GDT: Canes v. Kings 2/13 7:00

Look ... asking prices are always high and don't think for a minute that GMs are actually demanding what they tell the price they're demanding for players. They are posturing, plain and simple. Ronnie doesn't need to bother with that stuff because his native press corps is a couple clueless guys, two bloggers and Luke DeCock ... who only rolls over and wonders about the Canes once a month or so.

Truth ... what's available at the deadline is the same as always, at least in terms on NHLers:
- guys with bad contracts
- guys who can't get along with the coach or find a role on their current team
- guys on epic cold streaks
- pending UFAs on bad teams

Fans always have these fantasies of their GM robbing some other guy blind and making their team a lot better at the deadline but that almost never happens. What you want to happen is for your GM to find a guy that kinda/sorta fits a hole in your lineup and making a short term moves that don't sacrifice the future more than a little bit. GMs with guys like Nash that are vets heading to free agency know they're not getting a king's ransom. Same as the guy in Ottawa knew that if he was going to shed Phaneuf's crappy contract he was going to have to eat somebody else's crappy contract in the bargain. But if you can be a little bit shrewd and actually get a minor ransom for a rental, you take it and laugh all the way to the draft table. You never get the big deal unless you ask ... and this is asking season.

jeffbear said:

Over/Under on how long he keeps Aho at center against that jumbo sized Kings lineup?

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Lasted 50 minutes JB. Things got a little tough out there and proved your point. The line with Aho and Skinner could prove to work so I hope it was not a one and done event.

Maybe Brown is here because someone's getting traded?


Nah.....aint happening.

KTown11 said:

Lasted 50 minutes JB. Things got a little tough out there and proved your point. The line with Aho and Skinner could prove to work so I hope it was not a one and done event.

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I also think part of it is that Aho is not great at taking draws, although he was 5-3 last night which brings him to 50% for the year. However, he's only taken 42 draws. By comparison, Ryan is 55.8% on 684 total faceoffs, Staal is 54.8% on 938 total, Rask is 54.7% on 543 and Lindholm is 52.4% on 412 total.

The Canes have the best teacher at taking draws behind the bench. I certainly believe if they want Aho to play center, Rod Brind'Amour can make that happen.

SlapShots said:

The Canes have the best teacher at taking draws behind the bench. I certainly believe if they want Aho to play center, Rod Brind'Amour can make that happen.

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No question, and he did well during the game. It's just a matter of getting experience, and until he does, I'd rather have one of the other guys taking defensive zone draws late in the game.

andyt said:

No question, and he did well during the game. It's just a matter of getting experience, and until he does, I'd rather have one of the other guys taking defensive zone draws late in the game.

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Which is absolutely not a big deal. Taking draws is only one part of the job of playing center, and almost every team is breaking it up into right side and left side responsibilities at this point anyway.

Right, the 'center' definitely is not the only guy out there taking draws. Lots of focus now on 'stronger side' faceoff matches. The Canes, like many teams, will have someone out there taking Dzone draws who immediately head to the bench for a change....Derek Ryan has done this a few times recently. Aho also isn't completely inept out there, so its not an automatic loss if he has to take a faceoff. Aho at center or no, Peters leans on Jordan and Ryan and Rask And Lindholm for important faceoffs especially late in the game Dzone faceoffs. That won't change.

I suspect like everything else Aho is going to be above average at faceoffs too if given the opportunity.

cmaleski2 said:

I suspect like everything else Aho is going to be above average at faceoffs too if given the opportunity.

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Yeah ... he's just more likely to be that kind of center who tries to contact the puck before it hits the ice than the guy who plays the leverage game down low. It's always good to have a mix of types, same as with anything else. Staal and Rask are power guys, while Ryan is a burrower who tries to get super low. Lindy and Aho are more the quick twitch type who try to time the drop. Skinner takes too many draws, probably, and has never really settled on an approach. Which is a large part of why he sucks at it.

jeffbear said:

Yeah ... he's just more likely to be that kind of center who tries to contact the puck before it hits the ice than the guy who plays the leverage game down low. It's always good to have a mix of types, same as with anything else. Staal and Rask are power guys, while Ryan is a burrower who tries to get super low. Lindy and Aho are more the quick twitch type who try to time the drop. Skinner takes too many draws, probably, and has never really settled on an approach. Which is a large part of why he sucks at it.

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Skinner has only taken 49 draws and has won 42.9% of them. Surprisingly, Williams has taken 89 but is at 42.7%, but that plays into the righty/lefty strategy.

Brett Pesce has taken 1 draw, but that had to be in OT when Peters had 1 forward and 2 dmen out and the forward got tossed.