NHL Off-Season thread:Down goes Kane! (1 Viewer)

[Bill Brasky]

jfc if Pierre mentions Marcus Kruger's hand one more time I'm going to puke

 

[Zegras11]

What's the story on Paul Kariya? I know it didn't end well with Ducks but I don't think ice seen his face or name since he retired. Hands down my favourite player for a lot of the 90s, early 00s

Was kind of shocked he no showed tonight when they retired Temmu's jersey. Teemu says they are still very good friends. Paul really pissed off the Ducks and their fans when he left.

I got to talk to him at a Ducks charity golf tournament for 20 minutes standing in line for dinner back in 2002. He struck me as a guy that liked to keep to himself, although he did like it when I talked about a recent trip we had made to Whistler back then.

 

[Billy Bats]

Pretty weak he wasnt there to honor Teemu, unless he wasn't invited. Could he even have been booed, Getz? Don't know how bad things went with him.

 

[Zegras11]

Pretty weak he wasnt there to honor Teemu, unless he wasn't invited. Could he even have been booed, Getz? Don't know how bad things went with him.

He was invited. Teemu was quoted about it.

If there was a night where he wouldn't be booed, this was it.

Paul always cared about himself first. Teemu was the complete opposite. It's weird they are such good friends.

 

[Zegras11]

What an amazing Ducks comeback

Down by two in third and tie it with 2:03 left.

Kill a long 5 on 3.

Kill a penalty in OT.

Twice trail in the shoot out and have to score to stay alive.

Rakell with 4 points.

Fin Vatanen scores the GW for the Finnish Flash.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/what-we-learned--minnesota-wild-made-this-mess--now-drowning-in-it-140720167.html

The Wild are bad. Look at the standings.

However, what's killing them — and you knew this already — is goaltending.

The team has dropped from third in the league in even-strength save percentage in 2013-14 (.932) to dead last this time around (.900). Yes, they are actually worse than the Oilers. And as outlined above, it might end up costing Mike Yeo his job.

And yet somehow, Yeo's the one on the chopping block? He doesn't make the player acquisition decisions, and the rotating cast of a broken-down Backstrom and a below-normal Kuemper is going to make any coach in hockey history, regardless of quality — from Scotty Bowman to Pierre Maguire — look worse than he actually is. It's hard to make a team look like they're putting in effort when the guys behind them are only stopping 90 percent of the shots they face.

The forward corps and defense is doing their part, but the goalies aren't, and probably were never going to be able to. This is a Fletcher problem, not a Yeo problem. But we all know who's gone if things go further sideways.

 

[tom22406]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/what-we-learned--minnesota-wild-made-this-mess--now-drowning-in-it-140720167.html

The Wild are bad. Look at the standings.

However, what's killing them — and you knew this already — is goaltending.

The team has dropped from third in the league in even-strength save percentage in 2013-14 (.932) to dead last this time around (.900). Yes, they are actually worse than the Oilers. And as outlined above, it might end up costing Mike Yeo his job.

And yet somehow, Yeo's the one on the chopping block? He doesn't make the player acquisition decisions, and the rotating cast of a broken-down Backstrom and a below-normal Kuemper is going to make any coach in hockey history, regardless of quality — from Scotty Bowman to Pierre Maguire — look worse than he actually is. It's hard to make a team look like they're putting in effort when the guys behind them are only stopping 90 percent of the shots they face.

The forward corps and defense is doing their part, but the goalies aren't, and probably were never going to be able to. This is a Fletcher problem, not a Yeo problem. But we all know who's gone if things go further sideways.

They are top 6 in both Corsi and Fenwick 5 on 5 but dead last in save percentage.That says it all for me.

 

[AcerFC]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/what-we-learned--minnesota-wild-made-this-mess--now-drowning-in-it-140720167.html

The Wild are bad. Look at the standings.

However, what's killing them — and you knew this already — is goaltending.

The team has dropped from third in the league in even-strength save percentage in 2013-14 (.932) to dead last this time around (.900). Yes, they are actually worse than the Oilers. And as outlined above, it might end up costing Mike Yeo his job.

And yet somehow, Yeo's the one on the chopping block? He doesn't make the player acquisition decisions, and the rotating cast of a broken-down Backstrom and a below-normal Kuemper is going to make any coach in hockey history, regardless of quality — from Scotty Bowman to Pierre Maguire — look worse than he actually is. It's hard to make a team look like they're putting in effort when the guys behind them are only stopping 90 percent of the shots they face.

