Give GMJR a Grade (cumulative)

[HugoStiglitz]

Haha. I just don't understand how people can downplay the Despres trade.

That trade was devastating.

Devastating?!?!

Wow... you like to be dramatic, huh?

 

[Penguinator]

I don't think Despres has the hockey IQ to be a top pair Dman, however he could establish himself as a solid 2nd pairing guy down the road & see top pair time on specific occasions (short stints).

Big guy with big potential.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Devastating?!?!

Wow... you like to be dramatic, huh?

Yeah, whatever you say. It ****ed us over down the stretch and in the playoffs, and will have a lasting impact on our blueline for years to come.

All for a guy we jumped at the chance to move for a 5th rounder a couple of years ago because he wasn't even worth that.

Yes. It was a devastatingly bad trade.

 

[Waffle Fries]

Despres is very replaceable. It wasn't like we traded away Dougie Hamilton or and OEL.

EDIT: Let's also not get all dramatic by calling him a rock solid top pairing dman. He played the second pairing and while he performed well for ANA, if you really watched that series he was also quite out of place at times and responsible for a few goals against.

If Despres is so replaceable you shouldn't have any trouble providing a list of young, big, fast, physical puck-moving top-4 defenseman. I'll wait.

I'm questioning which series you're referring to. If you mean Chicago, he and Fowler were undoubtedly Anaheim's best pair. He was responsible for very few goals against. He was consistently near the top for even strength ice time for them and praised by everyone in the Ducks organization.

I don't think Despres has the hockey IQ to be a top pair Dman, however he could establish himself as a solid 2nd pairing guy down the road & see top pair time on specific occasions (short stints).

Big guy with big potential.

He's already established himself as a solid second pairing guy.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

Yeah, whatever you say. It ****ed us over down the stretch and in the playoffs, and will have a lasting impact on our blueline for years to come.

All for a guy we jumped at the chance to move for a 5th rounder a couple of years ago because he wasn't even worth that.

Yes. It was a devastatingly bad trade.

The Naslund trade; now that was a devastatingly bad trade. Simon Despres? Not so much.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The Naslund trade; now that was a devastatingly bad trade. Simon Despres? Not so much.

Yes, the Naslund trade was devastatingly bad. So was the Jagr to Washington deal. So was the Roy to Colorado deal. So was basically everything Milbury did while GM of the Isles.

That doesn't negate the fact that the Despres deal screwed us over last year, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

 

[Waffle Fries]

You wait as long as you like. You're clearly an irrational person with whom I don't care to engage. Yes, I'm quite sure you'll chalk that up to "see, you can't name any" because you're very predictable.

I just choose not to do any research for someone like you to defend my point. You have an extreme viewpoint and an obnoxious way of getting your point across. It's not worth my time.

You're entitled to your opinion. My "irrational" and "extreme viewpoint" is backed by both statistics and the views of members within the Ducks organization. Refusing to engage in conversation because you don't like the way I present my argument comes off as a bit of a cop out.

I suggest that in order to avoid this type of conversation in the future that you have some ideas for replacements before declaring a player replaceable.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

Yes, the Naslund trade was devastatingly bad. So was the Jagr to Washington deal. So was the Roy to Colorado deal. So was basically everything Milbury did while GM of the Isles.

That doesn't negate the fact that the Despres deal screwed us over last year, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The Jagr trade? Really? The Pens were pretty powerless in that respect. Terrible trade yeah, but I have to believe that was the best available for the team at that point. They had no choice but to move him.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

The Jagr trade? Really? The Pens were pretty powerless in that respect. Terrible trade yeah, but I have to believe that was the best available for the team at that point. They had no choice but to move him.

So trading a top 10 player in the history of hockey for guys who ultimately amounted to beer league players wasn't devastating?

I don't care if we had to move him for financial reasons, that catapulted the team into a dismal next 4 years that we only crawled out of because we won the Crosby lottery.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

So trading a top 10 player in the history of hockey for guys who ultimately amounted to beer league players wasn't devastating?

I don't care if we had to move him for financial reasons, that catapulted the team into a dismal next 4 years that we only crawled out of because we won the Crosby lottery.

I'm not sure how old you are or if you're old enough to remember that trade, but it wasn't done for any good reasons. The Penguins had no choice but to move Jagr and while Washington was not offering the best prospects, they were offering the most money coming back.

You don't care if they had to move him for financial reasons? They were entering dismal times because management totally effed up their affairs. Moving Jagr was a result of the organizations poor business skills. They didn't move him because they thought, "Hey, Jagr's time is over here, we can replace him with better younger guys."

