Around the League 15-16 Edition

[MadDog2020]

Rags drop 8 of their last 10... ouch

Thankfully Calgary won, but they blew a 4-1 3rd period lead. Should've been a pointless road trip for the Rags.

[DJ Eco]

On 12/12/2015 at 6:47 PM, Derek21 said:

What a bad organization. They had the coach in their system and let him go. Devils and Shero look like geniuses.

 

I don't know ultimately whose call it was (maybe Shero's?) but I feel like the only organizational move that should've gone down was to replace Dan Bylsma and make smaller more calculated moves to improve their defense. We don't know if it was "the chicken or the egg", whether Shero's patience with Dan Bylsma is what got him fired, but yeah...

When you see the kinds of moves and calculated small gambles Shero had made in our organization within his first few months, it makes you wonder what the real rift was in Pittsburgh. When you see the moves Pittsburgh's made by Rutherford since his firing, it makes you wonder even more.

Pens fans' criticism of Shero was his giving away of prospects and draft picks in trades. So what does Rutherford do his first year on the job? More of the same:

1. Trade away his first 1st round pick (Kapanen), Scott Harrington, a conditional 1st and 3rd, for Phil Kessel and Tim Erixon, who they'd later waive.

2. Trade a 1st round pick for David Perron.

3. Trade away Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy.

4. Trade away Brandon Sutter for Nick Bonino and Clendening.

5. His trade for Patric Hornqvist is about the only thing he got sort of right.

What I mean by "it makes you wonder" is, were the owners/president gunning for bigger more drastic moves that Shero was pushing back from making? Sort of like the Philadelphia Flyers/Holmgren or 2000s Rangers syndrome? It seems that way. They wanted something drastic and maybe Shero wanted to build something more sustainable? Because now, they've got a rough road ahead in the next 5+ years if this team doesn't show dramatic signs of improving over the course of the season. I'd say trade Crosby, trade Malkin, avoid an even more painful rebuilding in a few years by offsetting it with more mid-20s depth throughout the lineup.

Edited December 14, 2015 by DJ Eco

[Triumph]

Shero's mistake that doomed him in Pittsburgh was not getting rid of Marc-Andre Fleury.  It's really as simple as that - Fleury submarined their playoff chances in multiple years.  Then when he signed Tomas Vokoun, Vokoun had blood clots and had to retire after 2013.  The Devils have Schneider, and Schneider's likely to outlast Shero here, so at least if he does screw stuff up it won't be goaltending.

The biggest mistake Shero probably made was not doing everything in his power to re-sign Marian Hossa after trading for him.   Oh and the drafting in Pittsburgh wasn't great.  But mostly he was dragged down by the goaltending.

Edited December 14, 2015 by Triumph

[MadDog2020]

http://nypost.com/2015/12/13/why-the-rangers-seemingly-are-a-disaster-in-the-making/

[DJ Eco]

1 hour ago, MadDog2020 said:

http://nypost.com/2015/12/13/why-the-rangers-seemingly-are-a-disaster-in-the-making/

Yikes, Larry really knows how to make the sky fall. Although this point really tells the entire story of what ails them:

Quote

Indeed, Friday’s 7-5 loss at Edmonton wasn’t so much worse than the 4-1 victory at Arizona on Nov. 7, in which the Blueshirts allowed 40 shots, but were rescued by Raanta. It wasn’t so much worse than the 3-0 Garden victory over Nashville on Nov. 23 in which they were out-attempted 62-21 through two periods, but were rescued by Lundqvist.

 

Edited December 14, 2015 by DJ Eco

[Derek21]

8 hours ago, Triumph said:

Shero's mistake that doomed him in Pittsburgh was not getting rid of Marc-Andre Fleury.  It's really as simple as that - Fleury submarined their playoff chances in multiple years.  Then when he signed Tomas Vokoun, Vokoun had blood clots and had to retire after 2013.  The Devils have Schneider, and Schneider's likely to outlast Shero here, so at least if he does screw stuff up it won't be goaltending.

The biggest mistake Shero probably made was not doing everything in his power to re-sign Marian Hossa after trading for him.   Oh and the drafting in Pittsburgh wasn't great.  But mostly he was dragged down by the goaltending.

