Around the League - 2023/24

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The Kingslayer

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Aug 26, 2004
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Geez, Kuemps frustrated the living hell outta me with his rebound control and occasional f***ups but geeeeeeez the man backstopped the Avs to a Cup victory with one fully functional eye. I just don't get the hate he gets on here at all.
Andrew Raycroft could have done the same. Avs were that dominant that run.

Oh no, Edmonton!
Lol what a horrible goal Campbell just let in short handed
 
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Pokecheque

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No success yet but the Sens and Sabres post Botterill.

The Sens did it almost perfectly, minus goaltending.
I don’t see what the Sens and Sabres did so wildly different from the Wings or Bolts. They too signed and traded for veteran players. There has been nothing “perfect” about either one.

The team that really tanked it the way you wanted was the 2015 Sabres. And that was an abysmal failure.
I think he lost his defensive partner from his rookie season.

E: Also, I suggest that Larkin is more an average 1C than bottom-tier IMHO.

EII: The worst thing Yzerman did was draft Cossa over Wallstedt.
We don’t know if Cossa will be better or worse than Wallstedt (though IMO Wallstedt will be better) but the surefire error Yzerman made was drafting Filip Zadina over Quinn Hughes.

Seider had a bad start to his sophomore season due to coaching and management insisting on pairing him with Chiarot. Once he and Walman clicked he rounded back into form. His rookie season I think he was paired with a rotating cast of Staal, Oesterle, and DeKeyser.

At one point people thought he'd become the next Hedman. Hedman was legit the best dman in the league until Makar happened...

Seider will never be top a 3 dman in the league since Makar, Dahlin and Fox exist and aren't significantly older.
Dude doesn’t have to be a top three guy or the next Hedman to be a franchise defenseman.
Balthazar's too harsh, but Yzerman has made some mistakes. Exiled Zadina with others and signed JTC when he already had Copp is a def headscratcher. Both are twin types of players. Chariot sucks, but I am with you on that one, that contract is gone and done when all the Red Wings young talent eventually complete their ELCs.


It might be the Canadian media, but I never once saw the Hedman comparison and that is pretty unfair IMHO. He does have 3 points in 4 games to start this year, but he definitely will not be as dynamic as the three you mentioned. Nonetheless, he should eventually become an average to above-average #1 defenceman and that is still a hella of a good pick considering he was ranked as a mid-tier player during the draft (though lists were all over the place with him tbf).
Never said he didn’t make mistakes, but the only one he made with Zadina was passing over local kid Quinn Hughes to draft him.

Andrew Raycroft could have done the same. Avs were that dominant that run.
Not true.
 
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Pokecheque

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Nah it’s true. Kuemper was good for the deciding game and average to bad every other game. I think Raycroft could have given the Avs 1 good game during a run same as Kuemper.
You’re just letting confirmation bias cloud your memory of the SCF. We know now that his vision problems didn’t allow him to see pucks at his feet, which is why he let in a bit of a softie to open game six. But he also came through big down the stretch when the Bolts pressed, including a great stop on a Kucherov one-timer. Ironically he was much better stopping pucks from distance than in close. If the Bolts had known that things would’ve likely ended differently.

Frankie was the exact opposite IIRC, bad from distance, better in close.

He was no means great and I said before that even before Johansen poked him in the eye he was struggling, but this notion that ANY goalie could have backstopped them to the Cup is garbage. Mike Smith or Jack Campbell wouldn’t have been nearly good enough.
 
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The Kingslayer

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Aug 26, 2004
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Siem Reap, Cambodia
You’re just letting confirmation bias cloud your memory of the SCF. We know now that his vision problems didn’t allow him to see pucks at his feet, which is why he let in a bit of a softie to open game six. But he also came through big down the stretch when the Bolts pressed, including a great stop on a Kucherov one-timer. Ironically he was much better stopping pucks from distance than in close. If the Bolts had known that things would’ve likely ended differently.

Frankie was the exact opposite IIRC, bad from distance, better in close.

He was no means great and I said before that even before Johansen poked him in the eye he was struggling, but this notion that ANY goalie could have backstopped them to the Cup is garbage. Mike Smith or Jack Campbell wouldn’t have been nearly good enough.
Francouz was just as bad as Kuemper.
 
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