Barracuda News & Discussion - Part 6
- Thread starter The Nemesis
- Start date
- Status
Gecklund
Registered User
- Jun 23, 2020
- 5,953
- 8,608
Ah you're right, though I don't think Nick Merkley has much of a future either.
I think any reaction to the trade was an overreaction. With that said, Morand looked pretty involved in the game. I liked his physicality.
Gecklund
Registered User
Thing is he isn’t terrible though and we have Kniazev, Cicek, Hatakka on the left in the minors. Didn’t make sense to take time away from them for a guy that’s terrible. Also we have no Cs really in the minors apart from whichever of Pederson or Weatherby are down at the time. Just don’t resign Merkley if you don’t want him. Don’t trade him for a place where you already have like 8 guys better than him between the NHL and AHL. You also could have brought in a college FA that was better. Like guy is legitimately awful and has been coasting on one good year with NSH I think it was.
Maybe it was a favor to Nick? Maybe Drury came calling and we did him a solid? Minor trades like this one are as much about building player and organizational relations as anything and I think you’re getting waaaay too bent out of shape for something so insignificant.
Gecklund
Registered User
But it’s really not insignificant. Now you’re forcing players to play out of position at C or taking away playing time from someone with actual potential.
For twenty games. I think the players will survive. Jesus, some of you Debbie Downers here are redefining hyperbole.
Gecklund
Registered User
Where am I wrong? Please tell me. We traded from a position of weakness to fill a position of strength. I would have prefer to trade Merkley for future considerations.
I don't think either position as this point is a position of strength.
Gecklund
Registered User
They have 9 guys who deserve time over Bitetto at LD between the NHL and AHL. There’s only 6 total so even when you take out Knyzhov for injury.
hotcabbagesoup
"I'm going to get what I deserve" -RutgerMcgroarty
Barracuda, doot doo doo doo doo
Barracuda, doot doot doot doot
Barracuda, doot doo doo doo doo,
doot doo doo doo doot doot doot doot doot
Barracuda, doot doot doot doot
Barracuda, doot doo doo doo doo,
doot doo doo doo doot doot doot doot doot
Just because they have a glut of LD doesn’t mean it’s a position of strength. What I saw last night showed me that no one at the AHL level is remotely close to NHL-worthy on the blue line with the exception of Knyaziev. Even Hatakka was very underwhelming.
Bitetto plays a lot on the right anyway.
He has maybe one shift a game where he does something impressive and the rest of the time he's not great.
edit: And now he's having a bit of a meltdown on the ice.
Kniazev gets hit high-ish by Loewen and goes off injured, looks like five and a game for Loewen.
5-minute PP for the Cuda, down 3-1. I mean, if we're going to get back into this...
edit: Kniazev comes back out for the third, now 3-2, Topping scored during the 5-minute PP in the second.
5-minute PP for the Cuda, down 3-1. I mean, if we're going to get back into this...
edit: Kniazev comes back out for the third, now 3-2, Topping scored during the 5-minute PP in the second.
Last edited:
Gecklund
Registered User
Need a new coach, new goalies, and some centers for next season.
Juxtaposer
Outro: Divina Comedia
OrrNumber4
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2002
- 16,831
- 6,313
Season is over, ending on a 15-game losing streak. I was mad a few weeks ago and just indifferent now. I am looking forward to next season, but this team is still going to need a lot of help.
Felt like decompressing with a long post looking at the roster, I will fully understand if nobody wants to read this whole mess.
--
Goalie is still a question mark, I'm guessing Strauss Mann is our man(n) for next season, but he's a complete unknown. Last time a goalie came to this team with strong numbers overseas it was Melnichuk, so forgive me if I want to wait and see how that goes. Behind that it's Emond, who is just barely passable as a backup, and possibly Sawchenko if they bring him back. Stalock returning would be a shock. If they decide to go with two all-new goalies (Chrona?), I'd fully understand, but the defense is also going to need to improve to have whoever is in net avoid getting destroyed night in, night out.
