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Game #68 – Hawks vs. Stars Q&A: Logan Stark Of Defending Big D

By Sam Fels March 9, 2019 1432 0

Logan Stark is an editor at DefendingBigD.com. You can follow her @LoganStarkBooks. Hey…Stark on the Stars. We just thought of that! Anyway, here’s the Q&A we did with her two weeks ago when the Stars were here

Let’s get this out of the way up top. While the CEO swearing about the team’s two stars is good for comedic value out here, isn’t it nonsensical as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are just about the only reason the Stars are anything? (not to mention Benn’s long-standing place with the team and fans)

– First of all, Bishop and Khudobin have been absolute brick walls this season. They’re a large factor of why the Stars are still in a playoff position this late in the season. Second, Miro Heiskanen is a godsend for this team, especially when half the blue line was injured during the first half of the season. Okay, on to the real question. CEO Lites’ comments were beyond nonsensical. Not only did the tirade tarnish the team’s reputation around the league (what high-profile player would want to sign with the team now?), but it also made them a laughing stock. Benn and Seguin have proved Lites wrong with their on-ice performance, but those comments are continuing to hang over them and the team almost two months after they rocked hockey Twitter. Benn and Seguin are the faces of the franchise and are fan-favorites, and they were definitely fan-favorites for their classy responses to the comments. In the end, Lites’ comments backfired, I think, landing egg on his face – while getting some good splatter on the team that will come off with time. CEOs come and go, but Benn and Seguin are here to stay for a long, long time. In the end, it’s their on-ice performance and leadership in the locker room that matters the most. The team and coaching staff still support them, so why should fans do any different?

Why has Julius Honka not worked? The pedigree is there, he seems to have a coach that wants to play faster, and yet four points is four points…

– Do we have time for me to draft a graduate dissertation on why Honka hasn’t worked? No? Okay, let’s give this a shot: The yo-yo effect under Hitchcock last season did absolutely nothing for Honka. Not only was he bounced between the Dallas Stars and their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, but he was bounced with such frequency that he never had a chance to settle into the lineup and make a real impact. When Honka did spend time in Dallas, it was most often as a healthy scratch or with sub-par ice time. None of that helped his development and can only have hurt his confidence on the ice. We’ve seen flashes of his brilliance on the ice, but not this season. He’s been a healthy scratch with regularity under Montgomery, which leads me to believe that Montgomery doesn’t know where to slot him in within the current lineup. There’s just not room in the lines for a player struggling to produce (hush, let’s not talk about Nichushkin) and who needs time on the ice to get his skates back under him, so to speak. At this point, I would say it’s time to trade Honka, use him to bring in fresh talent that’s capable of producing at a steady rate.

Jim Nill has gotten three coaches. At what point does the cannon point at him?

– If the Stars fail to make the playoffs this spring, I think there’s going to be a turnover in the front office. It’s pretty clear that management expects this roster to be a repeat contender, yet they’ve failed to make a real postseason splash. If the Stars fail to make the playoffs (or fail to make it past the first round), I would place good money on Nill being let go. The lack of postseason performances and his lackluster record at the draft table would definitely be grounds for his exit from the team. At a certain point, it’s not about the coaches, but about the guy in the front office saddling said coaches with questionable trades, picks, and players.

What are the Stars gong to do before the deadline (assuming they don’t do anything before we print this, in which case I’ll just switch whatever you said to what they did and make you look like geniuses)?

– Nill has gone on record saying they’re looking for offensive power and depth at the deadline, and Dallas scouts have been checking out Zuccarello and Panarin (they got Zuc, and then he got hurt-ED). I would keep an eye out for the Stars to make a move for either of them on a rental basis (with an extension option on the table). One thing to watch for: the picks and/or players they send the opposite way. Just what is the front office willing to part with in exchange for a player that just might help the Stars get to the playoffs? In the past, Nill has been pretty good about not giving up first round picks or developing players that will aid the team. However, the Stars are getting desperate to make that playoff push this year, so is this the year Nill finally parts with the golden ticket of a first round pick?

Game #68 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #68 – Hawks vs. Stars Douchebag Du Jour: Razor, But Only Because He Likes It

By Sam Fels March 9, 2019 1358 0

No, seriously, he does. He’s even told us that it was an honor to be named Douchebag Du Jour once. It’s probably our greatest accomplishment. Scratch that, it definitely is.

