Player Discussion Mike Hoffman - (The $5.2 Million Dollar Man)

[topshelf15]

That's what jumps out at me most while watching the Sens play. The opposition outmans them. Whenever there is a loose puck a senator isn't the closest. Puck battles on the boards they are always down a guy. Almost Everytime.

Yep or watching a 2 on 1 board battle and we still lose....People want to know why we cant score....Thats the key right there

 

[God Says No]

he does get a ton of ice. it's mostly with Pageau and Pyatt 5 on 5 and it's been like that since Boucher arrived.

I'm biased....WE didn't establish that....you did

your explanation of it taking him until he was 25 to become a regular NHL player is .... lacking....they are superficial statements that display nothing more than your own lack of understanding

Not true. It's pretty much even between JGP/Pyatt and Brassard/Ryan this year. Last game he played mostly with Brassard/Stone. He didn't play one second with Pyatt. Nice try though.

As for my explanation, it's true. It takes him a bit to figure out the league. That's how he is. Once he figures it out, he gets lots of minutes from coaching. So again, your argument falls flat on its face.

 

[JD1]

Not true. It's pretty much even between JGP/Pyatt and Brassard/Ryan this year. Last game he played mostly with Brassard/Stone. He didn't play one second with Pyatt. Nice try though.

As for my explanation, it's true. It takes him a bit to figure out the league. That's how he is. Once he figures it out, he gets lots of minutes from coaching. So again, your argument falls flat on its face.

it's really not worth having a debate with people like you.

we're done.

 

[God Says No]

it's really not worth having a debate with people like you.

we're done.

You mean people who provide logical arguments and facts? Ok. Thanks for coming out.

 

[Burrowsaurus]

Yep or watching a 2 on 1 board battle and we still lose....People want to know why we cant score....Thats the key right there

Well we are set up to be second to board battles. Chabot and ek are the only ones that can skate and retrieve.

 

[topshelf15]

Well we are set up to be second to board battles. Chabot and ek are the only ones that can skate and retrieve.

The forwards are almost an automatic fail to clear the puck along the boards in our Dzone....To become a decent possession team ,we need to win pucks all over the ice .And we absolutely suck at it..More than half the game is along the boards,we need players that have some skill,speed but most of all win the puck battles

 

[DrEasy]

The forwards are almost an automatic fail to clear the puck along the boards in our Dzone....To become a decent possession team ,we need to win pucks all over the ice .And we absolutely suck at it..More than half the game is along the boards,we need players that have some skill,speed but most of all win the puck battles

- It seems to me Stalberg was a good one for this.
- I expected Brassard to be like this but for some reason he isn't.
- I expected Burrows to be like this but he is too slow to even get to the problem area to begin with.
- Pyatt or Thompson can tie people up along the boards but there's no play that develops after that.
- Pageau used to be great at this, but his play has regressed this year. Ditto for Smith.

If all or at least some of these guys could do their job, we wouldn't care if Hoffman can.

 

[topshelf15]

- It seems to me Stalberg was a good one for this.
- I expected Brassard to be like this but for some reason he isn't.
- I expected Burrows to be like this but he is too slow to even get to the problem area to begin with.
- Pyatt or Thompson can tie people up along the boards but there's no play that develops after that.
- Pageau used to be great at this, but his play has regressed this year. Ditto for Smith.

If all or at least some of these guys could do their job, we wouldn't care if Hoffman can.

We need some in the top 6 that can do this as well ....Hoffman brings a skill not many have in our top 6 and yes if we had better guys to support him it wouldnt matter.The entire 6 are probably the weakest in the league,at winning puck battles to keep possession ...Great off the rush though

 

[Burrowsaurus]

The forwards are almost an automatic fail to clear the puck along the boards in our Dzone....To become a decent possession team ,we need to win pucks all over the ice .And we absolutely suck at it..More than half the game is along the boards,we need players that have some skill,speed but most of all win the puck battles

Okay but I personally don't want our forwards just clearing pucks up the boards in the Dzone. That's just giving the puck back to the other team. They should be receiving passes out the zone. Our d men are constantly creating those board battles For our forwards (who are also subpar don't get me wrong) by only being able to panic and flip it to the boards.

