Thomas Townsend: Laine's Debut

Way to early for him to gel with the group, he still has to learn how to jump in front of pucks for Trots.

He would have been a better fit on the Islanders.

Coaches like Tortorella have a limited lifespan in every place they go.

His time is up.

I won't rant about Laine, it's one game and he literally had to start playing after coming back from injury and quarantine.

That being said, the only '' reverse retro'' thing about last night was a reminder of the horrid state of the franchise those jerseys were associated to , notably the Nash era.

I won't lie, I'm about to say it, blow it up .... they looked overwhelmed and manhandled , certainly not the tight defensive system team we came to know, something is out of wack here.

I thought Laine would be given more time to get game ready again before being placed in a game. To me this was a bad choice to insert him into the line up, after his injury, trade, immigration hold up and then arrival to his new team, new accommodations and only one practice with a new team.

Laine’s 21 minutes last night really stands out for me. He was typically getting between 14-16 here in Winnipeg. This is going to be quite the adjustment for him. In Winnipeg he was one of many forwards that could score. In CBJ, he’s going to have to adjust to being the man.

Finding chemistry for Laine in Winnipeg was a challenge too.

Also how has Roslovic looked?

If CBJ wants to re-sign Laine longterm... they may have to go get his best friend Barkov to play with him

You stay the hell away from Barkov

Once 22 year old Laine feels better he will get going then CBJ fans will see what a great player he is.

Keeping with the post...

4. Get some more offensive talent in here.

5. Veterans either start playing better or get rid of them. The list is not hard to make.

Coaches like Tortorella have a limited lifespan in every place they go.

His time is up.
- Scabeh

I've been saying this for over a year.

I won't rant about Laine, it's one game and he literally had to start playing after coming back from injury and quarantine.

That being said, the only '' reverse retro'' thing about last night was a reminder of the horrid state of the franchise those jerseys were associated to , notably the Nash era.

I won't lie, I'm about to say it, blow it up .... they looked overwhelmed and manhandled , certainly not the tight defensive system team we came to know, something is out of wack here.
- Alexzanki

Laine flip-flopped from hero to villain quite regularly. Hopefully Torts can help him round up his short comings. Not a good start, but yes, it was just one game. He can make you forget about some errors when he starts sniping 30' wrist shots. Hopefully sooner than later.

If you really want to love Laine, take the Over 5 in tonights game. He will help one way or the other, so you will cheer that he is a part of your squad one way or another as long as you are making money off it.

Happy they won, but they had a 3-1 lead and let it slip away. Sadly what this series shows is that unless our new additions play out of their minds for the rest of the season or one of the young kids up front becomes a player that can actually score we have at best a 4th place team that will lose in round 1 of the playoffs.

As of now it is obvious that they can't beat Tampa or Dallas in a long series and Carolina is next on the menu. I guess we will see what they are.

I can understand several of the posters here talking about the idea that Torts has reached his 'sell by' date. I'm not sure about that but the team's play this year is so disappointing there could be a lot of truth in it.

So let me ask you this; if Torts leaves at the end of the season, or gets fired during the season, who do your replace him with? What kind of coach can come in and take a team that has no offense to speak of and turn it into a championship-caliber team? Do you trade Jones and Werenski for picks and prospects and blow it up? Do you dump veterans for little of significance and turn into Detroit South for 3-5 years until the high draft picks pan out?

I'm always glad when the CBJ gets into the playoffs, we should never forget how good it is to have a chance to win the Cup after all the years in the wilderness this franchise suffered through. But being a marginal playoff team and losing in the first round of the playoffs is not going to be good enough real soon.

Happy they won, but they had a 3-1 lead and let it slip away. Sadly what this series shows is that unless our new additions play out of their minds for the rest of the season or one of the young kids up front becomes a player that can actually score we have at best a 4th place team that will lose in round 1 of the playoffs.

As of now it is obvious that they can't beat Tampa or Dallas in a long series and Carolina is next on the menu. I guess we will see what they are.

I can understand several of the posters here talking about the idea that Torts has reached his 'sell by' date. I'm not sure about that but the team's play this year is so disappointing there could be a lot of truth in it.

So let me ask you this; if Torts leaves at the end of the season, or gets fired during the season, who do your replace him with? What kind of coach can come in and take a team that has no offense to speak of and turn it into a championship-caliber team? Do you trade Jones and Werenski for picks and prospects and blow it up? Do you dump veterans for little of significance and turn into Detroit South for 3-5 years until the high draft picks pan out?

I'm always glad when the CBJ gets into the playoffs, we should never forget how good it is to have a chance to win the Cup after all the years in the wilderness this franchise suffered through. But being a marginal playoff team and losing in the first round of the playoffs is not going to be good enough real soon.
- jkumpire

Agreed, no way they will compete for a cup, at best they sneak into the playoffs and probably get ousted by Tampa in 4 or 5 if they are lucky.

I really like Roslovic I know lines are just lines in Tort's head but c'mon Koivu on the second, he's 37 years old, Nash should be the designated 4th centerman , Roslovic with Cam and maybe Grigo or Jenner should compose the second trio.

Happy they won, but they had a 3-1 lead and let it slip away. Sadly what this series shows is that unless our new additions play out of their minds for the rest of the season or one of the young kids up front becomes a player that can actually score we have at best a 4th place team that will lose in round 1 of the playoffs.

As of now it is obvious that they can't beat Tampa or Dallas in a long series and Carolina is next on the menu. I guess we will see what they are.

I can understand several of the posters here talking about the idea that Torts has reached his 'sell by' date. I'm not sure about that but the team's play this year is so disappointing there could be a lot of truth in it.

So let me ask you this; if Torts leaves at the end of the season, or gets fired during the season, who do your replace him with? What kind of coach can come in and take a team that has no offense to speak of and turn it into a championship-caliber team? Do you trade Jones and Werenski for picks and prospects and blow it up? Do you dump veterans for little of significance and turn into Detroit South for 3-5 years until the high draft picks pan out?

I'm always glad when the CBJ gets into the playoffs, we should never forget how good it is to have a chance to win the Cup after all the years in the wilderness this franchise suffered through. But being a marginal playoff team and losing in the first round of the playoffs is not going to be good enough real soon.
- jkumpire

First - I wouldn't, and don't believe Jarmo will either, fire Torts in the middle of the season (barring an embarrasing eruption on the media or players). His contract ends this season, and what he's done with this organization in the past 5 years has earned him the ability to walk away on his terms.
To replace him I would look at our old buddy Gerard Gallant. He's been pretty successful with Florida & Vegas. Also has a different philosophy with the offensive set. Would suit better to the players we have than the plodding defensive, dump & chase method.
But I've read that Seattle is looking hard at him, considering what he did with Vegas in their initial expansion seasons.