what we need to get over the edge

[FrolikFan67]

if huberdeau actually played like the 3rd overall we thought he'd be, we'd be in much better shape. at least bjugstad is doing what we expected and then some, same with ekblad, so at least some guys are doing what we hoped. gudbranson is doing alright, at least he's improving, still not 3rd overall quality but we knew what we were drafting, and in that sense he's improving on what we were looking for, would like to see more of an offensive game from him, especially when he has a shot like that, but hopefully he continues to trend upwards. and barkov is only 19 and playing center, a very tough position. i see him throwing his body around more so than last year, being a little more aggressive imo. he brings a lot to the game overall, yea he won't be a goal scorer (one of the reasons i want to trade huberdeau, we don't need 2 guys in our top-6 with little goal scoring ability) but once he has some real top-6 talented wingers as well as getting older and developing he'll be a great 2nd line defensively responsible big bodied skilled passing center. again, not 2nd overall quality, but he should've gone 4th, that was our decision to get him early, so the draft position doesn't mean too much to me there (same can apply to gudbranson, fowler should've gone 3 but we wanted the big nasty defensive d instead).

 

[IM Clutcm]

Parlaying this over from GDT about huberdeau.


If someone offered me a perennial 30 goal scorer and part of the package back had to be either huberdeau/barkov.

I would choose huberdeau 10 times out of 10.

Would you agree?

Absolutely, and for many reasons. Centers are more valuable than wingers. A winger who is a 30 goal scorer is an upgrade over Huberdeau. Barkov can help this team in more ways than just the scoresheet. The team would improve if you replaced Huberdeau with a scoring winger more than it would if you replaced Barkov.

 

[Android 16]

Parlaying this over from GDT about huberdeau.


If someone offered me a perennial 30 goal scorer and part of the package back had to be either huberdeau/barkov.

I would choose huberdeau 10 times out of 10.

Would you agree?

It all depends on who the 30-goal guy is..

 

[FrolikFan67]

definitely. as stated above you take the center over the winger, especially when the center brings more to the table anyways. if barkov could garner a greater return, thats a different story. but if we're talking about the same winger coming back and its our decision, then yea, huberdeau obviously. but 30 goal scorers are hard to come by, not many in general in the league, a 23-28 goal scorer works too. there was only 21 guys last year who scored 30 goals or more, but there were more than were on pace for it though like parise and kane.

 

[I am not exposed]

if huberdeau actually played like the 3rd overall we thought he'd be, we'd be in much better shape. at least bjugstad is doing what we expected and then some, same with ekblad, so at least some guys are doing what we hoped. gudbranson is doing alright, at least he's improving, still not 3rd overall quality but we knew what we were drafting, and in that sense he's improving on what we were looking for, would like to see more of an offensive game from him, especially when he has a shot like that, but hopefully he continues to trend upwards. and barkov is only 19 and playing center, a very tough position. i see him throwing his body around more so than last year, being a little more aggressive imo. he brings a lot to the game overall, yea he won't be a goal scorer (one of the reasons i want to trade huberdeau, we don't need 2 guys in our top-6 with little goal scoring ability) but once he has some real top-6 talented wingers as well as getting older and developing he'll be a great 2nd line defensively responsible big bodied skilled passing center. again, not 2nd overall quality, but he should've gone 4th, that was our decision to get him early, so the draft position doesn't mean too much to me there (same can apply to gudbranson, fowler should've gone 3 but we wanted the big nasty defensive d instead).

He's on par with Jones and Drouin at least. Considering Drouin keeps being scratched and Jones is scared of a hit, I don't see a big loss in drafting Barkov 2nd.

 

[harv33173]

huberdeau has left a lot to be desired as far as i'm concerned. his rookie season seems to be a flash in the pan. he looks terrible in the offensive zone. i would trade him for proper help. hopefully he turns it around, but not impressed.

