Comments for May 26, 2012 at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 28 out of 20 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Mon, 20 May 2013 09:26:34 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-21063 Hasek actually was not unsuccessful at landing a KHL gig this past season. He merely engaged in his latest retirement session. In terms of him wanting back in the NHL amongst a litany of other youthful options & UFAs; The Dominator at this stage would not be expecting a guaranteed starters gig. He’d likely settle with the backup role. Recall the 2008 playoffs, when he happily raised the cup over his head as a ‘team guy’ despite being supplanted by Ozzie as the #1 guy well earlier, during the Nashville series. I’m sure that by next fall, now 5 seasons removed from that cup triumph, that he would not have ‘raised’ expectations. He would simply be a complimentary option—and who’s to say that the legend himself could not outduel Joey Mac/Conklyn for the #2 role. I wouldn’t put it past him. - messierforlife Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:33:21 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-21010 Both Tokarski and Janus will be 23 this Sept.while goalies take longer to develop- the fact they havent had a shot yet, when Roloson and Garon both struggled makes you wonder if Tampa management has much faith in them. Yzerman has even talked about bringing Helenius back to NA. Both goalies are listed at 5ft11, going against the trend of bigger goalies, personally I dont see either as much more than a decent backup, but either way- their window is closing fast- ideally they both would want 15+ games in the NHL next season (and play decently) or theyll be seen as more suspect than prospect. I dont think Tampa wants to take that risk. Id think theyre looking for a goalie capable of playing 50+ games with Garon as the backup for 1 more year- then sliding one of Tokarski/Janus/Helenius as the backup the next year.They could include Garon in a trade- but again only if theyre getting a Luongo. As much as i like Lindback and Bernier- there is still some risk as to whether or not theyre ready to be #1's. If saving $2-3mil is worth that risk (vs Luongo at 5.3) and you have time to possibly allow them a year to really grow into the top spot- then theyre the wiser choice. To a certain extent 2 teams are under the gun- Tampa: because theyre only a few pieces away from contending now,before a good portion of their players get much older. Toronto: getting a proven goalie might save Burke (i dont see him lasting if they dont make the playoffs). whether Luongo has the right mental makeup to survive in Toronto is big ? for me- but younger goalies can be just as suspect. Out of curiosity....if Luongo was a UFA this year- what do you think he would command? I would think he would get more than his current 5.3 caphit- and 7-8yrs wouldnt be out of the question. One thing that may determine where he goes..the capfloor will be rising and there isnt much out there UFA wise, so Im sure there will be some large overpays. - Rollie1967 Sun, 27 May 2012 12:36:02 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20989 Active, I said active! Haha. - letnry Sat, 26 May 2012 20:10:36 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20988 Yeah definitely get where you're coming from. Crawford has only been out a year. Maurice still coached this year... Martin still coached this year, Wilson also coached this year, so these guys haven't been "out of it" for long periods. You might nix Keenan off the list... - Gotlaid Sat, 26 May 2012 17:01:39 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20987 i just don't like the ones that have sat on the shelf for a long time, you know? - repenttokyo Sat, 26 May 2012 16:38:55 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20986 Definitely, but is it any worst than going with an young inexperienced AHL coach? I am [b]cherry picking[/b] my coaches, but I mean you look at the recycled coaches like Hitchcock, Boudreau, Laviolette, Sutter, DeBeor, Babcock, Carlyle, aren't they experiencing a bit more success than an AHL coach coming in and taking over the reigns of an NHL club? - Ryan Ma Sat, 26 May 2012 16:35:13 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20985 Rollie, You've also got to look at the flip side too, he's got a massive 10-year contract. That's what's the kicker. If it's for 2-3 years, teams would be jumping left right and center for his services, but for 10 that's when teams will shy away. How good will he be when he's 35+? Brodeur has had tons of accolades, but at 35+ a lot of people are questioning his ability... Imagine Luongo making $6.7 mil and he still hasn't won a cup... You also have to keep in mind that $6.7 is about 10% of the cap too... If you can get someone cheapish $2 or 1 mil to hold down the fort and get the exact same job done you're in much better financial position than if you spent 10% of the cap on your goalie. Look at Nsh, Rinne cost them $3.4 mil, which gave them much more flexibility to spend the money elsewhere. He jumps to $7 mil then season, and the sacrifice will be Suter... Wsh is another example, none of their goalies made more than $1.5 mil, which meant they could spend their money beefing up the rest of the team... LA as well... You invest too much in your goalie and the rest of the team will suffer. It's