--
Defense is going to be an interesting position to address. We've got Kniazev, Cicek, and Hatakka penciled in. Cicek or Hatakka I think could claim a spot on the Sharks' third pairing with a strong camp, especially if we bought Vlasic out.
Kniazev's defense is just bad. His offensive abilities took a leap forward mid-season and his defense didn't improve along with it. Positioning is a problem for him. Too many goals against I watched this season where I saw the replay and went, "Where was Kniazev going there?" So I want to say he might be in the AHL working on that next season. I like him going forward, though, if he builds on this season.
I'm not sure what the story is with Brinson Pasichnuk. He returned from his injury/condition/whatever it is late in the season and got worked in slowly. He looked pretty good when he did play, then he got shut down again for the last five games of the season. I'm just going to wait and see if he's brought back at this point.
Bitetto can go away.
I am fine with bringing back Onyebuchi and/or Holway as bottom pairing/ECHL tweeners, less so if they're going to be lineup regulars. So that's really two or three spots I think need addressing on the defense, almost all on the right.
I do think they tried to fill out the defense in the offseason with the Alt signing, and I don't think they were anticipating Megna and Meloche being in the NHL for most of the season (possibly not Merkley, either). So I'm not going to fault them for not at least trying to put together a competent D group for 21-22, but it sure didn't work that way. I am guessing there's going to be a couple signings in the offseason whose names nobody will recognize with the goal of restocking the AHL D, because unless I'm missing someone, I don't think we have anyone coming in.
--
People definitely believe this is going to be a crowded forward group next season, and I'm just going to lead off by pointing out that's what everyone was saying prior to this season, and again I don't see it.
At the moment, I see it like this:
Returning (5): Raska, Pederson, Weatherby, Chmelevski, Leonard
While also keeping in mind that two or three of these guys will probably be on the Sharks roster. Everyone's seen plenty of the last four on the Sharks so I won't write more on them here. I don't think Reedy is coming back down.
Raska has his role as an agitator, but with the Barracuda he's also become an effective penalty killer. I'm not sure that he has much offensive upside. He just might be what he is in that department. But he really excels in his role. And like I mentioned in a post above, he seems like he never switches off. I could see the Sharks giving him another look next season.
Expiring, maybe returning? (4): Weinger, Halbgewachs, McGrew, Topping
Weinger's been with the team for four seasons and I'm all for bringing him back on another AHL deal. This was his best offensive season and he's a good energy player.
I'm not sure Halbgewachs ever gets an extended look in the NHL, but he's your prototypical shifty, undersized AHL scorer and all the good teams in this league have at least one of those. I'd keep him, if he wants to stay.
I'm on the fence about McGrew. He's fine as a complimentary wing on this team and has a great shot, but we are about to have an influx of wings and he could wind up being surplus here. I would not be surprised either way on him.
Kyle Topping's another guy I'm not sure about, he goes through small spurts where he's a good offensive contributor but doesn't add much else when he's not scoring. But he is also a center, and we need those. Maybe just shuttle him from the ECHL when necessary.
New additions (7): Eklund, Wiesblatt, Gushchin, Robins, Coe, Bordeleau, Veronneau
All the new guys. Decent chance at least one makes the Sharks. Yes, I'm including Eklund on the list, because who knows with him right now.
That's 16, max, but probably more like 10 or 11. And this lineup needs some size. Something like what Buddy Robinson or Jeff Viel was for us in previous years. Or really, if the Sharks want to give us Viel back, that's fine too.
Returning, but probably ECHL bound/regular scratches: Hamaliuk, Ibragimov
These guys will get counted on people's lines, but in an ideal scenario they get forced out of the lineup. Neither contribute much of anything, unless some miracle development happens in the offseason. I struggle explaining Ibragimov. He kills penalties ok and carries himself like a talented player, but nothing he does on offense seems to go anywhere.
Basically, yeah, these guys will still be here, but I'm not going to include them in my forward count.
