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irvine
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1315 Posts |
 Posted - 09/24/2011 : 12:16:05
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Out of the 30 teams in the NHL, which team do you feel has improved the most during the off-season?
I do not only mean teams that were basement dwellers, but all teams.
Who do you think has the most dominate roster, heading in to the season?
Irvine/prez.
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irvine
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
1315 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2011 : 12:21:23
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I have not had time to really review all teams, and weigh in personally.
But at a glance, even with the departure of Carter & Richards, I like what I see in the Flyers line up.
They have added a solid, veteran goaltender who has proven he can handle the crease.
They also have a very solid young core in Van Rymsdyke, Schenn, Giroux & Couturier up front. Backed by veteran grinders like Talbot, Betts, Hartnell.
Not to mention, scorers like Jagr & Briere.
On the back end, well, as I said, i've not looked over many rosters but at a glance the Flyers may have the deepest defensive core going in.
Timonen, Pronger, Lilja, Meszaros. Carle, Coburn... it goes on.
I like this roster. Plenty of grit up front and on the back end, with skill to go with it.
Irvine/prez. |
Edited by - irvine on 09/24/2011 12:21:50 |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2011 : 15:08:13
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while I think the Flyers made the most interesting moves, I think the team that improved the most, for this coming season, was LA. They were the benefactors of the Richards deal, and got Gagne as a free agent as well - filling 2 of their most glaring holes from last season (scoring depth and depth down the middle). And they only lost Smyth. They propelled themselves to a team that should definitely challenge for the Pacific division this year, and with some luck the entire conference.
The only thing that might get in the way is the Doughty situation, it will be a shame if his absence derails an otherwise promising season.
Additional kudos to BUF (although they're 3.5M over the cap, and therefore not done tinkering yet), for making some bold moves and sinking some money into the team. Also kudo's to CBJ, who filled 2 glaring holes with Carter (a scoring centre to pair with Nash), and Wisniewsky (a puck moving PP QB defenseman). |
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ToXXiK1
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
696 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2011 : 11:43:24
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| I think in the East, Buffalo will be the dark horse to watch. |
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MrBoogedy
Rookie
Canada
195 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2011 : 22:08:40
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| I think Columbus is the most improved team over last season... they're gonna make some waves in the west. |
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 09/26/2011 : 04:55:23
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In the east, I'd give the nod to Buffalo. And they look like the new parts are gelling quickly (played 2 pre-season games against the Leafers, and although Toronto played very well, lost btoh by a goal). They are my pick to win the division now.
In the west, it's San Jose for me. Yeah, they lost Heatley and Setoguchi, but getting Havlat and especially Burns more than equalised, IMHO. Burns should further improve the Sharks power play to be tops in the league, and provides a deeper defence for the Sharks, which was probably one of their weaknesses in the playoffs. Having two top-tier, big, offensive d-men in Boyle and Burns will be very tough to play against.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 09/26/2011 : 08:18:57
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quote:
In the west, it's San Jose for me. Yeah, they lost Heatley and Setoguchi, but getting Havlat and especially Burns more than equalised, IMHO. Burns should further improve the Sharks power play to be tops in the league, and provides a deeper defence for the Sharks, which was probably one of their weaknesses in the playoffs. Having two top-tier, big, offensive d-men in Boyle and Burns will be very tough to play against.
I have to say, I don't think that SJ improved much in the offseason - though there was not much room for improvement honestly, when you make it to the final-4 its hard to make your team a lot better. But they did move towards a rebalance.
At forward, Havlat for Heatley is, IMO, a downgrade in skills, and the loss of Setoguchi is significant, that guy was clutch. One of their strengths last year was their massive depth at forward positions, they had 7 or 8 good scoring threats. Now they do not.
The addition of Burns was great for them, and I think it was their best acquisition. He provides size and offense in one package, and can play both offensive and defensive hockey well. He'll be a good compliment to Boyle - who is not a big guy BTW, 5'11/190. However, I still think SJ's defense needs some work, they are big but not overly mobile. |
Edited by - nuxfan on 09/26/2011 08:19:44 |
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2011 : 05:17:44
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Wow, that is so odd . . . in my head, Boyle was always 6'2", 220 lbs . . . lol, not sure why.
What is important and may be missed by the San Jose shuffle is that now, they have top 6 minutes for Clowe and Pavelski and Couture, who each at times was a victim of the numbers game, playing on a less talented third line. Now, they have a second line (assuming Havlat plays with big Joe and Marleau) as good as any other team's first barring a handful of teams . . . it's an impressive offensive threat.
And they got rid of Heatley, who was not a 100% effort kind of guy. No, Havlat hasn't put up the top end numbers of Heatley, but at this point, they are well within the same range, and looking at hockey pool mags, most are predicting more points for Havlat this year than Heater - we'll see.
And they got Burns, who is obviously a big physical horse with great offensive skills, but again, the cumulative effect is huge - it makes Demers and Vlasic 3rd and 4th on the depth chart. And added Handzus, probably a third liner on this team, who help the pk. and can certainly still be an offensive threat. I believe they also added a defensive d-man, can't remember his name?
