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Game #56 – Red Wings vs. Hawks Douchebag Du Jour: Again With A Bertuzzi

By Sam Fels February 10, 2019 1920 0

We don’t know what it is with Detroit and Bertuzzis. For some ungodly reason, maybe because they thought they knew better than everyone else or still do, Todd was allowed to be on an NHL roster for at least three years longer than he had any right to be. He was the prototype for Chungus Lucic. He scored like, a playoff goal once, and Ken Holland used it as proof that the Wings had rehabilitated him for season upon season. The dude got his ass beat by Dan Carcillo once, for fuck’s sake.

So of course it was only natural that the Wings would draft his nephew, because why have one when you can have two for twice the asshoolery? He’s been a decent enough contributor we guess, and we’re not sure he’s quite the shithead the elder Bertuzzi was, but look at this jackwagon…

So yeah, he has to be, and he did rack up 133 penalty minutes at Grand Rapids one year. So it’s in him if not always on display. Hockey creates idiotic dynasties all the time, as you can see when you attempt to watch any Sutter kid trying to play hockey without choking from laughter/sadness if they’re on your team. Tyler had one big year in the OHL, but just about everyone has a big year in the OHL, especially in their fourth go-around when they’re older than everyone. If his last name was “James” he would have been a sixth-round pick, if not undrafted altogether.

But the Bertuzzi legend continues in the Motor City. They’re going to prove…something, if it kills them. Good thing they suck now so even if they do no one will notice.

Game #56 Preview Suite

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Game #56 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

By Sam Fels February 10, 2019 1238 0

Game #56 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #56 – Red Wings vs. Hawks: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels February 10, 2019 1440 0

Notes: Jimmy Howard started yesterday in Buffalo, so it’ll be Bernier today. He shut out the Sens the last time he started, but he had given up 16 goals in his last four starts before that…Larkin has five points in his last four…Kronwall is a free agent at season’s end but has said he does not want to go anywhere, so the Red Wings can’t cash in on him…Athanasiou doesn’t have a goal since January 6th…what the fuck kind of doofus spells his name “Cristoffer?”

Notes: Only changes should see Dalhstrom come back in for Koekkoek, who was not good against Vancouver…After his late-game penalty Perlini would normally be scratched but the Hawks aren’t carrying an extra forward…Ward’s turn in the net if they’re splitting starts…Saad continues to kick in skulls, and he did it without Kampf on Thursday. Was one of the few Hawks above water in possession…Caggiula had five shots at even-strength against Vancouver…

Game #56 Preview Suite

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Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – Weekend Of February 8th-9th

By Sam Fels February 8, 2019 1152 0

Might be easier to just knock the weekend’s slate out at once, so let’s to it:

First Screen Viewing

Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens – Saturday, 6pm

I don’t like it anymore than you, but of this weekend’s offerings, the Auld Rivals from Up North is probably as good as you’re going to get. And with the way both teams are playing, it’s even better. The Habs took it to Winnipeg last night for their fourth win in five games, their eighth in 10, the Leafs have won four of five, and only a point separates these two in the standings, which means the world may finally get the Leafs-Canadiens playoff series they realigned 25 years ago to get. No really, that’s why they did it. With that in mind, this usually pretty spicy affair gets a little more ghost pepper.

Second Screen Viewing

Penguins vs. Lightning – Saturday, 6pm

The Lightning have gone into something like autopilot lately, trading wins and losses for the last nine games as they’ve run away and hid from the division and conference. You know when you get shut out at home by the Blues that your give-a-shit meter isn’t near the red. The Pens are still fighting off the Jackets and Islanders and Caps in the Metro, and suddenly there’s a big, red thing in the rearview from Raleigh. Losing five of their last seven isn’t helping their case. and suddenly things are getting a touch desperate in Iron City. The visit of Sid and Co. you would think would snap the Lightning out of their doldrums, if only for a night.

Other Games

Saturday

Kings vs. Bruins – 12pm

Red Wings vs. Sabres – 12pm

Wild vs. Devils – 12pm

Avalanche vs. Islanders – 12pm

Ducks vs. Flyers – 12pm

Predators vs. Blues – 1pm

Jets vs. Senators – 1pm

Stars vs. Coyotes – 3pm

Sharks vs. Oilers – 6pm

Panthers vs. Capitals – 6pm

Flames vs Canucks – 9pm

Jackets vs. Knights – 9pm

Sunday

Blues vs. Predators – 11:30am

Avalanche vs. Bruins – 2pm

Jets vs. Sabres – 2pm

Hurricanes vs. Devils – 2pm

Wild vs. Islanders – 2pm

Lightning vs. Panthers – 6pm

Maple Leafs vs. Rangers – 6pm

Everything Else

Strome If You Want To, Strome Around The World

By Sam Fels February 8, 2019 2139 0

As we’ve remarked often during these three weeks, perhaps too much, this six-game winning streak and playoff “push” are fun, entertaining, but they are empty calories. Nothing much about the Hawks structure has changed, at least at even-strength, and giving up 40+ shots to the equally confused and inert Canucks is further proof of that.

