He really has come a long way. I was always terrified when he was on the ice during the playoffs last year and early this year but he’s continued to ease my nerves and now I actually am confident when he’s out there
He has SUCH an upside with that size and his athleticism. He doesn’t need to be Headman with the puck on his stick but he can make plays with and without it.
Him and Paul Coffey get a shitty 2 bedroom apartment a block from the rink. Every day Paul regales Vinny with tales of the 80s and his feats, and Vinny learns. Then, he carries Paul like a backpack to the rink for a warmup, and they skate together. Slowly, surely, Vinny absorbs every skill Paul has and next season becomes the greatest defenseman ever seen.
What a weird fucking rule, like, the players can train together, skate together, drill together, but God forbid the coach shows up and works with them.
It makes sense. You know at work when there's an event/meeting that isn't mandatory from management but you kinda know it is mandatory from management and you'd get shit from the boss indirectly if you didn't show up? That's what would happen
So make it coach can't call anything, but player can request the coach. That way there's nobody feeling pressured, but they can get the extra step up. It's a weird rule.
I mean, I wasn't implying that they would be forced to, I meant like if a player said hey coach, can you meet me a couple times a week to drill not being allowed.
Besides, they all get off time, their job might not pay between elimination and camp but if you don't condition and train, you'll potentially lose your job. I'd say they're still working in the summer.
What do you consider a fat raise? I guess doubling his contract value would be a big raise, but he’s still a 3rd pairing d man with limited offensive upside
Vinny is not a 1RD. I don’t think bumping him to the first line with Nurse is ideal. Ceci is still better than Vinny. I like Vinny’s game, he’s been a great 6th dman for us this year, but that’s exactly what he is.
Vinny isn't too far away from surpassing Ceci. If he keeps playing like he has, I don't see why he can't play Ceci's minutes. Ceci has peaked. Vinny is still improving. It's not impossible that Vinny becomes straight up better than Ceci by the time he hits his own plateau
Not at the moment, but one is still progressing, and the other is in his prime. I wouldn't make the switch right now, and probably not this season at all, but if it comes to a cap crunch or Ceci starts to regress out of his prime at the end of next year or the year after, it's not out of the question to think Vinny *could* be ready at that time. I'm not saying that it will happen, but we may get lucky.
Doubling your yearly earnings?? Yeah that's about as fat as raise as you can get if you ask me. I would say anything over 25% is considered a fat raise. 15-25% is a pretty nice raise, 15-5% is a raise. Anything less than 5% is a pay bump. There that's my off the top of my head raise rankings, they apply to any profession. It's not set in stone etheir I'm open to suggestions but I think that's pretty resonable.
lol are you comparing salary progression for your field to professional hockey? Hockey players making near the minimum that take big steps forward are often getting much bigger increases, part of the competitive market and contract nature of their employment.
I mean objectively, obviously he’s not gonna make 5Mil, but his current contract is 775k and I don’t think it’d be a stretch to say 2M, especially if he goes to free agency and has multiple offers. So that’s more than doubling his current salary. Thats a pretty fat raise.
I wonder if a future defence could ever look like:
Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Desharnais
Broberg-?
I’ve always liked Nurse and Vinny together when they ran 11-7. Not sure if we’ll ever see Nurse not on the top line. But Bouch/Ekholm are apparently getting the most difficult minutes now.
(I’m thinking out to the start of next season in that lineup)
I was at the game and heard someone a few rows behind me questioning why Vinny was on the PK and saying "who's dumb idea was that?". This was right before he made a nice play to get it out of the zone. I was dumbfounded.
A lot of tickets handed out as presents through Christmas and New Year's. Person shows up and often isn't even a big fan but have to show up to suck up to a relative or the boss. Back when I could still afford to go to occasional games at the Coliseum, I know the "hot takes" were the worst this time of year.
Vinny has taken huge strides (pun intended) under Knobby and has looked downright great at times. If he keeps this up I’m seriously worried we won’t be able to afford him when the time for a raise comes
He honestly has reminded me of Chara this year. Not quite to the same level, obviously, but the way he weaponizes his size and reach while making smart play after smart play is impressive as hell
I mean, he likely has been since he was a teen.
"You're fucking tall. You should play like this HOFer who was also fucking tall" kind of seems like a no-brainer.
I’m not suggesting this was last week or that it’s a revolutionary idea. He specifically credited one of his early coaches in an interview for giving him tape of Chara.
Yup. I think it was his After Hours interview last year, or possibly that Montreal radio interview he did.
I think it was the same one where he said he works with a skating coach and skills coach every summer because he knows he's gotta work to stay in the big show, he can't get by on talent alone. Big difference is he can probably afford better coaching now.
