Around the League - 2023 Offseason Edition

[Balthazar]

Is Slavin the new OEL?

 

[henchman21]

I have a fringe theory that Carolina's system is too demanding that it wears out their own players over the course of long playoff runs. I'm not even positive I believe it, but after 9-11 games... they tend to start having issues in each playoffs and having major breakdowns in games. It just becomes a stark difference from their early round play.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I have a fringe theory that Carolina's system is too demanding that it wears out their own players over the course of long playoff runs. I'm not even positive I believe it, but after 9-11 games... they tend to start having issues in each playoffs and having major breakdowns in games. It just becomes a stark difference from their early round play.

I still think it's a talent issue. Aho is good. Necas is good. Svech is good. Burns is good. Slavin is good. They just don't have that franchise level piece to win a cup imo. I think if you swapped Aho for Drai, Mack, Point, etc there's a good chance they would've won a cup already. Or maybe if they had Burns from like 5-6 years ago. They just don't have an X factor player to take a game by the balls and will a team to a tight or undeserved victory.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I have a fringe theory that Carolina's system is too demanding that it wears out their own players over the course of long playoff runs. I'm not even positive I believe it, but after 9-11 games... they tend to start having issues in each playoffs and having major breakdowns in games. It just becomes a stark difference from their early round play.

I think what you said about them before is more accurate. They dont have that 1-2 elite gamebreaker. Aho, Svech, Necas, Jarvis, TT, Kotka, Slavin, Burns are good but they arent elite. Seems every cup winning team has to have an elite guy and they tend to be Centreman.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

I have a fringe theory that Carolina's system is too demanding that it wears out their own players over the course of long playoff runs. I'm not even positive I believe it, but after 9-11 games... they tend to start having issues in each playoffs and having major breakdowns in games. It just becomes a stark difference from their early round play.

It is obviously because none of them are on a chickpea diet.

 

[henchman21]

I still think it's a talent issue. Aho is good. Necas is good. Svech is good. Burns is good. Slavin is good. They just don't have that franchise level piece to win a cup imo. I think if you swapped Aho for Drai, Mack, Point, etc there's a good chance they would've won a cup already. Or maybe if they had Burns from like 5-6 years ago. They just don't have an X factor player to take a game by the balls and will a team to a tight or undeserved victory.

I think what you said about them before is more accurate. They dont have that 1-2 elite gamebreaker. Aho, Svech, Necas, Jarvis, TT, Kotka, Slavin, Burns are good but they arent elite. Seems every cup winning team has to have an elite guy and they tend to be Centreman.

I think the roster and talent play into it for sure. Just as I dig deeper and deeper, I think there might be a systematic issue as well. There’s an odd thing that happens in each of their runs where they just run out of gas suddenly. It is fringe and I don’t fully know how I feel, but with different personnel it just keeps happening.

 

[S E P H]

I still think it's a talent issue. Aho is good. Necas is good. Svech is good. Burns is good. Slavin is good. They just don't have that franchise level piece to win a cup imo. I think if you swapped Aho for Drai, Mack, Point, etc there's a good chance they would've won a cup already. Or maybe if they had Burns from like 5-6 years ago. They just don't have an X factor player to take a game by the balls and will a team to a tight or undeserved victory.

Slavin is an elite defenceman, he didn't come "bad" or simply "good" overnight.

 

[Balthazar]

Slavin is an elite defenceman, he didn't come "bad" or simply "good" overnight.

People thought OEL was still "underrated" for 4 or 5 seasons after he started slowing down. Once fans from around the league realized that he was no longer "underrated" he already had severe negative value but that didn't happen overnight. He had been sucking for years.

Fans (and GM's too) are always lagging behind when it comes to players from other teams.

Same thing could happen with Slavin (I didn't watch him enough recently to have an opinion but it's possible).

 

[Balthazar]

I still think it's a talent issue. Aho is good. Necas is good. Svech is good. Burns is good. Slavin is good. They just don't have that franchise level piece to win a cup imo.

Look at 2 out of the last 4 cup winners. The top players on St Louis and Vegas were of similar caliber than the Canes top players.

Marchessault won the MVP in last playoffs.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Look at 2 out of the last 4 cup winners. The top players on St Louis and Vegas were of similar caliber than the Canes top players.

Marchessault won the MVP in last playoffs.

Eichel had a pretty great run for the Knights for 3 rounds anyways. I dont think Carolina had a player producing at the same rate as Marv there in sin city. Not one guy on Carolina was a PPG and hell Jordan Martinook was tied with Aho for playoff scoring.

Slavin is an elite defenceman, he didn't come "bad" or simply "good" overnight.

Slavin is an elite shutdown dman for sure. I dont view him as elite overall. That kinda status is bestowed on guys like Adam Fox.

 

[Murzu]

Watching Slavin play means constant drooling. The guy is a monster when it comes to defending. Aesthetic experience.

 

[dahrougem2]

Look at 2 out of the last 4 cup winners. The top players on St Louis and Vegas were of similar caliber than the Canes top players.