However this season ends, what we should watch for is what will be important in the seasons to come, and the immediate ones. We don’t know how long-term the Hawks “plan” is, and we can only hope it’s only about the next two seasons, maybe three. At some point you’re just not going to get this from Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews due to mileage, and as of now there isn’t anyone to take those prominent roles (with a possible caveat for Alex DeBrincat, but he’s still a rhythm guitarist right now, though a really good one). You’re already not getting it from Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and as we’ve labored over and over to express, no one has stepped into those skates yet either.

Thus, it’s pretty critical to see if there are players stepping up into crucial support roles for the next couple of seasons. And perhaps no more important than Dylan Strome.

#2 center has essentially been a black hole for the Hawks ever since Patrick Sharp decided he was too pretty to play there somewhere around 2012 or 2013. They’ve gotten away with it at times, had a brief respite when Brad Richards was here for a year, and then fooled everyone into thinking they had it solved when Artem Anisimov was watching Kane and Artemi Panarin perform “Spider-Man: The Musical” every night along with all of us. The Hawks tried to convince themselves, us, and probably even Nick Schmaltz himself that he was the long-term answer, and then Schmaltz honestly played himself out of being the answer.

So the Hawks turned to Strome, and you have to say the results are encouraging so far. How encouraging? Let’s deep dive:

As a Hawk, Strome has put up 27 points in 31 games, which is just about as solid production as anyone would want out of a second-line center. The fear at the top would be that he’s only piling up power play points, but he’s got eight points on the man-advantage, leaving 21 in 31 for evens. His 2.26 points per 60 minutes of even-strength ranks him among centers solidly around names like Eric Staal, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Sebastien Aho, and Mathew Barzal and his missing “T.” These are names you definitely would want as a second center.

Metrically, Strome’s numbers are pretty ugly, which is the worrying part. As a Hawk, Strome’s CF% is 44.7%, his scoring-chance percentage is a barf-tastic 26.8%, and the high-danger chances at 36.7%. Overall, his xGF% is 43%. Strome has benefitted from the Hawks shooting 13% when he’s on the ice. Now, to be fair, Strome has exclusively played with either Kane or DeBrincat, and when those two are on the ice chances are the team will shoot at a higher rate than normal. That’s why they do what they do. So you can kind of assign that to always being the case. Strangely, Strome’s metrics go up when he’s away from Kane, though they aren’t great with just DeBrincat either.

If you want to be encouraged, over the last 10 games Strome’s CF% is 47.0%, which is just about the team-rate. You’d love him to be better than the team rate, but we’d also like the team-rate to be better and while he’s still finding his way in the NHL you’ll settle for him not bringing anyone down. For now.

As we said when he was acquired, Strome barely had a half-season of experience at the NHL-level, so he’s essentially finishing a rookie season right now (79 games). If you were to cut it there, a 17-26-43 rookie season would hardly be categorized as a failure. And you see passes like last night and you can see greater things in the future, though obviously one of them came at 5-on-3 and yeah, you should be able to pick out great passes with that much space. Still, the second one though…

There are clear deficiencies in Strome’s game. He’s not quick, and he’s still getting buried defensively at times. While Strome can work hard to at least smooth out the former, the latter is going to be something else. And because he’ll never be fleet of foot, his learning curve and instincts are going to take longer to develop because he’s going to have to steal the first step in his head. You can see how it would work with assists like last night. He’s also a big body and could lean on more guys than he does, but we’ll chalk that up to learning the ropes still. That will help him in the defensive end, where he can cut guys off on the boards or get into them to prevent having to footrace them wherever.

Much like the team, the results Strome is getting are encouraging but the process underneath it makes you tug your collar a bit. Giving Top Cat and Strome a diligent worker like Kahun has been a real benefit to them, and that’s probably something that will have to continue to happen (though it’s at this point I wish Saad were more comfortable on the right side because you really wonder what they could accomplish with Kahun’s/Saad’s work-rate and Saad’s greater offensive instincts). Let’s hope Coach Cool Youth Pastor doesn’t get line-juggle-y again, and with a winning-streak there’s no reason he would. If these three put another good 10 games together, we’ll feel even better.

