Let's just be optimistic and say Benn signs tomorrow.
Eriksson - Roy - Jagr (Why break up what looks to be working so well?)
Whitney - Benn - Ryder (Process of elimination with top 6 forwards)
R. Smith - Eakin - Sceviour (Garbutt isn't working on this line IMO, he's not bad but doesn't belong. Sceviour at least deserves the shot, if not call up Vincour)
Morrow - Fiddler - Nystrom (Has looked at least serviceable so far)
Wandell (I like him but he really doesn't have a place anymore)
Our defense is a more pressing matter. At this point, I'd toss Robidas for whatever the hell I can get for him. Gogo too, but GMJN won't trade him after the extension and there's a tad bit of hope for him.
Dillon - Larsen (Has been our best pairing and I think they'll only get better)
Goligoski - Benn (A PMD and a guy willing to hit with decent skill? Why not try it? I doubt it works but it can't be worse than Gogo - Robi)
Daley - Rome (Only guys left)
Goalies are more than good at this point, both have looked stellar and we know what Bachman can do.
Again though, let's try not to get all doom and gloom. We're two games in FFS.
And trading Bachman right now is god-awful asset management. Nilstrop's played one game in the NHL for god's sake.
That was more at Eriksson on the 3rd line than anything. Whatever line he's on is pretty much always the 1st, that's how it's been for the past 4-5 years.
You know I'm a huge Eriksson supporter. I'd expect to give Jagr and Whitney some extra time off per game to keep them fresh-er. I mean, we could put R Smith and Ryder in that third line spot no problem but either way someone's not gonna get all the prime offensive minutes to keep legs fresh.
Have people seriously already forgotten how good Bachman is? Am I the only one who watches our prospects? haha.
Turned out right about Dillon.
Was right about Glennie.
Right about Vincour.
Right about Roman.
Knew Vish would bolt to the KHL.
Right about Kari turning his ship around.
Even called several trades and signings now. It's interesting how the ones who don't know the sport too well, are the most vocal. Haha, welcome to the internet
Anybody have anything else to add to the Systems and coaching discussion?
Lobo just said it for me. Bachman is a nice backup and that has value, ie 5th round or so. He's too small and unless his rebound control has morphed into something phenomenal this off season he's not a No. 1 goaltender.
Nilstorp isn't going to replace Lehtonen and the future comment was a focus on backups but give me the bigger athletic guy verses the smaller one every day. Nilstorp is going to have to continue to prove it but between the two I think you have blinders on as to Bachman's deficiencies.
Whew. Insane talent evaluation night tonight? Bachman and bad rebound control? Bring some video evidence please.
Have people seriously already forgotten how good Bachman is? Am I the only one who watches our prospects? haha.
Turned out right about Dillon.
Was right about Glennie.
Right about Vincour.
Right about Roman.
Knew Vish would bolt to the KHL.
Right about Kari turning his ship around.
Even called several trades and signings now. It's interesting how the ones who don't know the sport too well, are the most vocal. Haha, welcome to the internet
Anybody have anything else to add to the Systems and coaching discussion?
I just worry about bringing him up too fast. Does he seem ready? Absolutely. But at the same time, I have a feeling if he comes up to the NHL, he's sticking no matter what. And I'd rather not risk ruining him just for a chance success in a shortened season. One defender can't make that huge of a difference unless he ends up being Chara-esque.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frozen Failure
You know I'm a huge Eriksson supporter. I'd expect to give Jagr and Whitney some extra time off per game to keep them fresh-er. I mean, we could put R Smith and Ryder in that third line spot no problem but either way someone's not gonna get all the prime offensive minutes to keep legs fresh.
I totally agree. I would like to see 3 scoring lines to keep everyone fresh, but we just don't have the pieces at the moment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cin
Have people seriously already forgotten how good Bachman is? Am I the only one who watches our prospects? haha.
Turned out right about Dillon.
Was right about Glennie.
Right about Vincour.
Right about Roman.
Knew Vish would bolt to the KHL.
Right about Kari turning his ship around.
Even called several trades and signings now. It's interesting how the ones who don't know the sport too well, are the most vocal. Haha, welcome to the internet
Anybody have anything else to add to the Systems and coaching discussion?
