year he was on suspension and did bag skates for the duration. By his own words, he was in the best shape of his life when he returned. He'll be coming off injury this time.

 

[Boris Zubov]

A big difference is that last year he was on suspension and did bag skates for the duration. By his own words, he was in the best shape of his life when he returned. He'll be coming off injury this time.

Ok, but think of it as addition by subtraction. Schmitty at 85% is still better than Holden or Engellend.

 

[Vegas07]

Now here's glass half full:

Last year, we were 3-4 without Schmidt, with wins over Flyers, Wild, and Sabres. This year, we are 4-3, with two wins over (a declining) Sharks, and wins over Flames and a Kings team that isn't back but looks to be climbing out of the hole. 3-1 in division so far. Having more healthy forwards, having Stone on the team, and having Glass on the PP have helped weather the storm.

My fear is that we're over-selling the loss of Schmidt because of the turnaround last year, and we don't see a similar turn when he comes back.

It got worse after the 3-4 start as the team ended up 8-11-1 without him. I would be very disappointed if the team doesn’t easily do much better than that this season.

 

[Vegas07]

The team is much better without him this year so we don’t need to see a similar turnaround. We just need to see a significant improvement which I think is a more realistic goal. Also, the team isn’t in a big hole in the standings this time.

 

[Vegan Knight]

Hague looks more and more comfortable with each game.



Unless Gallant wants to not use McNabb-Theodore as much, Hague can play 16-18 even strength minutes with Schmidt when he gets back. Though that would leave Merrill-Engelland as the bottom pair so I wouldn't be surprised if Engelland sat out a game or two.



Aside from adding another depth Dman at the deadline there's nothing much GMKM can or should do to the defense. Hague, Coghlan, Whitecloud need to get a lot of NHL games in by the end of the year unless they want another offseason of uncertainty.

I think we can trade a young defenseman for a veteran at the deadline and then we wouldn't need to think about who we are giving experience to during the season.

If we were to trade Schuldt in a trade for Tanev at the deadline, we could re-sign Tanev (he should be in a contract area we could be comfortable with due to his propensity to miss games) and have Whitecloud and Coghlan, even Engelland in emergency get more games if Tanev can't play the full 82 games.

McNabb-Schmidt
Theodore-Tanev
Hague-Merrill
Engelland, Bischoff
Engelland would obviously get a lot of games also.

Then

McNabb-Schmidt
Theodore-Tanev
Hague-Whitecloud
Bischoff, Coghlan, Engelland (emergency)

If Coghlan, Whitecloud and Hague all look good then they could trade McNabb, who would have less than two years on his contract if the trade is during the season next year. Or they could keep everyone and be a very deep defensive team.

They are going for it now, after all.

 

[theslatcher]

I think we can trade a young defenseman for a veteran at the deadline and then we wouldn't need to think about who we are giving experience to during the season.

If we were to trade Schuldt in a trade for Tanev at the deadline, we could re-sign Tanev (he should be in a contract area we could be comfortable with due to his propensity to miss games) and have Whitecloud and Coghlan, even Engelland in emergency get more games if Tanev can't play the full 82 games.

McNabb-Schmidt
Theodore-Tanev
Hague-Merrill
Engelland, Bischoff
Engelland would obviously get a lot of games also.

Then

McNabb-Schmidt
Theodore-Tanev
Hague-Whitecloud
Bischoff, Coghlan, Engelland (emergency)

If Coghlan, Whitecloud and Hague all look good then they could trade McNabb, who would have less than two years on his contract if the trade is during the season next year. Or they could keep everyone and be a very deep defensive team.

They are going for it now, after all.

No thanks. Tanev has injury problems which should only get worse as he gets older.

 

[HanSolo]

On the bright side, Glass has more points than Gusev and Hughes combined so...swish

 

[hangman005]

I think my concern so far this season isn't so much about the personal, yes the D could be better, but the approach into and during games, and I saw it all through last year, and am seeing it again so far the season. The lack of consistency, we look great for a couple of games, then we look like crap. We look sharp crisp and on one game, others we look like we'd rather be in the dressing room playing playstation or something. We aren't going to be great and win every game, I accept that, but it when we are off we don't seem to be a little off, we always seem to be way off.

 

[Vegan Knight]

No thanks. Tanev has injury problems which should only get worse as he gets older.

If not Tanev, there are other players. Green or Braun are UFA this year on teams that would be looking for trades. If they want a player with a year on their contract, Niskanen could be an option. A vet RD could help stabilize our defense and put every player we have in a part of the lineup that maximizes their opportunities for success.

 

[Vegan Knight]

On the bright side, Glass has more points than Gusev and Hughes combined so...swish

5 points in 7 games is impressive but if we could give him more opportunities and better linemates, he could be a PPG player this season.

 

[IceNeophyte]

On the bright side, Glass has more points than Gusev and Hughes combined so...swish

Olofsson for buffalo has 6 goals and 2 assists.

 

[Vegas07]

On the bright side, Glass has more points than Gusev and Hughes combined so...swish

We are seeing how much it would have sucked if Glass was traded.

 

[Boris Zubov]

We are seeing how much it would have sucked if Glass was traded.

I was never big on Suzuki, so trading him didn't bother me. Brannstrom the jury is still out on, but I would make that trade over again, without thinking twice. Trading Glass was always a non starter, IMO. His ceiling is so much higher than the other two.

 

[CupInSIX]

If not Tanev, there are other players. Green or Braun are UFA this year on teams that would be looking for trades. If they want a player with a year on their contract, Niskanen could be an option. A vet RD could help stabilize our defense and put every player we have in a part of the lineup that maximizes their opportunities for success.

Greene, Braun, Hainsey, Demelo etc are more likely targets. Even signing McQuaid if he's healthy.

I'm not a fan of bringing in top 4 d at premium prices in lieu of developing them and seeing which one matures the best. Half the top dmen in the league seemingly came out of nowhere.