Overall, there’s more to be happy about with Strome than not. And he looks like he can be a real piece in the seasons to come, which is really where the Hawks focus needs to be.

Everything Else

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

By Sam Fels February 7, 2019 1122 0

First Screen Viewing

Sharks vs. Flames – 8pm

Arguably, these are the two best teams in the West, though the Jets would probably “ein minute bitte” that one. A week or two ago the Flames looked ready to run and hide from the rest of the Pacific, but despite Martin Jones not knowing which way to face the Sharks are within three points and a regulation win tonight will put hot fish breath on the back of the necks of the Flames. You can’t ask for more than two of the game’s best with something on the line. Though either of these teams should be able to get past Vegas in the first round, both would much rather face whatever godforsaken dreck comes in the form of a wild card spot.

Second Screen Viewing

Jets vs. Canadiens – 6:30

I don’t know what the hell they’re doing there, but not only are the Habs entrenched in a playoff spot but they’re sneaking up on the Bruins for an automatic one in the Atlantic. The Jets are clearly the class of the Central, fuck the Predators, so this one is another tilt between members of the echelon. The Habs have won seven of nine (oooh, Jeri Ryan!), so they’re rolling. And both of these teams play a track meet. Could be fun.

Other Games

Hurricanes vs. Sabres – 6pm

Penguins vs. Panthers – 6pm

Islanders vs. Devils – 6pm

Kings vs. Flyers – 6pm

Avalanche vs. Capitals – 6pm

Ducks vs. Senators – 6:30

Knights vs. Wings – 6:30

Blues vs. Lightning – 6:30

Stars vs. Predators – 7pm

Oilers vs. Wild – 7pm

Jackets vs. Coyotes – 7pm

Everything Else

Game #55 – Canucks vs. Hawks Preview/Slow Cooker Potluck: Come On Inside

By Sam Fels February 7, 2019 2019 0

vs.

RECORDS: Canucks 24-24-6 Hawks 21-24-9

PUCK DROP: 7:30

TV: NBCSN Chicago

THE BENNING WARRIORS: Canucks Army

First off, I realize it probably doesn’t square up to keep using the train-wreck picture when they’ve won five in a row, but I also don’t want to mess with what’s working. So there.

So this is stupid, and with pretty much everyone playing tonight it could shake out any number of ways, but the Canucks currently hold the last playoff spot. And with a regulation win over them, the Hawks will honest-to-god be one point behind them. In fact, should the Blues not win tonight–and they’re in Tampa so you wouldn’t count on it–a regulation win would see the Hawks no more than a point out no matter how the other results go. Sure, they might still have to climb over five goddamn teams, but it’s all a fucking mess so let’s do our best to enjoy it.

And getting one over on this Canucks team at home shouldn’t be that big of an ask, but the Hawks have whiffed on easier exams. Vancouver is at the end of a four-game Eastern swing, so they could have the bus running. Since the turn of the year they’re a middling, at best, 5-5-2. They’re coming off two-straight losses, where they scored three goals total. They have five division games after this, which they’ll consider more important. This is the donut-hole, as it were.

What the Canucks are doing here at all is another question. This is not a team that should even think about a playoff spot, and should really be more concerned with another top-five pick to line up next to Quinn Hughes next year. Sure, it has Elias Pettersson (I SAID WWE STANDS FOR…), who is the runaway Rookie Of The Year and the main reason anyone is paying any attention to the tears-blue and puke-green these days. He’s made Bo Horvat somewhat useful, which is a real trick, and Brock Boeser is still scoring at a decent rate when he’s upright. Jacob Markstrom has been good enough in net to not get them killed.

But much like the Hawks, this isn’t a good team and there’s no number to suggest they are. They’re fifth-worst in possession, third-worst in expected-goals percentage. They’ve shot an ok percentage, but even their special teams are nothing to notice. In fact, since a barely-hot start that had them at 10-6-2, they’re 14-18-4. Much like the Hawks, they’ve profited from a middle and bottom of the conference that can’t separate or distinguish itself in anyway, and hence everyone gets to be a hanger-on like a late night at a casino (believe me, I know).

