Post-Game Talk: Preds vs Kraken 10/15/24 7pm "Third Time is a Charm" edition

[Armourboy]

Anyone saying Saros hasn't bailed out any defensive gaffes needs to go see an eye doctor.





Oh yes, lets forget the times Saros nearly single handedly carried this team to playoff wins. Sadly he couldn't score two goals to rectify his one goal against the Canucks in game six last year to keep the series alive.

He's currently sitting at an .855 sv% and a 4.19 GAA after signing a big contract. No one currently cares about what he almost did.

 

[jonu]

He's currently sitting at an .855 sv% and a 4.19 GAA after signing a big contract. No one currently cares about what he almost did.

??? I literally replied to someone who seems to care.


And Preds as a whole are 30th out of 32 in goals for. The problem is Brunette, the system is run it and gun it.

 

[Predsanddead24]

??? I literally replied to someone who seems to care.


And Preds as a whole are 30th out of 32 in goals for. The problem is Brunette, the system is run it and gun it.

The problem can be multiple things and right now it’s pretty much all of the above. But the most consequential move we made long term for this franchise in the offseason was picking Saros over Askarov so I can see why it's the topic of discussion. Saros has made some good saves but no matter the defense in front of him his numbers are bad. I’m not ready to declare his new contract bad yet but it’s certainly not the start anyone would have hoped for.

 

[Armourboy]

??? I literally replied to someone who seems to care.


And Preds as a whole are 30th out of 32 in goals for. The problem is Brunette, the system is run it and gun it.

What? Seems to care that Saros isn't playing well and isn't going to really get any better than we've seen in the past? Yeah that's the reason most of us didn't like the contract he was given.

Oh I have no doubt that part of the problem is Brunette, but Saros isn't stopping much of anything this season that isn't just out of the ordinary. When you sign a deal like that people expect you to stop break aways and defensive break downs. I mean if he can't do that we might as well have paid Lankinen 3 million and saved the money.

You don't give a goalie a contract that kind of term and money because he looks good when the defense looks good in front of him. You pay him that kind of money because he should be able to make stops when the defense isn't playing good in front of him.

 

[jonu]

What? Seems to care that Saros isn't playing well and isn't going to really get any better than we've seen in the past? Yeah that's the reason most of us didn't like the contract he was given.



You don't give a goalie a contract that kind of term and money because he looks good when the defense looks good in front of him. You pay him that kind of money because he should be able to make stops when the defense isn't playing good in front of him.

Thats not even close to what he implied, go check again to what I replied to.


Saros saved at least six high danger chances against Detroit, literally bailing out the defense in front of him. First goal against was a high stick and second one not even remotely his fault. Saros gave the Preds a chance to win that game.

Kraken game, didn't see it except for the highlights but judging from that, sure he should've had at least 2 of the goals, but he also had his fair share of bailing out also.

Expecting him to bail out every single chance is unreasonable, especially when the players on ice play sloppy and fail to play their own positions properly. They look outright lazy out there at times.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Thats not even close to what he implied, go check again to what I replied to.


Saros saved at least six high danger chances against Detroit, literally bailing out the defense in front of him. First goal against was a high stick and second one not even remotely his fault. Saros gave the Preds a chance to win that game.

Kraken game, didn't see it except for the highlights but judging from that, sure he should've had at least 2 of the goals, but he also had his fair share of bailing out also.

Expecting him to bail out every single chance is unreasonable, especially when the players on ice play sloppy and fail to play their own positions properly. They look outright lazy out there at times.

His GSAA is -2.4. While that’s an imperfect stat it suggests he’s giving up more goals than a replacement level goalie would let alone an elite one like we’re soon to be paying him to be.

 

[jonu]

His GSAA is -2.4. While that’s an imperfect stat it suggests he’s giving up more goals than a replacement level goalie would let alone an elite one like we’re soon to be paying him to be.

Quoting GSAA with a two game sample size is not it. Even Dobber says you need 25+ games for GSAA to start making sense. I am quite certain, most of the advanced stats right now are off the rails because of the sample size being so small.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Quoting GSAA with a two game sample size is not it. Even Dobber says you need 25+ games for GSAA to start making sense. I am quite certain, most of the advanced stats right now are off the rails because of the sample size being so small.

