Management Paul Fenton

[MuckOG]

If Fenton trades Zucker and Zucker's wife is unable to move with him he will risk real damage to his reputation with future players.

I'm pretty sure his wife Carly has joint custody of one child with someone from a previous relationship, she literally might not be able to move due to custody agreements.

A trade would certainly create some hardships for them, but such is the life of an NHL player. He just signed a deal worth more than $25 million, so I'm not going to shed a tear or lose any sleep over this. With the resources available to them, I'm sure they could figure out a way to make it work.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Russo has never done one ****in athletic thing in his life. He should shut up

What does this have to do with anything?

 

[Engebretson]

Yeah Russo ripped Fenton pretty good on the podcast. Does one thing, says something that contradicts, then does something that contradicts what he originally did and says something different. Didn't even occur to him to ask for a 2nd rd pick since we're assuming all the risk, bad asset management.

He speculated that Fenton might be thinking Staal can be the Koivu of next year, playing down in the lineup in checking role, which wont work.

ALso that there's no a lot of enticing free agents, cuz all we will do is block development of guys like Ek, who Fenton was apparently trying to give away early in the season.

While Donato and Fiala might be great players going forward, he's gotta settle down and think stuff through. Almost gave away Zucker for peanuts.

I was just listening to this podcast on the way to work this morning. Russo's thoughts on Fenton not getting anything more than Fiala for Granlund were pretty much in line with the rest of the board's thoughts in that we should have at least gotten a pick back. He even mentioned how he had even heard that it might be Fiala and Hartman, but when Fenton only asked for Fiala, Poile was able to flip Hartman and a mid-round pick for Simmonds. Fenton basically allowed Poile to get Granlund and Simmonds for the price of what Granlund should have cost (probably still wouldn't have been fair value). Asset management is clearly not Fenton's strong suit and I hope that gets addressed with him before the next trade happens.

Also, if I heard correctly, Russo seems to think that Fenton is going to push Rask into a more prominent role in the lineup (when he eventually gets healthy) in order to help justify the trade. Putting Rask over Ek after Ek's recent play would be probably one of the most block-headed things one could do in our current situation. I mean, Bruce could block it (he doesn't seem like a big Rask fan) but who's to say that Fenton doesn't just fire Bruce and put his buddy Dean Evason in charge?

Hard to find any confidence in Fenton going forward. I feel like a lot of this stuff is everything we ripped the Oilers for in the Chiarelli-era.

 

[Wild11MN]

I don't get Russo on that at all. Ek will get playing time. Koivu will be a shutdown guy off surgery, and Rask will be 4C or on the wing.

 

[Wabit]

I was just listening to this podcast on the way to work this morning. Russo's thoughts on Fenton not getting anything more than Fiala for Granlund were pretty much in line with the rest of the board's thoughts in that we should have at least gotten a pick back. He even mentioned how he had even heard that it might be Fiala and Hartman, but when Fenton only asked for Fiala, Poile was able to flip Hartman and a mid-round pick for Simmonds. Fenton basically allowed Poile to get Granlund and Simmonds for the price of what Granlund should have cost (probably still wouldn't have been fair value). Asset management is clearly not Fenton's strong suit and I hope that gets addressed with him before the next trade happens.

Also, if I heard correctly, Russo seems to think that Fenton is going to push Rask into a more prominent role in the lineup (when he eventually gets healthy) in order to help justify the trade. Putting Rask over Ek after Ek's recent play would be probably one of the most block-headed things one could do in our current situation. I mean, Bruce could block it (he doesn't seem like a big Rask fan) but who's to say that Fenton doesn't just fire Bruce and put his buddy Dean Evason in charge?

Hard to find any confidence in Fenton going forward. I feel like a lot of this stuff is everything we ripped the Oilers for in the Chiarelli-era.

Well Rask is a center and there is an opening at for a top-9 C. JEE will stay in the same 3C role he's in now, and get the heavier d-zone/PK duties. It'll put Kunin back at RW and bump Aberg down to the 4th line and Brown out of the lineup. Staal and Granny (and now Kunin) have been playing the top-6 center roles.

The top-9 wings are pretty interchangeable. Russo can say it's to justify the trade, but it is more just team need of a center.
Greenway/Staal/Zucker
Parise/Rask/Donato
Fiala/JEE/Kunin
Foligno/Fehr/Aberg

 

[Engebretson]

Well Rask is a center and there is an opening at for a top-9 C. JEE will stay in the same 3C role he's in now, and get the heavier d-zone/PK duties. It'll put Kunin back at RW and bump Aberg down to the 4th line and Brown out of the lineup. Staal and Granny (and now Kunin) have been playing the top-6 center roles.

The top-9 wings are pretty interchangeable. Russo can say it's to justify the trade, but it is more just team need of a center.
Greenway/Staal/Zucker
Parise/Rask/Donato
Fiala/JEE/Kunin
Foligno/Fehr/Aberg

I think Russo was speculating that when Koivu eventually returns that JEE will be pushed back down the lineup in favor of Rask. Not so much while Koivu is out and obviously not while Rask is out.