The forward corps and defense is doing their part, but the goalies aren't, and probably were never going to be able to. This is a Fletcher problem, not a Yeo problem. But we all know who's gone if things go further sideways.

They are top 6 in both Corsi and Fenwick 5 on 5 but dead last in save percentage.That says it all for me.

Break this down for me

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

They are top 6 in both Corsi and Fenwick 5 on 5 but dead last in save percentage.That says it all for me.

Break this down for me

they generate a lot more shots than they allow in 5v5 situations, but their goalies save fewer than any other team's goalies in similar situations.

Corsi looks at all shot attempts (on goal, blocked, or shots that miss the net)

Fenwick doesn't include blocked shots

 

[AcerFC]

thanks rude

 

[tom22406]

thanks rude

Ruds nailed it.

 

[tom22406]

thanks rude

This Caps blogger(RMNB) did a little video to help explain it a little more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icga7DqOlEA

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

just to add context, shots are used as a correlate of possession. teams can't shoot if they don't have the puck so teams who are attempting more shots also tend to have the puck in their control a lot more. and since you can't get scored on when you have the puck, more possession = better play. those stats and trends are also generally more sustainable over time, while things like shooting percentages and save percentages tend to regress towards league average.

Wild are getting bad goaltending now, but have had some bad luck due to injuries at the position it seems. Also looks like their PP is having a rough year. Those two factors combined are killing them (along with a shooting % that is below average).

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nhl/stats/team-shooting-percentage/2014/

 

[BeTheMatch]

just to add context, shots are used as a correlate of possession. teams can't shoot if they don't have the puck so teams who are attempting more shots also tend to have the puck in their control a lot more. and since you can't get scored on when you have the puck, more possession = better play. those stats and trends are also generally more sustainable over time, while things like shooting percentages and save percentages tend to regress towards league average.

Wild are getting bad goaltending now, but have had some bad luck due to injuries at the position it seems. Also looks like their PP is having a rough year. Those two factors combined are killing them (along with a shooting % that is below average).

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nhl/stats/team-shooting-percentage/2014/

Their goaltending is bad, no question. Very bad. But they have a keen ability to make huge, inexplicable turnovers in their own end that lead to some goals that not many are going to stop. My only point is that goaltending isn't the only problem.

 

[E Street Brat]

Nabby is horrible.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Nabby is horrible.

everybody knew this but Stevie Y apparently

 

[Capella]

Stevie really does have a blind spot for backup goalies. Can't imagine they keep this guy much longer. He can't even give Bishop a night off.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Simon Gagne done for the year due to personal reasons. Bruins fans have to remember to list him on their injured player log for playoff purposes.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Simon Gagne done for the year due to personal reasons. Bruins fans have to remember to list him on their injured player log for playoff purposes.

hopefully Savard will be back by then

 

[Capella]

Simon Gagne done for the year due to personal reasons. Bruins fans have to remember to list him on their injured player log for playoff purposes.

hopefully Savard will be back by then

 

[Billy Bats]

You know Nabby is toast when the Flyers drop 4 on him in 22 minutes.

 

[E Street Brat]

Bishop hasn't been much better since the groin injury.

 

[E Street Brat]

Stevie really does have a blind spot for backup goalies. Can't imagine they keep this guy much longer. He can't even give Bishop a night off.

The Crush are off tomorrow. Lets see if they call up vassy.

 

[Bill Brasky]

pointing at aggregate possession numbers for the Wild is misleading. they were the best team in the league through early December. they have been below average since. Kuemper isn't mentally there yet and Backstrom has always been an average positional goalie who isn't going to win a game himself. their issues go well beyond that right now though and even with average save percentage they are just that, average. they've put together one good game since Dec 3rd, and that was against the Hawks last week. and Crawford stole it.

this just hasn't been the same team for a while now. they've just been on NBC sports a lot lately.

 

[chet]

0.80 goals per game against, 3 of 4 shutouts for Kuemper...man, Wild really need to address their goaltending. better sign some retread with a name people recognize.

Update?

I hear they brought in some guy named Backstrom

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )

bump

 

[Northern Voice]

Safe to say Olli Maatta is cursed?

 

[Parmcat]

Safe to say Olli Maatta is cursed?