 

[Waffle Fries]

Many scathing insults which call into question his intelligence and level of hockey acumen, followed by a "good luck in your future endeavors."

Sounds about right.

To kind of make this on topic:

Rutherford has done a lot of great things for this team like fixing our top-6 and providing forward depth. If we were to judge him on his very best move, he's at an A+. However, even though he was not likely the driving force behind it, his very worst move grades at an F.

But that's why we don't grade on one or two moves, we grade on a cumulative result. As I said, I probably place him around a B right now, but the good he's done doesn't mean we should downplay the bad.

 

[SniperHF]

Reminder: critque the post not the poster.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

The Despres stuff...

It just never ends.

 

[DoktorZaius]

Devastating?!?!

Wow... you like to be dramatic, huh?

Giving up a big, young, skilled top 4 d-man for a marginal 31 year old bottom pairing d-man is a devastating trade for a team that could REALLY use a top 4 d-man right now. You can quibble about the verbiage, but bottom line is that it's really really bad.

 

[HandshakeLine]

The Despres stuff...

It just never ends.

People love to prolong the agony here.

 

[Ziggyjoe21]

Shero was great till he won the Cup. Then he convinced themselves that they'd figured it out. "Sid and Geno will turn bad wingers into stars so just load up on D. Oh and that Bylsma guy is a really good coach! I'm gonna give him endless chances to coach this team."

It's also pretty funny that you rake JR over the coals for last season when he was a few months into trying to fix the mess Shero left the team in. Sorry if you don't want to admit it but JR has been a much better GM in the last year than Shero was in his last 5.



A 2nd rounder for a solid 3rd liner having a good year isn't awful (might I remind you of Douglas Murray?). And they had to dress 5 Dmen because of the cap hell Shero left the team in and the LTIR rules.

After the season ended but before the Kessel trade, most of this board was hoping JR gets fired (along with MJ) but knew it was unrealistic to change the front office after just 1 season. Now after 2 trades he's considered a genius.

JR's moves were good on paper but they backfired in reality. For example:
-1st for Perron made sense on paper but Perron didn't score a single goal in the last 1 or 2 months.
- Draft picks for Winnik made sense on paper despite being an ovepayment. Winnik was invisible and useless, and we reallllly need more high draft picks and prospects.
-Neal for Horny and Spaling made sense because Horny is the type of player we wanted/needed for the playoffs, however Horny's production will never come close to matching Neal's production here. Spaling sucks and was given an outrageous contract for a vanilla 4th liner.
-Despres for Lovejoy, nothing more needs to be said.
-Ehrhoff was a great signing at the time because he was supposed to be a solid,cheap replacement for Niskanen in the top 4. He was bad here and always injured.
-coaching staff (who was hired by JR) coached the team to their worst finish since 2006. PP was inept. PK was the only thing working.

JR also left this team with an awful D core outside of 2 guys, and probably the worst prospect pool in the league.

On the plus side I really like the quality and depth of the forwards. Hopefully they will help Sid and Geno reach their early 20's peak production and level of play. This is the most stacked the forward group has been since 2013 post TDL.

 

[Shady Machine]

The Despres stuff...

It just never ends.

You complaining about the Despres stuff....it never ends.

 

[Shady Machine]

After the season ended but before the Kessel trade, most of this board was hoping JR gets fired (along with MJ) but knew it was unrealistic to change the front office after just 1 season. Now after 2 trades he's considered a genius.

JR's moves were good on paper but they backfired in reality. For example:
-1st for Perron made sense on paper but Perron didn't score a single goal in the last 1 or 2 months.
- Draft picks for Winnik made sense on paper despite being an ovepayment. Winnik was invisible and useless, and we reallllly need more high draft picks and prospects.
-Neal for Horny and Spaling made sense because Horny is the type of player we wanted/needed for the playoffs, however Horny's production will never come close to matching Neal's production here. Spaling sucks and was given an outrageous contract for a vanilla 4th liner.
-Despres for Lovejoy, nothing more needs to be said.
-Ehrhoff was a great signing at the time because he was supposed to be a solid,cheap replacement for Niskanen in the top 4. He was bad here and always injured.
-coaching staff (who was hired by JR) coached the team to their worst finish since 2006. PP was inept. PK was the only thing working.

JR also left this team with an awful D core outside of 2 guys, and probably the worst prospect pool in the league.

On the plus side I really like the quality and depth of the forwards. Hopefully they will help Sid and Geno reach their early 20's peak production and level of play. This is the most stacked the forward group has been since 2013 post TDL.