If it were any other sport, Daryl “Razor” Reaugh would probably be the leading national analyst. He is what Charles Barkley used to be, which is funny, forthright, but also informative. Barkley gave up on the latter long ago, and the first adjective is fading unless he’s drunk (which, to be fair, he usually is). Reaugh uses the most colorful language around, and while it may feel it’s just for affect like Clyde Frazier, it’s just to gussy up some pretty spot-on analysis of a play or team. Reaugh hasn’t ever been afraid to criticize the Stars themselves, which is something of a rarity for hockey analysts.

Reaugh also has the rare claim of sliding from the color role to the play-by-play during Dave Strader’s illness, and he wasn’t half-bad doing a job he really hadn’t ever trained for. He’s slotted back now where he belongs, and remains one of the more identifiable faces of the Stars organization. If the Hawks ever do get around to firing Olczyk for actually being critical of the team and management for once, there’s only one name we’d put forth. And it’s also the one they’d never, ever consider.

But this being hockey, Reaugh’s uniqueness and joie de vivre will never see him rise to the ranks of Eddie O or Pierre McGuire (we assume Razor doesn’t like standing that close to people). There was a time you’d find him on NBCSN playoff broadcasts, but it’s been years since that happened (perhaps his choice). Instead we get Jeremy Roenick’s slowly-swelling head filling up our screens, and Roenick is only trying to be what Reaugh already is. Also Reaugh uses words that 75% of hockey analysts can’t spell (not that 100% convinced Razor can spell them all either, but that’s half the fun!).

The most disappointing thing about Stars-Hawks games is that they’re the four or five Stars games we can’t listen to Razor for, and we’d give anything to know how he’d describe Gustafsson’s or Forsling’s or Seabrook’s defensive play. We’ll just have to move. It would be worth it.

Game #68 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #68 – Hawks vs. Stars: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

By Sam Fels March 9, 2019 1256 0

Got them back, though we don’t have individual charts yet, and may just go without them. For now, this is a step up.

Game #68 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #68 – Hawks vs. Stars: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels March 9, 2019 1311 0

Notes: There’s little reason to think they’ll change from a winning lineup from Thursday, such as it was. Hayden will barely play so Saad and Toews will just rotate wingers. We’d actually like to see what Sikura could do there for a game or two…Perlini was a nice add for the Otter Boys. He gives them more speed to open up space, though not nearly the defensive responsibility that Kahun provided. Whatever, anything’s worth trying these days…Has Colliton given up on Forsling? He should, and he’s been out for a couple…Power play has gone stale, as teams are on to the entry now and Hawks aren’t getting as much movement, should try and change it up soon…

Notes: Faksa could return to the lineup tonight, and would likely replace Nichushkin and slot Ritchie down to the 4th line…Radulov had a hat trick in their last game, and lit up the Hawks for three points the last time they met…Bishop has given up one goal in his last three appearances, so it’ll be a task to solve him enough…Seguin has one goal in his last seven…Lindell and Heiskanen have swapped spots, and Klingberg and Heiskanen have really clobbered the opposition together, though they start every shift in the offensive zone…

Game #68 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – Weekend Edition (March 8-10)

By Sam Fels March 8, 2019 992 0

First Screen Viewing

Jets vs. Hurricanes/Hurricanes vs. Predators – Friday, 6:30/Saturday, 7pm

Gonna give you a twofer here, and mostly because of this blog’s undying love for the Canes. They will get a big say on the Central race this weekend, as well as possibly vaulting themselves into the Metro title discussion or plunging deep into the wildcard muck. As for right now, the Canes are holding the first wildcard spot (known as “Won’t Get Fustigated By Tampa Spot”), but are only two points up on Columbus for the first-loser spot. They’re only six points behind the Islanders with a game in hand, and a win would propel them ahead of the Penguins. Meanwhile, the Jets and Preds discussion hasn’t died out yet. Nashville is up one point but have played three games more, and you have to think the Jets are going to get their act together at some point. But mostly, it’s two of the best teams in the league, both playing what is metrically the best team at even-strength in the league. If the Canes haven’t had a coming out party yet, then this could be it. Or it could shatter our illusions and it’ll be back to the dim candlelight and Emma Ruth Rundle songs for me.

Second Screen Viewing

Penguins vs. Blue Jackets – Saturday, 6pm

I know, I just said this. But they’re having a home-and-home, and the Jackets entire future could be in the balance. They were shutout last night by the Confluence, and another loss in regulation would leave the Jackets six points adrift with only 14 to go of Pittsburgh. Basically meaning there would be only two teams they could catch, and that’s if the Canes don’t get silly and take some points off the Central’s aristocracy at the same time. So you’d think they’d be pretty desperate, the Ohio faithful will be bouncing, and this one will look and feel like a genuine playoff game.

