Around the League: You Like Mammoth?

[VanJack]

I know it's not sunshine and rainbows in Canuck land but man I'd hate to be a Kings fan right now.

I know the Canucks fell short this year, but the reasons for their pratfall were obvious and ultimately correctible.

I'm not so sure about the Kings and the Wild--who were both dispatched tonight. You look at their goaltending; their current lineups; and what's coming up; and I'd say the Canucks have a better prognosis than either of those teams.

The Western Conference really is a mish-mash of meh teams. And with the right moves, the Canucks still have a shot at breaking out of the log-jam of teams.

 

[F A N]

I know the Canucks fell short this year, but the reasons for their pratfall were obvious and ultimately correctible.

How do you correct? What is the plan to turn Petey back to being a 100 point #1C? What is the plan to acquire a 2C the calibre of Miller? What is the plan to get Demko to stay healthy and compete for the Vezina? Who will you hire as head coach?

 

[PuckMunchkin]

Their rebuild was going great until they gave away Faber for Fiala (softest player in the playoffs) and followed it up by trading Durzi for nothing. Their depth up front was completely eroded with the PLD trade.

They are probably destined for another retool/rebuild soon.

PLD stopped playing for the Kings worse than JT Miller for us this season.

They didnt get any worse by moving this version of him.

 

[The Optimist]

How do you correct? What is the plan to turn Petey back to being a 100 point #1C? What is the plan to acquire a 2C the calibre of Miller? What is the plan to get Demko to stay healthy and compete for the Vezina? Who will you hire as head coach?

I know everyone is down on Pettersson, and justifiably so, but there is a real possibility that he harnesses all the off-season criticism he is receiving into motivation. I'd imagine he is a competitive person to be playing at this level, and I expect a massive chip on his shoulder to prove his naysayers wrong. As for the other stuff, it isn't even July 1 yet, who knows how they address some of those issues but let's give management time to do so, especially since we don't even know who the coach is yet. Lastly, you conveniently failed to mention the massively improved defence compared to the start of last season. Why do they get no credit for that?

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

PLD stopped playing for the Kings worse than JT Miller for us this season.

They didnt get any worse by moving this version of him.

Was speaking about the trade where they sent Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and Gabriel Vilardi for him.

 

[tantalum]

Hiller should be embarrassed he got completely out coached by Knoblauch. I mean Knoblauch has one move, the same as every other coach before him....put the two generational players together. Hiller mind-f***ed himself.

Just a master class in what not to do by Hiller. Shortened his bench WAY too much. Scared to rely on skill when skill was needed.

Good to see Green bounced. Can't stand his smug face on the camera. I say that hating the Leafs.

I know I'm in the minority on this board but I like Vegas. I think they make the moves they think is best regardless of popularity. Usually they are correct. I don't care about the LTIR stuff because frankly every team does it and I've heard enough people in the industry talk about how it's virtually impossible to abuse it (i.e. the players on it are hurt...can't blame teams for timing things to timeline that are explicitly set out in the CBA).

I hope Vegas can take out the Oilers.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

So frustrating to have watched that Kings/Oilers series and watched the Kings just piss it away. Almost squarely on bad, Travis Green-esque coaching as well.

Toronto nearly managed to extend their nightmare, but win the series as they should - and their prize for doing so is Florida. The Panthers look primed for another run after making short work of Tampa, that’ll be a really interesting series to watch.

Colorado / Dallas Game 7 should be fun!

 

[credulous]

I know the Canucks fell short this year, but the reasons for their pratfall were obvious and ultimately correctible.

I'm not so sure about the Kings and the Wild--who were both dispatched tonight. You look at their goaltending; their current lineups; and what's coming up; and I'd say the Canucks have a better prognosis than either of those teams.

The Western Conference really is a mish-mash of meh teams. And with the right moves, the Canucks still have a shot at breaking out of the log-jam of teams.

the wild have maybe the best prospect pool in the league and over 20m in cap space. how do the canucks have a better prognosis?

i'd trade any single canucks prospect for zeev buium or danil yurov. maybe wallstedt and ohgren too. then they have stramel, heidt, jiricek and haight...

 

[Bgav]

I know it's not sunshine and rainbows in Canuck land but man I'd hate to be a Kings fan right now.

Meh, they've see a mini dynasty, they'll survive. we have nothing lol

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Definitely not good times in Canuck land watching our "rivals" make the 2nd round.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

So frustrating to have watched that Kings/Oilers series and watched the Kings just piss it away. Almost squarely on bad, Travis Green-esque coaching as well.

Toronto nearly managed to extend their nightmare, but win the series as they should - and their prize for doing so is Florida. The Panthers look primed for another run after making short work of Tampa, that’ll be a really interesting series to watch.

Colorado / Dallas Game 7 should be fun!

