From McCurdy ..
Whatta off-season we had..
Pro-scouting.. same as it ever was..

Quote:

Even strength (NOT: 5v5 but surely close) scoring this season: Draisaitl 34-36-70 McDavid 15-41-56 —- Holloway 16-22-38 Foegele 19-18-37 McLeod 14-20-34 — Hyman 16-10-26 RNH 10-12-22 Brown 7-15-22 Podkolzin 6-15-21 Perry 13-6-19 Skinner 11-8-19 Arvidsson 8-10-18 Henrique 7-8-15 Janmark 2-12-14 Kapanen 5-5-10

McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!! (Thank you Lord!)
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

Skookum Jim wrote on Sun, 16 March 2025 14:24

From McCurdy .. Whatta off-season we had.. Pro-scouting.. same as it ever was.. Quote: Even strength (NOT: 5v5 but surely close) scoring this season: Draisaitl 34-36-70 McDavid 15-41-56 —- Holloway 16-22-38 Foegele 19-18-37 McLeod 14-20-34 — Hyman 16-10-26 RNH 10-12-22 Brown 7-15-22 Podkolzin 6-15-21 Perry 13-6-19 Skinner 11-8-19 Arvidsson 8-10-18 Henrique 7-8-15 Janmark 2-12-14 Kapanen 5-5-10

There's a few things to unpack here:

- First, we were the oldest team in the league last year and we decided to get older still. Everyone we parted ways last year was on the younger side, everyone we replaced them with were older.

Nuge and Hyman - I think there's been some injuries and other challenges there, but still...they've had pretty dreadful years. I think there would be a reasonable expectation that they would normally do better.

For the rest, at what point do you have to look at coaching? I mean, Adam Henrique was their big acquisition before the playoffs last year. We re-upped him, coming off a 50+ point season. He's still yet to break 20 points and is looking at his worst productivity since his rookie year.

Skinner is coming off what seemed like a low season with 46 points (a year after he scored 82. He's actually one of our highest scorers given how little time he's played and how he's been deployed, but he's still got just 22 points on the season.

Arvidsson's been just under a point per game over the last several years in LA. Here he's under half a point per game.

At what point do we have to look at the group and wonder if there's something in the way they're being coached? Again, the team seems to have found that same default we saw so much under Tippett and McLellan where when McDavid and Draisaitl are on the bench, the goal is just to survive until they're back out.

The coach singles out depth forwards over single turnovers, and is quick to pull icetime from them for any mistakes. I think the (flawed) strategy is that they are thinking that if we can just have NO events when the big guys are off the ice, then we can count on them to just always outscore the opposition and then we win. Thus there's zero risk tolerance from the coach other than for the top players.

I also think that some of that is a lack of faith in the goaltending. When you feel that any shot could go in, then you might focus the whole plan around shot suppression, rather than outscoring.

"Thinking that a bad team's best players are the reason the team is bad is the "Tambellini re-signing Lennart Petrell" of sports opinions." @Woodguy55
#FireBobbyNicks

Skookum Jim wrote on Sun, 16 March 2025 14:24

From McCurdy .. Whatta off-season we had.. Pro-scouting.. same as it ever was.. Quote: Even strength (NOT: 5v5 but surely close) scoring this season: Draisaitl 34-36-70 McDavid 15-41-56 —- Holloway 16-22-38 Foegele 19-18-37 McLeod 14-20-34 — Hyman 16-10-26 RNH 10-12-22 Brown 7-15-22 Podkolzin 6-15-21 Perry 13-6-19 Skinner 11-8-19 Arvidsson 8-10-18 Henrique 7-8-15 Janmark 2-12-14 Kapanen 5-5-10

It's weird how we keep seeing the same thing on this team year after year. No matter the coach, no matter the players it seems.

Foegele and Holloway had a heck of a time looking useful last year for extended stretches. Foegele seemed to put in short bursts of games here and there just to make it to his 20 goals, then totally vanished. Both guys look reborn on their new teams.

McLeod, I still don't get why we traded him. His speed, PKing and 5v5 stats were all very good. Fans singled him out as a scapegoat, but that was just typical fan emotional stuff. Seems our org bought into that as well and tossed away a young player we developed from the draft that was just starting to fully mature. Hate this org sometimes, more than usual I mean. We throw all our cash at 2 borderline washed up guys and thing the job is all done.


Is it just the curse of having 2 extremely high end players? Anyone that comes here just falls into this mode where they can't help but just wait for McDrai to do everything? There is obviously a difference in ice time and offensive opportunity that the top guys hog up, but there are still 4 players that can play along side them 5v5, and many guys have wasted their shot there.

