Speculation: 2022-23 Roster Thread Part II

[Rybread86]

No, people are acting like the team has sucked for the entire NHL tenure of most of our youth which is absolutely true.

The NHL tenure of most our youth is only 2 years. Relax, they can handle a little adversity.

 

[ohcomeonref]

The NHL tenure of most our youth is only 2 years. Relax, they can handle a little adversity.

You're the one that seems to be upset that the youth are getting beaten down by all the losing, I'm just pointing out facts.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

So a guy struggling to stay in a lineup, during a contract year, is so affected by playing on a losing team that he's not motivated to earn another contract after this one?

People act like we've sucked for 10 years. We're not the Coyotes. These young players should all be loving this right now because there is no pressure on them to win. The only pressure is to get better and earn some $$ along the way.

If he was in his 30's and nearing the end of his playing days, I could understand that argument a bit better. But hes 23 years old and hasnt earned jack squat yet.

People have different motivations.

Some guys want money, some guys want to win and most want both. The reality is since Comtois has been a full time duck the team has been dreadful. What the Ducks were before he became a full timer really wouldn't effect him much.

Anyone whos ever competed at any level will tell you how shitty it is to be on a losing team. You don't get to this level by being unaffected by losing. The ducks have not only been on a losing team they have been impressively bad.

Since Comtois has been a Duck -
1. Worst PP in league history.
2. Outshot almost every single game.
3. Massively out possessed every single game.
4. Basically eliminated the first month of the season in 2/4 of years and the others didn't really have much of a shot either.

If theres players on the team that are "loving this" because theres no pressure on them to win, please just send them to another team. Thats an attitude that is counterproductive to any team that has ideas of winning.

 

[Rybread86]

You're the one that seems to be upset that the youth are getting beaten down by all the losing, I'm just pointing out facts.

Huh? Im making the opposite argument. Losing at this stage really shouldnt affect the younger guys. Maybe the older guys whose careers are coming to an end but young guys trying to earn contracts shouldnt be affected by a couple losing seasons.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

The idea that Comtois was the leading scorer under Eakins and now cant score because of Eakins is a bit of mental gymnastics.

Comtois is responsible for Comtois. Hes had plenty of opportunities to play with top line guys, the problem is he doesnt play well enough to stay there and/or he drags down the guys around him.

He will have a career in the NHL, just not sure how long or prosperous it will be. His compete level is up there, he certainly puts in the effort, but he needs to take a page out of Terry book and stop trying to make things happen. He needs to just go out and play his game and simplify it.

Comtois was the leading scorer because somebody has to be.

The Ducks will always have a leading scorer and given the makeup of their team they will likely be young. This has little to do with Eakins.

Eakins system is just awful. Watch the other team carry the puck around your zone while you stand in front of the net trying to make a block. By the time the ducks get the puck they have to skate it out of their zone and dump it in for a change. I have no idea how any offensive minded player is expected to produced in this environment and have little interest in judging Comtois until he has a real coach.

 

[Rybread86]

People have different motivations.

Some guys want money, some guys want to win and most want both. The reality is since Comtois has been a full time duck the team has been dreadful. What the Ducks were before he became a full timer really wouldn't effect him much.

Anyone whos ever competed at any level will tell you how shitty it is to be on a losing team. You don't get to this level by being unaffected by losing. The ducks have not only been on a losing team they have been impressively bad.

Since Comtois has been a Duck -
1. Worst PP in league history.
2. Outshot almost every single game.
3. Massively out possessed every single game.
4. Basically eliminated the first month of the season in 2/4 of years and the others didn't really have much of a shot either.

If theres players on the team that are "loving this" because theres no pressure on them to win, please just send them to another team. Thats an attitude that is counterproductive to any team that has ideas of winning.

Yeah its sucks to be on a shitty team. I've been on my fair share of shitty teams. But those are the seasons where the only pressure on you is to get better, not to win. You are misinterpreting what Im saying by "loving this". No, none of them love to lose and anyone who does needs to quit playing the game. What I am saying is they should at least love the fact that the only pressure on them right now is to get better. You can find good in the midst of bad.