 

I don't know how you can still believe this. Fleury has been the least of their problems. He was brilliant last year and has been so again. The real issue with the Pens is the lack of defense and forward depth. Those are the biggest problems plaguing them. Along with Crosby slowing down. They went from having Orpik, Niskanen and Martin to having Lovejoy again, Dumoulin, Cole, Scuderi with Letang and Maatta. Letang has struggled big time. Maatta just returned from injury. Cole has reverted. Scuderi is old. Lovejoy is slow. Dumoulin is the only one playing up to par. The expectation was that Pouliot would be a key part of the blueline. Instead, he is still with WBS after a disappointing camp. You can't subtract such key pieces off your back end and expect it to fall into place. 

That aside, there was the woeful trade of Sutter for Bonino, who's bombed so far. Cullen has been the only decent addition and he's also old. Fehr is a spare part. They lost Dupuis to retirement due to blood clots which is sad. They had a nice tribute for him during a stoppage tonight and a loud ovation. He teared up. Kunitz is basically finished. Kessel is stuck on 9 goals. They gave away one good prospect and picks hoping that band aid would work. Maybe it gets better under Sullivan. 

They fired Bylsma after our team came back to beat them in Rd. 2. Then made a poor hiring in Johnston, who had no clue. They then stuck with him too long when they should've fired him and promoted Hynes. Instead, they let Shero swoop in and get Hynes, who is the leading candidate for the Adams right now. Rutherford is a far worse GM than Shero. It was Shero who wisely pawned off J. Staal for Sutter. Shero wasn't great. He did make the trade for Iginla taking the same risk Sather took with MSL. Only they got eliminated and Iggy left. 

All these moves are in a desperate attempt to win one more Cup with 87, 71, 58, 29. Cap space has hindered them. But also development. Bennett was looking better but was injured tonight on a cheap hit by Oshie. One of those hits where they make no call. Threw him into boards. Then a Pen defends his honor and gets the only penalty. Brutal.

[Derek21]

8 hours ago, MadDog2020 said:

http://nypost.com/2015/12/13/why-the-rangers-seemingly-are-a-disaster-in-the-making/

Here's the latest. Stoll waived. Girardi (knee) out.

http://newyorkpuck.com/2015/12/14/stoll-on-waivers-girardi-hurt/

[Derek21]

10 hours ago, DJ Eco said:

 

I don't know ultimately whose call it was (maybe Shero's?) but I feel like the only organizational move that should've gone down was to replace Dan Bylsma and make smaller more calculated moves to improve their defense. We don't know if it was "the chicken or the egg", whether Shero's patience with Dan Bylsma is what got him fired, but yeah...

When you see the kinds of moves and calculated small gambles Shero had made in our organization within his first few months, it makes you wonder what the real rift was in Pittsburgh. When you see the moves Pittsburgh's made by Rutherford since his firing, it makes you wonder even more.

Pens fans' criticism of Shero was his giving away of prospects and draft picks in trades. So what does Rutherford do his first year on the job? More of the same:

1. Trade away his first 1st round pick (Kapanen), Scott Harrington, a conditional 1st and 3rd, for Phil Kessel and Tim Erixon, who they'd later waive.

2. Trade a 1st round pick for David Perron.

3. Trade away Simon Despres for Ben Lovejoy.

4. Trade away Brandon Sutter for Nick Bonino and Clendening.

• 2015-Jan-02 Traded from Edmonton Oilers to Pittsburgh Penguins for Rob Klinkhammer and round 1 pick in the 2015 draft (Mathew Barzal)

5. His trade for Patric Hornqvist is about the only thing he got sort of right.

• 2014-Jun-27 Traded from Nashville Predators with Nick Spaling to Pittsburgh Penguins for James Neal
• Ian Cole: 

  • 2015-Mar-02 Traded from St. Louis Blues to Pittsburgh Penguins for Robert Bortuzzo and round 7 pick in the 2016 draft. 

   

Every one of these moves were made by Rutherford. Shero was fired on May 16, 2014. The Pens hired Rutherford June 6, 2014. 