 

[batting1k]

He's on par with Jones and Drouin at least. Considering Drouin keeps being scratched and Jones is scared of a hit, I don't see a big loss in drafting Barkov 2nd.

Drouin hasn't been scratched in awhile, looks like he's played in most of their games this season.

http://lightning.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8477494

 

[I am not exposed]

Drouin hasn't been scratched in awhile, looks like he's played in most of their games this season.

http://lightning.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8477494

Still not that impressive for the 'rookie of the year' favourite.

 

[batting1k]

Still not that impressive for the 'rookie of the year' favourite.

yeah. He had high expectations because of the numbers he put up in juniors.

 

[hockeydude1]

Our PP is atrocious. If we scored 20% of our PP we would have more points right now. We can't even get 10% PP goals.

 

[ShootIt]

Our PP is atrocious. If we scored 20% of our PP we would have more points right now. We can't even get 10% PP goals.

The players really play like they have cement blocks strapped to their skates, when they are on the PP.

No movement, too many players take to long to shoot, allowing the defense and goalie to adjust, and they don't win a lot of battles along the boards. Since there's no icing, the shorthanded team has an easier job of getting the puck out of the zone of the puck once they win that board battle.

I've only seen one creative PP, which was against Colorado where Boyes scored that OT goal. The majority of the 5-4 powerplays involve guys standing still, and we have few threats to shoot the puck from the blueline accurately.

 

[batting1k]

The players really play like they have cement blocks strapped to their skates, when they are on the PP.

No movement, too many players take to long to shoot, allowing the defense and goalie to adjust, and they don't win a lot of battles along the boards. Since there's no icing, the shorthanded team has an easier job of getting the puck out of the zone of the puck once they win that board battle.

I've only seen one creative PP, which was against Colorado where Boyes scored that OT goal. The majority of the 5-4 powerplays involve guys standing still, and we have few threats to shoot the puck from the blueline accurately.

Yep, and we tried that play the next 2 times we had a PP in overtime and it didn't work. It's like guys are afraid to move from their set positions on the powerplay. Our powerplays are pretty much 5 on 5. It's as though we have no advantage or that the other team has the advantage and not us.

 

[Acadmus]

watched the winter classic and noticed that Sharp is down to the 4th line in hawks, Maybe try to get him for somethig like 2016 1st + Shore + howden

I like Sharp but that seems like an over-payment to me.

There's two flaws with the proposal: 1) including the 1st is overpayment (I think Howden and Shore are ok bait since we're only using them as depth players at the moment) and 2) there needs to be a roster player included in the deal to make room for Sharp in the first place.

But Sharp would be a nice pickup if he's still playing like he used to.

Really what this team needs to get them over the edge is two credible scoring lines, and then you can presume the team would have enough offensive talent to put together at least one decent power play group. And we have to not weaken defense or goaltending to get it. So I'm not exactly holding my breath.

 

[Acadmus]

Still not that impressive for the 'rookie of the year' favourite.

Ekblad should be making a really good case for himself for that honor, actually...2nd in team scoring and top-25 amongst all NHL defensemen, good +/- despite being an 18 year old rookie on a team that loses more than it wins...he's a complete package at 18, perhaps the most complete package of any player the Panthers have EVER had in their lineup. He really should be a finalist this year and it would be reasonable to suggest he'll win it if he plays the 2nd half this way.

 

[ShootIt]

Ekblad should be making a really good case for himself for that honor, actually...2nd in team scoring and top-25 amongst all NHL defensemen, good +/- despite being an 18 year old rookie on a team that loses more than it wins...he's a complete package at 18, perhaps the most complete package of any player the Panthers have EVER had in their lineup. He really should be a finalist this year and it would be reasonable to suggest he'll win it if he plays the 2nd half this way.

Yup. IF he can keep it up and Forsberg/Johnny Hockey cools off I think he can win it.

Think he may sway more votes since he is 18 and playing at a high level as a complete defenseman compared to those two who are in their early 20's.