VIII. General Stars Talk Can't Stop, Won't Stop

[Stars99Lobo37]

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.

These aren't growing pains....the young guys are the least of my concern. It's the veterans that are the big problem this season. Especially when those vets are getting pass after pass after pass for their mistakes while a young guy sits in the press box, or down in Austin that deserves his chance.

 

[Klockis]

These aren't growing pains....the young guys are the least of my concern. It's the veterans that are the big problem this season. Especially when those vets are getting pass after pass after pass for their mistakes while a young guy sits in the press box, or down in Austin that deserves his chance.

Coaches love their veterans. I have a hard time complaining about that because it feels like every coach does it.

In other news, the sky is falling.

 

[MetalGodAOD*]

Nill's take on the issues:

“We’ve done some great things, we’ve had some stinkers, periods where we’ve been great, periods where we’ve been bad,” Nill said. “We’ve got some players who have bad habits that need to be broken. It’s been years of bad habits and that needs to get changed. I think we’ve got some older guys that need to play a lot better, some of our veterans need to step up and play better, too. It’s kind of a combination.

“On top of it, we’ve had our No. 1 goalie out for five games. It’s a tough league. Dan (Ellis) and Jack (Campbell) have come in and played great, but for the long haul you still need your No. 1 goalie.

http://stars.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=687810

Now will he do anything about those older players and veterans?

 

[Frozen Failure]

If he doesn't, he's messed up. Again.

 

[Rune Forumwalker]

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.

This. Nill should have tried to sign a veteran top 4 defensive d-man like Scuderi, and then try to get rid of someone like Robidas. I don't have a problem with him, but the defense as constructed doesn't fit together so he (and hopefully someone else; maybe Rome or Daley?) needed to be replaced to balance the defense.

Goligoski-Dillon
Daley-Goncher
Connauton-Scuderi
Rome/Benn

 

[Troy McClure]

Now will he do anything about those older players and veterans?

Probably nothing.

 

[Satan]

Leave Garbutt alone

 

[Captain Awesome]

When he says bad habits that need to be broken I wonder what he means? That part struck me as most interesting, like there are some guys getting yelled at by Ruff constantly during practice for something.

I dislike that last part about not having our #1 goalie. It softens the blow for the players being spoken about in the media, but it's too placating.

 

[Cin]

Every defenseman is turning over the puck right now because they can't figure out how to properly break out of the zone. Not giving Dillon any marks off for a coach not explaining his 'system' well enough. If it were just him and Goligoski then I'd say he's slumping. It's ALL of them though.

Honestly not a fan of Ruff 8 games in.

 

[Captain Awesome]

That was my first thought too, somewhere between miscommunication, nonchalance, and general sloppiness there's a problem. There also have been times where there was a lack of puck support from forwards when trying to cement possession and load up the breakout pass. The breakout also has an irritating amount of short passes that keep getting continuously picked off. A lot of these guys don't have the confidence to skate the puck out of the zone instead of making these passes, which is a big problem. The stretch pass is nice but it doesn't work all that often. The small passes could work in theory but the chemistry and the understanding of the system isn't really there yet. You see flashes of it but it isn't consistent.

It'll be interesting to see if this is a problem all season long, even then I'm not convinced it's completely on Ruff considering the general incompetence of our defensemen.

 

[Hull Fan]

Every defenseman is turning over the puck right now because they can't figure out how to properly break out of the zone. Not giving Dillon any marks off for a coach not explaining his 'system' well enough. If it were just him and Goligoski then I'd say he's slumping. It's ALL of them though.

Honestly not a fan of Ruff 8 games in.

Are you seriously telling me you think Ruff's system is so complex guys with over six years of experience in the NHL can't comprehend? Jordie Benn has it figured out for god's sake. Dillon has struggled but he's been playing better. Blaming Ruff for poor veteran play is a copout. Those players need to look in the mirror because he damn sure isn't teaching them to blindly pass back into the center of the ice in their own zones nor is he teaching them to not pick up their man in coverage.

 

[Pohlow]

Are you seriously telling me you think Ruff's system is so complex guys with over six years of experience in the NHL can't comprehend? Jordie Benn has it figured out for god's sake. Dillon has struggled but he's been playing better. Blaming Ruff for poor veteran play is a copout. Those players need to look in the mirror because he damn sure isn't teaching them to blindly pass back into the center of the ice in their own zones nor is he teaching them to not pick up their man in coverage.

This. The vets just ain't getting it done.

On a side note, never really understood the need for 'veterans' on the team. Like, does Horcoff really bring that much psychological stability for the team that he deserves a spot on the team? You learn the game by playing it, which means you have to let the rookies make bad plays eventually.