 

[sokar]

The Pens have acquired defenseman Trevor Daley in exchange for Rob Scuderi

 

Penguins retain 33 percent of Scuderi salary in the trade with Chicago

33 retweets 12 likes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2015 by sokar

[Triumph]

51 minutes ago, Derek21 said:

 

I don't know how you can still believe this. Fleury has been the least of their problems. He was brilliant last year and has been so again. The real issue with the Pens is the lack of defense and forward depth. Those are the biggest problems plaguing them. Along with Crosby slowing down. They went from having Orpik, Niskanen and Martin to having Lovejoy again, Dumoulin, Cole, Scuderi with Letang and Maatta. Letang has struggled big time. Maatta just returned from injury. Cole has reverted. Scuderi is old. Lovejoy is slow. Dumoulin is the only one playing up to par. The expectation was that Pouliot would be a key part of the blueline. Instead, he is still with WBS after a disappointing camp. You can't subtract such key pieces off your back end and expect it to fall into place. 

That aside, there was the woeful trade of Sutter for Bonino, who's bombed so far. Cullen has been the only decent addition and he's also old. Fehr is a spare part. They lost Dupuis to retirement due to blood clots which is sad. They had a nice tribute for him during a stoppage tonight and a loud ovation. He teared up. Kunitz is basically finished. Kessel is stuck on 9 goals. They gave away one good prospect and picks hoping that band aid would work. Maybe it gets better under Sullivan. 

They fired Bylsma after our team came back to beat them in Rd. 2. Then made a poor hiring in Johnston, who had no clue. They then stuck with him too long when they should've fired him and promoted Hynes. Instead, they let Shero swoop in and get Hynes, who is the leading candidate for the Adams right now. Rutherford is a far worse GM than Shero. It was Shero who wisely pawned off J. Staal for Sutter. Shero wasn't great. He did make the trade for Iginla taking the same risk Sather took with MSL. Only they got eliminated and Iggy left. 

All these moves are in a desperate attempt to win one more Cup with 87, 71, 58, 29. Cap space has hindered them. But also development. Bennett was looking better but was injured tonight on a cheap hit by Oshie. One of those hits where they make no call. Threw him into boards. Then a Pen defends his honor and gets the only penalty. Brutal.

Fluery has been terrific this year.  He was good last year too.  He was horrific in the playoffs for years.  It takes a lot to overcome bad goaltending in the playoffs.  Yeah, the defense now isn't good and that's what where they need help, but they had a fine defense back in the days when Fleury was coughing up playoff series for them left and right.

Bonino for Sutter was a great trade that's not working out so far, Eric Fehr is much more than a spare part, and Pascal Dupuis was playing very poorly this year so his retirement is actually sadly a blessing for them.  David Perron not working out is a much bigger deal, he was a 20-25 goal man   And the biggest one is that Sidney Crosby is having by far the worst pro season of his career.  They need help on the back end for sure, but if Crosby's just going to be a regular 1st line center and not a superstar, they have no chance anyway.

[DJ Eco]

12 hours ago, Derek21 said:

Every one of these moves were made by Rutherford. Shero was fired on May 16, 2014. The Pens hired Rutherford June 6, 2014. 

Yeah I know, my listing of those moves was to critique Rutherford's first year. If this were politics, Rutherford essentially expanded and doubled down on some of the "policies" (moves) that got Shero fired.

[MadDog2020]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1125081917524185&id=123255827706804

[DJ Eco]

Can we talk about Mike Hoffman? He's quietly having an incredible season. Same with Dylan Larkin. It could just be me, but I don't see them getting the press they deserve.

Edited December 15, 2015 by DJ Eco

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

re:  Crosby, he's only shooting 7.2% on the season (about half his career shooting%, though his shooting%s have been lower in recent seasons).  This may indeed be an off-year for him, but I would expect the offensive numbers to improve a bit. 

He's one of those guys that I think of as being perpetually 23 or so, but he's already in his 11th NHL season and will be 29 by the start of next season.  Another career just flying right by. 

And obviously a lot can happen, and we've been through this before, but MAF still looks like he has a pretty good shot to get to 500 or so regular season wins.  He's already at 335 and just turned 31.  Also doesn't hurt his cause that he's been one of the best performers in the shootout since its inceptions (just under .750 in shootout save%).   

