Duclair is off to a fast start in the Quebec league with 5 goals, 2 assists in 5 games. Buchnevich is pretty much doing nothing in the KHL through 12 games. Pack are doing a good job of imitating the big club as they are being shutout through 2 periods.
Pack lost 3-2 in a shootout. Kristo and Powe scored but more importantly, Kreider had an assist and 7 shots on goal. The shots on goal is something I will watch every game with him. That to me was a main problem at the NHL. With his size and speed he should be getting 4 to 5 shots a game like Grabner does.
I'm interested to see how Nieves does being it's his 3rd year at Michigan. He should be pro ready after this year. I think he needed to still work on some defensive principles from what i'd seen.
That's awesome. Meanwhile we have to see Boyle and Pyatt on the 3rd line (which means we don't have a real 3rd line). Head scratcher...
I don't think we will see Pyatt and 1 other player on this team for long when Cally and Hagelin are back. Those days will be over with AV IMO.
McIlrath just scored to put the Pack up 4-3. Must have bounced off his butt or something. Kristo has 2 A in the game.
I hope not, but I will believe it when I see it. I rather have kids on the 3rd line than useless Boyle and Pyatt. They are both 4th lines guys. Pyatt should be in the minors. And Boyle should be in the 4th line mix. That is all.
This might be one of the 3 worst offensive teams in the league. On paper at least. They're once again a very poor passing and puck possession team. I don't know how they can change that without adding another player or two.
I have no problem letting some of these kids mature in the AHL and play AV's system down there. However, if they don't see Del Zotto as a top 4 defenseman, at this point it would be wise to trade him for a fairly young, solid scoring winger. Hank isn't getting any younger in net.
Even in an up tempo system they may generate a few more opportunities but they just don't have many finishers.
They don't. They need another professional scorer (trade MDZ for that), and personally I think they could also use a big physical dman to clear the front of the net. Maybe that can be McIlrath at some point.
At worst they will get a top 10 pick, and with BR coming off the books they can do a mini FA retool next year. AV can get players that he likes an fit his system. I'm not giving up the season after one game of course, but it looks like a 1st/2nd round exit roster at best. Hey at least they have a 1st rounder!!
1/3 of this roster will be gone after the year, which is a good thing. Keep the 7-8 core players and fill in with better FA, and hope guys like CK, Lindberg and McIlrath become contributors. Let Girardi walk too.
1st rounder means nothing to me. Getting a top 10 pick means nothing to me. 1. Hank will be 36 by the time that guy is ready. 2. This team should be in win now (the next 2 or 3 seasons) mode. We need to make some tweaks here. Just add another scorer. Same thing we needed this summer. Another good solider scorer. We'll see how it plays out the next few weeks. First thing is get Pyatt and Boyle off the 3rd line. That is a must. They are much better off with kids there over those two guys.
Another plus, like you said, is we will have some room to make some changes next summer. The cap will go up some, some of the useless guys will be gone (we don't seem to want to bury them in the minors), and we will buy out Richards. So that is a plus also.
I have never understood why this team never added Ryder. I mean, the guy went to the crappy Devils. He would be a perfect fit on the PP and one of the top 2 lines. He actually hits the net and scores goals.