 

[txomisc]

Bottom line, there ain't no defensive system where its cool to pass the puck right to the other team.

 

[99wasthebest]

Leave Garbutt alone

The Stars have been physically bullying Anaheim and many other teams in the NHL for too long now

 

[Frozen Failure]

Bottom line, there ain't no defensive system where its cool to pass the puck right to the other team.

Or ignore a pass to let it ring around the back of the net right to a waiting opponent who will center it for a goal.

 

[txomisc]

Or ignore a pass to let it ring around the back of the net right to a waiting opponent who will center it for a goal.

For sure. We can talk about systems being changed too many times and I am sure that sucks for the players, but we are talking about very basic things as the problem here.

 

[Brand New Stars]

They're professionals. If they can't handle the system then get out of the league.

 

[SonicSpeedDash]

Just throwing out my prediction for the rest of the month, we will go 4-8-0. Defense will remain the same.

 

[Hull Fan]

Hey look if the plan is let's try for that top 3 pick then sheltering the kids in Cedar Park makes sense. It also makes sense to keep the defense as it is and we'll do our worst. I just don't see a "reasonable" way to fix the problems on this roster at this stage of the season so I expect more of the same.

 

[piqued]

Bottom line, there ain't no defensive system where its cool to pass the puck right to the other team.

Quantum physics would say that not only do defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team exist, an infinite number of defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team must exist given that defensive systems can only be arranged in finite combinations. All we can say is that such systems would be distributed very infrequently in any given volume of space. I estimate you would need to travel 10^10²⁷ meters to find a defense as poor as the Stars'.

 

[Ambassador Of Fun]

Quantum physics would say that not only do defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team exist, an infinite number of defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team must exist given that defensive systems can only be arranged in finite combinations. All we can say is that such systems would be distributed very infrequently in any given volume of space. I estimate you would need to travel 10^10²⁷ meters to find a defense as poor as the Stars'.

We literally live in the universe where this is the optimal strategy for our team. All hail Kari.

 

[Satan]

Quantum physics would say that not only do defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team exist, an infinite number of defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team must exist given that defensive systems can only be arranged in finite combinations. All we can say is that such systems would be distributed very infrequently in any given volume of space. I estimate you would need to travel 10^10²⁷ meters to find a defense as poor as the Stars'.

currently in tears

 

[BigG44]

Mark Stepneski ‏@StarsInsideEdge

Jim Nill will accompany Ryan Garbutt to his in-person hearing with NHL tomorrow.

I don't think that's common practice ... at least I haven't noticed other GM's doing this.

They're going to throw the book at him though it seems. That was an ugly hit.

 

[Cin]

Are you seriously telling me you think Ruff's system is so complex guys with over six years of experience in the NHL can't comprehend? Jordie Benn has it figured out for god's sake. Dillon has struggled but he's been playing better. Blaming Ruff for poor veteran play is a copout. Those players need to look in the mirror because he damn sure isn't teaching them to blindly pass back into the center of the ice in their own zones nor is he teaching them to not pick up their man in coverage.

The argument is more towards those saying Dillon is having a bad season. Clearly the veterans look like dog **** and Ruff has been doing a mediocre job of coaching thus far.

Is the 'system' still faulting even with horrendous veteran play? I think that's clearly a yes. You've kind of argued against yourself here. If they still can't get the puck out of the zone then perhaps the offense doesn't have a clue as well? You've got five guys on the ice and not a single one is in a good enough position for a pass to get out of the zone? Hmm... Definitely just a defensive issue. Not. All of these guys are in the NHL which should mean they can pass the puck with great precision.

Listen, all of our defenseman look mediocre to absolute ****. Dillon and Benn being the mediocre ones. Our centers have actually done a pretty decent job of back checking so far, and the wingers seem to be lost in the sauce most of the time when it comes to defensive coverage. It's chaotic to say the least when we're trying to defend. Half of the team looks like they have no clue who they should cover, or if maybe they should be in a different spot. Complement that with the fact that defensive pairs and the bottom 3 lines have all needed to be shuffled since game 2 and it's it's pretty easy to see that the coach is the one needing to adjust now. He know's what he's got, not make a ****ing change.

 

[Elysian]

Quantum physics would say that not only do defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team exist, an infinite number of defensive systems where it's cool to pass the puck to the other team must exist given that defensive systems can only be arranged in finite combinations. All we can say is that such systems would be distributed very infrequently in any given volume of space. I estimate you would need to travel 10^10²⁷ meters to find a defense as poor as the Stars'.