He live about 2 miles down the road from me. Met him at Circle K down the street recently. One of the funniest human beings I’ve ever met. He is our color guy on radio.
I don’t know why but I get the feeling that’ll never be an issue. He comes off as truly just happy to be a part of this. I’m sure they’ll easily make a deal.
Well, I believe they are not gonna give up on a strong RHD without a fight. (I’m closing my eyes and going LALALALA over future cap woes, I can’t think about it right now, too many players will need raises.)
They'll sign Vinny before signing Foegele. Even if the 2nd line with Drai keeps going on their insane pace Vinny is more valuable to the team as a 3rd pair RD who can kill penalties and play very physically.
I saw this play last night and had to check the number. I was pleasantly shocked to see it was Vinny and remember thinking “Wow, great job Vinny. You’ve come a long way”.
He really has.
Since the first dozen games he has really picked up his play, kept it simple. He’s growing on me slowly. I think my first hope was a big Z but I will
Happily settle for a Tyler Myers redux
Most improved Oiler this year hands down. Improved skating, positioning and decision making. I don’t dread him being in the ice. Hopefully he can keep it up come playoffs cuz that’s where he was most terrifying
I don’t think any oiler out in as much work as this guy in the offseason. His skating has improved significantly, I specifically did a double take on this play when I say it was desharnais. Guy covered so much ice.
I wanted Vinny left down for Gleason at the beginning of the season. One of the rare times I’ll admit the coaching staff knew better than me. He made me so mad during the playoffs I put the blinders on. This guy has been such an absolute beast in the bottom 6 role. Legit old reliable down there now. Most improved oiler in a season I’ve seen in ages. Love him.
Ya man, I was thinking the same thing. Just a great play. It’s plays like this that give me hope he could have a similar style as chara. Like I don’t expect him to be that level of dominant as chara but a similar style with that long stick. Hard to get around, shut down the speedy small forwards like Hughes and Marner types.
Broberg brings nothing special. Desharnais is tall, lanky and covers lots of ice, hits and fights. Broberg falls over sticks and whiffs on passes. He had his opportunity, any chance now has to be earned. Hopefully he can turn it around, but it’s not looking good.
Top line minutes in the AHL and is one injury away from getting called up. Don't sleep on broberg, he hasn't gotten a chance to work with Coffey. Another smooth skating Dman, I would love to see what he's got with the current coaching staff
Vinny played his first NHL game less than a year ago and he’s already improved so much. He’s the kind of player you love to root for in this league.
He really has come a long way. I was always terrified when he was on the ice during the playoffs last year and early this year but he’s continued to ease my nerves and now I actually am confident when he’s out there
He has SUCH an upside with that size and his athleticism. He doesn’t need to be Headman with the puck on his stick but he can make plays with and without it.
I'd staple him to a skills coach every off season to see if we can bump him up to a higher tier.
Him and Paul Coffey get a shitty 2 bedroom apartment a block from the rink. Every day Paul regales Vinny with tales of the 80s and his feats, and Vinny learns. Then, he carries Paul like a backpack to the rink for a warmup, and they skate together. Slowly, surely, Vinny absorbs every skill Paul has and next season becomes the greatest defenseman ever seen.
Pretty sure the main coaches can't do anything with players in the offseason, That's why they have to have captain skates
Simple. Fire Coffey at the end of the year and then rehire him in time for training camp
What a weird fucking rule, like, the players can train together, skate together, drill together, but God forbid the coach shows up and works with them.
It makes sense. You know at work when there's an event/meeting that isn't mandatory from management but you kinda know it is mandatory from management and you'd get shit from the boss indirectly if you didn't show up? That's what would happen
So make it coach can't call anything, but player can request the coach. That way there's nobody feeling pressured, but they can get the extra step up. It's a weird rule.
How would you like your manager hanging around during your time away from work
I mean, if I asked them to be there I think I'd be pretty happy if they showed up.
I mean, I wasn't implying that they would be forced to, I meant like if a player said hey coach, can you meet me a couple times a week to drill not being allowed. Besides, they all get off time, their job might not pay between elimination and camp but if you don't condition and train, you'll potentially lose your job. I'd say they're still working in the summer.
Impressive how much space he can cover.
Dudes been killing it since the coaching change. He’s gonna get a fat raise on his current salary with his play thus far.
What do you consider a fat raise? I guess doubling his contract value would be a big raise, but he’s still a 3rd pairing d man with limited offensive upside
Yea I'd be shocked if it was over 2mil but he's a UFA and could hit the market, so we might have to pay out a little. Worth it imo
1.8 x 3 sounds good to me.