Ok how about his actual save percentage than which is also terrible?

 

[glenngineer]

Sad thing is, his contract doesn't kick in until next year - he's still only a $5 million goalie this year.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

What? Seems to care that Saros isn't playing well and isn't going to really get any better than we've seen in the past? Yeah that's the reason most of us didn't like the contract he was given.

Oh I have no doubt that part of the problem is Brunette, but Saros isn't stopping much of anything this season that isn't just out of the ordinary. When you sign a deal like that people expect you to stop break aways and defensive break downs. I mean if he can't do that we might as well have paid Lankinen 3 million and saved the money.

You don't give a goalie a contract that kind of term and money because he looks good when the defense looks good in front of him. You pay him that kind of money because he should be able to make stops when the defense isn't playing good in front of him.

I have total, complete, absolutely unassailable confidence that we are going to rue the day we signed Saros to that contract. And I absolutely love Saros. But it was just a dumb decision from a mangerial perspective. I do confess I never thought the "rue" would start in Year -1, however. Saros always starts slow (except that one year). But it was a bad bad bad contract. Given all the other variables in the equation. I'm also not any big proponent of Askarov. But it factored into the situation where we now have no Succession Plan also.

 

[hockey diva]

I was so excited about what Trotz could do and unfortunately he is turning out to be a disaster.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I was so excited about what Trotz could do and unfortunately he is turning out to be a disaster.

I wouldn't be THAT negative. Or even really at all negative. I am still net-positive on Trotz, tbh. There have been A LOT of changes. But I don't disagree with very many of them. He liquidated some veterans, then turned around signed a bunch of veteran UFAs, and I don't really like some of the lineup decisions that have elevated veteran tweeners at the expense of younger players. Ok. But through it all, we still have a good lineup (on paper), and Cap security, and have bolstered our prospect pool quite dramatically.

It's not a "holy shit you won the Stanley Cup" level of accomplishment, of course. But it's still a little better than "break even" overall?

Maybe when you have 32 teams in a league, it's not really fair to ask for more than "break even"? Getting to #16ish out of 32 in terms of how things are ultimately being handled isn't the worst thing, and of course it's not the best thing either, but say what you will, Trotz is Doing Things. He's engaged and making plays. If the payoff hasn't come yet, then at least I like to see the GM putting his cards on the table, while still improving our prospect pipeline in parallel. It would be great to win some big prize with that approach. But I don't fault the approach so far, even if there are some stumbling blocks out of the gate atm?

 

[glenngineer]

I was so excited about what Trotz could do and unfortunately he is turning out to be a disaster.

I wish I could find my post about winning teams and the age of their core and while adding Stamkos and Marchessault are nice signings, they should be complimentary players at this point of their careers while youth is driving the bus towards the Cup. Our youngest player in the core is Forsberg at 30. Everyone else is on the wrong side of 30 and we look slow out there because of it.

I wouldn't be THAT negative. Or even really at all negative. I am still net-positive on Trotz, tbh. There have been A LOT of changes. But I don't disagree with very many of them. He liquidated some veterans, then turned around signed a bunch of veteran UFAs, and I don't really like some of the lineup decisions that have elevated veteran tweeners at the expense of younger players. Ok. But through it all, we still have a good lineup (on paper), and Cap security, and have bolstered our prospect pool quite dramatically.

It's not a "holy shit you won the Stanley Cup" level of accomplishment, of course. But it's still a little better than "break even" overall?

Maybe when you have 32 teams in a league, it's not really fair to ask for more than "break even"? Getting to #16ish out of 32 in terms of how things are ultimately being handled isn't the worst thing, and of course it's not the best thing either, but say what you will, Trotz is Doing Things. He's engaged and making plays. If the payoff hasn't come yet, then at least I like to see the GM putting his cards on the table, while still improving our prospect pipeline in parallel. It would be great to win some big prize with that approach. But I don't fault the approach so far, even if there are some stumbling blocks out of the gate atm?

Listening to the NHL radio guys yesterday, while we were considered the winners of FA, no one wins in the offseason and that's the right take. Until all the pieces come together or they don't, no one know what the future holds. I'm still cautiously optimistic and while I know you and I have had some discussions about the Saros contract, I agree, that was not the contract to offer, especially coming off a year where he looked rather pedestrian.