This is the holiday/New Year edition of the mailbag, so you know it will be good. I apologize for it being so late, but with everything going on around the holidays it has been a crazy time in my life. Nonetheless…
Let’s get it started.
@BuckeyeStHockey what's the deal with our forwards playing so low in the defensive zone? Really hindering our breakouts to my eye.
— 🤔🤔 (@LewisCommaTom4) December 22, 2015
This is a question that “The Coach” should probably answer, but it is an interesting question to pose to the mailbag. At the beginning of the season it was pointed out that the defense wasn’t effectively moving the puck out of the zone and the forwards were coming back to help move the puck out. This was stalling the offense and was one of many reasons why the beginning of the season was such a mess. I can’t speak to what is happening now until I see more evidence. The league is moving towards more puck movers for this very reason, so that the forwards can do their job and score goals.
Reddit User TheGhostofBoomer asks:
Since Tortorella has taken over, how do you feel the defense has stacked up? How many players seem like legitimate 1st pairing, 2nd pairing, bottom pairing, or not NHL caliber?
A:
I don’t think that there has been enough time for there to be a noticeable difference in the defense. Tortorella seems to trust Ryan Murray plenty and Murray has seen time in all situations which is a positive for the young defender. Goloubef also saw some time in different situations before he got injured.
As for players like Jack Johnson, David Savard and Fedor Tyutin? I find that to be more of a mixed bag.
Tyutin is on the wrong side of 30 and won’t be getting any better at his age, likely to be relegated to a bottom pairing role when the team is fully healthy.
Savard is the young gun of the group and is very hard to get a read on. He could end up being the best of the bunch but his contract extension seems like it’s a bit of a gamble. He is being given first pairing minutes but I would like to see him away from Jack Johnson to see what he can really do.
Jack Johnson is the enigma that keeps on giving. People around stats despise him and people that use the eye test love him. Jarmo when asked about Johnson’s standing in the advanced stat community famously said “Give me a break with that”. In the time that he is given, he isn’t efficient and doesn’t use the minutes he is given effectively.
The team seems to have a bunch of middle pairing defenders with some bordering on top 2 given their potential. It will be interesting to see if the defensemen are used in more role-based positions. Maybe Ryan Murray is used as a power play weapon more often? Maybe Cody Goloubef will start to get used as more of a penalty killer when he returns from injury? Since the defense has been pinpointed as an issue, the pressure will be on and an overhaul seems more and more likely.
@BuckeyeStHockey in your opinion, was hiring Torts a terrible decision or indefensible?
— Brandon R. (@FireTheCannon09) December 30, 2015
This was a question asked multiple times throughout the mailbag series, and it’s evident that many Blue Jacket fans share this sentiment.
And these fans aren’t alone. Many people around the NHL, like Travis Yost of TSN and Ryan Lambert of Yahoo, have already labeled the hiring of John Tortorella as one of the stupidest moves of the season.
I admit that parts of it are definitely baffling, especially surrendering a second round pick to the Vancouver Canucks; but I can’t/won’t crucify the Tortorella before he has even had a full season under his belt.
I understand what he is doing to Johansen miffs more than a few people that follow the team but I get it. They want him to be an Anze Kopitar/Jonathan Toews type. What I don’t get and won’t ever get is why you wouldn’t continue to try and put him in a position to succeed when he has proven in the past that he has the most skill offensively on the team.
For better or for worse, it’s going to be a long process for the fans, reporters, and players. Those of you already calling for Tortorella’s head are doing so prematurely as he only has 32 games under his belt.
Remember, patience is a virtue.
https://twitter.com/breakfast_jesus/status/679322311577567232
Best gift? Probably the year that I got a PS3 when I hadn’t asked for one. That was a pleasant surprise.
Worst gift? This year my own mother, Barbara Blazer, got me underwear for a squirrel that I found in a basement and nursed back to health. I set the squirrel free about four years ago and ever since then my mom continues to give me gifts for it.
Until Wednesday of this week. BYE.
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