Finlandia WOAT
No blocks, No slappers
- May 23, 2010
- 24,343
- 24,414
GDT: High Effort GDT
- Thread starter smi
- Start date
- Oct 31, 2007
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True, it's not his fault that's happening. However, maybe if Staal wasn't doing all those things you mentioned, the rest of the team would follow suit.
It's one thing to have a game not going your way. It's another to have a game not going your way and having no one working hard to right the ship.
Throughout this losing streak, there have been blatant examples of Staal just flat out embarrassing himself. First game I was legitimately pissed at Eric this year was the game against Washington that started this whole thing. I can distinctly remember Eric just lazily skating back into the zone to grab an icing...despite a Washington player racing behind him, who actually reached the puck before Eric.
Then tonight, right before the Burmi goal, you've got the top line creating a good chance that might have kept offensive pressure...had Eric not been on the ice attempting to sell a call that wasn't there...
Sorry, but when your best player(s) can't put forth the effort to touch up an icing or stay on his skates, it's no surprise the rest of the team isn't exactly putting it all on the line. And just to be fair to Staal, Skinner and Semin are guilty of the same issues.
Hence Muller's "best players" comment.
Anton Dubinchuk
aho
Sports Club Stats say our playoff chances dropped by 20% today.
That's the largest I've ever seen anyone rise or drop smack dab in the middle of the season. Usually jumps like that are reserved for 3 games left.
That's the largest I've ever seen anyone rise or drop smack dab in the middle of the season. Usually jumps like that are reserved for 3 games left.
My hopes at the playoffs dropped about 20.3% as well. But we do have a 51% chance at the 2-seed for when we go 17-0-0.
Finlandia WOAT
No blocks, No slappers
- May 23, 2010
- 24,343
- 24,414
Our offense scoring 7 goals in the last 6 games.
Peters being a mediocre at best goaltender.
Special Teams.
Our breakout system is completely ineffective.
Physical toughness.
Our on paper defense.
Those have all been serious problems during our 6 game losing streak, and I fail to see how Staal "trying" harder or being a better leader would resolve any of that.
He isn't good enough to will this team to score by itself (and he shouldn't have to, given the firepower we have).
He can't turn Peters into a great goalie.
He can't singlehandedly turn our PP and PK around.
He can't singlehandedly finesse his way through the neutral zone with the puck on his stick.
He can't turn this team into one with grit (though I'll give you this one, if he were more physical, our team would likely follow suit).
And he can't improve the talent of our defense, unless he convinces Marc to sign here for league minimum.
Can Staal work harder and lead better? Of course. I gave an example myself, where he took an average shift of 14 seconds longer than what Muller wanted. If Staal is out there for the 38 seconds max, you think Semin is? Is Skinner? And could he try to the point of at least alleviating some of those concerns? Yes, he could.
But this collapse can't be pinned solely on Eric Staal and whatever mistakes he may have made during a particular game, no matter how hard some people try. And if the magic key to our problems were Staal trying harder, we wouldn't have lost 6 games in a row.
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Staal + Staal for Toews
Skinner for Dustin Brown
Semin, 1st 2013-2017 for Chara
Championship intangibles, grits, and leaderships
Skinner for Dustin Brown
Semin, 1st 2013-2017 for Chara
Championship intangibles, grits, and leaderships
there were a lot of things going on during that streak but yes a big part of it was on Brind'amour. He lost the lockerroom, hence why captaincy was given to someone else a month or two later
Identity404
I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious
This collapse can solely be blamed on Adam Hall. Our losing streak coincides nicely with this waiver scum pickup. There has clearly been some tension in the room since Mr. Hall arrived. Wallace was the backbone of our team, a leader by example. Adam Hall came in and ruined it all. With Wallace gone our season is over.
Drivebytrucker
Registered User
- Jan 8, 2011
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Roboturner913
Registered User
- Jul 3, 2012
- 25,853
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Soooo.....how long until Staal is stripped of the captain's letter? It's a long overdue move, I think.
gocanes88
Registered User
I wondered the same thing. It was very weird to hear someone else behind the microphone. In my 6+ years as a Caniac, he's all I've ever known.
NorthStar4Canes
Registered User
- Oct 12, 2007
- 2,782
- 792
Like this comparison for instance...
