GDT: Avs VS Panthers - Ekblad back on #1 PP!

[KW]

No joking - I kind of think there's something to that. At the beginning of the season, they had Barkov and Tkachuk out, and then the Finland trip that got the team going. Now, it's just the grind... God, for a team that was used to be the best defensive team in the league, we're looking awful. Good thing that the Atlantic is so bad right now that we can afford to be in a slump. Just hoping it is indeed just a slump and the team will wake up at some point...

Well, we’re worse than Montreal, San Jose and Anaheim combined, so mediocrity should be the next goal for Paul.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

No joking - I kind of think there's something to that. At the beginning of the season, they had Barkov and Tkachuk out, and then the Finland trip that got the team going. Now, it's just the grind... God, for a team that was used to be the best defensive team in the league, we're looking awful. Good thing that the Atlantic is so bad right now that we can afford to be in a slump. Just hoping it is indeed just a slump and the team will wake up at some point...

Furthermore, since Zito couldn't/wouldn't hold on to guys like Lomberg, Montour, Cousins, Marchment, Gudas, etc. it was expected that the fun factor of this team would decrease significantly. ofc they still have Benny and Chuck there but imo it just isn't the same as it used to be. I'm probably in the minority when I would've rather seen Lomberg + Montour in the lineup instead of one-foot-in-the-grave Ekblad.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Swaggy is a minus 15 now in 21 games.
Maybe if he tried to play some D.
Bob wouldn’t be struggling.

Yeah, the goalies have been fine. The team as a whole is not playing well, not playing together as a five man unit (which is especially critical for us), and they are not playing good team D. The blueline is also thin.

 

[batting1k]

Damnit

 

[IdleTraveller]

Furthermore, since Zito couldn't/wouldn't hold on to guys like Lomberg, Montour, Cousins, Marchment, Gudas, etc. it was expected that the fun factor of this team would decrease significantly. ofc they still have Benny and Chuck there but imo it just isn't the same as it used to be. I'm probably in the minority when I would've rather seen Lomberg + Montour in the lineup instead of one-foot-in-the-grave Ekblad.

I mean, we couldn;t have afforded Lomberg and Montour this year anyway with having to pay Reinhart, which I think we would agree was worth it. So I agree Montour over Ekblad (at least at the moment), but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice. I know goaltending is not the main reason for our losses but still missing Stolarz...

Given the pay rises for Reino, and now for Swaggy and Benny (at the very least), the only way for us to be sustainable even with the cap rising is to find players on the cheap/reclamation projects, particularly on D, and hope that they can plug and play within our system. That's what's worked for us in the past - in part due to our system/great scouting, but also luck played a huge factor: that we got the right players and they peak at the right times.

Who knows? Maybe this is just a slump in motivation and the team gets back to it - as someone said earlier - D is where you see the team motivation the most and they did start the season really well. It could still work out but going to the SC Finals three years in a row is pretty ridiculous - I know Tampa did it but that was COVID years with fewer games played. And add in the 4 nations when most of our big dogs are playing, I'm trying to resign myself to seeing this year more as a transition year.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Damnit

but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice.

Ekky has a modified nmc for this season so Zito could've traded Ekky albeit for a meagre return.

There's ofc a chance that they're in the midst of a traditional mid-season slump and they'll eventually readjust their game but imo this is a situation where Zito needs to make a trade. It'll take a few more losses in order for Zito to commit to making a trade and the other teams becoming more assured they need to trade one of their players for picks/prospects.

 

[FinlandPanther]

So true!
The main reason for me to stop watching basketball was that the slightest touch was called a foul. Guess the game is turning to Iceketball, but with all the negative parts of both sports

Agreed. I’m all about protecting the goalies but if you cant even have the edge of your skates on the blue paint without impeding the goalie at all then this game is going to become even softer than it already is. Goalies might as well just bump into you on surprise every time since they will get the call. Screens should just be made illegal. Tomas Holmstrom would have been a career AHLer if this was how it was in his time.

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

Damnit

Don’t worry, Sullivan should be available soon

 

[FinlandPanther]

I mean, we couldn;t have afforded Lomberg and Montour this year anyway with having to pay Reinhart, which I think we would agree was worth it. So I agree Montour over Ekblad (at least at the moment), but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice. I know goaltending is not the main reason for our losses but still missing Stolarz...

Given the pay rises for Reino, and now for Swaggy and Benny (at the very least), the only way for us to be sustainable even with the cap rising is to find players on the cheap/reclamation projects, particularly on D, and hope that they can plug and play within our system. That's what's worked for us in the past - in part due to our system/great scouting, but also luck played a huge factor: that we got the right players and they peak at the right times.

Who knows? Maybe this is just a slump in motivation and the team gets back to it - as someone said earlier - D is where you see the team motivation the most and they did start the season really well. It could still work out but going to the SC Finals three years in a row is pretty ridiculous - I know Tampa did it but that was COVID years with fewer games played. And add in the 4 nations when most of our big dogs are playing, I'm trying to resign myself to seeing this year more as a transition year.

I think at the end of the day they’ll be fine. Just an ugly funk they’re in but we are right at the cap which sucks. Kulikov and Mikkola together is bad because neither can skate the puck out. That’s why Mikkola and Montour were so great together.

 

[Ghoste]

Don’t worry, Sullivan should be available soon

Or Bruno.

