I don’t think the lines/pairings were the problem, a lot of guys just absolutely gave up after we got in the hole so quickly and catastrophically but I didn’t see anything last night to indicate these combos were going to get energized by shuffling. I still think the top 2 lines in general look as good as any of our top 6 combo attempts have, I still think the Staal line kind of does what it does, and the 4th line was the only one that showed up last night and they’re looking like they’re getting on the same page. Defensively I don’t see any improvement coming from splitting Pesce/Skjei or Slavin/Burns and Orlov and Chatty also were the best of their units last night. Special teams is maybe the only place that warrants major shake up.
To me last night was more about individual effort shortcomings. It just happened to be something like 15 or so individuals all choosing to have a bad night at the same time. When 2/3rds of your team plays 20 minutes of hockey and falls asleep, there’s no line combination in the world that fixes that. The biggest concerns for me are the lack of consistency from the highest paid offensive pieces. Tuevo has been resurgent this year and (I know this is becoming a less popular take) I still think Svech needs time to cook to get back to form. Jarvis had back to back great games and one off night isn’t a big deal, especially when he’s far from the worst of last night’s performances. But KK has seemed a bit cold for a couple games now, Aho is being paid too much to not show up in games like this, and Necas just looks like he has given up on our system and wants to play iso-hockey every game.
Necas is the most troubling because that’s a roster spot that could go to somebody who really works with the system we have. Necas can absolutely be a star but when we get into tight spots he seems to refuse to operate in the system and instead wants to play a different style that doesn’t gel with anyone else on the ice, leads to turnovers and missed opportunities, and just makes him get more frustrated and less consistent as the game goes on. Like on the opportunity where he had Vasi on his back and he just stood there and dribbled the puck for what felt like 20 seconds. It’s like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to play his way and just go for it, or if he wanted to play the Canes way and dish it for a better chance and he took too long to decide and then neither was a viable option anymore.
If you had asked me over the summer if we should prioritize him or Tuevo next year, I would have said Necas easily. But now I am wondering if Necas isn’t holding us back more than he is helping us. I think a trade to a team that wants to build around that razzle dazzle speedster offensive style would be a win for both sides. He gets to shine the way he wants to play and probably starts putting up his best seasons to date and we get someone who plays into the system instead of in spite of it. He seems to be the only “star” on the team right now that doesn’t seem to have a friend or partner on the ice and seems to be more competing with the other guys for the spotlight rather than working with them for joint success.
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There was a change.
https://x.com/waltruff/status/1728463113840734492?s=46
Powerplay units they moved Necas off 1 to 2.
I don’t think the lines/pairings were the problem, a lot of guys just absolutely gave up after we got in the hole so quickly and catastrophically but I didn’t see anything last night to indicate these combos were going to get energized by shuffling. I still think the top 2 lines in general look as good as any of our top 6 combo attempts have, I still think the Staal line kind of does what it does, and the 4th line was the only one that showed up last night and they’re looking like they’re getting on the same page. Defensively I don’t see any improvement coming from splitting Pesce/Skjei or Slavin/Burns and Orlov and Chatty also were the best of their units last night. Special teams is maybe the only place that warrants major shake up.
To me last night was more about individual effort shortcomings. It just happened to be something like 15 or so individuals all choosing to have a bad night at the same time. When 2/3rds of your team plays 20 minutes of hockey and falls asleep, there’s no line combination in the world that fixes that. The biggest concerns for me are the lack of consistency from the highest paid offensive pieces. Tuevo has been resurgent this year and (I know this is becoming a less popular take) I still think Svech needs time to cook to get back to form. Jarvis had back to back great games and one off night isn’t a big deal, especially when he’s far from the worst of last night’s performances. But KK has seemed a bit cold for a couple games now, Aho is being paid too much to not show up in games like this, and Necas just looks like he has given up on our system and wants to play iso-hockey every game.
Necas is the most troubling because that’s a roster spot that could go to somebody who really works with the system we have. Necas can absolutely be a star but when we get into tight spots he seems to refuse to operate in the system and instead wants to play a different style that doesn’t gel with anyone else on the ice, leads to turnovers and missed opportunities, and just makes him get more frustrated and less consistent as the game goes on. Like on the opportunity where he had Vasi on his back and he just stood there and dribbled the puck for what felt like 20 seconds. It’s like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to play his way and just go for it, or if he wanted to play the Canes way and dish it for a better chance and he took too long to decide and then neither was a viable option anymore.
If you had asked me over the summer if we should prioritize him or Tuevo next year, I would have said Necas easily. But now I am wondering if Necas isn’t holding us back more than he is helping us. I think a trade to a team that wants to build around that razzle dazzle speedster offensive style would be a win for both sides. He gets to shine the way he wants to play and probably starts putting up his best seasons to date and we get someone who plays into the system instead of in spite of it. He seems to be the only “star” on the team right now that doesn’t seem to have a friend or partner on the ice and seems to be more competing with the other guys for the spotlight rather than working with them for joint success.