Pre-Game Talk: Jets @ Blues | Thurs, Oct 4th, 7PM CT | TSN | Season Opener

[Jet]

Did I ever tell you my Ulanov Jets story?

I was a young lad and frequented Scandals night club back in the day. Well anyway one night me and my buddy were sitting at one of those long oval shaped tables and this guy taps me on the shoulder and asks if he and his buds can sit at the table. I look over and say "sure" well it turns out its Darrin Shannon,Keith Tkachuk,Stu Barnes and Igor Ulanov. Great night, lots of girls around us. But the thing I remember is I was eating a slice of pizza that they used to make at the bars all the time. Ulanov is looking at me and points to the pizza and says "where". So I take him over to the pizza spot and he gets a slice and in about 10 seconds he inhales it. He turns to the pizza guy and orders 2 large pizzas. I thought he was buying it for the table so we return back with them and he plops down at the end and proceeds to eat both of them himself! He then gets up goes back and orders 2 more and eats them!. I was like holy **** what a machine! He probably had about 20 beers too! Good old Ulanov!

I really loved the Russian influx, even though not all the players were... great. Khabibulin, Davydov and Zhamnov - I loved those guys

 

[Jet]

Having three top pairing guys and a plethora of replacement level guys is what you call depth? Right.

Granted that two of those remaining guys (Niku and Poolman) could very well be more than that, but I don't think they'll get that many shots at proving themselves this season.

Also, lol @ downplaying Enstrom's impact.

You can bitch all you want. The facts still remain.

• I loved Enstrom but if you think he was the main factor of our impressive ability to keep the puck out of our net I do not know what to tell you. He played just over half of our games.
• 3 top level guys and a bunch of replacement level? Really? You're calling Myers replacement level. Huh. The hate for this guy around here is sickening. Kulikov is also not 'replacement level'. Man we love to run with our terminology here.

A defense corps is often more than the sum of it's parts - I've seen it over and over. The 2006 Oilers team that was one game from winning the cup?

7	Marc-Andre Bergeron	ca	D	25	5-9	190	L/-	2	October 13, 1980
23	Cory Cross	ca	D	35	6-5	225	L/-	11	January 3, 1971
2-32	Matt Greene	us	D	22	6-3	236	R/-	R	May 13, 1983
44	Chris Pronger	ca	D	31	6-6	220	L/-	11	October 10, 1974
12	Mathieu Roy	us	D	22	6-1	200	R/-	R	August 10, 1983
5	Alexei Semenov	su	D	24	6-6	245	L/-	2	April 10, 1981
6	Dan Smith	ca	D	29	6-2	200	L/-	2	October 19, 1976
21	Jason Smith (C)	ca	D	32	6-3	220	R/-	11	November 2, 1973
6	Jaroslav Spacek	cs	D	31	6-0	210	L/-	6	February 11, 1974
24	Steve Staios	ca	D	32	6-1	200	R/-	9	July 28, 1973
28	Danny Syvret	ca	D	20	5-11	203	L/-	R	June 13, 1985
23-33	Dick Tarnstrom	se	D	31	6-1	205	L/-	3	January 20, 1975
55	Igor Ulanov	su	D	36	6-3	220	L/-	13	October 1, 1969

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Look at that lineup. Outside of Chris Friggin Pronger and Jason Smith there is a lot of guys with strengths and weaknesses.

My God we've lost the plot, here. You aren't going to have a defense corps of 6 flawless guys and 3 more robots waiting in the wings.

Thinking that Poolman deserves better than PB after that abortion of a preseason is ridiculous. He's lucky he wasn't sent down before it was done.

 

[Duke749]

Myers’ defense may be replacement level but he still brings a good amount of offense and in the right role he is valuable.

 

[Jet]

Myers’ defense may be replacement level but he still brings a good amount of offense and in the right role he is valuable.

It's not 'replacement level' . Man that term is used and abused by the Fancy Stats Crew.

He has flaws in his game. Yes. He has many strengths as well. He seems to pick his game up when we need it the most and you want that on a team that is trying to win a championship.

 

[JetsFan815]

Someone will pick up an injury before long, so Niku should get his shot before long. The thing is, we are using a proven net negative LHD in Chiarot as a regular instead of trying out something that *could* work.

Myers should have been dealt when his stock was high. That is about the saddest thing regarding him in this context, though. Don't think he is going to hurt our roster in a 3rd pairing role. I guess Morrow is passable in the role he is in. Will have to wait and see. My prediction: this team will miss Enstrom an awful lot, despite people ****ting on him at every given opportunity.

If I was Poolman, every fiber of my body would hate the organisation. That is all for now.

