Keirik

Always look forward to the season. Doesn't mean you can't acknowledge a mistake when they make it. Not the first, not the last. I just hope it's not a trend. I'd like to not be in the business of ruining our own top 10 valued prospects in favor of a top 10 prospect another club traded away because they realized something we seem to not realize.

To me anotber of the mind boggling things going on is the giant Kakko in the room. While I don’t buy into the notion that Kravtsov demanded top 6 minutes from the jump, I’ll entertain it. KK was not only gifted top 6 minutes before ever lacing up skates in North America, but he was anointed as the chosen one along the way. Then he sucked donkey balls year one. He then entered year two still given plenty of top 6 minutes and offensive stat wise trended to suck more donkey balls but optically we are told that he is actually better. Now we enter year three where not only is he guaranteed top 6 minutes, he’s basically almost elevated to top line duties specifically without playing one regular season game but it’s because he just looks better out there. Now I 100% agree he does look like this is going to be the year it comes together. However, to another young highly drafted and touted pick it sure looks weird, no? I wonder what has been said to this kid since he was drafted as to why he can’t be trusted with a roster spot just yet all while seeing others perform poorly the last two years allowing them to grow at the NHL level. Now not only is he told that he still can’t quite make the nhl roster but he’s told guys like Gauthier just had better preseasons even though he’s been nothing but a bust his whole career and/or the organization is afraid to lose him for nothing. Plus, as been Juliet’s MO his entire NhL career, his efforts just don’t actually lead to results but that isn't a big deal because he just cares. I didn't notice the point where Kravtsov didn't care and we all were commenting last year when he came over that, he just looked damn good straight from the jump. This is a crown jewel prospect. Msg was showing daily highlights of him in the KHL. The second their season was over he was flown here to start his career. Only this organization can fuck shit up like this. Kakko can borderline suck it up here for two years cart blanc but Kravtsov gets sold an entire different bills of goods. This is on Drury as far as I’m concerned. Gallant may be new here but Drury is not. He, along with the rest of the nhl, Gauthiers ceiling and he knows Kravtsovs. Hell, if he didn’t believe in Vitali, which he clearly didn’t, then he should damn well have shipped him out this offseason in some package for something that helps us. He got a crap return for Buchnevich, overdid it with guys like Tinordi or Nemeth (which by the way was kind of speculated to help Lundkvist here that hadn’t played an NHL game and will always be blocked by Fox from being out top pp about if he were to pan out) and now painted himself in a corner with cost controlled Kravtsov so we don’t lose Gauthier or Hunt? Come on bro.

Everyone but Kings management lol

Ah, yeah I think you might be right. Thank god!

Approved. I like how it gives you a broader view of the play

His Leadership, penalty killing, and he’s excellent on faceoffs….. hmm……….

Fuck yeah BGBB!

Haven’t seen Mess struggle that much since his old hairline

I’m still confused by this setup. Watching the game tonight they showed the games on ESPN+ in the coming days and it’s not a lot. Then using the nhl app there are a lot of games that don’t show ESPN+ as listed to cover the games. They aren’t even allowing you to stream the local broadcast feeds at all if it’s not an ESPN specific covered game? Last year if I paid for the NHl tv I got every single game, home and away feeds sans blackout games.

Anything under the sun is possible except the idea that Kravtsov ever had a shot at making this roster day 1 apparently ?

Well, i just dont think there is any inside info to be had out of that article. It just screams of vagueness and hyperboles. Much like we all are doing, just not getting paid for it. Maybe he was asked what he sees himself as in the NHL and he says impact player. Maybe he was asked if he pays attention to rumors of his name being mentioned in a trade and he says its impossible to not see sometimes. To me, both of those seem a lot more reasonable that the idea he went up to Drury and said "fuck you play me 1st line" after playing in the A last year and craptastic minutes under Quinn this year then showing up to camp again without a peep until now.

Boyle on Pitt ?

So a reporter asks “ Vitali do you feel you’re more of a top 6 player or a role player for this club” and he answers in his poor English “of course you always want to play big minutes” or whatever. I highly doubt he had some in depth 60 minute all access reveal sit down with reporters from zoom last year with Walker, Brooks, Gretzky, or whoever. I also highly doubt Drury en co were sharing trade secrets with these pinnacles of journalism especially when Gallant himself says he won’t tell the media much. His interview he gave during the intermission against the Islanders he sounded like he was just repeating the 10 phrases he learned a week ago, saying stuff like “it is what it is.” What 21 year old Russian rookie talks naturally like that? I really do not take much stock in what is being reported in a fleeting industry.