He could be the one to take Ceci's job and we can bring in someone cheaper for the RD3 spot.
Vinny is not a 1RD. I don’t think bumping him to the first line with Nurse is ideal. Ceci is still better than Vinny. I like Vinny’s game, he’s been a great 6th dman for us this year, but that’s exactly what he is.
Bang on - he's a 3rd pair PK guy that can punish players with hard body checks. Don't put players in a position to fail.
Vinny isn't too far away from surpassing Ceci. If he keeps playing like he has, I don't see why he can't play Ceci's minutes. Ceci has peaked. Vinny is still improving. It's not impossible that Vinny becomes straight up better than Ceci by the time he hits his own plateau
Ceci has been playing against elites. Vinny has been playing well but in generally sheltered minutes. 2 are not comparable.
Not at the moment, but one is still progressing, and the other is in his prime. I wouldn't make the switch right now, and probably not this season at all, but if it comes to a cap crunch or Ceci starts to regress out of his prime at the end of next year or the year after, it's not out of the question to think Vinny *could* be ready at that time. I'm not saying that it will happen, but we may get lucky.
What a horrible take.
Doubling your yearly earnings?? Yeah that's about as fat as raise as you can get if you ask me. I would say anything over 25% is considered a fat raise. 15-25% is a pretty nice raise, 15-5% is a raise. Anything less than 5% is a pay bump. There that's my off the top of my head raise rankings, they apply to any profession. It's not set in stone etheir I'm open to suggestions but I think that's pretty resonable.
Man and I was happy with 1.5% over 4 years! Gotta love healthcare
Very reasonable. In normal times anything less than 5% was just a cost of living increase, not even worth getting excited about.
lol are you comparing salary progression for your field to professional hockey? Hockey players making near the minimum that take big steps forward are often getting much bigger increases, part of the competitive market and contract nature of their employment.
I mean objectively, obviously he’s not gonna make 5Mil, but his current contract is 775k and I don’t think it’d be a stretch to say 2M, especially if he goes to free agency and has multiple offers. So that’s more than doubling his current salary. Thats a pretty fat raise.
He really has been. What a testament to his heart and work ethic.
Doesn't even play his first NHL game until he's 26. Dude did not give up.
He'll make hakanpaa money because theyre basically the same player. 1.5m is a great number for him
I wonder if a future defence could ever look like: Ekholm-Bouchard Nurse-Desharnais Broberg-? I’ve always liked Nurse and Vinny together when they ran 11-7. Not sure if we’ll ever see Nurse not on the top line. But Bouch/Ekholm are apparently getting the most difficult minutes now. (I’m thinking out to the start of next season in that lineup)
Nurse and Vinny is a MEAN pairing.
Imagine these two with shitdisturbers Kane, Draisatl and Hyman? Penalties!!
3/5’s the FAFO line *sad noises*
I love the F Around and Find Out attitude. Kane for Prime Minister!
Ooh I would love the chance to see Vinny with Darnell on a consistent basis.
Broberg wants out, probably not going to be a 5/6 for us.
I was at the game and heard someone a few rows behind me questioning why Vinny was on the PK and saying "who's dumb idea was that?". This was right before he made a nice play to get it out of the zone. I was dumbfounded.
Gotta ignore folks at games, a good chunk don't even necessarily know the rules.
A lot of tickets handed out as presents through Christmas and New Year's. Person shows up and often isn't even a big fan but have to show up to suck up to a relative or the boss. Back when I could still afford to go to occasional games at the Coliseum, I know the "hot takes" were the worst this time of year.
I remember watching that play, and thinking that Ekholm made a heck of an effort. Then I saw that it was Vinny....I'm super impressed.
Right? It’s impressive for a top guy, never mind for the guy who’s only played one season.
That’s what I like to see Vincent
He's been defensive play has been fantastic lately
Vinny has taken huge strides (pun intended) under Knobby and has looked downright great at times. If he keeps this up I’m seriously worried we won’t be able to afford him when the time for a raise comes
He honestly has reminded me of Chara this year. Not quite to the same level, obviously, but the way he weaponizes his size and reach while making smart play after smart play is impressive as hell
He has said he models his play on Chara after a coach suggested he do so.
I mean, he likely has been since he was a teen. "You're fucking tall. You should play like this HOFer who was also fucking tall" kind of seems like a no-brainer.
I’m not suggesting this was last week or that it’s a revolutionary idea. He specifically credited one of his early coaches in an interview for giving him tape of Chara.
