Around the NHL 10 - 2022/23

[Daximus]

I still maintain Maurice is the worst currently employed head coach, but the impact a coach has is relatively minor to the talent he ices; in the words of the only remotely sane thing Don Cherry ever said, show me a Vezina winner and I'll show you coach of the year.

One might argue that Maurice took the President's Trophy winners and barely made the playoffs with them the next year, and that the Panthers are merely doing close to as good as they would have done last year if they didn't run into the mother of all goaltending high rolls (.970, was it?)

As for the "playoff choker / playoff performer" thing, I've found basically zero evidence to suggest this is anything more than short term variance. If it is correct to say Austin Matthews is horrible in the playoffs, it's correct to say John Druce was the greatest goal scorer in history during the playoffs, and I'm not prepared for that.

And a similar analysis of "clutch performance" during the regular season showed the same thing -- there's no evidence to suggest a player's performance magically gets better or worse during clutch times. If there IS a "clutch power", it's not reproducible year to year and there are about as many clutch performers every year as random chance would suggest.

It seems like there are some players that can elevate their games though under high pressure situations. Marner and Matthews appear to have solid playoff numbers but their stats in game 5's, 6's, 7's and primarily elimination games are piss poor. That indicates that they have trouble preforming under pressure. Contrast that with Patrick Kane who while he has more playoff games played, has basically identical PPG stats to Marner and Matthews. But some of the best game 5, 6, 7 and elimination game stats of current players. Which indicates that he has the ability to elevate his game when the pressure is on.

We can pretend that the pressure doesn't get to some players and that others don't thrive under pressure but that is just not the case in literally any other workplace scenario. Why would it be nonexistent in sports but exist nearly everywhere else?

 

[AlphaLackey]

I detect a note of bitterness...

None at all. I'm not here spitting the ground he walks on, and frankly I think he's a good and decent human being. There are 32 head coaches in the NHL. One of them has to be the 32nd best. I think it's him. That's all.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Is Kyle Connor available at all?

If so - what on top of 9th overall would the Jets realistically want from the Sens in return?

I'm working uner the assumption they could flip a extended DeBrincat for 9th overall to Detroit. Not a given at all, but more of a thought process.

 

[Daximus]

Is Kyle Connor available at all?

If so - what on top of 9th overall would the Jets realistically want from the Sens in return?

I'm working uner the assumption they could flip a extended DeBrincat for 9th overall to Detroit. Not a given at all, but more of a thought process.

He might be if they can't get Hellebuyck to resign but that is a conversation for the summer so the draft pick is not really on the table either way.

 

[AlphaLackey]

It seems like there are some players that can elevate their games though under high pressure situations. Marner and Matthews appear to have solid playoff numbers but their stats in game 5's, 6's, 7's and primarily elimination games are piss poor. That indicates that they have trouble preforming under pressure. Contrast that with Patrick Kane who while he has more playoff games played, has basically identical PPG stats to Marner and Matthews. But some of the best game 5, 6, 7 and elimination game stats of current players. Which indicates that he has the ability to elevate his game when the pressure is on.

We can pretend that the pressure doesn't get to some players and that others don't thrive under pressure but that is just not the case in literally any other workplace scenario. Why would it be nonexistent in sports but exist nearly everywhere else?

The problem with that mindset is that it leads us to conclude that someone like John Druce was just some lazy hockey savant, a latent talent better than Gretzky or Lemieux who, when he finally was motivated, put his true skills on display. Surely that's not the case?

How many elimination games has Austin Matthews played? in his career? Ten?

 

[Daximus]

The problem with that mindset is that it leads us to conclude that someone like John Druce was just some lazy hockey savant, a latent talent better than Gretzky or Lemieux who, when he finally was motivated, put his true skills on display. Surely that's not the case?

How many elimination games has Austin Matthews played? in his career? Ten?

That might hold true if Druce did it for more than a single playoff season. That can be variance but at no other time did he ever get more than 1 goal in a playoff run while Gretz and Lemieux continually preformed in the playoffs. For a brief period of time Druce caught lightning in a bottle. Then failed miserably for the rest of his career. Thats exactly what variance is. If he continued to just light it up every time he had a playoff run then you could say, yeah this guy just seems to elevate his game come playoff time but he didn't.