Anyways, it's more of how the team looks, as opposed to just looking at poolie numbers leaving and coming back, you know?
The Sharks just look much more like a complete, and very deep, team - even moreso than before.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2011 : 09:16:19
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Yeah, Boyle seems bigger than he is for some reason... the superman effect I guess.
You raise good points slozo, and I'm not denying that SJ looks good this year - I just don't know if they improved that much, as they were already pretty good.
Top-6 minutes for Clowe/Pavelski/Couture - I don't think anything changes here. Clowe and Couture both had top-6 minutes last year and made the most of them. Pavelski is not top-6 due to position, he is a natural centre but with Thornton and now Couture he'll be 3rd line centre and I don't see that changing - occasional time with the second line, and point on the PP.
Trades - I don't think Havlat brings anything that Heatley didn't bring, and has all the same uninspired effort issues that Heatley did - this was a pretty even swap, MIN got the better offensive player while SJ got the lighter contract. However, Setoguchi was also dealt away, which IMO was a significant loss - while Clowe and Pavelski were fighting for top-6, Setoguchi was in the top-6 in SJ.
Defense - I agree with you here, Burns was a great acquisition for them, and brings the complete package the table - offense, defense, PP, PK, size. He'll be top-4 in their depth chart without question, and takes some of the scoring burden off of Boyle. However, I think the overall slowness of their defense was exposed in last year's playoffs - particularly vs VAN when they could not keep the lid on the Sedins - and other than Burns I don't think it improved much. Murray, Demers, and new additions Vandermeer and Colin White (who you were thinking of) are all big slower moving guys - they'll crush you if they can line you up but they have to line you up first.
In the end, I see SJ winning their division again, possibly the conference, and going as far as the conference finals again. So, no net improvement. |
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2011 : 10:56:07
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quote:
Originally posted by nuxfan
Top-6 minutes for Clowe/Pavelski/Couture - I don't think anything changes here. Clowe and Couture both had top-6 minutes last year and made the most of them. Pavelski is not top-6 due to position, he is a natural centre but with Thornton and now Couture he'll be 3rd line centre and I don't see that changing - occasional time with the second line, and point on the PP.
Trades - I don't think Havlat brings anything that Heatley didn't bring, and has all the same uninspired effort issues that Heatley did - this was a pretty even swap, MIN got the better offensive player while SJ got the lighter contract. However, Setoguchi was also dealt away, which IMO was a significant loss - while Clowe and Pavelski were fighting for top-6, Setoguchi was in the top-6 in SJ.
TOP FWD MINUTES (time on ice per game) for SJS
Marleau - 20:47
Thornton - 19:52
Pavelski - 19:39
Heatley - 19:39 (will be replaced by Havlat essentially)
Clowe - 17:57
Couture - 17:49
Setoguchi - 15:12
Wellwood - 13:40 (35 games)
Mitchell - 13:20 (66 games)
And remember that Handzus is a centre, and will likely be the third line centre - again, knocking down lesser/less suited players down the depth chart.
Bleacher Report predicts lines as something like this:
Marleau - Thornton - Couture
Clowe - Pavelski - Havlat
McGinn - Handzus - Ferreiro
McLaren - Murray - Mitchell
It says to me players in better suited roles; all the top 6 players getting top 6 minutes; more skilled and tougher/bigger third line.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2011 : 12:14:12
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TOI is a good stat, but doesn't always tell the whole story. Pavelski (and Marleau) get additional minutes from PK, one of them is on the ice at all times on the PK. Clowe, on the other hand, plays barely any minutes on PP or PK - so despite being on the second line, has lower minutes. Plus in years past, SJ has rolled 3 lines pretty consistently, adding to overall minutes for that 3rd line.
The projected move of Couture to a wing is interesting, and that could go one of two ways really - time will tell. I personally do not see them improving on last year (which admittedly, would be hard to do), and I see a lot of the same players in the same roles and slots they were last year - minus Setoguchi, plus Burns, and the rest the same. |
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Sensfan101
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
500 Posts |
Posted - 09/27/2011 : 13:51:39
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I think it is more likely that Pavelski moves to the wing and plays on the first line with Thornton and Marleau and the Couture centres the second line with Havlat and Clowe.
You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take Wayne Gretzky |
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n/a
deleted
4809 Posts |
Posted - 09/28/2011 : 10:28:29
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quote:
Originally posted by nuxfan
TOI is a good stat, but doesn't always tell the whole story. Pavelski (and Marleau) get additional minutes from PK, one of them is on the ice at all times on the PK. Clowe, on the other hand, plays barely any minutes on PP or PK - so despite being on the second line, has lower minutes. Plus in years past, SJ has rolled 3 lines pretty consistently, adding to overall minutes for that 3rd line.
The projected move of Couture to a wing is interesting, and that could go one of two ways really - time will tell. I personally do not see them improving on last year (which admittedly, would be hard to do), and I see a lot of the same players in the same roles and slots they were last year - minus Setoguchi, plus Burns, and the rest the same.
And I don't see you ever changing your opinion, ever, lol.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
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Most Improved? 
