Where to now Mr. Gillis?

More than a rugged defenceman (because you guys really do have them) you need one that can move the puck quickly. Chicago had three and you guys really only had Edler who is emerging as one. Otherwise, those guys handle the puck like it’s a grenade.

And it’s the second straight summer that it’s been the same diagnosis…

Trapped in the Bay area? Join the club. I dig the Sharks fans though, they’re pretty rabid for a fan base that gets ignored IMO.

The NW will remain a dog fight between the Flames, Canucks and Avs. But even then the Wild had some good moments this year (the negative against them is their farm is empty) and the Oilers won’t be doormats forever. A few shrewd moves on their end and they’ll be headaches too.

Vancouver may have finished third but they’re still quite a ways back from the the Sharks and Hawks. If I could wave a wand, I would get that defense fixed, get another coach, find another winger and pray that we have a good training camp from Hodgson.

I need to dust off my AV hate for the summer ahead. I doubt they’ll do it, but it reminds me of the Crawford years where the talent then was wasted by his schemes which simply stopped working. I’m seeing more and more of that with AV now.

I don’t know that I’m ready to throw AV under the bus yet. Sure, he’s made some mistakes (WHY NO FUCKING 7TH DEFENSEMAN LAST NIGHT????) but overall he has done some pretty good things with the team. He adopted a team with good defense and weak offense, and coached a super defensive system. It worked. He developed some offense and slowly moved it the other way. It worked. I’m not sure why the team seemed to lose heart against Chicago, but I have a hard time blaming coach V for that. Did he get out-coached? Maybe, but not because he didn’t know what was going on, it was more that he put a bit more faith in the heart of certain lines than maybe they had (ahem first line). I don’t think he got ‘out line matched’ so much as he chose another strategy and it failed. Anyone who’s watched the canucks for the past few season knows that if he wants to he can line match 60 minutes..what did shorty call it the other day? “A 60 minute line change”. So, no, Quenneville didn’t out coach him with the matching, but he may have done so with the overall game plan.

AV might be guilty of a bit of overconfidence in both his system and his team. We have seen him make strategic changes after failure in the past tho, and they’ve been successful. I don’t want to give up on coach Vigneault yet. Ask me again if we shit the bed in round two next year, I’ll probably have a very different opinion.

Regarding MG, I think he’s made no more or no less blunders than any other GM’s, and he has done some very good things. Obviously not enough yet, but man…this team has a very bright long term future the way the whole organization has been drafting and developing. I know that’s not all him and some of that attitude may have preceded him, but I don’t think anyone can deny he’s taken it to the next level.

But our defence is ALWAYS hurt. Gillis knows this.

We just match up really poorly with Chicago.

That’s a cop-out. We should be able to dance with anyone. There is no good excuse for the team playing that lousy defensively

But I don’t think you have really have 5 legit top-4 d-men, and although not all teams have an obvious top pair, I do think all of the true contenders for a conference final need that, let along a team who’s gunning for a Cup.

Again, not being an ass, but I think the first two series this year showed that right now you have 3 second-pairing d-men. There’s youth there, though, too, and that can’t be overlooked.

Hey guys – flames fan trolling in – and feeling bad for you this morning. We know that feeling losing to Chicago last year with a depleted defence ( Regehr out, Phanuef, Aucoin playing hurt). If those guys are healthy its a different series; the loss prompeted Sutter to completely lose his mind over the next 12 months. Overreacting on acquriing D ( Bouwmeester) at the expense of scoring ( Cammaleri) , then selling Phanuef on the cheap and for some unknown reason acquring Ales Kotalik’s contract ( you think Bernier’s bad ?)

I guess what I am saying is don’t push your GM to overreact. You have a solid base and some good prospects coming; and about $ 5 million to spend. One first pair defenceman might do the trick. There is depth there, and you might consider moving Bieksa, because you can replace his minutes cheaper.