If he, or any of these guys, are that fragile that going through a rebuild this early on is causing them to not give a shit, then screw em. But I dont think thats the case.

 

[Rybread86]

Comtois was the leading scorer because somebody has to be.

The Ducks will always have a leading scorer and given the makeup of their team they will likely be young. This has little to do with Eakins.

Eakins system is just awful. Watch the other team carry the puck around your zone while you stand in front of the net trying to make a block. By the time the ducks get the puck they have to skate it out of their zone and dump it in for a change. I have no idea how any offensive minded player is expected to produced in this environment and have little interest in judging Comtois until he has a real coach.

Comtois was the leading scorer because... someone had to be? Thats the argument? Rakell, Henrique, Getzlaf... why none of them then?

So Comtios was good that season despite Eakins and now he sucks because of Eakins. Weird argument, but ok.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Lol, people are acting like Comtois was a first round pick. He fell all the way to the second round for a reason - inconsistency

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Comtois was the leading scorer because... someone had to be? Thats the argument? Rakell, Henrique, Getzlaf... why none of them then?

So Comtios was good that season despite Eakins and now he sucks because of Eakins. Weird argument, but ok.

Because the team was awful? because Eakins is a beer league coach with an NHL job? the leading scorer had 33 points. It's not really a feather in Eakins cap that his leading scorer was almost 20 games under a PPG.

Yeah its sucks to be on a shitty team. I've been on my fair share of shitty teams. But those are the seasons where the only pressure on you is to get better, not to win. You are misinterpreting what Im saying by "loving this". No, none of them love to lose and anyone who does needs to quit playing the game. What I am saying is they should at least love the fact that the only pressure on them right now is to get better. You can find good in the midst of bad.

If he, or any of these guys, are that fragile that going through a rebuild this early on is causing them to not give a shit, then screw em. But I dont think thats the case.

Theres wanting to improve and being unable to improve because of poor coaching.

How can an offensive player improve with the way the Ducks play? They barely touch the puck. You bring up Terry but what about the players that haven't improved under Eakins? Why aren't you bringing up Steel, Heinen, Jones, Larrson or Guhle? Why haven't Lundestrom and Comtois continued to play well? maybe its time to talk about Lundestrom being a bottom 6 after coming off a 16 goal season?

Why aren't you bringing up the fact that Klingberg was a sought after offensive powerhouse who is now on pace for his worst year in his career? Shattenkirk was a top pairing D-man for one of the best teams in league history before he came to Anaheim. He now plays like an AHLer. Gibson was considered a top 5 goalie before Eakins arrived and hes untradeable.

Having the same poor system year after year and wanting guys to improve when you have more guys who haven't improved than you have guys who do, is just not going to produce much.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Because the team was awful? because Eakins is a beer league coach with an NHL job? the leading scorer had 33 points. It's not really a feather in Eakins cap that his leading scorer was almost 20 games under a PPG.


Theres wanting to improve and being unable to improve because of poor coaching.

How can an offensive player improve with the way the Ducks play? They barely touch the puck. You bring up Terry but what about the players that haven't improved under Eakins? Why aren't you bringing up Steel, Heinen, Jones, Larrson or Guhle? Why haven't Lundestrom and Comtois continued to play well? maybe its time to talk about Lundestrom being a bottom 6 after coming off a 16 goal season?

Why aren't you bringing up the fact that Klingberg was a sought after offensive powerhouse who is now on pace for his worst year in his career? Shattenkirk was a top pairing D-man for one of the best teams in league history before he came to Anaheim. He now plays like an AHLer. Gibson was considered a top 5 goalie before Eakins arrived and hes untradeable.

Having the same poor system year after year and wanting guys to improve when you have more guys who haven't improved than you have guys who do, is just not going to produce much.

Klingberg has not been coached to play the way he’s playing. His play is on him. He has 38 shots. That’s on him. He’s also rather amusingly on pace for a career high in goals - he’s an assist guy who…couldn’t get a long term high paying contract last summer.

