VIII. General Stars Talk Can't Stop, Won't Stop
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And unfortunately, neither Detroit nor Ruff have ever really been known to give their vets the shaft in favor of kids. Then again Detroit was never in situation like Dallas is where it's building for the future, but Nill's insistence in getting guys like Horcoff/Gonchar don't give me much confidence that sitting the vets and letting the kids get their growing pains will be happening.
Hull Fan
The Future is Now
This is my fear. Unfortunately because of their contracts there's not a ton they can do about Gonchar, Goligoski, or Horcoff. I mean yeah I guess you could waive them but that seems radical for just about any front office. Not to mention hard to justify 8 games in. They'll want to give them chances to improve but that means playing them and this vicious cycle continues.
Nichushkin getting scratched and shuffled down and around doesn't exactly engender confidence. Neither does the unwillingness to even look at Connauton.
Maybe you hope that Nill and Ruff sit down Monday and talk about what the expectations really are as opposed to what they thought they should be and a few small changes, including scratching a vet or two, might be the way to go to start to right this. Assuming you could even find a partner I think trying to get a trade done at this juncture is all but impossible.
Rune Forumwalker
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- May 11, 2006
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Yep.
Totally expected Nichushkin to be on the 3rd line. Didn't Goligoski have a brutal start to last season before starting to put up points?
Dillon's sophomore slump is interesting. Reminiscent of anyone?
Totally agree on Ruff not changing the lineup more. Well the defense specifically, as he somewhat gets credit for the changes to the forward lines. It's interesting though that one of those pairings is one that Gully liked to use.
The only positive though is the team seems to be giving more effort overall than under Gully. Sure there was two games already that the effort wasn't there, but one of them was the second half of a B2B.
I'm hoping between now and the trade deadline two D gets moved (Robidas and whoever, I don't really care) as Oleksiak forces his way into the lineup.
Rune Forumwalker
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- May 11, 2006
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Nichushkin is the only one that hasn't really been handled poorly, IMO. He sat out a game, did some homework, and came back the next game by all accounts looking much better than the last game he played. Is he playing with players who can't contribute offense? Sure. But he's also an 18 year old learning the North American game for the first time and still needs a translator.
I don't think Dillion has been slumping at all. He has looked better paired back with Robidas and has shown a bit more of an offensive game. He has looked like our best d-man for sure.
txomisc
Registered User
He hasnt been as good defensively and has turned the puck over more often than he was last season.
Frozen Failure
They got business in my hockey, and I hate it.
Honestly they've all looked like complete ass. Dillon's just the only one actually producing points.
glovesave_35
Name
Nichushkin has looked a lot better since he was scratched. Even tonight he finished with around 9 minutes but he was one of the better players for the Stars. When he saw a shift or two with Peverley at center and Roussel I saw that as a better situation for him than playing with Horcoff and Cole.
He should have gotten more minutes but I'm not going to say anything bad about the healthy scratch. As far as I'm concerned it worked.
glovesave_35
Name
This isn't directed specifically at you but more in general. On a team as bad/mediocre as the Stars have been in recent years we should really stop comparing our own players to their teammates when evaluating their play.
The Defense corps has been in shambles for years now, essentially since Zubov started getting injured/retired and Boucher hit the major decline. Dillon has been passable this year, and probably has been our best all around defenseman. How good has he really been? Ask yourself if he's played like a top 4 defenseman on any of the league's better teams and the answer is probably 'no.' The players we have suiting up on our blue line have collectively given the results of a squad full of 5-7 defensemen on good teams.
For the sake of properly evaluating our team internally we need to be more objective and compare these guys to players around the league rather than the sewage they play with on a regular basis.
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It's funny how pre-season many fans said they expect this to be a year full of growing pains, and are willing to accept that, yet can't handle it when it happens.
The bottom line is this year is going to be exactly that. Short of another trade of Seguin proportions, it's likely gonna be another lottery pick year. For me it's about seeing the young guys develop.
The bottom line is this year is going to be exactly that. Short of another trade of Seguin proportions, it's likely gonna be another lottery pick year. For me it's about seeing the young guys develop.
Frozen Failure
They got business in my hockey, and I hate it.
Growing pains are fine when there are significant players in the lineup who are having growing pains.
When the vets are having growing pains, it's not acceptable.
tjcurrie
Registered User
Not saying Dillon has been fabulous or anything, but it's tough to look good out there with so much else going wrong. And some may want to call it a sophomore slump, but let's take a step back here. The guy has played a total of 57 NHL games to date. Barely enough there to call a real rookie season, let alone call him a sophomore, even though technically yes that's what he is.
Hull Fan
The Future is Now
Yeah this is my issue.
If the defense was some combination of:
Dillon-Connauton
Daley-Jokipakka
Oleksiak-Robidas
Benn
Then growing pains are not only acceptable they are expected. When your growing pains are Gonchar, Goligoski, and Robidas that's not in any way acceptable.
When your growing pains are Horcoff and Cole killing offense then no that's not growing toward anything.
