What Went Wrong, Part Two: Team Defense

I can’t quite figure out why JR blamed the style of play when, IMHO, through certain chunks of the season we WERE playing it close-to-the-vest and not really wide open. Additionally, with the personnel we had, we weren’t built for anything BUT a more wide open game. It comes down to a mix of personnel, style of play, and whether or not the entire team is buying into what the coaches are selling — that goes for forwards as well as D-men.

What nobody can dispute is that Cam had an OUTSTANDING season, especially seeing how he was left out to dry numerous times and the quality of the shots he was facing were top-notch. He is a beast, and deserves at least two new, rough-and-tumble D-men to clear out the crease this season.

I think more blocked shots is a slippery slope. I’m not sure I want most of my forwards blocking shots, especially in this system that relies so heavily on offense. Ideally the defense plays up a little more and the need to block shots diminishes to the point where the minute amount of shots that the forwards do block, is sufficient.

Mr. Wage,
Your article is very revealing and discouraging. The assertion that the Canes had the worst defense in the league last year is correct. The play of Gleason was just horrible and he clearly was hurt all season. When your shut down guy is that bad, the rest of the dominos must fall too. The whole concept of team defense just seemed to be gone. The best part of your article was the focus on faceoffs. That stat alone is very telling. If you don’t get the puck, your team is playing defense all the time. There are simply too many teams in the league who will punish you if you just let them skate around with the puck. They will pick you apart. The level of skill is amazing. Ten years ago, you could put a dump and run team out there, now it is a death sentence. The passing skill is so good and crisp, you may as well give the puck to the other team at center ice. They are that good.

In football, the defense that is busiest usually ends up losing. Hockey is no different. Time of possession is key. So, poor faceoff percentage translates to decreased time of possession which leads to your defense working too hard which leads to more scoring chance and so on….

To fix the team,

1) Make faceoffs a top priority now…. let the returning centers and forwards that it is the team’s top priority. They need strong forearms, strong hands and fast reaction times. Put it into your off season workouts.

2) Devise a new style that is based on the Detroit system. Possession off turnovers and hold onto the puck no matter what.

3) Team defense emphasis. Everyone needs to play a two way game like Brandon Sutter. You show video of what he is doing to all the players. The entire team needs to see him isolated. He is so positionally sound, everyone needs to position like Suts….

4) Power Play… It is hard to say why this area was just so bad…. I hate to say it but Ronnie may have not had a good feel for what to do on the PP. Sure he was great on it but he had freaky hand eye coordination when he played. I think high risk high reward may be in order on the PP. Go with your 5 most responsible forwards and be agressive. Make the opposition fear your PP. Clearly, the methodology of last season resulted in an insulting PP. With improvement in this area, the Canes are going to put a hurting on some teams.

5) Paul Maurice Rework. For PM to be here into the future, he is going to have to reinvent himself. He needs to look at the people he has and adjust his plan accordingly. We cannot redraft a whole new organization. He must utilize the team’s strengths. If not, he is gone.

6) Develop, Develop, Develop…. teaching the way you want them to play. PM needs to be the greatest teacher in the league. I hear about how great at drafting this team or that team is. It is not just drafting well. You have to develop that talent. How many failed draft picks are a result of an organization not the player?

My two cents….

This may be a dumb question….what is the difference….I realize shots are between the posts and I assume a scoring chance is a subset of a shot….Is it a shot from point blank range?

Ok, you have covered most of the problems with the defense—and they tend to come down to gaining and keeping the puck. Face-off wins, puck possession, takeaways, physically seperating the other team from the puck all involve keeping or getting the puck. You’re right, when we have it they can’t score. Yet two of Mo’s favorite techniques all year was to dump the puck in the offensive zone, or just chip it out when in the defensive zone—both of which usually just gave the puck back to the other team.

