The Andrew MacDonald Discussion Thread

[WIP CALLER]

The pass should have gone to the man in the slot, MacDonald was positioning himself to go down to block the shot, giving his goalie a clear vision and taking away the 5 hole. You can see him watching the potential shooter and shifting his skates to be ready to go down and take away the low shot.

He was in no man's land in between trying to accomplish 3 different things and doing none of them well. unfortunate bounce due to him being an extremely low iq player.

 

[Sawdalite]

so enlighten me what was he doing besides standing in no man's land accomplishing nothing but being in the way?

I agree with DeadHead's view of it.

 

[Beef Invictus]

He was not blocking the shot... he was getting into position... man with the puck was not shooting; he was passing IIRC... You count is off.

Did the puck go in the net after striking MacDonald?

 

[Sawdalite]

Did the puck go in the net after striking MacDonald?

The puck caromed off his skate... not off of a shot being taken and he was blocking.

Shit happens.

 

[Beef Invictus]

The puck caromed off his skate... not off of a shot being taken and he was blocking.

**** happens.

It happens a LOT when AMac is on the ice.

The count is accurate at 1.

 

[deadhead]

It was a bad pass, I think the intent was to get the puck to the man in the slot, one of those fluky goals that happen in games.

 

[Lindberg]

MacDonald just shouldn't be on the roster, not sure what else to say. Like last night there wasn't a single period I was blown away by his play.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

He was in no man's land in between trying to accomplish 3 different things and doing none of them well. unfortunate bounce due to him being an extremely low iq player.

Thissssssssss.

 

[Hardnell]

Own goal aside, anyone catch the collision he caused behind the net could've caused a Provorov leg injury... the puzzled look on Provorov's face as he picked himself up off the ice said it all

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

MacDonald just shouldn't be on the roster, not sure what else to say. Like last night there wasn't a single period I was blown away by his play.

The best case scenario for MacDonald is that he’s irrelevant in a game. As he’s never really going to be a postive on the outcome of the game. It’s more likely he’s a negative than postive on the outcome of the game. He’s playing top pairing minutes against top competition so that not only makes it harder for him to be irrelevant & more likely a negative. The other issue is you’re giving him a nice chunk of ice time where he’s not helping you win. It makes the usage even more dumb that someone could think this is a good idea. But it fits the trying to win a game by not losing it philosophy even though he can help lose it but they turn a blind eye to that anyway.

 

[deadhead]

He does help you not lose games, both years he played full-time he had one of the lowest GA/60 at ES on the team (since Provorov had a higher GA, he couldn't be padding MacDonald's numbers).

Problem is that's about all he can do, play it safe.

Given that Provorov plays on both the 2nd PP and PK, he'll play about 5 more minutes a game than MacDonald if they take MacDonald off the PK (which they should, once they have confidence in the kid defensemen).

 

[Beef Invictus]

Wait, is your implication that MacD was carrying Provorov?

 

[Foggy14]

Having "scored" an own goal off my own stick, I'm not going to slag Amac for one that came off his skate. It happens.

And that was the only GA while he was on the ice last night, so I'll take it.

I've been a critic of Andy's for a long time. I don't like how he surrenders the blue so easily. I'd like him to be more physical boxing out opposing players. And I think he processes the game slower than a first pairing, $5 million defender should. Coburn had a similar problem; good wheels, but the head was sometimes a bit behind the body.

We all know the problems, with the biggest being three seasons left on his crazy deal, while promising youngsters are knocking at the door.

Maybe we need to start cheering when Amac does something right, or has a +1 night like last night, and hope the positive vibes get picked up by a GM who needs some defensive help. We'll probably end up retaining salary, but maybe just not so much.

 

[Peacekeeper]

Do any of you actually study the film to know exactly what MacDonald does like Hakstol?

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Coburn was a much superior skater than MacDonald. He also had a noticeable size advantage. Coburn also excelled in gap control.

MacDonald isn’t a bad skater but I don’t think it means much. It’s not that he’s just lacking mentally he just isn’t really skilled. His coordination is awful too.

 

[Macleish 1974]

Although many despise Andrew as a defenseman [ I hope none of you are implying that because he is a bad defenseman that he is a bad person?], did you notice or ignore the fact that both Manning and Gudas were worse last night?

 

[Striiker]

Gudas was not worse.

MacDonald and Manning were in a class of their own.

 

[deadhead]

Gudas was worse, took a stupid penalty at a bad time in the game, had a couple turnovers, didn't look sharp at all. Given he has a solid track record, I'll just write it off to s slow start.

 

[Oskar Man]

My theory is that he thinks he has to play up to a certain level to justify his contract. He should just come to terms with the fact that he is an overpaid bottom pair Dman and play accordingly. Plus, Hak needs a lobotomy so he too can come to that realization.

 

[Beef Invictus]

Gudas was bad, but he wasn't worse than MacDonald.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

Gudas was worse, took a stupid penalty at a bad time in the game, had a couple turnovers, didn't look sharp at all. Given he has a solid track record, I'll just write it off to s slow start.

You just described 90% of the games Manning has played in the NHL, but that won't stop your narrative.

 

[3Fs]

Amac getting the A was a total surprise to me. Do they know something we dont know? Are they giving him the A to make him more appealing in a trade? Top line to make him more appealing? I guess the book on him has more chapters to read........

 

[Sawdalite]

Amac getting the A was a total surprise to me. Do they know something we dont know? Are they giving him the A to make him more appealing in a trade? Top line to make him more appealing? I guess the book on him has more chapters to read........

Are you aware that this time the 'A' was awarded through votes by the Players?... Management as far as we know was not involved.

 

[Stizzle]

AMac makes the worst defensemen in WAR list according to @DTMAboutHeart...

 

[Lindberg]

He does help you not lose games, both years he played full-time he had one of the lowest GA/60 at ES on the team (since Provorov had a higher GA, he couldn't be padding MacDonald's numbers).

Problem is that's about all he can do, play it safe.

Given that Provorov plays on both the 2nd PP and PK, he'll play about 5 more minutes a game than MacDonald if they take MacDonald off the PK (which they should, once they have confidence in the kid defensemen).

Helping you not lose games? I'd rather have 6 defensemen that could help win games vice the opposite. I don't see why that is so appealing to Hakstol. Clearly last night was not the case even if it was just a bad bounce. In reality Hakstol is an extremely poor coach and likely isn't going to get any better and last night was a perfect example of as to why. He constantly is playing poor/"safe" players to close out games rather than blow them wide open when the opposition is pushing and more prone to mistakes. I liked the overall game from the Flyers last night but I did not like Hakstol's poor decision making process. In what reality did it make any sense to start changing the PPs around to promote defense?