Yzerman Media Availability; July 4th (12:45)

[Henkka]

I don't care if he sets a timeline as I am a realist and it takes time. My issue is more I don't like that he can't be a little more forthright about things like the defence we have. If he is as good a GM as I and any believe I find it hard to believe he thinks we have even an ok blueline.

It's just you who won't understand his talk, how he is "happy" for that defence.

He is not. He is hunting after an upgrade. But for market value purposes, he has to talk about being happy for the current guys he has, and even praise the bad ones.

You know.

Just because.

He is not telling the truth for us. It's the politics speak.

Yzerman is gonna go HARD after the RhD to fix the Top4 and handness issue, sooner or later.

He is not happy. He is after Trouba, etc. He has been all the time at talks and rumours.

Waiting for Adam Larsson to exist at Detroit before the trade deadline.

 

[DoMakc]

What is ok about it? Takeaway Mo and it would be considered a train wreck blueline. Ed may be good he may not, but Chiarot is only good if used in lower minutes and a better defence partner than himself. He was better last year, but he still was not that great. Holl and Petry are basically only useful if they play 12-15 minutes a night, which Petry plays way more than for some reason. Gus is a 5-6 at best who can play on the pp, and we have no clue really where Aljo will fit or what he will be at the NHL level. Maatta is good, but in a 3rd pair role. Mo is the only actual top 4 defenceman we have, as Chiarot is only a top 4 on weaker teams.

Why drop Mo?

I think the point was, the had this defense last year for 14 games with not the worst results. Now they improved goaltending, dropped some F with questionable defensive attitude. Nobody argues that on paper this Canadiens 70's D core

 

[sepster]

I believe @sepster has inferred that when he got cleared from injury Walman elected to hold himself out of the lineup which bothered management. The way they spoke, was as if they know someone who actually knows inside stuff. Maybe they can clarify.

After the trade went down, I asked specifically if Walman had burned some bridges and the response was "Oh yeah." There was a lot more to the conversation and there wasn't just one reason he got himself on the outs.

The thinking that he wasn't willing to clear himself as quickly as the training staff did comes from piecing together other information.

On an aside, Yzerman has little-to-no tolerance for players who won't get on the ice as soon as they're cleared to play. This goes back to his playing days, where obviously if there was a slight chance he'd be able to play, he played. Manny Legace, for one, was a player Yzerman could not stand, and he gave him shit in the locker room for it, because he felt Legace wasn't willing to play hurt. Not play injured, where he shouldn't be playing or wasn't cleared to play, but play hurt.

 

[Henkka]

Why drop Mo?

I think the point was, the had this defense last year for 14 games with not the worst results. Now they improved goaltending, dropped some F with questionable defensive attitude. Nobody argues that on paper this Canadiens 70's D core

Why can't we have the defence of Lidström-Murphy, Fetisov-Konstantinov, Fischer-Chelios. Or maybe Coffey, Hatcher and Rafalski on the bench.

DAMN Yzerman!

 

[odin1981]

Understand people wondering why Seider doesn't get extra ice time, but there's one thing not often mentioned. Give me the name of a defenseman who puts in more d-zone work, dishes and takes more hits, is as challenged by top players, blocks as many shots, is as quick to get to corners and often shadows his man above the faceoff circles, and still is getting up-ice. The physical and mental demands of his shifts are unreal. Always targeted on forechecks, often double-teamed. Faces by far the highest quality of competition of any defenseman in the league. His durability and endurance are mind-boggling. Yet, we want him to play more. I get it, we want him to play as much as possible, especially given the lack of D quality otherwise. But, despite all evidence to the contrary, he is not a machine and I think to some extent the coaches are trying to keep him healthy and available for the extreme defensive workload he is given and takes on willingly every shift.

I think in 3-4 years will see him get 25-28 minutes a game with Edvinsson. Then our second pairing will be 2 of Wallinder, ASP, and AlJo.

 

[19 for president]

After the trade went down, I asked specifically if Walman had burned some bridges and the response was "Oh yeah." There was a lot more to the conversation and there wasn't just one reason he got himself on the outs.

The thinking that he wasn't willing to clear himself as quickly as the training staff did comes from piecing together other information.

On an aside, Yzerman has little-to-no tolerance for players who won't get on the ice as soon as they're cleared to play. This goes back to his playing days, where obviously if there was a slight chance he'd be able to play, he played. Manny Legace, for one, was a player Yzerman could not stand, and he gave him shit in the locker room for it, because he felt Legace wasn't willing to play hurt. Not play injured, where he shouldn't be playing or wasn't cleared to play, but play hurt.

The Legace bit is fascinating to me because I don't really remember him being out often. I remember him mentally struggling in the playoffs, which is also something I sure would have driven Stevie nuts, but I don't remember him sitting out a bunch of games when he was the starter.

 

[OldnotDeadWings]

I think in 3-4 years will see him get 25-28 minutes a game with Edvinsson. Then our second pairing will be 2 of Wallinder, ASP, and AlJo.

We'll see. Lots of changes coming over the next 2-3 years perhaps only two D from last year's group (incl Ed) still around. A couple new old guys added, a couple more new young guys going through ups and downs. A lot will also depend on Mo himself. He has to learn to manage his game a bit better, when to go hard, when to let the game come to him. He goes hard so much of the time that when he does take a rare breather during a shift, people think that he's coasting lol. It's inevitable IMO that he's headed for 25-plus minutes for many seasons, but like everything else we'd all like to see it happen sooner than later.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

The Legace bit is fascinating to me because I don't really remember him being out often. I remember him mentally struggling in the playoffs, which is also something I sure would have driven Stevie nuts, but I don't remember him sitting out a bunch of games when he was the starter.

I do think Legace's mental toughness wasn't very good, but goaltender is the one position you really don't want them playing injured so that's a strange story.

I do remember reading a story about during some playoff series Fedorov being injured during the game, Yzerman coming into the locker room where Sergei was with the trainer and telling him "We need you" and kind of encouraging him to suck it up. Fedorov did go back in the game.

It does seem like something was going on with Walman and the team. The injury thing would make sense given how mysterious his absence was, even in the era of "lower body injuries" for info.

 

[sepster]

I do think Legace's mental toughness wasn't very good, but goaltender is the one position you really don't want them playing injured so that's a strange story.

I do remember reading a story about during some playoff series Fedorov being injured during the game, Yzerman coming into the locker room where Sergei was with the trainer and telling him "We need you" and kind of encouraging him to suck it up. Fedorov did go back in the game.

It does seem like something was going on with Walman and the team. The injury thing would make sense given how mysterious his absence was, even in the era of "lower body injuries" for info.

That was Game 6 against Colorado in the '97 Conference finals. Fedorov had broken some ribs and was in the locker room to end a period. But it was actually Fetisov that came into the room and told Fedorov he needed to get back into the game. I'm sure Yzerman would have approved the message, though

 

[GarlicbreadTB]

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

That was Game 6 against Colorado in the '97 Conference finals. Fedorov had broken some ribs and was in the locker room to end a period. But it was actually Fetisov that came into the room and told Fedorov he needed to get back into the game. I'm sure Yzerman would have approved the message, though

Ah ok. I remembered it as Yzerman telling him but i believe you. In a few more years I probably would've remember it as me telling Fedorov he needed to get back out there.

 

[Pavels Dog]

What is ok about it?

Like I said, over .600 with essentially the same group in a small sample size. Ed, if he has a good offseason, could be ready to shoulder a bigger role and thus improving the top 4 even more. Johansson could add mobility and skill to our 3rd pairing.
I’m not playing the ”if you remove our #1D” game.