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Forums :: Blog World :: Paul McCann: The panic button and how to avoid it... sorta
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Paul McCann
Nashville Predators
Location: Nolensville, TN
Joined: 09.15.2005

Feb 14 @ 8:39 AM ET
Paul McCann: The panic button and how to avoid it... sorta
FoxMulder
Nashville Predators
Location: Christiana, TN
Joined: 02.26.2018

Feb 14 @ 10:18 AM ET
Yes, panic is appropriate.

1. The defense isn't good.
2. The special teams are horrible.
3. Only one line can score.
4. Turnovers.
5. Can't win at home.
6. Stupid penalties.
7. Being caught by St. Louis, Dallas and perhaps Chicago.
8. Inconsistent, not from game to game, but period to period.
9. Still can't beat the Jets.
10. Or the Blues...Or the Stars...probably not Vegas...or the Flames...

I remember being blasted last March because I thought that Saros was playing better than Rinne and should start the playoffs and that the team was not as good as people think, that they peaked too early. I was told not to panic.

They have about a month and a half to pull a 180. It can happen, but the current trend is downward.
storm88
Vancouver Canucks
Location: Surrey, BC
Joined: 09.29.2011

Feb 14 @ 11:10 AM ET
Just trade Fabbro for Virtanen or Tanev
holycow_75
Nashville Predators
Location: Nashville, TN
Joined: 01.26.2012

Feb 14 @ 2:39 PM ET
Something has to change. Perhaps the team is just floating on the Power PLay, and just waiting to unleash some fancy new PP system that will overwhelm everyone in the playoffs. Okay...probably not.

Everything has to be evaluated. Goaltending & the First Line are fine. The top 2 D-pairs could stand to play a little better - but a net positive overall. 3rd D pair could be better, but perhaps when Fabbro joins the team, it will improve. Leadership seems to be lacking a bit. 3/4 forward lines are okay, but with the injuries they don't have much chemistry. Seems like a constant experiment because the 2nd Line is a disaster. That's where my main gripe is.

You have all sorts of shuffling between 2/3/4 lines, and Turris just has not worked out the way we all hoped he would. He was mediocre in last year's playoffs, and he's been injured for a big stretch of this season. Bonino is fine at 3C, and Sissons is great at 4C. But you can't push those guys up to the 2nd line and expect it to have a threatening scoring punch. Smith has actually performed okay this year - actually better than okay for some stretches of the season. But Fiala and Turris have not held up their end. That's why the fans are clamoring for a Duchene, Stone or Panarin move.

You've got the JOFA line and most of your D on friendly deals and in the prime of their careers. It would suck to miss out on that window of opportunity because the team could not construct a reasonable secondary scoring line. It's worth moving some assets to build a 2nd line that is good enough to give other teams problems. That's not panic - it's reality.

Squatchy
Nashville Predators
Location: Clarksville, TN
Joined: 05.09.2018

Feb 14 @ 3:23 PM ET
Panic doesn't feel like the right word, I would go more with 'deeply concerned', with the direction this team is headed. It's also fair to start questioning the people in charge on the way things are going. We gave Poile and Lavy all the credit in the world when things were going well, so it's only fair to call them out when they aren't. This team feels like it was constructed backwards sometimes. Over emphasized on D-men that are more offensive minded than defensive, and then stock pile and sometimes over pay for bottom six style more defensive minded forwards to compensate who can't drive offensive play or score consistently. The result of that, is what we're seeing on the ice right now... Defensive breakdowns from guys who forget their not actually forwards, and wingers who seem a step slower than everyone on the ice, cant handle passes or hold on to puck, and when they do get shots off, they can't seem to hit the net.

I love how Poile is able to convince good players to take discounts to keep playing here, and his willingness to make potentially unpopular moves for the long-term health of the team, but you have to question some of his recent moves, and some of the lack-there-of. It's too early to call the Turris trade a total bust yet, but it's looking that way. He gave up a lot and paid up for a guy who clearly can't create offense on his own and needs wingers playing well between him to get anything out of him. Poile's a smart guy who had to have known this when he ponied up for him. If he didn't than it's on him. The Boyle trade would've been great last year when the team was playing well, his skill set really would've helped then. This year though, he fills a need that feels like 5th or 6th on the list of 'issues that need to be fixed'.

As much as I hate to say it too, I really don't think Poile should've have signed Ellis. He Either should've traded him in the off season, or waited to the deadline this year, and maybe we could've gotten that scoring depth we desperately need to be a more well-balanced team. Now with that contract, Poile's basically married himself to a smallish defenseman whose injury prone, and sadly seems to be regressing as a player, at least defensively. I like Ellis, but I'd rather have Ekholm and Josi right now than him or Subban... With the contracts the way they are though, you either have to let Josi walk after next year in order to balance the team out, or strangle your salary cap to death in order to keep Poile's beloved D-man all together. I hate the thought of potentially having to give up Ekholm, or shudder to think, Arvy or Forsberg down the road because we're up against the cap and they're the only guys we got with contracts friendly enough to move.
PredManDan
Nashville Predators
Location: TN
Joined: 10.24.2014

Feb 15 @ 9:40 PM ET
Here's my take on things. The D-men have been on a steady decline ever since Phil Housley went to Buffalo and so has the power play. Losing Housley hurt this team bad. Also, Peter Laviolette's track record shows how he takes a team, molds them into a contender for a cup run and then a year or two later they are in decline. He was let go in Carolina and Philly not long after taking them to the Cup Finals and actually winning it with Carolina. The same is happening here.
up-n-ya
Nashville Predators
Location: La Vergne, TN
Joined: 11.16.2007

Feb 17 @ 2:10 PM ET
No word's can described how pathetic last night's game was.