Arthuros
Registered Snoozer
Apparently Friedman says we put in a claim on a goalie on waivers.
I don't know who it'd be, but I'm betting it's Matt Murray time, baby!
I don't know who it'd be, but I'm betting it's Matt Murray time, baby!
Speculation: 2024-25 Roster thread
- Thread starter Leonardo87
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Arthuros
Registered Snoozer
The FAN Hockey Show podcast on Sportsnet. No timestamp as I haven't listened to it yet, though.
Roster is actually better from last year. Staying healthy is the key.
Of course, since most of the good players on the roster are still entering their prime and developing. If the roster were the same and all these guys were between 26-29 years old, then maybe I'd be pessimistic. But I expect significant jumps from at least a third of the roster (Zegras, Carlsson, McTavish, Gauthier, Mintukov, LaCombe, Zellweger, maybe even Dostal).
In order of significance, I expect us to be better because of:
1) Better health
2) Improved special teams with new coach
3) Progression of young players
4) Stabilizing additions in players like Fabbri + Dumo
5) Adjusting to Cronin/Cronin adjusting to the NHL in his second season
It's not guaranteed that all those things will happen, especially 1) and 3), but if they do then we could easily have another 15-20 points at the end of the season.
Final thought of the day...
I'm not sure I buy the narrative that Zegras is having his creativity coached out of him. It feels more likely to me that he needs to rebuild his confidence after a lost season, needs to build some chemistry with linemates, and I also wonder if he might just be tired of giving away the puck all the time.
At his best and most exciting he was still constantly turning the puck over in the offensive zone. If he's going to become a great player he will need to improve that, and maybe he's swung too far in the other direction. I think he'll sort it out.
I'm not sure I buy the narrative that Zegras is having his creativity coached out of him. It feels more likely to me that he needs to rebuild his confidence after a lost season, needs to build some chemistry with linemates, and I also wonder if he might just be tired of giving away the puck all the time.
At his best and most exciting he was still constantly turning the puck over in the offensive zone. If he's going to become a great player he will need to improve that, and maybe he's swung too far in the other direction. I think he'll sort it out.
Agree with everything. Just to add on to point 3. This team could have spent to the cap and added all the top FA, but this team is only going as far as the young players progress. It's where the bulk of the improvement needs to come from. Having an off season like Nashville had would have improved the team, but not really changed the overall direction of the team. If the young players improve we can hit free agency over the next two years to really become a contender. If they don't improve, this rebuild will need a reset soon.
robbieboy3686
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2016
- 3,057
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Our Gm has shown, when the right deal for an age appropriate top player becomes available he will pull the trigger. I love what we’re building .
MMC
Global Moderator
Sean Garrity
Quack Quack Quack!
Don’t hate it. Those defensive minutes need to be distributed evenly though. Minty needs close to 20 minutes again this year. IMO, he has the clearest potential for a #1 defenseman. Love Lacombe, and I think he can be an extremely versatile top 4 defenseman who can play in every situation, but Minty has that #1 potential IMO.
I feel like Fabbri is going to be a sneaky good pickup.
Hockey Duckie
Registered User
The previous two seasons, Z has put up over a 0.800 ppg rate: 0.813 in 2021-22 and 0.802 in 2022-23.
After a rough start last year, Z improved his offense each time returning from injury. In the final 20 games of the season, Cronin was hands off and Z's offense took another step in production.
| Zegras | 2023-24 | by | injury | splits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Game set | Games | G | A | Pts | ppg | . | +/- |
| 2023 - 24 | Total | 31 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 0.484 | -1 | |
| Oct to Nov | 1 to 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0.167 | -4 | |
| Dec to Jan | 13 to 20 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.625 | -1 | |
| Mar to Apr | 21 to 31 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.727 | 4 |
I think Z might need time to adjust to playing wing since he's played center the previous three seasons, especially if he's playing RW.
CrazyDuck4u
Registered User
- Oct 14, 2006
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WhatTheDuck
9 - 20 - 8
He's always been a darn good player, competitive and pretty skilled. Will never forget the way he willed his AAA team to victory over McDavid's back in the day. Actually now that I think of it, new Gulls vet D Roland McKeown was a key teammate of McD back then.
Anyway, Fabbri should be good for a half a point per game or more, just a matter of keeping him healthy. Career high of 72 games in his rookie season, last year was the only other of his nine seasons where he managed to play 60+. Generally speaking though, I've personally always found him to be a better overall player than Vatrano prior to Frank really busting out here in Anaheim. Hopefully we'll see Fabbri stay healthy and have a similar career surge.
