GDT: first winning streak of the season GDT vs flames

[Cardiac Jerks]

The thought of this line-up makes me cringe now that we have what we have. It was a suppressed cringe back then, the smile to keep from crying approach. Now, I literally want to vomit thinking that we iced that "situation".

That's how I feel about going back to flying economy.

 

[bluedevil58]

Darling' s game was so sharp last night that he almost cut himself. I am excite.....

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

There's a familiar ring to the username bluedevil58.

Makes u think.

 

[Unsustainable]

There's a familiar ring to the username bluedevil58.

Makes u think.

We should have a debate, seriously.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

You forgot the obligatory Discuss!

 

[DougieSmash]

viktor rasko for jay harrison you heard it here first

 

[Ole Gil]

Huh, so it's like we had some kind of idea what the **** we were talking about when we said our defense was excellent last year and that the only reason their numbers didn't look even better is because our goaltending was dog ****. But that can't be right, we're just a bunch of dumb rednecks that don't really KNOW hockey and/or are just significantly overvaluing inferior players. I mean there's no ****ing way we could have been absolutely right all along.

Not that you're wrong. But Darling's sv% is only .911. The reason their sv% is 9th, is Cam had 48 saves in 51 attempts in his one game, which bumps the team % up to .921.

Darling is an upgrade, but I think the team last year had a few amazing defensive players and a lot of holes. They plugged all those holes with Williams/Kruger/TVR/Fleury/Hanifin 2.0.

 

[Incubajerks]

Timely saves, that's all. we could have been fell down before leading but Scotty was up to the task. Never felt so sure in years with our starting goalie.

 

[Roboturner913]

That Minnesota game screws his save percentage up a whole lot, but we know that one of those goals should've been disallowed. If you take that one goal away he's at .920 which I think is closer to a more accurate picture of how he's performed.

 

[MinJaBen]

That Minnesota game screws his save percentage up a whole lot, but we know that one of those goals should've been disallowed. If you take that one goal away he's at .920 which I think is closer to a more accurate picture of how he's performed.

Yeah. And frankly, I don’t care what his save percentage is if he is saving the ones he is supposed to and not letting in the super softies. If the guys in front of him let crazy deflections or breakaway after breakaway...no goalie’s numbers will look good. Especially if the shot totals are low.

 

[Perratrooper]

Hey guys, Avs fan wish you guys best of luck on your season, I really like the look of your lineup although I haven't seen many Canes games. I was wondering if you guys could tell me more about Hanifin and where you rank him among your players as well as how he's progressed since coming into the league.

 

[DaveG]

Not that you're wrong. But Darling's sv% is only .911. The reason their sv% is 9th, is Cam had 48 saves in 51 attempts in his one game, which bumps the team % up to .921.

Darling is an upgrade, but I think the team last year had a few amazing defensive players and a lot of holes. They plugged all those holes with Williams/Kruger/TVR/Fleury/Hanifin 2.0.

I mean, you're not wrong. But the flip side of that is that they rode Ward in to the ground yet again last year because Lack couldn't stay healthy, and then when he came back couldn't make a f***ing save. For a while last year Ward was actually statistically a fine goalie. But that fell apart after having to start so many games in a row. Not saying that would have held up, because once Ward hit that fatigue point he just fell apart which was inevitable. Through the California road trip last season Cam had a .918 Sv%, despite a slow start, but he had also played 22 of 27 to that point. For someone that wasn't really a #1 at that point he was bound to fall off and he did.

 

[Roboturner913]

Hey guys, Avs fan wish you guys best of luck on your season, I really like the look of your lineup although I haven't seen many Canes games. I was wondering if you guys could tell me more about Hanifin and where you rank him among your players as well as how he's progressed since coming into the league.

Assuming you are talking trade here.....

I think we're already at the point with Fleury where it's obvious that he is a dependable NHLer who can eat minutes. I would even argue that playing on the 3rd pair could stagnate his development, he needs and deserves more than the 12 minutes a game he is getting right now.....so if you're talking about a Hanifin-for-Duchene as the basis of a trade, I think I'm down.

 

[Unsustainable]

Hey guys, Avs fan wish you guys best of luck on your season, I really like the look of your lineup although I haven't seen many Canes games. I was wondering if you guys could tell me more about Hanifin and where you rank him among your players as well as how he's progressed since coming into the league.

He sucks, and we should probably kill him

 

[DaveG]

Assuming you are talking trade here.....

I think we're already at the point with Fleury where it's obvious that he is a dependable NHLer who can eat minutes. I would even argue that playing on the 3rd pair could stagnate his development, he needs and deserves more than the 12 minutes a game he is getting right now.....so if you're talking about a Hanifin-for-Duchene+ as the basis of a trade, I think I'm down.

