Personally I think Dillon will make a big step forward, making an impression in Dallas and probably even play more games there than Larsen. But that's just a wild guess.
Otherwise I expect some real battle in goal as Kari won't most likely play as many games this season. I'd wish to see some opportunities for Besko and Bachman as Raycroft might leave us after the season. Gulutzan knows them well so maybe that's not too unrealistic.
There have been made lots of promising changes in the offseason that makes one look with optimism towards the future even without Richards. Just like at the beginning of last season, now the other players have to step it up...again...
I like what I hear so far from Gulutzan's camp, sounds like he is focusing on getting this team better prepared, and to play with more discipline. These are two areas that seemed to lack under "the coach's name that shall not be mentioned"
I really like Gulutzan's plan to dedicate morning skates to special teams practice instead of just optional screwing around.
yeah I agree it's a great decision. It only takes 15-20 minutes to work on your PP and PK units in the morning and review what the opposition does on the special teams, but it's the kind of thing that could pay off big time that night. It seems like lately Dallas is always on the losing end of the special teams battles, so it couldn't hurt.
It's a really smart decision. How many times last year did we get to actually practice mid season? Not much. With all the back to back games, injuries, people getting worn down, I could on one hand the number of real practice days we had near the end of the season. Too often the one day off we'd get between games would be R&R days.
Near the end of the season, practice games get few and far between. Meaning important stuff like special teams don't get revisited over and over again. Using morning skates to practice PP/PK and also tailor it to the specific team you're playing makes so much damn sense.
Gul's ideas really make a lot of sense. he seems to get it. Everyone's posting rave reviews. Let's hope he lives up to the hype. There's a lot to be optimistic about, but I'm sure NJ fans felt the same this time last year.
yeah I agree it's a great decision. It only takes 15-20 minutes to work on your PP and PK units in the morning and review what the opposition does on the special teams, but it's the kind of thing that could pay off big time that night. It seems like lately Dallas is always on the losing end of the special teams battles, so it couldn't hurt.
Maybe I'm naiive about how these guys prepare for games, but working on things special teams-wise game day mornings for that specific opponent would seem to offer a clear cut goal with tangible results, good or bad. Seeing the fruits of your labor, etc.
For the love of all that is holy please mic both your interviewer and the interviewee. Lav mic the interviewer at the very least. Most of the time they are asking questions about specific players, which are answered with "he" or "they" by the interviewee. It negates the entire video watching experience if I, the viewer don't know who is being referred to. The videos with Ralph and Razor have virtually none of these issues due to their professionalism but the videos with the off-camera interviewer during the media scrums and such are almost useless.
Seriously, fixing these little things would go a long way to marketing the game. Don't make people go out of their way to find good Stars material. The official website should be THE place to get quality video and audio.
I'm hoping that he'll let the more creative shooters actually go in the shootout. Kind of had an issue with that down here. Also, his back checking system is pretty impressive. Wandell will have a pretty big year before he's traded off
Maybe I'm naiive about how these guys prepare for games, but working on things special teams-wise game day mornings for that specific opponent would seem to offer a clear cut goal with tangible results, good or bad. Seeing the fruits of your labor, etc.
My understanding is that previously they would have video sessions on gameday with regard to special teams. I'd assume that will continue with the on-ice work being done in addition. The attitude before seemed to be all too often, "Oh, it's the players' job to figure it out and fix things once they get out there." Maybe going through real practices on gameday (but ones that aren't grueling or anything) will help the team be ready in general for puck drop, which was one of their other major failings.
I'm hoping that he'll let the more creative shooters actually go in the shootout. Kind of had an issue with that down here. Also, his back checking system is pretty impressive. Wandell will have a pretty big year before he's traded off
Ribs
Benn
Loui
I think should be the standard three with Wandell switching out anyone who is shooting stale
I'm very impressed of Gulutzan, I like what he said and his attitude.?
Well remember Crawford said a lot of things before his first season that sounded impressive and it didn't turn out that way. Not trying to be negative, but just saying.
Well remember Crawford said a lot of things before his first season that sounded impressive and it didn't turn out that way. Not trying to be negative, but just saying.
It was also Crawford saying those things.
Did anyone, and I literally mean anyone, buy into anything he says?
Just has a completely different feel to it, imo.
__________________
★ #14 - #19 - #56 ★
Dallas Stars - Arsenal FC - FC Dallas - Alabama Crimson Tide - Kentucky Wildcats - SMU Mustangs Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - 1997 to 2011 - WPHL Champions 1998, 1999, 2000 - CHL Champions 2011
Did anyone, and I literally mean anyone, buy into anything he says?
Of course not. I feel pretty confident that the vast majority of Stars fans treated Crawford with a "not long for the job" attitude from the outset. Nothing about him was "Dallas Stars", beginning with his system.
On the topic of the Crawford and Gulutzan hirings...It seems that virgin GM Nieuwendyk felt he had to make a change at head coach from the very beginning. I don't think it had anything to do with Tippett per se, just that Joe had a long term plan for how this GM gig should work. With Crawford, a guy who had been around the league for a while and whose teams Nieuwendyk played against, Joe had a personal understanding of what to expect from him and thus how to compare and contrast his style and results to other coaches and coaching trends around the league. This second coach hiring is the one that Nieuwendyk should really be judged by. He saw how his baseline coaching hire fared, which one would assume factored heavily into his search the second time around.
While I've been kind of hard on Nieuwendyk in the past, ultimately I do think he is a smart guy and I'm banking on that intelligence manifesting itself in tangible evidence more and more. There is a fair amount of correlation between he and Jon Daniels, who had his share of questionable decisions early in his tenure as Rangers GM. As in JD's case, I'm counting on Nieuwendyk having a learning curve at this GM thing.
