Hivemind
We're Touched
I'm not thinking about next season yet. I just want a 27-22 pairing so we can finally have a "Shatner" pairing.
yea, you can make a case that both alzner and orpik could be gone next season. replacing Carlson with Shattenkirk would be a twabby wet dream, but I am not sure who they have left to kill penalties.
Shattenkirk would have to absolutely kill it offensively to warrant keeping him over Carlson and he'd also need to take a discount. He's not as versatile as Carlson, who has had far heavier PK usage as well as primarily shutdown duty. He would have to really excel offensively and in his hockey IQ generally to force that sort of decision. Combine that with likely losing Alzner and I doubt it's the blueline dynamic they're likely to prefer (that's in addition to a higher AAV next season).
It would be one thing if one of the three RD moves over to the left side and that's maybe the most interesting aspect of this. That needs to be experimented with at some point during the regular season. If they get down I'd hope they'd run with it, esp. when both 27/44 are playing.
I'm not thinking about next season yet. I just want a 27-22 pairing so we can finally have a "Shatner" pairing.
Should trade for Ryan Spooner, pair him with Orpik, and make the Spok pair.
And we could get Michal Rozsival, pair him with Orlov, and make the Czechov line.
I'm not thinking about next season yet. I just want a 27-22 pairing so we can finally have a "Shatner" pairing.
It's an unpopular opinion, but learning to kill penalties probably isn't that hard compared to most elements of the game. I'd give Schmidt and Orlov a shot at it, if not Shattenkirk himself. I'd rather build a dominant ES and PP blue line with elite skill than worry too much about PKing. Holtby is still the nuclear bomb on the PK and I bet any set of NHL D would look good with him back there.
So to summarize in your unpopular opinion, 1)anyone can learn to play great D on the PK and 2)you can throw any NHL level defenders out there as long as you have 70, and crush it on the PK?
Sometimes I wonder if you're alergic to the concept of defense, it's role, and worth.
So to summarize in your unpopular opinion, 1)anyone can learn to play great D on the PK and 2)you can throw any NHL level defenders out there as long as you have 70, and crush it on the PK?
Sometimes I wonder if you're alergic to the concept of defense, it's role, and worth.
It is interesting that some dare mention Kevin is not....let's say the strongest in the def zone 5 on 5, yet the advanced stats say he is dominating at ES. Laughlin and Boomer were talking about it on NHL radio, that perhaps the eye test is failing for him.
IMO he needs little to no practice time to learn how to play catch with Nick nor where Ovi needs the puck. Our current PP struggles are not about players unable to feed Ovi, its how teams now defend us after years of stupidity. Teams aren't just cheating Ovi, they are cheating the top, forcing the other 3 to beat us. Its all a good test for playoff PKs that dial up aggressiveness. Well, everyone except Hakstol's.
If you're putting Ovechkin at RD on PK1, in order to assume more equal relative importance, then PK1 would not stay respectable. PP1 would take a big hit as well but would at least still have one finisher in Oshie and perhaps better point play from 22.As another example, if Alzner (the team's worst offensive player) suddenly took a spot on PP1 and Ovechkin (the team's worst defensive player) suddenly took a spot on PK1, which unit would suffer more? I'd say PP1 would grind to a halt while PK1 would still stay respectable.
How good has St. Louis been to the Caps lately?
The Blues are that girl in college you can always text a 2 am on a Thursday night when you are feeling "bored".
He's at worst what? A Yandle-type? Somebody is going to pay for that guy and probably be underwhelmed in the long run if true.
I'm not going to breathe easy until the deadline is over. Pens could still find a way to snag Duchene (though I think the Islanders have the inside track in that situation).
I did see this today. NHLN was talking about the Senators and showing the B roll that goes with that team and I saw a hideous Shattenkirk turnover the ended up in their net. It was a deep dish pizza.