TropicalFruitGirl26

Looking forward to a new season, and as always, the Central will be one of the toughest divisions top to bottom and the Wild start off with the defending division champions. I know Mikael Granlund was traded last season over to the Preds, but looking at some preview stuff, he still looks weird wearing Nashville gold. And while he wasn't a huge factor for the Preds last season, I am betting now that he has had time to adjust to being a Pred, have a full training camp and pre-season with the team, and gotten over being traded, he will be a huge help to that team this year....hopefully he won't be too much of a thorn in the side of the Wild. Obviously looking forward to big years from guys like Zach Parise, Jason Zucker, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, Mat Dumba, and Eric Staal, as THAT is how it is going to have to be if the Wild are going anywhere this year, but, also want to see what new guys Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman can add to the team. Kevin Fiala? Look if the guy can just keep from turning the puck over so much, I will count that as a small victory. Ryan Donato and Brad Hunt will be my sneaky picks to have surprising years that no one is expecting. What better way for them to start out that way than against the Predators. And Dubnyk. Ohhhh, Duby. He HAS to be solid. No softies every game or every other game...definitely no softies against the likes of the Nashville Predators. For the boys in white n green tonight.... Go Wild GO!

@FD19372 Hell, I can get on board with your TB over Col in the Finals!! Only 82 games and possibly another 28 in the post season stand in the way is all...

@pilldoc @hf101 Are suspended players not eligible for IR? Was trying to move Kuznetsov serving his 3-gamer to IR, but that isn't an option.

Hmm....predictions that can go wrong, eh? Ok...I'll take a stab.... I'll just pick a few choice crystal ball visions by divisions (visions by divisions....see what I did there? Nevermind….) Atlantic ---Tampa Bay Lightning will NOT have a historic season, having learned their lesson that regular season record setting means squat in the post season. They will focus more on getting their all around games right and may lose more games in the process...but should pay off better in the playoffs. ---The Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres are going to be sniffing around the playoff picture....one will squeeze in...the other will barely miss...which is which? Ahhhhh…..we will just wait n see! ---The Detroit Red Wings may not be as terrible as some people think. They may even have a hot streak or two. Still will miss the playoffs, but won't finish anywhere near last...much to the chagrin of the tank mongers...... Metro ---This just in: The Caps and Pens are NOT washed up yet....repeat...are NOT washed up! They should battle for the top spot in a division where many teams are still either rebuilding or trying to find their contender footing. --The Carolina Hurricanes will regress. Yes, they have some nice players up front and their defense ain't too shabby, but their depth will be severely tested as will their goaltending (Mrazek and Reimer? Seriously??). Beyond their top line, the team looks kinda average (though by no means horrible)….but several players (including the netminders) played over their heads last season, and that will be hard to replicate...(Reimer? THAT Reimer????) Central Division ---The Wild will NOT be as terrible as many pundits believe. Sure, they aren't going to win the division, but I think if they stay healthy, they have a legit shot at making the post season once more after missing last year. Scoring will be a problem if their top players don't perform however, and Dubnyk CANNOT let in one softie a game.... But a full season of Matt Dumba, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin together says they should be solid at the back end, and some of their forwards had down years last time out.....looking for a rebound. ---The Winnipeg Jets may suffer...a lot. Depleted defense, LOTS of pressure on Hellebuyck to show he really wasn't that guy that looked below average on many occasions last year, a possible malcontent in the ranks (Laine), a mystery man on the blue line....errrr, or NOT on the blue line (Byfuglien), no Trouba, no Myers.... Bryan Little may have recurring concussion syndrome issues testing their depth down the middle.....but never fear...Neal Pionk is here! Yea...exactly. As long as the Jets are near the cellar, maybe they should just have some wine..... Pacific Division ---The return of the Vegas Golden Knights! The NY Yankees of hockey! The Jordan Chicago Bulls of the NHL! The New England Patriots of the ice!! Ok, ok...over the top? Blame that one poster who was on here going on and on about the Knights winning it all in their first season....stuck in my head...damn him! Anyways, Knights should be good. May even win the division. MAF feels he has one more Cup left in him (hopefully he WEARS a cup...) ---The Vancouver Canucks...…………..will not be terrible. A fun, up n coming team lead by Petterson, Boeser, Horvat, Gaudette and a pissed off JT Miller up front..... Edler, Myers, Tanev, and Quinn anchoring the blue line.... And Jacob Markstrom, in a contract year, may play out of his mind so he can parlay that into a big, big contract....before he turns into regular, below average Markstrom after being paid.... These guys may sniff a bottom playoff spot....book it....

