2020/21 Roster Thread IV: A New Hope

[FLYguy3911]

Dunn's a good player but you can't really afford to trade a premium asset for a LHD. He did punch out Kurtis "No one wants to be an NHLer more than " Gabriel, though.

Nice gif.

AV is trash

Of all criticisms? More bite? He was involved in every scrum in the Boston series. The way the team has played, this is a tough time for defensemen to try and get acclimated to the league. They are under a lot of pressure. Seems like his gaps are a bit inconsistent. He's naturally pretty aggressive. He played a 2 on 1 into a breakaway by being too tight and then a couple he was too loose and it turned into an easy entry. Think he's moved the puck well in his limited touches.

 

[orangey]

lol, there it is..

Hogg for C.

sigh...

Eh, he's just trying to push Friedman and that's fine. Coaches do that. If the result is that Friedman steps up and claims a top 6 spot I think we would all be happy. Well maybe not but perhaps briefly.

 

[Striiker]

Eh, he's just trying to push Friedman and that's fine. Coaches do that. If the result is that Friedman steps up and claims a top 6 spot I think we would all be happy. Well maybe not but perhaps briefly.

The real problem is the last sentence of the tweet.

 

[Asnito]

AV is trash

 

[Captain Dave Poulin]

AV is trash

Make no mistake, this is the first time Alain has seen Friedman play, and possibly the first time he has heard his name. Alain is trash.

 

[Magua]

How you could watch the Hagg-Braun duo get cratered every game together, dating back to last year; watch the countless icings; defensive zone pressure; and facepalm worthy attempts to play the sport of hockey — and treat it as hunky dory, pointing the finger at Friedman, is nuts to me. How do they rewatch the Devils game and emerge with that as a focus?

Friedman is not perfect, but he looks the part of an adequate 3rd pair guy who is learning on the job. There is good to his tape and metrics. You’d think coaches would be encouraged and, you know, coach him. The fact that the truculence bullshit is trotted out basically shows where their heads are at.

Hagg has his acceptably mediocre games, even if he’s an eyesore, but this is one of his worst stretches. What goes through their minds watching his tape from last night? The upside presented is getting back to normal level league worst. The reward for Myers returning is the same 3rd pair.

 

[skagittarius]

With the compressed season, I'm guessing the only thing that will keep Hagg out of the line up is an injury. If it was a normal season I'm guessing AV would feel a lot more comfortable using Zamula or Morin in Hagg's spot for a few games, but I've given up thinking that will happen unless we fall out of contention. I'm no fan of Hagg's game. He's a huge liability in terms of his inability to move the puck out of the d-zone effectively. But his strength is when the opposition has offensive zone possession, and unfortunately I'm not sure either Zamula or Morin would be better in that situation with a corresponding O-zone upside. On a side note, it was good to see Ghost back in form. He's got a great stick in the D-zone and is good at defending odd man rushes, similar to Niskanen. He should stay on the first pairing with Provorov but they need to work out their pinches. There's great potential with that paring.

 

[mja]

With the compressed season, I'm guessing the only thing that will keep Hagg out of the line up is an injury. If it was a normal season I'm guessing AV would feel a lot more comfortable using Zamula or Morin in Hagg's spot for a few games, but I've given up thinking that will happen unless we fall out of contention. I'm no fan of Hagg's game. He's a huge liability in terms of his inability to move the puck out of the d-zone effectively. But his strength is when the opposition has offensive zone possession, and unfortunately I'm not sure either Zamula or Morin would be better in that situation with a corresponding O-zone upside. On a side note, it was good to see Ghost back in form. He's got a great stick in the D-zone and is good at defending odd man rushes, similar to Niskanen. He should stay on the first pairing with Provorov but they need to work out their pinches. There's great potential with that paring.

 

[Rebels57]

With the compressed season, I'm guessing the only thing that will keep Hagg out of the line up is an injury. If it was a normal season I'm guessing AV would feel a lot more comfortable using Zamula or Morin in Hagg's spot for a few games, but I've given up thinking that will happen unless we fall out of contention. I'm no fan of Hagg's game. He's a huge liability in terms of his inability to move the puck out of the d-zone effectively. But his strength is when the opposition has offensive zone possession, and unfortunately I'm not sure either Zamula or Morin would be better in that situation with a corresponding O-zone upside. On a side note, it was good to see Ghost back in form. He's got a great stick in the D-zone and is good at defending odd man rushes, similar to Niskanen. He should stay on the first pairing with Provorov but they need to work out their pinches. There's great potential with that paring.

