Thoughts on Thoughts: Panthers in spotlight for wrong reason
“Thoughts on Thoughts” is a feature that looks at Elliotte Friedman’s terrific weekly post, “30 Thoughts.” Justin Bourne selects his 10 favourite tidbits, and elaborates.
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Friedman’s column, Oct. 15: Panthers in spotlight for wrong reason
Opening:
In this week’s opening, Friedman wrote about the Florida Panthers’ attendance woes, and how the team’s decision to stop giving away free seats costs them fans in the short term, but makes sense. And I totally agree.
I lived in Phoenix for three years, about a well-hit five-iron from a gas station that would give away a pair of tickets if you bought two 12-packs of soda (or pop, or Coke, or whatever it’s called where you are).
Tickets were so often free and readily available that there was no way I was paying to go. Not because it wasn’t worth the 22 bucks for a good seat, but because I knew freebies were plentiful. I’d wait to go until I could go for free.
That’s not what you want to hear from a hockey fan if you’re the Coyotes, but it’s the reality. To completely misuse a metaphor: If you give away the milk for free, ain’t nobody buying the cow. Or the tickets. … Whatever.
10 Thoughts
3. Of all the on-ice concerns Edmonton has, one of the biggest must be the manhandling of their young players. The Canucks were very hard on Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall. There’s nothing wrong with that; you should play those guys tough. (The Kings also knocked Hall around last night.) But both Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins were injured and unable to play in southern California. The Oilers say Nugent-Hopkins was not injured in the fight with Dan Hamhuis. Rather, he was injured by the hit that led to the fight. Whatever the case, he is arguably their most important player right now with their thinness at centre. I can understand he was frustrated; but should someone else have been the one to respond? Or, do something to show, “We can be hard on your players, too?”
Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins, and Hall are all excellent players with skills that ensure they’re almost always going to outchance whoever they play. But that doesn’t mean they should play together.
Having an enforcer on the bench isn’t the solution, but playing with a guy (or two) who can dig the puck out, play in the blue paint, and generally distract defenders sure is nice for point producers. Not everyone is a full-bull Jamie Benn-type scorer, meaning it’s nice for stars to skate alongside guys like Kyle Okposo, James van Riemsdyk, and Pascal Dupuis.
The Oilers seem to have enough skilled guys to have options. Their best bet might be to set those guys up with some of their grit.
5. Petry, as mentioned, has “Detroit” written all over him. From Michigan, father pitched for the Tigers. And, the Wings — on the hunt for a right-shot defender — have been linked to Tyler Myers a few times. Last summer, during one conversation, the Sabres asked for Anthony Mantha (and probably another prospect). Detroit wasn’t willing to do that. Here’s the thing about Myers: he’s only 24, and his salary drops over the final five years of his contract. Buffalo is making it clear. If you want him, pay up.
I’m not the best negotiator, but it has to undermine your asking price when you’re like, “Listen, this is a 6-foot-7, 24-year-old defenseman with huge upside and a very affordable salary over the next few years, we want a lot in return,” and the guy on the other end of the horn says something like, “Aren’t you rebuilding? Didn’t you just describe the exact player you should want? This doesn’t add up, Tim.”
8. Sixteen teams watched Islanders/Carolina last Friday night. It was the only game on the schedule, so that’s a factor. Don’t know what Ron Francis or Bill Peters did in a previous life to deserve season-starting injuries to Jeff Skinner and the brothers Staal, but it must have been awful. There’s no guarantee the Hurricanes move Staal, and he controls the situation. But teams are going to take a close look at him — just in case. You forget he’s still a week shy of 30.
Can you imagine if Eric uses his sway to get Jordan to Carolina, then waives his no-trade to go play somewhere with a chance to win? How awful a brother move would that be? Seriously, I just can’t see the two of them having a pint on an off day, and Eric telling Jordan he’d like a fresh start somewhere else. “But, y’know, enjoy things here until 2023, baby bro.”