 

[Bazeek]

I think Russo was speculating that when Koivu eventually returns that JEE will be pushed back down the lineup in favor of Rask. Not so much while Koivu is out and obviously not while Rask is out.

This was my read on it and I think there's a 0% chance that Rask plays over Ek while Boudreau is still the coach, regardless of Koivu's status. If they let Bruce go over the summer and bring in Evason I'll be less certain.

 

[Wabit]

I think Russo was speculating that when Koivu eventually returns that JEE will be pushed back down the lineup in favor of Rask. Not so much while Koivu is out and obviously not while Rask is out.

That's just it Russo is speculating, and he isn't a fan of Fenton so he words things in a way that cast a negative light on him.
-Who knows how Koivu looks when he comes back (or even when he'll be back healthy)? He could be the same player he was this year, a shell of his former self, or somewhere in between.
-Is this the real JEE we're seeing or is it just good stretch and he returns to his early season form? We've seen guys play up for a ~10 game stretch and look great, then they fall off a cliff.
-What is the real Rask? This could just be a lost season for him due to injuries. He could be like his early years in CAR, he could be useless like he has been this year, or somewhere in between.
-What does Staal look like next year?

 

[Bazeek]

That's just it Russo is speculating, and he isn't a fan of Fenton so he words things in a way that cast a negative light on him.
-Who knows how Koivu looks when he comes back (or even when he'll be back healthy)? He could be the same player he was this year, a shell of his former self, or somewhere in between.
-Is this the real JEE we're seeing or is it just good stretch and he returns to his early season form? We've seen guys play up for a ~10 game stretch and look great, then they fall off a cliff.
-What is the real Rask? This could just be a lost season for him due to injuries. He could be like his early years in CAR, he could be useless like he has been this year, or somewhere in between.
-What does Staal look like next year?

There are definitely different ways this could all shake out, especially with Koivu next year. I actually kind of like having Rask in the hopper as a dark horse comeback candidate for next year, but the bottom line is this: if both guys continue to play the way they have in 2019 and Rask ends up playing more than Ek, there's a problem.

 

[57special]

What does this have to do with anything?

I'm not going to pay any attention to your post till i know how good of an athlete you are.

 

[57special]

If nothing else, Rask is prime whipping boy material.

 

[Engebretson]

That's just it Russo is speculating, and he isn't a fan of Fenton so he words things in a way that cast a negative light on him.
-Who knows how Koivu looks when he comes back (or even when he'll be back healthy)? He could be the same player he was this year, a shell of his former self, or somewhere in between.
-Is this the real JEE we're seeing or is it just good stretch and he returns to his early season form? We've seen guys play up for a ~10 game stretch and look great, then they fall off a cliff.
-What is the real Rask? This could just be a lost season for him due to injuries. He could be like his early years in CAR, he could be useless like he has been this year, or somewhere in between.
-What does Staal look like next year?

All fair points, but Russo also isn't just pulling this out of a hat either. I roll my eyes at some of the things he says sometimes too, but he does usually have a somewhat solid grasp on what's going on in the locker room and front office regarding management's preferences on players. Regardless of how some of these guys turn out next year, I think I'd put money on us looking at that lineup and raising an eyebrow as to why Player A is on Line 2 when they're currently dragging down the rest of the line.

A lot of question marks for next year and I'd put most of my skepticism in Rask and Koivu being put in positions that don't fit their actual offensive production based on what we've seen this year.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

This is the reason I was sort of shocked that he re-signed Staal, even at a cheap price. I figured he didn't want more roadblocks in the way of trying to justify Rask as the return for Nino.

With no Staal and a questionable Koivu, you could make a legit case for Rask to get #1C time on this team.

 

[ref19]

What does this have to do with anything?

Everything...

 

[Wabit]

All fair points, but Russo also isn't just pulling this out of a hat either. I roll my eyes at some of the things he says sometimes too, but he does usually have a somewhat solid grasp on what's going on in the locker room and front office regarding management's preferences on players. Regardless of how some of these guys turn out next year, I think I'd put money on us looking at that lineup and raising an eyebrow as to why Player A is on Line 2 when they're currently dragging down the rest of the line.

A lot of question marks for next year and I'd put most of my skepticism in Rask and Koivu being put in positions that don't fit their actual offensive production based on what we've seen this year.

It really depends on what the team is going to be next year. We've become so accustomed to having the lines having specific roles: Koivu line is the shutdown line, Staal (and Granny before him) line was the o-zone/scoring line, 3rd line plays a 2-way game (heavier on the d-zone), and the 4th line is just there. It could end up being 2 scoring lines and 2 shutdown/2-way lines that get rolled about evenly 5v5 until late in the game.

We have 4 centers (if they are all healthy), it's just a hodgepodge of guesses on what their games will be next season.

 

[Mookie Blaylock]

This was my read on it and I think there's a 0% chance that Rask plays over Ek while Boudreau is still the coach, regardless of Koivu's status. If they let Bruce go over the summer and bring in Evason I'll be less certain.