I don’t really agree. He believed himself an NHLer. He was not really a top 6 guy last year. Did he come into camp this year asking out? He obviously has a high opinion of his ceiling but he did exactly what they asked of him. I have no problem having a young guy with enough confidence to know he belongs. Maybe he felt a top 6 spot is gifted in this organization because well…..it has been. How many goals did Kakko and Alf combined score in top 6 last year? Maybe there is some communication problem here.

Breakups are never easy ?

I’ll say it’s the snowball of the whole situation. The rational counter to my argument is that even if thry waived Gauthier and kept Kravtsov , he still has difficulty getting in the lineup. I think that’s probably true, but there are 100 different ways he gets in. Injuries, redundant roles of grit, different looks, struggles, etc all means there would be opportunities for Kravtsov to get his chance. Can he get that from Hartford at the dial of a phone? Sure. But there is the element of money, trust in saying you’re one of us, rewards, time around the club and fans , etc. I think this was a bigger decision than management realizes and I think it was handled poorly. I just hope it’s fixable.

I wish you would pick a lane. One hour in the thread you’re saying it’s waivers, the other time you’re saying it’s because I get you can make generic “it’s a bit of both” but you keep flopping back and forth on why he was sent down. Besides, if it was based on play, then it’s a horrible evaluation of talent and roster management. Gauthier hasn’t done anything different in this camp that has hasn’t already been doing with the same zero results for 2 prior seasons here. Im sure Drury and Gallant have seen it with their own eyes or watched summer videos of players in Gallants case. Even in the short time Krav played he showed results. If it was based on waivers then again, it’s horrible roster management and evaluation. One has a future, one is a bust.

I know. I’m just thinking if anything, maybe a conversation was had prior to the elevation of Kakko moreso. Kreider we all know is what he is. He’s paid top 6 and by golly he will be top 6 regardless of his staycations. And for the record, I don’t think Kravtsov should have been given top 6. What I do think is that he should be on this active roster. Hell even if it’s just so he is around the boys, gets an nhl salary, and slots in around the lineup. It’s sure as hell better than the A. If they wanted to reward Julien then they could have done so by giving the rest of the league a shot at picking him up.

But until you really offer that to him, can any of us really say that? He wasn’t even offered that much. He wasn’t even offered a roster spot. He was offered Colony Pizza.

I suppose he thought maybe he was getting BuchnevichS minutes when they traded him for grit?

And as myself and others have said, he deserved to be part of the nhl roster. Fuck the waivers part. That’s on the organization. They brought back Gauthier. They signed Hunt when they have him in spades. It’s not like they forgot Kravtsov was on the team.

Yeah, I think we are adding a bit to this with emotion. I haven’t read anywhere where he said he deserved specific type of minutes. I think he just wants a chance on this team.

But I think he did beat out Gauthier. That last game alone in the game that was the closest to real an actual NHL rivalry late March style game . Where our top players weren’t even there and guys had to step up. That wasn’t a preseason game as much as it was a game that didn’t count. Kravtsov looked great. Pp time, goal, etc. Gauthier? Meh? I guess he did his drive to the net thing with no results? I’d have to check since I don’t remember him doing too much.

I’d say outside of a miracle of epic proportions, we all know there are going to be large stretches where Kreider does his bi weekly coast so he moves up and down the lineup as he cools and heats up, krav slides up as necessary. We also can’t just assume Kakko and ALF are 100% over any hump of performing. Hunt, while having a good preseason, is 25 and has shown plenty of times his inconsistencies. He won’t be a 100% ink for the lineup every game. Blais, if you ask many Blues fans, struggles with consistency as well. The point is, there are going to be times Krav would slot right in. Now, the other part is that if we then are saying Krav isn’t really battling Gaut as much as he’s battling everything else we mentioned above then the question is this? Who benefits more by being around the NHL roster? Our top 10 pick that I think many agree belongs in the NHL or Gauthier who is going on year 3 of his chances to prove he belongs here? I really think it was time to reward Krav with a roster spot. I’d even be willing to think if he spent the first couple of weeks around the club on our roster, he would respond better to an AHL stint in a few weeks if the coaching staff said “look we just need you to get some games in….keep your head up and you’re our first call up” rather than the direction they went with now.

Just call Yzerman, let him screw us over yet again. We can trade him for a little grit. Really solidify our glue