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matt59

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Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 25, 2023 at 2:05 p.m.
Thread: Redoing Things in the 2022 Offseason
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>CaseyFlyman</b></div><div>I don't mind the Provorov deal, in hindsight. It's done 3 important things: 1) shielded players like Mateychuk and Svozil so they don't have to take on the 2LD role now, 2) Provorov's season has definitely bumped up his value a little, and 3) related to 2, gives us the ability to trade him down the line when we have a better idea which pieces are core and which holes need to actually be filled, and target those needs with either the picks or players we get back.

The overarching complaint for me is the FO:

"In this universe I'd also like to think Mike Babcock isn't hired as HC at all, and that whole crap show is avoided entirely. Pazzy wouldn't have been my first choice hire either, imo it would've been nice to get a external candidate who is a capable coach. I cannot understand this org's fascination with internal hires despite the fact they never perform to a high standard. (Todd Richards, Brad Larsen, Pascal Vincent, etc.). There were absolutely capable external candidates available who were passed over for whatever reason."

Paz is a fine coach, and I like what he's done this year. The last two seasons under Larsen completely ruined both the culture and the development trajectory of some key players that are just now getting back on track, IMO. Ownership should have let Jarmo make the choice and come to them before hiring, and when he said his choice was Larsen, fired him on the spot. They certainly should have fired him on the spot for hiring Babcock in the first place. The boys club/internal hire issues have plagued this franchise for years, and if anything needs a shakeup, it's the FO and arguably the ownership that's allowed a culture of failure to fester.

I don't mind the team on the ice, I think that's the result of a mostly fine or obvious moves that have set us up nicely for future success. But I don't trust this management crew to get us over the hump, and that's the first change that needs to happen.


As for the players: Gaudreau is still important because it showed the rest of the league that big-name free agents view Columbus as a legit spot. Severson is expensive but should be fine. Gudbranson has been fine this year, but I wouldn't take him over Bjorky, which was the biggest mistake of the bunch. Undo everything you've done here, and ice the roster as you have it, and <strong>this team is still bottom-5 in the league.</strong></div></div>
Agreed with a good bit of what you’re saying here. The FO has completely flopped the last two years in a variety of ways from coaching hires to PR and accountability within the org. And part of that stems from ownership. I don’t expect or want a meddlesome ownership group, but being completely hands off and only friends of the PHOP and GM is not a winning relationship. Like you said, if they had any sense about themselves, the Larsen and Babcock hirings wouldn’t/shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

I do think as a whole the team on ice has been poorly constructed outside of draft picks. To me it’s just kinda a collection of what should be talented or valuable pieces that don’t seem to fit great. And that’s on management for constructing a group that isn’t getting positive results.

I’m iffy on Pazzy as a whole. I don’t mind the way he handled the Laine/Gaudreau benchings (they were playing terrible and a message needed to be sent) and do appreciate that he tries to hold players accountable more than Larsen did. However I’m really not sure why Jiricek has been getting jerked around from press box to third pair to first pair. I haven’t been able to watch all of this years games but he was rolling early in the season while paired with Provy and then got scratched after making the key play to keep a puck in the zone, leading to our ONLY GOAL against Washington. Then once brought back in, he’s paired with bean instead of Provorov who he was clearly more comfortable with. Imo tactically i think there’s lots of room for improvement too, with leads we still get to “prevent defensey”. It does seem like they have tried to become a more aggressive defensive team which is an improvement over the very stagnant style that was played earlier this year.
Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 25, 2023 at 9:33 a.m.
Thread: Redoing Things in the 2022 Offseason
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>AndrewPawlack</b></div><div>Or they could've had Johnny and just actually valued Bjorky and paid a smidgen to dump Nyquist instead :huff :huff but Jarmo is ignorant to dump trades and we lost a younger, better producer, better contract, kind hearted org vet and ended up with neither now.

Yes Severson deal bad. Don't mind him as depth D, but too much term and money. Should've signed like a 5x5</div></div>

Hell in this scenario we would’ve been able to keep Gus and Bjorkstrand since Laine would’ve been out the door. Was extremely disappointed they chose to dump Bjorkstrand the way they did, for a guy who wanted to be there and was a great player here they did him very dirty, while on his honeymoon smh.

Yeah at 5x5 or so i wouldn’t have had an issue with Severson. But 6.25x8 is just bananas for a guy who’s prone to making “the big mistake” at the worst possible time 🤦‍♂️
Forum: Armchair-GMDec. 25, 2023 at 9:27 a.m.
Thread: Redoing Things in the 2022 Offseason
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Trevor31lv</b></div><div>Like this a lot. Personally, I'd still want to do the Gaudreau signing IF Gudbranson isn't a package deal. I'm still not clear on that whole dynamic and whether it would've come up or not without them signing Gudbranson. Having an elite player, even if he's not that no. 1 guy on a cup quality guy still provides a lot of value and with Zach being the only large contract here, they've got plenty of room to make it work and money wouldn't even be a concern for another 3 years, if that. Top line looks a lot better and I think would help Fantilli's growth a lot more with Gaudreau there and Jenner bumped down.

Since you mentioned coaching, I know they hired Larson the prior season, but if they'd gone internal I would've much rather had Shaw than Larson. If anyone already in the org deserved a chance, I think it was him. I would've also went balls to the walls for Laviolette this offseason. I think he would've been he perfect guy, though I think it's a hard sell to convince him to not take the NYR job he'd presumably still be offered. I would've gone after him the second Washington let him go though and maybe been able to grab him quickly.

