My hopes for them are directly tied onto what Laviolette does with the defensive system this year. If he lets the poor team defense continue, I don't think Mason or Emery will do very well. If he puts time and dedication into the keeping the team defense that we saw at the end of last year, the one that good teams need to have in order to win in today's league, then I think they'll do great.
- JAKEw1234

Players have to be held accountable. Too much stock is put in systems. Defense is mostly effort, positioning, and paying attention to detail.

He's not really youth...
- JAKEw1234

he's not a seasoned vet either

Bill Meltzer: Meltzer's Musings: Read Extension, Prospect Updates
- bmeltzer

Leier should have had a goal, but a bad call took that away.

Players have to be held accountable. Too much stock is put in systems. Defense is mostly effort, positioning, and paying attention to detail.
- PLindbergh31

Two thumbs way up.

he's not a seasoned vet either
- 2Real

true, but he's 27 now. He's only a few months younger than Mezaros.

true, but he's 27 now. He's only a few months younger than Mezaros.
- JAKEw1234

and we all know meszaros is a walking corpse RIGHT HAHAHAHA

and we all know meszaros is a walking corpse RIGHT HAHAHAHA
- -davies-

With all his injuries he's probably hunched over.

and we all know meszaros is a walking corpse RIGHT HAHAHAHA
- -davies-

Just thought I'd point out that he's an 85 in NHL 14

Just thought I'd point out that he's an 85 in NHL 14
- JAKEw1234

And 17-1 Ray Emery is an 80.

And 17-1 Ray Emery is an 80.
- hereticpride

Ya their ratings aren't perfect. They did give Bschenn some justice, he's an 83 with yellow 4 1/2 star potential. Morin's rating is a joke, though. He's like a 45 with red 3 1/2 star potential.

Players have to be held accountable. Too much stock is put in systems. Defense is mostly effort, positioning, and paying attention to detail.
- PLindbergh31

A huge part of detail is in the system and how a team is taught to play. No system will work without the effort behind it. But Laviolette needs to adjust how this team plays, from how he had them playing last Season. When every player is doing the same things, and other teams are taking advantage of it. That's not on the players. That is clearly on the Coach. I think Laviolette is a good Coach who had a really bad year last year.

Players have to be held accountable. Too much stock is put in systems. Defense is mostly effort, positioning, and paying attention to detail.
- PLindbergh31

Pinning the defensive shortcomings of the team on one guy is just looking for an easy answer to a complex problem -- as if there's an NHL coach in the league today that doesn't drum defensive responsibility into their players at every opportunity, no matter how aggressive a system they employ.

Inexperience, short season leading to truncated preparation, injuries to key defensive pieces, bipolar goaltending, poor execution... then there's the matter of plain bad luck... they were ranked 25th-overall in Team PDO (ES SV% + SH%) and not a single team below then in the rankings made the PO's either... there are HOF coaches that would have likewise missed the PO's under those circumstances.

I'd be less worried about the coaching, and more about whether Schenn/Couturier can take a big step forward, whether or not Streit can keep up defensively, and whether or not the questionable goaltending tandem can hold the fort.

A huge part of detail is in the system and how a team is taught to play. No system will work without the effort behind it. But Laviolette needs to adjust how this team plays, from how he had them playing last Season. When every player is doing the same things, and other teams are taking advantage of it. That's not on the players. That is clearly on the Coach. I think Laviolette is a good Coach who had a really bad year last year.
- MJL

Lava needs to learn to adjust, but just about everying that could go wrong did last year. With so many players going in and out of the lineup it had to be hard to do anything.

When every player is doing the same things, and other teams are taking advantage of it. That's not on the players. That is clearly on the Coach.
- MJL

Yet there were players on the team that played well defensively and didn't routinely hang their teammates out to dry with turnovers/poor positioning/stupid pinching/spotty backchecking... Talbot, Schenn, Timonen, Grossmann, Gagne & Read.

If the Coburns, Couturiers, Hartnells and Girouxs had shown a fraction of the defensive consistency from prior seasons, this team would have easily made the PO's, attack system notwithstanding.

Wow, that was quite a shot Harry Z took in the Pens/BJ's game...

Pinning the defensive shortcomings of the team on one guy is just looking for an easy answer to a complex problem -- as if there's an NHL coach in the league today that doesn't drum defensive responsibility into their players at every opportunity, no matter how aggressive a system they employ.