I heard this as well and this was my take on it as well. If Bruce is gone than Fenton will force Evanson/Army to play Rask in an elevated role.

 

[Bazeek]

I heard this as well and this was my take on it as well. If Bruce is gone than Fenton will force Evanson/Army to play Rask in an elevated role.

I realize that's what Russo was getting at but I don't think I'd go that far. I'd expect that Fenton and the new guy (whether it's Evason, Army or someone else) would be more on the same page regarding roster decisions than he and Boudreau have, but I wouldn't assume that he'd direct who plays where.

With Boudreau specifically it just seems like he's been the president of the Joel Eriksson-Ek Fan Club for a while now.

 

[Wild11MN]

They're not going to force Rask up, regardless of coach, if he's terrible. They want to win. Nothing that happens will justify the trade in the eyes of fans going forward, so why bother.

 

[Soldier13Fox]

They're not going to force Rask up, regardless of coach, if he's terrible. They want to win. Nothing that happens will justify the trade in the eyes of fans going forward, so why bother.

Common sense, you just stop that right now!

 

[AJ Thelen]

There is no point in giving Rask any big role going forward. He stinks and will be bought out. Waddell is probably still laughing at his desk telling people how f***ing stupid Fenton is.

 

[57special]

let's give Rask the summer, and hope he makes good use of it, and comes back a new man.

 

[Twoods1623]

I'm going to hold off judgement on Rask until a quarter of a season into next year. I get that Nino was a fan favorite to some, but everyone is just hating on Rask for a small sample size on this team. It's not his fault for being dealt for Nino. I get that Rask wasn't good value for Nino, but at least we have a GM that's willing to take some risks doing "Hockey Trades". I'm looking forward to seeing how the team jells together over the rest of the season. We're giving our young guys opportunities now due to injuries. We have an opportunity to see an exciting style of hockey instead of the dump and chase and then just cycle the puck down low like we're used to seeing. Go show us something new young guns. I'm pretty pumped for the rest of this year and next year, regardless if we are good or bad.

 

[Bazeek]

I'm going to hold off judgement on Rask until a quarter of a season into next year. I get that Nino was a fan favorite to some, but everyone is just hating on Rask for a small sample size on this team. It's not his fault for being dealt for Nino. I get that Rask wasn't good value for Nino, but at least we have a GM that's willing to take some risks doing "Hockey Trades". I'm looking forward to seeing how the team jells together over the rest of the season. We're giving our young guys opportunities now due to injuries, and I find that exciting. We have an opportunity to see an exciting style of hockey instead of the dump and chase and then just cycle the puck down low like we're used to seeing. Go show us something new young guns. I'm pretty excited for the rest of this year and next year, regardless if we are good or bad.

To be fair, it's a small sample with Minnesota and a relatively large one with Carolina. Rask had been struggling for over a season there.

That said, if what Russo reported about him changing up his workout regimen over the summer is true it sounds like he at least realizes that he's got work to do. And he hasn't been a dumb player, just an ineffective one. If he can improve his skating and just plain ol' compete harder he may do fine. I hope he does.

 

[Aurinko]

Tr2i7or

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

I was just listening to this podcast on the way to work this morning. Russo's thoughts on Fenton not getting anything more than Fiala for Granlund were pretty much in line with the rest of the board's thoughts in that we should have at least gotten a pick back. He even mentioned how he had even heard that it might be Fiala and Hartman, but when Fenton only asked for Fiala, Poile was able to flip Hartman and a mid-round pick for Simmonds. Fenton basically allowed Poile to get Granlund and Simmonds for the price of what Granlund should have cost (probably still wouldn't have been fair value). Asset management is clearly not Fenton's strong suit and I hope that gets addressed with him before the next trade happens.

Also, if I heard correctly, Russo seems to think that Fenton is going to push Rask into a more prominent role in the lineup (when he eventually gets healthy) in order to help justify the trade. Putting Rask over Ek after Ek's recent play would be probably one of the most block-headed things one could do in our current situation. I mean, Bruce could block it (he doesn't seem like a big Rask fan) but who's to say that Fenton doesn't just fire Bruce and put his buddy Dean Evason in charge?

Hard to find any confidence in Fenton going forward. I feel like a lot of this stuff is everything we ripped the Oilers for in the Chiarelli-era.

I've been mostly lurking on HF the last year or so, but I will chime back in on this, because it's something I've been curious about for a while now. That is, how much oversight do NHL GMs actually have? I'd always assumed that like most jobs on the planet, Fenton (or Fletcher, or Chiarelli, or whoever) would have someone else at the very least looking over their shoulder recommending for/against moves, putting their feet to the fire, etc. (especially since they can actually be fired). But now I'm really wondering if they're not more like medieval kings: they can basically do whatever they want, just being mindful of the torches and pitchforks that may come out if they mess up, and sometimes you get a good "roll of the monarchy dice", and other times you don't.

It just seems crazy to me that Fenton wouldn't actually have a whole team of advisors and staff around him helping to make moves.