2020/2021 Trade Speculation and Rumours

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

2) THE LINE is stale.

Really agree with this so much.

Effective lines utilize skill on the wings, but also have a lot of attack down the middle.

The Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm line, for whatever reason, just lack that element that makes NHL lines effective. Over the years they've compensated for it via good hands, some soft matchups and powerplay scoring, but none of these things have been holding up to the scrutiny of the playoffs.

I don't know what the solution is, but I think splitting up that trio could be just what we need. Put each guy on a different line at this point.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

And yet, most don't

Did Huselius ever change? Or Tanguay? Or a hundred other guys that I could list?

Most players keep doing their thing. I think there are two problems with Gaudreau:

1) injuries - he has gotten more tentative after getting his hands hacked so much

2) THE LINE is stale.

I don't think either are permanent

Johnny just isn't predictable overall - he's predictable shift to shift.
He refuses to drive the net. He refuses to shoot on the powerplay.
For a guy that is supposed to be creative - he's not.
You have to change it up to keep a team honest. If you know he's not gonna cut into the net then you just sit back and wait for him to button hook.

And the reality is if this is what he is - great.

But you can't pay him $8M to be that.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Really agree with this so much.

Effective lines utilize skill on the wings, but also have a lot of attack down the middle.

The Gaudreau-Monahan-Lindholm line, for whatever reason, just lack that element that makes NHL lines effective. Over the years they've compensated for it via good hands, some soft matchups and powerplay scoring, but none of these things have been holding up to the scrutiny of the playoffs.

I don't know what the solution is, but I think splitting up that trio could be just what we need. Put each guy on a different line at this point.

I agree with this. I think they have to play Lindholm in the middle. Centres have to be instrumental on the 3 on 3 game down low in both offensive and defensive perspective. He can facilitate offensively but defensively he has this hunt his guy down and get the puck back quality about him. I want all the centres to be like that - win in those areas.

[IamNotKenKing]

Originally Posted by Tkachukwagon

Some on this board won't like it, ranking the NHL Carls as I have.

I actually thought I'd get better reaction to the Hot Carl take. Leaving disappointed...

[Sandman]

I remember Iginla saying that he changed his game every year, and that's the only way to achieve longevity in the NHL.

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

I think #1 might be a bigger issue. I can imagine that it would be a pretty hard thing to get over mentally.

I know we are supposed to be phasing out the goonery, but I would play Lucic with Gaudreau for a solid block of games and instruct him to literally beat the crap out of any player that touches Gaudreau. Just protect the hell out of him for a while to give him a reprieve from all that nonsense and see if that helps him.

And yes, I mean literally. I want to see the other play #### in their pants while Lucic throttles them.

I don't understand why this wasn't done sooner... I recall lots of teams taking liberties and nothing done about it. Didn't Gretzky have bodyguards?

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I remember Iginla saying that he changed his game every year, and that's the only way to achieve longevity in the NHL.

Pretty much every player would tell you the change their game constantly. But not much really changes

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Pretty much every player would tell you the change their game constantly. But not much really changes

Iggy went from beast to lean after a lockout. Said the game got faster and he didn't need as much bulk. So he adapted. It showed. If I recall, I think he said he dropped about 25 pounds to adapt to the new pace.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

Yeah I don’t care what Treliving has said in the media, I think Rittich is gone. I don’t see many buyers for Ryan, mostly due to the C depth on some of the teams I would think would be interested.

I think they move him due to circumstance, and bring in another low hit goalie.

I agree. I think there are also a lot of teams looking to save cap and find more stability with their second goalie...so also not a great seller’s market.

I don’t know much about Stalock, but he seems like an NHL caliber backup at a bargain 2x785k. MIN has a promising 24yo Fin who is probably ready, so Stalock is expendable, and probably the top target for teams seeking a pure backup.

Rittich has the wildcard factor and could be a decent wildcard option for teams who need another lottery ticket at the position.

Still going to be tough to save much cap IMO.


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[Scroopy Noopers]

I don’t see how Colorado wouldn’t be interested in Rittich. But, as you can see, this is a cap move and not one the Flames really want to make.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I don't know what is so absurd about the theory that Johnny has become predictable. I think most of us can predict what he's going to do in a lot of cases.
Elite offensive players constantly adjust and add new moves/approaches to generate chances? Do we think Johnny has done this?

I think he's had the same 3-4 moves since 2016

2015 / his rookie year was when he last was trying new and surprising things on the ice. Specifically I think back to that game against Winnipeg after he was bashed for not earning the moniker Johnny hockey and he did that 360 spin move off the boards and dangled to the net using his lateral speed and put up a few points, and his hat trick against LA where every goal was scored in a different way.

