Picard made a few boneheaded moves today....but if he keeps scoring then he keeps playing IMO.
And holy crap...Kuba just keeps getting points...
Except he causes more goals than he creates.
Bench Picard and put Lee back in with a real defense partner, and we probably see someone who looks better than Picard.
Stillman now has 5 goals alot of points jesus. Like a million and a half more then kelly... argh
Stillman >>> Kelly + Donovan + a little bit of cap space (? not sure exactly how the numbers work out)
Stillman played well with Vermette, could QB a decent powerplay, is the definition of a 2nd line scorer IMO. The only drawback is he is a bit slow.
I find the decision to re-sign Kelly and Donovan odd given our glut of muckers. At least Donovan is cheap. I find it hard to imagine that C Bass or Z Smith could not do what Kelly does at a much cheaper rate. Moreover, McAmmond (who was already signed for this season) could easily do it as well.
Note: I am leaving Fisher out of this discussion because he was already signed. I am looking strictly at Murray's decisions this past summer.
It's quite amazing how Gerber would have been destroyed if he had been in net during the fluke goal. Now, Auld had an OK game but he should have stopped that shot. It wasn't that powerful.
Shocking...Martin Gerber wasnt the problem at all! Its the team in front of him....who knew....
Auld certainly isnt the answer if he played like he did tonight...of course I am sure there will be people defending the same goals that they would roast Gerber for.
IMO Auld was decent...not great, but alright. Team needs to learn to play 60 minutes (how many years have we been saying that for...)
On my way out tonight I cut Bryan Murray off REALLLLY badly. He gave me a death stare.
Yes, Gerber was and is a continuing problem on this team. Auld played a more consistent and reliable game than Gerber yet again. A couple of flukey goals went past him... but I figure that if pucks aren't regularly batted out of the air on harmless routine plays and our team doesn't get involved in a giant circle jerk to screen our goalie... that goals like them won't be a regular occurence. Can't say that about weak-assed floaters from the point on Gerber now can we?
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Originally Posted by The Mars Volchenkov
Meh, I thought he recovered alright after the first goal. Plus, he's been a real nice addition to the PP, at least IMO. The mistakes are frustrating, but I can live with them for now. He shouldn't be playing 22 minutes like he was tonight though.
He was involved in the Pahlsson goal circle jerk, then again so was Spezza and at least 2 others.
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Originally Posted by OttawaGM
Kuba's on pact for 117points, I wonder what kind of contract that would deserve
I just wonder if he could get 64 now. I'm surprised at how long that record has lasted.
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Originally Posted by Answer
How was Meszaros better??
Picard is straight up a swap for Meszaros -- Bone head defensive plays, good on the PP and offensive end.
Meszaros never got benched, then, why should Picard?
He will only learn from his mistakes. He won't learn **** from sitting on the bench and not actually practising his game in a REAL GAME.
Come on... Picard's making as many mistakes in a single game as Meszaros would in a week. They aren't comparable right now.
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Originally Posted by Caeldan
Except he causes more goals than he creates.
Bench Picard and put Lee back in with a real defense partner, and we probably see someone who looks better than Picard.
Lee didn't earn a spot out of training and had contributed absolutely nothing when he was here. 2 months in Bingo would help him.
This is where Schubert should be getting a chance. I mean, what the hell... is he actually going to play worse than they are? Is that possible?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrs_NyQuil
Stillman played well with Vermette, could QB a decent powerplay, is the definition of a 2nd line scorer IMO. The only drawback is he is a bit slow.
IMO, Vermette's looking like a pretty good 2nd unit PP QB. From what I can see, the mor the puck flows through him... the better our chances and the more of them we see.
IMO, Vermette's looking like a pretty good 2nd unit PP QB. From what I can see, the mor the puck flows through him... the better our chances and the more of them we see.
This is the first time I have seen Vermette perform well on the powerplay. His skillset has always seemed like it would work on the PP and yet in the past, he has always seemed to struggle. This year, he and Foligno have really nice chemistry with the quick give and gos on the right side. In general, the PP should really be the least of our concern. Heck, we even have two 5 of 3 goals this year, which may well exceed last year's total.
Re Picard v. Meszaros - while I can't provide an exact ratio, my sense at this time is that Picard is slightly more gaffe prone than Mez, but provides more offensive creativity. I do think people are harping on his defensive miscues a bit. Richardson left Getzlaf totally open on the winning goal, but people seem to be focused only on the first. Furthermore, leaving a man open in front while standing there stupidly with his stick in the air was undoubtedly a hallmark of Meszaros's play here and I noticed him doing it this year for TB in Czech v. the Rangers on the winning goal in the first game. In any event, Picard is similar enough to Mez but when you add in Kuba + the first the deal looks good at this point.
One thing I notice about Picard is that his 1 v 1 play is a bit weak. His ability to pivot from backwards-skating to forwards seems awkward and slow. That said, he does appear to have an uncanny ability to get his stick back in the play and knock the puck away. Still, it is a bit of a concern to me.
My wife surprised me with game tickets so I was there last night and I have to say that seeing them live puts a much better complexion on things. I thought they played pretty decent last night. They started a little tentative as if they really didn't want to make that first mistake that would lead to a goal and then they just got unlucky. Even before the fightback the team were playing really well and with a bit more luck could have had several goals. The 3 quick goals were awesome and they very nearly had the 4th.
I am not worried about this team, they definitely have the talent and they are bound to make a few mistakes at the back end as the chemistry develops.
Lee didn't earn a spot out of training and had contributed absolutely nothing when he was here. 2 months in Bingo would help him.