Scored 2 own goals over the course of the last 2 games.
Scored 2 PP goals over the course of the last 8 games.
Boom Boom Apathy
I am the Professor. Deal with it!
- Sep 6, 2006
- 49,085
- 100,943
Well, at least I don't need to read through this GDT, as I'm guessing it's the same as the last couple of GDTs. 7 Goals scored in the last 7 games is not going to cut it, especially when you have a patchwork defense and a 3rd string goalie.
DougieSmash
WE'RE IN! WE'RE IN! YES! YES! WOO!
- Jan 2, 2009
- 14,795
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Boom Boom Apathy
I am the Professor. Deal with it!
- Sep 6, 2006
- 49,085
- 100,943
We can complain about Ruutu's contract, Gleason's contract, McBain's poor game, Peter's letting in a soft one...but at the end of the day, the top 6 needs to start putting the puck in the net at a rate of better than 1G / game. If the other teams have learned how to slow down the flow, then they need to outwork the other team and for the most part, that's not happening enough.
AD Skinner
Registered User
Never. This entire organization is hitched to the Staal wagon. That letter is his until he decides he doesn't want it anymore.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
- Aug 24, 2006
- 7,518
- 18,924
He's on a conditioning assignment, working on ways to perfect the proper pronunciation of Adam Hall.
- Aug 24, 2006
- 7,518
- 18,924
I was going to stay away from any serious comment in this thread, but this bit of information is just too much to let go...especially since it didn't seem to resonate with the broader audience. Hell, it didn't even resonate with the person who posted it, for chrissakes...which is just mind-boggling to me.
If I may, I'd like to proceed on the assumption that this information is 100% accurate. I have no way of knowing that Muller actually said that he wanted 38-second shifts, but if I can't count on Tripp Tracy and Mike Maniscalco to deliver this tidbit of information accurately, then I'll take my lumps with the disclaimer that I put too much trust in our "insiders" and will be forever suspicious of them going forward.
Second disclaimer: I don't know how much shift length matters. I don't know that, had the players nailed exactly 38 seconds per shift last night, they would have fared any better. What I'm going on is that the coach made a point of it, and it was his directive for last night's game. End of story.
Given this, my question to all of you is what more do you need as evidence that Eric Staal is not leading this team as one would expect of a team captain? The coach clearly states that he wants shift lengths to be at a certain number, yet the result is that the captain fails to even come close to what his coach asked of him. If you can't get your captain to follow your directive (sticking to the system), then you've lost the team.
Furthermore, it doesn't say much about Muller that he wasn't able to enforce his main #1 directive. Surely he could have queried Pete Friesen a time or two to find out how long the shifts were adding up to, or even got a report at the first/second intermission, then brought the hammer down when he found out the boys weren't doing what he asked of them.
So, go ahead and justify this in whatever way you Staal-pologists will. I can't wait to hear how this doesn't matter, or is not really damning evidence of Staal's leadership.
- Oct 31, 2007
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- 45,652
Aren't captains usually the first ones to turn on coaches anyway?
I remember Brindamour and Lavi having their issues (one of which, I believe, eventually led to Lavi's firing). And there's no need to bring up how Staal played before Maurice was let go a 2nd time (or his miraculous turnaround once Muller took over).
And while it's easier to let go of a coach than it is to replace player personal, if the players really have started to ignore Muller (especially this early on in his coaching career), it might be time for JR/Karmanos to start cracking heads in the lockerroom. Make it clear that the organization isn't going to fire a coach everytime a player has a hissy fit.
I remember Brindamour and Lavi having their issues (one of which, I believe, eventually led to Lavi's firing). And there's no need to bring up how Staal played before Maurice was let go a 2nd time (or his miraculous turnaround once Muller took over).
And while it's easier to let go of a coach than it is to replace player personal, if the players really have started to ignore Muller (especially this early on in his coaching career), it might be time for JR/Karmanos to start cracking heads in the lockerroom. Make it clear that the organization isn't going to fire a coach everytime a player has a hissy fit.
bleedgreen
Registered User
That's an interesting argument geehad. "I'm not sure about this stat, what it means, or if its accurate - but I'm quite sure it means my point is further proven."
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