Shattenkirk was a bottom pairing offensive specialist being shepherded by a legit 1D, who’d been previously bought of by the team before for…not being a legit top pairing D. Top pairing D also do not sign 3.9M contracts. He’s also led the D in +/- the entire season, in spite of being the whipping boy.

Lundestrom shot 19.3% last year. The lack of depth wingers for him to play with and reversion to his more normal shooting % is more to blame than Eakins. It also makes no sense to say that he progressed to those totals last year under/in spite of Eakins, but that his regression is solely because of Eakins.

Eakins has flaws, but the roster is poorly constructed, talent starved, and has young and not strikingly inconsistent play. All teams have more young players who fail to improve. That’s why there are so many high round draft picks in the bottom 6 of every team in the league. The only Ducks currently being iced who were drafted outside the top 2 rounds are Henrique (3rd), Kirkland (3rd), Klingberg (5th), Carrick (5th) and Terry (5th).

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Klingberg has not been coached to play the way he’s playing. His play is on him. He has 38 shots. That’s on him. He’s also rather amusingly on pace for a career high in goals - he’s an assist guy who…couldn’t get a long term high paying contract last summer.

Shattenkirk was a bottom pairing offensive specialist being shepherded by a legit 1D, who’d been previously bought of by the team before for…not being a legit top pairing D. Top pairing D also do not sign 3.9M contracts. He’s also led the D in +/- the entire season, in spite of being the whipping boy.

Lundestrom shot 19.3% last year. The lack of depth wingers for him to play with and reversion to his more normal shooting % is more to blame than Eakins. It also makes no sense to say that he progressed to those totals last year under/in spite of Eakins, but that his regression is solely because of Eakins.

Eakins has flaws, but the roster is poorly constructed, talent starved, and has young and not strikingly inconsistent play. All teams have more young players who fail to improve. That’s why there are so many high round draft picks in the bottom 6 of every team in the league. The only Ducks currently being iced who were drafted outside the top 2 rounds are Henrique (3rd), Kirkland (3rd), Klingberg (5th), Carrick (5th) and Terry (5th).

His results are because of coaching. Klingberg is someone who puts up points because his team is in the offensive zone. Shots from the point looking for tips setting up rebounds is his game. Eakins system does not allow for him to do this because they're simply never in the O zone. Watch at the TDL when hes dealt and he'll look like a completely different player.

Shattenkirk isn't a legit 1D but hes a lot better than what hes showed for the Ducks. Hes another guy that would benefit from being on a team that isn't' spending 90 percent of the game defending. Hes a good player if hes in a good / great situation. The ducks haven't been close to either.

His regression isn't solely on Eakins but playing a young 16 goal scorer with a broken down Silf is a good way to make sure his shooting percentage goes down. Yes he played with Silf for lots of last season but everyone who watched Silf knew that his days of being a top 9 player was long over and Lundestrom needed better. Play him with forwards who have a prayer of being an offensive player and maybe Lundestrom has more than 1 goal.

The roster has flaws and has had flaws for 4 years but its not as bad as the results would suggest.

Worst PP of all time? with Shattenkirk, Drysdale, Zegras, Getzlaf, Henrique, Raks and others? no I'm not buying it.

Bottom 5 in the PP this year with Zegras, Klingberg, McTavish, Terry, Comtois, Shattenkirk, Drysdale? again not buying it.

Chances of making the playoffs gone by late OCT despite playing in a very weak Western Confrence? again not buying it. Henrique, Gibson, Storlaz, Beniot, Terry, Strome, Zegras, McTavish, Lundestrom, Vatrano, Comtois, Klingberg, Drysdale, Shattenkirk all have value to most teams. Combined them all together and you have a less than desirable roster but worse than the Blackhawks and Coyotes who are purposely trying to lose? no.

The Ducks have flaws but they are at least of NHL quality for the most part. Which the same can't be said for Eakins who is using an outdated system and has a combined record of 86-157. As Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says.

 

[Ducks DVM]

His results are because of coaching. Klingberg is someone who puts up points because his team is in the offensive zone. Shots from the point looking for tips setting up rebounds is his game. Eakins system does not allow for him to do this because they're simply never in the O zone. Watch at the TDL when hes dealt and he'll look like a completely different player.

