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Post by boffo on Sept 18, 2019 14:48:22 GMT -5
I much more concerned about forward depth than defensive depth. They still have their seemingly never ending search for a 2nd line winger. Bergeron and Krejci are hitting the mid 30's and Marchand is only a few years behind. All three somehow managed career years last season but they have to hit the wall soon. They have a few promising forwards in the system but none you'd call sure fire top 6'ers.
On D there probably aren't many teams out there that are deeper than the Bruins right now. They currently have anywhere between 8-10 NHL calibre defensemen with most of them still being young. Urho Vaakanainan is highly touted and didn't look out of place during a brief callup last year and Connor Clifton popped up out of nowhere the end of last season and the playoffs to capably fill a spot. Grzelcyk shouldn't be a tough resign between $2-2.5 million. John Moore is solid and signed to a reasonable deal. Add McAvoy and Carlo and that's still a decent top 6 that's really only missing a good #2 without addressing the UFA's. Krug would fill that hole and became a much easier resign after the new McAvoy and Carlo deals. Chara will of course also stick around as long as he feels like it.
It'll still be tough being in a very top heavy division and they'll probably be looking to add another forward or two at the deadline but I still think Sweeney has done a better job than most GM's at getting the player's to sacrifice salary for the good of the team. David Poile is probably still the master of that but Sweeney seems to be gaining ground.
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Post by boffo on Sept 18, 2019 17:38:21 GMT -5
In other news and pondering is Winnipeg going to have any players left to ice a team this season? Between free agents leaving, trades, unsigned RFA's, and now personal leave to contemplate retirement the Jets have been taking some serious hits the last few months. It seems likely that as with any RFA's Laine and Connor will eventually get signed but is this a team that can afford to risk going without one or both of them for any length of time?
Edit:I just saw that Byfuglien is only 34. To me he feels like one of those players that seems like he's been in the league a lot longer than he actually has been. I'd have guessed he was 37 or 38.
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Post by lions67 on Sept 22, 2019 9:45:35 GMT -5
In other news and pondering is Winnipeg going to have any players left to ice a team this season? Between free agents leaving, trades, unsigned RFA's, and now personal leave to contemplate retirement the Jets have been taking some serious hits the last few months. It seems likely that as with any RFA's Laine and Connor will eventually get signed but is this a team that can afford to risk going without one or both of them for any length of time? Edit:I just saw that Byfuglien is only 34. To me he feels like one of those players that seems like he's been in the league a lot longer than he actually has been. I'd have guessed he was 37 or 38. It’s been the off season from Hell here in Peg City! Big Buff I “think” will be back, his ankle injury is still bugging him so I believe that is the reason he is sitting out. Connor WILL get resigned.... eventually. Laine.. well he’s making friends!  He will also get signed to a bridge deal. It’s that D of ours!.....YIKES!!!... Bubble team this year I think. GO JETS GO!! |
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Post by boffo on Nov 20, 2019 17:35:37 GMT -5
Roughly a quarter of the way through the season, so how are things going for everyone's teams?
Bruins have certainly posted a solid record but there's still room for improvement. The first line has pretty much dominated everyone and don't look ready to slow down any time soon. Rask has actually had a good start to a season for a change and Halak has been nothing but solid since he joined the team. The problem as usual is the secondary scoring has been lacking. Still nobody stepping up as a top 6 winger so I'm sure they'll once again plug the hole temporarily come the deadline. There's been some key injuries but nothing to slow them down yet. Things looking promising thus far.
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Post by staypuft39 on Nov 20, 2019 18:13:36 GMT -5
Finally my Oilers fans and I don't have to hide anymore. Team (especially D) looks great so far.
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Post by 15eicheltower9 on Nov 20, 2019 18:21:29 GMT -5
Roughly a quarter of the way through the season, so how are things going for everyone's teams? Bruins have certainly posted a solid record but there's still room for improvement. The first line has pretty much dominated everyone and don't look ready to slow down any time soon. Rask has actually had a good start to a season for a change and Halak has been nothing but solid since he joined the team. The problem as usual is the secondary scoring has been lacking. Still nobody stepping up as a top 6 winger so I'm sure they'll once again plug the hole temporarily come the deadline. There's been some key injuries but nothing to slow them down yet. Things looking promising thus far. Sabres are gonna sabre. Buffalo sports is like groundhog day. It's only been 20 years since the football team was relevant and 10 since the hockey team was relevant. So yeah. Things are going as expected. |
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Post by 15eicheltower9 on Nov 20, 2019 18:22:30 GMT -5
On an added note I do like what boston has going on.
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Post by lions67 on Nov 20, 2019 18:28:07 GMT -5
The Jets have been a nice surprise so far
13-8-1. Helly has been back to his Vezina form and Pionk..wow!... he just gets better and better each game. Starting to forget about Trouba. Laine... having a solid season, not as many goals so far put he piling up the assists.
