Player Discussion Adam Gaudette (C/RW)Claimed off Waivers from Chicago

[DueDiligence]

We have Clark Bishop, Logan Shaw playing. Balcers I better then both those guys - why anyone would say he’s not important when he’d clearly be an upgrade is stupid.

Silly argument. Guys like Bishop and Shaw are playing because better guys are hurt. And if Balcers were in Ottawa he probably would be injured as well!

 

[Big Muddy]

I think that there is a difference between a ‘small number of specific criticism’, and endlessly criticizing the same minor move months later, sometimes years later. Some people in here critique a lot, but as always there is constructive criticism, and then there is criticism for the sake of it. Big difference.

There is also the idea that criticism should match the situation in scope. Putting Balcers on waivers to start the season because he didn’t make the team, with the plan of sending him to the AHL (which every team does that time of year) to continue to develop, was not a huge deal. He was also not a notable loss from the organization.

It’s sad that every small loss has to be trumped up to be an unmitigated disaster that is a clear sign of a person’s vast incompetence.

You’re right, we see a lack of nuance these days, but also humility, self respect, respect for others, common sense, common decency, and common courtesy. The need to be negative and cynical trumps positivity and hope, all in the context of being a sports fan.

Sad indeed.

Why did you respond to me? Guilty conscience? LOL.

And, given you decided to respond to me (for whatever reason), who is to decide what is "constructive criticism", and what is not, and whether a criticism is in line ("matches") with scope? You?

Maybe some people come here expecting differing opinions, while others don't, and seem to react more adversely to the phenomenon?

 

[Ice-Tray]

Why did you respond to me? Guilty conscience? LOL.

And, given you decided to respond to me (for whatever reason), who is to decide what is "constructive criticism", and what is not, and whether a criticism is in line ("matches") with scope? You?

Maybe some people come here expecting differing opinions, while others don't, and seem to react more adversely to the phenomenon?

Not really, I like the topic. I’m also guilty of all of these things at times, it’s why I like to bring it to attention. Not being aware of our own failings means that we can never be any better.

No one decides what ‘constructive criticism’ is, you simply look up the definition and apply it. It’s not a particularly nebulous term.

It’s ok, I know lots of people like to be miserable, and like to be around it. I’m not trying to convince you to do otherwise.

Im glad you enjoy differing opinions, so do I. It does strike me as interesting those folks who get worked up when morality is brought into the discussion though. Some folks want to there freedom to say whatever they want, but never seem to want to be responsible for their words and the effects that they may have.

 

[Big Muddy]

Not really, I like the topic. I’m also guilty of all of these things at times, it’s why I like to bring it to attention. Not being aware of our own failings means that we can never be any better.

No one decides what ‘constructive criticism’ is, you simply look up the definition and apply it. It’s not a particularly nebulous term.

It’s ok, I know lots of people like to be miserable, and like to be around it. I’m not trying to convince you to do otherwise.

re: Bolded - Ya, what's that expression: "A problem well identified, is a problem half solved".

2nd paragraph - No idea what you are trying to say. What's "constructive" depends on the situation. You can't "look it up". Its not that simple.

3rd paragraph - Hope you're not making assumptions about my personality. I'll assume you are not as that's more logical i.e., you don't know anything about me.

Anyhow, I can't think of anything more to say on this topic (nor do I want to), so its time to bail out.

 

[Ice-Tray]

re: Bolded - Ya, what's that expression: "A problem well identified, is a problem half solved".

2nd paragraph - No idea what you are trying to say. What's "constructive" depends on the situation. You can't "look it up". Its not that simple.

3rd paragraph - Hope you're not making assumptions about my personality. I'll assume you are not as that's more logical i.e., you don't know anything about me.

Anyhow, I can't think of anything more to say on this topic (nor do I want to), so its time to bail out.

Dude, you seem to get really defensive really quickly. Best in the future to simply assume that I’m not making assumptions about your character. I don’t know you, and have no interest in personally offending you.

As for the rest, the word ‘constructive’ as a concept really isn’t a situational term, though it’s applications are. The definition of constructive criticism is something you absolutely can look up, it’s a great starting point to understand what the term means, and gives clues on how to use it properly, and to recognize it when you see it.