Shattenkirk isn't a legit 1D but hes a lot better than what hes showed for the Ducks. Hes another guy that would benefit from being on a team that isn't' spending 90 percent of the game defending. Hes a good player if hes in a good / great situation. The ducks haven't been close to either.

His regression isn't solely on Eakins but playing a young 16 goal scorer with a broken down Silf is a good way to make sure his shooting percentage goes down. Yes he played with Silf for lots of last season but everyone who watched Silf knew that his days of being a top 9 player was long over and Lundestrom needed better. Play him with forwards who have a prayer of being an offensive player and maybe Lundestrom has more than 1 goal.

The roster has flaws and has had flaws for 4 years but its not as bad as the results would suggest.

Worst PP of all time? with Shattenkirk, Drysdale, Zegras, Getzlaf, Henrique, Raks and others? no I'm not buying it.

Bottom 5 in the PP this year with Zegras, Klingberg, McTavish, Terry, Comtois, Shattenkirk, Drysdale? again not buying it.

Chances of making the playoffs gone by late OCT despite playing in a very weak Western Confrence? again not buying it. Henrique, Gibson, Storlaz, Beniot, Terry, Strome, Zegras, McTavish, Lundestrom, Vatrano, Comtois, Klingberg, Drysdale, Shattenkirk all have value to most teams. Combined them all together and you have a less than desirable roster but worse than the Blackhawks and Coyotes who are purposely trying to lose? no.

The Ducks have flaws but they are at least of NHL quality for the most part. Which the same can't be said for Eakins who is using an outdated system and has a combined record of 86-157. As Bill Parcells says, you are what your record says.

Shattenkirk has nearly twice as many shots, in exactly the same system. Yes, it’s Klingberg.

Shattenkirk isn’t even a mid-pairing D. He’s a bottom pairing PP specialist. And he’s good at that. But he’s used as a top 2/4 and PK guy, which he isn’t…because of the roster.

Nobody maintains a 19+ shooting percentage. That’s not on the coach. Who are you going to put him with? He’s not good enough to supplant Zegras or Strome, he wasn’t outplaying McTavish, so do you want him on the wing? Can you identify any left wing on the roster who’s worthwhile outside of Henrique? Can you identify a right wing who deserved to be demoted to play with him? Identify the top 9 you’d put on the ice that will improve his scoring - because he’s not good enough to get Terry and there’s not much else out there.

The entire team outside of Terry on the top line, Klingberg when he’s on the 2nd pairing, and Shattenkirk when he’s on the bottom pairing are playing at least one slot to high. Yes, the roster is that bad. They’re in over their heads, there’s next to zero legitimate team toughness, and the defense isn’t constructed with complementary players.

The PP is at 15.8%, 27th in the league this year and has been improving. And again - Eakins doesn’t run the PP, and under BM didn’t even have control of who his assistant coaches were.

They’re above Chicago in the standings (games in hand aren’t impressive when the team has gone 1-15-1), and that team has legitimate HOF players, I think they’re absolutely a worse team than Chicago SHOULD be. They’re also 4 points behind Arizona with essentially the same record over the last 10 games.

Another coach may or may not get better results out of this collection of parts, but it’s irrelevant for this season because Verbeek is going to sell sell sell again, which is brutally obvious when you look at the defense he put together. Go look at the record for the last coach of the team he was associated with - it’s almost identical to what’s going on here. Players just aren’t that fragile.

Why would you even want the team to not lose at this point? I’m as strongly anti-tank as it comes, but reality says that management wanted a tank, have a tank, and the worst thing the team could do at this point is to not get a top 3 pick. Honest question.

 

[Leonardo87]

Why would you even want the team to not lose at this point? I’m as strongly anti-tank as it comes, but reality says that management wanted a tank, have a tank, and the worst thing the team could do at this point is to not get a top 3 pick. Honest question.

This is how I feel also. Hate tanking but a Top 3 pick in this draft, along with maybe another 1st (trade Klingberg), will really help them a lot. Sooner than later.

