2023-24 NHL Season Thread.

[Rosh]

He was always bad. He's a career backup at best and they tried to make him a bonafide #1 in Edmonton. I don't doubt that he learned some awful habits while being on that team too. That being said, he didn't play -that- bad tonight. Flames scored on a 5 on 3 and 2 other powerplays. He shoulda had the David Jones goal and probably the T.J. Brodie goal but the other 2 weren't exactly his fault. The Hudler shootout goal looked like he slipped but Monahan put a really nice move on him there. Can't really blame a goalie in the shootout but http://gfycat.com/PowerlessWastefulCuckoo (Hudler goal) was pretty badly played on Dubnyk's fault. Bad giveaways and undisciplined hockey (slash opportunistic Flames) lost Nashville that game.

Anyways, I think Barry Trotz is gone in Nashville at the end of this season. He's a good coach but it's been too long in 1 place. The team is pretty awful this season roster-wise and with no Rinne to mask their problems you really see the issues Weber/Rinne/Suter (when he was there) hid. They have like no offensive players and sit in a defensive system. That's all fine and dandy but you kind of need to be able to be a sound defensive team while having a solid offensive output to be any sort of successful in the West.

He let in few goals he should've been posisioned better against. But the defense didnt help him out by letting the flames players stand open like that.
The hudler shootout was good by hudler, but incredible bad by dubnyk. Not only did he have a horrible position in the net, he also sold himself and left the crease open with an awful pokecheck attempt. And the main one i was talking about was the bad goal he let in against Monahan by flipping his stick up.

Yea i agree that Trotz probably is seeing his last season, but i feel its been alot due to the lack of quality goaltenders this season, Predators has played somewhat alright.
Guess focus shifts to next season on their partand hope rinne comes back stronger than ever

[Zeoni]

He let in few goals he should've been posisioned better against. But the defense didnt help him out by letting the flames players stand open like that.
The hudler shootout was good by hudler, but incredible bad by dubnyk. Not only did he have a horrible position in the net, he also sold himself and left the crease open with an awful pokecheck attempt. And the main one i was talking about was the bad goal he let in against Monahan by flipping his stick up.

Yea i agree that Trotz probably is seeing his last season, but i feel its been alot due to the lack of quality goaltenders this season, Predators has played somewhat alright.
Guess focus shifts to next season on their partand hope rinne comes back stronger than ever

I didn't think it was that bad http://gfycat.com/FriendlyAdvancedArabianwildcat another look. Preds had a pretty good chance if it wasn't for http://gfycat.com/VigilantGorgeousCicada too which was awesome lol. It's just so obvious how badly Edmonton fucked Dubnyk up. I didn't think he was going to be anything more than a backup but some of his positional play is just awful. The Hudler shootout attempt for example. I'm not sure if the goalie coaches in Edmonton just suck dick or he was compensating for their awful defense or something. It was an entertaining game at least, makes me happy when the Flames don't just roll over and lose.

Oilers are starting to really piss me off now. From Friday Dec 27th to today we are 4-10-1 or something like that. Then I go look at the standings and we're still fucking 7 points ahead of them! You'd think eventually raw talent would kick in and they'd start winning some god damn games. I don't think the Flames can field much worse of a roster this season and Edmonton is still somehow worse. We bring in 2 random European goalies who have hardly played in the NHL, we bring in Shane O'Brien and David useless Jones and we're STILL ahead of them? Really? We don't haven't even have our 2 best players (Glencross, Cammalarri), 1 for quite awhile and the other for a decent amount of time now which is really hard to deal with when your roster is already weak as fuck. They're going to get Ekblad and fuck him up too

[Rennadrel]

Well, a point is better then none.

[Rosh]

Stadium series should never have been in Cali..
before the game started it was already melted into pools of water. even the puck behind quick stopped quite fast haha.
Good entertainment, but playing a regular game in it, come on

[Armourboy]

I think Dubs is probably suffering from several things, lack of skill is one, but its even worse because it doesn't look like anyone has worked with him for ages. Guy has no lateral movement, he plays very small for a guy that big, and his glove hand is just, man its bad. Maybe some of that could be covered up with being really good with your positioning but he doesn't even have that. I think if he had a full offseason with Mitch Korn he probably would be a decent back up, but we don't really need him to be, Hutton or Mazanec is already better with far less work required.

It was a gamble Poile made to see if it was just Edmonton, or if the guy just wasn't good enough. He's gone at the end of the year ( if he just flat doesn't get released) and Edmonton is paying part of his salary and we got to dump a pretty crappy salary. TBH the move wasn't even about getting Dubs it was about getting rid of that contract, Dubs was just there as fodder. Even if he completely fails its still a good trade for us.

