Pre-Game Talk: The All Purpose Off Day Thread - Panic Time!

[ColePens]

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[Tasty Biscuits]

It's about time. Feels good to prematurely panic again.

 

[EightyOne]

There are no usable UFA goalies to sign. (Mason still hurt? Lehtonen sign for pennies vs retire/Euro leagues? Maguire, Leighton, O'Connor...yeah...great...)

The Pens were supposed to use limited assets for LW/D upgrades.

We'll see if that plan has to change to backup goalie upgrades.

 

[ColePens]

It's about time. Feels good to prematurely panic again.

It's so early in the season. I agree. Still so early. Lots of time for things to play out and get better.

It's always a progression. Mur had some injuries and he was on watch to see if he could play a full season. Now is time to start prepping for what is to come, but JR was a step ahead. Probably why he kept Jarry over Gust. But yeah.. sucks for big Mur. He needs to be available and consistent.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

@ColePens it was mostly a joke, but if MM is putting so much pressure on himself that it is affecting his game perhaps he should go see someone.

 

[molon labe]

I did not realize that the NHL-N game was streaming free on NHL.com - so when I noticed they picked the game up I figured I would just miss the first week of hockey. Dead horse here, but it is highly annoying to pay 100 bucks for a streaming service that only gives you 65% of your team's games. Outright refuse to even do slingTV anymore...screw network TV.

In other news, have been and will continue to be ghostly on the forums. Apologize to anyone who wanted the prediction game but I just don't have the time for it this season.

Furthermore, we look pretty terrible which is always annoying. Defenders and goalies always suck for the first 15 games of the year and for whatever reason our guys never capitalize on it. Meanwhile you got guys like Matthews and Toews scoring at will.

 

[vikingGoalie]

posted it in the media thread. But mackey had a decent piece on the posted: 20 Penguins Thoughts: Matt Murray, Marc-Andre Fleury and the pursuit of perfection.
The part that I found really good is that apparently him and Murray are pretty friendly. I did not know this but Mackey said he lost his dad prematurely as well and not far from the time when Murray lost his, so that's a bonding element between them. At any rate it gives him a little bit more insight when it comes to Murray.

The quote in the article that I found really telling was.

We’re talking about a kid who has, for several months, so badly wanted to atone for what he did (or really didn’t do) last season that he’s twisting himself in knots. I can see it in practice. I can see it in games.
Murray didn’t suddenly forget how to do his job. He’s pressing, trying to get 40 wins by November.

There's more there, but Murray's calm collectiveness that he's lost on the ice is because he has lost it in general. He is pressing (by the sound of things) too hard and it's a way to burn out. I found the article from last season a good read. Golden Knights Goalie Coach Knew He Could Make Fleury Better, Followed Through - SinBin.vegas

The big thing is that Prior got more mileage by having Fleury not worry about killing himself in practice. While Murray *does* have some specific technical flaws to address, I'm thinking that maybe the same approach would help Murray (once healthy). i.e. you don't have to spend 3 hours on the ice practicing. You rather need to spend hours getting your head in the right place, trust your abilities, calm down, and if something goes in so what, just do the best you can. I think once Murray's head gets to that place we will see a dramatic improvement.

 

[Shady Machine]

I'm certainly not blaming JR for not going after a vet back up, just saying for me personally, I don't think all that much of DeSmith. I see Jarry as the real future back up / 1B goalie, so keeping him in the AHL makes sense and then giving Murray a vet back up would have been reasonable. Based on Mackey's 20 thoughts, it sounds like Murray is going through some mental and emotional challenges after a tough year and having a guy that's been through ups and downs for a decade+ in the NHL could have potentially helped.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

@ColePens it was mostly a joke, but if MM is putting so much pressure on himself that it is affecting his game perhaps he should go see someone.

Plus the fact that by all accounts his dad was his rock throughout his career. Who knows. I don't think it's a stretch to say that probably more players in general could benefit from a sports psychologist (or regular therapist).

 

[Peat]

There are no usable UFA goalies to sign. (Mason still hurt? Lehtonen sign for pennies vs retire/Euro leagues? Maguire, Leighton, O'Connor...yeah...great...)

The Pens were supposed to use limited assets for LW/D upgrades.

We'll see if that plan has to change to backup goalie upgrades.

Broadly speaking, you're a lucky git if you get anywhere far in the play-offs unless your goaltender has a save percentage of about .920. If we're getting panicky about the situation of Murray/Jarry/DeSmithy around December, that's what we should be targeting, a guy who we think can do that. Anything less is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic imo.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Unfortunately I can say from experience that losing a parent young is extremely difficult and speaking personally and from others I know who endured the same misery, it takes a couple years before you are even close to right again, if ever.

I don’t know of anyone who was even close to normal after a year. People may not want to read that and see it as an excuse, but that just tells me you never lost a parent you were close to at a young age.

Murray has it extremely rough right now, dealing with the loss of his father, great expectations, and knowing the demented MAF fanboys are rooting agt him. So it goes without saying it’s a lot for a young guy to handle.

Plus the fact that by all accounts his dad was his rock throughout his career. Who knows. I don't think it's a stretch to say that probably more players in general could benefit from a sports psychologist (or regular therapist).

We have a family friend that is a sports psychologist and more athletes than people think use them, but as he said, it’s obviously kept private.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

We have a family friend that is a sports psychologist and more athletes than people think use them, but as he said, it’s obviously kept private.