Going in to next year, Chicago has major cap issues and will need to dump at least 3 guys. Detroit may or may not have Lidstrom – if they don’t they need help, and if they do they will probably overpay him. The Sharks will lose Marleau and one wonders how much longer Blake and Nabokov can perform.
Phoenix will take a step back – and so will Colorado. My Flames are too old. I would handicap Vancouver as a conference favourite next year.

Maybe he doesn’t. At the time he was projected (and playing like) a top two-type player so locking him up to a cap friendly deal I thought was one of MG’s better moves. He took a step back this year but they have a lot riding on him. Picture how bad that defense looks if you remove him, as error-prone as he’s become.

had a career high in points while having a very mediocre year. He’s still really young and I think he missed Ohlie more than anyone this season. He should be better next year.

a NTC and a ridiculous term. Sadly at this point you’re pretty locked in.

I’m not a fan of the high priced net minder either, but I still believe in him. He may never reach the status of a Brodeur or a Roy but when he’s on he gives them a chance to win and that’s more than a lot of goalies in town have ever given the team.

This is where I do think the ‘C’ needs to come off. He’s a basketcase these past two post seasons. Remember how strong he was against Dallas and Anaheim? We need that guy back. Let him focus on the game and let Kesler lead them on the ice. Best of both worlds.

First of all, Luongo is vastly superior to Raycroft and he is the number 1 so in the playoffs you play him. That’s it. Backups don’t play in the playoffs unless there is an injury. The Hawks were the better team and that is why we lost the series. Bottom line.

As for moving Luongo that is stupid too. He has a 12 year extension about to kick in. No one is going to be willing to take that contract on at this point. And even if they were and we could get a good return for him, which would also never happen since you never get value back for trading a superstar (just ask Mike Keenan), he has a No Movement Clause. Luongo is our goalie for at least another 5 years. Get used to it. Stop thinking about what might be if we moved him. Cause there is ZERO chance he gets moved.

Wish Luko wouldn’t have been a cap issue. Liked him and thought he was useful.

Alberts managed to turn it around and play good, simple hockey. He has that big body any blueline could use and I am willing to give him a clean slate for next season. A year of working with him and a chance to get him used to the West, could do wonders.

To me, we’re so close. So close.

But what’s the worst that happens? They match.

If he’s not signed by the beginning of the RFA signing period, MG should be all over that.

Zach Bogosian? He must be close to being on that list.

he was benched a bunch of times this year. I don’t know how good he will turn out to be but at this point he is no where near as good as some of those other guys. Don’t forget Colton Teubert either.

hey since the Blues have a stud and another one coming, Pietrangelo, maybe they will trade us one of them for a goalie prospect, a D man off our roster and a pick? Or a sign and trade for Johnson? Wishful thinking?

Schenn is the human eraser! he’s a Monster! RAHRRRR!

Oh, and Gillis needs to grow some balls and go get a Hamhuis or Volchenkov, some how,
some way.

And we’re questioning this performance?

Honestly, yes. I listed out the number of things he’s done well and I also said the future is far from bleak. There are a good number of reasons to enjoy the season they just had. However, in his own words, we haven’t gotten to the point he described two years ago. If the goal is the Cup and we can’t get even half way there, then something is wrong. And he’s in charge.

well written and fair assessment!
well done sir

Nice work, you clearly put some time/effort into this.

However, a bunch of the problems that you’re saying MG fixed were draft picks or finds of the previous management (Kesler, Raymond, Grabner, Hansen, Edler, Burrows, Rypien). So he can’t really get credit for them outside of maybe helping their development and getting the key ones re-signed. He gets full credit for Ehrhoff, Samuelsson and Wellwood as well as bulking up the farm though.

Finally, given what I think we need and what we have, it would appear (to me at least), we have redundancy in Raymond/Hanson/Hodgson/Schroeder/Shirokov – all small tiny skilled forwards, in addition to the non-physical forwards we already have.

This is dead on. I’d like to see more gritty, skilled guys but they unfortunately don’t grow on trees and every team is looking for them as well.

3 new fwds and 3 new D would make me a very happy person come September.