[lucifer91]

3 minutes ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

re:  Crosby, he's only shooting 7.2% on the season (about half his career shooting%, though his shooting%s have been lower in recent seasons).  This may indeed be an off-year for him, but I would expect the offensive numbers to improve a bit. 

He's one of those guys that I think of as being perpetually 23 or so, but he's already in his 11th NHL season and will be 29 by the start of next season.  Another career just flying right by. 

And obviously a lot can happen, and we've been through this before, but MAF still looks like he has a pretty good shot to get to 500 or so regular season wins.  He's already at 335 and just turned 31.  Also doesn't hurt his cause that he's been one of the best performers in the shootout since its inceptions (just under .750 in shootout save%).   

I just got a notification tht Bob McKenzie Retweeted that MAF is out with a concussion.

[sokar]

Stoll to MIN on waivers

 

https://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/676809637149061121

[thecoffeecake]

3 hours ago, DJ Eco said:

Can we talk about Mike Hoffman? He's quietly having an incredible season. Same with Dylan Larkin. It could just be me, but I don't see them getting the press they deserve.

I feel like I hear about Larkin every time I put on NHL Network. I was watching the Columbus-Tampa condensed game earlier and they had a Finnish goalie making his debut, Joonas Korpisalo. He looked real good the portion I watched. Incredibly calm and confident for his first game, and he made some great stops. I'll be looking out for this guy. It's one game, but the mental game is almost everything in goal.

[devilsrule33]

Dainius Zubrus (1) from Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.

That's incredible. Firstly, congrats to Zubrus. I always say this, and this goes for people that thought I had it out for Brodeur or anyone else. I care about the Devils, and I have nothing personal against any player. I have been wanting Zubrus gone from the Devils for a while. I was super happy when he was bought out, but I was rooting for him to get that spot with the Blues over Havlat. And I was really happy when he got to career his really incredible career with the Sharks. I absolutely love that he scored tonight for the Sharks.

But, it's almost 2016 and Zubrus is playing on a top line with another HOF and another fantastic player in Pavelski. Nothing should surprise me...

[Zubie#8]

Dainius Zubrus (1) from Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton.

That's incredible. Firstly, congrats to Zubrus. I always say this, and this goes for people that thought I had it out for Brodeur or anyone else. I care about the Devils, and I have nothing personal against any player. I have been wanting Zubrus gone from the Devils for a while. I was super happy when he was bought out, but I was rooting for him to get that spot with the Blues over Havlat. And I was really happy when he got to career his really incredible career with the Sharks. I absolutely love that he scored tonight for the Sharks.

But, it's almost 2016 and Zubrus is playing on a top line with another HOF and another fantastic player in Pavelski. Nothing should surprise me...

Good ole Pete haha.

[MadDog2020]

Kane's point streak ends at 26.

[devlman]

What the hell is up with the death metal music NHL on the Fly blasts for every game highlight? Can they just play the sounds of the game, or lower the damn volume of the music...(no, I'm not an old grouchy man, it's just really distracting)

[SterioDesign]

Lightning fans must be losing their sh!t more and more every day looking at the Stamkos situation. 

[DJ Eco]

First the Bolts go through their ordeal with Martin St. Louis (and Yzerman at least was able to profit from it), and now they're going through the same with Stamkos. Tough being a Lightning fan. You go through a postseason like last year and think you've got everything figured out, like there's no way you don't return in 2015-2016 and take steps forward. And yet, here they are, possibly losing their captain and best player, and currently out of a playoff spot. Unnecessary turmoil for a very gifted and promising team.

Edited December 16, 2015 by DJ Eco

[SterioDesign]

41 minutes ago, DJ Eco said:

First the Bolts go through their ordeal with Martin St. Louis (and Yzerman at least was able to profit from it), and now they're going through the same with Stamkos. Tough being a Lightning fan. You go through a postseason like last year and think you've got everything figured out, like there's no way you don't return in 2015-2016 and take steps forward. And yet, here they are, possibly losing their captain and best player, and currently out of a playoff spot. Unnecessary turmoil for a very gifted and promising team.

I hate Don Meehan so much. 

[thecoffeecake]

Stamkos isn't making it easier. He might as well have told the media last night plainly that he was going to Toronto with the way he was answering those questions. It's inappropriate for a player to even answer questions like that to begin with.