15. Some interesting quotes out of Ottawa about Paul MacLean and his relationship with the players. Both sides have talked a lot about how things went awry in 2013-14 and how everyone’s worked to make sure that does not happen again. “We’ve spent a lot of time defining roles,” the GM said. “Last year, no one seemed to understand where they stood. The relationship from the coach, to the captain [the now-traded Jason Spezza] on down, was not good, for whatever reason. We’ve addressed that properly this time. Everyone understands their role.” This kind of conversation was critical in Bobby Ryan’s re-signing.
Those quotes don’t reflect well on MacLean (or Spezza), but it’s a good sign that they’re taking steps to rectify the issue. It’s so important for players to know their expectations, and their role. If you think you’re there to score and the coach explains he plans on using you differently, you avoid frustration down the road when the numbers aren’t there. Nobody wants frustrated players.
18. Patrick Roy set the right tone after that second loss. “If we play like this, we’ll be okay,” he said. Players take their cues from coaches in those moments. They were down, outscored 8-0 in two games. That’s when you’ve got to lead. One of my best bosses would kill me after good work, encourage when I screwed up.
I have a lot of love for coaches who don’t let the score dictate their evaluation of the game, because oh buddy is that a staple of low-level coaching. Losing 2-1? We’re not working hard enough. Up 2-1? What an effort.
That stuff is garbage. If you’re outplaying an opponent with a red-hot goalie and you’ve had a few pinball into your own net, it’s hardly cause for anger. Frustration, yes, but at the situation, not the team.
20. The Wild are talking to some of their other potential RFAs, a list that includes Charlie Coyle and the rapidly improving Mikael Granlund. Would those players prefer to wait to see their final numbers before making a deal? “We’ll know in the next few weeks,” Fletcher said. “But whether it is now or later, we’re comfortable. There’s no rush at all.”
The Wild’s young talent are basically going to decide if they’re a playoff team or a Cup contender. Between the two names mentioned above and Nino Niederreiter, they need someone to become an elite scorer. It’s very possible that could happen, and if it does, the Wild will be sporting what could be their best-ever roster.
24. One player the Jets took a run at last summer: Lee Stempniak. With a new, young family, he wanted to stay east. Would have been a nice fit for them.
How good has Lee Stempniak been through four games? He’s a streaky player, and when he’s streaking, get the man the pill. He’s got two goals and two assists, he’s had 10 shots in his last two games, and he’s among the top few Rangers in basically every possession category. That’s a nice pickup for a team with a lot of tools to begin with.
25. Two consecutive healthy scratches for Jake Gardiner. While the Maple Leafs were concerned about his defensive-zone work, they are also concerned he is becoming too one-dimensional on the attack — always carrying the puck. You do the same thing every time, you are too easy to defend. As part of that, forwards are slowing down instead of entering the opposing zone with speed.
Being inconsistent can be brutally frustrating … for the inconsistent player. Sure, it can be for the team and the coach and the general manager and the fans and all that, too, but some guys just can’t explain, even to themselves, why they’re simply lifeless some days. I’ve been that guy.
The one constant when I struggled: my conditioning was lacking. When I did a lot, I was usually at my best. When I felt down a step, I was useless. Not saying that’s Gardiner’s issue, but it could be if he doesn’t get back in games soon.
28. The first of those goals came after Max Pacioretty walked around a flat-footed Dion Phaneuf on opening night. A turnover put Phaneuf in a bad spot, but he does not look at all comfortable playing the left side, even though he shoots that way. (He prefers the right.) Toronto is determined to try it, and a couple of coaches said last week you have to commit to it for 40 games to see if it will really work.
It’s almost too bad that Pacioretty’s opening-night goal amplified Phaneuf’s transition to the other side. The transition would’ve certainly gone smoother were it more inconspicuous, but that goal was on TV 4,000 times (roughly) in Toronto in 48 hours. The puck should’ve been fired in deep, the turnover resulted in a bad gap, which resulted in Phaneuf’s flat feet. Also: the shot should’ve been stopped. Stephane Robidas could’ve helped (it was a 1-on-4, more or less), too. But such is life as captain of the Leafs.