Season's Eve trade to report.... The Green Star Blades will be acquiring Alex DeBrincat and Robin Lehner. The PA40Flyers get Erik Haula and Semyon Varlamov The Blades went into the draft with the idea of dominating the goalie categories and used up their first three picks to acquire three top notch starters! However, Alex DeBrincat was also a target and he eluded them.... Meanwhile, the PA40's sure could use a regular starter to go along with Rinne, and they will be getting that in Varlamov. Taking on Lehner may be dangerous (can he fare well in Chicago's more open style vs. the Islanders defense first style?), but getting the likes of a DeBrincat to go along with Jonathan Toews already on the team was too good to pass up. The Star Blades still feature Holtby and Price. Varly and Rinne should be a nice combo for the PA's....and Erik Haula was derailed by injury last year, but his projected numbers for this season could turn out to be a nice surprise for FD's team. He can score, set up, and take some face offs....and on the Hurricanes, who play a VERY open style, he should thrive. Funny this trade, as I mentioned to my trade partner.. We face each other starting tomorrow for opening week... players are packing their gear to switch locker rooms as we speak...

Well, season is starting Wednesday, so I give him one day...haha

Draft over....the banter was, as usual, very fun...best of luck to all this season...except when you face me of course..

I posted on the Yahoo message board under Doc's draft thread. Any managers not on this site should get a reminder that way.

Draft time in about 22 minutes guys! @pilldoc @ruxpin @J0e Th0rnton @Bakanekimiwa @FD19372 @yave1964 @hf101 The other managers, not sure if they are members of this site, maybe someone can send them a reminder?

From NBC Sports: https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/09/30/ho-sang-desmith-sprong-headline-waiver-wire/ Due to cap crunches or uncertainty with some teams on how players will fit into their lineups, some surprising names have shown up as being placed on waivers by their respective teams. Heading the list, at least for me, is Pittsburgh's Casey DeSmith. Here is a guy who has been an excellent backup netminder, and at times has taken the reigns for short periods, is on a team friendly 1.25M AAV deal for the next three years, is still under 30 years of age....and because the Pens find themselves in a cap pinch, they are forced to go with Murray/Jarry as their goalie tandem. Wow. Last season, I was hoping that somehow, some way, the Minnesota Wild could snatch DeSmith away from the Pens and have him either backup Devan Dubnyk or split time with him in the crease and they could do away with Alex Stalock. The Pens quickly signed DeSmith before it got to the point where another team could sign him, but now, they may not be able to keep him unless they move another contract elsewhere on the roster. Wild still have 3 contract spots available (47/50 according to capfriendly), and if they need to bury Stalock in order to get DeSmith, I'd be on board with that. Some other names the article highlights are Josh Ho-Sang of the Islanders and Daniel Sprong of the Ducks. Both these players have yet to realize the kind of potential that had been expected of them, but both are also just 23 and 22 years old respectively and have to believe that some team somewhere, can help unlock their talents on the ice. Veteran guys whose names jumped out at me are: Luke Schenn (D-TB Lightning)...tough rugged and a LOT better than most remember him playing in Philadelphia and earlier on in Arizona. The Bolts do seem to be quite deep, so I can see why he may be the odd man out, but a young veteran guy (30 yrs old) who has shown improvement in his overall play on a very friendly team deal ($700k for just one year) should look attractive to a team in need of a solid bottom pair defenseman. Sven Baertschi (LW-Vancouver)…. An average playing type winger (soon to be 27), but who seems to be able to chip in points, decent skater. If only he had a clear cut, defined role on a deeper team (probably a two way type player on someone's third line), he may do better than trying to be a Boeser, Horvat, Pettersson caliber type player on the Canucks (which he is NOT). His 3.36M AAV hit may be a bit high for what he brings, but still, if a team can absorb that, and tell him, "look, THIS is what we want you to do, nothing more, nothing less", I think he may be a nice surprise. Guy just seems to be able to do a bit of everything, even though none of it is elite, including maintaining possession of the puck as he doesn't often turn it over. Curtis Lazar (F-Buffalo)…. Can ANYONE find the player that did real well playing for the WHL's Edmonton Oil Kings before he came to the NHL? He is still just 24, has a decent mid sized frame, but has mostly been stuck on rebuilding teams...but when he was on Ottawa before they went completely south, he started to show signs of coming around to NHL level acceptability. Perhaps on a more established team, away from the spotlight, he can quietly go about piecing his game back together, and even if he never becomes an elite talent in the NHL, might still be able to be solid, regular contributor. Just a 700K cap hit, and he will be an RFA after this season. Might be worth a look for a non rebuilding team. Any thoughts on any other players on this list?

