Who’s been a pleasant surprise this season? (Positivity thread)

[Rock Paper Sissons]

Well this season has not gone as we hoped. I expected bare minimum playoffs and possibly more. I’m sure the majority would agree with this. But that hasn’t been the case obviously. Been a sad season for us. So I wanted to try to see if we could find some positivity amongst this roster.

I’ll start,

Svechkov has been impressive and holding his own. Looks like a top 6 centre easily and plays a sound game. I’m confident he will build off this season even more so next season and the future is bright for him.

Barron also has been impressive. Playing often with josi and not looking out of place. Maybe leaving the spotlight in Montreal has really helped him, and defenseman often take longer to develop and he is only 23. I think we won that trade easily and Barron is going to be a top 4 guy. I see his game continuing to improve.

Wilsby also has looked decent, may not be a top 4 guy but certainly a capable NHL defenseman. Not flashy but sound game overall.

Annunen also has been great! I prefer his play to Saros this season and he’s much younger. To think we got him for Wedgewood who was a free agent meh backup.

I love how guys like Annunen and Barron can succeed in new environment. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Any thoughts?

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[wmupreds]

First guy that came to mind was Svechkov. I'm not sure I think he's dynamic enough offensively to be a top 6 guy though, at least not on a contender. Maybe Charlie Coyle type? (great 3C who can play up if needed)

 

[herzausstein]

Svechkov, L'Heureux, and Wilsby come to mind. Each have shown alot of promise when given the chance.

Barron does pretty decent as well But can make some mind numbing errors.

Annunen had played quite well for the most part too.

Wiesblatt makes me think of Sherwood with his work ethic and speed. He should be a solid bottom 6 if he keeps progressing.

So i guess my list is basically anyone who wasnt on the team last season and isnt older than 28.

Novak and Evangelista have both had some moments but overall havent met my expectations i had for them this season.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Well this season has not gone as we hoped. I expected bare minimum playoffs and possibly more. I’m sure the majority would agree with this. But that hasn’t been the case obviously. Been a sad season for us. So I wanted to try to see if we could find some positivity amongst this roster.

I’ll start,

Svechkov has been impressive and holding his own. Looks like a top 6 centre easily and plays a sound game. I’m confident he will build off this season even more so next season and the future is bright for him.

Barron also has been impressive. Playing often with josi and not looking out of place. Maybe leaving the spotlight in Montreal has really helped him, and defenseman often take longer to develop and he is only 23. I think we won that trade easily and Barron is going to be a top 4 guy. I see his game continuing to improve.

Wilsby also has looked decent, may not be a top 4 guy but certainly a capable NHL defenseman. Not flashy but sound game overall.

Annunen also has been great! I prefer his play to Saros this season and he’s much younger. To think we got him for Wedgewood who was a free agent meh backup.

I love how guys like Annunen and Barron can succeed in new environment. Sometimes that’s all it takes.

Any thoughts?

Thank you. Nice to see some positivity here.

 

[Predation]

Svech tops the list for me, followed by Blanky and Wilsby.

 

[herzausstein]

Thank you. Nice to see some positivity here.

We positively suck this season

Svech tops the list for me, followed by Blanky and Wilsby.

Forgot about Blankenburg. He has been quite serviceable

 

[Kat Predator]

 

[Rock Paper Sissons]

I hear a blankenburg but I don’t really get it. He’s a tweener and probably shouldn’t be a regular in our lineup or we stink… kind of like this season lol. He’s very undersized and doesn’t bring a lot to the table other than a bit of offense here and there. Not terrible but certainly not impressed.

What about his game impresses you?

 

[101st_fan]

Hal Gill willing to comment on the glaring issues.

 

[Flgatorguy87]

I hear a blankenburg but I don’t really get it. He’s a tweener and probably shouldn’t be a regular in our lineup or we stink… kind of like this season lol. He’s very undersized and doesn’t bring a lot to the table other than a bit of offense here and there. Not terrible but certainly not impressed.

What about his game impresses you?

Good break out pass, wheels enough to stay in the play, but he gets physically out matched... but it's not all bad. He's been fine and probably would even be a solid 3rd pairing guy with the right partner.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I have discovered that I'm not really a Blankenburg fan. I kept trying to remind people to not count him out for the mix, because he has had sort of a low-key hush-hype from his Columbus days... but... the more I see of him the more I... don't want to see any more of him.

Anyway, per this thread: Wilsby has definitely been a revelation. Just like Stastney, he hasn't really been lighting the AHL on fire, which is sort of what we're trained to watch for from a distance. But those guys can play the game and skate at the level we really need. Like Fabbro could. I sure hope management won't pull a Fabbro on them.