 

[God Says No]

Okay but I personally don't want our forwards just clearing pucks up the boards in the Dzone. That's just giving the puck back to the other team. They should be receiving passes out the zone. Our d men are constantly creating those board battles For our forwards (who are also subpar don't get me wrong) by only being able to panic and flip it to the boards.

Exactly. We need faster puck retrieval from the D. Our D is slow, with their feet and their brains.

 

[Korpse]

Okay but I personally don't want our forwards just clearing pucks up the boards in the Dzone. That's just giving the puck back to the other team. They should be receiving passes out the zone. Our d men are constantly creating those board battles For our forwards (who are also subpar don't get me wrong) by only being able to panic and flip it to the boards.

At the same time theres a number of forwards who get too far ahead of the play. Boucher definitely has a preference to make the easy play but I feel like sometimes the defensemen are forced into it.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

That highlights the problem in it's entirety. Defense is slow both in thinking and moving the puck, forwards are being a bit lazy (not engaging along the boards enough and supporting the D), and they aren't playing together as a unit.

Only way to fix the defense is by adding some new bodies, and putting current bodies in their proper pairings (instead of trying to fit a guy into a higher pairing that his skills dictate).

The forwards...most of those problems are teachable errors. And giving the guys a kick in the butt when the work ethic slacks off.

 

[topshelf15]

Okay but I personally don't want our forwards just clearing pucks up the boards in the Dzone. That's just giving the puck back to the other team. They should be receiving passes out the zone. Our d men are constantly creating those board battles For our forwards (who are also subpar don't get me wrong) by only being able to panic and flip it to the boards.

For me the lack of being able to win board battles,is only making the defense look worse.Passing for this team is also a huge issue,we suck at it

 

[topshelf15]

Exactly. We need faster puck retrieval from the D. Our D is slow, with their feet and their brains.

TBH the defense has too retrieve the puck far too much,because our forwards cant do anything with the puck except give it right back to the other team

 

[God Says No]

TBH the defense has too retrieve the puck far too much,because our forwards cant do anything with the puck except give it right back to the other team

So basically everything is wrong with this team.

 

[topshelf15]

So basically everything is wrong with this team.

We have too much of the same in the top 6

 

[Tuna99]

I’m for a Hoffman trade. He can score, but he doesn’t generate offence. He’s the king of 1 and done hockey.

He’s a 1 man show. Great show, but we need different players.

 

[aragorn]

It's interesting how many people who were fine with Hoffman's play when he was scoring goals & the team was winning are now against his style of play. It's also interesting how many times people on here have told me that it's a speed & skill game now, who are now talking about the team not being "gritty" enough, not winning board battles & being out fought for loose pucks. This is a very soft team, who are easy to play against because they have too many soft speedy borderline NHL players on this roster. There is no toughness in this lineup anymore, they are pushovers.

There is also a question of leadership in the room starting with the captain & IMO their biggest problem has been shoddy goaltending. Someone told me today that Anderson is 59th on a list of goalies in the NHL which has 31 teams & 62 goalies. I have to assume that Condon could be worse. They need to rebuild & they need to start from the net out starting right now.

 

[aragorn]

Yep or watching a 2 on 1 board battle and we still lose....People want to know why we cant score....Thats the key right there

Even when they get the puck how many times have you seen them just chuck it out to centre & give up possession because no one else is in a position to receive a pass? They get it out plenty of times but it gets sent right back in again because there is no one to get it when it does come out of the D-zone. The forwards are not helping the D in any way this yr.

The forwards are almost an automatic fail to clear the puck along the boards in our Dzone....To become a decent possession team ,we need to win pucks all over the ice .And we absolutely suck at it..More than half the game is along the boards,we need players that have some skill,speed but most of all win the puck battles

I blame GB's system on the offensive side of centre since rather than go in & chase the puck, lots of times they fall back into their defensive position, especially when we are ahead & wait for the play to come to them. It seems he would rather play a defensive game when ahead than look to get more goals. And since his system has fallen apart this yr & the opposition are blowing by his defensive system rather easily they are hanging the defence out to dry.

