David anyway Iook at it even though the Cup is the goal only one team wins it every year. Does that mean the other 31 were failures? Not in my opinion. The Stars injuries will define 2025 regardless of their finish. Now does Nil make the Rantanan trade or the Grandlund/Cici if not for the injuries? I don’t think so. Instead he would have probably been looking for maybe another Chris Tanev move and that would have been it. I think Nil was forced out of his comfort zone because of the injuries. I don’t think the Stars win the cup or even get to the conference finals but I think that if he can resign Duchene they will be stronger next year than they would have been with no injuries this year
You're absolutely right about the blue line with a healthy Miro and Lundkvist. I see that blue line as at least a top 16 D corps.
I also see Bichsel as on the cusp of being a top 4 defender that's arrived 2 years early. He has some mistakes to clean up but put into context by his age and NHL experience he's been really impressive.
With the draft cupboard fairly bare it'll be on the front office to find more Stankovens, Robertsons, Klingers, and Benns. Trey Taylor seems like a great signing too. Everyone loves seeing a UDFA become an impact NHLer.
Oh, the D. I like Lundkvist. He enters the offensive zone the same way Trevor Daley used to, down the boards and around the net before circling back to his position. Bischel, if I could talk to him I'd quote Mystery, Alaska. "You're the big guy." Yes, he hits more than any player on the team and harder (sometimes), but it almost feels like a chore for him to consciously decide to do it because he desperately just wants to stick check like the rest of the team. That's what leads to getting turned as badly as he did in Winnipeg. Pro-tip, use your peripheral vision and brain's ridiculous computing power to stick check whilst simultaneously playing the man.
I won't rehash my previous comment on your positive/negative post, but I did wonder - are the rest of the dmen actually bad or are they just bad at implementing this Ted Lasso-esque defensive scheme where everyone circles the zone playing everyone's position, with the caveat being they dont actually know how to play everyone else's position? I wonder how big the improvement would be if the d-corps just stuck to crease and corners and not crossing the slot to your partner's area of responsibility (as a general rule, not to cover all contingencies).
This is a really great comment. Thank you Matthew. I'm gonna save this for later. You're absolutely right. Dallas has changed their in-zone defensive coverage (it used to be a pretty strong swarm - now it's a mashup of zone and MOM depending on if the attack is low or high). However, I wonder how much of that is trying to squeeze offense from the blueline who can't otherwise transition. I'll be clipping the relevant plays during the playoffs because I plan to do a Tales From the Clipped recap, regardless of who wins.
Great stuff David as always. I don't here a lot of conversation about Tanev. I think many casual observers are downplaying what he brought last year during the playoffs. Miro is obvious, but Tanev was also huge in locking down some of the best forwards during last years playoff run. Maybe a healthy Tanev would have edged us past the Oilers(wishful thinking). Bichsel may get there in future years, but not this year. The future is very bright if the right leadership is lined up.
Bichsel will be just fine. 1st…… He’s young for a D man , 2nd The jump from the SHL and LIMITED TIME in the AHL is Much more than many fans realize ……. It takes time to adjust to the NHL for the majority of players . So just relax 😇🙏🏼
If PDB somehow gets us thru the Avalanche with the way they have played the last 15 games without Miro and potentially now Robertson it will be a miracle . He will deserve double sprinkles
I'm betting he plays on Saturday. He'll have 2 days of rest and pain injections. I don't put too much credence into him being ruled out in a game where there was nothing to play for.
Guys play through torn hip labrums and broken feet. If it's a joint sprain and they can brace his knee they'll give him a pain injection and he'll be back out there unless they feel giving him 1 game off is enough to get him back to 100%. I just hope it doesn't inhibit him as much as his foot did the first half of the season.