As mentioned, everyone here laments our team size, the lack of anyone over 220 for most of the year (Allen is it now). Which hurts—most teams have multiple 220 plus forward and defensemen—we have none. Tough to win battles with LaRose, Dwyer, Skinner, Samsonov all light wieghts. Same for defensemen. We gave up far too much ofensive zone time.

But a lot of the problem is coaching—we’re built one way, Mo coaches another. I often wonder if his riding the top lines and top forwards with high ice time and long shifts accounts for a lot of the forwards not getting back or skating off instead of hustling back on defense like the better teams do….

Lastly, I think you missed one area:

6. Talent The Canes had one rookie, who we hoped for more from after only 10 games last year: McBain. Was one of the weakest defenders on the team. Often positionally bad. Did improve, but needs a lot of off-season strength work and work with Glen of better defensive posistion. We had only one shutdown defender (until the end) Gleason. Sub Par year, did not play well all season, and needs to return to form, regain some more size and physical play. We had Pitkanen and Corvo as puck moving defensement. Both OK, but… Corvo, better than expected, was dependable, but definitely not a shutdown guy. If Gleason had held his own this year, this pairing cooulc have been something. Gleason actually was the weaker defender on this pairing this year. Can’t expect much more from Corvo, but he’s a good puck mover. Pitkanen? Enigma. Good, Bad, indifferent, perplexing, and capable. But, not dependable. Far too many gaffes, less physical this year, poor decisions, and caught just watching far too often. Has a good shot but has to be horsewhipped to use it, almost never let’s go a one timer. Didn’t do us any favors on the defensive side, didn’t do enough offensively to make up for those flaws. Harrison, was dependable as a #6 Dman, and filled his role—not spectacular, but not depressing either. Babchuck and White—fillers. Two way Dmen, not great defensively, were adequate for us, but neither was a big loss nor filled a need. Allen brought size and crease clearing. He improved us by lowering quality chances against. As advertised he brought a few dumb penalties, but he filled a need, and is a good addition, but not an adequate addition. Joslin brought good physicality, puck moving and occasional offensive flair. Shows promise but showed some young, raw mistakes. Was overall a very pleasant addition. Could easily project to be a Gleason type (#3/4 Defenseman) with a little more offensive upside and he fills a need if we develop him right. Overall we suffered most of the year without a tre #1/2 shut dwon defensman. I thought we suffered from bad coaching decisions in the pairings especially when Pitkanen and McBain were together (Rookie/Offensive Dman—who do we depend on in our own zone?) We also suffered from no-one working with Pitkanen well. We may miss his puck moving and passing, but our back end could be better by subtraction if we can get pairings to develop chemistry… Overall I’d rate our defensive talent as below average.

Yet I feel the other factor mentioned #1-5 weighed in as larger factors than overall lack of talent…

 It was apparent going into the season that the Hurricanes needed to have a successful power play in order to make the playoffs. The power play was abysmal much of the year. The defense was a work in progress and was much better at the season’s end. Gleason’s injury really hurt the Hurricanes’ chances because he is a central shut down defenseman. Allen’s acquisition and the acquisition of Joslin added a burly factor to the defense that was desperately needed. Still, the fact is too often the Hurricanes forwards get shoved around by the bigger teams. Also for much of the season, the Hurricanes forwards had mixed identities. Samsonov was not fast but was shifty and he was anything but physical. Stillman/Staal/Cole had two fast players and a non-fast, wizard with the puck. LaRose was misused much of the year by being used in the top six.

   This next season, bringing up Dalpe and either or both of Boychuk and Bowman will add to team speed and offensive prowess. In the end, the Hurricanes organization has to have a team style that fits the players the Hurricanes have. If as some are predicting Pitkanen and Jokinen will sign elsewhere, it is going to be a challenge this coming season to have a team where there is congruity between the style of play the Hurricanes organization wants and the Hurricanes players. The 2011 draft is going to be a crossroads whether a forward or a defenseman is selected as the #12 pick.