[GDT] Around the NHL [April 2024]

[Rip The Mesh]

Neighbours having fun.

[Coconuts]

14 minutes ago, iinatcc said:

 

I feel sorry for the team that traded all their assets for Lindholm instead of Guentzel 

 

I mean, I didn't wanna pay up for Guentzel either

 

Canes has a deeper prospect pool than us, no question, that's why they could afford it

[DeNiro]

59 minutes ago, iinatcc said:

 

Maybe they are dropping games on purpose so they can face Vancouver in the first round 

They might get the Stars playing that game.

 

Would be pretty dumb.

[DeNiro]

52 minutes ago, iinatcc said:

 

I feel sorry for the team that traded all their assets for Lindholm instead of Guentzel 

The assets that got us Lindholm would not have gotten us Guenztel so it’s a moot point.

[Miss Korea]

2 hours ago, Rekker said:

Torts pushed them well but he demands a lot and I think Philly has run out of gas. That and some of Torts antics have backfired, and it remains to be seen if he ever recovers from it. 

 

2 hours ago, Coconuts said:

Big if true

 

Not having Hart has really hurt them down the stretch

 

2 hours ago, DeNiro said:

Everyone loves his schtick when they’re winning can’t imagine he’s too popular in Philly right now.

 

The general consensus in Philadelphia is still very positive towards John Tortorella.  Make no mistake - this was not their year to make the playoffs.  The roster consisted of shit players and few NHL-ready prospects.  And indeed they lost a goaltender who was playing the best hockey of his career.  

 

When a team has $13.5M tied to Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier, is there a coach out there who can squeeze more out of that kind of squad than Tortorella?  Maybe... Barry Trotz?

 

Tortorella may choose to leave on his own accord, but I simply can't see a way for Danny Briere to fire the man after a season like this.  I still think he is going to get nominated for the Jack Adams Award.

[DeNiro]

3 minutes ago, Miss Korea said:

 

 

 

The general consensus in Philadelphia is still very positive towards John Tortorella.  Make no mistake - this was not their year to make the playoffs.  The roster consisted of shit players and few NHL-ready prospects.  And indeed they lost a goaltender who was playing the best hockey of his career.  

 

When a team has $13.5M tied to Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier, is there a coach out there who can squeeze more out of that kind of squad than Tortorella?  Maybe... Barry Trotz?

 

Tortorella may choose to leave on his own accord, but I simply can't see a way for Danny Briere to fire the man after a season like this.  I still think he is going to get nominated for the Jack Adams Award.

8 straight losses this time of year sticks in voters minds. Doubt he gets a nomination now.

 

I don’t care what their expectations were that can’t be considered anything less than a choke job if they miss. They had a top 3 spot locked in had they just played average in the second half.

[Miss Korea]

2 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

McDavid isn’t wining the Art Ross trophy or the Hart trophy. And he’s not winning the Stanley Cup either. 

 

1 hour ago, Elias Pettersson said:

MacKinnon is just as fast as McDavid with the puck.  He took longer to develop than McDavid, but they are on equal footing now.  McDavid is not miles ahead of his competition the way that Gretzky and Lemiuex were.  There are guys in the NHL who can go point for point with McDavid with their teams actually playing defence too...

 

You are not giving Connor McDavid enough credit for the individual work he has put in to become a more complete player this season.  You are also not giving that team and its head coach enough credit for developing a more structured defensive system.  Had Kris Knoblauch been running the team in September, I think McDavid would've won the Art Ross and Hart.  He has become a smarter backchecker, a better systems player on all ends of the ice, and most importantly, slowed his playstyle down to better involve his teammates on plays.  There is no doubt in my mind that as his footspeed begins to eventually decline, McDavid will continue to figure out new ways to remain a top-tier player.

 

This video does a pretty solid breakdown of the work he's put in and his evolved playstyle.

 

 

[Miss Korea]

7 minutes ago, DeNiro said:

8 straight losses this time of year sticks in voters minds. Doubt he gets a nomination now.

 

I don’t care what their expectations were that can’t be considered anything less than a choke job if they miss. They had a top 3 spot locked in had they just played average in the second half.