David anyway Iook at it even though the Cup is the goal only one team wins it every year. Does that mean the other 31 were failures? Not in my opinion. The Stars injuries will define 2025 regardless of their finish. Now does Nil make the Rantanan trade or the Grandlund/Cici if not for the injuries? I don’t think so. Instead he would have probably been looking for maybe another Chris Tanev move and that would have been it. I think Nil was forced out of his comfort zone because of the injuries. I don’t think the Stars win the cup or even get to the conference finals but I think that if he can resign Duchene they will be stronger next year than they would have been with no injuries this year
You're absolutely right about the blue line with a healthy Miro and Lundkvist. I see that blue line as at least a top 16 D corps.
I also see Bichsel as on the cusp of being a top 4 defender that's arrived 2 years early. He has some mistakes to clean up but put into context by his age and NHL experience he's been really impressive.
With the draft cupboard fairly bare it'll be on the front office to find more Stankovens, Robertsons, Klingers, and Benns. Trey Taylor seems like a great signing too. Everyone loves seeing a UDFA become an impact NHLer.
Oh, the D. I like Lundkvist. He enters the offensive zone the same way Trevor Daley used to, down the boards and around the net before circling back to his position. Bischel, if I could talk to him I'd quote Mystery, Alaska. "You're the big guy." Yes, he hits more than any player on the team and harder (sometimes), but it almost feels like a chore for him to consciously decide to do it because he desperately just wants to stick check like the rest of the team. That's what leads to getting turned as badly as he did in Winnipeg. Pro-tip, use your peripheral vision and brain's ridiculous computing power to stick check whilst simultaneously playing the man.
I won't rehash my previous comment on your positive/negative post, but I did wonder - are the rest of the dmen actually bad or are they just bad at implementing this Ted Lasso-esque defensive scheme where everyone circles the zone playing everyone's position, with the caveat being they dont actually know how to play everyone else's position? I wonder how big the improvement would be if the d-corps just stuck to crease and corners and not crossing the slot to your partner's area of responsibility (as a general rule, not to cover all contingencies).
This is a really great comment. Thank you Matthew. I'm gonna save this for later. You're absolutely right. Dallas has changed their in-zone defensive coverage (it used to be a pretty strong swarm - now it's a mashup of zone and MOM depending on if the attack is low or high). However, I wonder how much of that is trying to squeeze offense from the blueline who can't otherwise transition. I'll be clipping the relevant plays during the playoffs because I plan to do a Tales From the Clipped recap, regardless of who wins.
Great stuff David as always. I don't here a lot of conversation about Tanev. I think many casual observers are downplaying what he brought last year during the playoffs. Miro is obvious, but Tanev was also huge in locking down some of the best forwards during last years playoff run. Maybe a healthy Tanev would have edged us past the Oilers(wishful thinking). Bichsel may get there in future years, but not this year. The future is very bright if the right leadership is lined up.
Tanev was a GIGANTIC add to that roster last year, and the reason this team had the fuel to get to the Conference Final.
In short, he was the missing link.
Bichsel will be just fine. 1st…… He’s young for a D man , 2nd The jump from the SHL and LIMITED TIME in the AHL is Much more than many fans realize ……. It takes time to adjust to the NHL for the majority of players . So just relax 😇🙏🏼
If PDB somehow gets us thru the Avalanche with the way they have played the last 15 games without Miro and potentially now Robertson it will be a miracle . He will deserve double sprinkles
Regarding the last off season.
- Montour AAV of 7,1 M$
- Lyu + Dumba: AAV of 7,05 M$
How big of a blow will Robertson injury be? Will Seguin’s return be enough to make up for it?
I'm betting he plays on Saturday. He'll have 2 days of rest and pain injections. I don't put too much credence into him being ruled out in a game where there was nothing to play for.
But they said he left the arena after the game in a boot and in noticeable pain, if he can turn around and play I think it will take some guts
Guys play through torn hip labrums and broken feet. If it's a joint sprain and they can brace his knee they'll give him a pain injection and he'll be back out there unless they feel giving him 1 game off is enough to get him back to 100%. I just hope it doesn't inhibit him as much as his foot did the first half of the season.
Oh ok! Well i hope its minor then!