On the defensive side I think it's because we are too small & weak as a team & bigger teams/players give Ottawa a lot of trouble especially fighting for loose pucks along the boards. If we play a team that hits a lot our players also give up on plays rather than take the hit sometimes. If half the game is against the board we need bigger guys who are stronger who can out muscle players for the loose pucks. Speed & skill don't win board battles, size & strength do, speed & skill are suppose to score goals & Ottawa has plenty of players with speed & skill who can't score goals. We've tried speedy little forwards this yr & it hasn't worked, time to get bigger, tougher & much harder to play against.

 

[Tundraman]

If the only reason for moving Hoffman turns out to be because his contract is the easiest and next most expensive one to move then Melnyk will have revealed his plan all along when he blabbed he'd be cutting during the outdoor game. Is Dorion really trying to make the team better or is he just shuffling players trying to manage the budget at the cost of team chemistry and continuity at the top of the roster.

The two major moves so far by Dorion in the top 6:

The ZBad for Brassard trade was said to have been done for "cost certainty" and contained a pick for pay component. Did the Sens get the better player and what really did they save that was so earth shattering that it couldn't have been given to ZBad.

The Duchene deal was also said to be because Turris wanted too much term/money and the Sens gained an extra year of "cost certainty". It too had a pick to reduce total pay component in it (Hammond).

And now a possible 3rd money related trade of Hoffman? Will the team be better on the ice or just cheaper to operate? What's the goal?

Will every deal Dorion makes have a "cost certainty" reason attached to it instead of lets get and keep the best player available. If that's the case expect a rotation of key players every time they near their UFA status. While every team has some movement that's no way to build a winning team. I might understand better if money wasn't being wasted overpaying the bottom 6.

 

[Ice-Tray]

If the only reason for moving Hoffman turns out to be because his contract is the easiest and next most expensive one to move then Melnyk will have revealed his plan all along when he blabbed he'd be cutting during the outdoor game. Is Dorion really trying to make the team better or is he just shuffling players trying to manage the budget at the cost of team chemistry and continuity at the top of the roster.

The two major moves so far by Dorion in the top 6:

The ZBad for Brassard trade was said to have been done for "cost certainty" and contained a pick for pay component. Did the Sens get the better player and what really did they save that was so earth shattering that it couldn't have been given to ZBad.

The Duchene deal was also said to be because Turris wanted too much term/money and the Sens gained an extra year of "cost certainty". It too had a pick to reduce total pay component in it (Hammond).

And now a possible 3rd money related trade of Hoffman? Will the team be better on the ice or just cheaper to operate? What's the goal?

Will every deal Dorion makes have a "cost certainty" reason attached to it instead of lets get and keep the best player available. If that's the case expect a rotation of key players every time they near their UFA status. While every team has some movement that's no way to build a winning team. I might understand better if money wasn't being wasted overpaying the bottom 6.

I'm not sure if Dorion mentioned any of those financial reasonings as a basis for either trade. I think that was value added by fans for our enjoyment.

 

[God Says No]

I'm not sure if Dorion mentioned any of those financial reasonings as a basis for either trade. I think that was value added by fans for our enjoyment.

You're right about the other deals, but the Zbad 2nd round pick was strictly "cost certainty". Dorion didn't come out and say it (duh), but it was reported by other outlets that the Sens wanted NYR to pay for the bonus. In return NYR asked for a pick.

 

[Lenny the Lynx]

I love how the whole league is just waiting for Dorion to trade this guy for magic beans and he’s probably going to do it

 

[Shruggs Peterson]

I love how the whole league is just waiting for Dorion to trade this guy for magic beans and he’s probably going to do it

www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/lucky-nhl-gm-may-able-win-big-mike-hoffman-trade/

Here's Sportsnet vote of confidence, might as well of named their article "How will Dorian mess this one up?

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Hoffman with a great game .... need to see that more often.. I hope he stays .... He is not the problem here.