No one's saying he won't be that good, simply that he isn't at the moment. And I'm not doubting you, but none of those were particularly hard to predict (all of them together though, is pretty impressive, I'll give you that).
I get all the credit for Sinitsyn when he turns out though.
I just worry about bringing him up too fast. Does he seem ready? Absolutely. But at the same time, I have a feeling if he comes up to the NHL, he's sticking no matter what. And I'd rather not risk ruining him just for a chance success in a shortened season. One defender can't make that huge of a difference unless he ends up being Chara-esque.
I totally agree. I would like to see 3 scoring lines to keep everyone fresh, but we just don't have the pieces at the moment.
No one's saying he won't be that good, simply that he isn't at the moment. And I'm not doubting you, but none of those were particularly hard to predict (all of them together though, is pretty impressive, I'll give you that).
I get all the credit for Sinitsyn when he turns out though.
He performed the exact same as KAri during his injury. I'd say that's as good as a number 1.
2012 stats.
Bachman - 933 43 1 2.77 .910
Lehtonen - 3497 136 4 2.33 .922
Cam Ward - 3988 182 5 2.74 .915
Hmmm...
Something isn't adding up...
And Ward's stats are useless in this discussion. That entire team top to bottom had a bad year defensively.
And again, I sure as hell wouldn't trade him for a 5th round pick right now. But that's probably the best you'd get if, for some insane reason, you did trade him.
Richard Bachman is by no means already a #1 goaltender. Comparing him to Schneider or Rask is wrong. I don't see the problem with trading him if Nilstorp is better. He is 25. He will be like 30 when Kari's deal is over. I wouldn't just trade him off for a 5th but c'mon.
And Ward's stats are useless in this discussion. That entire team top to bottom had a bad year defensively.
And again, I sure as hell wouldn't trade him for a 5th round pick right now. But that's probably the best you'd get if, for some insane reason, you did trade him.
Isn't adding up? Having a save percentage that's less than a percent off isn't adding up? He was absolutely peppered with shots when he played, just like Kari. Kari has a significantly better GAA because he's an elite tender.
Fistric could've landed a 2nd, Joe just cna't get good value in any trade. Ever.
Bachman could easily land a solid defensive prospect and a 2nd.
GMJN did Fistric a favor by shipping him to Edmonton instead of taking a slightly higher pick. And besides, it's gonna be a high 3rd and that deep in the draft, 5-10 spots really doesn't mean much at all.
That's what I'd ask for right now (depending on the prospect). No one would pay that though, and we can get more if we hold on to him and let him develop.
Look at the universe of teams that would trade for him as a rental. It's pretty limited. You're essentially looking at teams with injury problems or teams in need of a backup goalie. No team is going to trade for him to be their number one goalie, especially with Luongo dangling out there to nab a starting job for one of the few teams looking for goaltending.
Isn't adding up? Having a save percentage that's less than a percent off isn't adding up? He was absolutely peppered with shots when he played, just like Kari. Kari has a significantly better GAA because he's an elite tender.
It's more than 1% off. .012 is a pretty big gap, honestly.
And typically, the shorter the scale, the higher the numbers. If anything, that shows to me that he's only a borderline #1, good #2.
Richard Bachman is by no means already a #1 goaltender. Comparing him to Schneider or Rask is wrong. I don't see the problem with trading him if Nilstorp is better. He is 25. He will be like 30 when Kari's deal is over. I wouldn't just trade him off for a 5th but c'mon.
This coming from the same person who wants to trade Jagr, Morrow, and Ryder at the deadline.
Now, he's not solely to blame. Any shortcomings on the roster also falls on the pretty poor drafting of the last several GMs. Before you say it, I know people are excited about the potential of a few guys in the AHL and juniors. I hope they are awesome, but we'll have to see. The d corps may suck, and that's entirely the result of the team missing on pick after pick back there. There were lots of high picks spent on d-men, and those guys all turned out to be middling NHLers, which is a shame. Bad drafting leads to thin rosters.
Is it the actual bad drafting, or poor player development? You can pick the right player(s), but if you don't develop them properly it can be just as bad as drafting a complete bust.
That's way pushing it.