Edited for about where I am. I still think it would have to be a pretty significant plus, not Jost obviously but a big plus.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Hanifin for Duchene has been and continues to be yuck.

Outside of the first couple periods opening night, Hanifin has picked up where he left off at the end of last season, logging ~20 minutes a night, scoring at a > .5 ppg clip and playing a quiet defensive game.

Hanifin is firmly behind Slavin on the depth chart on the left side for now, but there’s still room for him to develop into a player that forces Peters and Smith to spread out the ice time a bit. He’s only 20, after all.

I expect GMRF and co. to tread carefully if teams call about him. Hanifin is a really good complement to the rest of the defense as currently constructed; Slavin, Pesce, Fleury and even TvR have more of a defensive posture to their games. The Canes need that other defenseman to drive the offense from the blueline along with Faulk.

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Assuming you are talking trade here.....

I think we're already at the point with Fleury where it's obvious that he is a dependable NHLer who can eat minutes. I would even argue that playing on the 3rd pair could stagnate his development, he needs and deserves more than the 12 minutes a game he is getting right now.....so if you're talking about a Hanifin-for-Duchene as the basis of a trade, I think I'm down.

Slow down a bit there. We're talking about a 5 game sample.

 

[Roboturner913]

Slow down a bit there. We're talking about a 5 game sample.

Sure.....but I can't honestly say Hanifin has ever played his own end as well as Fleury has these first 5 games. Offense is another thing obviously, but it's not like Hanifin is a deadly weapon on the PP or anything either.

I'm also thinking about Bean coming in probably next year, FWIW. And definitely a plus from Colorado, especially considering it's essentially a one-season rental - but I'm guessing we'd have to work something long-term to even consider it anyway.

Gotta give to get, and all that. I'm not thinking about "getting rid" of Hanifin so much as I am adding Duchene. He would put this team over the top IMO. I caught about 10 minutes of their game against Dallas the other night, he was driving play, winning faceoffs and looked to have a lot of jump.

 

[MinJaBen]

Hey guys, Avs fan wish you guys best of luck on your season, I really like the look of your lineup although I haven't seen many Canes games. I was wondering if you guys could tell me more about Hanifin and where you rank him among your players as well as how he's progressed since coming into the league.

Thanks for the well wishes. You guys look a lot better, I am not sure if that is what you were hoping for or not (hard to get the #1 pick if you play well), but it has got to be better than the stink fest your team went through in the second half last year.

As for Hanifin and his place on this team and his progression, I think he is about where he was at the end of last season for us. He is playing solid when paired with Faulk and is neither a liability nor Slavin-esque in his shut down capacity. He is a solid number four defenseman for us at this point. Given that this the beginning of is his third season and he is only 20, he is where I'd realistically say he should be. Lucky for us, he doesn't have to be anything more either because we were blessed with the wonder twins the same year he joined the team. For whatever reason, he and Faulk (both more offensively oriented) seem to play better together than than they do with the more defensively oriented Slavin and Pesce. You'd think it would work better to split the pairs, but it doesn't. The only person who hasn't accepted this yet is the coach, so we'll see what happens in the future. What is very encouraging is that on 5v5, Hanifin looks to be picking his spots to be aggressive and jump into the play in the offensive zone. He has already potted a big goal doing this during our home opener. As he gets more comfortable, and gets more experience, this should only improve and make him more dangerous.

As for his availability for a trade, it is probably increasing as Fleury has come out of the AHL and is looking very steady and capable in his 3rd pairing LHD roll on the team. I'd even go as far as to say he has looked more defensively comfortable that Hanifin did when he entered the league. More like a LHD version of Pesce to me...calm, defensively sound, physical. If they progresses a bit more over the course of the year, he may make a Hanifin trade for a first line forward very possible. However, I am sure you won't care to hear this as an Avs fan, I can't see him being dealt for Duchene. Francis is ALLLLLLL about asset management and the term remaining on that contract is just not enough to make him bite in my opinion. If both Fleury and Hanifin progress well this season, I'd expect Francis to look to bigger fish in a swap. Maybe try to pry away a guy like Nylander who will need a new, but controllable, contract that is too rich for Toronto with both Matthews and Marner also needing to be signed.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Great, let's move a rookie who has been pretty good for his role, but I think is being a bit overrated around here thus far, on the second pairing, and do what, put Carrick who's proven zilch at the NHL level or Dahlbeck who's proven he's a 7 and not much else on the third pairing? Sounds terrible to me.

I think Hanifin has been pretty good other than the beginning of game one, and I still want a better trade than Duchene to move him.

 

[Unsustainable]

Trading anyone in our top 6?

Bean? Maybe? Martin? Maybe?