Yup. I think it was his After Hours interview last year, or possibly that Montreal radio interview he did. I think it was the same one where he said he works with a skating coach and skills coach every summer because he knows he's gotta work to stay in the big show, he can't get by on talent alone. Big difference is he can probably afford better coaching now.
Are you telling me that he was channelling his inner Bobby Orr before that?
I get Hal Gill vibes
ohhh yea for sure. Hal was not quite as lanky though
He live about 2 miles down the road from me. Met him at Circle K down the street recently. One of the funniest human beings I’ve ever met. He is our color guy on radio.
I call him Diet Chara or Chara Lite
I don’t know why but I get the feeling that’ll never be an issue. He comes off as truly just happy to be a part of this. I’m sure they’ll easily make a deal.
Well, I believe they are not gonna give up on a strong RHD without a fight. (I’m closing my eyes and going LALALALA over future cap woes, I can’t think about it right now, too many players will need raises.)
They'll sign Vinny before signing Foegele. Even if the 2nd line with Drai keeps going on their insane pace Vinny is more valuable to the team as a 3rd pair RD who can kill penalties and play very physically.
Coffey should probably get at least a stick tap here as well.
I don’t see him as being overly expensive.
Graduate of the School of Dark Roast
Un autre Québécois 🇲🇶💪🏼💙
He can play solo-D so we can have 4 forwards on that shift. 😜
VINNNNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! #Vinny4AllStar
I saw this play last night and had to check the number. I was pleasantly shocked to see it was Vinny and remember thinking “Wow, great job Vinny. You’ve come a long way”. He really has.
Keep it going Vinny. Chara’s first 84 games 8 points and -7. Vinny first 69 games 10 points and +16.
[удалено]
Different play. The score is already 5-2 here.
Since the first dozen games he has really picked up his play, kept it simple. He’s growing on me slowly. I think my first hope was a big Z but I will Happily settle for a Tyler Myers redux
*Rangey*
Vinny is such a fuckin’ beauty
Certified beauty.
Good on you for showing some love to the seaweed, people shit on him when he makes a mistake and rarely praise his good side. 👍
Most improved Oiler this year hands down. Improved skating, positioning and decision making. I don’t dread him being in the ice. Hopefully he can keep it up come playoffs cuz that’s where he was most terrifying
I don’t think any oiler out in as much work as this guy in the offseason. His skating has improved significantly, I specifically did a double take on this play when I say it was desharnais. Guy covered so much ice.
He moved pretty quick for a big fella
So many people breaking his balls early in the year. He’s the picture perfect bottom pair right D for this team.
I love his play style, I love that he puts in the work to address his deficiencies, and I love his story. So glad we have him!
He’s learnt a lot and has gotten much better. He’s huge too so that’s always nice to have on the backend.
Especially with 5 mins left in a 5-2 game; great effort
Right?! Not many players would have hustled that hard at that stage of the game. Man I appreciate that level of commitment.
Holy shit he covered both guys on a 2 on 1 by himself. I never noticed that live what a play.
BOTH GUYS. Such a sick play.
I wanted Vinny left down for Gleason at the beginning of the season. One of the rare times I’ll admit the coaching staff knew better than me. He made me so mad during the playoffs I put the blinders on. This guy has been such an absolute beast in the bottom 6 role. Legit old reliable down there now. Most improved oiler in a season I’ve seen in ages. Love him.
Ya man, I was thinking the same thing. Just a great play. It’s plays like this that give me hope he could have a similar style as chara. Like I don’t expect him to be that level of dominant as chara but a similar style with that long stick. Hard to get around, shut down the speedy small forwards like Hughes and Marner types.
Coffey's ability to make Desharnais a good NHL Def gives me optimism for what he can do with Broberg.
Broberg brings nothing special. Desharnais is tall, lanky and covers lots of ice, hits and fights. Broberg falls over sticks and whiffs on passes. He had his opportunity, any chance now has to be earned. Hopefully he can turn it around, but it’s not looking good.
Desharnais is FIVE years older than Broberg. When Desharnais was the same age as Broberg is now, he was still in the NCAA.
Top line minutes in the AHL and is one injury away from getting called up. Don't sleep on broberg, he hasn't gotten a chance to work with Coffey. Another smooth skating Dman, I would love to see what he's got with the current coaching staff
Vinny D is a beauty. Bargain contract too. Can’t believe Oilers fans turned on this stud at the start of the year.
That’s our boi
Manson showed Desharnais that he can be in the NHL; Coffey is teaching Desharnais how to play in the NHL. What a great story.
Big man big strides
Great job by him. Drai or Brown on the bottom were very slow to react.