The Klein/MDZ trade is good for both parties imo. Basically was done because both teams sort of needed what the other provided, a guy on the other side. Klein is a solid defenseman, whose only real downside is he has no shot and sometimes he makes bone headed plays ( but that has gotten way better over the years). He's a solid stay at home guy that will at times surprise you by coming out of nowhere and make some crazy offensive play. I think the NYR will like him once he gets settled in. On the Preds front we get younger at that spot, and considering the age of that group it could be a pretty crazy defensive corp in a couple years.

I've about decided Trotz and Poile will not be going anywhere, I'm pretty sure the ownership group is going to use the Rinne excuse to keep them around. I hope I'm wrong, as I think Trotz has just been around too long, and his change in defensive systems has just been a complete flop.

[VanillaO]

If Trotz is still kicking around next year, that just shows me that Nashville isn't really dedicated to taking that next step. They had a chance 2-4 years ago to actually contend for a cup, but Poile didn't get the pieces they needed to push through, and Trotz had no answers to outcoach teams who outskilled the Preds. I haven't seen much Preds hockey over the years, but I just feel like 15 years of accomplishing nothing spectacular is too long for a couple guys to keep their jobs. 4 100+ point seasons as a team since the '05 lockout and not a single trip to a Conference Final. I know they operated on a tight budget for much of that time, but either ownership or management needs to change.

As for the Leafs/Jets game last night, that was some of the sloppiest hockey I have seen in a long time... by both teams. Good to get the point, but there were so many cringe-worthy moments that my face almost froze that way. Anyone else keep forgetting that Clarkson hasn't played in like 10 days? Don't even realize it til the 3rd period usually.

I still am torn about this new playoff system, too. While I realize it will help foster division rivals, I'm still bothered by the notion that the 4th place team in both divisions could end up playing in the other division for the first 2 rounds of the playoffs (thanks to whoever showed that to me.. stommped I think?).

[Zeoni]

I wish playoffs were just the top 8 seeds from each conference. Shoulden't have that pity seed for weaker divisions (COUGH THE MET/old Southeast). Also who the fuck are these guys playing the 1st period intermission @ the New Jersey / New York Stadium game? Never heard of them what so ever haha.

[Rennadrel]

I wish playoffs were just the top 8 seeds from each conference. Shoulden't have that pity seed for weaker divisions (COUGH THE MET/old Southeast). Also who the fuck are these guys playing the 1st period intermission @ the New Jersey / New York Stadium game? Never heard of them what so ever haha.

That's the way it should be, but the leagues persistence at parity and opportunity is pathetic when garbage teams make the playoffs.

[VanillaO]

It's the same issue the NFL has once in a while - you have a team win a division with a .500 record and then get a home game in week 1 of the playoffs. It's dumb. Realistically, except in the rarest of cases, you will have 3 teams make it from each division within a conference just because it will balance out that way - so this way isn't necessarily dumb. The issue I have is that Toronto could finish 4th in the Atlantic, and Columbus could finish 4th in the Metropolitan - but they won't necessarily stay within their own divisions. Whichever of the two 4th seed teams in this scenario has less points would automatically face the #1 seed in the two divisions that has more points. That is a very real possibility every year (the 4th seed in Division A and 1st seed in Division B have the least/most points respectively of all 8 playoff teams in the Conference). How dumb would it be if the seedings were as follows (just an example)

1. Boston 105 Pittsburgh 110
2. Tampa 103 Carolina 95
3. Montreal 102 Washington 94
4. Toronto 92 Columbus 93
5. Ottawa 91 New Jersey 91

In this situation, Toronto would play Pittsburgh and Columbus would play Boston. I understand 'why' (because the 2 'wild card' teams are just seeded based on their points, regardless of their division), but it seems just... badly designed. Can't wait for the hilarious first time where it happens that the top 8 teams happen to be 6 from one division and 2 from another - but the 6th place team in the one division doesn't make the playoffs, because fuck it. It'll be super rare, but it is entirely possible. I mean, just looking at the standings right now, Ottawa is in 6th in the Atlantic, and a measly 5 points out of 2nd in the Metropolitan.

So, seriously.. where have all the Red Wings fans disappeared to?

[Reg]

Marty blames the ice conditions for letting up 6 goals against the Rangers. Stay classy, Uncle Daddy.