If Helle can play like a top 15 goalie, that would be nice. Can't ask for much more than that.

Preach! I agree with all of this other than Poolman part who imo hasn't done anything special in the preseason to claim a spot.

For me, a lot of this comes down to two contracts signed last offseason- Kulikov and Chiarot. That is slightly over 5.7 million tied up in two guys, one of whom we can't be sure is going to last the season let alone be solid enough to play in the top 4 while getting played like a top4 dman and the other is a #7 D man, paid about 500k too much.

Without those two contracts we would have had the flexibility to acquire d-man in Free Agency who can play in the top 4 (De Haan) and sign Morrissey long term.

 

[HannuJ]

Did I ever tell you my Ulanov Jets story?

I was a young lad and frequented Scandals night club back in the day. Well anyway one night me and my buddy were sitting at one of those long oval shaped tables and this guy taps me on the shoulder and asks if he and his buds can sit at the table. I look over and say "sure" well it turns out its Darrin Shannon,Keith Tkachuk,Stu Barnes and Igor Ulanov. Great night, lots of girls around us. But the thing I remember is I was eating a slice of pizza that they used to make at the bars all the time. Ulanov is looking at me and points to the pizza and says "where". So I take him over to the pizza spot and he gets a slice and in about 10 seconds he inhales it. He turns to the pizza guy and orders 2 large pizzas. I thought he was buying it for the table so we return back with them and he plops down at the end and proceeds to eat both of them himself! He then gets up goes back and orders 2 more and eats them!. I was like holy **** what a machine! He probably had about 20 beers too! Good old Ulanov!

Ulanov used to date a woman i worked with (Karen was her name, i think. I wonder if @Arthur Fonzarelli knows her. think she'd sometimes work the door at Norma Jeans. worked at a bank teller).
but anyone who would eat those Scandals pizzas is likely a lunatic. i don't recall seeing anyone actually eat them. i always thought they were decorative.

 

[WPGChief]

It's not 'replacement level' . Man that term is used and abused by the Fancy Stats Crew.

He has flaws in his game. Yes. He has many strengths as well. He seems to pick his game up when we need it the most and you want that on a team that is trying to win a championship.

This is a fun quote.

Arguably, Myers is one of the players that contributes to the need of needing players to 'pick up their game'. I'd rather have a player that comfortably wins me more hockey games than contributing at the last moment possible.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

but anyone who would eat those Scandals pizzas is likely a lunatic. i don't recall seeing anyone actually eat them. i always thought they were decorative.

Buddy used to make scandals pizza. He pocketed hundreds a night as accounting of pizza was nonexistent. 1 for scandals, five for him type of thing. I think he was fired after a few weeks. Scandalous!

 

[Guffman]

Myers stepped up big in the playoffs. Silly some people want him gone. Not sure what our RHD would lool like without Trouba and Myers next year.

 

[Jet]

This is a fun quote.

Arguably, Myers is one of the players that contributes to the need of needing players to 'pick up their game'. I'd rather have a player that comfortably wins me more hockey games than contributing at the last moment possible.

This is a fun quote

We had the number 2 GF and number 5 GA last year and were THIS close to winning the Presidents Trophy.

Myers was one of our best defensemen in the playoffs (bias around here will give him zero credit for that). He was picking up guys like Trouba who faded as the post season went on.

Its OK, I'm used to speaking up against prevailing thought around here

 

[CaptainChef]

Enstrom on a cheap one year deal sure would look good right now...…

I'm also of the belief that he could be a huge missing piece this year. Big mistake not signing him onto a cheap one year contract to bridge the gap until we get some of these other guys up to speed

 

[HannuJ]

Buddy used to make scandals pizza. He pocketed hundreds a night as accounting of pizza was nonexistent. 1 for scandals, five for him type of thing. I think he was fired after a few weeks. Scandalous!

"the dough was made from a delicious blend of flour and water sourced off the men's bathroom floor"

 

[Duke749]

Myers stepped up big in the playoffs. Silly some people want him gone. Not sure what our RHD would lool like without Trouba and Myers next year.

He struggled mightily against the speed of Nashville and Vegas. Didn’t help him that he was trying to drag Chiarot around though. Think that was a major coaching mistake. At least Myers can skate with the best of them. Chiarot can’t.

 

[DeepFrickinValue]

"the dough was made from a delicious blend of flour and water sourced off the men's bathroom floor"

I am sure he Occasionally would go directly to the source rather than bathroom floor.

My find if foggy as it was around 25 years ago.

 

[pucka lucka]

Preach! I agree with all of this other than Poolman part who imo hasn't done anything special in the preseason to claim a spot.

