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Post by Willie Dog on Oct 25, 2023 12:12:21 GMT -5
Slafs was never going to dominarte from the get go. The hope is he will become a super-power forward. He has the attributes for that in that he is big, skates well, and has decent hands and a good shot. But he has to grow into it. I believe Hughes has been saying this since Slafs was drafted. Having said all that, I agree that he would be better served in Laval so he can mature/develop with lots of TOI. If they are going to keep him up, then put him with Suze and CC, get RHP away from them... 3 smurfs on the same line does not work, 5'11", 5'9" and 5'8" just doesn't cut it when the D men are aggressive and hit. |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 25, 2023 13:30:22 GMT -5
When everyone knows you are going to drop pass it, because you never try anything different, then it becomes awful easy to cheat on And Suze has zero speed, something is wrong with him...on the pk his lateral movement is not what it was last year Good observation (as others have noted). While Suzuki was never a speedster, he had deceptive speed and was at worst NHL average. He's not at that level this year and it's telling. If he is indeed nursing something, someone in management needs to sit him down and get healthy. We're beating mediocre teams, but not really going anywhere this year, so a ten game sting on the IL won't hurt us and with improved play after he gets back, might actually help. |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 25, 2023 13:32:42 GMT -5
RHP is to small and too weak to battle... I would like to see slaf with Suze and CC It kind of proved Hugo's point that size still matters. You can get away with being smallish if you have some other elite skill (skating, shot, vision), but if you don't, and can't score on 24% of your shots, it matters. |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 25, 2023 13:33:32 GMT -5
Mike Matheson is legit. He’s stood out all night. How was he defensively? That's the one area I'm not sure of with him. |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 25, 2023 13:42:51 GMT -5
This was a weak draft. Just look at the top picks. Slafkovsky struggling again. Nemec and Wright now in the AHL. Cooley is in Arzona but he spent all of last season playing college hockey. Send Slafkovsky to Laval and keep him there. Tell Houle to play him in all situations and play him a lot, no matter what. This season is already lost with the Dach injury. Bring him back next season, play him with Dach and judge then. If it is still not working then Hughes and company have a lot of explaining to do. My guess is that HuGo realized it was a weak draft (don't use hindsight and say they should have pick so and so because look at him now) and at the time, Wright and Slaf were at the top of several teams' lists. If Arizona had top pick, would they have taken Cooley? Only Bill Armstrong knows. So....knowing the odds of getting it wrong are just as high or higher than getting it right, do you not swing for the fences? Just saying you have to put yourself in those shoes with the environment as it was at the time. If you think otherwise...tell me who the top pick should be this year and I'll hold you to that in 5 years time. Sorry, no offense meant to anyone and this is not directed at anyone specifically. I get annoyed at those Twitter guys who have perfect judgment in hindsight. But to address Slaf today, yes, I'd send him to Laval and tell Houle that unless he gets 20 minutes a night on the top 2 lines without a good reason, he can kiss his job goodbye. |
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Post by PTH on Oct 25, 2023 14:01:55 GMT -5
Slafs was never going to dominarte from the get go. The hope is he will become a super-power forward. He has the attributes for that in that he is big, skates well, and has decent hands and a good shot. But he has to grow into it. I believe Hughes has been saying this since Slafs was drafted. Having said all that, I agree that he would be better served in Laval so he can mature/develop with lots of TOI. If they are going to keep him up, then put him with Suze and CC, get RHP away from them... 3 smurfs on the same line does not work, 5'11", 5'9" and 5'8" just doesn't cut it when the D men are aggressive and hit. I really thought RHP would be able to complement those two, but he somehow doesn't have the same jump this year. Caufield is playing better than I expected, I always have a concern he'll turn into a Donald Audette-type of 30 goal PP specialist, but he's showing all-around offensive flair this season. But with Suzuki seeming out of sorts and RHP having left his mojo at home, this is one weak top line. And Anderson just doesn't have the smarts to follow Caufield and Suze. I expect when Dvorak returns, Monahan becomes their RW, and that top line will click. I wonder how much of the top line issues come from being just about the only offensive threats on the team, though. |
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Post by PTH on Oct 25, 2023 14:29:35 GMT -5
