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So someone thinks they have the key.

To be fair, Buffalo did as well with McDavid and Eichel on the block. They got the consolation prize, then lost it. No guarantees. No evidence that teams can win without bottoming out, either.

Preds take it on home ice in six and lose in the next round. This will be a good sign for Nashville who will miss the playoffs next year.

Imo I don’t think they get scolded at all. I think the staff suggests stuff and they go out and do what they want.

I agree. I'm saying that the smart teams, like Chicago, plan this sort of thing out when they see the right player come along.

No, though the rebuild was materially hurt by Peter Chiarelli's blunders. -The Milan Lucic free agent signing in 2017.. They got out of by trading Lucic for James Neal and then buying him out. It was the right trade for Ken Holland to make, since it allowed them to sign Zach Hyman. The dead cap from all of this is one will expire after next season. -The Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson trade. Larsson is a good defender, but not worth nearly Hall. -1st and 2nd round picks for Griffin Reinhart. The Isles probably laughed themselves to death when they completed the deal. -The next series of trades almost requires an essay of its own... The Old Boys Club were livid when Jordan Eberle ducked a hit in the 2017 playoffs, so they wanted him gone, dealing him for Ryan Strome, and then dealt Strome to the Rangers for one of the softest players in the history of the game, Ryan Spooner. In turn, Chiarelli deal Spooner to Vancouver for Sam Gagner. In one of the worst examples of asset management you can imagine, Chiarelli turned Jordan and Sam Gagner into Sam Gagner. -And then, because life can be unfair, half of the Oilers blueline was carved out almost in an instant: Andrej Sekera tore his Achilles tendon and was finished as a player. Oscar Klefbom developed arthritis which was so serious that he had to retire at only 26. Adam Larsson's father died across the street from the arena in Edmonton, and Larsson couldn't bear to play there anymore, walking/signing in Seattle. It's all a long way of saying that you're 100 percent correct, and that there are no guarantees with this, even if you do things right. The draft is the way to do it; absolutely.

Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth: Like the Avalanche-Jets series, a typical opposition of styles: offense condensed in the top-6 vs. defensive-structured team. I don't trust either Skinner or Talbot in this stretch. This will be played on the Kings' ability to shut down the two-headed monster. If the Kings take an early lead, that might be interesting. However, the Oilers have more arguments overall. Oilers in 6.

Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth: I'll try to be objective here. The addition of Hanifin and Hertl with Stone back is huge. The Knights have more lethal weapons but the Stars can count on its depth and a solid defense (the Tanev trade looks underrated but it had helped the Stars a lot). I think this series will be decided in goaltending: if Öttinger reaches his strength he had two years ago against the Flames, Dallas will go through. Stars in 7. (Still funny to have the old Stars logo there)

Damn Jets...110 points during the season. 110 really quiet points and they got beaten by the Flyers 2 times, so I'm going with MacKinnon and Makar. Hellboy steals 2 and the Jets win one but they can't get the 4th.

I have zero clue how the Predators made the post season. That said, I think their truculence will make the series interesting. Vancouver is young but really good- so it may take a minute to find their playoff game. I just think there are too many good players on the Canucks and they win in 6

This seems a shame to have this series so early. A lot of writers are picking Dallas to win it all. I think this will be an entertaining series. I do think the Stars advance, I also think they'll be diminished afterwards.

Gauthier is a highly regarded player, even if he didn't want to come to Philly his value had to be higher than an injury prone one dimensional defenseman. I don't have any proof,just like you don't have proof that Drysdale was the best deal out there. How is asking for Anaheims pick with a protection for one of the top-rated guys from the 2022 draft an unfair deal....and I don't have a Playstation. I'm just pissed off because I truly believe Drysdale is a flop and Gauthier is gonna be way better. We should have been more careful after the Ellis deal and drafting Patrick. How the hell could you trade for a guy who's been injured multiple times. This is not based on thirty games, it's bases on three NHL seasons where he has basically shown nothing. Didn't we have enough of our own injured guys who's development was hindered , we had to trade for another one.

All valid points, no argument here. However, 2 years away from a 50 year cup drought I would rather see a BITFU than stumble through another 14 years of this corporate bulls*#t mediocrity. I would prefer the small glimmer of hope of a few high draft picks over another round of Staal, Atkinson, Johnson, Ellis, Johansen, Couturier contract, etc etc etc. But thats just me. 8 weeks of real hockey until Danny B tips his hand. I am not optimistic.

And still haven't won (the Cup) with him. Not attempting to pour salt; just doubling down that it's not automatic even then. But in a cap era, it's still the way to go. You're not getting there just throwing Comcast money around like it's 1999.

Yes, it's not just a matter of luck with rebuilds, but a matter of timing, and the right player is usually evident over a year from the draft, and sometimes earlier than that, in extreme cases like McDavid, and a few other kids granted exceptional status. I caught this show with the Oilers, who picked #1 with Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov. Hall was skilled but interested only in himself, and Nugent-Hopkins is a very good all around player, but not a cornerstone. Then they picked Yakupov, who's so infuriating, that Brian Burke had to physically restrain one of his scouts from attacking the kid at the pre-draft interview. It was only when they fluked their way to a lotto win with Connor McDavid that the right player came along.

that's the problem with fans not getting the fact the tanking will not fix and cure everything, not only the lottery makes it harder but the fact the players in the draft class have to be good, cant be drafting provys, jvrs, and patricks and it will fix everything. that's why this organization is preaching patience because it's not going to be easy and the fact is alot of teams in our division are really good, we just have to hope that teams in our division eventually take a step back and we eventually take the mantle. just tearing it down in this division is a death sentence.

