Who's Still Out There - Remaining UFAs

That's what I miss.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:I thought that we would have a fun season to watch, losing a lot yes, but not being destroyed too often. I was hoping that we could keep the young guys like Cowen, Rundblad, Da Costa, Zibanejad to have them grow together through the good and the bad. I didn't think it would be quite like this. Can it be turned around enough to be able to keep these guys on the team and have them grow together? It would be awesome to see Cowen and Karlsson play together for the full season and have them become a strong pairing. Cowen has looked very lost though and far from NHL ready at this point.

Cowen has looked no more lost that some of our so-called veterans. As mentioned, we'll see Borowiecki at some point, maybe Wiercioch, but unlikely that we'll get any help. These kids will have to play through it and hopefully soon they'll lead the charge and help the Cussing veterans.

That's true. Can't argue with that.

SensGirl11 wrote:I thought that we would have a fun season to watch, losing a lot yes, but not being destroyed too often. I was hoping that we could keep the young guys like Cowen, Rundblad, Da Costa, Zibanejad to have them grow together through the good and the bad. I didn't think it would be quite like this. Can it be turned around enough to be able to keep these guys on the team and have them grow together? It would be awesome to see Cowen and Karlsson play together for the full season and have them become a strong pairing. Cowen has looked very lost though and far from NHL ready at this point.

Knowledgeable fan says: "With growth, come growing pains."

Gorwing pains are one things, getting blown out of the water with what are supposed to be solid vets and a legit #1 goaltender shouldn't happen.

It's still only 6 games, a lot has to play out.

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:Haha, people are going to have to suck it up. There are players down in Bingo that will get a look before any over the hill vet.

Don't look at me, I want Parrish and Daug up - now.

EDIT: And I also want Da Costa to play 18 minutes a night - unless he's not conditioned to do so, then I want him sent down to get conditioned.

That's a good point too, Da Costa needs to be playing top 6 minutes otherwise it's pointless for him to be up here. It just makes him look bad to see the points he has put up in the 6 games he's played. I was actually surprised that he was playing last night, I only noticed him in the 2nd period...which was probably his first shift of the game. Odd.

NEELY wrote:Gorwing pains are one things, getting blown out of the water with what are supposed to be solid vets and a legit #1 goaltender shouldn't happen.

It's still only 6 games, a lot has to play out.

I keep having to remind myself of that. I say it over and over again, it's just tough to see what's been happening. 30 goals against in 6 games? WOAH! Being destroyed twice in 6 games. WOAH! Vets playing like crap when they should be leading the charge. At this point I wish we had completely blown the whole team up - vets aren't helping at all.

SensGirl11 wrote:

NEELY wrote:Gorwing pains are one things, getting blown out of the water with what are supposed to be solid vets and a legit #1 goaltender shouldn't happen.

It's still only 6 games, a lot has to play out.

I keep having to remind myself of that. I say it over and over again, it's just tough to see what's been happening. 30 goals against in 6 games? WOAH! Being destroyed twice in 6 games. WOAH! Vets playing like crap when they should be leading the charge. At this point I wish we had completely blown the whole team up - vets aren't helping at all.

No one wants our trash though. Again, I challenged someone to find a player on this team - besides the obvious players that have value to us as well - that another team will take.

Gonchar - NMC + no chance anyone wants him
Kuba - unlikely now, perhaps at the deadline
Lee - not a good idea right now
Alfredsson - deadline, or not at all + NMC
Spezza - off-season and he'll cost more than most teams are willing to pay + he's got a NTC
Regin - not a good idea
Foligno - doubt we'd get a good return, plus he's playing okay
Phillips - no one would want him and he's got a NTC
Anderson - not a good idea
Auld - deadline maybe
Konopka - deadline maybe
Neil - not a great idea, but this might be someone a team would pay for now
Winchester - limited interest
Carkner - perhaps a deadline deal, but I wouldn't right now
Z.Smith + Condra + Greening + Da Costa + Michalek + Karlsson + Rundblad + Cowen + Z-Bad - no reason to trade

We're a team full of nothing useful for other teams right now. Nothing at all...

SpezDispenser wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:

NEELY wrote:Gorwing pains are one things, getting blown out of the water with what are supposed to be solid vets and a legit #1 goaltender shouldn't happen.

It's still only 6 games, a lot has to play out.