Other Games

Friday

Wild vs. Panthers – 6pm

Devils vs. Capitals – 6pm

Canadiens vs. Ducks – 9pm

Saturday

Sabres vs. Avalanche – 2pm

Blues vs. Sharks – 3pm

Leafs vs. Oilers – 6pm

Senators vs. Bruins – 6pm

Red Wings vs. Lightning – 6pm

Flyers vs. Islanders – 6pm

Devils vs. Rangers – 6pm

Kings vs. Coyotes – 7pm

Knights vs. Canucks – 9pm

Sunday

Red Wings vs. Panthers – 4pm

Jets vs. Capitals – 6pm

Bruins vs. Penguins – 6:30

Knights vs. Flames – 8:30

Kings vs. Ducks – 9pm

Everything Else

I Can’t Stop Staring At This Mark Stone Extension

By Sam Fels March 8, 2019 1926 0

I guess it’s because NHL writers love the thought of going to Vegas on the company dime in the spring so much that no one ever bothers to question what George McPhee is doing. It’s kind of the same thing with Nashville, but to an even greater degree. And yet, if you look underneath the hood that NHL media is so happy to just settle for, you’ll see that this is one of the dumber contracts around and that in less than two seasons, George McPhee has completely throat-fucked a completely blank salary cap situation. That’s not easy to do!

So let’s go one at a time. While it hasn’t been made official, it was reported as soon as Stone was traded that he will ink an eight-year, $9.5M per extension with the Knights. Mark Stone is a fine player. Better than that, he’s a good player. Probably the highest-end second-line player you can find. Can even fill out your top line as he had to do in Ottawa for most of his career. All well and good.

Mark Stone has never scored more than 30 goals, and he’s likely to just barely scratch it this year for the first time. In a season when a bunch more are scoring 30 goals. Mark Stone has never bested 64 points, though he might, might get to 70 this year. But he’s never been anywhere near a point-per-game.

I suppose the arguments would be that Mark Stone’s metrics have been other-worldly, especially this season. and especially considering the team he’s been on. And I guess if you want to make the argument that those metrics on a team with better talent like Vegas will result in the numbers that would make $9.5M seem a good deal. It would also make Stone the first “analytic” contract in the sport’s history, and you’ll have to pardon me if I don’t think George “Punchy” McPhee is capable of that. Just a hunch.

Here’s just a smattering of forwards that Stone’s cap hit will be higher than: Sidney Crosby, Leon Draisaitl, Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux, Vladimir Tarasenko. Yes, grated, those players signed deals at different points in their careers or in different times. But you also would take any of them over Stone in a heartbeat.

Now, you may say that it’s the Knights, it’s an expansion team, and they can overpay guys. Here’s the thing, they can’t! For next year, the Knights have about $10M in space and that’s without an extension for William Karlsson, supposedly their #1 center. While he’s not shooting 25% anymore, he’s also their third-leading scorer, and on their top line, and you’d have to figure he’s going to gobble up at least 60% of that $10M in space. Fuck, if Stone gets $9.5M then why can’t Karlsson ask for that? After all, he actually does have a 30-goal season on his resume.

Depending on what Karlsson cashes in for, the four highest cap hits next year in Vegas will be to players over 30. Because that’s a solid strategy! Works out for everyone! And you may say they can jettison some salary. Except straight salary dumps don’t tend to benefit the team making them and would also erode the depth that the Knights’ success is built on, so I’m told. I guess you could move out Eakin and Tuch for a combined $8M, maybe throw in Colin Miller and Brayden McNabb for another $5.5M, and then sign Erik Karlsson, to give you five contracts to players over 30 that are your highest. Maybe that works for a season, maybe even two, and then what. And what does it matter if Marc-Andre Fleury suddenly starts playing like he’s 35 (which he kind of already is, unless you want to believe that three March games–two of which came against the Ducks and Canucks–undue his .892 February)? Now you’d have no third line or second pairing or goalie. The Sharks have Karlsson, four lines, three pairings, but because of their goaltending might be a second-round washout. So you’re going to do it with less but better than the Sharks next year there, McPhee baby?

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills! And hey, maybe they spasm another run in the spring while beating the Sharks and Flames and maybe even on to the Final again and all the writers get what they’re after anyway. Or maybe they get clubbed by San Jose in the first round and then have a top-heavy and old roster next year, with no cap space. In their third season. That’s some trick.

Everything Else

David Backes Becomes What He Was Always Was, A Really Dumb Fish

By Sam Fels March 8, 2019 2543 0

If you didn’t see the news on Wednesday, let me help. And if you just want the summary, I can do that as well. Basically, David Backes went to Bruce Cassidy, they talked, both discovered he’s been a lumbering drainage ditch for a couple seasons now, and tried to figure out where to go from there. What they really discovered is that he has no place in the Bruins lineup, because he’s slow and chrome-handed now–along with his brain being a quarry–so they came up with this “role” of enforcer.

