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Healthy D pairs

Satan'sIsland81

Registered User
Feb 9, 2007
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I cant believe anybody thought this guy Donovan was not only ready to be an NHL d-man but an upgrade on Streit as a possible PP QB. He is awful in every facet of the game and when Viz and Strait are back, he should be sent packing for the AHL where he belongs.
The pairs should be:
Visnovsky-Hickey
Hamonic-Macdonald
Strait-Martinek

That is unquestionably the best D lineup we can ice until our clown GM gets off his ass and actually makes an in-season move to improve the roster for the first time in half a decade.
 
I can live with those pairs. They are not cup winning pairings but I'm happy NOT to see Carkner or Donovan there.
 
I'm not ready to send Donovan back to the A but he definetly needs to watch some more games from the press box. But right now we only have 6 healthy D.
 
Hamonic and McDonald is a terrible pairing. They were terrible together last year. I would rather us demote Donavan who just isnt an NHLer yet and give Griffen Reinhart a chance.

Not a bie Hickey fan or Strait fan, but in all honesty...its been everyone. We dont have one legit defender on this team that we can count on. We thought it might be Hamonic, but he is way too inconsistant of a player.
 
ekill08x said:
Hamonic and McDonald is a terrible pairing. They were terrible together last year. I would rather us demote Donavan who just isnt an NHLer yet and give Griffen Reinhart a chance.
Click to expand...

I'm probably wrong but I think we'd need one more d-man injured to recall Reinhart on an emergency basis.. I think you need three..

But it'd be a major slap in the face to de Haan (and possibly some others) if we did that instead of giving the chance to our AHL guys..

For better or for worse, Reinhart will remain in the WHL this year. Long term, I tend to think it's for the better.
 
bigd said:
I'm not ready to send Donovan back to the A but he definetly needs to watch some more games from the press box. But right now we only have 6 healthy D.
Click to expand...

no point in that. He's already been an AHL all-star and led all scorers on a horrible team. Nothing left to prove there. He needs to be put into a position to succeed, to show that he can play in the NHL. Sure, he can sit a few games, but he's far too good to give up on, not after a month.

He reminds me of Gardiner, too talented, gotta play through it. Donovan's gonna be a good one.

Satan'sIsland81 said:
I cant believe anybody thought this guy Donovan was not only ready to be an NHL d-man but an upgrade on Streit as a possible PP QB. He is awful in every facet of the game and when Viz and Strait are back, he should be sent packing for the AHL where he belongs.
The pairs should be:
Visnovsky-Hickey
Hamonic-Macdonald
Strait-Martinek

That is unquestionably the best D lineup we can ice until our clown GM gets off his ass and actually makes an in-season move to improve the roster for the first time in half a decade.
Click to expand...

Visnovsky - Hamonic
Hickey - MacDonald
Donovan - Martinek/Strait

no way a top four defenseman will be obtainable in-season, no way.

Leafs will eat most of Liles salary to get rid of him, sadly, he's probably 5th on the Isles depth chart. Jake Gardiner would be nice, but will cost a lot, like Brock Nelson (that's my guess).

Gotta hope Visnovsky gets back and stays healthy. This team does NOT have the depth to cover for Visnovsky.

Too bad we can't do Reimer- Gardiner for Nabokov, Bouchard, Regin and a 3rd rounder. :)
 
redbull said:
no point in that. He's already been an AHL all-star and led all scorers on a horrible team. Nothing left to prove there. He needs to be put into a position to succeed, to show that he can play in the NHL. Sure, he can sit a few games, but he's far too good to give up on, not after a month.

He reminds me of Gardiner, too talented, gotta play through it. Donovan's gonna be a good one.



Visnovsky - Hamonic
Hickey - MacDonald
Donovan - Martinek/Strait

no way a top four defenseman will be obtainable in-season, no way.

Leafs will eat most of Liles salary to get rid of him, sadly, he's probably 5th on the Isles depth chart. Jake Gardiner would be nice, but will cost a lot, like Brock Nelson (that's my guess).

