Waived: Brian Strait (Claimed by NY Islanders)

[Tender Rip]

Brian Strait to Shelley Anderson in the Post-Gazette:

"Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes," he said. "I'm getting a good opportunity here.

"It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake."

-----

I know, easy to say what with the Islanders not having nearly as many established NHL D-men. But still.

 

[billybudd]

Brian Strait to Shelley Anderson in the Post-Gazette:

"Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes," he said. "I'm getting a good opportunity here.

"It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake."

-----

I know, easy to say what with the Islanders not having nearly as many established NHL D-men. But still.

Bruuuutal indictment of this coaching staff after the game this guy just had.

 

[Sotty]

Bruuuutal indictment of this coaching staff after the game this guy just had.

Bylsma just has no clue how to handle young/inexperienced players. I'm just glad Sid and Geno were already as good as they are now when DB took over. I bet he would have found a way to destroy their development as well.
We can expect to hear the same things from Tangradi as soon as he is on another team.

 

[Fire Shero*]

I hate bylsma. He is a joke. Why is he eveb still coaching this team?

 

[Fire Shero*]

Thanks. We seem to do ok with developing defensemen. Now if we can just produce more homegrown forwards that contribute, I would be thrilled (not counting Crosby and Malkin). Other than Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy appears to be the only success story of the Sidney Crosby era (success being a relative term, as he is no all-star).

Craig Patrick drafted Tyler Kennedy. It's amazing that Shero hasn't, even accidentally, drafted a top 9 forward over the past 7 years besides having the can't miss #2 pick with Staal. That's quite pathetic.

 

[Krom]

Penguins have a penchant for acquiring young defensemen. The problem is they don't develop them well and even if they do, they are afraid to play them.

 

[Koempel]

I always wondered about the media in Pittsburgh in regard to critical questions. In the Netherlands the media can be very direct and critical with questions if the coach is obviously 'losing control' and making very questionable decisions. It seems the Pittburgh media is not nearly as critical and mostly just ignores these flaws. I assume with the Strait thing (if he stays a decent defender for the Islanders) and his comments, this would now change?

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Brian Strait to Shelley Anderson in the Post-Gazette:

"Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes," he said. "I'm getting a good opportunity here.

"It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake."

-----

I know, easy to say what with the Islanders not having nearly as many established NHL D-men. But still.

Thx for posting that TR... or maybe not.

The bolded is what I have been harping on for quite some time with DB and his lack of trust in rookies.

 

[Shady Machine]

Brian Strait to Shelley Anderson in the Post-Gazette:

"Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes," he said. "I'm getting a good opportunity here.

"It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake."

-----

I know, easy to say what with the Islanders not having nearly as many established NHL D-men. But still.

Good to hear

So we aren't completely crazy on these boards. Yeah it's one player and we had a full stable of dmen, but it still goes to show the mindset of this organization. You are asking young guys to play mistake free hockey in order to keep a regular shift. That's damn near impossible and sets these guys up to fail.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Brian Strait to Shelley Anderson in the Post-Gazette:

"Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes," he said. "I'm getting a good opportunity here.

"It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake."

-----

I know, easy to say what with the Islanders not having nearly as many established NHL D-men. But still.

Hey look, thats exactly what I've been saying that just about everybody else wants to deny.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Hey look, thats exactly what I've been saying that just about everybody else wants to deny.

*cough*

Well, not EVERYONE....

 

[MrBurghundy]

*cough*

Well, not EVERYONE....

well I did say just about everyone.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

well I did say just about everyone.

Hopefully Despres and Jeffrey don't make anymore mistakes or Kunitz will be getting their ice time.

 

[MrBurghundy]

Hopefully Despres and Jeffrey don't make anymore mistakes or Kunitz will be getting their ice time.

You mean Adams.

 

[Shrimper]

Well, that's not good if a former prospect is stating those things. Who else isn't happy?

 

[MrBurghundy]

Well, that's not good if a former prospect is stating those things. Who else isn't happy?

The ones still on the team?

 

[KIRK]

Well, that's not good if a former prospect is stating those things. Who else isn't happy?

I'll take a stab at a guess: Bortuzzo . . .






























. . . Despres, Tangradi, Jeffrey, and pretty much every other guy who's gotten a call only to be jerked around by Bylsma.

You know, I made this point before: Say what you will about Therrien. In 2006, Staal and Letang earned a cup of coffee. But, this team was on a budget and had the type of vets (Moore, for example) that Bylsma loves. Therrien went to bat for those two.

When Eric Tangradi killed it at camp with Sid and Kunitz right after the cup and Geno was dying for a RW, what happened? Did Guerin get slid to a line with Geno and Feds? Of course not.