There is a lot to peel off here to get to its rotten and rancid core, but I’ll try. By declaring himself an enforcer, Backes is basically saying he has no place in the league anymore. That’s a role, or “role,” that is quickly phasing out of the game, and essentially giving himself this title is a way to duck being waived or save some esteem with muttonheads (of which there’s a healthy population in Boston, admittedly) instead of just retiring. The Bruins don’t have to scratch their $6M paperweight until the playoffs, which will save them having to answer questions that might make some uncomfortable. They’ll still have to buy him out in the summer, because you can’t have someone making $6M only playing three minutes on the roster. That’s a fourth-line spot a kid could use and be productive with. Backes can’t. Really, it’s about saving face here.

Still, the questions with this are no more comfortable. There is just nothing that lies easy about a team either being ok with, or straight up telling, a player that to stay in the lineup they’re going to have to just fight and cheapshot every shift. It’s a black mark on the game and harkens back to an era the league has been trying to forget for decades and long ago died its deserved, ugly death. On a lower level, the Bruins don’t need this, because there’s no one on the team who needs “protecting.” And if there were, Zdeno Chara is around and available to play at least 15 minutes a night in other capacities, and Chara’s grinning face is the last thing you see before you die, as Deadspin told us. The Bruins may think they’re doing Backes a favor by at least letting him go off into the woods to die with a label that conveys at least some heroism, but really they’re making themselves out to be cruel masters, or at least spineless enablers. Then again, this kind of thing can only happen in Boston and a few other locales.

As for Backes himself, we understand that professional athletes are just a different type, and there’s nothing wrong with hanging on as long as you can. But his grip slipped a while ago, and he isn’t some overgrown gnome with a 7th-grade education at best who had to bludgeon his way through juniors and the AHL just to make an NHL paycheck, because there was simply no other path. He is a former All-Star (no, really), Olympian, and Selke finalist. By the time this contract is up with the Bruins, whether he serves it out in their uniform or not, Backes will have made over $60 million. While he may love it, and he may not conceive of what he would do next (though I would bet the Blues would have him on their television coverage tomorrow), there is simply no call for him to put himself in greater danger and jeopardize what comes next for him. While he may fear the abyss of retirement, he certainly has enough money to take the time and training for whatever he might come up with (and he is already a pilot). He has a young family, and in some ways he frankly owes them better than going out there and putting his face in front of fists on a nightly basis.

A real league would have never let the Bruins or Backes use this kind of language, but this is a league that is still utterly terrified of crossing swords with anyone in the “Cherry Army.” But you can’t see any other place allowing a team and player to announce they’re going to spend the rest of the season/career (could be the same) essentially breaking the rules and partaking in actions the league wants to be done with. Who looks good here?

In the end, Backes won’t be at that great of a risk because of the way the game is played now and the time of year. With games that mean something, rare is the player who is going to put his team’s seeding/playoff chances at risk by engaging in bullshit with Backes. He’ll spend most of his time chirping from the bench, which is what he was always best at anyway.

The end is here for David Backes. There are far better ways to accept that than holding onto some warrior badge that no longer exists.

Everything Else

Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – March 7th

By Sam Fels March 7, 2019 1026 0

First Screen Viewing

Blue Jackets vs. Penguins – 6pm

Greg Wyshynski made a point the other day, and while I’m loathe to agree with him much, I have to admit I’ve been thinking about it. While it would be utterly hilarious if the Jackets were to plummet out of the playoff picture after their big going-for-it deadline, it would only serve to scare off GMs in the future from being aggressive. And you have to admit, if nothing else, when NHL GMs get aggressive it makes for excellent television. Then again, I also kind of love that Artemi Panarin has two goals in his last eight when they’ve needed him most, as he checks real estate listings for Miami Beach or Manhattan. Anyway, this isn’t make or break for the Jackets, but they currently don’t have a chair and a loss here puts them four points behind the Penguins with only 15 to go. And the Canes aren’t slowing down either, and should the Canadiens put one over the Sharks tonight as well they’ll be four points behind them as well. These two met right around the deadline in Columbus and the Pens thwacked them but good. Should be interesting.

Second Screen Viewing

Avalanche vs. Stars – 7:30

The Avs currently don’t have a chair either, and the Stars hold one of the wild card ones. But the Avs are right on their shoulders, so this one has some spice as well. Then again, the Avs just lost to the Ducks and needed overtime to get past the Wings at home, so they may be wheezing a bit here. The Stars meanwhile have won four of five, including somehow stopping the recent juggernaut of filth that is the St. Louis Blues. Will go a long way to sorting out the West’s picture.