 

[Beef Invictus]

With the compressed season, I'm guessing the only thing that will keep Hagg out of the line up is an injury. If it was a normal season I'm guessing AV would feel a lot more comfortable using Zamula or Morin in Hagg's spot for a few games, but I've given up thinking that will happen unless we fall out of contention. I'm no fan of Hagg's game. He's a huge liability in terms of his inability to move the puck out of the d-zone effectively. But his strength is when the opposition has offensive zone possession, and unfortunately I'm not sure either Zamula or Morin would be better in that situation with a corresponding O-zone upside. On a side note, it was good to see Ghost back in form. He's got a great stick in the D-zone and is good at defending odd man rushes, similar to Niskanen. He should stay on the first pairing with Provorov but they need to work out their pinches. There's great potential with that paring.

That's actually arguably his greatest weakness.

 

[TB87]

“I need more urgency from his game.”



...what?


If anything, he’s been a bit too urgent/aggressive at times. Still perfectly cromulent few games from him this season. I’ve seen much worse from much worse players over the short term & long-term (Brandon Manning, Robert Hagg, Andrew MacDonald, Justin Braun...since the bubble, & Eric Gustafsson).

 

[Alex91]

Friedman biggest issue when everyone is healthy is that he doesn’t play LD or play special teams overly well.

Their has to be a expiring overpaid LD out there that teams are trying to dump. Like a Coburn

 

[BernieParent]

That's actually arguably his greatest weakness.

I think I know what @skagittarius is saying and agree on a relative scale. Hagg is a stay-at-home defenseman and the best tool in his limited skill set is pushing around the net-front forward and blocking shots.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

If I'm reading it correctly, I think a more accurate way to phrase that would be that his strengths come into play most often when there is sustained DZone time. That's not quite the same thing as him being at his best.

 

[wankstifier]

What a dickhead. I hope Friedman dips his sweaty balls in his martini. Unless Vigneault likes it dirty and stirred...

 

[Striiker]

Hagg doesn’t have any strengths. He’s not even good at having strength, aka being strong and pushing people.

He’s bad at literally everything.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Hagg doesn’t have any strengths. He’s not even good at having strength, aka being strong and pushing people.

He’s bad at literally everything.

Nah, he's about a league average guy at his own blueline for example, both in Carry Against% and Avg Passes Allowed. Pretty good Shot Blocker off of sustained zone time too. It's just that none of that matters because of the non-functionality in key areas.

 

[Starat327]

Nah, he's about a league average guy at his own blueline for example, both in Carry Against% and Avg Passes Allowed. Pretty good Shot Blocker off of sustained zone time too. It's just that none of that matters because of the non-functionality in key areas.

You know you get good at shot blocking? Practice.

You know how you practice shot blocking? Sustained zone pressure in your zone.

I understand the premise of being a 'good shot blocker', but the term itself generally means you aren't doing something else right: getting out of pressure in your own zone.

Being a good shot blocker is like.. aloe lotion after a day at the beach. Sure, its good. But you know what's better? Using sunscreen to not get burnt at all.

 

[mja]

Nah, he's about a league average guy at his own blueline for example, both in Carry Against% and Avg Passes Allowed. Pretty good Shot Blocker off of sustained zone time too. It's just that none of that matters because of the non-functionality in key areas.

He’s ok at getting in the way, basically.

 

[Striiker]

Nah, he's about a league average guy at his own blueline for example, both in Carry Against% and Avg Passes Allowed. Pretty good Shot Blocker off of sustained zone time too. It's just that none of that matters because of the non-functionality in key areas.

 

[DAVIDE1333]

He’s ok at getting in the way, basically.

My wife always tells me I get in the way. Maybe I could be a defenseman.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

He’s ok at getting in the way, basically.

Yes, this. He's like a road cone currently occupied by a particularly spry hermit crab.

 

[Striiker]

He’s ok at getting in the way, basically.

It's all accidental and you can't convince me otherwise.

 

[deadhead]

In career so far:

Friedman with Hagg: 36.9% Corsi, 40.3% ExGF
Friedman without Hagg: 59.6% Corsi, 51.6% ExGF

Small samples. But that is a precipitous difference even so. But not an unheard of difference really... everyone loses like ~5% Corsi or ExGF minimum playing with Hagg over a decent strecth.

Except Ghost, who was better with Hagg the last two years than away from Hagg.
Go figure.

 

[deadhead]

Hagg
2017-18: 18:08
2018-19: 16:57
2019-20: 15:36
2020-21: 16:05, even with all the injuries, he's only playing 29 seconds more than last season, with Ghost and Myers back, he'll probably lose another minute or two unless he's benched at some point