When Despres killed it at camp in 2010, a cup of coffee wasn't even a thought. Now, I get the 'we had six guys' argument. So, I can go with a mini pass on that one.

BUT, in 2011, when Morrow had a camp every bit as good as Letang had in 2006 AND the season began with Orpik out, Morrow wasn't even worth a cup of coffee in Bylsma's eyes, not with Lovejoy available.

****, even this camp, did anyone HONESTLY think Bennett was going to start with the big club? On a team where only two players up front qualify as 'more creative than Clarke MacArthur', why go with the young guy INSTANTLY would be the team's third most creative forward?

Heck, even last night, Cole compared Vitale to Talbot in 2008. Could anyone here ever see Bylsma using Vitale today during a regular season game like Therrien used to use Talbot in 2008?

When I ******** a few weeks ago about Bylsma and developing talent, this is what I meant. Now that Strait said why some of us (Jiggy included, but not that Adams Kool-Aid drinking SOB Burgundy) already knew, I guess it's no longer taboo.

The ones still on the team?

Or, for those who prefer the cliff notes version of what I just posted . . .

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

Bruuuutal indictment of this coaching staff after the game this guy just had.

I hated giving up Strait for Lovejoy as much as anyone, but I'm sure any waiver wire pick-up would say the same thing...including Thomas Hickey, recently of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

That's the whole point of the waiver process. If guys can't crack a good team, they get to leave and get better opportunities on a lesser team.

 

[UnderratedBrooks44]

I hated giving up Strait for Lovejoy as much as anyone, but I'm sure any waiver wire pick-up would say the same thing...including Thomas Hickey, recently of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

That's the whole point of the waiver process. If guys can't crack a good team, they get to leave and get better opportunities on a lesser team.

Exactly. Only question is is Bortuzzo as good as Strait? I dunno we'll see. Strait looked pretty comfortable taking Malkin to the boards 1 on 1 and dishing point to point passes to Streit for one-timers. They could very well be about the same though really.

 

[Pens1566]

Let's not go anointing Strait as the norris winner just yet. He played a good game against his former team that just cut him. First, he'd be highly motivated for that game. Second, he's used to practicing against these guys.

Having said that, his point still stands. This staff has major issues with 2 things. Not allowing younger players to make mistakes without the threat of being benched or sent back to WBS, and forcing younger players to alter their games to fit the "system". If you can't use a players strengths instead of sticking to your system, you aren't a good coach.

 

[vyktor]

Exactly. Only question is is Bortuzzo as good as Strait? I dunno we'll see. Strait looked pretty comfortable taking Malkin to the boards 1 on 1 and dishing point to point passes to Streit for one-timers. They could very well be about the same though really.

That play continues to stand out in my head, cause when I was watching it, i was thinking "that is exactly how you are supposed to do it, and we don't have 1 D on this team that ever does." I also noticed Strait's shot getting through to the goalie quite a few times.

 

[Dupree13]

Holy hell, we all pretty much thought that but to hear it so bluntly from the horse's mouth is kind of wow.

 

[Penguinzilla*]

Brian Strait to Shelley Anderson in the Post-Gazette:

"Any call-up I had the last couple of years, I was playing sparingly -- 12 minutes, 10 minutes," he said. "I'm getting a good opportunity here.

"It's nice when you have a coaching staff that shows trust in you. It was a different situation the last couple of years, only playing for 10 minutes and not knowing if I was going to go back out for another shift after I made a mistake."

-----

I know, easy to say what with the Islanders not having nearly as many established NHL D-men. But still.

I hope Shero sees this

 

[Brooklanders*]

I hated giving up Strait for Lovejoy as much as anyone, but I'm sure any waiver wire pick-up would say the same thing...including Thomas Hickey, recently of the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.

That's the whole point of the waiver process. If guys can't crack a good team, they get to leave and get better opportunities on a lesser team.

Agree. Thomas Hickey was interviewed in the same fashion and he didnt have any negativeness or bitterness directed toward the Kings he was just happy the NYI are giving him a chance. I dont think Strait was throwing DB under the bus i just think he was answering the question honestly. Hickey was picked #4 overall as opposed to Straits third round status.

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

Bort can do a number of things for this team if he would just be allowed to. The guy is a really good player. He is a bigger, better version of Strait with more offensive upside.

He has a huge wingspan and he can play a shutdown role very well. He also isn't naturally mean, but he can take his game there when need be. He can be a crease clearing blueliner if asked to be.

He just needs to be put in and given some time to adjust. By the end of the season I'm willing to bet he will be the Pens most reliable blueliner, if given a shot.

There is a reason I was afraid of losing him to waivers and hopefully he can show people why.