GDT: Stanley Cup playoffs

[JD1]

How is what I said an exaggeration. We were a 1 line team this year.

Norris back helps a lot, another years experience will help, I like our D but we still need a much better bottom 6 and another vet goalie.

Full of problems was specifically what I referenced as being an exaggeration.

We need to strengthen the bottom 6. Norris's health and Formenton returning do that. And sort out the goaltending.

I think we've got less off season issues than most

Health plays a huge role whether people want to call it excuses or not.

Pinto couldn't cut it on the second line 5v5 especially with Batherson struggling with the lingering effects of a high ankle sprain

100%

 

[Rodzilla]

How is what I said an exaggeration. We were a 1 line team this year.

Norris back helps a lot, another years experience will help, I like our D but we still need a much better bottom 6 and another vet goalie.

Ill give you that our bottom 6 is absolutely pathetic but moving Pinto there with possibly Greig and then if they go out and improve the 4th Id be happy. I thought Kastelic was decent but Watson and Kelly were honestly bad.

 

[GCK]

Ill give you that our bottom 6 is absolutely pathetic but moving Pinto there with possibly Greig and then if they go out and improve the 4th Id be happy. I thought Kastelic was decent but Watson and Kelly were honestly bad.

Asking Pinto and Greig to anchor the bottom 6 with almost no pro experience is going to end badly IMO. In 2 or 3 years when they have some experience sure but each should be sheltered on a line with a couple guys with experience.

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Asking Pinto and Greig to anchor the bottom 6 with almost no pro experience is going to end badly IMO. In 2 or 3 years when they have some experience sure but each should be sheltered on a line with a couple guys with experience.

at the very least to start the year I agree with you. If they are 2/3rds of the 3rd line they will need a good veteran winger with them.
If this was 2 years ago when "meaningful games" was not a thing, then sure let them grow and develop but that is not where we are now . They need to add that depth.

 

[bert]

Bob didnt stand on his head against Boston

He stole them game 5, shots were like 48 to 22 which kept them alive. He out played Bostons goalies in games 6 and 7 too. He was very good and he was very good last night too. Bottom line he is a vezina level goalie who has won big playoff series before. His talent level when its on isnt matched by many goalies in the league. He is inconsistent but when he gets shots consistently he tends to be less inconsistent. He is much better as an under dog. This is a perfect storm for him. No one gets post to post as fast as he does. The blocker save he made on matthews pushing across in the first was unbelievable. That was a perfect shot right over the pad, no one makes that save for the most part usually goes under the blocker but he gets there so fast he was able to extend.

 

[PatrickEaves]

 

[JD1]

Asking Pinto and Greig to anchor the bottom 6 with almost no pro experience is going to end badly IMO. In 2 or 3 years when they have some experience sure but each should be sheltered on a line with a couple guys with experience.

Pinto centering the 2nd line after 5 games was with no experience

He's got 99 games under his belt and he turns 23. Dropping down a line, he should be able to post a strong season. A vet singer would be helpful, but getting Formenton back and running him and Joseph with Pinto is ideal imo

 

[DueDiligence]

He out played Bostons goalies in games 6 and 7 too.

Bob was bad in games 4 and 6 against Boston and great in game 5 and good in game 7. The only reason the Panthers won the Bruins series that Ullmark was awful in games 2, 5 and 6 and Swayman was bad in game 7.

 

[bert]

Pinto centering the 2nd line after 5 games was with no experience

He's got 99 games under his belt and he turns 23. Dropping down a line, he should be able to post a strong season. A vet singer would be helpful, but getting Formenton back and running him and Joseph with Pinto is ideal imo

I think he can be a solid 3rd line center next year too. He just needs better wingers than the sens currently have for him to be effective.

 

[bicboi64]

Pavelski is an absolute beast, dude tried to put the Stars on his back in that game. Hoping that series goes to 7 and has more performances like that

 

[Micklebot]

I think he can be a solid 3rd line center next year too. He just needs better wingers than the sens currently have for him to be effective.

It's kind of funny, because most of the season he had excellent wingers (Batherson and DeBrincat) he was just in over his head as a 2nd line center.

He was pencilled in to have Formenton and Joseph last summer, I think that would have made for a killer 3rd line. Motte and Joseph only managed about 90 or so mins with him as a regular unit, that would have been disappointing as a third but you take what you can get. Mixing in a combination of Motte, Joseph, Brassard, Gauthier, Gambrell though, that's rough.

 

[Adrianopolous]

Hard to believe the Devils haven't won a round since 2012. They flew completely under the radar

 

[Hale The Villain]

Hard to believe the Devils haven't won a round since 2012. They flew completely under the radar

Took them a long time to recover after Lamoreillo refused to accept the team needed a rebuild.

Traded the 9th overall pick (turned into Horvat) for Schneider, which was fine strictly looking at value, but it did nothing but make them a mediocre team incapable of finishing at the bottom of the league but not good enough to make the playoffs - worst position you can be in as a team.

Lost the Devils their 2014 1st (would have been 11th) after trying to cheat the cap by giving Kovalchuk a 15 year contract, who then headed to Russia after the 2012/13 season anyways

They had the 6th pick in 2015 and spent it on Zacha, then spent the 12th pick in 2016 on McLeod, so that didn't help things either.

For a long time they were the team everyone said had the worst future, and they weren't wrong.

Had to suck for a long time and get lucky by winning the lottery 3 times to get out of that hole.

 

[bicboi64]

Had to suck for a long time and get lucky by winning the lottery 3 times to get out of that hole.

