GDT: Game 25. 7:30pm Ottawa

[Sharksfan66]

Ullmark and Swayman got the same exact AAV and they were both used as platoon goalies on the same team.

Same AAV but Swagman got twice as much money as Ullmark. You can't chalk that all up to age.

Also, the Bruins traded Ullmark after Swagman took over as the starter in the playoffs. It seems to me they saw a separation even before it came to thinking about longterm contracts.

Edit: Swagman is an interesting auto correct...

 

[Lebanezer]

Yeah but he’s probably not returning much. Maybe a 2nd. The real reason to move Granlund is it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to extend him.

A second is perfectly fine. Would love to squeeze a 1st out of someone but any mid to high value asset can be always be useful.

 

[TheBeard]

Can Mario grow a Burnsie beard?

He can’t even grow front teeth.

 

[tiburon12]

Can Mario grow a Burnsie beard?

I bet it will come out all patchy and multicolored. Or pure Billygoat.

 

[karltonian]

You gotta love seeing the top-5 guys today. It's Mario's world.

I thought Ceci was especially abominable today.

mariorr is real

 

[TheBeard]

I agree that's a dynamic. What do you attribute it to? I attribute it to mental weakness (the inability to stay engaged even when not actively being shot on). I don't mean that to throw shade or call the guy dumb or anything, but I think this is one of the things that separates starters from platoon guys/backups. I mean think about it, there's a reason a guy like Sway got way more $ than Ullmark, right?

Also, maybe I'm just bent around the axel on the Buffalo game because that was the first game I was able to go to in years but that Cousins goal was awful and the Tuch goal is one of those that you really just need your goalie to make a save on that one. I think he cost them the game, though I grant you the whole team did certainly seem to run out of gas in that game vs tonight when they looked good until the end.

As someone who used to play goal, it’s hard to keep your mental instincts matching your body movement when you’re in a state of inertia for so long. It’s really like anything that requires athleticism… stopping for any length of time is extremely difficult to just start again. It’s why you never see pitchers remaining in games after rain delays. The particular deflection on the GWG was in my opinion virtually unstoppable considering the speed of the player, the placement of the deflection and the fact Blackwood hadn’t had to do a thing in basically a solid hour. It’s not a mental toughness thing, it’s a body and mind sync, and it’s particularly tough on bigger goalies who rely mostly on their stature than they do their athleticism.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[Star Platinum]

Yeah but he’s probably not returning much. Maybe a 2nd. The real reason to move Granlund is it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to extend him.

Would he be tradable for a better haul after a reasonable extension?

 

[TheBeard]

Would he be tradable for a better haul after a reasonable extension?

He’s turning 33 in Feb. I don’t think anyone would touch an extension until they see what he does in the playoffs with his new team.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Just for the record, Smith is now on pace for 33 points while playing third line EV minutes stapled to Barclay Goodrow and the wildly under-talented PP2 unit. For those counting at home, that's 8 points in the last 12 games.

 

[Hodge]

He’s turning 33 in Feb. I don’t think anyone would touch an extension until they see what he does in the playoffs with his new team.

Agreed, extension probably hurts his trade value if anything.

And by “I’m ready to move on from Granlund” I meant at the deadline not right away. I was on the fence about trade vs. extension but we should use his cap space to go after a younger top six forward in the offseason.

 

[TheBeard]

Agreed, extension probably hurts his trade value if anything.

And by “I’m ready to move on from Granlund” I meant at the deadline not right away. I was on the fence about trade vs. extension but we should use his cap space to go after a younger top six forward in the offseason.

Unless you’re offer-sheeting someone there’s really not much out there. Unless you mean via trade.

 

[Great Makohead Shork]

Random thoughts:

Every game Celebrini plays in is a game worth watching
Things are starting to click for Smith
Eklund is cementing himself as a core piece of this rebuild

Stutzle is an absolute beast but you just know that if we drafted him Wilson would have pushed all the chips in to build a mediocre team around him. Most likely none of the guys above would be Sharks. That's my cope anyway.

