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2018-19 Miscellaneous News Thread

CanadaCanes said:
Darling being moved out based on the circumstances and MAC coming in played a big part on why this team is where they are today, that was why I included him, this team was not getting 20 wins out of Darling this past season, so that played a part in how things evolved as well.
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No disagreement there. I think we should credit Darling here tremendously. If he’s decent last year I think it’s highly likely we still have Peters at the Helm and not RBA. Huge ups to Dundon and management to go with Brindy. Yeah, maybe he was a cheaper option, but by all accounts he was a very impressive candidate.


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bagopux said:
No disagreement there. I think we should credit Darling here tremendously. If he’s decent last year I think it’s highly likely we still have Peters at the Helm and not RBA. Huge ups to Dundon and management to go with Brindy. Yeah, maybe he was a cheaper option, but by all accounts he was a very impressive candidate.


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In retrospect all of us who were worried about Brind'Amour's lack of experience were proven wrong as it turned out his leadership was exactly what this young group needed. That said, those were legitimate concerns and he WAS a big risk. For once, a big risk paid off for this franchise.
 
I had huge doubts about Brind'amour.

And I'm still skeptical of the Xs and Os part. That powerplay has been real bad for real long. And while he may instill confidence, leadership, etc. I'm still cautiously skeptical.
 
Yeah, I get that. But the guy has more than held his own tactically in the playoffs and that's worth a lot in terms of evaluation. And honestly, in the NHL getting guys to believe in you.the team and play hard all the time is WAY more than half the battle.
 
TheBigKahuna said:
I had huge doubts about Brind'amour.

And I'm still skeptical of the Xs and Os part. That powerplay has been real bad for real long. And while he may instill confidence, leadership, etc. I'm still cautiously skeptical.
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The thing that still seems perplexing about that brutal power play is how they just cannot seem to do anything different other then that so predictable triangle set up where they throw the puck around up top but create next to no chances in front of the net. Teams will let you pass all you want in that triangle set up because you have created nothing in terms of good scoring chances. It's Faulk up top in the center and endless passing between Aho/Turbo and Faulk and back again with hopes that one of Faulk's shots from the point gets through...
 
Yeah ... but that's not always what they do either. And the other team is actually trying to defend the thing too.

FWIW, the Isles COMPLETELY changed up their kill from game one to game two. Canes fans may have been whinging about our power play in game one, but Trotz noticed that while the Canes didn't score, they DID create a ton of rebound chances with traffic. They just couldn't connect on one. Sooner or later that was going to bite the Isles in the butt, so they went with a MUCH more aggressive kill very similar to what Washington used with success. It caught Carolina off guard for sure, but they shifted gears and generated some decent looks later on. I wasn't even that upset with the 5 on 3. They got some really nice looks, I thought, and actually pulled the trigger on the shots you'd like to see taken. I honestly think the vast majority of the complaining about the power play is tied up with Svech and Hamilton not playing on the top unit, and since they pretty much split time and I'm fairly certain Brindy has his reasons, which I'm willing to bet (knowing him) make logical sense ... meh.
 
dwind said:
A good power play uses RPM - rapid puck/player movement. Get the other team chasing.
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The more I think of it, the more I tie Aho's injury and effect it has on his game with our powerplay woes. I agree it hasn't looked entirely bad, not always at least lol. I notice when Aho is on the PP he's definitely not stopping and starting anymore as much as he used to nor as effectively when he does - slower - and is trying to make passes through traffic that are often getting picked off. With his pivoting abilities reduced so much, he's been rendered from leet, dangerous and essential to stationary, static and complimentary on the PP at best.
Still, get Hamilton on the first unit with DeHaan on the other point, or even Faulk. Up front on one unit i would put Neiderreiter with Staal and Svechnikov. On the other unit Terraivanen Aho and Williams with Faulk and Slavin on the point or Slavin with DeHaan. Basta. And instead of working the puck to the point for a shot, get back to working the umbrella setup and try to generate some one timers for wingers on the half board or the slot. With traffic.
 
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Good points, but even with his reduced mobility and flexibility, Aho at 75% is still more dangerous than a lot of our other choices. He sees the ice better than anyone and is smart with the puck. Having said that, I'm all for changing things up on the PP since it really isn't performing now.
 
I'd like to see:

PP #1 - Veteran Group
Neido-Staal-Williams
Slavin-Hamilton

PP #2 - Young Guns
Foegele-Aho-Svech
Turbo-Faulk
 
ThinIce said:
Good points, but even with his reduced mobility and flexibility, Aho at 75% is still more dangerous than a lot of our other choices. He sees the ice better than anyone and is smart with the puck. Having said that, I'm all for changing things up on the PP since it really isn't performing now.
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Honestly, a dinged up Aho is pretty much in permanent setup mode, so I'd look at getting him and Turbo on different units. Otherwise ... whatever. They've really only got three proper point guys for the two units and Faulk is better at doing the solo point thing than Dougie is ... which is why he pairs with Slavin. I think we all know what playing them together would look like ... freaking chaos. Since Brindy seems happier with the Staal, they've been the defacto first group for a couple of weeks now. Maybe slide Turbo onto that unit and call 'em tweaked just so everybody gets off his back about changing something. Either way they both need to execute better, so having an actual practice session won't hurt. Neither will getting Svech and Ferland back.
 
Looks like the Jackets are not too thrilled with Dzingle-- expected a bit more from him. I am surprised by Duchene-- he's always been a bit of a "me" kind of guy. He seems to have bought into the team game in CLB. Kuekolinen's all in is paying off...I think they are wearing down the Bruins--- better depth.
 
Oh yeah ... that fourth line with Jenner leading the way has been HUGE in this series. Columbus depth has been a big factor in their success thus far, but again ... the bigger story for me is that they're all pretty much playing the same game. Even with their 1st and 2nd lines now stocked with offense-first guys, they're all flying around applying pressure in the way Torts wants out of his teams. And a dialed in Bob is standing tall when something breaks down. It's been impressive.
 
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