2024/2025 Around the League

[Pokecheque]

I'm listening to the eulogy now. I had to pause it a few times already.

 

[the_fan]

We are the small boys club

Panthers at 29 just won the cup. Not worried

 

[Balthazar]

Not good

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833301528800600089

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

I'm listening to the eulogy now. I had to pause it a few times already.

Everything about the Gaudreau’s deaths is so unbelievably tragic, seeing Guy have to be carried out as he was so emotionally distraught, the embrace of Monahan with the Gaudreau parents, Meredith announcing their third is on the way. It’s just so heartbreaking. This level of emotional outpouring only occurs when people have such strong love, and if nothing else, that’s a lasting legacy we can all hope for

 

[S E P H]

I have been making some predictions with my brethren and holy smokes the Atlantic Division is one of the biggest crapshoots I've seen in recent years. I got Maple Leafs winning it, but not confident about that whatsoever. The worst part is the mediocre feast of Red Wings, Senators, and Sabres. Detroit is the best of the three overall, but a major reason why is that Green is coaching Ottawa and that is as big of a negative you could get. However, each one has a major weakness or strength. Red Wings have the best forward group and coach, the Senators have the best goaltending, and the Sabres have the most talent on defence. It will be very interesting what happens between them.

 

[Ceremony]

I see Edmonton now have a jersey ad. Not many teams left without one.

 

[Pokecheque]

Not good

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833301528800600089

On no that's fine, let them waste valuable cap space.

Everything about the Gaudreau’s deaths is so unbelievably tragic, seeing Guy have to be carried out as he was so emotionally distraught, the embrace of Monahan with the Gaudreau parents, Meredith announcing their third is on the way. It’s just so heartbreaking. This level of emotional outpouring only occurs when people have such strong love, and if nothing else, that’s a lasting legacy we can all hope for

I didn't see him exit but I saw them pan over to him in the pews. He looked completely broken, and honestly anyone would be in his place. Just devastating on so many levels, I still can't fathom that this actually happened. And if I can't process it I can't even imagine how they're doing.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I see Edmonton now have a jersey ad. Not many teams left without one.

And the outrage, seems to have been replaced with the grim realization that this was, unfortunately, the way.

 

[LOFIN]

And the outrage, seems to have been replaced with the grim realization that this was, unfortunately, the way.

Will be plenty more, and fans will just deal with it. The majority won't care, no matter how much public outrage there is.

 

[Balthazar]

I didn't see him exit but I saw them pan over to him in the pews.

Devastating to watch:

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www.dispatch.com

 

[Pokecheque]

And the outrage, seems to have been replaced with the grim realization that this was, unfortunately, the way.

It's inevitable. The Avs will get one too at some point. Just gotta accept it and move on.

And frankly that's not even the worst thing they've done with hockey jerseys over the last decade-plus.

Devastating to watch:

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www.dispatch.com

Oh Lord...

 

[Balthazar]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1833544872374243707

 

[missionAvs]

Devastating to watch:

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www.dispatch.com

f***ing brutal.

 

[Chiarelli]

Leafs are loading up fellas!

 

[S E P H]

Never would I see the day that Tinordi gets signed to an NHL contract and Barrie is praying on a PTO.

 

[cinchronicity]

I'm sure I will get shredded to pieces for saying this but...Is Barrie so bad that CMac could not have given him a PTO looking at 6D/7D?

1) The Avs already gave Mac his BFF in Drouin and that surely had at least a very minor contribution to Mac's awards. Give him his other best buddy in Barrie and who knows what Mac can do. (Especially as crappier players surpass Mac in salary. Happiness is a thing. See; Drouin, Jonathan)

2) Just for giggles, are there any low draft picks left from the Barrie Trade Tree? It would be fun to trade Calgary a 4th rounder which we ultimately got for Barrie, as 'nice-guy' compensation for Barrie breaking the original PTO (even though they don't have to.))