The Canucks offer a decent top-six through Pettersson (with a record), Horvat, Boeser. Nikolay Goldobin and Jake Virtanen have not lived up to any expectation, and in Virtanen’s case it feels like the 17th straight year we’ve said that. The top pairing of Ben Hutton and Troy Stecher has been under-the-radar good, but the rest blows and you know that because it has Erik Gudbranson on it. Alex Edler is out because he tried to bob for apples on an ice surface, and he’s past his sell-by date anyway. So might be Chris Tanev, who the Canucks have refused to trade for what seems like a decade and now no one would want him. This is Canucks management at its best.

Surrounding the admittedly promising talent are some of the most hilarious contracts in the league. Go to their CapFriendly.com page and just marvel at Eriksson, Gagner, Beagle, Sutter, and a few others. It’s like something out of the modernist wing of your local museum. It has shapes and colors but no discernible statement or plan other than “I put this shit on a wall.

For the Hawks, they’ll be without David Kampf for the next month, and that’s a bigger deal than it might first appear. Kampf had become Kruger II, and you could start him against top lines in his own zone and he’d find a way to come out on top. He and Brandon Saad had combined to form a pretty hellacious combo on the third line, and the Hawks will miss that. Maybe the original Marcus Kruger can roll back the clock for a couple weeks, but you wouldn’t be the house on it. He’ll slide to center and Brendan Perlini will come in at wing there.

The only other changes are Gustav Forsling in for Carl Dahlstrom, which makes all the pairings muck, and Collin Delia will start.

This is a matchup game for CCYP. The Canucks bottom-six is a toxic waste dump covered in dogshit and seasoned with squirrel carcass. He should try and get his top lines out against them as often as possible and watch the havoc ensue. See if Kruger can deal with Pettersson like old times, and if not you can always change the plan. For once the Hawks won’t have the worse bottom lines, and should try and maximize that.

It doesn’t make any sense, and it’s probably worse for the organization that it is this way now, but let’s see how far this dumb, silly, but fun ride goes. Six is better than five.

Game #55 Preview Suite

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Game #55 – Canucks vs. Hawks Spotlight: Take Jim Benning’s Pen Away

By Sam Fels February 7, 2019 1723 0

What must infuriate Canucks fans, who are generally in a constant state of infuriation, is that Jim Benning isn’t completely helpless at all facets of his job. Much like Stan Bowman, he’ll show a flash of knowing what he’s doing, especially in the draft, but then foul it all up in the free agent market. But unlike Bowman, Benning can’t blame his crap signings on trying to sandbag his coach.

Since being hired in May of 2014, Benning has drafted Jake Virtanen, Thatcher Demko, Brock Boeser, Adam Gaudette, Elias Pettersson, and Quinton Hughes. Hughes won’t be around until next season, and Virtanen has yet to really get a breeze going between anyone’s legs, but that’s also a first-line scorer, top center in this league, goalie of the future, and in Gaudette possibly a down-lineup weapon. When Hughes does wash up on the B.C. shores from Ann Arbor (roundabout trip, that), the Canucks will finally have a top-pairing d-man for a while. You don’t have to squint all that hard to see the spine of a real team there.

Still, the one aspect most NHL GMs haven’t gotten right is that when you’re rebuilding, though the Canucks never stated that’s what they were doing, you don’t need to sign anything other than lost hobos and wayward children to fill out your roster to one- or two-year deals at most. Maybe Canucks ownership wouldn’t let Benning really tank this until the kids were ready to take the mantle, but good lord check some of these out.

He signed Loui Eriksson to a six-year deal beyond the age of 30, in a desperate lunge to wring whatever was left out of Thing 1 and Thing 2. And this was after Boston gassed up Eriksson’s car and gave him a police escort to Logan to make sure he got out of town. Eriksson will be 36 when this deal is up.

He gave Brandon Sutter five years, and if Brandon Sutter’s name was “Brandon Owen,” he would be drinking beers in a parking lot at a beer league near you. He’ll be 31 when this deal is up. Benning inked Antoine Roussel to four years, when he’ll be 33, and he’s gotten six goals out of him. He signed Jay Beagle, at 33, to four more years to do…something. He’s been hurt, and the checking center has given the Canucks eight points. Teams that are a year or two or three away do not need specialized checking centers. He extended Erik Gudbranson, who should have “Security” written on the back of his jacket somewhere instead of his name and a jersey, for three more years before this season started. Sam Gagner is buried in the AHL he was so bad, but luckily he only has one more season to go.