This was a weak draft..... My guess is that HuGo realized it was a weak draft ... We need to keep in mind, this was also one of the most unpredictable drafts, with a lot of players having missed 1+ years of development, so all player evaluations were based on a much narrower base of information than previous years, so it was that much harder to know if a late riser was just having a solid couple of months or if the strong play was part of an expected developmental curve. On the flip side, if Beck or Hutson fulfill their apparent potential, you have to consider they might not have been available in other years. The frustrating part of course is that #1 overall picks are rare, so we'd rather have gotten one during a better year, and add a Bedard, McDavid, Matthews or Hughes. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Oct 25, 2023 14:32:05 GMT -5
If they are going to keep him up, then put him with Suze and CC, get RHP away from them... 3 smurfs on the same line does not work, 5'11", 5'9" and 5'8" just doesn't cut it when the D men are aggressive and hit. I really thought RHP would be able to complement those two, but he somehow doesn't have the same jump this year. Caufield is playing better than I expected, I always have a concern he'll turn into a Donald Audette-type of 30 goal PP specialist, but he's showing all-around offensive flair this season. But with Suzuki seeming out of sorts and RHP having left his mojo at home, this is one weak top line. And Anderson just doesn't have the smarts to follow Caufield and Suze. I expect when Dvorak returns, Monahan becomes their RW, and that top line will click. I wonder how much of the top line issues come from being just about the only offensive threats on the team, though. I had high hopes for Raphael Harvey-Bedard but it seems like the pressurevis getting to him and compound that with Suze's issues and that's 2 guys struggling on the top line... CC cannot overcome that... |
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Post by Cranky on Oct 25, 2023 14:45:46 GMT -5
If they are going to keep him up, then put him with Suze and CC, get RHP away from them... 3 smurfs on the same line does not work, 5'11", 5'9" and 5'8" just doesn't cut it when the D men are aggressive and hit. I really thought RHP would be able to complement those two, but he somehow doesn't have the same jump this year. Caufield is playing better than I expected, I always have a concern he'll turn into a Donald Audette-type of 30 goal PP specialist, but he's showing all-around offensive flair this season. But with Suzuki seeming out of sorts and RHP having left his mojo at home, this is one weak top line. And Anderson just doesn't have the smarts to follow Caufield and Suze. I expect when Dvorak returns, Monahan becomes their RW, and that top line will click. I wonder how much of the top line issues come from being just about the only offensive threats on the team, though. Without Dubois and now Dach, this is exactly what we should expect from a one horse team. RHP has no business playing on the top line. He now looks more like an AHLer then an NHLer. I don't know if it's the defensive responsibilty that he is ill equiped to carry out or he is a flash in the pan and last year was a fluke. All i see is a small player with limited abilities getting focused on because of CC and Suzuki. Newhook is stradled with a horse with blinders and another one with limited abilities. Really bad second line that no one takes seriously. Thus they can focus on Suzuki, which at this point has to be overwhelming pressure. We are in deep, deep trouble up front and showing zero progress. If Monahan goes down, it will be bad. If Suzuki goes down, raise the white flag. My hope this year lasted exactly TWO games... |
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Post by PTH on Oct 25, 2023 16:16:54 GMT -5
I really thought RHP would be able to complement those two, but he somehow doesn't have the same jump this year. Caufield is playing better than I expected, I always have a concern he'll turn into a Donald Audette-type of 30 goal PP specialist, but he's showing all-around offensive flair this season. But with Suzuki seeming out of sorts and RHP having left his mojo at home, this is one weak top line. And Anderson just doesn't have the smarts to follow Caufield and Suze. I expect when Dvorak returns, Monahan becomes their RW, and that top line will click. I wonder how much of the top line issues come from being just about the only offensive threats on the team, though. I had high hopes for Raphael Harvey-Bedard but it seems like the pressurevis getting to him and compound that with Suze's issues and that's 2 guys struggling on the top line... CC cannot overcome that... I also wonder if RHP ended up doing better than expected last year playing mostly with lower-skill guys opposite him, so Suzuki had to play a simple game and basically the line played more of a simple, grinding, lower line style which suited RHP, whereas now he needs to find a way to mesh with 2 high-skill guys trying to play a high-skill game. |
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Post by Tankdriver on Oct 25, 2023 17:01:59 GMT -5
Don't worry guys, we drafted an offensive stud in last year's draft....oh wait we didn't...