He can't catch a break. Hope he heals up well, because he can be a stud in this league

 

[Bill Brasky]

I think Tyler Johnson is another great example of why the NHL isn't hurt with expansion and there is tons of talent out there. another undersized, yet talented undrafted scorer who seized a great opportunity last year when two centers went down and now looks like he may be a legit scorer in this league. what if those injuries never happen and he never really gets that extended look? what if it's just a few call ups where he doesn't produce right away? he might just end up stuck there because of opportunity until his late 20's when he's pigeonholed as just an AHL guy. happens all the time. too bad the Wild missed on him, was in camp for two years (I think Phoenix as well) and even though he flashed they still didn't sign him. and that was a time when they were bare of talent (end of the Risebrough era)

people always want to think the league is watered down. it's not. the only thing watering down the skill level is the way rosters are constructed, and that has been slowly changing over the last several years as the league shifts away from fighting and adds rule changes.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I think Tyler Johnson is another great example of why the NHL isn't hurt with expansion and there is tons of talent out there. another undersized, yet talented undrafted scorer who seized a great opportunity last year when two centers went down and now looks like he may be a legit scorer in this league. what if those injuries never happen and he never really gets that extended look? what if it's just a few call ups where he doesn't produce right away? he might just end up stuck there because of opportunity until his late 20's when he's pigeonholed as just an AHL guy. happens all the time. too bad the Wild missed on him, was in camp for two years (I think Phoenix as well) and even though he flashed they still didn't sign him. and that was a time when they were bare of talent (end of the Risebrough era)

people always want to think the league is watered down. it's not. the only thing watering down the skill level is the way rosters are constructed, and that has been slowly changing over the last several years as the league shifts away from fighting and adds rule changes.

I think he was also helped by his AHL coach being promoted to the NHL.

there are a lot of guys who seem like they can score easily at the AHL level but it doesn't translate to the NHL for some reason. he seems like more of an outlier here, but I still agree with your overall point.

still, Sabres are proving that you can't just plug guys in and expect them to score. bad teams still need top-line quality players to produce offense.

 

[tom22406]

Cam Ward to save the day for the Wild(I mean Timid)?Clearly all speculation but you have to think they bring someone in.

CAROLINA’S WARD WILD TARGET?

Speaking of the Hurricanes, there’s growing speculation linking long-time starting goaltender Cam Ward to the struggling Minnesota Wild. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Michael Russo last week reported the Wild inquired about Ward.

Raleigh News & Observer columnist Chip Alexander reported via Twitter Hurricanes GM Ron Francis wouldn’t verify the rumor but admitted there were “some teams looking for goalies. Francis also noted Ward’s no-trade clause, pointing out the free-agent market wasn’t deep in goalie and his club needed to be careful.

Wild GM Chuck Fletcher must also tread carefully. While Ward has decent stats this season, Russo points out the 30-year-old is nine year removed from his championship season, is coming off two seasons hampered by injury and inconsistency and carries a $6.3-million cap hit for 2015-16.

Even if Ward agreed to waive his no-trade clause to join the Wild, he might not resolve their goaltending issues. NBC Sports’ Jason Brough observes Ward is 26th out of 28 goalies in five-on-five save percentage among goalies with 1,000-or-more minutes-played this season. Current Wild starter Darcy Kuemper ranks 29th.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Ward seems like an awful target for them. He's injury prone, hasn't been very good for awhile, and has a huge contract/cap hit through next year.

I'm sure they could do better.

I wonder what the cost on Jacob Markstrom would be. He's killing it in the AHL.

Neuvirth could also likely be had.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Ward seems like an awful target for them. He's injury prone, hasn't been very good for awhile, and has a huge contract/cap hit through next year.

I'm sure they could do better.

I wonder what the cost on Jacob Markstrom would be. He's killing it in the AHL.

if it comes as a salary dump, I'm fine with it. never been high on Ward but he's been solid this year and if you can save a little on a Backstrom (regular) buyout and wait for Kuemper to figure out how forget about a goal against, not a bad short-term fix. if it costs anything meaningful though, bad move.

obviously a longer-term prospect who isn't making boatloads like Markstrom would be ideal. Gustafsson is a ways away and nothing else in the pipeline. short-term I'm not sure if it's a big difference though, he seemed to have the same confidence issues every time he was up as well. I think a move like that would be the preferred route though. any short-term move that compromises what they've built in an effort to maybe get in this year is dumb IMO.

of course, you look at the rest of the schedule this month and if they find a way to win tonight they could easily win out...of course that requires them to put in a consistent effort that has been gone for a long time now.

