JR Ewing
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Posts posted by JR Ewing
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-My son and DIL are Kraken fans, so I end up watching a lot of their games.
-After riding the shooting percentage train in 2023, the Kraken came down to earth this year. After a disappointing season like that, I'm sure the players were frustrated with the coach, but
-Getting a new coach probably won't make a big difference. This is a team with decent speed, good gloves, but weak bats. They're the 3rd-smallest and 2nd-lightest team in the NHL, and a new coach doesn't magically create offensive talent where there was none before and he can't teach them to be bigger.
-The Kraken are the 2nd-oldest team in the NHL. They already have veterans. This team needs quality young players.
-They routinely get bullied around.
-Vince Dunn missing a quarter of the season hurt a lot.
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3 hours ago, Math said:
Having a french-speaking coach is a non-negotiable requirement in this organization, so they have to assume all the barriers and pitfalls they are putting in the middle of their own way. Personally, if this contributes to have them glued at the bottom of the standings for a while, I'm completely fine with it.
It's sort of like how Ferrari always has a rule that, in order to work for them, you need to be able to speak Italian. You don't get the best people that way; you get the best people who speak Italian.
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Jack Edwards is fit for a regional broadcast, but could never take that act to anything bigger or hockey-wide. He gives the home team fans what they want and then some, but for everybody else he's ear cancer. When things go the Bruins way, he laughs uproariously and without a shred of dignity. When things don't work out for the Bruins, he whines without a shred of dignity. Fred Cusick will always be the voice of the Bruins to me. Other than Edwards, the next worst might be the Altitude broadcasters, who call out most of the Avs players by their first name, which is incredibly cringey.
I guess I've never had a lot of chances to really consider Andy Brickley on colour, just because Edwards carries on the way he does. My suspicion is that I would be alright with him paired with somebody else. I've like Ray Ferraro in this role for a long time now, as well as Daryl Reaugh. In years past, I enjoyed Howie Meeker, his tele-strater pen and "Alright, back it up, back it up!" call to the booth.
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Coach Knoblauch finally did the right thing and got Cody Ceci off of that second-pairing, and bumped the mean and nasty Vincent Desharnais. Freed from Ceci, Nurse had a 65.2% xGF% last night. I went to Natural Stat Trick and checked out how Darnell Nurse, who has received the lion's share of minutes with Ceci, to see how he's fared with and without for the last three playoffs:
It's not just Darnell Nurse who suddenly looks a lot better when they don't share the ice with Cody Ceci. Of his Oilers teammates who have played 60 minutes, each and every one of them had marked improvements. Across the board.
Cody Ceci can defend well enough, but he simply spends too much time defending. For those who go on about Darnell Nurse as a player, those numbers away from Cody Ceci are as good as anybody in the league. His biggest problem is that he has a 210 lb boat anchor strapped to him on the ice.
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Stuart Skinner - this marks two seasons now where he was solid and reliable in the regular season, and dreadful in the playoffs. No team has combined the creation of dangerous chances and limited the number of dangers chances against in these playoffs better than the Oilers, but they almost found themselves down 3-1 due to Skinner's inability to make saves.
The Oilers should be up 3-1 in the series and could have even swept if Skinner had been approaching something even just average. I don't know if that means he needs to be flushed, but there's an issue here.
Regular Season Numbers:
SV% - .909
Quality Start% - .593
Really Bad Start% - .186Playoff Numbers
SV% - .881
Quality Start% - .300
Really Bad Start% - .450Not too many goaltenders carve out terrific careers when nearly half of their playoff starts are really bad. This is now two years in a row where he's been out-duelled by a team's AHL starter.
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Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are the two greatest living playoff performers, and that's not up for debate. Here are their positions among the all-time leaders in key categories for playoffs:
Move over, Barry Pederson.
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I can't believe how well Arturs Silovs has played, considering the degree of difficulty in what the Canucks have asked of him.
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11 minutes ago, Buffalo Rick said:
I just watched the Rookie. Love the show. Nolan. You will be drinking early for the Vancouver game I bet? I would.