Other Games

Panthers vs. Bruins – 6pm

Islanders vs. Senators – 6:30

Rangers vs. Red Wings – 6:30

Wild vs. Lightning – 6:30

Canucks vs. Oilers – 8pm

Flames vs. Coyotes – 8pm

Blues vs. Kings – 9:30

Canadiens vs. Sharks – 9:30

Everything Else

Game #67 – Sabres vs. Hawks Preview/Arm Balance Workshop: Even The Yahoos Don’t Care

By Sam Fels March 7, 2019 1553 0

vs.

RECORDS: Sabres 30-28-8 Hawks 27-30-9

PUCK DROP: 7:30

TV: NBCSN Chicago

IN A BARREL: Die By The Blade

I’ll give you the perspective as a season ticket holder. Normally, the Sabres game is one you can count on unloading for a profit. It usually doesn’t matter what state the Sabres are in, because Buffalo fans travel (or they’re already here and just come out of whatever abandoned factory they live in). Tonight’s game, I couldn’t sell for a song. Even Sabres fans couldn’t find a fuck to give about this one. That’s partly due to their own team’s slide ever since they won 10 in a row, and the Hawks not being able to be much of a draw to anyone else. The combination of the two renders this one a “non-happening.”

So let’s start with the Hawks, who return from a frankly embarrassing California trip. They needed a buzzer-beater to get past the Ducks, who have been a burned-up clown car for two months or more. They were flattened by the Kings, who had lost 10 in a row before that. Then they were simply outclassed by the Sharks, which isn’t a crime, but not something you can just shrug off when everyone didn’t care against the worst team in the conference the day before.

So now it becomes the watch to see how they respond. The season is lost, and they can say whatever they want. So can Coach Cool Youth Pastor keep his charges interested and motivated? Because he’s coming off a trip where pretty much everyone couldn’t be bothered in Los Angeles. He then had his assistant captain essentially air him out, in a way, to the press. So he’s not in the best spot here, with a team closer to giving him the Bolo Yeung wave-off than anyone in the organ-i-zation should be comfortable with.

So if the Hawks mail it in here for the last 15 games, yes that would probably be better long-term due to the draft position, but it will put Jeremy Colliton in an awfully weird position. Once a team quits on you, it’s nearly impossible to reel them back in. Whatever they may want, Keith is going to be here next year. So will Kane and Toews. You can probably count on motivation from the latter two, either due to sociopathy or professional pride, but even Toews has had his nights off this year. What if he checks out? Then you’re basically lost, and you have a lot of young players in what is becoming a more and more toxic atmosphere.

However, if Colliton can get them to recover and at least spasm one more death rattle, at least there’s hope that those who are gong to take this team forward in the future are listening. Which isn’t much, but it’s at least what I’m paying attention to.

As for on the ice matters, David Kampf returns, in for Dylan Sikura. That’s kind of annoying, but I can’t really defend Sikura too much more when he hasn’t scored. Kampf is actually more important than most realize, as his Baby Kruger ’13 act has been missed. So that’s cool. Corey Crawford gets the chance to recover from his technicolor yawn in Los Angeles.

To the Sabres, who have sunk like a stone since briefly being the talk of the league in the fall. Since that 10-gamer that was all OT and one-goal wins, they’ve gone 13-22-6, which is unsightly to say the least. And there’s not a lot to build on at the moment. They don’t score a bunch, they give up too many goals, but they’re not that close to the bottom in any category. Their summer hinges on whether they can keep Jeff Skinner, as he’s been the only winger to really dovetail with Jack Eichel.

Their big move at the deadline was to move along Brendan Guhle for Brandon Montour–the hallowed Brendan-to-Brandon upgrade–in a bid to get anything on their blue line other than Rasmus The Younger. The rest of the season will also be an evaluation of Phil Housley as coach. If the Sabres continue to break up like a too-steep reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, he’s going to be out of a job come May. If he can pull them out of this stall, he may get one more chance.

Like a lot of not-quite teams, the Sabres are one line. There’s Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart, and then whatever you find at the bottom of your trash can when you take the bag out. Evan Rodrigues is centering the second line, for god’s sake. Casey Middlestadt carries a lot of hope but not a lot of production yet. Kyle Okposo went back to his home planet. There’s nothing else really worth talking about.

This is one of a few games left on the schedule that will take place merely because they have to. There’s nothing riding on it, so just try and enjoy the spectacle of a hockey game. There’s not much else I can say about it.

Game #67 Preview Suite