Now, Benning will get away with this. None of these guys are making serious dollars, and the Canucks will have nearly $35M in cap space next year with only Brock Boeser a necessary re-signing. Ben Hutton and Nikolay Goldobin aren’t must-haves but will be kept. The Canucks could conceivably get someone real. And thanks to the complete and utter shit-show that the Pacific Division, and really the Western Conference as a whole, is below the top tier, the Canucks have been able to hang around and hold a playoff spot. They can claim it all worked.

But imagine the spot the Canucks would be in this summer if they weren’t holding on to Roussel or Gudbranson or Beagle. They could honestly add Erik Karlsson and Matt Duchene in the summer with Hughes and Pettersson and Boeser and all of the sudden things look a ton rosier, don’t they? They could have been one of the biggest free agent players the league has seen in years.

And they still could be, given what they have available. But given his history, would you trust Benning with that money?

Game #55 Preview Suite

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Game #55 – Canucks vs. Hawks Q&A: Petbugs In My Ears

By Sam Fels February 7, 2019 1935 0

@Petbugs13 is one of the stranger Canucks characters floating out there in the internet. Which is saying something. Check out his work as Graphic Comments on Canucks Army.

The Nucks appear to be in a similar spot to the Hawks, in that making the playoffs wouldn’t really be as beneficial as getting another top five or three pick, right?

Oh my God yes. There are some in Vancouver that think the rebuild is over and that this team will soon return to the good old days when they would be battling toe-to-toe with the Hawks in search of the ultimate prize. Now, to be fair, they aren’t wrong. Except this time around, the ultimate prize is named Jack Hughes, not Lord Stanley.

But seriously, there really are people that think this. And unfortunately, those people happen to own/run the team. Now, I’m sure that for business reasons, they would love the revenue from a few playoff games and hope that getting back in would boost season ticket sales for next year. But from a hockey perspective, you’re absolutely right. This team needs at least one more top 10 pick, and for another one or mid round picks to turn into solid NHLers if they hope to compete.

Beyond that, the real danger of getting back in to the playoffs prematurely is that they’ll then continue down the Edmonton Oilers’ path. Making the playoffs two years ago was the worst thing that could have happened to Edmonton. It’s not just missing out on another pick, it’s how the team then reacts to thinking everything is fixed.

Pettersson, Horvat, Boeser are at the top of the marquee, but is there anyone beyond that who has looked promising for the future?

Not at the NHL level. Those are the three guys they are building around at this point. Virtanen and Goldobin are both struggling to live up to their promise, each in their own way. The rest of the roster is filled with guys you could pick up for $250 on the waiver wire at least once or twice during a season, or role players you go after for depth when you want to fill in gaps for a Cup run. And don’t get me started on the blue line…

If there’s any real help for the future, it’s going to come from the prospect pool. Adam Gaudette and Jonathan Dahlen look promising, and last year’s 7th overall pick, Quinn Hughes, could finally bring a true offensive threat to the Canucks’ defense corps. He is expected to join the Canucks once his season at University of Michigan finishes up.

When is it Thatcher Demko time?

Realistically, I think we can expect to see Demko as a full time NHL goalie next season, but I suspect it will still be in a backup role but with the opportunity to play himself into a bigger share of the net. It will be Markstrom’s last year under contract, so the timing is right for Thatcher to get acclimatized to playing in the league.

That means learning to watch out for a number 97 flying at him out of nowhere when he’s playing in Edmonton. You know, just in case it lands on his head and then he can’t see the puck. And, since he plays for the Canucks, he’s also going to need to eat, sleep, shower while wearing headphones playing Chelsea Dagger on a loop. There’s no way that song is going to rattle another Canucks’ goalie, dammit.

The Canucks have a ton of cap space for next year, and a bunch of RFA’s that wouldn’t appear to be urgent to re-sign. So I guess our question is how are they going to fuck this up?

I think you just answered your own question. Jim Benning has not met a ton of cap space he couldn’t turn into a lump of lead or two. Actually, scratch that. He would overpay and definitely only be able to afford one lump of lead.

I mean, here’s a guy that dodged a bullet when his old boss, Peter Chiarelli, outbid the Canucks for Milan Lucic three years ago, but he still managed to throw the inadvertent win away by signing Loui Eriksson to an untradeable six year, $36 million deal! He signed Brandon Sutter to a five year extension and gave him a retroactive no-trade clause for the one year he had left on his existing deal!! He is paying Sam Gagner $3 million to play for Toronto’s farm team!!!

Have no fear. Jim Benning has no shortage of ways to burn Francesco Aquilini’s money.

Game #55 Preview Suite