2023 Tank Thread (Mod post Page 60)

[GunnarStahl]

Since it seems the Ducks will likely finish bottom 5 this year, I figured we should have a thread for discussing the implications of where the f***s will finish in the standings. As well as what factors could affect where they finish.

Tonight was interesting as all bottom 5 teams earned 2 points sans the Ducks and the Hawks.

Hey Folks,

Want to clear some of the air here, Tank talk is not an issue, please talk tank to your heart’s content here, totally understand how critical it is for that Future Potential Top pick. The issue is posting in the GDT, like you want the team to lose or make posts that you are angry they are winning or won the game, or bashing the team for not tanking.

The main reason is, to respect your fellow members. The GDT is about discussion of the game on a live basis and then post game discussion and opinions. A lot of fans are not rooting for the team to lose, and everyone has their views and opinions towards tanking, and may not want to discuss tanking in the GDT

If you guys have any concerns, feel free to PM me or another mod, and would be happy to explain more in detail.

Thanks!

Leo

Click to read more...

 

[Rasp]

We are about half way through the rebuild. Give it a couple more years for our defenders to step up then we will be more competitive.

Until then adding a generational talent will make following the team a lot more interesting.

 

[Leonardo87]

I think if we got to the point where Anaheim was like Edmonton or Buffalo, perrenially not improving until the draft finally hits with enough superstars that the team builds itself, at that point I'd shun rooting for a lottery win because at that point you should be rooting for your front office to figure it the f*** out and build a competitive roster/hire competent coaching staff. Anaheim's rebuild feels like it's been going on for forever but realistically it hasn't been that long yet.

We have roster players in Zegras, Terry, McTavish, Drysdale, and Lundy already making an impact. Hopefully Lundy and Drysdale can get healthy and bounce back next season. So at least we are not starting from scratch. We add a Top 3/5 pick, and then hopefully in 1-2 years a lot of our Forward and Defense prospects can make the jump to the NHL. Our future is looking very good, this draft will add to it. Just gotta be patient. Think we are in year 2 or 3 of a 5 year rebuild, imho.

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

Remember when Kings play-by-play broadcaster Bob Miller called Hampus Lindholm, "Magnus Lindholm"? I loved that name for Lindholm because it was apt!

I wonder if Ricky will catch on for Mac?

His most egregious call that I often think about was Bobby "Smith" Ryan on his highlight reel spin-o-rama hat trick goal during his rookie year.

Another one that stuck with me for some reason is Ahlers never remembered Sheldon Brookbank's name wasn't Wade.

 

[HanSolo]

We have roster players in Zegras, Terry, McTavish, Drysdale, and Lundy already making an impact. Hopefully Lundy and Drysdale can get healthy and bounce back next season. So at least we are not starting from scratch. We add a Top 3/5 pick, and then hopefully in 1-2 years a lot of our Forward and Defense prospects can make the jump to the NHL. Our future is looking very good, this draft will add to it. Just gotta be patient. Think we are in year 2 or 3 of a 5 year rebuild, imho.

True. I mean, if we got Bedard I'd say that could accelerate things a fair bit and put the pressure on Verbeek to start building around our youth core. If we had no choice but to go with Michkov I can see the rebuild taking longer. Especially if, god forbid, he never came over to play for us and we wasted the pick and season.

The point I was getting at is that especially in a year like this where you not only have a slam dunk future star in Bedard but three guys with decent to good superstar potential, the vested interest in drafting high is more intense than usual. All the fanbases of teams around us in the standings are going through the same thing and getting upset at wins and loser points.

 

[Leonardo87]

True. I mean, if we got Bedard I'd say that could accelerate things a fair bit and put the pressure on Verbeek to start building around our youth core. If we had no choice but to go with Michkov I can see the rebuild taking longer. Especially if, god forbid, he never came over to play for us and we wasted the pick and season.

The point I was getting at is that especially in a year like this where you not only have a slam dunk future star in Bedard but three guys with decent to good superstar potential, the vested interest in drafting high is more intense than usual. All the fanbases of teams around us in the standings are going through the same thing and getting upset at wins and loser points.

Yeah this is the year to suck, no doubt. lol.

 

[Terry Yake]

this is the only season i can recall where i have been 100% on board with losing as much as possible. the past few seasons i was still rooting for them to win despite the fact that they were terrible because none of the potential #1s were generational talents like bedard

when you have such a stacked draft like this one, you really can't afford to win meaningless games. missing out on the top 4 after this horrible season will be disastrous (and yet that's exactly what i am preparing for)

 

[lwvs84]

Lottery win or not, I hope this is the last year before consistently trending up. Obviously, I'm not expecting playoffs next year, but just being out of the bottom 5 in goal differential and being competitive (2 goals or less difference) in the majority of games would be a step in the right direction. A new coach with a legitimate NHL system and some more physicality/crease clearing ability would be a start. Hopefully a couple of short term, buy low guys (like Kulikov) are available in case the kids aren't quite ready.