I keep having to remind myself of that. I say it over and over again, it's just tough to see what's been happening. 30 goals against in 6 games? WOAH! Being destroyed twice in 6 games. WOAH! Vets playing like crap when they should be leading the charge. At this point I wish we had completely blown the whole team up - vets aren't helping at all.

No one wants our trash though. Again, I challenged someone to find a player on this team - besides the obvious players that have value to us as well - that another team will take.

Gonchar - NMC + no chance anyone wants him
Kuba - unlikely now, perhaps at the deadline
Lee - not a good idea right now
Alfredsson - deadline, or not at all + NMC
Spezza - off-season and he'll cost more than most teams are willing to pay + he's got a NTC
Regin - not a good idea
Foligno - doubt we'd get a good return, plus he's playing okay
Phillips - no one would want him and he's got a NTC
Anderson - not a good idea
Auld - deadline maybe
Konopka - deadline maybe
Neil - not a great idea, but this might be someone a team would pay for now
Winchester - limited interest
Carkner - perhaps a deadline deal, but I wouldn't right now
Z.Smith + Condra + Greening + Da Costa + Michalek + Karlsson + Rundblad + Cowen + Z-Bad - no reason to trade

We're a team full of nothing useful for other teams right now. Nothing at all...

Not much I can say to that...anyone that anyone would want we wouldn't want to give up, so it's definitely a tough situation. Man, I wish Gonchar only had this season left...I have a feeling he's going to retire on us at the end of this season, especially if he can't get that bruise off his ego. Speaking of which, is he slated to play tomorrow?

SensGirl11 wrote:
Not much I can say to that...anyone that anyone would want we wouldn't want to give up, so it's definitely a tough situation. Man, I wish Gonchar only had this season left...I have a feeling he's going to retire on us at the end of this season, especially if he can't get that bruise off his ego. Speaking of which, is he slated to play tomorrow?

He is slated to play tomorrow and if he retires, so be it.

SpezDispenser wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:
Not much I can say to that...anyone that anyone would want we wouldn't want to give up, so it's definitely a tough situation. Man, I wish Gonchar only had this season left...I have a feeling he's going to retire on us at the end of this season, especially if he can't get that bruise off his ego. Speaking of which, is he slated to play tomorrow?

He is slated to play tomorrow and if he retires, so be it.

I hope he turns it around. We need him.

SensGirl11 wrote:

SpezDispenser wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:
Not much I can say to that...anyone that anyone would want we wouldn't want to give up, so it's definitely a tough situation. Man, I wish Gonchar only had this season left...I have a feeling he's going to retire on us at the end of this season, especially if he can't get that bruise off his ego. Speaking of which, is he slated to play tomorrow?

He is slated to play tomorrow and if he retires, so be it.

I hope he turns it around. We need him.

He'll never turn it around, what you see is what you get. This hit unofficially ended his career - or at least it made his so bloody slow that he's beaten left, right and center these days.

It's around the 15 second mark:



Career = over.

Lucky us, ey?

Yikes! That can't be good.

SpezDispenser wrote:

NEELY wrote:Haha, people are going to have to suck it up. There are players down in Bingo that will get a look before any over the hill vet.

Don't look at me, I want Parrish and Daug up - now.

EDIT: And I also want Da Costa to play 18 minutes a night - unless he's not conditioned to do so, then I want him sent down to get conditioned.

DaCosta is a team-leading -8. I don't know if giving him more minutes will do anything other than drag Alfie's +/- rating further into the toilet.

As much as we've all enjoyed watching DaCosta hustle out there, does anyone recall him hustling back to the defensive zone? There is a reason he is -8, and part of that reason, of course, is that he hasn't scored. And that's another concern. I said at the start he needed some time in the AHL and I stand by that assessment.

Probably gonna happen, yeah.

I don't like the +/- stat at all because it very rarely tells the story of a player... in Da Costa's case, he is struggling without the puck and in his own zone.

NEELY wrote: I don't like the +/- stat at all because it very rarely tells the story of a player... in Da Costa's case, he is struggling without the puck and in his own zone.

He's struggling without the puck and in his own zone, and that's being reflected in his line's +/-.

wprager wrote:

NEELY wrote: I don't like the +/- stat at all because it very rarely tells the story of a player... in Da Costa's case, he is struggling without the puck and in his own zone.

He's struggling without the puck and in his own zone, and that's being reflected in his line's +/-.

Perhaps and that's exactly my point. Because one player is awful defensivly, 4 guys on the ice pay the price with that stat. It's an awful way to determine a players abilities and people just keep using it again and again.