Elysian
Emo Stars Fan
oconnor9sean
Registered User
I'm all in for Ekblad. Whether that's trading the vets and letting the rookies grow and stink this year, or trading up for the pick to get him, it doesn't matter.
You can't trade for a #1 DMan when they're Already established and Ekblad is the right handed #1D man that we're missing.
You can't trade for a #1 DMan when they're Already established and Ekblad is the right handed #1D man that we're missing.
Dr Pepper
Registered User
I'm tired of sitting on the outside and looking on while other teams thrive in the playoffs.
Enough of the tank talk, Gaglardi/Nill need to take a nice long look at what the team can afford to give up in order to fix our blueline, and then pull the trigger on a deal.
This team needs a playoff run badly! Hell I don't even care if they get swept in the first round. Just build a team that will make the playoffs, that's all I ask.
Enough of the tank talk, Gaglardi/Nill need to take a nice long look at what the team can afford to give up in order to fix our blueline, and then pull the trigger on a deal.
This team needs a playoff run badly! Hell I don't even care if they get swept in the first round. Just build a team that will make the playoffs, that's all I ask.
Little early to be talking about tanking, and there's no way Kari would let this team do worse than Buffalo anyways.
This team has options to fix itself, but the coaching staff/management needs to be willing to explore those options. Some mixture of Rome/Connauton could very well re-balance the D, and there's better bottom 6 options in CP than what we have. Those options need to be explored first before calling it a season 10 games in.
This team has options to fix itself, but the coaching staff/management needs to be willing to explore those options. Some mixture of Rome/Connauton could very well re-balance the D, and there's better bottom 6 options in CP than what we have. Those options need to be explored first before calling it a season 10 games in.
haf
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- Mar 3, 2008
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That pretty much nails it. If K Conn and Oleksiak struggle, you live with it. When Goose, Gonchar, and Horcoff blow it, you are pissed because they absolutely know better and are supposed to be setting the example.
As far as lines I would like, I think moving Eakin or Pevs to 3rd line center makes us much better either way.
Been, Segs, Chiasson
Whitney, Pevs, Nuke
Rousel,Eakin, Cole
Horcoff, Fidds, Sceviour
Horcoff needs to be a pk specialist at this point. Cole is better on the right but doesn't have the hands anymore to be top six. He is fine on a grinding 3rd that can just wear teams down and crash the net.
I am not sure I can watch another game with Goose and Gonchar as a pairing. Just can't do it.
I don't mind this group losing. I really don't. But losing the way we are is making me crazy. Gonchar coughing the puck up 3 times a game, when he is our most experienced d man, is just too much and watching goose throw the puck at covered forwards in the middle of the neutral zone is just painful.
I wish next year's draft was better because we are drafting high. I would rather do it playing youth than with these washouts.
Starry Knight
Tele-Wyatt
Plenty of good defensemen spread throughout the draft. No real need to tank to get a good defensemen. Ekblad at the start, Mckeowen in the middle, DeAngelo at the end of the first round. All are great RHD defensemen with number 1 defensemen capabilities. IMO, the best out of the three will be Mckeowen.
Captain Awesome
Registered User
This team needs to pull the trigger on a d-man badly. I'm afraid that even with all the prospects we have in Texas that with no one to mentor them properly they will never get the proper development and mentorship they need. You have to wonder how seriously you can take Gonchar giving you pointers when he's been one of the worst d-men on the team and is somehow leading your team in PP ice time most nights. I get that Ruff is being patient but give these guys a time out and let them get their crap together, they're doing us no good.
We don't need to trade for a #1 d-man, because that's not possible, we need a guy who knows what he's doing defensively and can make a solid outlet pass. We need a rock to do this game in and game out. I guess that describes a guy like Bouwmeester without the ridiculous contract, and probably someone who wouldn't cost as much. I'm blown away at how long defense has been a problem, and how this team will not sniff the playoffs until it is fixed, period.
Having Gonchar and Goligoski as anything other than our third pairing is going to kill us this season. The other pairings have had blunders, but they are by far the worst. If there's a way to trade Goligoski at the deadline, you do it and don't look back. He didn't work out here and we don't have the personnel to make him work out. D needs to get bigger and more defensively responsible, once you've accomplished that you can work on trying to get someone who can skate the puck out of the zone with regularity.
We don't need to trade for a #1 d-man, because that's not possible, we need a guy who knows what he's doing defensively and can make a solid outlet pass. We need a rock to do this game in and game out. I guess that describes a guy like Bouwmeester without the ridiculous contract, and probably someone who wouldn't cost as much. I'm blown away at how long defense has been a problem, and how this team will not sniff the playoffs until it is fixed, period.
Having Gonchar and Goligoski as anything other than our third pairing is going to kill us this season. The other pairings have had blunders, but they are by far the worst. If there's a way to trade Goligoski at the deadline, you do it and don't look back. He didn't work out here and we don't have the personnel to make him work out. D needs to get bigger and more defensively responsible, once you've accomplished that you can work on trying to get someone who can skate the puck out of the zone with regularity.
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