Pre-Game Talk: Week of central and McJesus (Nsh, @Wpg, @Edm)

[forsbergavs32]

Hate to interrupt rehashing bringing back old players but any word on Jost?

 

[Pokecheque]

Lets get real here ROR at 7.5 million per year is a damn good player to have. He earns as much as he deserves. He has been the Blues best player and has 19 points in 13 games. Just because Buffalo dumped him for a bunch of garbage does not change anything, it was a terrible move by a mediocre at best GM.

The Avs obviously disagreed. We can quibble as much on how much he is or isn't worth in terms of contract numbers, but I will say that his father very publicly stated that the high demand in $$$ wasn't just for hockey reasons, he said you were buying character as well. And we know one of the reasons he was shipped off so quickly following the season was because of that interview where O'Reilly admitted he more or less lost his drive to play at times during the season.

Yeah...character.

I'm not going to say Ryan O'Reilly isn't one of the best two-way players in the game, but he wanted elite franchise player money, and the Avs didn't want to pay him that because they didn't believe he was one of those types of players. And now...Buffalo agrees. We will see if St. Louis eventually does as well.

Again, if you think Ryan O'Reilly could just waltz back into that locker room like nothing ever happened I think you're deluding yourself. And this is coming from someone who usually argues that guys who dislike one another play on the same team all the time without incident. This'll be my last comment on the subject, if you're mad at Sakic for not trying to get back O'Reilly, fine, I'm most certainly not and it wasn't remotely realistic that he would ever return. Those bridges have been burned.

 

[Pokecheque]

Hate to interrupt rehashing bringing back old players but any word on Jost?

Yes. Jost and Ghetto are close to coming back but will not play tonight. News is far less optimistic on Compher.

 

[Foppberg]

ROR will live on in HF Avs infamy forever. I still love the man and in an ideal world would've traded for him this summer, but that door is clearly slammed shut.

 

[nightonthesun]

I don't think the first unit D have to be able to bomb it. Just get the puck to the real goal scorers and through on shots.

Agreed... I like girard on the powerplay. Cool-headed passes and he can also make interesting things happen by fooling defenders with his skating

 

[CobraAcesS]

Skinner wouldn't let the Canes trade him anywhere other than Buffalo for whatever reason, so no, he wasn't available.

I think my only problem with your posts on stuff lately is the definitive tone you take presenting your opinion. That and a buckshot style of being condescending towards certain topics.

I know there was a connection to Skinner and Buffalo, but I dont remember it being reported that was the only place, just a limited number of places. Skinner and Landy are close so it's hard to imagine we had zero chance.

Also on O'Reilly, the only person on the team who had any real issue was Duchene, lol. Mack and everyone else was pretty close with him.

I'd say O'Reilly is managment, and Duchene is locker room.

We dont know the answers to those but we really could have used ROR for the price St. Louis paid.

I dont put any blame on Sakic for not getting one of those guys, but I dont blame people for feeling like there might have been lost opportunities that were lost because Sakic put too much faith in Jost taking that 2C role. Especially when a lot of us thought before the off season that Jost wasn't going to work as a center.

 

[5280]

Blaming Sakic for not going after ROR this summer is laughable......... at best

 

[Pokecheque]

Am I the only one that's not really a fan of this? Not a huge shot from the point and maybe that's fine with the 1st unit but, underwhelming when Barrie (albeit unreliably) can bomb it.

This is as much about Barrie’s bad start as it is about Sam’s ability to QB the power play. He simply wasn’t getting the job done.

 

[Pokecheque]

I think my only problem with your posts on stuff lately is the definitive tone you take presenting your opinion. That and a buckshot style of being condescending towards certain topics.

I know there was a connection to Skinner and Buffalo, but I dont remember it being reported that was the only place, just a limited number of places. Skinner and Landy are close so it's hard to imagine we had zero chance.

Also on O'Reilly, the only person on the team who had any real issue was Duchene, lol. Mack and everyone else was pretty close with him.

I'd say O'Reilly is managment, and Duchene is locker room.

We dont know the answers to those but we really could have used ROR for the price St. Louis paid.

I dont put any blame on Sakic for not getting one of those guys, but I dont blame people for feeling like there might have been lost opportunities that were lost because Sakic put too much faith in Jost taking that 2C role. Especially when a lot of us thought before the off season that Jost wasn't going to work as a center.

Fair enough, I’ll try to be better.

 

[Raucherhusten]

Blaming Sakic for not going after ROR this summer is laughable......... at best

Right - but you sure as hell can blame him for doing nothing to improve our 2nd line. With the injuries we have and, even when healthy, Jost not doing anything offensively that wasn't a smart thing to do. Or better not to do.

 

[5280]

Right - but you sure as hell can blame him for doing nothing to improve our 2nd line. With the injuries we have and, even when healthy, Jost not doing anything offensively that wasn't a smart thing to do. Or better not to do.

Yeah, can’t really argue that there’s not a problem there. I’m just not really sure much was out there. I did’t really like any of the free agents out there except for Statsny and maybe Skinner and from what I read we didn’t have a chance at either.

