Hockey Trash Talk & BS thread

You mean Dallas of course

 

All good. I'm not sure Subban has any reputation left to tarnish. His takes are just cringe.

 

I completely get it. There is not a more loved and respected player In Carolina than Slavin. He’s underrated but one of the best D men in the league. I saw the Subban post as well and if that is something you cheer or make fun of, it says a lot about your character.
I still say gloves should have been dropped…but that’s not what Slavin would have wanted.

 

So Tkachuk is best player in the world, we can all agree on that? Lol.

 

Maybe not the best but I’d take him on my team in a heartbeat. He’s clutch for sure.

 

Way better than those Carolina players, that’s for sure.

 

It was sort of tongue-in-cheek, but sort of not. Lol.

Like I get it that McDavid is the most skilled, and even Matthews when he is "on." But I'm not sure a pure offensive forward like those guys, can impact a game the way Tkachuk is right now. He's clutch, he's scoring, he's elevating teammates, he's a pest everywhere, making life miserable around the net, hitting/physical, wins battles along the boards etc. Plus he is unphased by anything that is thrown at him. He's a beast in so many facets of the game right now. And you just don't see that impact from the elite skill guys in the playoffs, in my opinion. I realize he has the hot-hand right now, so I'm not trying to get carried away. Just making a point that very few guys in the league can do what he is doing and be such an impact everywhere. It's pretty crazy.

 

You don’t get out much do you. I mean since the Bolts lost 1st round lol.

 

Having the best players doesn’t equate to championships. Looking at you, Oilers.
Canes have no top tier superstars. None. But a lot of really good players that can play as a unit.
Hate if it makes ya feel good.

 

He’s a lightning fan. But since they lost first round Carolina’s been living in his head rent free.

 

This talk all reminds me of Nick Bonino on the first Penguins cup about five years ago.

Yes Chucky is hot right now but watching him on the Flames he can also go completely cold. He's thriving in these playoffs and good on him but he isn't going to put up 50 goals next year or play like this in every playoff game forever. He's an emotion player and his emotions are in the right place right now to amplify his strong skill set.

 

Aho is elite and there's a half dozen players on Carolina that are very underpaid. Do they have McDavid or Matthews? No. But they have at least 4 players who could get 7 million plus deals if they hit UFA. Their play style is very well balanced around a balanced roster but I wouldn't say they only have good players. There's still elite talent on the squad including some top end vets too.

I will bug you and say Andersen still can't make a series defining save. He's never going to be that guy.

I'm getting tired of the, "no teams with 10 million dollar players are left," narrative. Crosby and Malkin won their first cup when they were paid the modern equivalent of 10 million dollars against the cap. Tkachuk and Bob are making 9 a year which is deadly close. You can make it with elite players, you just need someone on the supporting cast to step up and play elite for the playoff run which has happened for the Panthers.

 

I put Svechnikov in the elite or near elite category as well, both for his goal scoring and his defense. That’s what we missed most in the playoffs imho, the injuries to him and Pacioretti. When Canes lost Svech, goals per game avg. dropped significantly (though never high) and we struggled end of season. canes did beat the panthers 6-4 last game of the season to stay ahead of the devils, but panthers had Lyon in net likely to save Bob for the playoffs.
Where Canes may have missed the boat was at the TDL, we had I think 8 million in cap space and didn’t add a scorer. That came back to bite us when Svech went down (Pacioretti was already out on LTIR). The best scorers available came with heavy long term contracts however, so maybe not the worst decision considering long term success.

 

I told you that I was going to cheer for whoever was winning. Super bummed I didn’t have the chance to cheer for Carolina

 

I don't see any comparison with Tkachuk and Bonino lol. Bonino had a couple clutch goals but Kessel was the driving force on that line. It was just a line that made the Pens hard to match up against and nothing more, as far as Bonino.

Tkachuk has 2 straight 100+ pt seasons and 2 straight 40+ goal seasons and he brings another element that the McDavids, Matthews type guys don't. He won a huge game in every series so far and has caused nightmares in each series. Would I honestly tag him the "best player in the world?" No, probably not. But right now it's tough to argue that there is anyone in the league that is a bigger impact player, the past 2 years, especially if you count playoffs.

 

Haha that’s why you’re my favorite hockey adversary. But still a goob.

 

That's what I meant, impact players. Also you forget what happened last year when Tkachuk had enough of Darryl in the second round. He completely disappeared. Once the honeymoon in Florida is over Tkachuk will go cold more often, even in the playoffs. Is Tkachuk an elite player? Yes. His mental side is sketchy though and he has shown it was an issue in Calgary. It'll eventually be an issue in Florida.

 

Maybe. or, maybe he just needs a coach who takes the reigns off and lets him do his thing. Time will tell. But I guess my point is, watching what he does in every facet of the game right now, is insane. It's like a power forward + skill fwd+ grinder/energy guy + agitator all rolled into one. You need a guy to go out and get a goal or make a play, he's delivered every time. You just don't see that. And as I mentioned, I know some of it is just that he is red hot all playoffs.

 

Darryl had Tkachuk wound up like a top. He even mentioned when Chucky left that he shouldn't have forced him to stay late after practices, which is an odd comment at the NHL level. It's also why Tkachuk has commented, "Every day at the rink, I enjoy with this team." It's not a compliment, or just a compliment, to the Panthers and their culture; it's a direct shot at Calgary, particularly Darryl. It's also not a fluke. These comments have come out more since Darryl was fired; Chucky was still afraid to say something while he was a coach even when he was playing in Florida.

That whole mentality makes me think there's a good chance once the Honeymoon is over in Florida, things will go south again. Will he drop off to 20 goals? No. Will he be a massive playoff monster if his head falls apart again? No.

 

https://youtu.be/JuWJ0cNdTBU