Still think we need to get a top 4 D in here somehow, but with Little out now from that slapper to head from Ehlers ( I think he retires from that ) trading Roslovic for that D man now becomes harder to do. Roslovic is another guy that is having a great year so far.
Here’s hoping the Jets can sustain this momentum!
GO JETS GO!
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Post by mrooola on Nov 21, 2019 0:15:07 GMT -5
Babs gone. Lets turn things around...
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Post by ErixonStone on Nov 22, 2019 15:01:51 GMT -5
Pionk..wow!... he just gets better and better each game. Starting to forget about Trouba. Pionk is a different player this year. His current advanced metrics tell a completely different story from his time in New York where he was one of the absolute worst defenders in the league. In 101 games as a Ranger, Pionk posted a grotesque CF% of 41.1% with a -7.7 CF% relative to his team. This season, in 28 games, those metrics are up to 53% CF% and +2.9 CF%rel. One notable change is his Offensive Zone Starts. In New York, Pionk was starting in the defensive zone 59.7% of the time. This season, he is starting in the defensive zone only 42.9% of the time. What this says about Pionk is that he isn't really driving the play defensively (by cutting down opponents' shooting attempts) but he does contribute offensively. It also highlights the strong job that Paul Maurice is doing by deploying Pionk in situations where he is likely to succeed (shifts starting in the offensive zone), and is an indictment of his usage under Rangers coach David Quinn. It also helps that he's no longer anchored to Marc Staal, another one of the NHLs worst defenders. On the other hand, Trouba has been just OK. His underlying metrics stink (but are better than Pionk's were) at 39.4% CF% and -5.6 CF%rel, while his zone starts are absurdly detrimental: 61.1% defensive zone starts. Trouba's poor metrics are a function of playing on a team with poor depth paired with rookie partner Libor Hajek on the 2nd pair behind Tony DeAngelo. Pionk is a 3rd-pair defender who cannot be trusted to log big minutes in all situations, but should be a part of a team's power play and obviously offensive situations (offensive zone start; late/trailing). Trouba appears to be a potential first-pair defender, depending on partner, but not a guy on whom you can rely to shut down an opponent's best player. It'll take time to sort out exactly where Trouba is as a player because the Rangers are an abysmal defensive team with very little depth. |
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Post by titaneddie on Nov 22, 2019 15:10:51 GMT -5
Pionk is definitely more than a 3rd pairing guy. Make whatever you want of your metrics but having watched every game I have no problems saying he's a solid 2 easily.
Trouba and Morrissey both benefitted from playing with each other. Trouba is a really solid player with huge mental lapses from time to time. All the talent but lacks hockey iq and maybe desire at times. Still a really good player but I don't think He will be worth anywhere near that contract over time.
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Post by ErixonStone on Nov 22, 2019 15:36:21 GMT -5
Pionk is definitely more than a 3rd pairing guy. Make whatever you want of your metrics but having watched every game I have no problems saying he's a solid 2 easily. I watched Pionk for a season and a half. He's a specialist. He was not able to reliably defend in his own zone or break out to start any offense when under pressure. When given space or starting in an advantageous position, Pionk can be effective. This is how Maurice has deployed him which is in complete contrast to his usage in New York. On a related note, I am really starting to sour on Rangers coach David Quinn. I am still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his handling of Andersson, Chytl and Howden has been curious, at best, and his usage of Marc Staal is dumbfounding. Still the Rangers are about where I expected them to be and are the type of team I expected: high-scoring, poor defensive playoff-bubble team, at best, with notable improvement in the 2nd half. I don't see that changing much until 2021. |
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Post by boffo on Nov 22, 2019 17:00:43 GMT -5
Babs gone. Lets turn things around... I think Toronto has bigger issues than the coach but they certainly should be better than they have been so far this season. |
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Post by 15eicheltower9 on Nov 22, 2019 18:24:21 GMT -5
Babs gone. Lets turn things around... I think Toronto has bigger issues than the coach but they certainly should be better than they have been so far this season. Agreed, they are way better than they've looked, I think Babcock was just getting stale, unfortunately that's how it goes. I don't count them out turning things around. Maybe not this year, but they've got a really good core of players and should be just fine. |
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Post by boffo on Nov 22, 2019 18:38:47 GMT -5
I think Toronto has bigger issues than the coach but they certainly should be better than they have been so far this season. Agreed, they are way better than they've looked, I think Babcock was just getting stale, unfortunately that's how it goes. I don't count them out turning things around. Maybe not this year, but they've got a really good core of players and should be just fine. That's sort of their problem. Their core is talented but they're all top 6 forwards who haven't won anything but are all getting paid like they have. With only 1 defenseman under contract for next season and 3 forwards making $11ish million each this season might be the deepest roster they can ice for a while unless they make a really big trade. |
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