Briere Kimmo Gagne Timmonen Fedastanko, knuble all can go...
- Philly1980

Gotta keep one of those 2.

I would trade him for a 7th rounder if need be.
- NickTheKid87

Briere i think 90% will be traded at the deadline.

maybe buy out kimmo as well...he looks done it was stupid for them to resign him unless they knew for sure that they could use one on kimmo and one on bryz if need be.

Gotta keep one of those 2.
- jmatchett

LOL whoops

Hedberg's had trouble stopping beach balls.
- Jsaquella

flyers are the perfect tonic.

even though we can tell danny we're going to buy him out, he still has a NMC, so it's not gonna be easy. not impossible though.
- isaiah520

Damn near impossible. He's got kids in school. He can either uproot them 2-3 months before the end of the school year, or get bought out and move over summer break. If I was him, I'd want to stay in the area.

Damn near impossible. He's got kids in school. He can either uproot them 2-3 months before the end of the school year, or get bought out and move over summer break. If I was him, I'd want to stay in the area.
- jmatchett

I think his ex-wife is still in the area though so the kids wouldn't have to go anywhere.

flyers have trouble with hedberg. i'm happy to see mar-tay.
- hammarby31

Flyers make every backup look like a Vezina candidate.

Damn near impossible. He's got kids in school. He can either uproot them 2-3 months before the end of the school year, or get bought out and move over summer break. If I was him, I'd want to stay in the area.
- jmatchett

Wasn't Briere playing in Europe while the school year was going on?

I still think this is a much younger team and that inconstancys happen on younger teams. I think Bryz held the floodgates closed as best he could at the beginning of the year but it wears on you, especially when your efforts are not enough to change the tide, and you end up losing all those games anyway.
- flyler

Agreed... I watch the majority of Oiler game on Tv, they get out worked constantly, half ass it to the bench it seems like there's no "drive" to win a game on effort here. For a team suppose to score goals with all this young talent they cant 5 on 5 at least their PP produces

Damn near impossible. He's got kids in school. He can either uproot them 2-3 months before the end of the school year, or get bought out and move over summer break. If I was him, I'd want to stay in the area.
- jmatchett

kids kids kids...the guy left to go play in germany...another continent.

Wasn't Briere playing in Europe while the school year was going on?
- shekkie

Yup. Germany.

flyers are the perfect tonic.
- hammarby31

i believe it is up to the coach to try to help a player correct mistakes and then hold them accountable if they dont.
- Philly1980

Benching Couturier after multiple turnovers at his own blueline doesn't qualify as holding a player accountable? Dropping Danny B to the 4th-line? Keeping Foster out of the lineup?

I agree that some guys are held to a different level of expectations. Hartnell, after he landed on G's line and started producing big, can get away with anything. Giroux knows he's not going to get benched over turnovers and poor backchecking because the team is on his back. Any member of the top-4 D group is exempt from accountability (I'm looking at you, Coburn) purely out of necessity. But that's the way it is under most coaches, on most teams, so I don't see anything egregious there.

Wasn't Briere playing in Europe while the school year was going on?
- shekkie

Berlin. And he even signed an extension to play the remainder of the year there if the lockout were to cause the season to be cancelled.

Lehtonen missed two-plus weeks with a groin pull, which is why the backups had a run of starts (fortunately, the team was scoring a ton of goals, which covered in several games for the subpar team D and mediocre work by Bachman and Nilstorp). He's bounced back strong from the injury.
- bmeltzer

it's all because he's switched from Vaughn to the new CCM Extreme Flex Pro line which you can read all about in the special review of InGoal Magazine here: http://magazine.ingoalmag...com/publication/?i=149233 (art directed by moi).

Changes in coaches and systems always seems to be the easiest thing to focus on, but this team is prone to careless mistakes and often defaults to finesse over hard work. Part of it is the youth on the club -- kids need to make mistakes in order to learn from them. The other part is a lack of continuity from perpetual high rates of player turnover and constant injuries to key players -- the owner and GM never leave well enough alone. And, of course, the goaltending...

I don't think any of those things are truly addressed with a short-sighted coaching change. You can criticize Lavi for sticking to his guns, or benching Couturier, or his handling of the goaltenders, but to think some other guy is going to waltz in and the team will suddenly execute to perfection is a reach in my book.