I think that's what pisses me off the most about Edmonton. It's not even so much that they overcame insurmountable odds to come back and win that series - the Kings made a series of unforced ridiculous errors that left the door wide open (bad challenge, Byfield clear). Good on them for taking advantage, but they should have been dead and buried multiple times. They were bailed out.

You would never see this team get that kind of dumb luck. They have to fight so f***ing hard to win games.

 

[M2Beezy]

I dont usually notice announcer but that kings Oilers announcer was excessively annoying. I think he told us roughly 205 times that it was a fantastic game and series. Not to mention he sounded like a wrestling announcer lol

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

I dont usually notice announcer but that kings Oilers announcer was excessively annoying. I think he told us roughly 205 times that it was a fantastic game and series. Not to mention he sounded like a wrestling announcer lol

It was like he carried the energy from the third period of Game 1 (which to be fair was an INCREDIBLE comeback) into the rest of the series, which was not nearly as exciting.

 

[vancityluongo]

I dont usually notice announcer but that kings Oilers announcer was excessively annoying. I think he told us roughly 205 times that it was a fantastic game and series. Not to mention he sounded like a wrestling announcer lol

my favorite moment was on the second oilers goal when he had no idea who shot the puck lol

"mcdavid passes across... SCORES!!!!!!!! DRAISAITL!! ... watches ... as nugent hopkins fires it home!"

 

[Jyrki21]

PLD stopped playing for the Kings worse than JT Miller for us this season.

They didnt get any worse by moving this version of him.

Plus isn't Kuemper a Vezina finalist?

 

[Zanon]

I can’t believe the Kings have lost four straight years to the Oilers in R1. That is wild. To put it in perspective, the Canucks only lost two years in a row to the Blackhawks before exercising their demons.

 

[bossram]

Do the Kings actually do anything this offseason to improve the team?

Firing Jim Hiller improves them by default.

 

[bossram]

He's a good trade target this offseason IMO. Will likely need a fresh start.

They're not trading Byfield unless it's a bananas offer. This is a weird take.

 

[credulous]

i can see the kings trading byfield but not for futures. it'll be in a swap for another young center. maybe seattle and los angeles hook up on a deal built around a beniers for byfield swap

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

So frustrating to have watched that Kings/Oilers series and watched the Kings just piss it away. Almost squarely on bad, Travis Green-esque coaching as well.

Toronto nearly managed to extend their nightmare, but win the series as they should - and their prize for doing so is Florida. The Panthers look primed for another run after making short work of Tampa, that’ll be a really interesting series to watch.

Colorado / Dallas Game 7 should be fun!

What's always crazy to me about the Leafs is they have all the talent in the world to make a legit push. On paper, they should give Florida a serious run: more so than Washington or Carolina will imo. It's just strange how players as good as Matthews and Marner consistently struggle in the playoffs.

As for the Kings. I called it right after that OT in game 4. They were dead men walking. Losing the way they did killed any real morale they had. If there was ever a series where you could squarely blame coaching, that's it right there.

Imagine using a system that got you 105, top 15 in offense and second lowest GA only to default back to turtling the second things go awry. It's just mystifying.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

What's always crazy to me about the Leafs is they have all the talent in the world to make a legit push. On paper, they should give Florida a serious run: more so than Washington or Carolina will imo. It's just strange how players as good as Matthews and Marner consistently struggle in the playoffs.

I thought for a while that if they could get over that first round hump, they’d go on a run. Then they got smoked by Florida in Round 2 a couple of seasons ago.

I think Toronto would stack up well against the other Eastern teams, but I don’t think they do so well against Florida, who look primed for another deep run. I did not see Florida trucking Tampa so quickly.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Imagine using a system that got you 105, top 15 in offense and second lowest GA only to default back to turtling the second things go awry. It's just mystifying.

It wasn't due to turtling.

It was probably the most inept coaching strategy I have seen since Willie's 1-2-3-4.

All Hiller had to do was roll 4 lines and load manage Doughty and Kopitar. He instead elected to shorten the bench....EVEN WHEN THEY WERE LEADING! The Kings kept blowing leads due to pure exhaustion. They had zero gas in the tank in Game 5 and 6.

 

[Vector]

It wasn't due to turtling.

It was probably the most inept coaching strategy I have seen since Willie's 1-2-3-4.

All Hiller had to do was roll 4 lines and load manage Doughty and Kopitar. He instead elected to shorten the bench....EVEN WHEN THEY WERE LEADING! The Kings kept blowing leads due to pure exhaustion. They had zero gas in the tank in Game 5 and 6.

And when asked if he regretted that strategy he said “No”.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

They're not trading Byfield unless it's a bananas offer. This is a weird take.

Alright, I'll just go f*** myself

 

[Jyrki21]

I can’t believe the Kings have lost four straight years to the Oilers in R1. That is wild. To put it in perspective, the Canucks only lost two years in a row to the Blackhawks before exercising their demons.

In the 2009 series, the Canucks also had their blown moment where they were so close to going up 3-1 in the series... it's what I kept thinking about.