 

Flyers fans know what type of situation their team was in to start the season.  Keep in mind that they have over $10 million in dead cap space.  Petersen in the minors, Hayes retained, and DeAngelo bought out.  Their two highest paid players are completely washed out.  And of course, they lost an elite goaltender at the halfway point of the season.

 

It was a shit team that overperformed and then fell back to reality hard.  That's how Flyers fans are looking at it right now, and that's probably the most reasonable take.

Edited April 10 by Miss Korea

[Miss Korea]

5 hours ago, Kragar said:

Kelly Sutherland at it again.

 

Not that I mind seeing the Rangers getting screwed over, but damn that was pretty bad call.

 

 

 

[Ghostsof1915]

2 hours ago, DeNiro said:

8 straight losses this time of year sticks in voters minds. Doubt he gets a nomination now.

 

I don’t care what their expectations were that can’t be considered anything less than a choke job if they miss. They had a top 3 spot locked in had they just played average in the second half.

8 game losing streak at the end of the season. Ouch. Almost seems no one really wants the last wild card spot in the East.

[iinatcc]

2 hours ago, DeNiro said:

They might get the Stars playing that game.

 

Would be pretty dumb.

 

Well it's Vegas. I guess they are just going for broke and rolling the dice and hope they land facing Vancouver 

 

I kid of course, but it would be funny if this was their intention 

Edited April 10 by iinatcc

[iinatcc]

2 hours ago, DeNiro said:

The assets that got us Lindholm would not have gotten us Guenztel so it’s a moot point.

 

That's another discussion altogether at this point Lindholm isn't worth what the team gave up for. Even if the assets couldn't land the team Guentzel it could have been used elsewhere or not at all.

 

At this point Vancouver gave up An A/B level prospect + a 1st + Kuzmenko+ something (I think) for a 3rd line center and to free up cap space for next off season 

Edited April 10 by iinatcc

[Jaimito]

3 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

Flyers fans know what type of situation their team was in to start the season.  Keep in mind that they have over $10 million in dead cap space.  Petersen in the minors, Hayes retained, and DeAngelo bought out.  Their two highest paid players are completely washed out.  And of course, they lost an elite goaltender at the halfway point of the season.

 

It was a shit team that overperformed and then fell back to reality hard.  That's how Flyers fans are looking at it right now, and that's probably the most reasonable take.

Fans don't vote for the Adams. 

 

Healthy scratching the captain for multiple games was a bad move. 

[Miss Korea]

11 minutes ago, Jaimito said:

Fans don't vote for the Adams. 

 

Healthy scratching the captain for multiple games was a bad move. 

 

For the first few games?  No.  Coots was coming off what was essentially a career-ending injury, and was rushed back into playing hard minutes.  He got overworked given his fitness, eventually ran out of gas and started playing like shit.  Leading into his first healthy scratch, Coots had no goals, three assists, and a -6 in his last ten games.  

 

After returning, Torts decided to scratch him again, and this time it kinda soured the fanbase a bit.  He repeatedly explained it as performance-based, throwing him under the bus when he could've just chalked it up as "needing rest".  That's on Torts, and if he loses the Jack Adams nomination, so be it.  But losing a nomination is a far cry from him getting cut from the team.  Ironically, I feel like Coots has a good shot at the Masterton Trophy.  Torts made it clear he didn't want to pick a captain yet, but I think management rushed that decision unilaterally.

[Elias Pettersson]

3 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

 

You are not giving Connor McDavid enough credit for the individual work he has put in to become a more complete player this season.  You are also not giving that team and its head coach enough credit for developing a more structured defensive system.  Had Kris Knoblauch been running the team in September, I think McDavid would've won the Art Ross and Hart.  He has become a smarter backchecker, a better systems player on all ends of the ice, and most importantly, slowed his playstyle down to better involve his teammates on plays.  There is no doubt in my mind that as his footspeed begins to eventually decline, McDavid will continue to figure out new ways to remain a top-tier player.

 

This video does a pretty solid breakdown of the work he's put in and his evolved playstyle.