[Rosh]

Marty blames the ice conditions for letting up 6 goals against the Rangers. Stay classy, Uncle Daddy.

I knew the second they decided to play marty that this game would take a turn for the worse and the coaches and everyone knew it aswell.
Putting marty that is over 40 years old in the net in an outdoor game is not a smart move, especially with his team that was bound to slow down during the game.
imo that game for them was supposed to be a entertainment game and a way for them to give marty his 100th game against rangers in a spetacular way.
They've must have known that rangers came there to play a rival game, took devils like 15 min to figure out that rangers wasnt there to have "fun".
and they also knew they couldnt swap marty out if he played bad, they had to wait for the break. no point even trying to put schneider in the net thats been sitting on the bench freezing.

I love marty but i couldnt resist adding this text when i saw this picture of him last night.

[Reg]

I knew the second they decided to play marty that this game would take a turn for the worse and the coaches and everyone knew it aswell.
Putting marty that is over 40 years old in the net in an outdoor game is not a smart move, especially with his team that was bound to slow down during the game.
imo that game for them was supposed to be a entertainment game and a way for them to give marty his 100th game against rangers in a spetacular way.
They've must have known that rangers came there to play a rival game, took devils like 15 min to figure out that rangers wasnt there to have "fun".
and they also knew they couldnt swap marty out if he played bad, they had to wait for the break. no point even trying to put schneider in the net thats been sitting on the bench freezing.

I love marty but i couldnt resist adding this text when i saw this picture of him last night.

[IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/352n91l.jpg[IMG]

lol Love the picture. I really dislike Marty, and to be honest doesn't have anything to do with his goaltending. He was a great goaltender, but he is a real asshole.

[Deleted]

lol Love the picture. I really dislike Marty, and to be honest doesn't have anything to do with his goaltending. He was a great goaltender, but he is a real asshole.

You do realise that alot of players said that the ice was bad, including your beloved Lundqvist. The difference is however that Lundqvist didn't let 6 pucks slip by him, so it's not as much fun pointing it out as it is with Brodeur. And if you actually watched the game you would've noticed how terrible the ice actually was, pucks were bouncing around ALOT.

And most of the goals weren't really Brodeur's fault, one got deflected off a skate in, one was Volchenkov's back and in, and so on. But the main thing was the defence, Rangers seemed to get a 2 on 1 or a 3 on 1 every other minuter through the second period, I've never seen anything like it during a Devils game.

And just curious, what makes Brodeur an asshole?

[Reg]

I was at the game, so I saw the conditions. Lundqvist also said he adapted and learned to play the bounces after the first period. He didn't blame the goals on the ice and even admitted to being out of position on one. And the Rangers, who play on arguably the worst ice conditions all season at home because it's several floors up, never bitch like Marty did. He makes it sound like it was only him playing on bad ice.

And him being an asshole is anecdotal as I have met him on a couple occasions and always an asshole.

Edit: Also, the fact that the snow that came in the 2nd and 3rd was making the puck stick to the ice, that should benefit the goalies.

[draynay]

And just curious, what makes Brodeur an asshole?

the things he says and does

[Reg]

the things he says and does

Hence his nickname Uncle Daddy. But that's not just him, I think anyone that cheats on their wife with her sister is scum.

[Rennadrel]

lol Love the picture. I really dislike Marty, and to be honest doesn't have anything to do with his goaltending. He was a great goaltender, but he is a real asshole.

Not as much of an asshole as Patrick Roy is. Then again, you'd be an asshole too if you played for Montreal!

[VanillaO]

Brodeur *is* an asshole. One of the best 5 goalies ever, almost without a doubt... also an immense piece of shit, though. I would actually say that Brodeur is a worse person than Roy.

[Reg]

Not as much of an asshole as Patrick Roy is. Then again, you'd be an asshole too if you played for Montreal!

It's a close match, but I'll give Marty just a slight edge of bigger asshole just for being a Devil lol But very close.

[Greeney]

I was at the game, so I saw the conditions. Lundqvist also said he adapted and learned to play the bounces after the first period. He didn't blame the goals on the ice and even admitted to being out of position on one. And the Rangers, who play on arguably the worst ice conditions all season at home because it's several floors up, never bitch like Marty did. He makes it sound like it was only him playing on bad ice.

And him being an asshole is anecdotal as I have met him on a couple occasions and always an asshole.

Edit: Also, the fact that the snow that came in the 2nd and 3rd was making the puck stick to the ice, that should benefit the goalies.

I knew about the sister in law thing, but other than that I never heard much negative about him. What did he do when you met him in person to come off like that?