GDT: Running Preseason GDT | Game 7 | PIT @ CBJ | 7 PM EST

[Cowumbus]

Are we sure Jiricek is good?

 

[KJ Dangler]

Are we sure Jiricek is good?

Jiricek has been great tonight

Anyone see what happened to voronkov?

Sitting in 207.. I thought it was a hand or finger

 

[ThirdPeriodTurtle]

Sillinger looks niftier at times
Johnson looks poised to break out this season

Edit - then Sillinger blows a tire in his own zone lol

Yeah this is where I am with Sillinger. He does little things every now and then that make him seem better than an average player, he was good in the first period I thought, less so here in the second. And he's still young. So hopefully he can put it all together eventually. Might be wishful thinking.

Not a great period overall though.

Is it just me or does it seem like we're being more physical and shoving people against the boards more than in past seasons? And "giving wood", that's the term right for whatever hits with the stick and pushes... Even Pyyhtiä was whacking away lol. Never was a big fan of that and after this offseason I've become even softer I guess, I don't like it at all.

 

[thebus88]

Jiricek has been great tonight


Sitting in 207.. I thought it was a hand or finger

“Great” is a bit much.

I’m not there so I just saw the feed. It happened from a check that looked pretty shoulder to shoulder.

If you’re going from his reaction afterwards I hope something did get pinched in his hand and you aren’t misinterpreting him stabilizing his shoulder and holding it close to his body as something wrong with his hand.

 

[Cowumbus]

Jiricek has been great tonight

Great!?

Based on?

I keep seeing him get bodied in his own zone and giving bad passes to his d partner. And now watched him run into a ref. Did he not just get walked on the last Pens goal?

 

[LJ7]

Johnson-Jiricek is going to drown in the regular season if they're kept together

 

[MFRONE]

Johnson just letting his guy skate right by him and set up unabated in front of the goal

 

[LJ7]

Johnson just letting his guy skate right by him and set up unabated in front of the goal

Harris and/or Mateychuk need to replace one or both of that pairing. Jiricek did better with Mateychuk, playing him with Johnson is setting him up for failure.

 

[MoeBartoli]

Everyone keeps saying Jenner is better at W than at C. Is he? There’s no stats that support that claim. And so far in preseason my eyes don’t believe that claim.

 

[Cowumbus]

Jiricek defensive highlights:

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842000223045877800

https://x.com/i/web/status/1842009536787296485

 

[MoeBartoli]

Harris and/or Mateychuk need to replace one or both of that pairing. Jiricek did better with Mateychuk, playing him with Johnson is setting him up for failure.

I become more and more convinced the Jackets don’t have 3 DMen better than Mateychuk.

 

[Cowumbus]

Interesting JVR and not Fantilli with empty net unit 1

AND OLIVIER ON THE 2nd UNiT!?

 

[MoeBartoli]

Interesting JVR and not Fantilli with empty net unit 1

AND OLIVIER ON THE 2nd UNiT!?

Interesting is one word for it

 

[majormajor]

Everyone keeps saying Jenner is better at W than at C. Is he? There’s no stats that support that claim. And so far in preseason my eyes don’t believe that claim.

Jenner is not better at wing.

But if you had him on that trio at center instead of wing I don't think it would make a difference. He just doesn't have it going right now and that line is a bad fit for all of them.

 

[thebus88]

Harris and/or Mateychuk need to replace one or both of that pairing. Jiricek did better with Mateychuk, playing him with Johnson is setting him up for failure.

Not sure Harris is the answer either. Mateychuk and Christiansen should be starting game 1, IMO.

I become more and more convinced the Jackets don’t have 3 DMen better than Mateychuk.

I was trying to give Severson the benefit of the doubt, but, the correct number here is 2.

It’s Werenski and him. And everyone might be better off if they are a pairing right now.

 

[KJ Dangler]

Not sure Harris is the answer either. Mateychuk and Christiansen should be starting game 1, IMO.

I was trying to give Severson the benefit of the doubt, but, the correct number here is 2.