Hyman and Nuge taking huge steps back this year in helping out 5v5 is very concerning. I don't think there is any injury excuse for Nuge, he's just consistently Nuge, but getting a bit slower every year. Maybe there is for Hyman, he really declined last playoffs after that Canucks series and getting run all night by that big D group. I wonder if he's been deal with some lingering issue all year now.

If this all keeps up, we probably change coaches again, probably another mid-season firing next season. No coach in the McDrai era has figured out how to keep our depth guys consistently engaged. Maybe it's time to try a hardass one instead of the ultra calm analytical type. Don't mean hardass just in media interviews like McLellan, dropping underhanded comments about his players that they have to catch on TV or repeated back by media in their own interviews. Someone that is actually kicking some butts in practice and on the bench. They're usually short shelf life, but whatever, we fire a coach every 2-3 years anyways :)

[Updated on: Tue, 18 March 2025 09:11]

"We need to get better immediately. That starts today"
- Lowe, 2013

"Next year I would forecast as another developmental year"
- MacT, 2015

5 x $5,000,000

Kr55 wrote on Tue, 18 March 2025 08:01

Skookum Jim wrote on Sun, 16 March 2025 14:24 From McCurdy .. Whatta off-season we had.. Pro-scouting.. same as it ever was.. Quote: Even strength (NOT: 5v5 but surely close) scoring this season: Draisaitl 34-36-70 McDavid 15-41-56 —- Holloway 16-22-38 Foegele 19-18-37 McLeod 14-20-34 — Hyman 16-10-26 RNH 10-12-22 Brown 7-15-22 Podkolzin 6-15-21 Perry 13-6-19 Skinner 11-8-19 Arvidsson 8-10-18 Henrique 7-8-15 Janmark 2-12-14 Kapanen 5-5-10 It's weird how we keep seeing the same thing on this team year after year. No matter the coach, no matter the players it seems. Foegele and Holloway had a heck of a time looking useful last year for extended stretches. Foegele seemed to put in short bursts of games here and there just to make it to his 20 goals, then totally vanished. Both guys look reborn on their new teams. McLeod, I still don't get why we traded him. His speed, PKing and 5v5 stats were all very good. Fans singled him out as a scapegoat, but that was just typical fan emotional stuff. Seems our org bought into that as well and tossed away a young player we developed from the draft that was just starting to fully mature. Hate this org sometimes, more than usual I mean. We throw all our cash at 2 borderline washed up guys and thing the job is all done. Is it just the curse of having 2 extremely high end players? Anyone that comes here just falls into this mode where they can't help but just wait for McDrai to do everything? There is obviously a difference in ice time and offensive opportunity that the top guys hog up, but there are still 4 players that can play along side them 5v5, and many guys have wasted their shot there. Hyman and Nuge taking huge steps back this year in helping out 5v5 is very concerning. I don't think there is any injury excuse for Nuge, he's just consistently Nuge, but getting a bit slower every year. Maybe there is for Hyman, he really declined last playoffs after that Canucks series and getting run all night by that big D group. I wonder if he's been deal with some lingering issue all year now. If this all keeps up, we probably change coaches again, probably another mid-season firing next season. No coach in the McDrai era has figured out how to keep our depth guys consistently engaged. Maybe it's time to try a hardass one instead of the ultra calm analytical type. Don't mean hardass just in media interviews like McLellan, dropping underhanded comments about his players that they have to catch on TV or repeated back by media in their own interviews. Someone that is actually kicking some butts in practice and on the bench. They're usually short shelf life, but whatever, we fire a coach every 2-3 years anyways :)

I was critical of McLeod because I could see how much more he could bring if he added just a couple ounces more of physicality on his forecheck.. he was the 2nd fastest guy on the team.. and when Leon struggled at it.. the 2nd best on gaining zone entry carrying the puck.. its a rare talent.. as we have found out.. IHMO letting Foegle go was understandable.. but letting McLeod, Holloway, and Broberg go without replacing that speed.. were mistakes.

McDAVID! Oh YEAH Baby!! (Thank you Lord!)
Tic-Tac-Tao!
Keep on Rockin' in the Free World

Survivor LX(I) and 67 Champ(i)on

CrusaderPi wrote on Thu, 30 January 2020 12:21

und(i)sputed O.L.F.N Heavybra(i)n Champ(i)on of the Woooooooooooooooooorld. Plus. One.