Lastly, since you mentioned Severson and the HC from this offseason, I'd add that I also wouldn't make the Provorov deal. I think he's a good fit in terms of short term 2 year player for that 2LD spot as prospects develop (though Meteychuk seems to basically be ready now, who woulda though lol). I was not cool with giving up the 1st for him though. If Philly was asking for that LA pick, I would've just moved on and looked for a FA or something to fill that spot on a 2-3 year deal, even if it was a worse option. Saw a lot of arguments this offseason that it didn't matter if they overpaid for Provorov cause the pick was "basically free" from the Korpi/Gavrikov deal, but I think that mindset is awful. At the point you made that trade and got the pick, it's not free. Good job getting a 1st for 2 expiring deals, but now that you have it it's an asset you should value, not throw away on an overpay you could've just solved in FA cause you think you're playing with house money or whatever. And worst case, I'd play Blankenburg (who should be in the lineup imo) there, or Bean/Boqvist on the left side short term.</div></div>

I thought about leaving Gaudreau in there and then keeping Bjorkstrand with Laine being the cap sacrifice, but i do have some long term concerns on how Johnnys contract is going to age. And given our window to win really isn’t going to be until 2025-26 with how the roster is constructed, that’s another 2 years of aging on Johnny before we are truly ready to win.

I agree 100% about Shaw. I was legitimately pissed that Shaw was brushed to the side while Larsen (notable power play struggle coach) was heralded as Torts’ prodigy by management lol. Extremely ironic that Jarmo and JD were adamant that he’d uphold “the standard” set by Torts only to fire him 2 seasons later for “letting the standard slip”. Also believe that Laviolette would’ve been the perfect hire as a little bit of a hardass but one who knows how to coach a winner and get the most out of players. Agreed that the odds are low he would’ve wanted to coach here over NYR but we’ll never actually know whether that’s true or not

I kinda agree/disagree on Provorov. Totally understand from the asset management perspective that it’s not the most ideal expenditure but realistically I’m not sure if we would’ve been able to land one of the left shot UFA d men. To me we’re one of Orlov/Graves really gonna sign in Columbus over Pittsburgh or Carolina? Additionally getting a Russian who’s a good player in Provorov to help the young Russian players feel more included i think has been very beneficial for them. Also has paired well with Jiricek (when he isn’t benched 🙄). I do think I’d be a little more pressed if that pick was even 2-3 spots higher bc it would opened the door to drafting a guy like Oliver Moore. But end of the day, it’s one of the lesser issues to me compared to the litany of poor moves we’ve made the last 2 years.

Merry Christmas as well!
Forum: Armchair-GMMay 20, 2023 at 9:19 a.m.
Thread: 2016-17 Sorta Retro Blue Jackets
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Trevor31lv</b></div><div>It was so nostalgic going through and putting this together for me. My brother and I had been a bit distant (him going off to college, being 5 years older, normal growing up stuff) the few years prior to this, but CBJ hockey got us spending a lot more time together that's continued through now. You're dead on with all the core memories from this year. 8-4 domination of the Blues in November was my first NHL game that I truly had some knowledge around the league, everything you mentioned, watching that 3rd line I loved go absolutely ham in game 4 vs Pittsburgh.

I didn't really regularly attend games considering I was a kid w barely any money at the time, but that started the next year and man, I can think of so many great times in person like you just rattled off.

Huge win in 18-19 against the Habs during the run at the end of the season
Both TBL games, but especially game 4 of course
Same game 3 vs Boston you mentioned, probably the best atmosphere I've ever seen in NWA (A bigtime core memory for me is TNT playing during a stoppage near the end of the 2nd and crowd chanting Bob's name with the song)
Z hat trick in Bob's return on New Year's
8 goal opening night against Arizona
Rookie Chinakov and Sillinger combining to beat the Avs in the final minute early last season
Sillinger and Marchenko hat tricks as rookies the past 2 years (I seem to have pretty good luck attending games someone pots 3 haha)</div></div>

I wound up leaving for college shortly after the 16-17 but lots of great memories watching games from the dorm those next two years. Panarins game 1 OT winner vs the caps, and every moment after the first period of the Tampa series were truly special to watch even from a distance. Game 3 vs Boston was actually our exam week but we found a way back to Columbus for the night without missing an exam 😂

Thinking about these teams definitely makes me wish even more that the current incarnation of this team can see some positive growth this year and return to contender status year in and year out, definitely miss seeing winning hockey in Columbus!
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 5, 2023 at 1:13 p.m.
Thread: taking the next step
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>OldNYIfan</b></div><div>Contrary to my fellow Los Angeles adherents, I think that there IS a small chance that Matt Roy gets traded (and Buffalo would be one of the prime possibilities for his destination). The scenario I foresee is that Rob Blake wants to get back into the first round of the 2023 draft. This might even happen at the tables, if the player they have their eyes on is available at Buffalo's position. Once the first day of the draft is over, that window will slam firmly shut.

Sean Walker is an excellent short-term solution for you guys and shouldn't cost much -- maybe we get our third back?</div></div>

Idk if walker would be an upgrade at RHD necessarily but Buffalo definitely will look at all options.
Forum: Armchair-GMMar. 5, 2023 at 12:29 a.m.
Thread: taking the next step
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>PuckLuck_77</b></div><div>Matt Roy is not likely to be traded because the Kings can't replace the type of minutes he plays with their pipeline.

That being said, this is close to the type of package it would take to actually make LA think about it. Bryson isn't the right LD for the Kings, but at least you acknowledge the hole in LA's roster and have the 1st round pick included. So I commend you for that.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>tkecanuck341</b></div><div>Matt Roy is not available.</div></div>

My thinking with Roy was given LAK's depth at the position and his contract status that he'd be possibly movable with Durzi and Clarke/Spence making roster pushes next year. Guessing Walker is more likely to be the odd man out for next season then?
Forum: Armchair-GMFeb. 23, 2023 at 8:02 p.m.