Well, I'm a non-drinker myself, so I guess I'll have a Coke Zero. lol
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4 minutes ago, Buffalo Rick said:
He did go to Ottawa
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4 hours ago, Buffalo Rick said:
How and when did Florida aquire Teresenko?
This past trade deadline, the Sens dealt Tarasenko to Florida for a 4th (that would become a 2026 3rd round if Florida wins the Cup) and a 2026 3rd round pick. Sens also retain 50% of Tarasenko's salary.
Being a GM in places like Florida, Texas and Nevada is like playing on Easy Mode in a video game.
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-I never laugh about people losing their job, but Keefe will be alright; the Leafs have fired him before his extension even kicked in, so he has two more years' worth of money coming in.
-Brendan Shanahan is more culpable than Keefe.
-Kyle Dubas did long term harm to the roster with the John Tavares signing, as was called out by people who "get it". Talent on value contracts had to be moved out, and it limited the ability to improve the defense and goaltending. Tavares has been a consistent non-factor in the playoffs in his career, 62 gp, 23-23-46, -14... His teams are 1-8 in playoff series.
-Brad Treliving's hands are tied a bit by the long term deals in place, but he didn't improve the team at all last off-season. He should have more room to make moves this summer, so we'll see what he can do. The Ryan Reaves contract was imbecilic.
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-Draisaitl back to start the 3rd. Seems to have been a back issue.
-JT Miller has been dominant in the faceoff circle.
-Nurse/Ceci continue to struggle, on the ice for every GA. With 10 minutes left in the the 3rd, the Scoring Chances are 1-12, High Danger 0-6 with them on the ice.
-Big PK for Oilers, with 7 minutes left in a 4-3 lead.
-Rocket from Zadorov goes in 4-4.
-And another GA 39 seconds apart. Weak goal by Skinner. Neither goaltender has been good. 5-4 VAN.
-Draisaitl can barely move.
-If either of these teams plays like this against COL, they don't have a prayer.
-Oilers press with the empty net, but Vancouver only allowed 1 shot in (I think) the last 5 minutes.-Doesn't happen very often, but McDavid has been invisible tonight.
5-4 Vancouver
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4-2 EDM after 40 minutes.
-Strong start for Vancouver, score an early one.
-Evander Kane should never share the ice with Darnell Nurse and Cody Ceci. That pairing has been the only negative spot on the EDM blueline this playoff. Kane, for his part, is a poor defensive player who doesn't manage the puck well.
-Two quick goals from Ceci and Hyman off defender's sticks.
-Lindholm with a goal from behind the goal line after Ceci fails to clear. Also in photo: Darnell Nurse, covering nobody.
-Draisaitl in the dressing room for the last 10 minutes of the period. That's just about as bad as news can get. -
2-0 after the 1st period.
-Vancouver committed the cardinal sin of taking an early penalty, and the Oilers didn't miss. 1-0.
-Ekholm hammers a screened shot for the 2-0 lead.
-Oilers were hemmed in for an extended time on two shifts, and for about the last two minutes, but kept calm. The puck stayed to the perimeter and away from the danger spots. Only allowed
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- Popular Post
Yeah, I'm always wary of kids with skating issues, and have a strong preference for players with speed. You can’t teach it, it doesn’t go into slumps and it is useful on offense and defense. The American League is chock full of guys who can't skate but have great shots. For every James Neal, who was a stunningly bad skater who had a productive NHL career, there are hundreds of guys whose boots kept them out of the league.
You could get away with it pre-lockout, but not today.
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This isn't a draft that would intrigue me to the extent that you should pay much of a price to move up.
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1 minute ago, FD19372 said:
I'm OK with it being San Jose, as I would be if it was Anaheim getting the first pick. Happy it wasn't Chicago again.
Exactly. ABC: anybody but Chicago.
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-Good; San Jose won it.
-It's kind of odd how they cut to a San Jose Sharks watch party happening in Anaheim.
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Jeez... Not a single position has changed with only three to go.
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2 minutes ago, radoran said:
Did I understand Sochi was experimenting with him in the middle?