Gotta hope Visnovsky gets back and stays healthy. This team does NOT have the depth to cover for Visnovsky.

Too bad we can't do Reimer- Gardiner for Nabokov, Bouchard, Regin and a 3rd rounder. :)
Click to expand...

I disagree that sending him back to the AHL would be a bad thing necessarily, precisely because he has had success there. Let him go back, get some big minutes, run the PP, have some success. Then bring him back up and give him those "position to succeed" minutes. Let him watch the odd game from the press box. Donovan is a good prospect but he's a guy who has worked his way up the ladder. I think based on his pedigree that it's unrealistic to expect him to take the huge step from the AHL to the NHL and take the league by storm. He's got to be weaned a bit and this year will be a learning experience.

We're talking about a 23 year old 4th round draft pick from Oklahoma via the USHL. In 5 years he's gone from the USHL to NCAA to AHL and now NHL. That's a lot. Let's give him time and not consider a refresher in the AHL to be a bad thing. I wasn't sure what to expect going into the season, but I considered a demotion a possibility just because of Donovan's history. And I'm not talking about a long-term demotion - just a refresher.
 
redbull said:
no point in that. He's already been an AHL all-star and led all scorers on a horrible team. Nothing left to prove there. He needs to be put into a position to succeed, to show that he can play in the NHL. Sure, he can sit a few games, but he's far too good to give up on, not after a month.

He reminds me of Gardiner, too talented, gotta play through it. Donovan's gonna be a good one.



Visnovsky - Hamonic
Hickey - MacDonald
Donovan - Martinek/Strait

no way a top four defenseman will be obtainable in-season, no way.

Leafs will eat most of Liles salary to get rid of him, sadly, he's probably 5th on the Isles depth chart. Jake Gardiner would be nice, but will cost a lot, like Brock Nelson (that's my guess).

Gotta hope Visnovsky gets back and stays healthy. This team does NOT have the depth to cover for Visnovsky.

Too bad we can't do Reimer- Gardiner for Nabokov, Bouchard, Regin and a 3rd rounder. :)
Click to expand...

Any word on his progress, I have him in a pool. Thanks for any feedback.
 
ekill08x said:
Hamonic and McDonald is a terrible pairing. They were terrible together last year. I would rather us demote Donavan who just isnt an NHLer yet and give Griffen Reinhart a chance.

Not a bie Hickey fan or Strait fan, but in all honesty...its been everyone. We dont have one legit defender on this team that we can count on. We thought it might be Hamonic, but he is way too inconsistant of a player.
Click to expand...

:help: Hamonic was terrible last year? I don't ****ing think so.

Do you even watch the games?

Let me guess because of his +/-? :shakehead
 
Last edited:
TriCycleDriveBy said:
Donovan is fine, stop crying.
Click to expand...

This, and then:

Macch said:
Just get Carkner off the ice. It's embarrassing
Click to expand...

This.

We need to get Donovan sheltered minutes with a partner who can handle the defensive pressure when he inevitably makes a few mistakes in his rookie year. We probably shouldn't blame Donovan for the lack of that type of player on the roster when we are two defencemen down...
 
While Donovan hasn't been great, he hasn't been awful either. We could sign Nick Lidstrom to play with Carkner and we would still give up goals. Carkner has been that brutal. Donovan just can't cover both sides of the ice at once. :help:
 
HoCk4307 said:
While Donovan hasn't been great, he hasn't been awful either. We could sign Nick Lidstrom to play with Carkner and we would still give up goals. Carkner has been that brutal. Donovan just can't cover both sides of the ice at once. :help:
Click to expand...
The past two games he was awful. I would be happy if he just covered his side of the ice.
 
bigd said:
The past two games he was awful. I would be happy if he just covered his side of the ice.
Click to expand...

THIS!