This is where Schubert should be getting a chance. I mean, what the hell... is he actually going to play worse than they are? Is that possible?
I believe TMV's with me on this one that Lee-Schubert was by far our best 3rd pairing in pre-season. Picard looked worse than Lee out of training camp, and I think has played worse (though he's put up some points, he's caused more).
Stillman >>> Kelly + Donovan + a little bit of cap space (? not sure exactly how the numbers work out)
Stillman played well with Vermette, could QB a decent powerplay, is the definition of a 2nd line scorer IMO. The only drawback is he is a bit slow.
I find the decision to re-sign Kelly and Donovan odd given our glut of muckers. At least Donovan is cheap. I find it hard to imagine that C Bass or Z Smith could not do what Kelly does at a much cheaper rate. Moreover, McAmmond (who was already signed for this season) could easily do it as well.
Note: I am leaving Fisher out of this discussion because he was already signed. I am looking strictly at Murray's decisions this past summer.
I couldn't agree more. Stillman SHOULD HAVE BEEN RE-SIGNED! He's lighting up in Florida and he would probably have done the same with the Sens. We might just have won a game or two more with a player like him around.
I am very confused as to why Murray did not try to keep him around. Big mistake by the GM.
I couldn't agree more. Stillman SHOULD HAVE BEEN RE-SIGNED! He's lighting up in Florida and he would probably have done the same with the Sens. We might just have won a game or two more with a player like him around.
I am very confused as to why Murray did not try to keep him around. Big mistake by the GM.
What if... Stillman didn't want to resign here? We can only blame so much on Murray.
I am very confused as to why Murray did not try to keep him around. Big mistake by the GM.
Murray had his mind made up on Stillman before the draft if I recall correctly. It was certainly long before free agency opened, that's for sure. He gave a radio interview where he said that he didn't think he had the money for Stillman, but then he found 2.2M for Kelly, 2.6M for Smith, 1.3M for Ruutu, 1.0M for Auld, 625K for Donovan...
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Originally Posted by BURY
What if... Stillman didn't want to resign here? We can only blame so much on Murray.
Certainly a possibility. Can't really blame him if he didn't.
Murray had his mind made up on Stillman before the draft if I recall correctly. It was certainly long before free agency opened, that's for sure. He gave a radio interview where he said that he didn't think he had the money for Stillman, but then he found 2.2M for Kelly, 2.6M for Smith, 1.3M for Ruutu, 1.0M for Auld, 625K for Donovan...
Certainly a possibility. Can't really blame him if he didn't.
And Stillman would have likely signed with us at $3 million flat, which was more than doable for Murray. I suppose Kelly was more of a priority but watching the team this season, I would have rather he deal him and retain Stillman.
I believe TMV's with me on this one that Lee-Schubert was by far our best 3rd pairing in pre-season. Picard looked worse than Lee out of training camp, and I think has played worse (though he's put up some points, he's caused more).
There is quite a few of us that think Schubert-Lee was our best 3rd pairing in pre-season.
It's just unfortunate that Murray and Hartsburg don't think so.
__________________
No, I'm not a girl. Stop asking!
And Stillman would have likely signed with us at $3 million flat, which was more than doable for Murray. I suppose Kelly was more of a priority but watching the team this season, I would have rather he deal him and retain Stillman.
I don't believe he would've signed for $3 mil, so I'm not sure where that's coming from. However, from what I heard, he was willing to sign with us for the same contract he signed in Florida.
As much as I would've liked to see him here, I don't know if he would help as much as that cap space might help in acquiring someone like a defenceman or a goalie down the road.
And Stillman would have likely signed with us at $3 million flat, which was more than doable for Murray. I suppose Kelly was more of a priority but watching the team this season, I would have rather he deal him and retain Stillman.
Steelman wud haf sined heer for 1.2millions!!! DAMN U MOORAY!!1!
Did u saw me?
I was in section 308, B-12 (like if there was any chance that you saw me)
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Originally Posted by Pathfinder
Good luck in the #@%$@!& traffic
Actually my wife didn't like it but i guess it's the same thing everywhere (well, in Canada at least). Took me 45 mins to get out of the parking near the Bell Center last time...
Picard is straight up a swap for Meszaros -- Bone head defensive plays, good on the PP and offensive end.
Meszaros never got benched, then, why should Picard?
He will only learn from his mistakes. He won't learn **** from sitting on the bench and not actually practising his game in a REAL GAME.
Well, i share the same toughts. Picard is not already at Meszaros level, but he is not that far. Picard could put 35 points this season and have a lot of turnovers, just like Meszaros. His shot is more accurate though.
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Originally Posted by Papa Lazarou
My wife surprised me with game tickets so I was there last night and I have to say that seeing them live puts a much better complexion on things. I thought they played pretty decent last night. They started a little tentative as if they really didn't want to make that first mistake that would lead to a goal and then they just got unlucky. Even before the fightback the team were playing really well and with a bit more luck could have had several goals. The 3 quick goals were awesome and they very nearly had the 4th.
I am not worried about this team, they definitely have the talent and they are bound to make a few mistakes at the back end as the chemistry develops.
Yep, we seem like curse a bit and could use better goaltending, but i still have hopes for this team to do at least decent.
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Originally Posted by koh19
It's quite amazing how Gerber would have been destroyed if he had been in net during the fluke goal. Now, Auld had an OK game but he should have stopped that shot. It wasn't that powerful.
Well, it was a lucky goal. Smith grabbed the puck and Marchant just batted it in the air, unfortunately it went right in the net, Auld was screened by Smith, so he couldn't see the puck. That goal killed us and happened to be the difference in the game. Curse!