not that I don't like Luongo, he's a great goalie, but when you said he's less riskier than going with a young guy I would argue that tooth and nail... With those young guys, if they flop you have an out clause in 2-3 years. You look for plan B. If you happen to strike gold then your set. However if you take a leap of faith in Luongo you take a 10-year leap of faith on him... Also I think you're short changing Tokarski a bit. He's 8-2-0 with a 1.65 GAA and .939 SP in the AHL playoffs this year. Janus is 3-1-0 with a 1.69 and .937. Tokarski reminds me a lot of the Cam Ward, Braden Holtby mould and could very well be an impact goalie fairly soon. You go after Luongo and you're essentially saying we don't need you any more to Tokarski. Or you could get into the exact same situation in Vancouver where you get a Schneider/Luongo showdown once again... What do you do then? Deal Tokarski? Move Luongo who's a year or two older, but still has a 8 year contract remaining? Schultz - agreed... he gets to pick and choose his destination so the Ducks better wow the crap outta him if they want to keep him. Oilers - Just tossing names out there, I don't know if they'd be worst off if they went with one of those guys than a rookie coach with minimal experience... #justsaying Davidson - From that article it appears that Davidson is the one out... But you are right he can essentially pick and choose where to go and he'd do a great job with it. I respect guys with great minds and great decision making processes. I would love to see him in Edmonton, but you're right Tambo would essentially be stepping aside and handing him the job if he did. But that would depend on Katz on whether he could convince Davidson to join the Oil. - Ryan Ma Sat, 26 May 2012 15:53:08 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20984 those coaches are unemployed / have been unemployed for a long time for various reasons. past success is not a guarantee of future results particularly as the league moves forward and evolves. old hands aren't necessarily going to be able to repeat their past performances. - repenttokyo Sat, 26 May 2012 15:29:15 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20983 Most attractive as it I'm the best looking? Well you're pitting me up against Dobber... That's not stiff competition to be honest... ;) But thanks for the positive comments, I appreciate it! - Ryan Ma Sat, 26 May 2012 15:26:41 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20982 I was just making a general statement in which most NHL teams try to attempt, but what I'm arguing is that it's a flawed system to begin with. Most NHL teams bank on changing the coach to solve all of their problems, but it's as you highlighted that in many cases it's actually the players that need changing not the coach... It's generally not the players that get the chopping block it's the coaches. If you look at the Oilers situation, Renney is the one that got the chop not Hall, not Eberle, not Hemsky, not Horcoff, not Smyth... Renney. So when you say AHL coaches are brought into losing franchises, I would argue isn't Edmonton a losing franchise? When would an AHL coach be brought into a winning franchise? It just doesn't happen... What I'm saying is that most teams adopt a change by progression... assistant coach somewhere, go and head coach the minor team, then when there is a vacancy they get promoted to the big league job... There have been quite a few examples of this exact same scenario. The problem for me is that rarely has it turned into gold. For every 1 success there has been 10 failures... Yet teams will go to the well time after time trying to hit gold. What I don't understand is why not go with a coach that's been there done it before. I mean you look at your Keenan, Crawford, Martin, Maurice... they have the pedigree of winning tons of hockey games, so why roll the dice with someone who doesn't have the same pedigree. I can understand maybe an AHL coach that's coached for 10+ years, but going with a freshy that's coached maybe 1 or 2 seasons in the AHL then putting them into an NHL situation is almost setting them up for failure isn't it? You could argue that my analysis is flawed or needs to contain a more factors in order to draw conclusive findings... but at the end of the day, there isn't a lot of evidence to show me that going down the AHL route is the most effective way of turning around a franchise. - Ryan Ma Sat, 26 May 2012 15:24:11 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20981 Yeah I dunno what he's thinking... There's just too much competition these days. There so many younger and more athletic guys available that I don't think Hasek will have a shot at all. - Gotlaid Sat, 26 May 2012 15:10:01 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20980 Yeah after looking at hockeysfuture his name did look attractive. The only thing is with Koivu, Heatley, Seto, plus Granlund and Coyle... I don't know where Philips would fit in the top-six... But definitely could be an impact player a couple of years down the road. - Gotlaid Sat, 26 May 2012 15:08:03 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20979 Luongo has to regain his form? if a .919 SP is a bad year- than Id take the risk! Thats a smaller risk than saying Harding will stay healthy, that Lindback will be a true #1 without Suter/Weber infront of him, or that Bernier is ready. With