Torts and the upcoming speed
- Thread starter EspenK
- Start date
If someone were to ask you...what is speed? What would you tell them? Is it simply measure of distance covered over time? Magnitude of velocity?
I would say yes, because it seems like the players who have been playing the best for us are the ones who are fast skaters and/or think the game fast.
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Cowumbus
Registered User
Double-Shift Lasse
Just post better
The Jackets play a two man forecheck so it's not like we won't be able to use the speed.
There is an opportunity to get away from the overreliance on dump and chase, but I think we'll see that. I don't think Torts is that conservative that he'll take a pass on letting some new attacks develop.
The D side is where I'm skeptical Torts will change enough. Like I've said before Torts patented turtling system is very limited, it gives the other team all day to set up plays from the perimeter. I'd rather we had a more aggressive pressuring defence. That would require more speed, which we'll have, but also more brains, which we might have.
LetsGOJackets!!
Registered User
My idea of speed & a fast team takes me back
to the days of Jarri Kurri, Gretzky and Paul Coffey. It wasn't just one player breakaways for the Oil back then, their whole rotation moved with speed, but when they did have breakaways they buried the puck on a much higher % than other teams.
The Habs teams of the 70's had great speed.. the other thing both teams had was awesome goal tending so much so that the teams/coaching philosophy was willing to take chances while knowing their Goalies would keep them in games.
to the days of Jarri Kurri, Gretzky and Paul Coffey. It wasn't just one player breakaways for the Oil back then, their whole rotation moved with speed, but when they did have breakaways they buried the puck on a much higher % than other teams.
The Habs teams of the 70's had great speed.. the other thing both teams had was awesome goal tending so much so that the teams/coaching philosophy was willing to take chances while knowing their Goalies would keep them in games.
Haglin who was one of the fastest players in the league thrived under torts. He even drew up intentional icing plays to get him breakaways. I think he will do well with our guys. Also I think he will bring a more advanced D this year. He used last year to Guage the team and just wanted to work on the basics. This year we will see a more complex system offense and defensivley.
I think we have to remember that Torts entered the picture a couple of weeks into the season where we were bleeding very badly defensively. So he had to implement quick changes that could be made in-season. With a whole off season to plot new ideas and an entire training camp to implement them, I think it is reasonable to assume we will see new wrinkles in the defensive strategy.
I think him having an entire offseason to plan and make changes will make a huge difference. He came in not really knowing anybody outside of Dubi. Now he knows players strengths and weaknesses. He knows he has capable kids in Bjorkstrand, Kukan and Anderson (atcleast). He knows he can trust Wennberg and Karlsson in just about any situation and the same could be said about Jones and Murray. Will there be wrinkles? Definitely, there always will be, but playoff teams find ways to straighten things out and win.
I hate to say this (because F the Pens!), but I feel like (hope) this team could be playing like the current Penguins in the coming years. Dominating with their speed and aggression.
jacketman10
Registered User
I am super excited to see what Torts can do with a great knowledge of his personnel and a full off season to taylor it to his guys.
theD86
Winging it
Dr. Fire
What, me worry?
I think the Sharks have hit the wall. They are out of gas. The Western Conference wars have taken their toll.
But, this will make it that much sweeter to beat the Pens next season!
I keep telling my friends that. Im indifferent to who wins, but if it is the Pens, it makes every victory against them next year that much sweeter. I can't imagine if we had another 1st round matchup with them.
Just here to put in my obligatory "we need passing" post. The Pens aren't a fast team if they don't move the puck well. Hagelin and Kessel look like slow pokes if you put the puck off their heels. Bonino is a slow skater but speeds his line up with good passing.
Probably doesn't hurt to mention that Pittsburgh has two elite offensive players in Crosby and Malkin. Speed is certainly nice but a couple PPG players will make everyone around them look a little faster
-Captain Obvious
-Captain Obvious
Murray, Wennberg, Jones, Saad (and hopefully Puljujärvi) are excellent passers. We just gotta worry about the guys recieving the passes
Murray, Wennberg, Jones, Saad (and hopefully Puljujärvi) are excellent passers. We just gotta worry about the guys recieving the passes
I feel like one of these guys isn't quite on the same level as the others. And no, having a few excellent passers is not enough. Even with those guys we're still below average in that department.
theD86
Winging it
Throw Milano in there as well. He can pass very well. But, unless goals are scored it doesn't do much good
It's just as much a part of goal scoring as shooting.
There is a chain of events that leads to goals and you need to successfully do each of the steps along the way. That so many folks are fixated on the final step really makes me wonder if they don't understand how it works. Sorry if that's insulting.
I expect if you divided goals by offensive zone possession time the Jackets would have one of the highest goals/possession totals in the league, which implies it's not shooting that is our limiting factor.
Edit: I did some rough calculations and the Jackets are fourth behind the Sens/Rangers/Avs in goals per possession time. If you don't trust Corsi-like stats then you can use face-offs by zone as a different proxy. The Jackets had the most defensive zone faceoffs in the league so the scoring success is even more surprising with that stat.
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Dr. Fire
What, me worry?
Back to the topic. Torts is a good coach with an intense desire to win. If he has a team with good speed, he will figure out a system that showcases that speed.
Just because a coach might emphasize good defense doesn't mean he can't deal with a team that has a gifted offense.
Thinking otherwise is odd, as far as I am concerned.
Just because a coach might emphasize good defense doesn't mean he can't deal with a team that has a gifted offense.
Thinking otherwise is odd, as far as I am concerned.