Very interesting stuff. Unfortunately, for me at least, they are the Sabres. They have shown "promise" in many areas in recent seasons (and have improved) but the end result still hasn't been what everyone was expecting. I know, I know...they seem to be the focus of much doubt, but with good reason. And I also know that they will likely continue to be just that....until they actually prove, on the ice, that they should no longer be labeled as also-rans. A new approach to the PP, is, of course, a good thing, seeing as how they were middle of the pack last season, so anything that may improve upon that should be welcome. That goes without saying and can really be applied to a number of teams. Like all things, it will come down to execution...and execution during the regular season will be tougher than in the pre-season. So time will tell over the course of a grueling season whether the players can make this work, have the IQ to compensate when things don't go exactly as planned, and whether they will all "buy in" to the new approach, stick with it, and perfect it. If they can do that, then they certainly have the potential for a top 5 or so PP. But since they ARE the Sabres, no one will believe in them till they actually get it done.

Found this from about two days ago. Written by what looks like a parody/satire site and the writer is a Chicago sports fan. It takes shots at the Lightning, mostly due to the fact the Bolts always seem to get players to sign all these team friendly deals. I was ready to start roasting the guy, but the more I read it, the more it was obvious to me it was all in good fun. In that regard, I found this to be pretty funny actually and I thought I would share here. Reminds me of that one website that posts absurd, funny stuff, The Onion. Anyways, here is the link to The Barstool (WARNING: author uses LOTS of swear words...especially the F word, so read at your own virgin eyes' risk ) https://www.barstoolsports.com/chicago/i-want-the-nhl-to-investigate-the-tampa-bay-lightning-because-theyre-definitely-paying-players-under-the-table#scrollToComments That blasted Jeff Vinik….. He should probably go to prison!!

This should be very, VERY good news to goalie starved Long Island. Semyon Varlamov should provide some very good short term goaltending, but remembering that he tends to need stretches on IR (almost on the regular, season in, season out), the Islanders really could use a star type goalie for the long term. Still hasn't hit his "goalie prime", and yea, the KHL is not exactly the NHL, but one can't deny these fantastic numbers. Bodes well for the Isles.

Let me guess...because they whiffed on Justin Faulk?

We have! He took a 'sweetheart' 6.75 AAV deal.

And I am not sure why Canes fans would care what a Wings/Jackets fan thinks about all this... I suppose you are going to tell me next you are a fan of HOCKEY...