 

[Big Daddy Cane]

Sure.....but I can't honestly say Hanifin has ever played his own end as well as Fleury has these first 5 games. Offense is another thing obviously, but it's not like Hanifin is a deadly weapon on the PP or anything either.

I'm also thinking about Bean coming in probably next year, FWIW. And definitely a plus from Colorado, especially considering it's essentially a one-season rental - but I'm guessing we'd have to work something long-term to even consider it anyway.

Gotta give to get, and all that. I'm not thinking about "getting rid" of Hanifin so much as I am adding Duchene. He would put this team over the top IMO.

Fleury has been noticeably physical and to his credit, has logged PK minutes effectively, but my impression has been merely solid defensive play at EV. Solid defensive play is impressive given that he's just a rookie, but I don't think he's been otherworldly or anything.

I wouldn't call Hanifin a deadly weapon on the PP, but he's been effective in that role. Since the start of last year, he's ahead of the likes of Ellis and Parayko, on par with Barrie and not far behind the likes of Green, Byfuglien and Faulk in terms of point production with the man advantage (unadjusted for differences in GP or icetime.) Not bad for a 20 year old.

http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?agg...172018&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=ppPoints

Duchene could put the Canes over the top, but only if the cost is Bean/Fleury++. Fleury or TvR in the Top 4 and Carrick or Dahlbeck in the lineup regularly would be a significant short-term weakness for a team that would be looking to maximize their chances in the short-term, while Duchene still has cost-controlled years of term left on his contract.

 

[Perratrooper]

Fleury has been noticeably physical and to his credit, has logged PK minutes effectively, but my impression has been merely solid defensive play at EV. Solid defensive play is impressive given that he's just a rookie, but I don't think he's been otherworldly or anything.

I wouldn't call Hanifin a deadly weapon on the PP, but he's been effective in that role. Since the start of last year, he's ahead of the likes of Ellis and Parayko, on par with Barrie and not far behind the likes of Green, Byfuglien and Faulk in terms of point production with the man advantage (unadjusted for differences in GP or icetime.) Not bad for a 20 year old.

http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?agg...172018&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=ppPoints

Duchene could put the Canes over the top, but only if the cost is Bean/Fleury++. Fleury or TvR in the Top 4 and Carrick or Dahlbeck in the lineup regularly would be a significant short-term weakness for a team that would be looking to maximize their chances in the short-term, while Duchene still has cost-controlled years of term left on his contract.

Thanks for the feed back and I know people immediately jump to the conclusion I'm referring to Duchene, but I was honestly bouncing the idea of MacKinnon around. Might not necessarily be what other Avs fans want, but I think for the right package (such as one around Hanifan) it should be something considered. What would Canes fans offer for a player like MacK?

 

[maccanes]

Thanks for the feed back and I know people immediately jump to the conclusion I'm referring to Duchene, but I was honestly bouncing the idea of MacKinnon around. Might not necessarily be what other Avs fans want, but I think for the right package (such as one around Hanifan) it should be something considered. What would Canes fans offer for a player like MacK?

I think Francis is confident in the group he has made. I dont see him making a splash for Mackinnon his line-up is made out of guys who will land 50 + points this year. He's to invested to start trading his drafted core guys and picks.

 

[Roboturner913]

We would be trading a player that, quite frankly, we can replace relatively easily, to acquire a player that we likely cannot easily draft or develop (unless Necas pans out but we probably have a good 2-3 years before he is really ready).

Skinner-Duchene-Williams
Aho-Staal-Lindholm
Teravainen-Rask-Stempniak
Jooris-Kruger-Nordstrom
Ryan/McGinn

Slavin-Faulk
Fleury-Pesce
Carrick-Van Reimsdyk

That is an outstanding group of forwards. Deep and dangerous in the top 9 with a 4th line that seems to be one of the best in the league. We haven't had a lineup like that since 2006, AFTER the trades for Weight and Recchi. Duchene (better fit for us than MacKinnon, IMO and a better player overall) would give this team something it hasn't had in a top-line center in a good long while.

I don't see that we'd be losing that much going from Hanifin to Fleury on the second pair in terms of actual play and production right now, especially considering Pesce is on the other side of that pair playing at a very high level right now. And with Carrick, it was just a couple weeks ago we were talking about how he probably deserved to be on the NHL roster and looked decent in his debut this season despite playing on his off-side. And again, you have a steady vet in TVR on the other side of that pair to stabilize things.

Of course if we could get that player for Bean+stuff or even Rask, that would be great, but Hanifin is a player to me that we would not have a particularly hard time replacing with very little dropoff (if any).

My thing is, people keep talking about the long-term, but long-term with this team may not be as long as we think. Contracts are already stacking up, decisions will need to be made. If we get to January and we're one player away from being capable of a deep playoff run, I think you have to make that move because I think we need a sustained postseason to reinvigorate the following.

JMO as always.