- Tomahawk

It's not enough to drum defensive responsibility into the players. They have to be given a structure and a strategy to employ that responsibility. Otherwise it's just words. It's clear watching the Flyers play last year, that they were missing layers to their checking game. An over reliance on an over aggressive forecheck scheme, only backed up by a hybrid left wing lock. Even the incompetent Mike Milbury labeled the Flyers "recklessly aggressive". That was on the Coach. And by the time he adjusted, it was too late. Watch other teams play, especially the good teams. They are aggressive, but responsible. They have a strong neutral zone checking presence to their game. They pressure the puck in all 3 zones. And it's not just the Coach drumming into the players to be defensively responsible, that get's that done. Coaches such as Joel Quenneville and Claude Julien demand that from their players, and provide them with the structure to do so. Laviolette needs to adjust.

Inexperience, short season leading to truncated preparation, injuries to key defensive pieces, bipolar goaltending, poor execution... then there's the matter of plain bad luck... they were ranked 25th-overall in Team PDO (ES SV% + SH%) and not a single team below then in the rankings made the PO's either... there are HOF coaches that would have likewise missed the PO's under those circumstances.


- Tomahawk

Every team had the same amount of preparation time. They were a very poor defensive team long before the injuries to the defense happened. They were poor defensively, right out of the gate.

I'd be less worried about the coaching, and more about whether Schenn/Couturier can take a big step forward, whether or not Streit can keep up defensively, and whether or not the questionable goaltending tandem can hold the fort.
- Tomahawk

If Laviolette doesn't get this team playing better team defense, none of that is going to matter. Schenn and Couturier just need to develop naturally and at the pace they're going to develop. It is not Stanley Cup or bust for this team. Nor do I agree with the statement that the goaltending is questionable. They didn't sign Streit for his defense. All he has to be is adequate in that area, as long as he provides the puck movement and offense from the back end, that he was signed to provide.

Yet there were players on the team that played well defensively and didn't routinely hang their teammates out to dry with turnovers/poor positioning/stupid pinching/spotty backchecking... Talbot, Schenn, Timonen, Grossmann, Gagne & Read.

If the Coburns, Couturiers, Hartnells and Girouxs had shown a fraction of the defensive consistency from prior seasons, this team would have easily made the PO's, attack system notwithstanding.
- Tomahawk

I disagree. They were poor as a team defensively all around. Talbot was disappointing defensively last year. He was guilty of numerous breakdowns that was unaccustomed for him. It's not about 4 players. The issues were team wide. It's called team defense for a reason. One of the single biggest reasons for the poor defensive play as a team, was due to the Coaches lack of adjustments, and failure to realize that he did not have the personnel to play the style he wanted to play. You can play an aggressive attack system, while still being strong defensively. Laviolette has to adjust and attack and pressure the puck all over the ice. Not just deep in the offensive zone. And the stupid pinching, is not on the players. It's on the Coach. Unless of course you beleive that players such as Grossmann and Luke Schenn all of a sudden think they're Nik Lidstrom and decided to radically change how they play. When all the defenseman are pinching, in situations where it wasn't the best choice, that's Coaching. Not player decisions. That's what you're missing. It's team wide, not just a few players. That is tell tale.

This team makes the playoffs if the Coach makes the adjustments that he made late in the Season, months sooner.

And if players like Giroux and Hartnell aren't giving what is needed. Then it is up to the Coach to do something about that.

Everything is not on the Coach. But the poor defensive play from day 1 set the tone for the entire Season. Laviolette failed to do anything about that until it was too late.

Lava needs to learn to adjust, but just about everying that could go wrong did last year. With so many players going in and out of the lineup it had to be hard to do anything.
- LJF

The injuries were certainly a factor. But this team was bad defensively out of the gate. And look how much better they played defensively as a team, late in the Season, when the Coach adjusted. With half the defense core made up of AHL players. What does that tell you?

Just thought I'd point out that he's an 85 in NHL 14
- JAKEw1234

And I heard Ekmann Larson is an 82?



Wow

I didn't think it was possible but yep, fleury looks worse this year

A lot of the nasayers who're calling Holmgren the worst GM in the league are gonna eat their words in a very short amount of time!!!

Even the incompetent Mike Milbury labeled the Flyers "recklessly aggressive".
- MJL

LOL, nothing supports an argument like providing a quote from Mike Milbury.

I am a big fan of the hybrid icing and trapezoid. The NHL FINALLY got it right IMO.

LOL, nothing supports an argument like providing a quote from Mike Milbury.
- Tomahawk

It absolutely supports my argument. When an analyst like Milbury, labels a team recklessly aggressive, there is an obvious issue. And that was far from the only point I made.

It absolutely supports my argument. When an analyst like Milbury, labels a team recklessly aggressive, there is an obvious issue. And that was far from the only point I made.
- MJL

Absolutely!