I said I didn't want a backup for our plan b...the post I quoted said to play pickard if Blackwood doesn't work out
Well "doesn't work out" entails we don't win the Stanley Cup this year. So you won't be with Pickard. And we all know he's a backup. But I'd take a flyer on Blackwood.
Sure I agree with that Philp up for Ryan. 4th line things don’t turn around seasons though. Why do you want Perry out?
Plenty of good goalies don't win a cup, plenty of subpar goaltender manage to win cups...kinda an odd "doesn't work out" handling imo
Yeah but not many have a team in front of them like the Oilers of today. So it's not weird at all. We all knew coming into this season it's Cup or Bust. Anything less is a failure.
There has to be a lot of pressure in the room. Whether the new additions are in their own heads or they feel it from the leadership of the core, there is a reason why these new players start slow.
Ya, most are lucky not to have Bouchard attempting to play defense on a nightly basis
I’m not sure what it is, sometimes I wonder if McDrai do a good job on-boarding new talent though. But the slow starts happens all the time with this club. Plus in general it’s not easy going to a new team. I think Arvie looked like complete trash to start the year, then his game came around and he was buzzing. JSkinner looked good to start but his lack of speed is starting to show some warts now, keeping up with Knob hockey can’t be easy for his player type either. Henriques line just doesn’t seem to be clicking at all.
Really good post cup management by Washington. Pittsburgh decided to hang on with all their old guys after their cups to keep their magic (not Sid and Geno but guys like Rust, Carter, Rakell, etc) and they are just too old and slow. Washington lost Backstrom and Kuznetsov and realized they need to bet on talent again, so they retooled. Their young players who aren't top 10 picks are making a huge difference, Connor McMichael, Protas, Lappierre, etc. Combine that with a couple reclamation projects in Strome and PLD, and you have the makings of a real underrated, hungry roster. And they still have cup pedigree in Ovi and Carlson, so its not a complete "kids running the show" situation like in say, Buffalo or Anaheim.
Yeh their management seems to always be active and making smart gambles. New GM this year, but their old GM moved to POHO. So there's consistency there. I wish the Oil would make some buy lows on talent every now and then. Doesn't ever seem to be our strategy.
A bad plan A.
You know goalies can get their own coaches right? Like what Mike Smith did
Well put and I agree with you.
I'd pay 4M for what he showed in the playoffs. But your point stands, even in his Blues game this year, his complete lack of awareness still got him trucked or in situations where he could get hurt. I'm thinking as he gains thickness that won't be much of an issue though.
I wasnt aware of that but its clear that Holland definitely dropped the ball in this situation.
Could smell the alcohol on his breath in some of his interviews I swear. I knew something was off about that cat when he profusely thanked Holland for the signing.