I tend to agree that this conversation is pointless, so it fits in well here on HFSens. Onward and upward.

 

[Xspyrit]

Balcers is a marginal NHL talent, his loss, for nothing, is not an issue. He is not a quality top 9 player...

Damn, you sure like to make a lot of statements that are based on... no idea what

First, the Sharks are basically scoring at the same rate as the Sens (2.72 GF/GP vs 2.73)

Among Sharks forwards this season he is :

5th in PGP (Points per Game)
5th in ESP (Even Strenght Points)
6th in TOI/GP
5th in SH TOI/GP (I think it went down recently as he has been dealing with injuries but it was the 3rd highest before that)
2nd in Hits, 7th in Takeaways (was 2nd last season)

And among the 14 forwards with at least 200 ES mins :

5th in CF%, 4th in xGF%, 3rd in SCF%, 6th in HDCF%

But sure, the IMPARTIAL Ice-Tray's opinion is way more valuable than these facts

...we is not good enough to displace any of our regular top 9 players, nor would I want him over any regular on the 4th line.

This was my next point. Let's REMIND you that we are talking about last season since these things seem very hard for you to follow.

Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, Tim Stutzle... that's 5 guys (and 3 were rookies )... who else?

Colin White and his 0.40 PPG? Yeah ok, already said Balcers is the same caliber of player (although Balcers has been MORE productive)
Evgeni Dadonov and his 0.36 PPG? Good thing Dorion was able to dump his salary
Artem Anisimov produced decently but way too slow for the NHL, played 19 GP and is out of the league now.
Nick Paul and his 0.36 PPG? In this case, yes I absolutely love Nick, he's a horse, strong as an ox, you need swiss army types like this in your bottom-6. So that's a 7th guy...
Chris Tierney? lol but at least he's a center. Cedric Paquette? Not a NHL caliber player anymore. Derek Stepan? Galchenyuk? Clark freaking Bishop? Austin Watson? ok this guy can fill a role on a 4th line

There was certainly a spot for Balcers (and Duclair) in the lineup last season. Even this year, with the White/Pinto/Crookshank injuries, I would have preferred Balcers over Gambrell, Shaw, Kelly, Tierney and even Sanford (although he has been playing better lately)

Conclusion : IF Balcers is a marginal NHL talent, then we have 8-9 guys who are not and about 12 who are... lol

BUT again, this is not even the point lol. Why is it just impossible to understand? People have tried to explain again, in very short sentences, see #133, #134 and #138 for example.

He is simply there, which is good for a crap SJ team that has started its slow circle around the toilet drain.

Ottawa has been the 3rd worst team overall in the last 5 years and you have the nerves to say that. It's truly amazing. We have ZERO argument to talk down on any team.

He is Gaudette, he has been replaced by another marginal talent, but one who can play the game the way our team plays.

This shows how you're way out of your depth here. I know you're from BC so you might have seen him on the Canucks before but you didn't know that Gaudette can't play defense to save his life? He was very productive in 2019-20 so he was playing. He didn't produce the following season so the Canucks rushed to trade the 24 y/o for Mathew freaking Highmore because a player like that not scoring actually hurts your team.

Make sure you’re ready to add Dorion’s name to your list once we start competing for the cup Though I suppose you’ll still complain about how good we could have been had we only kept Balcers lol!

Again, you're doing this on purpose? You're trolling right? One last try. ME and the MAJORITY of Sens fans are not complaining about letting Balcers go. We're complaining about the BULK of choices/decisions they have made in the last 2 off-seasons. Letting Balcers and Duclair go for nothing are just PART of it and shows a manager that is out of his depth as well. If his team was stacked with great veteran support/leadership, then it's a different story.

I mean when your GM isn't up-to-date with NHL hockey and trades a 2nd round pick for Derek Stepan or sign Michael Del Zotto to a 2 years contract, you have legit reasons to worry

It's ok if you want to continue to believe that everything has been managed perfectly. Personally, when my favorite team has been getting destroyed every second night for 5 straight seasons, I think there must be things to criticize

 

[Big Muddy]

Dude, you seem to get really defensive really quickly. Best in the future to simply assume that I’m not making assumptions about your character. I don’t know you, and have no interest in personally offending you.