Verbeek would have stepped in by now to make roster adjustments if he wanted to improve the team now, but he is looking to tank, it’s so obvious. Just gotta ride the tank train and hopefully things start improving by next season. I’ve accepted it and it is making the loses more bearable. I’ve been more upset with the lack of goals for.

My only concern is the kids development in a losing atmosphere. Terry and Z have struggled as of late. But McTavish has looked very well. So it‘s conflicting.

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

Yeah as agonizing as it is, tanking this year results in a better pick and potentially cheaper contracts for Terry and Zegras.

It would be very helpful for us in the long term

 

[SmokeyDuck]

I feel like Eakins actively tells our team to go for the puck not the hit. I suspect we will be a lot more physical with a different coach.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Has it though? Or is the team complete garbage and the coach has no clue how to utilize him?

The idea that Comtois was the leading scorer under Eakins and now cant score because of Eakins is a bit of mental gymnastics.

Comtois is responsible for Comtois. Hes had plenty of opportunities to play with top line guys, the problem is he doesnt play well enough to stay there and/or he drags down the guys around him.

He will have a career in the NHL, just not sure how long or prosperous it will be. His compete level is up there, he certainly puts in the effort, but he needs to take a page out of Terry book and stop trying to make things happen. He needs to just go out and play his game and simplify it.

There is some revisionist history here about Comtois. Some posters are giving Comtois a pass for last season's no show. This season, Comtois still hasn't shown up and blame Eakins? I don't understand how people don't credit Eakins for helping Comtois' rise, but then blame Eakins when the player doesn't continue the progress.

On a parallel, Zegras' has been playing like crap this season, but he's still able to produce. He's 2nd in scoring for the team. McTavish plays with third liners, including Comtois, and McTavish is 3rd on the team in scoring. Nothing's preventing Comtois from being a top scorer again except for Comtois.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Why would you even want the team to not lose at this point? I’m as strongly anti-tank as it comes, but reality says that management wanted a tank, have a tank, and the worst thing the team could do at this point is to not get a top 3 pick. Honest question.

This is how I feel also. Hate tanking but a Top 3 pick in this draft, along with maybe another 1st (trade Klingberg), will really help them a lot. Sooner than later.

Verbeek would have stepped in by now to make roster adjustments if he wanted to improve the team now, but he is looking to tank, it’s so obvious. Just gotta ride the tank train and hopefully things start improving by next season. I’ve accepted it and it is making the loses more bearable. I’ve been more upset with the lack of goals for.

My only concern is the kids development in a losing atmosphere. Terry and Z have struggled as of late. But McTavish has looked very well. So it‘s conflicting.

Two seasons ago, the Ducks finished with the 2nd worst record in the league. The next season started for 2021-22 without adding any new talent and the Ducks rose to the top of the Pacific division. Youths Terry, Zegras, Drysdale, and Lundy in our top-10 scoring last season. And this happened under the same coach.

The difference was we were a very healthy roster to start the season. That roster possessed a lot of talent and balance, but we didn't have a lot of talent depth to keep the train going.

If Verbeek wanted to improve the tea, then he would have stepped in by now. Many don't want to admit that.
Many don't want to admit we're in "designed tank" mode. Last year when Verbeek took over during All-Star break, he knew Manson would be out for an extended amount of time because he was placed on IR. Manson would miss 12 consecutive games, played two games, and then traded away. Playing 12 games without Manson would mean playing three rookies (Drysdale, Mahura, and Benoit) or two rookies and an AHL defenseman. For comparison, at the start of the 2019 season, RD Manson got injured and put on crutches. The very next day, GM Murray traded for RD Gudbranson.

Verbeek expecting the team to be a playoff contender last year without Manson is like Verbeek expecting to be a .500 team to start this season with the roster imbalance. Verbeek wanted a reset all along when he was hired.