 

[Northern Voice]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

 

[Northern Voice]

Re: Tyler Johnson, an OHL scout I know has said he's completely revamped the way he scouts. Now everything is talent. Forget size, physicality etc... everything now is talent to him, impetus for this was Mitch Marner who was passed over a lot in OHL draft and now is the 2nd best player in the league (McDavid), and will be a high NHL pick as well.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

I guess he's playing better than I realized. Hadn't noticed it.

still, that contract/cap hit is crazy high.

 

[Zegras11]

I think the Timid should merge with the Golden Seals.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-kopitar-deal-priority-for-kings/

part of Eliotte Freedman's 30 thoughts this week:

8. Will Vancouver become a player in any potential goalie roulette? Eddie Lack is unrestricted after next season. Jacob Markstrom is restricted this summer and won’t clear waivers again. Joacim Ericsson gives them depth and time to assess Thatcher Demko. Can’t see the Canucks helping someone like the Wild, since the two teams are in direct competition. But anyone else?

9. A couple of sources threw cold water on Minnesota’s interest in Cam Ward. Probably means they trade for him on Wednesday.

10. The heat is on Mike Yeo, but I think that would be a mistake.

Two years ago, everyone thought Jack Capuano was growing the Islanders into a force when they pushed Pittsburgh in the first round. Last year, everyone wanted him fired. Now they look great again.

Yeo and the Wild gave Chicago everything the Blackhawks could handle. This season is a nightmare due to mumps, slumps, goaltending misery, Thomas Vanek’s inability to fit and personal pain for Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. As Dave Nonis said last week, the coach is the easy thing to do, but, in this case, is it the right thing to do?

 

[Bill Brasky]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

yes, but if it costs them a Zucker or high pick, not sure that's worth it. could hamstring their cap a bit and as I've said many times, if they can't fix what's in front of him it doesn't matter much (although confidence in who is back there can help that to an extent too).

 

[Bill Brasky]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-kopitar-deal-priority-for-kings/

part of Eliotte Freedman's 30 thoughts this week:

10. The heat is on Mike Yeo, but I think that would be a mistake.

coaches get way too much blame and credit. in this scenario it is the really easy move as well.

there are some things he's stubborn with that get annoying, but he's willing to try just about anything and a very good in-game manager. riding his 4th line in a game 7 with arguably his job on the line speaks to that perfectly. he pulled this team out of a December collapse last year, he's just resigned...I'm hoping they hold steady there.

I'm tired of hearing the injury/sickness whining though. they are thin at defense and not having the top 4 in tact for much of the season has had a big impact, but the more glaring issue is Suter hasn't been the same guy and the forward group (young guys not named Zucker, Vanek, and Koivu) have been way too inconsistent. they have plenty of depth up front where a few injuries shouldn't matter, even to Parise. throw in the abysmal PP and you have to be as good as they were early in the year 5 on 5. speaking of which, if you're going to fire anyone, fire Brunette for running that and let Scandella try to QB the first unit or expedite Dumba's process and deal with the growing pains.

 

[IC FBGCav]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

yes, but if it costs them a Zucker or high pick, not sure that's worth it. could hamstring their cap a bit and as I've said many times, if they can't fix what's in front of him it doesn't matter much (although confidence in who is back there can help that to an extent too).

We will throw in E. Staal too. They help you win the cup and we get them/their contracts the heck out of here. They will play good with other talented players, they just can't carry a team.

 

[Bill Brasky]

he seems like more of an outlier here

of course he is, and that's my point. there aren't that many jobs available but the talent is out there. and obviously not just here, plenty of good players overseas who never even make it here for various reasons but more likely would with more expansion.

 

[Bill Brasky]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

yes, but if it costs them a Zucker or high pick, not sure that's worth it. could hamstring their cap a bit and as I've said many times, if they can't fix what's in front of him it doesn't matter much (although confidence in who is back there can help that to an extent too).

We will throw in E. Staal too. They help you win the cup and we get them/their contracts the heck out of here. They will play good with other talented players, they just can't carry a team.

I think this Canes team is actually pretty decent. They just can't score. At all. And when I say getting Ward for next to nothing, the rumor is they may be willing to dump him just to get rid of the salary due to ownership concerns with one of their main shareholders passing away. Sending back Haula wouldn't be devastating, but I'm not sure I'd want to even see that much given up.