Vinnie,Marty,Malone,Brewer all on the wrong side of 30, winning now is their best option. Luongo gives them the best shot at that, and his contract is really only for 7 years- as the last 3 are very small dollars. His cap hit is the 8th highest for goalies, and could drop further when Price resigns. The only way they trade Schneider is if his salary demands skyrocket or he refuses to sign with them. For Tampa- anything is better than Roloson, even trying Hasek for a year at minimal cost would be better.Not sure why you said that Tampa doesnt need a goalie for 10yrs though- even if they draft a future #1 star this year- most likely theyre going to be 3yrs minimum away from starting (more likely 4/5). Their current goalie prospects arent considered top notch (Helenius,Tokarski,Janus) Justin Schultz as others pointed out, only gets to chose who he plays for- the $ is limited by the CBA, not sure why he doesnt like Anaheim- but its his choice. Sucks for the Ducks though. I cant see the Oil hiring any of Crawford,Keenan,Wilson ever! none exactly known for working well with young players. As for the power struggle in St.Louis- which one is more likely to lose out? Davidson? If so, I would think he could pick/chose who/where he ends up- but I doubt he would play 2nd fiddle to Tambellini- and Tambs would be a fool to hire him- unless he wants to give the owner an easy decision to replace him. - Rollie1967 Sat, 26 May 2012 09:57:20 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20978 Ryan, you are easily the most active writer here that follows up extensively in the comments. I for one, really appreciate that!! I obviously enjoy your ramblings as well. Keep it up. - letnry Sat, 26 May 2012 09:51:46 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20977 what you didn't mention was that coaching changes do not occur with successful teams. AHL coaches are almost always brought in because the NHL franchise is losing. Sometimes, the coaching change has no effect because it's the players, not the coach, that was the problem. I think a more in-depth look at the success rate of AHL coaches that controls for more factors is in order before any conclusions are drawn. - repenttokyo Sat, 26 May 2012 09:08:53 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20976 Is this guy suffering from Alzheimer's already? He wants to play for Buffalo, Detroit, or Tampa Bay. Good luck with that. Call me crazy, but somehow I think that guys like Miller, Howard, and even Roloson are preferable. - bullwinkle Sat, 26 May 2012 08:56:23 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20975 While Justin Schultz is making himself a UFA, he will still be limitted to how much money he can make. I believe the best offer he can sign is 2 years at $900,000 no matter what and his bonuses are limited to as well. The only advantage he is edging towards is signing in a city he wants to play in. And any one of us would do the same. As for the Oiler head coach, it's a four man race between Sutter, Krueger, Nelson, and Maurice. Forget everyone else. - shovelguy Sat, 26 May 2012 08:08:13 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20974 Awesome ramblings again Ryan. Keep up the good work. - mabus Sat, 26 May 2012 06:23:42 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20973 Don't forget to give some love to Minny's second 1st rounder last year Zack Phillips (good ol New Brunswick boy). Looked good at times during the Mem Cup action this past week. Great vision and seemed to be the only guy that could deal with Chaput (Shawinigan) at the draws last night. But yes getting him there in 2 years could be a stretch compared to the arsenal of prospects coming through the system. Great read today Ma! - Southpaw20 Sat, 26 May 2012 05:43:03 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4645-may-26-2012#comment-20972 Just tossing a few names out there... I'm not a fan of Sutter just cause I haven't seen a lot of success from him. He had a decent team with the Flames and missed the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons. I dunno if any other coach would have got them in instead, but still to me a good coach gets their team in no matter what situation... Also I don't know why there's so much fanfare with the Sutter's to begin with. I think it's mainly because of the Alberta-Red Deer factor, but other than that there isn't really a solid basis to say that he's a better candidate than any of the other coaches I listed. Martin - I'm indifferent about... He's the type of guy that if he has the right young pieces can get them into the playoffs, but I dunno if he's a Stanley Cup winning type of coach... He had the young kids of Spezz, Alfy, Heater and couldn't get it done, which kinda scares me what he would do with Eberle, RNH, Hall and probably Yakupov... He completely flopped with a young Panthers team. He got a young Habs team into the playoffs, and had a bit of a run, but I dunno if he could have won a cup... Maurice - same type of deal. He seems like a coach that's very player friendly, but I don't know if he holds them with enough accountability. He'd be very similar to Renney IMO. To be fair I don't think anyone of those guys would give me complete confidence at the moment. They're almost better off finding a stopgap and waiting for a Trotz/Ruff to be fired then snagging them up. ;) - Ryan Ma Sat, 26 May 2012 04:08:17 +0100