Regin and Winch practicing... still no Kuba

SeawaySensFan wrote:

marakh wrote:SO you guys heard the part about Picard in that interview? The coach says he's been on the ice against Malkin most of the time and Malking couldn't do Dung. This for the haters

I think the "haters" just want Picard to succeed more than anything. It's frustrating and disappointing to see a guy with size and talent squander his opportunities.

That's exactly it SSF, I'm anxious and frustrated because I know what I see - and he can do a lot better (or maybe he can't, but I hope he can).

marakh wrote:SO you guys heard the part about Picard in that interview? The coach says he's been on the ice against Malkin most of the time and Malking couldn't do Dung. This for the haters

Watch Picard the entire game, really focus on him when he is on the ice, don't watch anyone else. Then come back and tell me he is playing well. He has played like crap. He will improve like all young defensemen, but he is still playing like crap. As for Malkin, he and only he decides when gets "shutdown".

Picard isnt playing poorly, hate to tell you guys, I said it yesterday, I\ll say it again, Campoli is easily this teams worst D man right now, even the coach think Picard is playing fairly well.

N4L wrote:Picard isnt playing poorly, hate to tell you guys, I said it yesterday, I\ll say it again, Campoli is easily this teams worst D man right now, even the coach think Picard is playing fairly well.

I am not saying Campoli is any better, but don't sit there and tell me Picard is playing well. Clousten saying he is playing well worries me. Either Clousten is blind or Picard needs to be treated with kid gloves. Again, Picard will probably improve but right now Lee is a better choice than Campoli or Picard.

N4L wrote:Picard isnt playing poorly, hate to tell you guys, I said it yesterday, I\ll say it again, Campoli is easily this teams worst D man right now, even the coach think Picard is playing fairly well.

I'm sure everything's gonna be fine - especially with Clouston actually naming him and Carkner as the key to shutting down Malkin and Crosby.

Now...to get Campoli rocking and rolling. He needs his confidence back in a big way.

RobbyJ wrote:I am not saying Campoli is any better, but don't sit there and tell me Picard is playing well. Clousten saying he is playing well worries me. Either Clousten is blind or Picard needs to be treated with kid gloves. Again, Picard will probably improve but right now Lee is a better choice than Campoli or Picard.

I was just gonna say I was re-assured by Clouston saying they were fine. I see it too, I'm sure it's not just us. But at the same time, I really just hope Picard continues on an upward trend and really surprises us. That would be great - especially with Carkner playing like a star.

SpezDispenser wrote:

RobbyJ wrote:I am not saying Campoli is any better, but don't sit there and tell me Picard is playing well. Clousten saying he is playing well worries me. Either Clousten is blind or Picard needs to be treated with kid gloves. Again, Picard will probably improve but right now Lee is a better choice than Campoli or Picard.

I was just gonna say I was re-assured by Clouston saying they were fine. I see it too, I'm sure it's not just us. But at the same time, I really just hope Picard continues on an upward trend and really surprises us. That would be great - especially with Carkner playing like a star.

That may be overstating his play quite a bit. He has made some mistakes, like any NHL rookie will, but he has been fairly solid. He has been EXACTLY what this team needs in their 3rd pairing. IMO, Carkner playing like this is the most surprising and pleasing occurrance this season.

Contracts aside I think our D would look best right now with:

Phillips-Volchenkov
Kuba-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner
Either Picard or Campoli spelling Karlsson, Lee or Carkner every now and then. That would mean Picard or Campoli playing every two or three games.

Yeah, I was overstating that for sure - on purpose though - I've been very impressed with the big dude.

SpezDispenser wrote:

Now...to get Campoli rocking and rolling. He needs his confidence back in a big way.

I cannot say this any clearer: Campoli was a stop-gap solution.

His presence was 100% intended to provide an insurance plan, should Karlsson have not been ready to go this season. You can almost consider it to be an effort to forecast Karlsson's initial impact.

There are Campoli's all over the NHL...he is not an asset worth worrying about. Thankfully, he is an unproven commodity (rather than proven to be fruitless) so we should still be able to find some form of compensation for him from another team.

