huzer

No, not particularly. It's ok, you take the forum contrarian view for the sake of discussion, it appears. Keep on keeping' on. But if you're going to suggest tanking (which "perform less well" comes to mean), at least go full in, as @tomh009 presented.

If you're trying to ice the worst lineup, then why keep Guhle, Caufield, etc at all in the NHL? Send them all down and bring up some plugs. I jest, of course, but it seems you've turned the corner from Bergevin/Ducharme cheerleader to troll levels of tanking. My son likes the Mighty Ducks Gamechanges series on Disney. Maybe we should follow suit of one of the teams on that show, and make everyone play with their off hand, too.

Just to add a little context to how historically bad last season was: 8th win of 2022-2023: Nov 12 8th win of 2021-2022: Jan 18 After that 8th win last year, they had a 10 game losing streak, and didn't get win #9 until Feb 17th. To match that level of incompetence, they would have to embark on a consecutive 40 game losing streak. Oof.

He has benefited from playing with Suzuki and Caufield instead of Monahan and Hoffman, which makes sense. I figure Dach is doing better than anyone else on that line that's had the opportunity. Time will tell if it keeps up long term, but so far, his style of play appears to blend well.

Right up the road from me, I should go check out a game.

The Deadline 2023 line! The pending UFA line!

I like PK. Genuinely seemed like he was having fun out there, which is what playing a game should be. I'm sure he'll keep on keepin' on in the studio.

Resigning Drouin won't happen. However, I believe he's good for a 50pt pace, and can achieve that this year if healthy. 50 pt players are streaky. Drouin isn't going to pop in exactly 5 points every 10 games. Just like every mid-pack offensively minded winger, he's going to go on streaks of 8pts in 5 games, and have 5 game stretches of 0 points. If he wasn't streaky (like most mid tier offensively minded players), then he would score more, and thus be paid more. Bergevin's hope was that he would lock in Drouin at what would eventually be a below market contract. Ends up, he's mildly overpaid, but not drastically so. Hopefully, he can stay healthy, be his streaky top 6 winger self, and net the team a fair return at the deadline.

No Kulak, no Romanov. The D is going to be a mess.

This is me being shocked with the news about Price. I called it when he was going through “alternative therapy” instead of surgical repair on his knee.

I consider goalie mental strength and focus very similar to golfing. It's that singular focus, and being able to let go of the mistakes/goals/etc. Braden Holtby and his water bottle squirts, or a golfer following the same shot routine every time to get where they need to be mentally. That's a hard concept at a young age. Heck, it can be a hard concept at any age. Short memories, that's what's required. Goaltending is something I think about quite a bit. And much like the "old school hockey culture" for some of the issues present today, it's there in a different capacity for the position of goaltending. I've shown up at practices and hear coaches, including former NHL players that are now coaches, simply stating "I don't know what to do with a goalie for practice". As I navigate through different hockey associations, it's appalling to me how many will tell me "we don't really have any goalie coaching in house, I think most of the kids do private lessons." Yes, I know, once kids are playing JR/USHL/etc, those programs have dedicated goalie coaches. I just think there would be much less of a mystique around the position, and about predicting future success of goaltenders, if kids received a modicum of attention, rather than relying on being a stationary big target, or being overly athletic, to enjoy success at the beginning of their goalie careers.

Goalies are in interesting case, and I'd suggest starting in youth/minor hockey is where it stems from. The emphasis on size, rather than ability, starts at that level. Call it the Mighty Ducks syndrome, where the biggest, but maybe not the most talented kid, is put in net because odds are greater that the puck will merely hit him. I'm sure that emphasizing size, with limited coaching/etc, impacts early development much more than it impacts skaters. It's such a shame that goalies get labeled with weird/voodoo at such a young age, which almost dictates to an impressionable kid that yes, being a goalie IS weird. Wanna know why goalies are voodoo? Because unlike any other position in hockey, it's ignored developmentally until older/higher levels of hockey.

Completely agree. It starts much lower than HC. As I said before, these kids generally start being left alone in locker rooms once they can tie their own skates. These athletes should be 100% supervised through all levels of minor hockey. No good can EVER come from a gathering of 20 or so 12-18 year old boys with no supervision, whether it's sport related or not. And then once adults start reinforcing how "special" top athletes are, well, you're also reinforcing that they can do no wrong. Will supervision cure all ills? No. But it will certainly nip quite a few before they become larger problems.

Continuing to poo-poo a Hughes move? At least you're consistent!

Usually, fired coaches wait until they aren't being paid by the team that fired them to complain. Anyway, I think everyone knew the writing was on the wall for Ducharme. When does an incoming GM keep the coaching staff in place on a floundering team? I guess I was surprised they didn't let the season finish with Ducharme, but ultimately, I'm glad they didn't, given just how Caufield's season did a complete 180.