Expiring, probably not returning: Gallant, Morand, Blichfeld, Jobst
I do think Blichfeld is done in San Jose, in spite of his record-breaking offensive output for the Barracuda he never seemed to be under consideration for a look on the Sharks. Last year, he seemed to make an effort to improve his defense and his physical play. This year, there was no sign of that at all. He was tied for the worst +/- in the league (with Kniazev) and it was the least surprising stat I've seen. In a different system, he might make the NHL. I wonder if we might trade him for defense.
Gallant probably walks unless you want to keep him around to make sure you have a big fourth line center.
Morand and Jobst were trade deadline acquisitions, neither showed much of anything during the losing streak.
--
This season has really sucked. There's not much else that needs to be said. Looking forward to a clean slate, some new faces, and a new building next season.
I want to say I'm optimistic about next season, but mostly I'm just excited to see some new stuff.
Felt like decompressing with a long post looking at the roster, I will fully understand if nobody wants to read this whole mess.
--
Goalie is still a question mark, I'm guessing Strauss Mann is our man(n) for next season, but he's a complete unknown. Last time a goalie came to this team with strong numbers overseas it was Melnichuk, so forgive me if I want to wait and see how that goes. Behind that it's Emond, who is just barely passable as a backup, and possibly Sawchenko if they bring him back. Stalock returning would be a shock. If they decide to go with two all-new goalies (Chrona?), I'd fully understand, but the defense is also going to need to improve to have whoever is in net avoid getting destroyed night in, night out.
--
Defense is going to be an interesting position to address. We've got Kniazev, Cicek, and Hatakka penciled in. Cicek or Hatakka I think could claim a spot on the Sharks' third pairing with a strong camp, especially if we bought Vlasic out.
Kniazev's defense is just bad. His offensive abilities took a leap forward mid-season and his defense didn't improve along with it. Positioning is a problem for him. Too many goals against I watched this season where I saw the replay and went, "Where was Kniazev going there?" So I want to say he might be in the AHL working on that next season. I like him going forward, though, if he builds on this season.
I'm not sure what the story is with Brinson Pasichnuk. He returned from his injury/condition/whatever it is late in the season and got worked in slowly. He looked pretty good when he did play, then he got shut down again for the last five games of the season. I'm just going to wait and see if he's brought back at this point.
Bitetto can go away.
I am fine with bringing back Onyebuchi and/or Holway as bottom pairing/ECHL tweeners, less so if they're going to be lineup regulars. So that's really two or three spots I think need addressing on the defense, almost all on the right.
I do think they tried to fill out the defense in the offseason with the Alt signing, and I don't think they were anticipating Megna and Meloche being in the NHL for most of the season (possibly not Merkley, either). So I'm not going to fault them for not at least trying to put together a competent D group for 21-22, but it sure didn't work that way. I am guessing there's going to be a couple signings in the offseason whose names nobody will recognize with the goal of restocking the AHL D, because unless I'm missing someone, I don't think we have anyone coming in.
--
People definitely believe this is going to be a crowded forward group next season, and I'm just going to lead off by pointing out that's what everyone was saying prior to this season, and again I don't see it.
At the moment, I see it like this:
Returning (5): Raska, Pederson, Weatherby, Chmelevski, Leonard
While also keeping in mind that two or three of these guys will probably be on the Sharks roster. Everyone's seen plenty of the last four on the Sharks so I won't write more on them here. I don't think Reedy is coming back down.
Raska has his role as an agitator, but with the Barracuda he's also become an effective penalty killer. I'm not sure that he has much offensive upside. He just might be what he is in that department. But he really excels in his role. And like I mentioned in a post above, he seems like he never switches off. I could see the Sharks giving him another look next season.
Expiring, maybe returning? (4): Weinger, Halbgewachs, McGrew, Topping
Weinger's been with the team for four seasons and I'm all for bringing him back on another AHL deal. This was his best offensive season and he's a good energy player.
I'm not sure Halbgewachs ever gets an extended look in the NHL, but he's your prototypical shifty, undersized AHL scorer and all the good teams in this league have at least one of those. I'd keep him, if he wants to stay.