The Avs have rotated in a lot of terrible 5D and 6D (MacDermid, O'Brien, Jones, Malinski etc.) Barrie can't be that much worse.

 

[henchman21]

Never would I see the day that Tinordi gets signed to an NHL contract and Barrie is praying on a PTO.

The days of having an offensively tilted bottom pairing defender has pretty much died league wide. Teams want their 5-7D to be bigger, physical, PK, and make as little mistakes as possible. This change has happened in very short order and a big reason why the Avs could grab the guys they did on the cheap. Nobody wants that defender anymore. If you're going to be smaller and offensively tilted, you better be able to play a top 4 role.

 

[shadow1]

I'm sure I will get shredded to pieces for saying this but...Is Barrie so bad that CMac could not have given him a PTO looking at 6D/7D?

1) The Avs already gave Mac his BFF in Drouin and that surely had at least a very minor contribution to Mac's awards. Give him his other best buddy in Barrie and who knows what Mac can do. (Especially as crappier players surpass Mac in salary. Happiness is a thing. See; Drouin, Jonathan)

2) Just for giggles, are there any low draft picks left from the Barrie Trade Tree? It would be fun to trade Calgary a 4th rounder which we ultimately got for Barrie, as 'nice-guy' compensation for Barrie breaking the original PTO (even though they don't have to.))

The Avs have rotated in a lot of terrible 5D and 6D (MacDermid, O'Brien, Jones, Malinski etc.) Barrie can't be that much worse.

Colorado's pick in the Barrie/Kadri trade turned into Jean-Luc Foudy.

And honestly yeah. Even if Colorado didn't already have 7 D, Barrie's so horrendous defensively that he'd be a net negative given how little power play time he'd get. The Avalanche led the NHL in goals last year, it would be hard to see Barrie raising that ceiling any higher. More likely we'd see him getting burned defensively even with limited ice time. I couldn't imagine trusting him in a playoff game.

 

[Balthazar]

The days of having an offensively tilted bottom pairing defender has pretty much died league wide. Teams want their 5-7D to be bigger, physical, PK, and make as little mistakes as possible. This change has happened in very short order and a big reason why the Avs could grab the guys they did on the cheap. Nobody wants that defender anymore. If you're going to be smaller and offensively tilted, you better be able to play a top 4 role.

Yet the Avs keep drafting the Behrens and Gulyayevs of this world...

You can get these guys basically for free.

 

[henchman21]

Yet the Avs keep drafting the Behrens and Gulyayevs of this world...

You can get these guys basically for free.

Avs clearly have a different philosophy here. Bringing in Brannstrom and Kylington both show that along with the picks. Time will tell if they are correct or not. For a few years the NHL went away from the bigger defensive types, but they are certainly back in fashion now.

IMO it has more to due to with how teams deploy their defensemen than anything else. We typically see one defensemen carry the bulk of the PP duties with secondary units getting about half the time they used to. Top unit guys may see 3 minutes and 2nd unit may only see 30 seconds to a minute. That has greatly diminished that role. Puck movement wise, the top offensive guys are not expected to be big minute guys. They are deployed less offensive/defensive situationally... and more top pairing with top 6 lines. Meant to attack and take on more time. With the downside of them having to be able to defend more than the offensively tilted guys ever would have had to 5-10 years ago. Which in turn hits the bottom 6 guys... on most teams, they rarely play with top pairings. Bottom 6 types are typically less capable offensively and will typically be in their own zone a lot more, so it makes less sense to pair them up with guys who are average to bad defensively, even if they can move the puck.

 

[PAZ]

Avs clearly have a different philosophy here. Bringing in Brannstrom and Kylington both show that along with the picks. Time will tell if they are correct or not. For a few years the NHL went away from the bigger defensive types, but they are certainly back in fashion now.