 

[Dread Clawz]

I mean, we couldn;t have afforded Lomberg and Montour this year anyway with having to pay Reinhart, which I think we would agree was worth it. So I agree Montour over Ekblad (at least at the moment), but we couldn't move Ekblad so we didn't have much choice. I know goaltending is not the main reason for our losses but still missing Stolarz...

Given the pay rises for Reino, and now for Swaggy and Benny (at the very least), the only way for us to be sustainable even with the cap rising is to find players on the cheap/reclamation projects, particularly on D, and hope that they can plug and play within our system. That's what's worked for us in the past - in part due to our system/great scouting, but also luck played a huge factor: that we got the right players and they peak at the right times.

Who knows? Maybe this is just a slump in motivation and the team gets back to it - as someone said earlier - D is where you see the team motivation the most and they did start the season really well. It could still work out but going to the SC Finals three years in a row is pretty ridiculous - I know Tampa did it but that was COVID years with fewer games played. And add in the 4 nations when most of our big dogs are playing, I'm trying to resign myself to seeing this year more as a transition year.

Plus, even as good as Monty looks now in Seattle, in 3-4 years that contract is gonna look horrible. Everyone has to know that. Yes, Ek may get 7-8 years too, but he'll be making way less .

 

[Great8Cam]

1 good play out of 10 is no reason to keep Fat tub o lard. Trade him now and get what you can. If you watch him live you will see how bad he is. I am at all but a few home games and I will ISO on him. It’s bad. Watching on tv only shows so much because the camera usually follows the puck.

He is so slow it is disgusting.

Bob looked like shit last night. Overall the team has no motivation and they need to smarten up ASAP.

Relying on the comparison of the record this far vs last season at this point is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Plus, even as good as Monty looks now in Seattle, in 3-4 years that contract is gonna look horrible. Everyone has to know that. Yes, Ek may get 7-8 years too, but he'll be making way less .

Ekky's next contract looks horrible as soon as it gets signed. I don't think Monty's contract will look horrible but even if that was case... after 3-4 years the Panthers window of contention will close too so it has no impact on the bottom line. Barkov, Forsling, Benny, Verhaeghe, etc. are way past their prime at the age of 33-34yo and the Panthers have them locked up with NMCs so rebuild at that time is out of the question also.

 

[batting1k]

Ekky's next contract looks horrible before it even gets signed.

Fixed.

 

[austropanther]

Agreed. I’m all about protecting the goalies but if you cant even have the edge of your skates on the blue paint without impeding the goalie at all then this game is going to become even softer than it already is. Goalies might as well just bump into you on surprise every time since they will get the call. Screens should just be made illegal. Tomas Holmstrom would have been a career AHLer if this was how it was in his time.

Exactly. I just had to think of the Hull SC clinching goal against BUF. I mean they let it slide back then, so today stuff like that should not even closely be an issue. Makes no sense. And for once, MT literally did not do anything to prevent Georgiev to do his job. Worst call in a long time. And it would have been the 4-5 goal, whole different ballgame. Refs are getting worse and worse.

 

[Dread Clawz]

1 good play out of 10 is no reason to keep Fat tub o lard. Trade him now and get what you can. If you watch him live you will see how bad he is. I am at all but a few home games and I will ISO on him. It’s bad. Watching on tv only shows so much because the camera usually follows the puck.

He is so slow it is disgusting.

Bob looked like shit last night. Overall the team has no motivation and they need to smarten up ASAP.

Relying on the comparison of the record this far vs last season at this point is a recipe for disaster.

Yeah he's slow, but I have to disagree with you a bit here. He actually looks faster and quicker to me than he has in years. Almost at his best skating peak that he was at in 2021. I really don't think a lot of fans appreciate all the little plays he makes. He has faults no doubt, but he also has a lot of positive qualities. I mean let's be realisticz we won the Cup with him playing top pairing minutes. And he was going against McDavid, Drai, Hyman, Huge. The previous run he also looked good, and that was playing through 3 major injuries. He's not some pylon.

 

[KW]

I know lots here don’t agree with this but I’m well beyond “oh we won the cup I don’t care what happens this season”.

They suck right now, time to get your f***ing act together slackers. Everyone’s got to earn their salaries all over again. No mercy, all about what have you done for me lately. Don’t like it? Then go play for the Devils or something.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Ekky's next contract looks horrible as soon as it gets signed. I don't think Monty's contract will look horrible but even if that was case... after 3-4 years the Panthers window of contention will close too so it has no impact on the bottom line. Barkov, Forsling, Benny, Verhaeghe, etc. are way past their prime at the age of 33-34yo and the Panthers have them locked up with NMCs so rebuild at that time is out of the question also.

Yeah in 3-4 years everyone will be older, but there are different levels of contending. It's still possible for them to win in 3-4 years, even though they're more at their peak now. With an albatross contract like Montour 's, it'd contribute toward handcuffing them financially. With financial flexibility, they could still retool and put together a very good team.

 

[I am not exposed]

Agreed. I’m all about protecting the goalies but if you cant even have the edge of your skates on the blue paint without impeding the goalie at all then this game is going to become even softer than it already is. Goalies might as well just bump into you on surprise every time since they will get the call. Screens should just be made illegal. Tomas Holmstrom would have been a career AHLer if this was how it was in his time.

I've always though goaltenders get far too much protection. Sneeze on them and they go down like a sack of spuds, and still get the call going their way

 

[iam76]

I still think we buy low on erik karlsson.. and we won't be happy with it