Campoli + Zubov for an equally bust-likely prospect + a 2nd.

Gohan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

Now...to get Campoli rocking and rolling. He needs his confidence back in a big way.

I cannot say this any clearer: Campoli was a stop-gap solution.

His presence was 100% intended to provide an insurance plan, should Karlsson have not been ready to go this season. You can almost consider it to be an effort to forecast Karlsson's initial impact.

There are Campoli's all over the NHL...he is not an asset worth worrying about. Thankfully, he is an unproven commodity (rather than proven to be fruitless) so we should still be able to find some form of compensation for him from another team.

Campoli + Zubov for an equally bust-likely prospect + a 2nd.

I think the biggest stop-gap solution move made last year was re-signing Kuba. With Wiercioch, Karlsson, and Lee in the wings last year, signing Kuba to that length of a deal just makes no sense. He's a top 3-4 defenceman at best, and while he may be our most rounded defenceman right now, that will likely change, especially with Cowen now in the mix. Expect Karlsson to struggle this year adjusting to the smaller ice, faster pace, and of course his small stature. I'd like to see Murray send him down to the minors, dominate the AHL, dominate the World Juniors, and re-join the big club with the confidence he is sorely lacking.

Well, I guess there's merit in that (Kuba) especially given the fact that his NTC expires this summer, but he's more than a stop-gap, I think. We obviously miss his presence right now, so its hard to ignore the quality of his game. I find it hard to believe that even Cowen can just step in and do all that Kuba does now (although I wouldn't rule it out...)

Kovalfie wrote:

Gohan wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

Now...to get Campoli rocking and rolling. He needs his confidence back in a big way.

I cannot say this any clearer: Campoli was a stop-gap solution.

His presence was 100% intended to provide an insurance plan, should Karlsson have not been ready to go this season. You can almost consider it to be an effort to forecast Karlsson's initial impact.

There are Campoli's all over the NHL...he is not an asset worth worrying about. Thankfully, he is an unproven commodity (rather than proven to be fruitless) so we should still be able to find some form of compensation for him from another team.

Campoli + Zubov for an equally bust-likely prospect + a 2nd.

I think the biggest stop-gap solution move made last year was re-signing Kuba. With Wiercioch, Karlsson, and Lee in the wings last year, signing Kuba to that length of a deal just makes no sense. He's a top 3-4 defenceman at best, and while he may be our most rounded defenceman right now, that will likely change, especially with Cowen now in the mix. Expect Karlsson to struggle this year adjusting to the smaller ice, faster pace, and of course his small stature. I'd like to see Murray send him down to the minors, dominate the AHL, dominate the World Juniors, and re-join the big club with the confidence he is sorely lacking.

Hate to quote myself here, and call this optimism at its finest but:

Cowen: 2g, 4a 5 games
Wiercioch: 1g, 1a, 2 games
Lee: 1g, 2a, 4 games

These guys are almost all at a point per game as defencemen and while I know it's early in the year, I'm excited about our defencemen coming up through the system. That being said, what do we do with Volchenkov at the end of this year? Is there room to keep him long-term? Is it worth it? What about Phillips? Kuba? It's great to have depth but in the salary cap era, depth can be an Achilles heal...

-Cowen stepping in is pretty much a lock.
-Lee is an unknown...he probably steps-in full time next year, but thats not a guarantee.
-Wiercioch likely requires a year of seasoning in the A
-Picard is likely gone, but thats still an unknown
-Campoli...same
-Kuba can be be traded, but that is 100% dependent on the rest of them.
-Carkner will get a 1-way if he keeps it up
-Volchenkov likely gets re-upped.

The only definite holdovers are Phillips and Karlsson.

If I had to guess right now, I would expect our D to look like this next year:

Phillips-Volchenkov
Cowen-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner

Gohan wrote:-Cowen stepping in is pretty much a lock.
-Lee is an unknown...he probably steps-in full time next year, but thats not a guarantee.
-Wiercioch likely requires a year of seasoning in the A
-Picard is likely gone, but thats still an unknown
-Campoli...same
-Kuba can be be traded, but that is 100% dependent on the rest of them.
-Carkner will get a 1-way if he keeps it up
-Volchenkov likely gets re-upped.