After browsing the forums two games ago Mario dropped the leg weights

 

[CHALUPA]

Celebrini is electric every shift. So fun to watch

 

[coooldude]

Just for the record, Smith is now on pace for 33 points while playing third line EV minutes stapled to Barclay Goodrow and the wildly under-talented PP2 unit. For those counting at home, that's 8 points in the last 12 games.

Thought he had an excellent game tonight, great job bouncing back from a tough one on Monday.

 

[karltonian]

Random thoughts:

Every game Celebrini plays in is a game worth watching
Things are starting to click for Smith
Eklund is cementing himself as a core piece of this rebuild

Stutzle is an absolute beast but you just know that if we drafted him Wilson would have pushed all the chips in to build a mediocre team around him. Most likely none of the guys above would be Sharks. That's my cope anyway.

After browsing the forums two games ago Mario dropped the leg weights

stutzle is great but i dont see him attacking the puck and winning damn near every puck battle like macklund

 

[Chinaski89]

My take on Blackwood is he can get hot and look great for a few games at a time but he can't keep it up with any consistency. We see the hot streaks and think there's a legit starter in there (I know I keep falling for it), but every time he gets a starter's workload, the real Blackwood comes out. I would imagine that's why Colorado, Edmonton, Carolina & co haven't forked over a good pick for him yet.

Maybe the kneejerk reaction is thinking he's a legit starter after a few good starts?

since hes usually good two out of three games in short order we need to sell them on he’ll win you games 1 and 2, loss game 3 abysmally, pull him for back-up who fails, and then wins you the next two of three with one to possibly two peak Blackwood performances in the series of 1 goal on 40 shots all the way to a cup.

Andersen (especially) Skinner and Georgiev are proven failures in the playoffs and Georgiev stands a better chance of melting down and murdering his own defenseman using his goalie stick as an axe ala Nicholson in the Shining than one single good playoff performance at this rate.

As easy a sale as my terribly long run-on sentences.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Thought he had an excellent game tonight, great job bouncing back from a tough one on Monday.

Yep, he's obviously still got work to do, but I don't think it's a coincidence that his points have come in bunches. When he's confident and comfortable he pops off.

 

[Great Makohead Shork]

stutzle is great but i dont see him attacking the puck and winning damn near every puck battle like macklund

Exactly. That's why I'm so thankful we did a proper rebuild and snagged Mack. Speaking of thanks, happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

[The McMafia]

Just for the record, Smith is now on pace for 33 points while playing third line EV minutes stapled to Barclay Goodrow and the wildly under-talented PP2 unit. For those counting at home, that's 8 points in the last 12 games.

Smith will be scoring at a PPG pace at the end of the season. Bank that prediction.

Also, Eklund and Zetterlund are definitely two rock solid pieces for a future top 6. If someone bounces Zetterlund to the third line that means the team is stacked.

 

[Jargon]

Quick thoughts:

You gotta love seeing Smith and Celebrini on the scoreboard together for two games in a row. I think this was Smith’s best game and both the assist and goal were high skill plays.
You can see the confidence really start building. I think the best thing that ever happened to Smith is Macklin Celebrini — both for taking the weight off of his shoulders and to be there to compete with, push him, etc. etc. As everyone said, he badly needs to work out. There was a play earlier on where he tried to hit a guy and just sort of broke apart against the dude’s body like a splash of water.

Seeing Eklund and Celebrini connecting high skilled play is so satisfying. I really, really love Eklund’s continued growth and I think the two of them are going to be pretty amazing for us together.

Blackwood lost the game for us which I guess is fair considering he has also won a ton.

Ferraro was good again. Did something happen? Did he have a breakthrough?

This team is actually really fun. It was a bummer to lose but the compete is really awesome and I think Warsofsky is actually coming through on the “hard to play against” thing.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[Jargon]

I’ve really liked Kostin since he’s come back. I actually wonder if like a Kostin - Smith - Toffoli line is worth trying out.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Smith will be scoring at a PPG pace at the end of the season. Bank that prediction.

Also, Eklund and Zetterlund are definitely two rock solid pieces for a future top 6. If someone bounces Zetterlund to the third line that means the team is stacked.

If Smith can get to 0.75 PPG post-deadline the way Eklund did last year, I think that would be both realistic and exciting. My barometer for a great Smith season would be 40 points. I still think he can pull it off despite his ice cold start.