Jiri Hudler NHL's First Star of the Week

[Rangediddy]

He also plays as big of a game as Cammy does. Little guy just finds a way to push around bigger opponents down low.

So... is it just me, or is this team succeeding without an overabundance of truculence?

I was expecting Burke to engineer a team that would have two Jooris, Jones and Boumas per line. And even now, it's not like we're taking a lot of penalties either.

Think Burke is backing off his desire for a truculent identity now that the team is doing so well without guys like McGrattan on the roster? Bollig has very much just become an energy guy over a brawler/tough guy in this system.

 

[Anglesmith]

Burke's caricature seems very far from how he actually handles a team. People just don't want to let the whole "truculence" thing go, but in reality all he wants is for his guy to play hard and go through a wall for each other, and be difficult to play against. If a team can be physically intimidated, then they aren't hard to play against. On the converse, though, if they can be easily skated past, they also aren't hard to play against.

Now, besides all that, he isn't the GM of this team. He's the guy who approves (or doesn't approve) the GM's decisions. Treliving still has the job of going after guys and putting this team together, provided he can sell Burke on his own vision. If Burke was really after full control, then he would be the GM. Plain and simple.

 

[Rangediddy]

Now, besides all that, he isn't the GM of this team. He's the guy who approves (or doesn't approve) the GM's decisions. Treliving still has the job of going after guys and putting this team together, provided he can sell Burke on his own vision. If Burke was really after full control, then he would be the GM. Plain and simple.

I know that, but if Burke tells Treliving he only wants 6'4" farm boys, it's Treliving's job to execute that. It was Burke's vision to have a truculent team so I was comparing today's team to that vision.

Now, we all know Burke isn't micromanaging Treliving to that extent and has given him (more or less) free reign to manage the team.

And I agree that we are not an easy team to play against, we have great strong board play and have guys like Jooris, Bouma, Jones, Byron and Stajan who are full throttle all game which is a handful for other teams (look at the Ottawa game).