I think I'd rather face the Golden Knights in the first round, so that Stone et al, don't have as many at bats to loosen up as the playoffs continue. There are very few easy match-ups anymore, so you take what you're given, I suppose.

Jack Eichel and his Golden Knights are looking to defend their title and go back to back as SC Champions, while the Dallas Stars, current Central Division champions, look to get that Cup they came oh-so-close to getting just 4 years ago. Both teams throughout the year have shown versatility in their playstyles, even though Dallas still seems to be more defense oriented, while Vegas usually is more balanced overall. Knights also ran into some severe ruts during the season, whereas the Stars, aside from some minor hiccups here and there, were pretty consistent. But does any of that matter in this series? Well, the consistency might....but we will see. Whose main event players show up to carry their teams forward? Whose goaltending holds up under the bright lights of the playoffs? Is Mark Stone miraculously healed now?? Will Dallas sign Mike Modano for this series....and pay him 9M since there is no salary cap now.....to offset Mark Stone??.. Vegas Golden Knights tale of the tape: Season Record: 45-29-8, 98 pts______ Home/Road Splits: 27-12-2 / 18-17-6 Offense-Defense: 267 GF, 245 GA good for a +22 differential Special Teams: PP 20.2% (20th), PK 79.3% (16th) Dallas Stars tale of the tape: Season Record: 52-21-9, 113 pts_____ Home/Road Splits: 26-11-4 / 26-10-5 Offense-Defense: 298 GF, 234 GA good for a +64 differential Special Teams: PP 24.2% (6th), PK 82.0% (8th) Knights and Stars....head to head....series talk, right here!

Revitalized Kings, still running on the vintage core of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty, and Trevor Lewis (the remaining players from the last Kings' Cup in 2014), will look to get in the way of McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, Nurse, and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers, in search of their first. To that end, over the course of the last year and a half, the Oilers have gotten some hard nosed players, some former Cup champions to add to the ever increasing experience of their own developed talent. Will it be enough? Both teams have question marks.... which Kings team shows up? The one that looked every bit the contender with guys like Fiala leading the way...... or the lethargic one lead by Pierre Luc Dubois? How about the Oilers.....does the one that went on a tear to beat out every team except Vancouver in the Pacific? Or the one that bled scoring chances and ended up on the short end on nights when they probably should have won? That is what these two will decide on the ice in Round 1! Los Angeles Kings tale of the tape: Season Record: 44-27-11, 99 pts______ Home/Road Splits: 22-12-7 / 22-15-4 Offense-Defense: 256 GF, 215 GA good for a +41 differential Special Teams: PP 22.6% (12th), PK 84.6% (2nd) Edmonton Oilers tale of the tape: Season Record: 49-27-6, 104 pts______ Home/Road Splits: 28-9-4 / 21-18-2 Offense-Defense: 294 GF, 237 GA good for a +57 differential Special Teams: PP 26.3% (4th), PK 79.5% (15th) Get your Kings and Oilers on, right here!

That's exactly what I was referring to... IMO, which could be completely off base, but I view that as: "did they get scolded for getting caught too deep and therefore are being told to float higher"...? And since that seems to happen (dramatic change in their approach and play) - then who is telling them that - to which I therefore jump to the staff... Guessing C&D will cover that in an upcoming podcast as he disects this season...

Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth: I might think Vancouver was kinda overperforming, at least in the first part of the season while I didn't know what to expect from Nashville. This is an intruiging series and the Preds could push it to the limit. Canucks in 7.

It seemed like the Kings reeeeeaaaally didn't want to get the Stars. On the other hand, it felt like Vegas was targeting Dallas as they completely let it go against the awful Ducks. Given the bad record in the regular season, the Golden Knights was my least favorite team I wanted to face in the first round. But I guess if you have the ambitious objective to go for a deep run, you should be capable to beat anyone...

Goalies: Defense: Offense: Special teams (PP/PK): Coaching: Mental: Experience: Robustness: Depth: The Jets have the Avalanche's number. I don't trust Colorado: Georgiev has been awful, Makar is the best Dman but outside of him there's a huge hole, they rely too much on their top-6 to win games with their offense. I'm surprised the Jets made it that far despite their coach. I'll go with the relative upset: Jets in 6.

Jon Sim Jon Sim Jon Sim

Seriously. Does this franchise not read medical reports or do their own medicals? Christ sakes. Now, I feel for Drysdale because he's literally been the definition of good soldier, but this franchise and their lack of due diligence. This should lead to people getting fired. The only good news about this is that it isn't a shoulder or a knee and that this sort of core/sports hernia surgery is routine and that he'll be off his feet for three to four weeks in terms of exercising. At this point, if I'm GM, I'm sending Drysdale to go see Gary Roberts.