It’s Werenski and him. And everyone might be better off if they are a pairing right now.

Agree . Mateychuk is 2nd best defenseman on this team . Will they risk losing some defenseman to waivers by keeping him on team ?

 

[majormajor]

Are we sure Jiricek is good?

You mean right now?

No, he's not NHL ready. I'm surprised the club is still pretending he's ready.

 

[VT]

They're trying new things with the D pairs but not really at all at F.

On D, it's interesting that Provorov is getting a chance with Werenski, I say why not. Christiansen getting a chance with Severson is great, though Severson hasn't really shown up late, I'm not sure if he'll be much help. We'll see how much possession Jiricek and JJ have together.

The only change I can see up front is that KJ and Chinakhov have switched spots. I personally like that a lot, I want to see our best playmaker with Fantilli.

Same topline since the start of camp despite them not looking good to most of us here. They objectively have not done much. I'm curious if this is Evason's pet idea.

I agree, Fantilli and Johnson have great chemistry. Also I am not sure if JvR is ideal for the second line, so will see.

 

[majormajor]

Agree . Mateychuk is 2nd best defenseman on this team . Will they risk losing some defenseman to waivers by keeping him on team ?

You can keep 8D and send Jiricek down, and in that case Harris and Christiansen wouldn't have to be waived even if Mateychuk makes the team.

Werenski-Mateychuk
Provorov-Severson
Christiansen-Gudbranson
Harris
JJohnson

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Agree . Mateychuk is 2nd best defenseman on this team . Will they risk losing some defenseman to waivers by keeping him on team ?

Look at this roster and tell me the worst defensemen on it that would lost a roster spot would get claimed by another team.

 

[majormajor]

Look at this roster and tell me the worst defensemen on it that would lost a roster spot would get claimed by another team.

Our worst D are JJ and Jiricek (who is waiver exempt). They aren't get waived.

Harris and Christiansen would get claimed.

 

[KJ Dangler]

I don’t think they are sending Jiricek down, we don’t know the full story about last year, but the way the national media was coming to Jiriceks defense tells me that Jarmo screwed that situation up. So Waddell is dealing with that dynamic as well and I don’t think he wants to deal with Jiricek demanding a trade at the beginning of the season For the most part , Jiricek has looked pretty solid this preseason , he’s behind Mateychuk though .

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Our worst D are JJ and Jiricek (who is waiver exempt). They aren't get waived.

Harris and Christiansen would get claimed.

I think we overvalue Christiansen and we aren't waiving Harris who was the return in the Laine trade, played a top 4 role in MTL and has only been here a month.

 

[ViD]

Johnson just letting his guy skate right by him and set up unabated in front of the goal

Werenski - Mateychuk
Severson - Provorov
Jiricek - Gudbranson

No need for JMFJ

 

[majormajor]

I don’t think they are sending Jiricek down, we don’t know the full story about last year, but the way the national media was coming to Jiriceks defense tells me that Jarmo screwed that situation up.

Who in the national media are you talking about? Seravalli who thought Jiricek was one of the best young players in the NHL?

This is how it works - the agent, in this case Allan Walsh, gets out his phone and starts calling up journalists telling them a story in an effort to pressure the Jackets to call up Jiricek. Some of them pick it up and run with it. It's a part of the pressure campaign.

A poorly run org would feel that pressure, a good org would ignore it.

Putting Jiricek in the NHL after he's shown to be unready in pre-season would push me in the direction of thinking that Waddell is running the team poorly.

I think we overvalue Christiansen and we aren't waiving Harris who was the return in the Laine trade, played a top 4 role in MTL and has only been here a month.

No need to waive either one of them. In Montreal Harris was mostly just an injury fill-in in the top4, they weren't under the impression that he was a solid middle pair guy, and no one was under the impression that he had substantial trade value. In any case I'm happy to have him.

Christiansen is ready and he's come in and been the better player in pre-season (by my eye and every metric). That might not last through one regular season game, but for now I'd slot him ahead.