Old vs	New
Out			Regular	Season	2021-22		New			Regular	Season	2022-23
Player	Pos	Games	Pts	PPG	Plus/Minus	.	Player	Pos	Games	Pts	PPG	Plus/Minus
Getz	C	56​	37​	0.66​	-14​		Strome	C	33​	17​	0.52​	-13​
Milano	W	66​	34​	0.52​	-9​		Vatrano	W	33​	14​	0.42​	-11​
Rakell	W	51​	28​	0.55​	-7​
Total			99​	1.73​	-30​					31​	0.94​	-24​
Player	Pos		Pts	PPG	Plus/Minus		Player	Pos	Games	Pts	PPG	Plus/Minus
Lindholm	LD	61​	22​	0.36​	0​		Klingberg	RD	26​	11​	0.42​	-18​
Manson	RD	45​	9​	0.20​	0​		Kulikov	LD	33​	9​	0.27​	-9​
Total			31​	0.56​	0​					20​	0.70​	-27​

Note: McTavish was always going to be on the team this season, which can't be categorized as a Verbeek acquisition.

Looking at the talent lost to the incoming talent, Verbeek didn't replace the lost talent well, especially on defense. We're missing that extra winger who can score. Milano has 16 pts in 23 games, a 0.70 ppg rate, and a -1 rating.

Why people keep blaming Eakins when Eakins isn't in charge of the roster. Apparently, Eakins had a better roster last year than he has this year. The TDL signified an obvious tank that would take years to recover from because a top-pairing D and a top-4D aren't easily found nor given away on the cheap, unless your team's name is Anaheim. Hopefully, fans can now fully understand the magnanimous loss of Lindholm and Manson.

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

Shattenkirk has nearly twice as many shots, in exactly the same system. Yes, it’s Klingberg.

Shattenkirk isn’t even a mid-pairing D. He’s a bottom pairing PP specialist. And he’s good at that. But he’s used as a top 2/4 and PK guy, which he isn’t…because of the roster.

Nobody maintains a 19+ shooting percentage. That’s not on the coach. Who are you going to put him with? He’s not good enough to supplant Zegras or Strome, he wasn’t outplaying McTavish, so do you want him on the wing? Can you identify any left wing on the roster who’s worthwhile outside of Henrique? Can you identify a right wing who deserved to be demoted to play with him? Identify the top 9 you’d put on the ice that will improve his scoring - because he’s not good enough to get Terry and there’s not much else out there.

The entire team outside of Terry on the top line, Klingberg when he’s on the 2nd pairing, and Shattenkirk when he’s on the bottom pairing are playing at least one slot to high. Yes, the roster is that bad. They’re in over their heads, there’s next to zero legitimate team toughness, and the defense isn’t constructed with complementary players.

The PP is at 15.8%, 27th in the league this year and has been improving. And again - Eakins doesn’t run the PP, and under BM didn’t even have control of who his assistant coaches were.

They’re above Chicago in the standings (games in hand aren’t impressive when the team has gone 1-15-1), and that team has legitimate HOF players, I think they’re absolutely a worse team than Chicago SHOULD be. They’re also 4 points behind Arizona with essentially the same record over the last 10 games.

Another coach may or may not get better results out of this collection of parts, but it’s irrelevant for this season because Verbeek is going to sell sell sell again, which is brutally obvious when you look at the defense he put together. Go look at the record for the last coach of the team he was associated with - it’s almost identical to what’s going on here. Players just aren’t that fragile.

Why would you even want the team to not lose at this point? I’m as strongly anti-tank as it comes, but reality says that management wanted a tank, have a tank, and the worst thing the team could do at this point is to not get a top 3 pick. Honest question.

You want purposeful shots by Klingberg. Quality not quantity. Shattenkirk has a bunch of shots but has 0 goals and 9 assist, which tells me his shots aren't amounting to a whole lot. Klingberg could have this many shots but it would probably be the same result. Why? because the system is broken. You can't get guys working hard infront of the net trying to get a tip in (ala Joe Pavelski in Dallas) when they spent the past 30 seconds defending in their own end.

Shattenkirk can be carried by an elite D-man as we seen in Tampa. He looks like a bottom 4 AHL player with the Ducks. This is more to do with coaching IMO than it does the roster. I say that because this is the THIRD different roster hes played with in Anaheim but has the same coach.

