They Were Canes Once . . . and Young (well, some of them)

Borsig

PoKechetkov
Nov 3, 2007
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If you want to criticize Skinner for cherry picking that's one thing but your statement isn't logical. Cherry picking is going to give more opportunities but then the player has to finish. How many more goals would Aho have this year if he was finishing like this?

Your statement implies that it would be easy for someone like Jordan Staal to start finishing like this if he started cherry picking a lot more. Can't say I agree with that principle.
I'm implying that skinner is a cherry picker who has a terrible habit of hanging his linemates out to dry. It's why he has maybe one season in his entire career that he isnt a minus on the season, and he's like a -130 lifetime. Sure, skinner can finish. he also generates more opportunities for the other team to score than he does himself.

I'd gladly take a cherry-picker on this team vs volume logo shooting
I mean I get that, but we'd also be enraged at his flubs on this team.
 

LakeLivin

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Mar 11, 2016
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OTT/NYR: Tyler Motte for Julien Gauthier and conditional 2023 7th round pick (becomes 6th if NYR win a playoff series.

Someone on the trade thread posted "huh someone tell me about Gauthier". Well, . . . he's big? :laugh:
 

Big Daddy Cane

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Randomly thinking about how stacked the defensive pool was on paper right after Bean was drafted. The organization had an early to mid-20s Faulk coming off a breakout goal scoring season, three high 1st round picks in a row in Fleury/Hanifin/Bean, pleasant surprises of Pesce and Slavin, and McKeown had some name value after being the kicker in the Sekera trade.

A reminder that a prospect pool will most often not develop like your emotional attachment (hope) wants it too. Some of the players won’t pan out and some will be meh relative to expectations. The experiences of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, teams that made similar investments in the blueline during that era, supports that too.
 

bleedgreen

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Dec 8, 2003
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Skinner’s “flubs“ were generally pretty overblown. There was only one part of his game that truly annoyed me. He was brutal at carrying the puck from behind his blue line up to the space between the red line and the far blue line. He would often use that space to get his speed going, and he’d take one hand off the stick and be very loose with the puck. He’d often turn it over because he’d over skated it without any pressure, and the easiest of pressure would become an adventure. This would often happen after a period of sustained pressure against and the turnover would lead to the puck back deep before anyone could change.

The simplest cure to this was for him to dish to a puck carrying center, who’d give it back as he hit the far blue line so he could do what he did best. That’s why a better skating Rask worked, and Ryan did as well. He’s always been someone who needed a good center who could carry the puck through that portion of the ice and realized when it’s good for Skinner to get it. He finally has that now. We were a shitty team and his occasional mistakes were magnified far more than they would be now. I suspect we would hardly be noticing them if he was on our team now. I’m fine with someone like him, as Ferraro said “they have enough 200 ft players”. I agree. I don’t want his contract obviously but I don’t mind an offense first shooter becoming part of our top six.
 
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Surrounded By Ahos

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May 24, 2008
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Oilers extended Derek Ryan for 2 more years at $900k per. He'll be 38yo when the deal expires.

Glad to see his continuing success; nice "feel good story" imo.
The man didn't break into the NHL until he was almost 30 and still managed a 500+ game career. You gotta feel good for the guy, not giving up on his dream, and actually getting to live it (while playing with the best player of the generation, no less!)
 

A Star is Burns

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DR was one of those guys that we needed to move on from at the time as he was just overslotted, overused, and one of those guys that becomes a symbol of the team's failures in a certain era through no fault of their own. But I would have taken him as a Stepan replacement if they insist on a veteran fourth line still.
 

Derailed75

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Jan 5, 2021
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DR was one of those guys that we needed to move on from at the time as he was just overslotted, overused, and one of those guys that becomes a symbol of the team's failures in a certain era through no fault of their own. But I would have taken him as a Stepan replacement if they insist on a veteran fourth line still.
I'm generally not gonna boo many ex-Canes (cough cough Haula), most im just like "hey I remember when that guy was a Cane". That being said I openly root for the Dr. When I watched the Oilers play anyone but us.
 

cptjeff

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Sep 18, 2008
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DR was one of those guys that we needed to move on from at the time as he was just overslotted, overused, and one of those guys that becomes a symbol of the team's failures in a certain era through no fault of their own. But I would have taken him as a Stepan replacement if they insist on a veteran fourth line still.
He's a great feel good story and I'm glad to see him having personal success- but he never felt like he was that effective a player. Made smart plays with the puck and put up some respectable points, but just didn't have the strength to do anything when anybody put the slightest bit of muscle into him. There were many times when you could see him trying to make the exact right play but he just couldn't push through a stiff arm to do it- he could make a very clean, perfect check on the boards right when and where he needed to, but the attacking forward wouldn't even notice and wouldn't slow down one bit. He was trying, he just couldn't.

I haven't watched him much in Edmonton, so maybe that's changed, but then again, maybe Edmonton, where there's no expectation of physical or defensive effectiveness, suits a player like Ryan who's not really physically or defensively effective even as much as he genuinely tries to be. I don't think he can play the role a Stepan replacement really needs to play away from the puck.
 

tarheelhockey

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He's a great feel good story and I'm glad to see him having personal success- but he never felt like he was that effective a player. Made smart plays with the puck and put up some respectable points, but just didn't have the strength to do anything when anybody put the slightest bit of muscle into him. There were many times when you could see him trying to make the exact right play but he just couldn't push through a stiff arm to do it- he could make a very clean, perfect check on the boards right when and where he needed to, but the attacking forward wouldn't even notice and wouldn't slow down one bit. He was trying, he just couldn't.

I haven't watched him much in Edmonton, so maybe that's changed, but then again, maybe Edmonton, where there's no expectation of physical or defensive effectiveness, suits a player like Ryan who's not really physically or defensively effective even as much as he genuinely tries to be. I don't think he can play the role a Stepan replacement really needs to play away from the puck.

He's more of a "good pressbox asset" level player, and it says a lot that Edmonton (and formerly the Canes) expect him to play a regular role.

Speaking of, Clark Bishop finds a new home in Calgary. Two-way contract so he might not see much NHL ice time.
 

LakeLivin

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Mar 11, 2016
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[NYI] F Julien Gauthier signs with the Islanders (2 years, $787.5k AAV)

[WSH] D Chase Priskie signs with the Capitals (1 year, $775k, two-way)
 

LakeLivin

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Mar 11, 2016
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Thought this was interesting, copied from the main board thread "Most Underrated Guy On Your Team":

Phillip Di Giuseppe - Compliments J.t Miller and Brock Boeser perfectly. Grinds it out night in and out. Does a little bit of everything on a line that is out producing the first line 5 on 5.

Thanks for telling me how to spell his name. In every Nucks game I've caught this year, he's been more active than most winning races to pucks and creating chances.
 

cptjeff

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Sep 18, 2008
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Big, he could skate, surprisingly decent puck skills for a big guy, but holy hell can he just simply not put it all together
Seriously. The guy has ridiculous physical gifts but somehow never actually learned even the basic tactics of hockey.

He was pretty high up on the bursts of speed above 20mph player lists this year. One of the fastest guys in the league. Big and strong. Just no head for the game.
 

MinJaBen

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Big, he could skate, surprisingly decent puck skills for a big guy, but holy hell can he just simply not put it all together

Seriously. The guy has ridiculous physical gifts but somehow never actually learned even the basic tactics of hockey.

He was pretty high up on the bursts of speed above 20mph player lists this year. One of the fastest guys in the league. Big and strong. Just no head for the game.

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