I agree experience and perception define the way a game or player is perceived. For myself after years of coaching, scouting and being in hockey I find I break down games and see things differently. An opinion.
No, Trenin doesn't, neither does Jiricek
Allvin stated outright he wanted/hoped/thought Hronek would carry his own pairing in the future.
In Detroit he had defensive issues and was bumped out of the top pairing by Seider. When they traded for him I did a search on him in Detroit. He was quite upset at relegation and his pairing partners
What we think is irrelevant, Allvin stated he believed Hronek could. If you look at the defence as a whole IF Hronek could/did or was penciled into that role and succeeded then the dcorp looks quite different.
On that Chicago post, that Lev guy is supposed to be really, really good. But for EP certainly not enough.
As far as trading for futures, at some point the team will HAVE to. Every part of the team is starting to be diminished. With nothing done very soon there is only EP and Hughes left playing effectively and that eliminates most chances for winning in the real season.
Trading for futures;
If only making the playoffs is the ultimate goal then keep the status quo and just spend the future away.
Last year's team is not this year's group, they could almost be two different teams from two different places.
Injuries happen to all teams, last year the Canucks were extremely lucky with hardly any injuries at all and that is rare.
This year Demko is constantly brought up as a major injury when talking about losses, so why not just say Landinen is crap and not pulling the load? I don't think anyone thinks that, so Demko being out isn't as impactful. Then they will say missing his presence in the room, again he travels with the team and there is still issues within the room.
EP being hurt and missing 6 whole games, Hughes missing 4 games, season lost on that? Miller a month off and they can't win.
What all these "reasons" being trotted out show how fragile and in need of future trades this group is. One or two players missing and they go into a dumpster?
MY OPINION;
Tocchet has the team playing a system that can sustain or keep scores close to not have any top players or very few. His system is for players with limited skill sets keep scores close, play not to lose. Preparation for not having Miller, Pettersson or Boeser on the team. Using Hughes to the extent he does also points to the lack of need in the easy season of 100+ point players. If a player can skate and check he can fit into the system. The PP and PK are relied on to win games with the occasional 5 on 5 goals.
Any panic of EP or JTM not playing is unnecessary. Even when they were not playing the team wasn't getting lit up and when they were there the goals for aren't staggering. Defence at the price of offence. And keep it close for a playoff spot, fan interest.
They did just beat a good TO team but they played a goalie with only two NHL games under his belt and only potted 3 goals, two of which were screened deflections.