As for the rest, the word ‘constructive’ as a concept really isn’t a situational term, though it’s applications are. The definition of constructive criticism is something you absolutely can look up, it’s a great starting point to understand what the term means, and gives clues on how to use it properly, and to recognize it when you see it.

I tend to agree that this conversation is pointless, so it fits in well here on HFSens. Onward and upward.

Thanks, but I can't see many people in here needing to run to their dictionaries to figure out what the word constructive means. Yeesh.

 

[Xspyrit]

As an aside, Balcers is scoring at a reasonable rate over the last several games (since Jan.15). He has 4 goals and 5 points in that timeframe.

Its sad to see that nuance has no place on this board or society anymore. It seems some believe that if you make a criticism of a trade/move or something, you obviously must not be a fan, and you are a hater. Ostensibly, its not possible to make a small number of specific criticisms and still be a fan and positive about most other things. Sad.

Yeah he's on a 5 games scoring streak (4 goals, 1 assist). What if he becomes a top-6 forward? Will some posters here keep coming up with the "Balcers is marginal" narrative?

And totally agreed with the 2nd point. I think the pandemic made me realize that a lot of people just HATE reality and that they prefer to put their head in the sand rather than to face cold straight facts. This is something that can happen in various "life spheres", even in what should be entertainment.

It's also funny that of all posters, I have been "challenged" that much on my criticism. I mean, I have been called one of the most optimistic posters before... So yes I can be optimistic when things are going well but let's call a spade a spade, the last 5 years we have bending over to other NHL teams more than anything. Other fanbases don't respect the Sens at all and we have no argument.

But I am still positive about plenty of things, I called our 2020 prospect pool the best in the league and believe we have the best u-25 in the league. But let's ignore that and instead call out every little critic we do. I don't get this fascination some people have with being either 100% positive or 100% negative. lol that's not real life.

Did you link the wrong post? I don't understand the point you're trying to make.

No the link is for the whole page as it was an ongoing discussion. I said something (post #41), you quoted me (post #50) and I asnwered (post #412)

The point is very simple and the same almost everyone has been trying to make :

It is not about individual moves that much, it's about the BULK of moves. Letting guys like Balcers and Duclair go or trading DeMelo for a 3rd when you have so many holes in your lineup is short sighted. Thinking you were filling these holes more adequately with all these way below average marginal players is a LEGIT reason to worry about management.

For some reason, you, Ice-Tray and Aragorn just don't want to understand this argument. You guys keep dodging it like it has never been explained and instead always come back with the "letting Balcers go is not the end of the world"

Of course it's not but it's also not the point... look at the whole context for a minute.

There is also the idea that criticism should match the situation in scope. Putting Balcers on waivers to start the season because he didn’t make the team, with the plan of sending him to the AHL (which every team does that time of year) to continue to develop, was not a huge deal. He was also not a notable loss from the organization.

The thing is some of us call out some of these moves WITHOUT the benefit of hindsight... We knew Balcers would get picked up on waivers. We knew trading a 2nd round pick for Stepan was terrible, etc.

I think that's the problem many have with Dorion. Some of the things he does eventually blow up in our face big time (Zibanejad, Duchene, etc) but some other things blew up right away at the moment it was done.

And as we watch the accumulation of these bad moves, we see the big picture and easily understand why the team struggles that much. My posting history reveals all that. Last year I was complaining about the lack of quality veteran support and this year I was complaining about a big lack of depth. Both of these things have been EXPOSED (unless you're blind)

 

[Ice-Tray]

Damn, you sure like to make a lot of statements that are based on... no idea what

First, the Sharks are basically scoring at the same rate as the Sens (2.72 GF/GP vs 2.73)

Among Sharks forwards this season he is :

5th in PGP (Points per Game)
5th in ESP (Even Strenght Points)
6th in TOI/GP
5th in SH TOI/GP (I think it went down recently as he has been dealing with injuries but it was the 3rd highest before that)
2nd in Hits, 7th in Takeaways (was 2nd last season)

And among the 14 forwards with at least 200 ES mins :

5th in CF%, 4th in xGF%, 3rd in SCF%, 6th in HDCF%

But sure, the IMPARTIAL Ice-Tray's opinion is way more valuable than these facts



This was my next point. Let's REMIND you that we are talking about last season since these things seem very hard for you to follow.

Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Connor Brown, Tim Stutzle... that's 5 guys (and 3 were rookies )... who else?

Colin White and his 0.40 PPG? Yeah ok, already said Balcers is the same caliber of player (although Balcers has been MORE productive)
Evgeni Dadonov and his 0.36 PPG? Good thing Dorion was able to dump his salary
Artem Anisimov produced decently but way too slow for the NHL, played 19 GP and is out of the league now.
Nick Paul and his 0.36 PPG? In this case, yes I absolutely love Nick, he's a horse, strong as an ox, you need swiss army types like this in your bottom-6. So that's a 7th guy...
Chris Tierney? lol but at least he's a center. Cedric Paquette? Not a NHL caliber player anymore. Derek Stepan? Galchenyuk? Clark freaking Bishop? Austin Watson? ok this guy can fill a role on a 4th line

There was certainly a spot for Balcers (and Duclair) in the lineup last season. Even this year, with the White/Pinto/Crookshank injuries, I would have preferred Balcers over Gambrell, Shaw, Kelly, Tierney and even Sanford (although he has been playing better lately)

Conclusion : IF Balcers is a marginal NHL talent, then we have 8-9 guys who are not and about 12 who are... lol

BUT again, this is not even the point lol. Why is it just impossible to understand? People have tried to explain again, in very short sentences, see #133, #134 and #138 for example.



Ottawa has been the 3rd worst team overall in the last 5 years and you have the nerves to say that. It's truly amazing. We have ZERO argument to talk down on any team.



This shows how you're way out of your depth here. I know you're from BC so you might have seen him on the Canucks before but you didn't know that Gaudette can't play defense to save his life? He was very productive in 2019-20 so he was playing. He didn't produce the following season so the Canucks rushed to trade the 24 y/o for Mathew freaking Highmore because a player like that not scoring actually hurts your team.



Again, you're doing this on purpose? You're trolling right? One last try. ME and the MAJORITY of Sens fans are not complaining about letting Balcers go. We're complaining about the BULK of choices/decisions they have made in the last 2 off-seasons. Letting Balcers and Duclair go for nothing are just PART of it and shows a manager that is out of his depth as well. If his team was stacked with great veteran support/leadership, then it's a different story.

I mean when your GM isn't up-to-date with NHL hockey and trades a 2nd round pick for Derek Stepan or sign Michael Del Zotto to a 2 years contract, you have legit reasons to worry

It's ok if you want to continue to believe that everything has been managed perfectly. Personally, when my favorite team has been getting destroyed every second night for 5 straight seasons, I think there must be things to criticize

My opinions based on…. My thoughts? Craziness I know. I can form my own opinions on things and be ok with other people thinking differently. Stunning revelation that will fly right past you as usual.

Yes I have the nerve to say SJ is crap and heading into the dumps. That statement doesn’t rely on what the Sens are doing. There are other independent opinions to be had that don’t rely on being mad at the local hockey team.

Yes, last season…. Long time ago. Balcers is long gone and yet you still moan every other day about him.

X you don’t speak for the majority of Sens fans. Your arrogance always makes me laugh, the funniest part being that you don’t even see it!

 

[Ice-Tray]

Thanks, but I can't see many people in here needing to run to their dictionaries to figure out the word constructive means. Yeesh.

And that right there is the problem. If you don’t know what something actually means, you really should educate yourself instead of mocking the idea.

You could have quietly learned something, instead of loudly proclaiming your ignorance, but like you said earlier; it’s a sign of the times.

 

[Big Muddy]

And that right there is the problem. If you don’t know what something actually means, you really should educate yourself instead of mocking the idea.

You could have quietly learned something, instead of loudly proclaiming your ignorance, but like you said earlier; it’s a sign of the times.

There was nothing to be learned (from you) and everyone who is smarter than a sack of hammers knows what the word "constructive" means. Good grief. And now your posts have denigrated to the point of throwing out insults such as your "loudly proclaiming your ignorance" comment. Not surprising of course. Get over yourself.

 

[God Says No]

My opinions based on…. My thoughts? Craziness I know. I can form my own opinions on things and be ok with other people thinking differently. Stunning revelation that will fly right past you as usual.