The only definite holdovers are Phillips and Karlsson.

If I had to guess right now, I would expect our D to look like this next year:

Phillips-Volchenkov
Cowen-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner

Yeah, Wiercioch is the most long-term of the bunch. He needs to fill out that big frame of his and improve his skating at the same time. That'll take more than one off-season.

Gohan wrote:Phillips-Volchenkov
Cowen-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner

I don't want to see Cowen and Karlsson as a pairing for quite a while. Firstly, I feel like both should have veterans or at least more experienced players to help them out. Second, I want to give Cowen every chance in the world to develop his offensive game at the NHL level before forcing him to defer to Karlsson.

asq2 wrote:

Gohan wrote:Phillips-Volchenkov
Cowen-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner

I don't want to see Cowen and Karlsson as a pairing for quite a while. Firstly, I feel like both should have veterans or at least more experienced players to help them out. Second, I want to give Cowen every chance in the world to develop his offensive game at the NHL level before forcing him to defer to Karlsson.

Rather have those two together then Karlsson/Campoli.

Also, I dont see Carkner or Lee playing their off-side. Our D next year will probably look pretty close to the same thing, just put in Cowen for Picard and assuming Kuba is here, with Karlsson.

A Train/Phillips
Kuba/Karlsson
Cowen/Carkner (or Lee)

Depends what happens honestly but you can re-up Carkner real cheap. I think next year Lee will be 100% ready for a full time role in Ottawa, but where does he fit? Maybe A Train is on his way out no matter what...

I think the way to go is keeping two vets in Kuba and Phillips with Lee, Karlsson, and Cowen and just go through the growing pains like that.

asq2 wrote:

Gohan wrote:Phillips-Volchenkov
Cowen-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner

I don't want to see Cowen and Karlsson as a pairing for quite a while. Firstly, I feel like both should have veterans or at least more experienced players to help them out. Second, I want to give Cowen every chance in the world to develop his offensive game at the NHL level before forcing him to defer to Karlsson.

Rather have those two together then Karlsson/Campoli.

Also, I dont see Carkner or Lee playing their off-side. Our D next year will probably look pretty close to the same thing, just put in Cowen for Picard and assuming Kuba is here, with Karlsson.

A Train/Phillips
Kuba/Karlsson
Cowen/Carkner (or Lee)

Depends what happens honestly but you can re-up Carkner real cheap. I think next year Lee will be 100% ready for a full time role in Ottawa, but where does he fit? Maybe A Train is on his way out no matter what...

I think the way to go is keeping two vets in Kuba and Phillips with Lee, Karlsson, and Cowen and just go through the growing pains like that.

N4L wrote:

asq2 wrote:

Gohan wrote:Phillips-Volchenkov
Cowen-Karlsson
Lee-Carkner

I don't want to see Cowen and Karlsson as a pairing for quite a while. Firstly, I feel like both should have veterans or at least more experienced players to help them out. Second, I want to give Cowen every chance in the world to develop his offensive game at the NHL level before forcing him to defer to Karlsson.

Rather have those two together then Karlsson/Campoli.

Also, I dont see Carkner or Lee playing their off-side. Our D next year will probably look pretty close to the same thing, just put in Cowen for Picard and assuming Kuba is here, with Karlsson.

A Train/Phillips
Kuba/Karlsson
Cowen/Carkner (or Lee)

Depends what happens honestly but you can re-up Carkner real cheap. I think next year Lee will be 100% ready for a full time role in Ottawa, but where does he fit? Maybe A Train is on his way out no matter what...

I think the way to go is keeping two vets in Kuba and Phillips with Lee, Karlsson, and Cowen and just go through the growing pains like that.

I'd rather have Karlsson and Lee over Karlsson and Campoli ... even if they both play the right side at the same time. Heck, I'd take Karlsson playing by himself (torpedo-style setup). Campoli really, really hasn't done anything to change my opinion of him.