I highly doubt most of this board wanted them both fired. We were extremely skeptical of the management team, but it wasn't just JR. It was the whole Pittsburgh 9 or whatever.

As for Perron, it's too soon to say if the trade "backfired". We still have the guy for another season. If he puts up 50-60 points this year, did it still "backfire"?

You liked the Ehrhoff signing but are blaming JR for him getting injured?

Did the Hornqvist, Spaling for Neal trade really backfire? We got a perfect complimentary top 6 guy and used Spaling in the Kessel trade. A top 6 can't be rebuilt in one season. On the whole, JR should get an A for building the top 6. Moved elite sniper for elite net front guy with heart and soul and then one season later brought in a better elite sniper.

You need to look at last off season's moves in concert with this year. JR had a plan to re-build this team how he wanted and he is close to being there. I am still furious about the Despres trade and nervous about the defense, but maybe we will finally see what we have in the remaining kids. He's done a good job overall.

 

[The Old Master]

The Naslund trade; now that was a devastatingly bad trade. Simon Despres? Not so much.

I think you might be suffering from some revisionist history......1. the guy we traded for got hurt, so we have nothing to compare. 2. we were loaded with guys playing as well if not better than he was. [he was very soft and we needed some grit] 3. he didn't play very well right after the trade.....it took some time before he bloomed..... was it a bad trade? yes, but nothing like the Despres trade.

 

[The Old Master]

People love to prolong the agony here.

as soon as we acquire a big, nasty, smooth skating defenseman that can handle the puck, make nice passes and log big minuets I will be over it. ........I just don't see that happing soon.
edit; and I blame ic

 

[WVP]

Personally I think the team is in very strong shape to compete through 2020. Top 6 has 3 mega stars, 3 studs on D in Letang, Maatta and Pouliot and a legit #1 goalie. That's the core of the lineup - it's definitely an elite core, and will mostly be in their prime.

The complementary guys can be found a lot easier. Without glaring weaknesses, I'm hoping the urge/need to move 1st and 2nd rounders is going to lessen in the upcoming years which will rebuild the pipeline.

 

[Penguinator]

Personally I think the team is in very strong shape to compete through 2020. Top 6 has 3 mega stars, 3 studs on D in Letang, Maatta and Pouliot and a legit #1 goalie. That's the core of the lineup - it's definitely an elite core, and will mostly be in their prime.

The complementary guys can be found a lot easier. Without glaring weaknesses, I'm hoping the urge/need to move 1st and 2nd rounders is going to lessen in the upcoming years which will rebuild the pipeline.

Exactly, furthermore we don't need a ton of prospects NOW as they would only get blocked by our assets, especially forwards. Just stack up the D prospects pool again but this said, JR did get Erixon & Clendening for that purpose.

 

[mpp9]

Personally I think the team is in very strong shape to compete through 2020. Top 6 has 3 mega stars, 3 studs on D in Letang, Maatta and Pouliot and a legit #1 goalie. That's the core of the lineup - it's definitely an elite core, and will mostly be in their prime.

The complementary guys can be found a lot easier. Without glaring weaknesses, I'm hoping the urge/need to move 1st and 2nd rounders is going to lessen in the upcoming years which will rebuild the pipeline.

This guy gets it. Lot easier to fill out depth.

 

[DawgPens]

Personally I think the team is in very strong shape to compete through 2020. Top 6 has 3 mega stars, 3 studs on D in Letang, Maatta and Pouliot and a legit #1 goalie. That's the core of the lineup - it's definitely an elite core, and will mostly be in their prime.

The complementary guys can be found a lot easier. Without glaring weaknesses, I'm hoping the urge/need to move 1st and 2nd rounders is going to lessen in the upcoming years which will rebuild the pipeline.

This. Furthermore, a few forwards show real promise (Perron, Sundqvist, maybe Bennett) to add to that core, and the goalie pipeline looks strong.

 

[Ziggyjoe21]

Personally I think the team is in very strong shape to compete through 2020. Top 6 has 3 mega stars, 3 studs on D in Letang, Maatta and Pouliot and a legit #1 goalie. That's the core of the lineup - it's definitely an elite core, and will mostly be in their prime.

The complementary guys can be found a lot easier. Without glaring weaknesses, I'm hoping the urge/need to move 1st and 2nd rounders is going to lessen in the upcoming years which will rebuild the pipeline.

I bash JR alot but can't argue anything here except Pouliot being a stud. He hasn't proven much yet, but looks like he will be a stud within a few years.