Leave the team alone, keep the coach, draft high, come back next season wiser and more experienced. It's not such a bad thing.
- Tomahawk

I'm not expecting a coaching change to be a magical elixir. In fact, I'm already resigned to missing the playoffs.

Since that is the case, I'd rather start the process of instilling discipline and re-evaluation now, rather than later.

- PLindbergh31

That guy looks like a mix of Giroux/Voracek

Benching Couturier after multiple turnovers at his own blueline doesn't qualify as holding a player accountable? Dropping Danny B to the 4th-line? Keeping Foster out of the lineup?

I agree that some guys are held to a different level of expectations. Hartnell, after he landed on G's line and started producing big, can get away with anything. Giroux knows he's not going to get benched over turnovers and poor backchecking because the team is on his back. Any member of the top-4 D group is exempt from accountability (I'm looking at you, Coburn) purely out of necessity. But that's the way it is under most coaches, on most teams, so I don't see anything egregious there.
- Tomahawk

The issue with Lavy is that he has not adjusted the team properly for the past two seasons. He runs in to a team that plays tight D and he can't adjust. He's had his chances to change things but he is either unwilling or unable.

Wasn't Briere playing in Europe while the school year was going on?
- shekkie

Yes. When he was making $0.00 this year with the NHL, he was overseas trying to get paid. Now that he's making $7M, situation is probably different.

Damn near impossible. He's got kids in school. He can either uproot them 2-3 months before the end of the school year, or get bought out and move over summer break. If I was him, I'd want to stay in the area.
- jmatchett

well, he did go to Germany, so a potential cup run on the eve of a almost certain buyout is somewhat realistic.

it's all because he's switched from Vaughn to the new CCM Extreme Flex Pro line which you can read all about in the special review of InGoal Magazine here: http://magazine.ingoalmag...com/publication/?i=149233 (art directed by moi).
- hammarby31

I have to say, that art is really well directed.

Benching Couturier after multiple turnovers at his own blueline doesn't qualify as holding a player accountable? Dropping Danny B to the 4th-line? Keeping Foster out of the lineup?

I agree that some guys are held to a different level of expectations. Hartnell, after he landed on G's line and started producing big, can get away with anything. Giroux knows he's not going to get benched over turnovers and poor backchecking because the team is on his back. Any member of the top-4 D group is exempt from accountability (I'm looking at you, Coburn) purely out of necessity. But that's the way it is under most coaches, on most teams, so I don't see anything egregious there.
- Tomahawk

you see forwards not back checking...you know what scratch coburn for a damn game...he is useless as foster or gervais out there anyways...you have to hold your top guys accountable i dont care who they are.

Yes. When he was making $0.00 this year with the NHL, he was overseas trying to get paid. Now that he's making $7M, situation is probably different.
- jmatchett

I think the point is that SOMEONE was taking care of the kids while he was not there so that could easily happen again. Like I said, I think his ex-wife is still in the area.

I'd be okay with a coaching change as long as it's for the right new guy and not some organizational retread.

My problem with Laviolette is the same as it's always been. I believe he does some things to the detriment of the team almost out of... I want to say spite here but maybe more out of angry frustration. This year it's Bryzgalof. He doesn't have what he would consider (or any of us either) a playable backup so he's just saying F it, I'll play Bryzgalof every damn game.

He did this a couple years ago when Bobrovski struggle in the playoffs and he went all haywire and started that damn goalie roulette that ended up with us going out in a big mess. If you go back to the Cup finals I complained he was doing the same thing with the defensemen. He looked and thought to himself, well, I haven't been given playable 5, 6 or 7th defensemen so I'm going to play these four guys until they drop.

It's obvious management sees it because after the Cup final they went out and bolstered their D and after the Boston sweep they did everything they could to get a true number one goalie. I just don't need him proving his point by playing Bryzgalof into the cement this season.

I'm not expecting a coaching change to be a magical elixir. In fact, I'm already resigned to missing the playoffs.

Since that is the case, I'd rather start the process of instilling discipline and re-evaluation now, rather than later.
- Jsaquella

+10... that is my opinion now...why waste time getting used to a new system next year when you can do it now.