habs_93

Yeah, I don't think it's a matter of Bergevin not having "a commitment to winning", per se, it's his hideously outmoded view of the game that's the problem. I'm sure he thinks he's made wonderful moves. That's the problem.

The kind of chasing the "next big thing"/cargo cult thinking always confuses me. Because something worked for one team once is barely an anecdote, let alone reliable data.

Congrats!

#45 Joe Morrow Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthplace: Edmonton, AB, CAN Birth date: 9 December 1992 Age: 24 Height: 6' 0" Weight: 199 lbs Drafted by: Pittsburgh Draft Year: 2011 Round 1 (23rd Overall) Stats | NHL.com | Contract Info OwnThePuck HERO Chart (http://ownthepuck.blogspot.com):

#32 Mark Streit Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthplace: Bern, CHE Birth date: 11 December 1977 Age: 39 Height: 5' 11" Weight: 191 lbs Drafted by: Montréal Draft Year: 2004 Round 9 (262nd Overall) Archive 2006-07 Stats | NHL.com | Contract Info OwnThePuck HERO Chart (http://ownthepuck.blogspot.com):

I didn't want to move this thread.

I can't help but feel this is a really bad move.

I have to agree with Kinot here. This team desperately needs Gallagher's offence.

Markov is way, way more than a PP specialist.

So we're not signing Markov, then.

This is also the NHL, so there will also undoubtedly be another work stoppage in that time. Back in the present and on the ice, I can see a scenario where Shea is an unambiguous positive for the team and is part of an arrangement ("leadership", if you will) that makes the team greater than the sum of its parts and puts us in a better position to succeed. It starts with accepting reality: Shea's 5-on-5 performance is no longer up to the standard which a competitive team requires from its #1. Shea is objectively not the team's top even strength performer on defence. This is an empirical fact acknowledged by the coaching staff last season, because the quality of opponents he faced was less than that faced by Jeff Petry. This doesn't mean he can't contribute, it means he shouldn't be expected to play over his abilities. Shea shines as a top power play performer, and is substantially above average on the penalty kill where his style is still optimal. The goal of the organization should be to get the most out of every player, regardless of whether or not it "seems" right. Shea best helps the team playing less 5-on-5 and more special teams. It's unfortunate that dogmatic thinking in the organization and a need for Bergevin to save face will prevent the best outcome from happening. What's more important: the "optics" of having a player paid as much as Weber being "demoted" to the second pair, or winning hockey games?

I'm much more concerned about our 5-on-5 performance than special teams, personally. I don't know which is a more worrying thought: a Weber-Alzner first pairing, or having both Weber AND Alzner in the top 4.

I think it's unrealistic to expect a major regression. I'm extremely pessimistic about the team's chances at contending this year and going forward. But that's because we've sacrificed youth and high-end talent for "reliable" low-second/high and mid third tier players. It is extremely unlikely for a team with a core of Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry, and Carey Price to sustain a point percentage under .560 or so if people are mostly healthy, even if they play Alzner top pair 5-on-5 minutes. But there's nothing good about being a 7-8-9-10 bubble team, despite how the massively cliched and overused "anything can happen in the playoffs" line goes. While the team has been actively mismanaged and is nowhere near as good as it should be, probability would tell you it's unwise to expect the kind of turning point season you (and I, for the most part) think will need to happen for Bergevin to be removed. The most likely outcome of the next 1-2 seasons is overwhelming mediocrity. What happens after that depends on front office moves that happen from now on. Recognize, too, that an entirely realistic scenario is as follows: Bergevin is let go after this season or next for not delivering, and his replacement is just as conservative and also relies on outdated concepts and views of the game, and strings the team along for even longer. I'd argue that Bergevin wouldn't still be here if the organization wasn't predisposed to buying the kind of "old school, down-to-earth hockey know-how" magic beans that has typified his management style. Think Toronto/Edmonton/Calgary/the Rangers in various times between 2005-06 and 2015-16, or any number of examples across professional sports. Organizations caught up in this kind of false economy/"stability" fetishism/cargo cult thinking can operate this way for extremely long periods of time if luck is on their side. So, no, I don't think this year is the start of the tank. I think it's much worse than that.

Toronto got absolutely slammed at home today, 19-1.

#22 Karl Alzner @KarlAlzner Position: Defence Shoots: Left Birthplace: Burnaby, BC, CAN Birth date: 24 September 1988 Age: 28 Height: 6' 3" Weight: 219 lbs Drafted by: Washington Draft Year: 2007 Round 1 (5th Overall) Stats | NHL.com | Contract Info OwnThePuck HERO Chart (http://ownthepuck.blogspot.com):