 

[Leonardo87]

this is the only season i can recall where i have been 100% on board with losing as much as possible. the past few seasons i was still rooting for them to win despite the fact that they were terrible because none of the potential #1s were generational talents like bedard

when you have such a stacked draft like this one, you really can't afford to win meaningless games. missing out on the top 4 after this horrible season will be disastrous (and yet that's exactly what i am preparing for)

It’s been pretty crappy this year no doubt. Forum has been a little divided, with the whole tank and whatnot, and some folks like season ticket holders invest a lot of time and money into the team, so it‘s difficult for folks to root for a loss. But in the end, we all want what’s best for this team moving forward.

It’s also been hard to try and get positive discussions about this team here when things are so bad. Which is why people haven’t posted much as of late, and that also stinks.

Just not sure how much I can stomach another season like this. We gotta at least start trending up next season.

 

[Kalv]

It’s been pretty crappy this year no doubt. Forum has been a little divided, with the whole tank and whatnot, and some folks like season ticket holders invest a lot of time and money into the team, so it‘s difficult for folks to root for a loss. But in the end, we all want what’s best for this team moving forward.

It’s also been hard to try and get positive discussions about this team here when things are so bad. Which is why people haven’t posted much as of late, and that also stinks.

Just not sure how much I can stomach another season like this. We gotta at least start trending up next season.

Our D prospects have been great to keep the spirits up this year

I'm not that worried tbh, feels like we needed this year to happen as it did. I'd expect to go up next year. I think we have a good basis for that. Zegras entering his prime, Drysdale is healthy (hopefully), but yeah it will be massive if we can ice a better-balanced lineup, we need DD and a good special teams coach for PK. If we have those we'd be a much better team already this year, seems that we didn't put much effort in to address it, on purpose. So I remain pretty positive.

 

[Dr Johnny Fever]

Lottery win or not, I hope this is the last year before consistently trending up. Obviously, I'm not expecting playoffs next year, but just being out of the bottom 5 in goal differential and being competitive (2 goals or less difference) in the majority of games would be a step in the right direction. A new coach with a legitimate NHL system and some more physicality/crease clearing ability would be a start. Hopefully a couple of short term, buy low guys (like Kulikov) are available in case the kids aren't quite ready.

Just not sure how much I can stomach another season like this. We gotta at least start trending up next season.

This 1,000%.

I've said this before, but you can't just be crap for years then decide that one year you demand the team do a 180 and now be competitive and playoff bound. You have to start playing the right way now and learning to do the right things that will especially matter when you are a good team.

You need leadership that can get the most out of the talent you have. If the current coach is that guy then give him a 3 year extension and make it clear to the world you believe in him and everybody needs to get on board. OTOH, if he isn't that guy then he needs to go and the right guy needs to be brought in now. No more waffling on who the coach of the future will be. And it can't be a case of "oh, I have my eye on the right guy but he's under a multi year contract elsewhere. I'll have to wait for him to be available". Every year coaches are hired and fired. There's plenty to chose from. The future has to begin now.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

This IS the tank thread. The entire point of it is being last.

I get that. And because of that, I'm saying that the behavior that looks pathetic on other boards should look familiar.

 

[Mr Rogers]

His most egregious call that I often think about was Bobby "Smith" Ryan on his highlight reel spin-o-rama hat trick goal during his rookie year.

Another one that stuck with me for some reason is Ahlers never remembered Sheldon Brookbank's name wasn't Wade.

I don't think i've ever heard Ahlers say "William" Nylander lol

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I think if we got to the point where Anaheim was like Edmonton or Buffalo, perrenially not improving until the draft finally hits with enough superstars that the team builds itself, at that point I'd shun rooting for a lottery win because at that point you should be rooting for your front office to figure it the f*** out and build a competitive roster/hire competent coaching staff. Anaheim's rebuild feels like it's been going on for forever but realistically it hasn't been that long yet. And the Ducks have only drafted top 3 once in that time and have still never drafted first overall.

We've been in a lottery situation since the 2019 draft. This will be our fifth consecutive season being in a lottery position and we're still in year 2/3 of the rebuild. There is a caveat that we reset the rebuild last year and that was implemented by the new front office. And because our blueline is still tracking "on delivery", we'll probably be in the lottery again next year, from range 8 - 13.

Until we get our blueline in order, we won't see great improvements in the box scores. I think it's more of a waiting game b/c we finally have a boatload of defensive talent coming to the pros within the next two seasons. Then we'll have to wait for them to adapt to the pro level comp as well. 2026-27 is when there should be a lot of scrutiny on the front office.

 

[FiveHoleTickler]

I don't think i've ever heard Ahlers say "William" Nylander lol

Nor "Alex." Always Michael.