Should of packaged something and moved up.
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Post by folatre on Oct 25, 2023 17:04:19 GMT -5
The good news is Harvey-Pinard's contract is fully buriable, if it should come to that anytime this season or next. However, I am not giving up on him yet. I never thought, last season or now, that he is a good fit with Suzuki and Caufield.
Last season I recall Harvey-Pinard played effectively on the second line with Dach and Anderson, as well as on the fourth line with Belzile and Pezzetta. So basically it seemed that he could roll with energy grinders and with two big mobile guys.
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Post by seventeen on Oct 25, 2023 17:31:07 GMT -5
My guess is that HuGo realized it was a weak draft ... We need to keep in mind, this was also one of the most unpredictable drafts, with a lot of players having missed 1+ years of development, so all player evaluations were based on a much narrower base of information than previous years, so it was that much harder to know if a late riser was just having a solid couple of months or if the strong play was part of an expected developmental curve. On the flip side, if Beck or Hutson fulfill their apparent potential, you have to consider they might not have been available in other years. The frustrating part of course is that #1 overall picks are rare, so we'd rather have gotten one during a better year, and add a Bedard, McDavid, Matthews or Hughes. Just our luck. 2012 and 2018, probably the 2 weakest drafts in the last 15 years. And now all these injuries. Just which Greek god is it that has it in for us, Cranky?! |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 25, 2023 17:32:26 GMT -5
Don't worry guys, we drafted an offensive stud in last year's draft....oh wait we didn't... Should of packaged something and moved up. they would have wanted Caufield or Guhle plus the 5th plus....and then what's the point? |
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Post by Cranky on Oct 25, 2023 17:51:02 GMT -5
Just which Greek god is it that has it in for us, Cranky?! Priapus...because we are s****d...  For obvious reasons I wont post a picture. |
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Post by Cranky on Oct 25, 2023 18:05:40 GMT -5
I never thought, last season or now, that he is a good fit with Suzuki and Caufield. Literally the worse possible combination of factors... They don't have the size to play effective defense against the opposing top lines. They don't have the size to play a hard core cycle game particularly since they are easy targets to focus on. CC and Suzuki are the only serious offensive threat in our lineup and they will suffer for it. I know I sound like a broken record, but not getting Dubois and losing Dach is a Weber shot in the nuts... |
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Post by Willie Dog on Oct 25, 2023 18:15:22 GMT -5
I never thought, last season or now, that he is a good fit with Suzuki and Caufield. Literally the worse possible combination of factors... They don't have the size to play effective defense against the opposing top lines. They don't have the size to play a hard core cycle game particularly since they are easy targets to focus on. CC and Suzuki are the only serious offensive threat in our lineup and they will suffer for it. I know I sound like a broken record, but not getting Dubois and losing Dach is a Weber shot in the nuts... We were never getting Dubois, he has dreamed of playing for the Kings since he was a little kid...🤮 so I would rather complain about not drafting Michov rather than complaining about not getting Dubois... he is dead to me... |
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Post by Cranky on Oct 25, 2023 18:24:18 GMT -5
Literally the worse possible combination of factors... They don't have the size to play effective defense against the opposing top lines. They don't have the size to play a hard core cycle game particularly since they are easy targets to focus on. CC and Suzuki are the only serious offensive threat in our lineup and they will suffer for it. I know I sound like a broken record, but not getting Dubois and losing Dach is a Weber shot in the nuts... We were never getting Dubois, he has dreamed of playing for the Kings since he was a little kid...🤮 so I would rather complain about not drafting Michov rather than complaining about not getting Dubois... he is dead to me... The only dreams he had was who will pay the most. I don't buy for one nanosecond that LA was his dream team. Nor were the Habs at the level "of my boyhood dream" that we were led to believe...and swallowed. He's dead to me too but the solution he would of brought would change the current worst case scenario. |
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Post by Skilly on Oct 25, 2023 20:27:49 GMT -5