 

[chet]

Two power rankings. I think the first one's a jopke.

Ranking 1

Ranking 2

 

[chet]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

yes, but if it costs them a Zucker or high pick, not sure that's worth it. could hamstring their cap a bit and as I've said many times, if they can't fix what's in front of him it doesn't matter much (although confidence in who is back there can help that to an extent too).

We will throw in E. Staal too. They help you win the cup and we get them/their contracts the heck out of here. They will play good with other talented players, they just can't carry a team.

Doesn't ES have a no trade clause?

 

[Zegras11]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-kopitar-deal-priority-for-kings/

part of Eliotte Freedman's 30 thoughts this week:

10. The heat is on Mike Yeo, but I think that would be a mistake.

coaches get way too much blame and credit. in this scenario it is the really easy move as well.

there are some things he's stubborn with that get annoying, but he's willing to try just about anything and a very good in-game manager. riding his 4th line in a game 7 with arguably his job on the line speaks to that perfectly. he pulled this team out of a December collapse last year, he's just resigned...I'm hoping they hold steady there.

I'm tired of hearing the injury/sickness whining though. they are thin at defense and not having the top 4 in tact for much of the season has had a big impact, but the more glaring issue is Suter hasn't been the same guy and the forward group (young guys not named Zucker, Vanek, and Koivu) have been way too inconsistent. they have plenty of depth up front where a few injuries shouldn't matter, even to Parise. throw in the abysmal PP and you have to be as good as they were early in the year 5 on 5. speaking of which, if you're going to fire anyone, fire Brunette for running that and let Scandella try to QB the first unit or expedite Dumba's process and deal with the growing pains.

Ducks have been hit by the mumps as hard as anyone. They've also used 13 D-men this year. Which I think is a league high.

 

[jamny]

Two power rankings. I think the first one's a joke.

Ranking 1

 

[IC FBGCav]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

yes, but if it costs them a Zucker or high pick, not sure that's worth it. could hamstring their cap a bit and as I've said many times, if they can't fix what's in front of him it doesn't matter much (although confidence in who is back there can help that to an extent too).

We will throw in E. Staal too. They help you win the cup and we get them/their contracts the heck out of here. They will play good with other talented players, they just can't carry a team.

I think this Canes team is actually pretty decent. They just can't score. At all.And when I say getting Ward for next to nothing, the rumor is they may be willing to dump him just to get rid of the salary due to ownership concerns with one of their main shareholders passing away. Sending back Haula wouldn't be devastating, but I'm not sure I'd want to even see that much given up.

I am hearing they want a 2nd and to keep very little of his salary but who knows what is real. When you can't score and Staal, Staal and Semin are making 20 million plus per year, it is time for them to go. Semin is the worst thing that JR did by far.

Edit: What fans that are left want Eric and Cam gone. Eric just does not always have the effort and they word back is that he is always is playing hurt. They hate Cam's contract. There is a blow it up mentality here. The core of the team is rotten. But the biggest concern is there are not people going to the games or getting season tickets. They might end up leaving town.

http://www.forumice.com/showthread.php?62937-Canes-Rebuild-2015-Who-s-first-to-be-traded-and-who-s-left/page7

The link is to the message board of the hardcore fan base. They want Eric gone.

 

[IC FBGCav]

Take out his first couple starts and Wards numbers this year are great. Only one really bad season (last year), proven he can win a cup, pretty consistently above average on a bad team, he may be no Kuemper but I think he'd do very well on Wild.

yes, but if it costs them a Zucker or high pick, not sure that's worth it. could hamstring their cap a bit and as I've said many times, if they can't fix what's in front of him it doesn't matter much (although confidence in who is back there can help that to an extent too).

We will throw in E. Staal too. They help you win the cup and we get them/their contracts the heck out of here. They will play good with other talented players, they just can't carry a team.

Doesn't ES have a no trade clause?

Yep, so does Cam. JR handed them out with every contract.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

Eric Staal says he won't waive his NTC.

really hope that team strings together a solid 2nd half. with that fanbase, not sure they can afford to tank for the McEichel derby. at least that's my hope.

 

[IC FBGCav]

Eric Staal says he won't waive his NTC.

really hope that team strings together a solid 2nd half. with that fanbase, not sure they can afford to tank for the McEichel derby. at least that's my hope.

They will do enough to get the 6th to 8th pick. Top line doesn't play hard but the bottom two have no quit.