Yes I have the nerve to say SJ is crap and heading into the dumps. That statement doesn’t rely on what the Sens are doing. There are other independent opinions to be had that don’t rely on being mad at the local hockey team.

Yes, last season…. Long time ago. Balcers is long gone and yet you still moan every other day about him.

X you don’t speak for the majority of Sens fans. Your arrogance always makes me laugh, the funniest part being that you don’t even see it!

 

[Ice-Tray]

There was nothing to be learned (from you) and everyone who is smarter than a sack of hammers knows what the word "constructive" means. Good grief. And now your posts have denigrated to the point of throwing out insults such as your "loudly proclaiming your ignorance" comment. Not surprising of course. Get over yourself.

Hmmmm, keep digging I guess.

At this point I’m going to just leave you to it and get back to something resembling hockey talk.

 

[Xspyrit]

My opinions based on…. My thoughts? Craziness I know. I can form my own opinions on things and be ok with other people thinking differently. Stunning revelation that will fly right past you as usual.

That's what a lot of people do in society these days and that's also a HUGE problem. People think their opinions based on delusions are worth more than centuries of scientific research, for example.

I have no problem with people having "different opinions" but sometimes I will quickly remind them that it was just that, "an opinion" (my first sentence). I will then provide some facts and observations to give substance to that train of thought, hoping to trigger a change. If people choose to stay in denial, it's their choice (some people still think the virus is a hoax for example)

I am sarcastically laughing at your "impartiality" here as you have shown to be completely biased so many times. Maybe I wouldn't do that if you were not JUMPING all the time on people's throat for having different opinions, like criticizing your idols Melnyk and Dorion.

Yes I have the nerve to say SJ is crap and heading into the dumps. That statement doesn’t rely on what the Sens are doing. There are other independent opinions to be had that don’t rely on being mad at the local hockey team.

I'm not "mad at the local team" at all by the way, Sens are still my favorite team by far. Criticizing some decisions has no effect on that. I still talk a lot of positive about the team and its players. Sorry but I am not going to be 100% positive all the time, particularly when the team is a bottom feeder.

And maybe the Sharks are going "into the dumps" in the future while the Sens go the other way, but what does it have to do with Balcers CURRENT ability?

Yes, last season…. Long time ago. Balcers is long gone and yet you still moan every other day about him.

This shows that you still don't get it. Nobody "moans" about Balcers being gone. Maybe a few did at the moment it happened, but since, Balcers situation is just among a ton of moves that are cited as examples to show Dorion's incompetence to run a NHL team. Like Del Zotto's, like Murray's, like White's, like Stepan's, Like Zibanejad's, like Duchene's, etc.

Do you know what the goal is with the NHL? To win the Stanley Cup. I think most people here would like to see their favorite team win it during their lifetime. The more "bad moves" Dorion makes, the farther we get from that goal

Do you understand that?

Thank God we have elite drafting because the rebuild would already be a failure and we'd be in waiting mode for the next rebuild (like you know, what Buffalo or Edmonton went through). Would you still expect people to be "positive" if that happens (for example, 10 years without playoffs)

Would you say "we have to be patient"?

X you don’t speak for the majority of Sens fans. Your arrogance always makes me laugh, the funniest part being that you don’t even see it!

I'm sorry but a lot of people have shared these views. Management has been RIGHTFULLY criticized. I am not saying "I speak for the majority" but I think I have an idea what people think in general. They are customers and have the right to not be satisfied. As long as they don't wish death to Melnyk and don't insult Dorion, I'm totally fine with criticism, it's well deserved.

Also, I'm sorry but you can play the "victim" all you want, I don't think I need to have my "best manners" with you. Change your attitude and you'll see that I will adapt right away. I know I shouldn't "retaliate" but it's always been one of my faults, I am "an eye for an eye" and I actually like it lol

Before this free fall to hell for the Sens, you never ever complained about my posts just because I was much more "positive". But since I am not bending over for Melnyk/Dorion, it became totally different like when you called my takes "cringey" last year. The vast majority of my posts bring a lot of substance, facts, research and like it or not, are deeply rooted in reality. There's nothing "cringey" about rationality. It just doesn't FIT your narrative

 

[Ice-Tray]

That's what a lot of people do in society these days and that's also a HUGE problem. People think their opinions based on delusions are worth more than centuries of scientific research, for example.