 

[HanSolo]

We've been in a lottery situation since the 2019 draft. This will be our fifth consecutive season being in a lottery position and we're still in year 2/3 of the rebuild. There is a caveat that we reset the rebuild last year and that was implemented by the new front office. And because our blueline is still tracking "on delivery", we'll probably be in the lottery again next year, from range 8 - 13.

Until we get our blueline in order, we won't see great improvements in the box scores. I think it's more of a waiting game b/c we finally have a boatload of defensive talent coming to the pros within the next two seasons. Then we'll have to wait for them to adapt to the pro level comp as well. 2026-27 is when there should be a lot of scrutiny on the front office.

I mean that's more than fair and I agree with your analysis but my point wasn't that we should get Bedard or Fantilli and immediately start building out a contender.

Like when you get down to it, guys like Strome, Vatrano, Kulikov, etc., they were brought in as warm bodies. If we get anyone other than Michkov I would say Verbeek should start laying the ground work for solid depth to build around the youth core. Lay the blueprint without doing what my other team does and throw assets at the best players available and hope it works.

In simpler terms, the front office shouldn't sit on its hands and just wait for everyone to develop. They need to proactively get the makings of a competitive roster together. My examples, Edmonton and Buffalo, didn't start doing that until they'd stockpiled a lot of high end draft talent. At least Edmonton didn't get serious until they got McDavid. Buffalo it was more like they reeled from an aggressive market play that backfired and they didn't start trying until after the Eichel and O'Reilly trades.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I get that. And because of that, I'm saying that the behavior that looks pathetic on other boards should look familiar.

Fair enough. We don't get to cheer the tank along and make fun of other fan bases for doing the same.

 

[TopShelfWaterBottle]

I’ve been on team tank, or should i say entertaining losing,the past 4 years because I wasn’t just gonna bail on my loyalty to the ducks but realized they needed to build through the draft…plus my mighty ducks arm pit tattoo would be pretty pointless if I did that

 

[Kalv]

I’ve been on team tank, or should i say entertaining losing,the past 4 years because I wasn’t just gonna bail on my loyalty to the ducks but realized they needed to build through the draft…plus my mighty ducks arm pit tattoo would be pretty pointless if I did that

Just make a duck-themed illuminaty pyramid from it

I cannot support losing but obviously we needed to take a step back these past years. I expected this year to be better, but after signing Klingberg and putting our defense on paper last offseason, it was clear we will have issues.
I don't see our D being more talented next season, but I hope it will be better balanced. Which in combination of our core progressing further, could lead us to winning more games. I don't see playoffs without adding a major piece on the backend but it's ok I guess. We have a lot of D pieces coming up ourselves but they need time so have to wait a bit

 

[Mr Rogers]

In the event of ties, looks like we have two fewer RW than SJ & Columbus and three fewer than Chicago at this stage.

 

[AngelDuck]

In the event of ties, looks like we have two fewer RW than SJ & Columbus and three fewer than Chicago at this stage.

Yeah we will certainly hold the tie breaker on all of them and that could end up being pivotal.

SJ gets AZ on the 2nd night of a back to back. What an opportunity for them to put some space between us

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

His most egregious call that I often think about was Bobby "Smith" Ryan on his highlight reel spin-o-rama hat trick goal during his rookie year.

And he did it because he was trying not to call him Ryan Smyth. Layer cake fail.

 

[caliamad]

We've been in a lottery situation since the 2019 draft. This will be our fifth consecutive season being in a lottery position and we're still in year 2/3 of the rebuild. There is a caveat that we reset the rebuild last year and that was implemented by the new front office. And because our blueline is still tracking "on delivery", we'll probably be in the lottery again next year, from range 8 - 13.

Until we get our blueline in order, we won't see great improvements in the box scores. I think it's more of a waiting game b/c we finally have a boatload of defensive talent coming to the pros within the next two seasons. Then we'll have to wait for them to adapt to the pro level comp as well. 2026-27 is when there should be a lot of scrutiny on the front office.

100% agree

More importantly the type of defenseman that help you win games are usually not 18 year old / entry contracts type. We have no reliable veterans outside of Fowler. We will need 3 too 4 defenseman as drysdale looked very bad once lindholm was moved.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

We are about half way through the rebuild. Give it a couple more years for our defenders to step up then we will be more competitive.

Until then adding a generational talent will make following the team a lot more interesting.

A couple more years??

It will be until year 4-5 until they start to become competitive again

 

[Gliff]

A couple more years??

It will be until year 4-5 until they start to become competitive again

Do you realize how long 4-5 years is? In 4-5 years the player we draft in a month could very likely be 300 games into their NHL career. For reference Terry has yet to play his 300th NHL game.

 

[TheGoodShepard1]

This is the second straight game the Blackhawks are entering the halfway point with 5 SOG. Columbus is down 5-0 to Florida. I don't understand how any of the bottom 4 teams pick up points, to be honest.