Nobody is asking Lundestrom to maintain a 19+ shooting percentage but he should be more useful than a bottom 6er with 6 points. This is kind of both an Eakins and a Verbeek problem. Its Verbeeks because he didn't go after quality free agents and still ignores waiver players that are better than our current roster to play with Issac and Eakins because his solution to Verbeek was to place him with Silf. Personally I would've played him with McTavish. McTavish and Lunderstrom are both good forwards that could play off each other. yes both are centers but I'd rather one of them play out of position than forcing Lunderstrom to play with guys who will hold him back.

Two legit HOFers is nice but lets be real only Kane is still playing like that. It was like the Ducks last year. Yeah Getzlaf is a HOF but hes not exactly prime Getz is he? Blackhawks legit sold almost every single vet player they had and only signed Max Domi. The Ducks signed Klingberg, Strome and Vatrano and kept Gibson, Shattenkirk and Henrique. People say the Ducks purposely tanked but teams that keep Gibson, Henrique, Shattenkirk sign Strome and Vatrano aren't teams purposely losing, at least not at the level of the Coyotes and Blackhawks.

Eakins is 4 years into his tenure. In those 4 years we have seen terrible PPs for most of it. At this point if he isn't getting the most out of his assistant coaches, he should take over the PP himself or ask Verbeek to find him someone who can run the powerplay.

Players aren't fragile but they get sick of losing and its been brutal for guys who have been here for the full Eakins run. In the NFL you have guys like Derek Carr in tears after losing. Grown man whos made more money than most and it kills him. These guys are built differently. This isn't NHL 22 where you can play be a GM and keep losing and have all your players morale be high despite losing 10 years straight.

"Losing sucks. I don't care how much money you make or what stats you put up. If you're competitive enough to make it to the NBA, losing is absolutely brutal."

- Michael Carter-Williams

At this point in the season losing or winning isn't relevant at all. But you need to show the players that it isn't acceptable. You need to find a coach that can put these guys in situations to succeed and I don't think Eakins is capable of that. This team is fundamentally flawed and will continue to struggle to do anything positive.
The top 3 pick is ours. The ducks are almost certain to get the pick especially after they drop Klingberg and other vets at the deadline. Why not jumpstart preparations for next season? get them started in a system that they will be familiar with and by Oct 2023, your team is ready to go. Perhaps when they aren't being outshot by 30 Gibsion wont be completely untradeable in June?

 

[McDonald19]

On a parallel, Zegras' has been playing like crap this season, but he's still able to produce. He's 2nd in scoring for the team. McTavish plays with third liners, including Comtois, and McTavish is 3rd on the team in scoring. Nothing's preventing Comtois from being a top scorer again except for Comtois.

Zegras and McTavish have the skill and offensive instincts to be line drivers. Comtois is more of a complimentary left wing like a Kunitz or Penner.

 

[Dirk316]

Comtois has looked much better unfortunately Verbeek is basically forcing him to be the defacto enforcer. What a waste of a player who could be a poor man's Corey Perry

 

[gilfaizon]

Comtois has looked much better unfortunately Verbeek is basically forcing him to be the defacto enforcer. What a waste of a player who could be a poor man's Corey Perry

He plays nothing like Corey Perry. Poor mans Matt Beleskey maybe.

 

[Ducks DVM]

He plays nothing like Corey Perry. Poor mans Matt Beleskey maybe.

I used to think that Jones would be the poor man’s Matt Beleskey, but it’s looking more and more like a bankrupt Bostonian’s Matt Beleskey.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

Yeah as agonizing as it is, tanking this year results in a better pick and potentially cheaper contracts for Terry and Zegras.

It would be very helpful for us in the long term

I never understood this line of thinking. Why are people making an assumption that Terry will command 10+?

The cap floor and ceiling at going to jump up significantly in a couple years. Yes, we will need to spend money internally in order to compete.

 

[WhatTheDuck]

I used to think that Jones would be the poor man’s Matt Beleskey, but it’s looking more and more like a bankrupt Bostonian’s Matt Beleskey.

Would love to see him do well but he better hurry up and smell the roses in terms of figuring out what he needs to do to make a role for himself in the league.

 

[Anaheim4ever]

Jones needs to be mean and more physical. Maybe take some fighting lessons.