 

 

 

That video talks about how McDavid is about to hit greatness with 100 assists.  Kucherov will also be getting 100 assists this year.  He may also hit 150 points.  These are numbers that people thought that only McDavid could hit in this era.  MacKinnon is also close by with probably 140-145 points this year.

 

Edmonton has had an easy schedule this year.  It'[s been well documented on this site that the Oilers are a below average team when they play top competition.  They are well below .500 hockey against the top 11 teams in the league.  I posted this last week.  They also had the opportunity to play less games than everyone else up to this point.  Now that they have to finish the year with 6 games in 9 days to catch up, McDavid looks to be breaking down.  They should have rested him before instead of trying to get him his personal trophies.  The Canucks shut down Demko a long time ago and didn't rush him back even though he still had a shot at the Vezina trophy.

 

I don't have the numbers so maybe you can provide me some evolving hockey numbers that show that McDavid is a better defensive player this year than last year.  Obviously, with his goal numbers down significantly he is spending more time passing the puck.  Maybe he had a talk with Gretzky on how to play like this.

[Miss Korea]

41 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

That video talks about how McDavid is about to hit greatness with 100 assists.  Kucherov will also be getting 100 assists this year.  He may also hit 150 points.  These are numbers that people thought that only McDavid could hit in this era.  MacKinnon is also close by with probably 140-145 points this year.

 

Edmonton has had an easy schedule this year.  It'[s been well documented on this site that the Oilers are a below average team when they play top competition.  They are well below .500 hockey against the top 11 teams in the league.  I posted this last week.  They also had the opportunity to play less games than everyone else up to this point.  Now that they have to finish the year with 6 games in 9 days to catch up, McDavid looks to be breaking down.  They should have rested him before instead of trying to get him his personal trophies.  The Canucks shut down Demko a long time ago and didn't rush him back even though he still had a shot at the Vezina trophy.

 

I don't have the numbers so maybe you can provide me some evolving hockey numbers that show that McDavid is a better defensive player this year than last year.  Obviously, with his goal numbers down significantly he is spending more time passing the puck.  Maybe he had a talk with Gretzky on how to play like this.

 

Suggesting that McDavid is breaking down due to a tightened schedule at the end of the year or that the Oilers are overworking him in pursuit of individual accolades is exactly why your hockey opinion is so often overexaggerated.  You're just saying stuff because it fits into your narrative.  Are you telling me that Colorado should be trying to rest Nathan MacKinnon right now?  Or that Vancouver should rest Quinn Hughes?  You're telling me that Edmonton should've... healthy scratched #97 or something??  McDavid is one of the best players in the league.  He's going to play hard and he's going to play big minutes, night-in and night-out.  The dude just took a couple of hard knocks during the Calgary game, and that's that.  Shit happens.  Stop trying to read further into it.

 

 

In the same vein that Auston Matthews gets so much hate because he plays for the most hated club in hockey, McDavid gets a lot of flak here simply because he's on Edmonton.  Had those two been drafted into random teams like.... Dallas or Nashville, they wouldn't get nearly the amount of disdain they currently get.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hart will go to Nate, regardless of who scores the most goals or points.  It's his.  Nobody (not named Quinn) has elevated his game more than he has this year.

 

Edited April 10 by Miss Korea

[Elias Pettersson]

21 minutes ago, Miss Korea said:

 

Suggesting that McDavid is breaking down due to a tightened schedule at the end of the year or that the Oilers are overworking him in pursuit of individual accolades is exactly why your hockey opinion is so often overexaggerated.  You're just saying stuff because it fits into your narrative.  Are you telling me that Colorado should be trying to rest Nathan MacKinnon right now?  Or that Vancouver should rest Quinn Hughes?  You're telling me that Edmonton should've... healthy scratched #97 or something??  McDavid is one of the best players in the league.  He's going to play hard and he's going to play big minutes, night-in and night-out.  The dude just took a couple of hard knocks during the Calgary game, and that's that.  Shit happens.  Stop trying to read further into it.