At this point Matthews has more elimination games under his belt than most players his age have playoff appearances. But it stretches further than just elimination games. He just has bad stats games 5 through 7. And there is enough of a sample size in those games to show that when things get tighter later in a series he fails to adjust his game accordingly and preform.

 

[tbcwpg]

So, which head coach is worse?

Without doing a deep dive on it the two names that immediately jump to mind are Luke Richardson and Rick Tochett. At least Richardson has a pretty good excuse given the team he was given.

 

[GeorgeJETson]

I see the Walmart's in Toronto are having a sale on Leaf gear...

View attachment 708401

At that price, I'd pick them up. I can always use extra rags around the yard.

But they're probably not good quality: fall apart at the worst moment...

 

[JetsFan815]

I know many here won't like this but I am rooting for the Oilers to win tonight, they are the lesser of two evils as at the very least their roster is a legal roster capwise.

 

[WolfHouse]

He's not the currently worst employed coach in the league.

One might argue that he took the team from the President's Trophy to WC2 but that argument would ignore they lost a key defenceman from last year with no real replacement and their goaltending tanked this year compared to last. Bobrovsky went from .913 to .901, Knight went from .908 to .901. Lyon played well but that was 15 games. Some step back was expected.

I mean goaltenders are better in a good defensive system... look at Helle's improvement this year. That variance follows Maurice wherever he goes... its not 'bad luck'

 

[bustamente]

Why the hell are they starting a Sunday night game in Edmonton at 8, 9 our time, not like there are any other games tonight

 

[DRW204]

Just to follow @bustamente - how did Seattle get their hands on Bjorkstrand (from CBJ).. the guy is solid

bjorkstrand, tolvanen and sprong.... that's 3 solid top-9ers they got for basically peanuts.

SEAs fwd line-up is really solid. their top-end after Mccann is kinda weak. but they got solid scorers throughout the line-up. i was looking at this periodically through the year.... they were always among top-3ish teams in 10+ goal scorers.

SEA was pretty poor offensively last year. but comparing this season w/ 1st year Vegas:

look at their top end... 40 goals as your leader is around middle of the pack, their top-3 only tallied 85 goals (or 29% of the team's total) - one of the lowest in the league. but t-1st w/ 13x10+ goal scorers, of which 6x20+ goal scorers. Vegas was a bit stronger at the top-end but perhaps their depth was a bit less. they both finished 5th in goals. SEA is kind of close to 17-18s NSH.

look at us in 17-18..... our top-end was elite. and our depth was solid (Lowry and Tanev missed 20+ games and would've added to the 10+ scorers). 273 goals was good enough for 2nd place.... gets you tied-12th this year how things have changed.

 

[ps241]

bjorkstrand, tolvanen and sprong.... that's 3 solid top-9ers they got for basically peanuts.

SEAs fwd line-up is really solid. their top-end after Mccann is kinda weak. but they got solid scorers throughout the line-up. i was looking at this periodically through the year.... they were always among top-3ish teams in 10+ goal scorers.

SEA was pretty poor offensively last year. but comparing this season w/ 1st year Vegas:

look at their top end... 40 goals as your leader is around middle of the pack, their top-3 only tallied 85 goals (or 29% of the team's total) - one of the lowest in the league. but t-1st w/ 13x10+ goal scorers, of which 6x20+ goal scorers. Vegas was a bit stronger at the top-end but perhaps their depth was a bit less. they both finished 5th in goals. SEA is kind of close to 17-18s NSH.

look at us in 17-18..... our top-end was elite. and our depth was solid (Lowry and Tanev missed 20+ games and would've added to the 10+ scorers). 273 goals was good enough for 2nd place.... gets you tied-12th this year how things have changed.

View attachment 708487

Yup they are new School org doing a pretty dam good job without that high end talent.

 

[DRW204]

Yup they are new School org doing a pretty dam good job without that high end talent.

id say Dunn and Mccan may be considered high-end players off this year. or alternatively phrased they had high-end seasons.