I also commend L'Heureux and Svechkov for making the jump and really making themselves undeniable. Even though Brunette does still keep trying to deny them by limiting their minutes etc. Those guys came up big in the Ads playoff run last year, and since they are still waiver exempt, it was easy for the UberOberBakers to send them down to start the season, and would have been easy to just keep them down. But they wouldn't be kept down. Both are Ahead Of Schedule, which is a rarity around here.

For the older guys... eh... I would say Forsberg and Marchessault are pretty much what I hoped for? Forsberg has 53 pts in 56 games on this crappy team that has one of the worst offenses in the entire NHL. That translates to some pretty impressive production overall. Marchessault has 45. For 5x$5.5M that's just fine. Stamkos is making tons more and playing a lot worse.

It's a heckuva short list this season, however.

 

[Kiseo]

As some said already, Svech, Marchy, Blankenberg, and Wilsby have been bright spots.
After a slow start, Marchessault has 38 pts in his last 42 games. His current .82 ppg is what I had hoped from him and particularly impressive being on an offensively inept team.
Blankenberg’s speed is very noticeable and can pass the puck. Unfortunately, his size is noticeable too.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

I'm still way more positive about the position/future of this team than most. Definitely some stupid moves and the vets are lackluster this year, but I do like what the future *could* be. Our farm is still really good and we still have a TON of picks coming up. A lot depends on this upcoming deadline, but I do think the future still looks bright as long as Trotz doesn't put the entire team, other than Bruno, on waivers.

 

[Predsanddead24]

With respect to Blankenburg he’s a +8 playing 18 minutes a night on a team with very few plus players and a couple of GWG on top of it. I dont even necessarily think he has a long term future here but he has stepped up pretty nicely so I think deserves some recognition.

 

[originalpredfan]

I'm still way more positive about the position/future of this team than most. Definitely some stupid moves and the vets are lackluster this year, but I do like what the future *could* be. Our farm is still really good and we still have a TON of picks coming up. A lot depends on this upcoming deadline, but I do think the future still looks bright as long as Trotz doesn't put the entire team, other than Bruno, on waivers.

The only way I could share your optimism is if Trotz and Bruno were not part of the future and soon.

 

[herzausstein]

I think Trotz might still have a glimmer of hope. If we start next season with Bruno as coach, i lose all hope in Trotz though.

 

[Soundgarden]

I think Trotz might still have a glimmer of hope. If we start next season with Bruno as coach, i lose all hope in Trotz though.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat, it's still early enough to give him some rope.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I think Trotz might still have a glimmer of hope. If we start next season with Bruno as coach, i lose all hope in Trotz though.

I mean, I liked the way Trotz talked and at least the concept of what he was selling when he first jumped onboard.

How all that translated in the massive clusterf**k of this season, however...

The thing I don't know for sure is how much of what happened will go down as him "learning on the job" vs. how much he was just blowing smoke at first and really has no clue what he's doing and is really just stuck in the kind of thinking that put us here. I originally thought he was pretty sincere with his originally stated plans. I hope he was. But I can't really tell for 100% certain. This TDL will certainly add another useful data point to that evaluation.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

I'll admit, while Trotz gets ripped for all the vet contracts handed out last summer, I was pretty amped about all the signings at the time. I put way more blame on Bruno (and Trotz for not firing him) for this season.

 

[Armourboy]

The play of the team I put on Brunette, especially after seeing what it could do if played appropriately ( Colorado ) and then how it has played all season ( New Jersey). How you play one style one game and then come out the next and play exactly what has been causing you problems all season just blows my mind. The guys showed they can win if used correctly.

Trotz gets the blame for the Saros/Wedgewood contracts which resulted in the Askarov fiasco, being indecisive and then ultimately not firing a coach that should have been let go before Thanksgiving. I also blame him for not putting his foot down on his coach and telling him to either give the younger guys their minutes or hit the door.

 

[Top 6 Spaling]

Outside of the Fabbro move (and to a lesser extend Tomasino) and Bruno still being here, none of Trotz's moves are objectively, in a vacuum, bad. My critique of him is there doesn't seem to be a cohesive vision, and his moves constantly undercut whatever pattern you thought you saw or what he said in interviews.

 

[Soundgarden]

I take interviews with a grain of salt, he's not going to say "yeah, we suck so bad this year so we're gonna try and get a top pick." I'm sure the owners wouldn't like him telling people that we've given up on the season in December.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

I take interviews with a grain of salt, he's not going to say "yeah, we suck so bad this year so we're gonna try and get a top pick." I'm sure the owners wouldn't like him telling people that we've given up on the season in December.

Hmmm, I don't think it was like that with Trotz. He was legitimately and honestly "excited" to be doing great things to have a contending season in Nashville this year. I think he actually believed in what he was doing.

The problem is he HASN'T learned GM-speak yet. GMs SHOULD say little, and you SHOULD take what they say with a grain of salt. Where he was just giddily tipping his hand and being earnest and... ultimately incompetent. Alas.

Still fixable...