Marchessault won the MVP in last playoffs.

I'm sorry but... what?

Carolina doesn't have anyone up front comparable to Jack Eichel or Mark Stone, even with his "injured" back.

They also don't have anyone close to how good O'Reilly and Pietrangelo were for the Blues in 2019.

 

[Balthazar]

I'm sorry but... what?

Carolina doesn't have anyone up front comparable to Jack Eichel or Mark Stone, even with his "injured" back.

They also don't have anyone close to how good O'Reilly and Pietrangelo were for the Blues in 2019.

lol @ "not comparable"

Aho is in the same tier as (prime) ROR and Eichel. In fact in any 1C rankings Eichel and Aho would have to be right next to each other as their stats are nearly identical.

But yea, one team just won the cup and the other choked again. Recency bias is a thing.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Slavin is an elite defenceman, he didn't come "bad" or simply "good" overnight.

He’s an awesome shutdown guy for sure, if not the best one in the league. But he’s a symptom of the problems in Carolina. I just don’t think he has enough X factor. I think he’s down the list of problems in Carolina as I think it’s the forwards who are the biggest problems, but he‘s more of the same with that team. Good to great defense/2 Way play, but he’s not someone who can influence the game offensively when they need the tide to be turned.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Look at 2 out of the last 4 cup winners. The top players on St Louis and Vegas were of similar caliber than the Canes top players.

Marchessault won the MVP in last playoffs.

Eichel is a franchise level talent. Pietro is a 1D that can put up 50-55pts which Slavin isn’t necessarily capable of. Stone is by far the best winger between the Canes and Knights. ROR the season they won the cup was as good as Aho is offensively but the best defensive C in the NHL. I think Vegas and the Blues had high end talent the Canes currently don’t have and got playoff performances that Aho hasn’t shown he’s capable of yet.

 

[Balthazar]

Eichel is a franchise level talent. Pietro is a 1D that can put up 50-55pts which Slavin isn’t necessarily capable of. ROR the season they won the cup was as good as Aho is offensively but the best defensive C in the NHL. I think Vegas and the Blues had high end talent the Canes currently don’t have and got playoff performances that Aho hasn’t shown he’s capable of yet.

Ok I'll play.

In your opinion, what would have happened to the Canes in the playoffs if at the last trade deadline they'd have swapped Aho for Eichel?

 

[henchman21]

Stats be damned... my eyes tell me Eichel is a few notches above ROR and at least one above Aho. Slavin is an elite shutdown defender and basically this generations Pickles. There isn't enough offense in his game for me to consider him a true #1D though.

Funny enough my systemic theory mostly started with... why do their great defensive players (like Slavin) start to struggle? Why do breakdowns happen more frequently? Why do they start becoming a team that trades chances? I don't really know the answers to those, but funky things happen to Carolina. Is it that they tire? Is it the tape gathers and adjustments are made? I don't think it is QoC... something is just odd there.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Ok I'll play.

In your opinion, what would have happened to the Canes in the playoffs if at the last trade deadline they'd have swapped Aho for Eichel?

I think they beat Florida at least and Vegas probably comes up short last year. Vegas I’m less sure on, but I could see them coming up short with Aho.

 

[LOFIN]

The problem of Carolina Hurricanes is not Sebastian Aho. It's the lack of starpower behind him.

 

[The Abusement Park]

The problem of Carolina Hurricanes is not Sebastian Aho. It's the lack of starpower behind him.

I don’t think it’s Aho alone. It’s the group as a whole. I think you could win with Aho as your 1C, but you’d need a Tkachuk or Kuch type winger to do it I think. Or a top 5 dman to do it. The Canes are a really good team. But they don’t have anyone who’s top 10 in their position. To do it they’ll probably need Aho to have a peak season where hits another level offensively.

 

[UncleRisto]

The problem of Carolina Hurricanes is not Sebastian Aho. It's the lack of starpower behind him.

It confuses me how the conversation is so often "Aho is not good enough", and his wingers are like Jarvis and Bunting and their 2C is a 3C. And if it's not that it's "Svechnikov is not good enough". Why does it have to be the two worth a shit?

 

[henchman21]

Svechnikov is overrated:

 

[LOFIN]

It confuses me how the conversation is so often "Aho is not good enough", and his wingers are like Jarvis and Bunting and their 2C is a 3C. And if it's not that it's "Svechnikov is not good enough". Why does it have to be the two worth a shit?

Yeah. I mean would you like an upgrade on Aho? Sure, but easier said than done. Upgrades on wingers are available though. A guy like Meier was out there and available. It seems the Canes were after him, but how serious were they? Nylander might be available if you ask. Hell, JT Miller was available.

What the Canes can realistically do, is get a proper 2C or better wingers.

 

[ABasin]

Stats be damned... my eyes tell me Eichel is a few notches above ROR and at least one above Aho.

#TheEyeTest

 

[Chiarelli]

Canes answer to their scoring woes was to get an old broken down Pacioretty. nuff said.