I have no problem with people having "different opinions" but sometimes I will quickly remind them that it was just that, "an opinion" (my first sentence). I will then provide some facts and observations to give substance to that train of thought, hoping to trigger a change. If people choose to stay in denial, it's their choice (some people still think the virus is a hoax for example)

I am sarcastically laughing at your "impartiality" here as you have shown to be completely biased so many times. Maybe I wouldn't do that if you were not JUMPING all the time on people's throat for having different opinions, like criticizing your idols Melnyk and Dorion.



I'm not "mad at the local team" at all by the way, Sens are still my favorite team by far. Criticizing some decisions has no effect on that. I still talk a lot of positive about the team and its players. Sorry but I am not going to be 100% positive all the time, particularly when the team is a bottom feeder.

And maybe the Sharks are going "into the dumps" in the future while the Sens go the other way, but what does it have to do with Balcers CURRENT ability?



This shows that you still don't get it. Nobody "moans" about Balcers being gone. Maybe a few did at the moment it happened, but since, Balcers situation is just among a ton of moves that are cited as examples to show Dorion's incompetence to run a NHL team. Like Del Zotto's, like Murray's, like White's, like Stepan's, Like Zibanejad's, like Duchene's, etc.

Do you know what the goal is with the NHL? To win the Stanley Cup. I think most people here would like to see their favorite team win it during their lifetime. The more "bad moves" Dorion makes, the farther we get from that goal

Do you understand that?

Thank God we have elite drafting because the rebuild would already be a failure and we'd be in waiting mode for the next rebuild (like you know, what Buffalo or Edmonton went through). Would you still expect people to be "positive" if that happens (for example, 10 years without playoffs)

Would you say "we have to be patient"?



I'm sorry but a lot of people have shared these views. Management has been RIGHTFULLY criticized. I am not saying "I speak for the majority" but I think I have an idea what people think in general. They are customers and have the right to not be satisfied. As long as they don't wish death to Melnyk and don't insult Dorion, I'm totally fine with criticism, it's well deserved.

Also, I'm sorry but you can play the "victim" all you want, I don't think I need to have my "best manners" with you. Change your attitude and you'll see that I will adapt right away. I know I shouldn't "retaliate" but it's always been one of my faults, I am "an eye for an eye" and I actually like it lol

Before this free fall to hell for the Sens, you never ever complained about my posts just because I was much more "positive". But since I am not bending over for Melnyk/Dorion, it became totally different like when you called my takes "cringey" last year. The vast majority of my posts bring a lot of substance, facts, research and like it or not, are deeply rooted in reality. There's nothing "cringey" about rationality. It just doesn't FIT your narrative

Lol, okay there bud.

 

[Tuna99]

O points in his last 24 games.

BEYYYYY

 

[Icelevel]

O points in his last 24 games.

BEYYYYY

Feel bad for the guy. But yeah we don’t need him here.

 

[Tuna99]

Feel bad for the guy. But yeah we don’t need him here.

He’s on the team because she’s Pierre Mcquires pet project and it was just a waste of NHL minutes for a team looking for a set roster next year - they just ride this guy for no reason.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDoo]

O points in his last 24 games.

BEYYYYY

Was his last point the between the legs dangle and pass to Ennis?

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

He definitely showed some flashes but just not enough to keep around.
I'm sure he would excel in the AHL. If he'd take a 2 way I'd keep him. He's better than Senyshyn.

 

[Icelevel]

Yeah it wasn’t a bad experiment at all. Was worth the shot.

 

[bicboi64]

Worth a shot and I hope he has success somewhere else in the league but don't think he has a place with us.

 

[mianjo]

He’s on the team because she’s Pierre Mcquires pet project and it was just a waste of NHL minutes for a team looking for a set roster next year - they just ride this guy for no reason.

Talking of Pierre Mcguire has anyone seen or heard from him lately????

 

[Loach]

He definitely showed some flashes but just not enough to keep around.
I'm sure he would excel in the AHL. If he'd take a 2 way I'd keep him. He's better than Senyshyn.

It's like he is missing something. Not sure what because it seems like he is just on the edge of being an NHLr.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Talking of Pierre Mcguire has anyone seen or heard from him lately????

Team picture