A lot would be helped if he can convert to centre successfully.
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45 minutes ago, GratefulFlyers said:
I don't see a whole lot to get excited about in that Twitter post. So Medvedev won't "rule out" Michkov coming over early...great. But guaranteed no AHL time otherwise he goes back to SKA. Why would the Flyers agree to that? I understand he won't change hemispheres if riding the bus for a year is a distinct possibility. But just on GP you don't guarantee a prospect NHL ice time (yes a few exceptions).
Like everyone I hope Michkov is the Second Coming, the Flyers build around him and he's raising the Cup in the O&B in a few years. But nobody thinks he's another McDavid or Crosby. He's supposedly not a great skater. No surprise a 19-year old has stuff to work on.
I don't mean to rain on the parade - just saying I'll wait until he's actually in North America before I start celebrating Michkov's arrival.
41 minutes ago, flyercanuck said:I agree with you. I'll also add Michkov isn't the "savior". He's the most talented player the Flyers have drafted in a long, long time, but he's also a winger. Philly still needs to add a lot of elite to this team before they're going to scare anyone.
Yes. He's a very good prospect, and I think the arrows are pointing in the right direction, but people may need to temper their expectations a little bit. It's always a bit more difficult when you're building from the wing to the middle.
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Just now, Tomdog said:
Is Demko available, or is he still injured?
So far, he's been ruled out for game 1.
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4 minutes ago, Buffalo Rick said:
So they are moving to Utah? That means same amount? I’ll look again. Thought it was 31?
-Yes, they are moving to Utah.
-The league will have the same number of teams next year: 32.
-There's been 32 teams since Seattle joined in 2021-22 season.
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4 minutes ago, Buffalo Rick said:
No. Salt Lake I’m hearing? You say no? I have not counted in a while but I thought there were 31? I’ll re check.? I heard them say Salt Lake, Arizona is Phoenix.
Yeah, the Coyotes officially played their last game in Arizona on April 17th.
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Ken Holland next Blue Jackets GM?
in Columbus Blue Jackets
Posted
Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland to Columbus? Rumours won't quiet down, says NHL insider
This in from NHL insider Andy Strickland: “Ken Holland to CBJ rumors don’t seem to quiet down anytime soon. Maybe a long run to the Final would change things but there are many who feel he could be headed to Columbus to fill their GM vacancy. Mentor Rick Nash to eventually take over?”
My take
1. This is a credible rumour on a few levels. First of all, Strickland is a credible source, a long-time writer on the NHL, the St. Louis Blues Rinkside Report for Bally Sports Midwest and host of 590 the Fan KFNS, co-host of the Cam & Strick podcast.
2. It’s also credible because Ken Holland’s contract is up in Edmonton after this season. Jeff Jackson has moved in as the big boss of Edmonton Oilers hockey operations. I could see Holland staying on as a senior advisor, but Jackson has now had the entire season to learn the ropes from Holland. It’s hard to imagine that Jackson would not now prefer his own man and a younger man in the G.M. job.
Related
3. Perhaps Holland would prefer a move stateside. He spent a lot of his life in Michigan. He might not be ready to fully retire. He could take a general manager job, or maybe he’d like to lead hockey ops. Who says he’s too old? Lou Lamoriello is 81 and he’s still the hockey boss for the New York Islanders. Jim Rutherford, a big cheese in Vancouver, is 75. Holland is just 68. Why retire when you’re having fun?
4. It’s too early to do a full assessment of Holland’s time with the Oilers. Much depends on this playoff run. There have been moves that failed, such as trading for Andreas Athanasiou and over-paying on a few deals, most notably the Jack Campbell contract. There’s been some moves that have worked out well, such as signing Zach Hyman, trading for Brett Kulak and Mattias Ekholm, and taking a chance on Evander Kane when so many other NHL GMs were too cautious and/or too politically correct to give the notorious Kane another chance.
The story of Holland’s Oilers, though, is yet to be fully written, with a crucial chapter going into the books tonight.
https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/edmonton-oilers-gm-ken-holland-to-columbus-rumours-wont-quiet-down-says-nhl-insider