Pip
Registered User
If there's one thing Willie is really good at, it's making adjustments and quickly realizing when things aren't working...
Note, I don't think of him as Bergeron, but I'm curious of what you think of him.
What do you think of him?
Or baertschi?
I think Granlund is a replacement level player.
I think Baertschi is a winger with second line offensive potential who needs to convert that into actual production this year.
I would've preferred dealing Gaunce for Granlund.What about Gaunce?
Even Iain MacIntyre is questioning the lineup. That's how bad it is.
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I would've preferred dealing Gaunce for Granlund.
Wow, you know you're doing something stupid when an organizational toady like MacIntyre is even scratching his head.
Yeah, absolutely not for me. Gaunce is a better prospect than Shinkaruk right now and IMO it isn't really even close.
I'm ok with your assessment so far, until granlund can prove he can sustain his play in the preseason that's pretty much right.
So was Baertschi worth a 2nd?
What about Gaunce?
People making a big deal about line combos but at the end of the day, the 20 players are the 20 players. Doesn't matter how you arrange mouldy fruit in the bowl, you're still gonna have an inedible product however you mix it up.
People making a big deal about line combos but at the end of the day, the 20 players are the 20 players. Doesn't matter how you arrange mouldy fruit in the bowl, you're still gonna have an inedible product however you mix it up.
I'm gonna generate a lot of hate for saying this, but I think those lines are actually worth a shot.
If Baertschi/Granlund's chemistry carries over from the preseason, those lines maximize the effectiveness of almost everyone else in the lineup by sacrificing Horvat's. But Horvat is one of the only players capable of generating offense by himself. He can still be effective with plugs. I don't think Granlund can.
This is like having that theory back in the day that, since the Sedins can elevate the play of anyone and be effective themselves regardless of their winger, the best way to optimize the lineup was to play the Sedins with your worst player, pushing everyone else down.
It's crazy-talk.
People making a big deal about line combos but at the end of the day, the 20 players are the 20 players. Doesn't matter how you arrange mouldy fruit in the bowl, you're still gonna have an inedible product however you mix it up.
Nope. I don't think you actually read what I posted. Maybe try again. I didn't say that this was best for Horvat. I said it could be better for some other players on the team. I said Horvat can still be an effective player in spite of this. He'll of course be an even more effective player with better linemates. You bring up the Sedins, which is actually a great example. Did the Sedins during their prime always play with the best winger on the team? I'll answer that one for you. They didn't.
It's essentially the same principle-- sacrificing the relative play of the best players by playing them with scrubs based on the fact that they can take care of themselves (because they're better players) in order to allow lesser players to be in a position to be more balanced/effective as a group.
Errr... the Sedins in their prime played with Burrows, who was our best winger after Daniel Sedin (and when Demitra was here, Burrows was still a better fit). Then they played with Vrbata, then they played with Eriksson, who were again our best wingers after Daniel Sedin. The only times they didn't play with the best possible winger was AFTER it proved to be a poor fit, like Naslund and Demitra. Even then, they got significant time playing with them.
Well I actually don't think Carter or Pyatt were our best wingers but I suppose I did use the word prime and that might only really apply to the Burrows era so that's my bad. I agree that they played with different players because of fit. I don't know if I agree with the philosophy of finding the best fits for your top players without considering the consequences further down the lineup. For example, I imagine you would have been against Mike Sullivan's decision to play Malkin on the third line with Bryan Rust?