 

 

In the same vein that Auston Matthews gets so much hate because he plays for the most hated club in hockey, McDavid gets a lot of flak here simply because he's on Edmonton.  Had those two been drafted into random teams like.... Dallas or Nashville, they wouldn't get nearly the amount of disdain they currently get.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hart will go to Nate, regardless of who scores the most goals or points.  It's his.  Nobody (not named Quinn) has elevated his game more than he has this year.

 

 

I never said Edmonton should "healthy" scratch McDavid.  But just to be clear what I meant to say was they should have decreased his ice time over the last 2 weeks or so.  They knew they were behind in games played which is why they had an advantage over other teams.  However, eventually they needed to "catch" up on those games, which is happening right now.  

 

MacKinnon played 19 minutes last game.  He didn't need to play 25 minutes.  He's actually played less than 21 minutes several times in the last few weeks.  Same with Kucherov.  There are games over the last few weeks where Kucherov has played less than 17 minutes.  As a matter of fact, over the last 14 games, Kucherov has played less than 20 minutes in 8 of them.

 

Now look at McDavid.  He's been playing hard minutes throughout these last few weeks.  Even up to 24 minutes on some nights.  Compare to JT Miller who has only played 24 minutes in one game all season, way back in October.  Miller has been under 20 minutes pretty much every night for the last month.  

 

Edmonton plays McDavid more than the others because they have to.  And he wants to because part of his motivation is individual trophies.  If Edmonton was smart they would allow McDavid to rest and heal and be 100% ready for the playoffs.  But they probably won't do that.  And McDavid won't want to do that.  But if they do it then they can prove me wrong.

 

Also, those WAR charts don't really say much for individual defensive prowess.  I was referring to evolving hockey numbers which maybe you don't have access to.  I mean even Kuzmenko's WAR chart looked decent for his defensive numbers.  Wasn't he close to 60% this year?  

[Alflives]

6 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

 

You are not giving Connor McDavid enough credit for the individual work he has put in to become a more complete player this season.  You are also not giving that team and its head coach enough credit for developing a more structured defensive system.  Had Kris Knoblauch been running the team in September, I think McDavid would've won the Art Ross and Hart.  He has become a smarter backchecker, a better systems player on all ends of the ice, and most importantly, slowed his playstyle down to better involve his teammates on plays.  There is no doubt in my mind that as his footspeed begins to eventually decline, McDavid will continue to figure out new ways to remain a top-tier player.

 

This video does a pretty solid breakdown of the work he's put in and his evolved playstyle.

 

 

F McBaby and the stinky Soilers. He stinks, their city stinks, and their fans stink. The Coilers will lose in round one and The Baby Whiner will be pouting and Alf will be laughing. 

[Bob Long]

8 hours ago, DeNiro said:

The assets that got us Lindholm would not have gotten us Guenztel so it’s a moot point.

 

^ this. And yet we keep seeing it stated as such.

[Bob Long]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

F McBaby and the stinky Soilers. He stinks, their city stinks, and their fans stink. The Coilers will lose in round one and The Baby Whiner will be pouting and Alf will be laughing. 

 

Drove into north Edmonton once for gas, scariest 15 minutes of my life to that point. 

[Ghostsof1915]

1 minute ago, Bob Long said:

 

^ this. And yet we keep seeing it stated as such.

Never let facts get in the way of a false narrative....wait.

[Bob Long]

1 minute ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Never let facts get in the way of a false narrative....wait.

 

its Frankie Corrado all over again 

[Alflives]

2 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

Drove into north Edmonton once for gas, scariest 15 minutes of my life to that point. 

I noticed the big sign driving out of that sh*t hole saying “leaving Edmonton: remove gas mask” 

[Chon derry]

4 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

2 minutes ago, Alflives said:

I noticed the big sign driving out of that sh*t hole saying “leaving Edmonton: remove gas mask” 

The best thing about Edmonton is watching it get smaller in the rear view mirror as the mountains in front of you get bigger. 

Edited April 10 by Chon derry

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Alflives said:

I noticed the big sign driving out of that sh*t hole saying “leaving Edmonton: remove gas mask” 

 

I call it "big Regina"