IMO it has more to due to with how teams deploy their defensemen than anything else. We typically see one defensemen carry the bulk of the PP duties with secondary units getting about half the time they used to. Top unit guys may see 3 minutes and 2nd unit may only see 30 seconds to a minute. That has greatly diminished that role. Puck movement wise, the top offensive guys are not expected to be big minute guys. They are deployed less offensive/defensive situationally... and more top pairing with top 6 lines. Meant to attack and take on more time. With the downside of them having to be able to defend more than the offensively tilted guys ever would have had to 5-10 years ago. Which in turn hits the bottom 6 guys... on most teams, they rarely play with top pairings. Bottom 6 types are typically less capable offensively and will typically be in their own zone a lot more, so it makes less sense to pair them up with guys who are average to bad defensively, even if they can move the puck.

I think it's a fairly smart strategy considering the team structure and Bednar at the helm for the regular season. Since it's played so differently having players that can help tilt the ice and move the puck up will help the Avs play their uptempo game. There's always bottom pairing, steady defensemen available at the TDL. If you're going to have a hole, might as well pick one that won't affect the team until the playoffs.

 

[henchman21]

I think it's a fairly smart strategy considering the team structure and Bednar at the helm for the regular season. Since it's played so differently having players that can help tilt the ice and move the puck up will help the Avs play their uptempo game. There's always bottom pairing, steady defensemen available at the TDL. If you're going to have a hole, might as well pick one that won't affect the team until the playoffs.

I’d argue the regular season doesn’t matter for this team and the most important thing is how they perform in the playoffs. History is not really on the side of a small defense and we all know at the deadline those prices tend to go up. Avs are going for what they see as excess value… the debate is… is that excess value worth enough when it matters?

 

[PAZ]

I’d argue the regular season doesn’t matter for this team and the most important thing is how they perform in the playoffs. History is not really on the side of a small defense and we all know at the deadline those prices tend to go up. Avs are going for what they see as excess value… the debate is… is that excess value worth enough when it matters?

One of the main arguments against Bednar is how much he relies on his top players and that they're not 100% come playoff time. The only time Bednar has shown he's willing to spread the minutes is when the team is healthy and has enough players he trusts (which doesn't happen often) or when they have a clear 3+ goal lead.

If the Avs have a similar record but have more blowout wins that can lower the average TOI for Makar/Rants/Toews (Mack is the exception and could play 20+ minutes every day of the year and be fine), it helps keep them more rested heading into the playoffs.

 

[henchman21]

One of the main arguments against Bednar is how much he relies on his top players and that they're not 100% come playoff time. The only time Bednar has shown he's willing to spread the minutes is when the team is healthy and has enough players he trusts (which doesn't happen often) or when they have a clear 3+ goal lead.

If the Avs have a similar record but have more blowout wins that can lower the average TOI for Makar/Rants/Toews (Mack is the exception and could play 20+ minutes every day of the year and be fine), it helps keep them more rested heading into the playoffs.

Given the guys they brought in, I highly doubt the usage is going to change much. Big guys that don’t really fit what people think the system is have gained plenty of trust with Bednar too… EJ, Manson, JMFJ are three clear examples. They brought back Nemeth because of that idea too. Bednar will play smaller defensemen, but given who he has played in lower roles more extensive, I don’t think he prefers it. His bottom 3 in the Cup run was that Manson, EJ, and JMFJ group after G got killed.

 

[PAZ]

Given the guys they brought in, I highly doubt the usage is going to change much. Big guys that don’t really fit what people think the system is have gained plenty of trust with Bednar too… EJ, Manson, JMFJ are three clear examples. They brought back Nemeth because of that idea too. Bednar will play smaller defensemen, but given who he has played in lower roles more extensive, I don’t think he prefers it. His bottom 3 in the Cup run was that Manson, EJ, and JMFJ group after G got killed.

Oh i'm not arguing players like Brannstrom and Kylington will gain Bednar's trust, but I do think they'll help create more blowout games where it will help spread out the TOI for the majority of the regular season. Once the TDL hits I expect they'll bring in 1-2 rentals in the mold of JMFG/Nemeth/etc for the playoffs..