Hello Robert. Longtime season ticket holder here. I just discovered this substack and love your work here. What a breath of fresh air for in depth stars content. Reddit is too reactive. Can’t wait to participate in some good stars discussion!
I would like to know your personal verdict on this signing (How would you rate it?). Is the overall vision (with bastian and false) to make the team grittier like the 2020 cup team? And do you think we could run into a Blummel situation again if some of our young talent has less opportunity?
Thanks Michael! Appreciate the kind words. I just try to write the sort of thing I would want to read. Glad to have you aboard.
The signing is perfectly fine. More defensively oriented than players who filled that role previously like Craig Smith and Evgenii Dadonov, but for the small price, it’s perfectly fine. This won’t make or break their season, but it does make them deeper, and that’s a good thing.
I like this signing much more than the Faksa signing. Bottom six guys have to not hurt the team when they are on the ice, even if they aren’t actively helping. It’s easy to say “just go get a guy for league minimum and throw him out there,” it’s harder to find guys who won’t hurt the team will sign for league minimum.
A league minimum guy who can break even out there and also bring the pain isn’t a bad depth piece at all.
Yeah, I don’t think you can really have strong feelings about this either way, to be honest. I was a big Dadonov fan, but the tertiary benefits of a player like this could be seen in a new system. It’s fine.
I'm generally not a fan of giving up offensive ability for a little more physicality. It's a lot easier to hit a guy than to score a goal or even an assist. I suppose that you need an element of physicality and tight checking in your forward lines, but there should be a way to do that without giving up too much offense.
I thought that Faksa requested to be traded last summer and so was sent to St Louis. Was he willing to come back because DeBoer is no longer the coach or maybe pastures aren't always greener so to speak?
Didn’t realize Hintz played 80 games 2 of the last 4 seasons.
He’s pretty durable when he’s not getting slashed into tiny pieces.
The Faksa signing for those $$ and length make everything else moot. Off-season complete train wreck. Now back to golf
That’s a pretty gloomy take on a two year deal for 2% of the salary cap!
Yes it is but this team is right up against the cap and didn't need to piss valuable $$s away like that... Sorry 😟
No apology needed. Guess it just seems like an overreaction to me. Faksa is a defensive specialist, not a black hole.
Hello Robert. Longtime season ticket holder here. I just discovered this substack and love your work here. What a breath of fresh air for in depth stars content. Reddit is too reactive. Can’t wait to participate in some good stars discussion!
I would like to know your personal verdict on this signing (How would you rate it?). Is the overall vision (with bastian and false) to make the team grittier like the 2020 cup team? And do you think we could run into a Blummel situation again if some of our young talent has less opportunity?
Thanks!
Thanks Michael! Appreciate the kind words. I just try to write the sort of thing I would want to read. Glad to have you aboard.
The signing is perfectly fine. More defensively oriented than players who filled that role previously like Craig Smith and Evgenii Dadonov, but for the small price, it’s perfectly fine. This won’t make or break their season, but it does make them deeper, and that’s a good thing.
Thanks for the reply!
I like this signing much more than the Faksa signing. Bottom six guys have to not hurt the team when they are on the ice, even if they aren’t actively helping. It’s easy to say “just go get a guy for league minimum and throw him out there,” it’s harder to find guys who won’t hurt the team will sign for league minimum.
A league minimum guy who can break even out there and also bring the pain isn’t a bad depth piece at all.
Yeah, I don’t think you can really have strong feelings about this either way, to be honest. I was a big Dadonov fan, but the tertiary benefits of a player like this could be seen in a new system. It’s fine.
I'm generally not a fan of giving up offensive ability for a little more physicality. It's a lot easier to hit a guy than to score a goal or even an assist. I suppose that you need an element of physicality and tight checking in your forward lines, but there should be a way to do that without giving up too much offense.
I thought that Faksa requested to be traded last summer and so was sent to St Louis. Was he willing to come back because DeBoer is no longer the coach or maybe pastures aren't always greener so to speak?
His role was disappearing last year, but I think the roster realities mean that won’t be an issue. For now, at least.
That’s a lot of Character™ on one line, certainly.
Somewhere, Calvin’s Dad is smiling
Who knew you could build character through so much violence?
cromulent..nice.
May have connected with Nasreddine during his time as an assistant with the Devils.