 

[ps241]

id say Dunn and Mccan may be considered high-end players off this year. or alternatively phrased they had high-end seasons.

It’s fascinating to see what guys that have been underutilized can do with prime minutes. First it was Karlsson (shooting% aided) Marchessault in Vegas, then McCaan and Dunn in Seattle. Now in fairness Seattle is really doing it more with depth this season but those top guys have had big seasons and neither had more than 35 points before Seattle.

 

[RabidOne]

I know many here won't like this but I am rooting for the Oilers to win tonight, they are the lesser of two evils as at the very least their roster is a legal roster capwise.

Same. F*ck Vegas.

id say Dunn and Mccan may be considered high-end players off this year. or alternatively phrased they had high-end seasons.

And Vancouver ran McCann out of town.

 

[DRW204]

It’s fascinating to see what guys that have been underutilized can do with prime minutes. First it was Karlsson (shooting% aided) Marchessault in Vegas, then McCaan and Dunn in Seattle. Now in fairness Seattle is really doing it more with depth this season but those top guys have had big seasons and neither had more than 35 points before Seattle.

Dunn was a notable analytics-darling for a couple years in STL. And seemed to be available the final couple off seasons he was there before being let go to SEA

Meanwhile IIRC some were not as bullish on McCann given they weren't super certain on his finishing if it could persist with higher volume/TOI..... Looks like it has. Guy was traded 3x before being selected in the expansion draft.

 

[ps241]

Why the hell are they starting a Sunday night game in Edmonton at 8, 9 our time, not like there are any other games tonight

Yea I agree I don’t really get the logic unless they were locked in.

 

[SUX2BU]

I see the Walmart's in Toronto are having a sale on Leaf gear...

View attachment 708401

Good fire starter …….

 

[John Agar]

At that price, I'd pick them up. I can always use extra rags around the yard.

But they're probably not good quality: fall apart at the worst moment...

I have bidets in each of My washrooms...

So... no to Leafs gear at any price...

 

[WolfHouse]

None at all. I'm not here spitting the ground he walks on, and frankly I think he's a good and decent human being. There are 32 head coaches in the NHL. One of them has to be the 32nd best. I think it's him. That's all.

This year, I'd say DJ Smith is the worst

 

[WpgSteve]

It seems like there are some players that can elevate their games though under high pressure situations. Marner and Matthews appear to have solid playoff numbers but their stats in game 5's, 6's, 7's and primarily elimination games are piss poor. That indicates that they have trouble preforming under pressure. Contrast that with Patrick Kane who while he has more playoff games played, has basically identical PPG stats to Marner and Matthews. But some of the best game 5, 6, 7 and elimination game stats of current players. Which indicates that he has the ability to elevate his game when the pressure is on.

We can pretend that the pressure doesn't get to some players and that others don't thrive under pressure but that is just not the case in literally any other workplace scenario. Why would it be nonexistent in sports but exist nearly everywhere else?

I've always assumed that most of the people who make it to the NHL are good under pressure.

I wouldn't discount the efforts made by the other team to neutralize top players in the playoffs. McDavid is a good example. I think his lack of playoff performance in series the Oilers lose has more to do with the other team stepping up with a good plan to defend him than him failing to elevate. It's easier to break up a play than to make one.

Also, some players games don't translate as well as others to playoff hockey. A player like Scheifele can adapt his game to fit the playoffs because he is big and strong in addition to being skilled. A player like Kyle Connor doesnt have the same option and is neutralized more easily.

 

[Gil Fisher]

None at all. I'm not here spitting the ground he walks on, and frankly I think he's a good and decent human being. There are 32 head coaches in the NHL. One of them has to be the 32nd best. I think it's him. That's all.

when coaches have such little impact, it's tough to measure

 

[JetsFan815]

I have bidets in each of My washrooms...

So... no to Leafs gear at any price...

Bidet is a life changing device. Using toilet paper to clean feels barbaric once you use a bidet.

 

[snowkiddin]

Edmonton could be a landing spot for Hellebuyck. My golly, Skinner sucks ass