Virtanen reminds me of Bennett; high pick who hasn't lived up to his promise, but still provides some utility in playing a hard-nosed style.
I think once Virtanen is decoupled from the expectations of his drafting team/fans, his value will be more apparent.
Bennett may have disappointed due to his draft position, but he is a very decent player.
Virtanen may well be not qualified.
Apples and oranges.
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Are we saying there is more accountability in Calgary? I dunno about that.
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As far as fitness goes, I believe so. Calgary has been talked about in the past as having one of the fittest teams in the league. Ryan Van Asten is highly respected around the NHL, and our Captain is always top-3 in the category of fittest Flame. We also have guys around like Gelinas and Conroy, who are gym rats. I can also see somebody like Lucic being an influence in that area.
preliminary stages of OEL trade talks. Edmonton and Boston among the teams interested
Oilers have shown interest in Murray, Kuemper, and Mrazek.
Mrazek most likely a plan B for the Oilers if they can't find a significant upgrade
Keeping an eye on Markstrom
Canucks listening on Virtanen and may have no choice but to move him due to cap issues.
Lots of interest in Virtanen.
Lightning need to shed $10 million in cap space.
Obvious targets Johnson, Gourde have full NTCs.
Source told LeBrun that a surprise player could be on the move to open up the space
Man, this doesn’t happen often... you were Surelossed on that one?!?
Don’t feel bad, it happens to everyone here.
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Just think about how bad the Oilers are making Nurse look
Valid point. But every defence man either plays with a worse partner, or is the worse partner on a pairing.
I would be looking for guys who play with bad partners and bring their level up. Not guys who think they are way better (if given a really good partner to play with).
nice, time for the Collaborative Colborne Comparison Conversation, one of my favourite things
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So I started looking up some numbers regarding Ristolainen and his usage after looking up his defensive partners to show how mediocre at best they have been and I am astonished by some of what I am seeing.
Since Risto's first full NHL season (2014-15) he:
Averages 24:24 per night in overall ice-time. I knew he was overused, but holy crap on a cracker that is a staggering number. To put that into perspective he is 11th in TOI/GP of all defensemen (w/ 100+ games). His 24:24 is the same as Giordano has played the last 6 seasons.
Is 8th in total time on ice by defensemen in the NHL. The only players to touch the ice more over the past 6 seasons are Doughty, Suter, Burns, Josi, Pietrangelo, Karlsoon and OEL. Although OEL has a lower TOI/GP.
Averages 2:21 in PK time per game. For perspective that is a second per game different than Ryan Suter and almost dead in the middle between the PK time for Giordano and Brodie; honestly, he should be closer to the middle of the range between Hamilton (0:37) and Russell (1:31)
Has an offensive zone deployment of 45.6%, which is lower than any Flames defensemen in the last 6 years (w/ 100+ games), other than Engelland who had an astonishingly low 43.6%, next lowest is Brodie at 47.2%, Dennis Wideman, who I think would be a fair comparable to Risto as a player sat at 49.9%. Comparing that to the Sabres, the only player with a lower percentage is Josh Jorges, while Dahlin starts in the offensive zone 58.5% of the time.
I went from saying I didn't want him (just wanted him more than Reinhart if I had to choose), to thinking that maybe, just maybe with a reduced workload and more appropriate usage, Ristolainen could actually look like a decent middle pairing defenseman. Seriously, what would he look like starting closer to 50% in the offensive zone? Playing more appropriate PK time, in 1:00-1:20 per game? and playing an appropriate amount is ES time
edited for formatting
Last edited by Crown Royal; 09-30-2020 at 03:11 AM.
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More interesting numbers in regards to Risto. The above factors, combined with the earlier revelations about his defense partners, are compelling. Then factor in the fact that he's never played on a winning team, and has never had the benefit of a quality mentor in his time in the league. I would sure like to be able to believe in a 6'4" physical D-man with a mean streak who puts up points....
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So I started looking up some numbers regarding Ristolainen and his usage after looking up his defensive partners to show how mediocre at best they have been and I am astonished by some of what I am seeing.
Since Risto's first full NHL season (2014-15) he:
Averages 24:24 per night in overall ice-time. I knew he was overused, but holy crap on a cracker that is a staggering number. To put that into perspective he is 11th in TOI/GP of all defensemen (w/ 100+ games). His 24:24 is the same as Giordano has played the last 6 seasons.
Is 8th in total time on ice by defensemen in the NHL. The only players to touch the ice more over the past 6 seasons are Doughty, Suter, Burns, Josi, Pietrangelo, Karlsoon and OEL. Although OEL has a lower TOI/GP.
Averages 2:21 in PK time per game. For perspective that is a second per game different than Ryan Suter and almost dead in the middle between the PK time for Giordano and Brodie; honestly, he should be closer to the middle of the range between Hamilton (0:37) and Russell (1:31)
Has an offensive zone deployment of 45.6%, which is lower than any Flames defensemen in the last 6 years (w/ 100+ games), other than Engelland who had an astonishingly low 43.6%, next lowest is Brodie at 47.2%, Dennis Wideman, who I think would be a fair comparable to Risto as a player sat at 49.9%. Comparing that to the Sabres, the only player with a lower percentage is Josh Jorges, while Dahlin starts in the offensive zone 58.5% of the time.
I went from saying I didn't want him (just wanted him more than Reinhart if I had to choose), to thinking that maybe, just maybe with a reduced workload and more appropriate usage, Ristolainen could actually look like a decent middle pairing defenseman. Seriously, what would he look like starting closer to 50% in the offensive zone? Playing more appropriate PK time, in 1:00-1:20 per game? and playing an appropriate amount is ES time
Risto has always gotten a bad rap IMO. His biggest issue has been for years that he's seen nothing but losing in Buffalo, that's seven years in a row now. His game took a downturn especially after the O'Reilly saga, I remember him saying how frustrating it is when your season is always over by Christmas. If there's ever been a guy who needs a change of scenery it's Risto.
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More interesting numbers in regards to Risto. The above factors, combined with the earlier revelations about his defense partners, are compelling. Then factor in the fact that he's never played on a winning team, and has never had the benefit of a quality mentor in his time in the league. I would sure like to be able to believe in a 6'4" physical D-man with a mean streak who puts up points....
I've somehow gone from defending myself in thinking he'd be a better add than Reinhart, but not wanting him, to actually being okay with him. But I'd still want more than him and #8. Maybe Mittlestadt as well?
This surprises me, they're going to be on the hook for his buyout penalty for 8 years.
Treliving has been linked to Turris a couple times, the first when he was traded for Ottawa and then again when we were shopping Neal. I wonder if he throws a 1 year deal at Turris? Unless something has changed, it's not like Turris is a liability when he's not scoring, so he could be a cheap 4th line center for us, he's also been a PKer in the past.