Slafs was never going to dominarte from the get go. The hope is he will become a super-power forward. He has the attributes for that in that he is big, skates well, and has decent hands and a good shot. But he has to grow into it. I believe Hughes has been saying this since Slafs was drafted. Having said all that, I agree that he would be better served in Laval so he can mature/develop with lots of TOI. I'm just not seeing the hockey IQ. He seems to be out of position in the offensive zone quite a lot He is currently suffering from Galcheniemitis ... being drafted for a purpose and not being used for that purpose. For instance, remember that all important question they asked him on draft day that sealed the deal for them? Has he ever been put out on the ice when trailing or up by a goal? Why won't they split up the PP units and put Slaf on the top unit? Heck, I'd go so far as to pair Suzuki with Slaf , and Newhook with Caufield on the two PP units ... the same ol , same ol hasn't worked for 3 seasons now |
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Post by Willie Dog on Oct 25, 2023 20:44:53 GMT -5
We were never getting Dubois, he has dreamed of playing for the Kings since he was a little kid...🤮 so I would rather complain about not drafting Michov rather than complaining about not getting Dubois... he is dead to me... The only dreams he had was who will pay the most. I don't buy for one nanosecond that LA was his dream team. Nor were the Habs at the level "of my boyhood dream" that we were led to believe...and swallowed. He's dead to me too but the solution he would of brought would change the current worst case scenario. I agree |
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Post by Skilly on Oct 25, 2023 20:45:22 GMT -5
Slafs was never going to dominarte from the get go. The hope is he will become a super-power forward. He has the attributes for that in that he is big, skates well, and has decent hands and a good shot. But he has to grow into it. I believe Hughes has been saying this since Slafs was drafted. Having said all that, I agree that he would be better served in Laval so he can mature/develop with lots of TOI. If they are going to keep him up, then put him with Suze and CC, get RHP away from them... 3 smurfs on the same line does not work, 5'11", 5'9" and 5'8" just doesn't cut it when the D men are aggressive and hit. I said in training camp that I didn't see where RHP fit on this team. When you looked at the players in camp, RHP was the odd man out on every line I was surprised he didn't start in Laval. But I guess the brass was banking on him sustaining a 24% shooting percentage. RHP has had a handful of grade A scoring chances this year that were going in last year. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Oct 25, 2023 20:46:01 GMT -5
Slafs was never going to dominarte from the get go. The hope is he will become a super-power forward. He has the attributes for that in that he is big, skates well, and has decent hands and a good shot. But he has to grow into it. I believe Hughes has been saying this since Slafs was drafted. Having said all that, I agree that he would be better served in Laval so he can mature/develop with lots of TOI. I'm just not seeing the hockey IQ. He seems to be out of position in the offensive zone quite a lot He is currently suffering from Galcheniemitis ... being drafted for a purpose and not being used for that purpose. For instance, remember that all important question they asked him on draft day that sealed the deal for them? Has he ever been put out on the ice when trailing or up by a goal? Why won't they split up the PP units and put Slaf on the top unit? Heck, I'd go so far as to pair Suzuki with Slaf , and Newhook with Caufield on the two PP units ... the same ol , same ol hasn't worked for 3 seasons now That requires thinking outside the box... Burrows has an old school mentality |
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Post by Tankdriver on Oct 25, 2023 21:54:46 GMT -5
Don't worry guys, we drafted an offensive stud in last year's draft....oh wait we didn't... Should of packaged something and moved up. they would have wanted Caufield or Guhle plus the 5th plus....and then what's the point? Guhle, and the 5th could of got us Will Smith and an extra pick could of got s Anaheims pick. |
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Post by Cranky on Oct 25, 2023 22:14:12 GMT -5
Moving up 8n the draft is hard because everybody is loaded with triple doses of hope. THEIR next draft choice is the next superstar.
Better off trading Guhle as a stand alone to get a other top 8 1st rounder BUT chance are he may not be as good as Guhle. A bird in hand is worth two draft choices in the bush...
In this case to get Bedard, probably had to trade Suzuki plus Guhle and our 5th. On paper you are giving up a known star player and a top 4 defenseman plus another top 4 defenseman for what you hope is a generational player. If you are wrong, you damaged the club for several years.
I would of done it for Crosby but not Bedard.
