I don't think we're in a position to buy. We don't really have any holes in our lineup, there just is no chemistry outside of Kyrou-Schenn. Unless we're trying to trade laterally (like Dunn for a Defensive RHD) I don't see anything we can really buy for or with. I can honestly see us more as a seller with players on their last year of their contracts if DA doesn't see us going far.
I don't see us being sellers. I know we did it in '18 when we were lumbering along, but ... well, I thought about this a little and then went down a rabbit hole.
I know it's easy to look at this stuff and think "Damn we didn't do very well" but you have to think about those trades when they were made. We got a first and Erik Foley for Stastny, a guy who underperformed here and we weren't going to resign. At the time, we recouped a 1st after giving up what seemed like a 4 or 5 1sts in a row. Then we got Foley, a power forward who WOULD'VE played on the team, but a freak accident happened and took him out indefinitely. It sucks and that situation may still have happened after reading up how he feels about it, but it is what it is. Then we move up in the draft to take Bokk, a guy who looked really good at his age and could've been another Pastrnak type guy, but ended up falling off so we had to recoup another asset. There seemed to be some sort of a rift between Edmunson and Army, so we trade for Faulk which looking back now seems like a preemptive move for if Petro left. The trade worked out in our favor despite giving up a guy in Eddy that I enjoyed (when he was on). The last trade where we give up a 5th for a 6th and a 7th is a wash. You have no idea how those guys are going to turn out, but if there is no one on the board that you have to have, or if you think that they could be chosen much later, then why not get a free asset for making the same decision you would? Now we have 2 lottery tickets to hit on vs 1.
I think early on I was a bit disappointed, but I think he started to buy into Berube's system and now I'm seeing really nice small plays where he breaks up a rush with a stick check or he will box out a guy nicely. He's not going to get guys on the boards like Mikkola, but I think with enough time, he could actually become a solid 2-way defenseman (with the work put in). I'm just hoping for those pp points to start raking in
Just goes to show how well those guys have been playing, as well as how awful the special teams have been. Feels like we have been losing every other game we play but we're 7-4-2. Hopefully once we fix those issues, we'll start piling on more wins
My commentary here wasn't a shot at Army. (Don't worry, I'm positive he'll earn more yet.) I've also posted my thoughts on Petro vs. Faulk. (Didn't blame Army for Petro leaving, but I think Army knew what his strategy was going into that and all the resulting moves were non-accidental.) It was merely that observation: here's how trading Stastny back in '18 played out in future trades. Nothing more, nothing less.
I'm sorry, I say "you blame Army," but it was more of a representative thing. Obviously now, I see you weren't directing any frustration or anything towards Army, so that's fair. However, people are quick to look back at the trades we've made and note that our returns currently aren't performing better than what we gave up. I used to be this type of person, but now you just kinda have to look at what the culture was at that time and take that into consideration.
I think the people who are relying solely on the eye test might be surprised to find that Krug is on a pace for 50 points in an 82 game season and that he is currently 2nd on the team in +/- at +11. I think he and Faulk have been managing both ends of the ice particularly well, and I feel like a good bit of the criticism hitting both is due to the fact that they are being effective in a different way than we are used to. Both are more aggressive in their defending than the more passive, funneling approach that we're used to seeing, but I think it a better stylistic fit for both players and I feel like the coaching staff is doing a good job of incorporating their strengths into team structure.
It's always hard to evaluate a player who has criticisms when we never got to see those from the prior team. He was touted as a pp specialist, probably average defender or worse, but mainly a good puck mover. I agree though, he has silently been putting up points, and oddly enough barely on the pp (2 assists). Once the pp gets going, he could have a career year while improving on the defensive side, something we have needed on the left side for a long time.
Unfortunately the dropoff after that group is huge. Pretty much everyone else needs to step up, particularly Parayko, Hoffman, and Thomas (when he returns).
I mean Clifford is a 4th Line Grinder/Enforcer with 3 goals. I'm not sure how much more you want from him.
He was a goal per game forward early in the season