Carkner may stink too, but I love how everybody blames him for how similarly bad Donovan is. I am sorry but I see nothing to indicate to me that Donovan can be an everyday NHL d-man. He has some offensive talent, but not nearly enough to make up for his other deficiencies. And to think how everyone on here bashed Mark Streit.
 
Donovan is a rookie with offensive upside, while Carkner is just a pylon. At his age and the stage of his career he's at right now, Donovan still has a chance to improve.

Of course pairing him with Carkner is going to make him look bad.
 
Talain said:
Donovan is a rookie with offensive upside, while Carkner is just a pylon. At his age and the stage of his career he's at right now, Donovan still has a chance to improve.

Of course pairing him with Carkner is going to make him look bad.
Click to expand...
Donovan had no trouble looking bad all by himself. If he needs a better partner to help him look good than he shouldn't be playing.
 
Visnovsky - Hamonic
MacDonald - Hickey
Strait - Donovan/Martinek
Carkner

Only worry about those pairings are that Amac/Hickey will be in over their heads against bigger forwards.
 
I recognize that the title of this thread is healthy d pairs, but do we know when Visnovsky is getting back?
 
redbull said:
no point in that. He's already been an AHL all-star and led all scorers on a horrible team. Nothing left to prove there. He needs to be put into a position to succeed, to show that he can play in the NHL. Sure, he can sit a few games, but he's far too good to give up on, not after a month.

He reminds me of Gardiner, too talented, gotta play through it. Donovan's gonna be a good one.



Visnovsky - Hamonic
Hickey - MacDonald
Donovan - Martinek/Strait

no way a top four defenseman will be obtainable in-season, no way.

Leafs will eat most of Liles salary to get rid of him, sadly, he's probably 5th on the Isles depth chart. Jake Gardiner would be nice, but will cost a lot, like Brock Nelson (that's my guess).

Gotta hope Visnovsky gets back and stays healthy. This team does NOT have the depth to cover for Visnovsky.

Too bad we can't do Reimer- Gardiner for Nabokov, Bouchard, Regin and a 3rd rounder. :)
Click to expand...

I want to see those lines for a change. I feel like they need to break up Hamonic and Amac, and also need to break up Hickey and Visnovsky so Hickey can be more effective offensively. Martinek and Strait are solid for the bottom pairing, and Donovan will bring you some offense.
 
redbull said:
no point in that. He's already been an AHL all-star and led all scorers on a horrible team. Nothing left to prove there. He needs to be put into a position to succeed, to show that he can play in the NHL. Sure, he can sit a few games, but he's far too good to give up on, not after a month.

He reminds me of Gardiner, too talented, gotta play through it. Donovan's gonna be a good one.
Click to expand...

you mean playing against a team's top players isn't putting a rookie dman(an offensive one at that) isn't a position to succeed?

donovan plays an up-tempo style game. carkner tries to slow it down. they aren't a good pairing and all they really do together is magnify each other's weaknesses. i think carkner is a fine 7th dman, when put with the right partner.

redbull said:
Visnovsky - Hamonic
Hickey - MacDonald
Donovan - Martinek/Strait

no way a top four defenseman will be obtainable in-season, no way.

Leafs will eat most of Liles salary to get rid of him, sadly, he's probably 5th on the Isles depth chart. Jake Gardiner would be nice, but will cost a lot, like Brock Nelson (that's my guess).

Gotta hope Visnovsky gets back and stays healthy. This team does NOT have the depth to cover for Visnovsky.
Click to expand...

you mean young cheap top 4 defensemen aren't readily available at any moment? man you're crazy!

liles isn't an answer, gardiner is intriguing but probably unavailable for the same reasons donovan shouldn't be sent down.

as i said in another thread:

MacDonald - Hamonic
Martinek - Carkner/Strait
Donovan - Hickey

when lubo comes back:

MacDonald - Hamonic
Visnovsky - Hickey
Donovan - Strait/Martinek

this defense is at least in the same stratosphere as tampa bay's and colorado's. the difference is the coaching.
 
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