Although it has been frustrating to watch, I’m not really concerned that much to be honest. I’m in it for the long haul and the long haul looks pretty good to me. I’d rather Sakic push the right buttons than just randomly start pushing any button, so to speak.

I’m sure he knows there is a problem with our second line, just as well as we do.

 

[Muffin]

No excuse against the Jets, this is their first game back from Finland, have to jump on them while they're still rusty.

 

[Goulet17]

Corsica | Predictions

Corsica projecting the Avs finish with 89 points (+/- 5) as of today with a 41.1% chance of making the playoffs.

The Avs are now seventh worst in the NHL in terms of its CF%.

Corsica also projects Ottawa as finishing last with 75 points and a 1.2% chance of making the playoffs. Ottawa has the third worst CF% in the NHL.

 

[Raucherhusten]

No excuse against the Jets, this is their first game back from Finland, have to jump on them while they're still rusty.

Can't remember the last time we won there, so no, not feeling this at all.

And after that there is McDavid who always seems to put on a show when he faces Nate. Really not looking forward to the rest of the week.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Can't remember the last time we won there, so no, not feeling this at all.

And after that there is McDavid who always seems to put on a show when he faces Nate. Really not looking forward to the rest of the week.

Yep. Jets game will much like last night. Edmonton will probably score 6 or 7

 

[The Kingslayer]

Yep. Jets game will much like last night. Edmonton will probably score 6 or 7

Jets game might be a lot worse to be honest and the Edmonton game is in Edmonton it could be a 9-2 loss.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Need to give Tyler Arnasson a one game contract for the Edmonton game.

 

[Goulet17]

 

[Foppa Frossa]

eeeyyyy out of the playoffs again

 

[CobraAcesS]

If only they could bench Neato and give Greer a legit shot next to a center with experience.

 

[CobraAcesS]

eeeyyyy out of the playoffs again

Well we're back in now lol.

 

[dahrougem2]

Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Kerfoot-Soderberg-Wilson
Nieto-Kamenev-Calvert
Greer-Dries-Bourque

Just run that for the time being. **** looks hella bad without Compher, Andrighetto, and even blackhole Jost, but **** me if you're dealing with these injuries to depth, you don't try to spread out the offense. Give Soderberg ****ing offensive opportunities with Kerfoot and Wilson, let Kamenev play the 3C role with the new butt-buddies Nieto and Calvert, and shelter the **** out of that 4th line.

When the three aforementioned names return, plug Compher where Wilson is and Andrighetto where Kerfoot is, and then run a 3rd line with Kamenev, Jost, and Wilson while the 4th is manned by Kerfoot and the butt-buddies.

 

[CobraAcesS]

Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Kerfoot-Soderberg-Wilson
Nieto-Kamenev-Calvert
Greer-Dries-Bourque

Just run that for the time being. **** looks hella bad without Compher, Andrighetto, and even blackhole Jost, but **** me if you're dealing with these injuries to depth, you don't try to spread out the offense. Give Soderberg ****ing offensive opportunities with Kerfoot and Wilson, let Kamenev play the 3C role with the new butt-buddies Nieto and Calvert, and shelter the **** out of that 4th line.

When the three aforementioned names return, plug Compher where Wilson is and Andrighetto where Kerfoot is, and then run a 3rd line with Kamenev, Jost, and Wilson while the 4th is manned by Kerfoot and the butt-buddies.

It almost seems like stage fright the way Bednar is playing Kam.. Hes the best FO guy on the team, and hes actually been engaging (that holding penalty was weak as f***). That holding penalty was him battling with his man, and he even laid some hits last night. I think right now Bednar just trusts others more, and it has nothing to do with benching him for mistakes right now.

I've officially given up on the idea that Bednar is going to try Soda with better wingers. Borq obviously wasn't cemented there, and I don't have a problem with Calvert as the grindy for-checking guy.

The one sliver of a hope I have is that maybe, just maybe Bedsy likes Wilson/Dries/Kerfoot enough to try Jost at LW with Soda and Calvert. That would actually make a good line, but he'll probably use the getting his timing back excuse to play Jost as the #4C and bench Kam.

Hell if there was one thing Jost was doing right it was defense. Wouldn't it be nice if the ice was shortened for him and he could work on getting open for that release like we've all been talking about.

 

[Metallo]

I think the Sam experiment on PP1 needs to end, the guy’s got a muffin of a shot. TB should be back there.

 

[Goulet17]

I think the Sam experiment on PP1 needs to end, the guy’s got a muffin of a shot. TB should be back there.

Barrie has been really struggling with his play on the number one unit in my opinion over the first part of the season. It may be the Girard is on the first unit due to his ability to gain the offensive zone with puck control (either by skating it in or by stretch pass), which the Avs have struggled with unless MacKinnon has the puck.

I think the first unit struggles on the PP relate to some structural issues (teams are attacking MacKinnon and Rantanen along the half-wall) and I am not seeing adjustments to account for that thus far.