I'm on the fence about McGrew. He's fine as a complimentary wing on this team and has a great shot, but we are about to have an influx of wings and he could wind up being surplus here. I would not be surprised either way on him.
Kyle Topping's another guy I'm not sure about, he goes through small spurts where he's a good offensive contributor but doesn't add much else when he's not scoring. But he is also a center, and we need those. Maybe just shuttle him from the ECHL when necessary.
New additions (7): Eklund, Wiesblatt, Gushchin, Robins, Coe, Bordeleau, Veronneau
All the new guys. Decent chance at least one makes the Sharks. Yes, I'm including Eklund on the list, because who knows with him right now.
That's 16, max, but probably more like 10 or 11. And this lineup needs some size. Something like what Buddy Robinson or Jeff Viel was for us in previous years. Or really, if the Sharks want to give us Viel back, that's fine too.
Returning, but probably ECHL bound/regular scratches: Hamaliuk, Ibragimov
These guys will get counted on people's lines, but in an ideal scenario they get forced out of the lineup. Neither contribute much of anything, unless some miracle development happens in the offseason. I struggle explaining Ibragimov. He kills penalties ok and carries himself like a talented player, but nothing he does on offense seems to go anywhere.
Basically, yeah, these guys will still be here, but I'm not going to include them in my forward count.
Expiring, probably not returning: Gallant, Morand, Blichfeld, Jobst
I do think Blichfeld is done in San Jose, in spite of his record-breaking offensive output for the Barracuda he never seemed to be under consideration for a look on the Sharks. Last year, he seemed to make an effort to improve his defense and his physical play. This year, there was no sign of that at all. He was tied for the worst +/- in the league (with Kniazev) and it was the least surprising stat I've seen. In a different system, he might make the NHL. I wonder if we might trade him for defense.
Gallant probably walks unless you want to keep him around to make sure you have a big fourth line center.
Morand and Jobst were trade deadline acquisitions, neither showed much of anything during the losing streak.
--
This season has really sucked. There's not much else that needs to be said. Looking forward to a clean slate, some new faces, and a new building next season.
I want to say I'm optimistic about next season, but mostly I'm just excited to see some new stuff.
Last edited:
OrrNumber4
Registered User
- Jul 25, 2002
- 16,831
- 6,313
This is a good point. This is certainly something I've been guilty of; I think fans underestimated how much Covid19 and whatnot would throw the parent roster in disarray, necessitating plundering the AHL team for warm bodies. But one has to think that eventually, things will settle into a new normal where NHL teams aren't routinely icing multiple rookies/night. Already, the taxi squad seems like it will no longer be present...
Ideally, having a combination of Pederson, Alt, Meloche, and maybe another veteran could provide a solid base for the AHL team.
Excellent post.
Goalies:
Mann
Sawchenko OR Chrona
Emond
They've been so quiet about Chrona that I think he's going back to college for some reason, although a big body with winning pedigree probably could help the goalies out. Every time I've watched Emond I've been completely unimpressed. So either Sawchenko or Chrona hopefully are ahead of him on the depth chart.
Defense:
Cicek-XXX
Kniazev-XXX
Hatakka-Onyebuchi
Some additions happening this summer probably. Meloche maybe comes down on waivers if there's a backlog on the Sharks and he clears, possible if Knyzhov comes back, Vlasic is kept. Then you're looking at Ferraro-Burns, Knyzhov-Karlsson, Vlasic-Merkley, Simek for 7. Too many moving parts on defense up front to really predict right now though.
Offense (if Eklund and Bordeleau are NHL bound):
Leonard-Weatherby-Veronneau
Halbgewachs-Pederson-Coe
Gushchin-Robins-Wiesblatt
Insert AHL/ECHLers here
The addition of Coe/Gushchin/Robins/Wiesblatt/Veronneau could make for some fun changes for sure. New goalie too. But man the defense needs a lot of work
LadyStanley
Registered User
- Status
Ad
Latest posts
-
Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | The Oilers Biggest Roster Need Is?- Latest: Not Canada Drai
-
-