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Post by habsorbed on Oct 26, 2023 0:24:48 GMT -5
Slafs was never going to dominarte from the get go. The hope is he will become a super-power forward. He has the attributes for that in that he is big, skates well, and has decent hands and a good shot. But he has to grow into it. I believe Hughes has been saying this since Slafs was drafted. Having said all that, I agree that he would be better served in Laval so he can mature/develop with lots of TOI. I'm just not seeing the hockey IQ. He seems to be out of position in the offensive zone quite a lot He is currently suffering from Galcheniemitis ... being drafted for a purpose and not being used for that purpose. For instance, remember that all important question they asked him on draft day that sealed the deal for them? Has he ever been put out on the ice when trailing or up by a goal? Why won't they split up the PP units and put Slaf on the top unit? Heck, I'd go so far as to pair Suzuki with Slaf , and Newhook with Caufield on the two PP units ... the same ol , same ol hasn't worked for 3 seasons now i don't know if power forwards are known for their IQ, but I don't see anything to tell me Slafs is slow. One also has to give him some slack given his age and playing on the smaller surface. I do agree, given this season is toast, that giving Slafs every opportunity on the PP would be wise. Not only let him learn, but hopefully get some confidence with some goals. the longer he struggles, the harder it will be for him to get any momentum. And it's not as if the PP could get much worse. And what do we have to lose. If this team is about the future then let the kids play. what do we gain by having Tanner or Gally on the PP? |
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Post by seventeen on Oct 26, 2023 11:34:09 GMT -5
what do we gain by having Tanner or Gally on the PP? From what I have seen, MSL is trying to balance the development of the kids with his commitment to veterans. There are many examples of him giving vets very long leashes to try and "get them going". It works in some cases, not in others, and sometimes takes a REALLY long time for the vets to produce. I don't have an better idea because a) you don't want to develop a losing culture and playing the kids too many minutes will produce too many mistakes and will end up with a losing culture. You need some vets to stabilize the ship, even if they are of the Savardian and Gallagherian variety. b) having those vets improve their play increases their trade value or at least makes them tradeable. An example would be Armia capturing a scoring touch at say a 15-20 goal pace. Suddenly, knowing how valuable bigger, dependable bodies are in the playoffs, maybe his contract can be unloaded without adding a pick or prospect. Those are the factors Marty has to deal with, and until our kids get a little older (and healthier) and our CAP issues are resolved, he's going to play those vets. |
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Post by Andrew on Oct 26, 2023 14:13:25 GMT -5
That requires thinking outside the box... Burrows has an old school mentality I was listening to the Basu and Godin podcast the other day and they were talking about the PP struggles. For what it's worth they'd noted that at practice it's all St. Louis running the power play drills, and working closely with the first unit. Burrows may have the odd comment here or there, but their observations were that it's very much Marty's show when it comes to the PP. |
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Post by Willie Dog on Oct 26, 2023 15:37:01 GMT -5
That requires thinking outside the box... Burrows has an old school mentality I was listening to the Basu and Godin podcast the other day and they were talking about the PP struggles. For what it's worth they'd noted that at practice it's all St. Louis running the power play drills, and working closely with the first unit. Burrows may have the odd comment here or there, but their observations were that it's very much Marty's show when it comes to the PP. They msl needs use that offensive mind of his to have them do things thr other team isn't expecting... like Mathesons rush... |
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Post by jkr on Oct 26, 2023 16:09:13 GMT -5
That requires thinking outside the box... Burrows has an old school mentality I was listening to the Basu and Godin podcast the other day and they were talking about the PP struggles. For what it's worth they'd noted that at practice it's all St. Louis running the power play drills, and working closely with the first unit. Burrows may have the odd comment here or there, but their observations were that it's very much Marty's show when it comes to the PP. All this time we've been hammering Burrows.😀 If it is MSL then that is quite disappointing. I thought he was a more creative offensive mind. And if Burrows isn't doing the PP then what is his job? |
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Post by franko on Oct 26, 2023 16:39:25 GMT -5
All this time we've been hammering Burrows.😀 If it is MSL then that is quite disappointing. I thought he was a more creative offensive mind. And if Burrows isn't doing the PP then what is his job? Taking the blame. |
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