Dude was way more serious about his craft early in his career, then he settled on one way he would play and ever since he goes in and out of bouts frustration when he gets shut down cause he's trying to force the same few plays and opponents already have the book on it and he hasn't gotten any quicker to help compensate for his moves being figured out.

He even beats himself regularly when he's on breakaways or odd man rushes, where he rarely cashes in now.

You just think back to when he would strike on back to back rushes against the oilers 20 seconds apart and bring you out of your seat.

The killer instinct has been sucked dry. I dunno, did he just get too comfortable as an NHLer and forget the things he did to get there?

He oozed creativity early on.

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

Yeah I don’t care what Treliving has said in the media, I think Rittich is gone. I don’t see many buyers for Ryan, mostly due to the C depth on some of the teams I would think would be interested.

I think they move him due to circumstance, and bring in another low hit goalie.

I’m not convinced they can move Rittich without taking a contract back . I think for that reason alone it makes sense just to keep Rittich as the back-up.

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Johnny just isn't predictable overall - he's predictable shift to shift.
He refuses to drive the net. He refuses to shoot on the powerplay.
For a guy that is supposed to be creative - he's not.
You have to change it up to keep a team honest. If you know he's not gonna cut into the net then you just sit back and wait for him to button hook.

And the reality is if this is what he is - great.

But you can't pay him $8M to be that.

Gaudreau’s not really known for having a good shot. I think most teams are comfortable giving him the shooting lane on the PP.

Not too sure watching Goalies make relatively easy saves 15-20 feet out from JG is going to do much.

Gaudreau driving to the net sums up the frustration with this player entirely. He just does my seem to have the drive to engage in the same way Andrew Mangiapane does, for example. If he ever did, he would be so much more effective.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Johnny just isn't predictable overall - he's predictable shift to shift.
He refuses to drive the net. He refuses to shoot on the powerplay.
For a guy that is supposed to be creative - he's not.
You have to change it up to keep a team honest. If you know he's not gonna cut into the net then you just sit back and wait for him to button hook.

And the reality is if this is what he is - great.

But you can't pay him $8M to be that.

Doesn’t sound like a player who returns much in a trade.

[FlamesAddiction]

I remember this past season Gaudreau scored on a huge slap shot. I could hardly believe it. If he tried that more, he could probably catch people off guard more.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

I’m not convinced they can move Rittich without taking a contract back . I think for that reason alone it makes sense just to keep Rittich as the back-up.

Rittich for Francouz would save 750k and make some sense for both sides.

COL does seem like one team who could conceivably take MAF (2-3M retained and Francouz going back). They did pretty darn well before with a highly decorated Quebecois goalie (and I don’t mean Theodore or Giguere)


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[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by TOfan

Gaudreau’s not really known for having a good shot. I think most teams are comfortable giving him the shooting lane on the PP.

Not too sure watching Goalies make relatively easy saves 15-20 feet out from JG is going to do much.

Gaudreau driving to the net sums up the frustration with this player entirely. He just does my seem to have the drive to engage in the same way Andrew Mangiapane does, for example. If he ever did, he would be so much more effective.

Sure so he can do a couple things
Work on his shot. Get better.
Or if he can't do that, he still needs to take some shots to keep teams honest.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Doesn’t sound like a player who returns much in a trade.

I suspect when he is dealt many will be angry about what the return is.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Sure so he can do a couple things
Work on his shot. Get better.
Or if he can't do that, he still needs to take some shots to keep teams honest.

If he isn't going to add a shot he better be one of the best passers in the game.

[Major Major]

I think Johnny's game has stalled out and become predictable talk is overblown. He's had a year where things haven't come easy, his confidence has gone down and the creativity in his game has suffered. But the previous 5 years before that, he was one of the most creative and unpredictable players in the league. He didn't score ppg over 400 games by button hooking, taking sharp angle shots or going backhand five hole on breakaways. Nope, he was a magician and some seem to forget that.

And yes, to the ever present blaster, he was and I believe still is one of the best setup guys in the league. You simply don't put up back to back 60+ assist seasons in this league without that being the case. For reference, that is basically as much as Elias Patterson has had points. I'm guessing you think he's pretty good.

He needs the juice back. I'm not sure what that is, but Johnny's game had swagger his whole damn career until this year when he disengaged early and struggled to get it back. I don't have the answers with him, but I hope if the trade market isn't strong that we hold on to him and see if he can get it back.