After the Oil and Sabres, the Devils make me wish there was a limit on how much a team could pick in the top 3/5 in a certain amount of years

 

[Hale The Villain]

After the Oil and Sabres, the Devils make me wish there was a limit on how much a team could pick in the top 3/5 in a certain amount of years

I like the lottery in theory, but unfortunately only a handful of teams have had the balls bounce their way.

Devils have actually won the lottery 4 times since it was introduced. Can't forget when they jumped ahead of us in 2011 from 8th to 4th to pick Larsson.

 

[DrEasy]

I like the lottery in theory, but unfortunately only a handful of teams have had the balls bounce their way.

Devils have actually won the lottery 4 times since it was introduced. Can't forget when they jumped ahead of us in 2011 from 8th to 4th to pick Larsson.

Thankfully, we still picked Ziba!

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I like the lottery in theory, but unfortunately only a handful of teams have had the balls bounce their way.

Devils have actually won the lottery 4 times since it was introduced. Can't forget when they jumped ahead of us in 2011 from 8th to 4th to pick Larsson.

Its tough too because the talent year to year can fluctuate a lot and even though you're winning lotteries, it could lead nowhere anyways and somehow those teams still need to be rewarded enough to one day get out of the gutter.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Its tough too because the talent year to year can fluctuate a lot and even though you're winning lotteries, it could lead nowhere anyways and somehow those teams still need to be rewarded enough to one day get out of the gutter.

True.

Montreal won the lottery and picked Slafkovsky last year, but if he were in this draft he wouldn't be picked in the top 4, maybe top 5-6.

Now the Habs can't win a lottery pick more than once in the next 4 years I believe.

 

[Cosmix]

The excuses for what the referees did there is insane.

No call made on the play. Apparently they allegedly huddled and decided to make a call after the play. And then they reviewed it to upgrade it to 4 minutes... but why would they need to review anything if they made the call? Just look for a f***ing mark on O'Reilly.

Meanwhile last series the referee is staring the Lightning player in the face and he misses a highstick. They don't huddle. They don't review. No penalty is called despite it being blindingly obvious to everyone on the planet. Toronto wins game 7 after Tampa Bay loses out on a crucial powerplay attempt.

The NHL should really step in here - either referees huddle and do it way more often or they never do it. Because it's a ridiculous look.

Same team. The incidents happened on back to back games. Both times the Leafs come out on top. First with a non-call and now with a non-call, huddle call, review double minor.

I remember a Senator's player with his finger almost cut off from a Crosby slash not convincing the refs to review the call. The reffing in this league is INCONSISTENT!

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

True.

Montreal won the lottery and picked Slafkovsky last year, but if he were in this draft he wouldn't be picked in the top 4, maybe top 5-6.

Now the Habs can't win a lottery pick more than once in the next 4 years I believe.

Exactly. And countless examples of other underwhelming high picks over the years that would be ranked much lower other years.

 

[bicboi64]

Its tough too because the talent year to year can fluctuate a lot and even though you're winning lotteries, it could lead nowhere anyways and somehow those teams still need to be rewarded enough to one day get out of the gutter.

I'm fine with teams having to "figure" it out when it comes to getting out of the gutter. Forces them to get creative with their player development and scouting.

Ottawa, Vancouver, Philly, Detroit, Kings, CBJ, these are all teams that have been shite, but still picked in the top 10-5, they've still had some semblance of progress compared to the utter disgrace that was NJD, Buffalo, EDM.

Part of it is the luck of having guys like Stu, Petterson, etc... be better than some players selected ahead of them, but management also makes key decisions on picks that might not be where they're expected (Seider, Sanderson, etc..)

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

I'm fine with teams having to "figure" it out when it comes to getting out of the gutter. Forces them to get creative with their player development and scouting.

Ottawa, Vancouver, Philly, Detroit, Kings, CBJ, these are all teams that have been shite, but still picked in the top 10-5, they've still had some semblance of progress compared to the utter disgrace that was NJD, Buffalo, EDM.

Part of it is the luck of having guys like Stu, Petterson, etc... be better than some players selected ahead of them, but management also makes key decisions on picks that might not be where they're expected (Seider, Sanderson, etc..)

For sure. There's a big gray area and no perfect solution. I just don't like the idea of locking teams out because some drafts can be real shit.

Different sport, but after LeBron left, the Cavs drafted top 4 or 5 like 4 years in a row and only one of those guys was useful, and only many years later after maturing and joining what was the greatest team of all time just prior.

 

[Cosmix]

I like the lottery in theory, but unfortunately only a handful of teams have had the balls bounce their way.

Devils have actually won the lottery 4 times since it was introduced. Can't forget when they jumped ahead of us in 2011 from 8th to 4th to pick Larsson.

I don't like the lottery. Teams trade their better players to help them tank every year and nothing "meaningful" is done about it. Just let the teams draft at their allotted positions so the worst teams benefit in accordnace with their position.

 

[StoicSensFan]

Asking Pinto and Greig to anchor the bottom 6 with almost no pro experience is going to end badly IMO. In 2 or 3 years when they have some experience sure but each should be sheltered on a line with a couple guys with experience.

I think we should move Jo to a line with Norris and Brady, that way G can play the third line.

 

[Ice-Tray]

I think we should move Jo to a line with Norris and Brady, that way G can play the third line.

I’d rather bring a guy like Foligno in to play third line minutes and let Jospeh play with Kasty and whenever fills the the last winger spot.

No way is G playing on the third line. He’ll start will Stu and Brady as that line was dynamite, with the possibility of moving to play with Stu and DBC if they feel like getting the band back together with Norris Brady and Batherson.