It's too bad that there's still such a stigma around mental health that people feel the need to hide that stuff. Can only imagine it makes it worse in a sense. Obviously people aren't obligated to share anything from their private lives they prefer not to (I was also naïve in the sense that they made such a big deal whenever the announced Flower doing it, I assumed it was so rare for big-time professional athletes to use them, though some of that was probably just for optics).

Of course, for all the strides made, it'll take twice as long when it comes to sports, athletes, and the "toughness" culture.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

It's too bad that there's still such a stigma around mental health that people feel the need to hide that stuff. Can only imagine it makes it worse in a sense. Obviously people aren't obligated to share anything from their private lives they prefer not to (I was also naïve in the sense that they made such a big deal whenever the announced Flower doing it, I assumed it was so rare for big-time professional athletes to use them, though some of that was probably just for optics).

Of course, for all the strides made, it'll take twice as long when it comes to sports, athletes, and the "toughness" culture.

I always think of the whole Sopranos theme, how Tony knew he would get whacked if anyone found out he was seeing a shrink.

Personally I just worked through things on my own even though many people who care about me encouraged me to see a professional when my mom died. My dad went the opposite way and joined a grieving group and saw a professional, and he told me it helped him a great deal.

Each individual has to grieve in their own way, and I keep telling people who seek my advice when they lose a parent like I did, that there is no timetable on the process.

My cousin just lost his wife to cancer, and his idiot brother told him it was time to get over it like two months later. Meanwhile when their father died, his brother absolutely lost it at the funeral from his grief. So you would think uh... he’d understand...

Just how many people are... clueless.

 

[vodeni]

Matt needs to get help. pens better reailize that sooner rather then later. Those things keep lingering and prevent you from going full blown in practice, in games. I think regardless of Flower's popularity, matt is solid in pittsburgh, I think there is high majority that supports him and wish him well. I feel he is kind of guy that tunes out critcs and that's not something that bothers him.

Also he needs to continue working on his skills. that wraparound is something should not happen, or some other smaller issues that he can work out.
If he gets over or learn how to compartmanilize his grief he'll be back as good as ever

 

[SEALBound]

I always think of the whole Sopranos theme, how Tony knew he would get whacked if anyone found out he was seeing a shrink.

Personally I just worked through things on my own even though many people who care about me encouraged me to see a professional when my mom died. My dad went the opposite way and joined a grieving group and saw a professional, and he told me it helped him a great deal.

Each individual has to grieve in their own way, and I keep telling people who seek my advice when they lose a parent like I did, that there is no timetable on the process.

My cousin just lost his wife to cancer, and his idiot brother told him it was time to get over it like two months later. Meanwhile when their father died, his brother absolutely lost it at the funeral from his grief. So you would think uh... he’d understand...

Just how many people are... clueless.

Sorry for your loss, especially at that age. Everyone handles grief in their own way. All too often its easy for us to want to "robot-ize" these guys because there is such a wide disconnect between what we see on the ice and the realization that these are humans with families and emotions as well.

To be frank, Im surprised he came back as quickly as he did at the time. I mean, some people like to go back to work to help not focus on the loss as a coping mechanism but still...I cant imagine how difficult that must have been.

I have faith he will round into form though. Until then we have Jarry and Desmith. At the end of the day, the issues we currently have go beyond the goaltending...

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Sorry for your loss, especially at that age. Everyone handles grief in their own way. All too often its easy for us to want to "robot-ize" these guys because there is such a wide disconnect between what we see on the ice and the realization that these are humans with families and emotions as well.

To be frank, Im surprised he came back as quickly as he did at the time. I mean, some people like to go back to work to help not focus on the loss as a coping mechanism but still...I cant imagine how difficult that must have been.

I have faith he will round into form though. Until then we have Jarry and Desmith. At the end of the day, the issues we currently have go beyond the goaltending...

I don’t want to make it about me, but rather how we need to try and understand that Murray likely isn’t going to be right mentally for a while because of losing his father IMHO.

Many of us know about the Redden situation and rumors after his mom died, and how his game went south.

The stuff Murray is dealing with doesn’t go away just because he puts a mask on. I hope he overcomes it, but if he doesn’t, it’s going to be some real BS he will get from idiot fans and I’m sure it will piss me off, given I’m quite familiar with the demons he’s going through right now.

 

[vodeni]

Our main, main issue is our transition game, inability to come out of our zone in bunches, quick, and inability to cover NZ when the opponents coming out of their zone. it went from bad when we won the cup, to worse last year, and the trend continues into this year.

 

[FreeBobbyFarnham]

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Well that's interesting.

 

[DegenX]

 

[Scandale du Jour]

About time Riikola gets a chance. Who will sit? Maatta, Penny's brother?

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Cool, but where's Guentzel?

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

I'm certainly not blaming JR for not going after a vet back up, just saying for me personally, I don't think all that much of DeSmith. I see Jarry as the real future back up / 1B goalie, so keeping him in the AHL makes sense and then giving Murray a vet back up would have been reasonable. Based on Mackey's 20 thoughts, it sounds like Murray is going through some mental and emotional challenges after a tough year and having a guy that's been through ups and downs for a decade+ in the NHL could have potentially helped.

Yeah, this is why I'm in favor of a veteran backup, too. Having someone who has "been there, done that" would probably be more beneficial for Murray to lean on than two kids with less experience than he has.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Cool, but where's Guentzel?

Dead or suffering from dysentry. We are the Pittsburgh Penguins after all.

 

[Vujtek]

That was missing Guentzel so when I saw that, I had to check it and found this tweet:



That has to be more accurate formation for 2nd PP-unit. Not sure if it's four forwards and D rotated, or if Simon rotated with the D though.