For me, a lot of this comes down to two contracts signed last offseason- Kulikov and Chiarot. That is slightly over 5.7 million tied up in two guys, one of whom we can't be sure is going to last the season let alone be solid enough to play in the top 4 while getting played like a top4 dman and the other is a #7 D man, paid about 500k too much.

Without those two contracts we would have had the flexibility to acquire d-man in Free Agency who can play in the top 4 (De Haan) and sign Morrissey long term.

I find NHL coaching & personnel management in general maddening.

Time and time again they go with weaker players because they know them. Its a bizarre strategy in such a highly competitive league, but i guess everyone is so used to these tropes nobody notices them..

 

[winnipegger]

Niku will replace someone next year. I have high hopes for this player being a Torey Krug type PP specialist. I think the insane forward depth will make up for the underwhelming left side in the mean time. Chiarot is like a blunt instrument while Niku is a scalpel. Looking forward to that upgrade.

Go Jets

 

[Tommigun]

Someone will pick up an injury before long, so Niku should get his shot before long. The thing is, we are using a proven net negative LHD in Chiarot as a regular instead of trying out something that *could* work.

Myers should have been dealt when his stock was high. That is about the saddest thing regarding him in this context, though. Don't think he is going to hurt our roster in a 3rd pairing role. I guess Morrow is passable in the role he is in. Will have to wait and see. My prediction: this team will miss Enstrom an awful lot, despite people ****ting on him at every given opportunity.

If I was Poolman, every fiber of my body would hate the organisation. That is all for now.

If Helle can play like a top 15 goalie, that would be nice. Can't ask for much more than that.

But Enstrom was playing with Buff who makes anyone look good.

 

[Tommigun]

Enstrom on a cheap one year deal sure would look good right now...…

Why? He was healthy scratched at the end of the season, and the players that replaced him are healthy.

 

[Tommigun]

Myers’ defense may be replacement level but he still brings a good amount of offense and in the right role he is valuable.

So riddle me this. Was Enstrom below, at or over replacement level?

 

[Robinson2187]

I really loved the Russian influx, even though not all the players were... great. Khabibulin, Davydov and Zhamnov - I loved those guys

Bautin was my personal favorite. Wonder how much he'd be gettin slagged on here?

 

[Maukkis]

Preach! I agree with all of this other than Poolman part who imo hasn't done anything special in the preseason to claim a spot.

For me, a lot of this comes down to two contracts signed last offseason- Kulikov and Chiarot. That is slightly over 5.7 million tied up in two guys, one of whom we can't be sure is going to last the season let alone be solid enough to play in the top 4 while getting played like a top4 dman and the other is a #7 D man, paid about 500k too much.

Without those two contracts we would have had the flexibility to acquire d-man in Free Agency who can play in the top 4 (De Haan) and sign Morrissey long term.

Well, Poolman has not done much, but what can you do when you're never given an actual opportunity?

You can become a Nic Petan, I guess.

 

[Whileee]

Jets lost to Vegas because their offense dried up (and MAF). 6 goals in the final 4 games wasn't going to win. Maurice switched Enstrom out because he needed more offense, not more defense.

 

[Duke749]

So riddle me this. Was Enstrom below, at or over replacement level?

What kind of question is that? What does Enstrom have to do with Myers besides you trying to deflect?

 

[Whileee]

I really don't like Chiarot in the top 4. It's a bad idea, and I think the Jets have better options. Even Morrow-Buff would be better, as they indicated last season.

One potential positive is that it might signal a real switch to Trouba as the #1 RD and the Morrissey-Trouba pairing as the top pairing. I think the Jets will be better if those two get more ice time and Buff gets a bit less.

Niku is close, but I think he needs 30-40 games in the AHL to improve his aggressiveness on the puck and protecting the slot in his own end. He's probably better than Chiarot now, but I think he'll be even better for later this season and in the future with that extra development. Morrissey really took advantage and now is a top end NHL D.

 

[ffh]

I really don't like Chiarot in the top 4. It's a bad idea, and I think the Jets have better options. Even Morrow-Buff would be better, as they indicated last season.

One potential positive is that it might signal a real switch to Trouba as the #1 RD and the Morrissey-Trouba pairing as the top pairing. I think the Jets will be better if those two get more ice time and Buff gets a bit less.

Niku is close, but I think he needs 30-40 games in the AHL to improve his aggressiveness on the puck and protecting the slot in his own end. He's probably better than Chiarot now, but I think he'll be even better for later this season and in the future with that extra development. Morrissey really took advantage and now is a top end NHL D.

trouba will never be the # 1 rd defenceman here as long as buff is on team. Maurice explains his pairings in latest interview and basically says don't read anything into them.