I agree with @ruxpin here. While Faulk obviously is the better offensive player, his defense DOES leave a lot to be desired, and I think, if you look at the Canes' defensive corps as a whole with Edmundson now in it, they have a nice balance of attack and defend. Guys like Edmundson may not be as common as they used to be, but I think a championship caliber team STILL needs a good stay at home guy who is actually GOOD at it (like Edmundson), and not be a liability at the blue line (which Faulk was). If Carolina had zero for offense from the blue line, I'd say this was a very questionable deal....but they have Hamilton, Gardiner, and Slavin. That should take care of their attack needs from the defense. Edmundson, Pesce, and van Riemsdyk can take care of the shut down duties. Pesce and Hamilton, in fact, are nice two way options as well. Couple that with the all out attack and raining shots on goal that Carolina forwards have a knack for, and I think getting Edmundson is a nice "balance" trade. The pick COULD have, as Rux said, been higher...maybe a 3rd or so. The Blues? Well, they play a pretty solid brand of defense already, so they could spare not having Edmundson, and in gaining Faulk, even though his defense is questionable at best, I think they could live with it if he can bring his offense and shot blocking to the table for them. Faulk actually rates pretty high in the hits department, but unlike Edmundson, it is usually because he screws up coverage and then has to scramble to "chase the play" and hit whatever he can to try and make up for it.

FINALLY.... the Point has been made... Brayden signs a 3 yr/ 6.75 AAV "bridge deal" (that's a hell of a bridge though!) to remain with the Tampa Bay Lightning From NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/lightning/news/tampa-bay-lightning-re-sign-forward-brayden-point-to-three-year-contract/c-309399624 Of course, all is not good news.... Point is still recovering from hip surgery he had in the Spring, and so won't actually be ready for game action till late October the team is speculating. Not a huge deal, IMO, seeing as how the schedule is rather sparse to start October (and I wonder if the Bolts knew this all along and why they waited till the very last possible time frame to finalize and publish this news)….however, not having training camp, then starting his season right when most players have started to shake off Summer rust, well, THAT could be problematic. Wouldn't be surprised if he starts off slowly. Fortunately, he is too good to stay "slow" for very long AND the Bolts are still quite deep...they can hide his early season deficiencies pretty well (I can see Cirelli being moved up to 2C , or Tyler Johnson moved back to C if need be), while Point sorts himself out.

Wishing him well in his post playing career as well. All the points you made about him, @yave1964, were right on, but I think what ultimately got him to the point where teams no longer felt the need to keep him (including TB who opted to re-sign Coburn instead), is his skating. The man IS smart...not was..IS…. he knows all the nuances of playing defense and seemingly has a sharp mind for the game, but watching him in his remaining days in NY and then even playing sheltered rotated minutes in TB, it was pretty clear he had lost more than a step or two along the way. This post isn't meant to bag on him, but rather to point out the simple fact that his skating speed and explosiveness were just no longer up to NHL standards. He'd probably make a great coach at some level given his keen mind for the game, the position he played, his workmanlike attitude, and understanding "big moments' on the ice, as he was part of many in his career.

Easy answer would be to NOT hang onto him as a keeper...but you know, as soon as you drop him back to the draft pool, someone will pick him up faster than you can say "Fenton traded Nino and Granlund one for one for garbage returns", and even if he starts out slowly (either with the Lightning or *gasp* someone else he is traded to because his agent and the club can't come to a deal), he will do well, and you will kick yourself later. Bottom line...keep him. I would. Even if I weren't a "homer" here. I'd do the same if it were Marner, Boeser, or any of those other high ceiling guys who held out.

Seriously. Us regular little people living off normal salaries can't POSSIBLY fathom the HELL that is living with a paltry $900K annual salary

**Update...errrr, sort of... ** Found this from thehockeynews: https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/lightning-and-their-star-are-not-close-to-contract-but-all-signs-point-to-a-bridge-deal Apparently, the Bolts and Point are hung up on whether to go bridge or full on deal. Point's agent indicates the two sides are still not close, but dialogue continues to go on. To be honest, I thought Point would sign before guys like Marner, McAvoy, Boeser, etc...given that all the talk about him turning down offer sheets and wanting to stay on with the Lightning was pretty prevalent in the hockey media. Not sure which side could be labeled as "unreasonable" here (if there is such a thing in this particular case), but if the Lightning are offering Brayden Point a bridge deal (the article seems to think it is in the 5.7M range AAV for three years), it wouldn't be out of character for them to do so, seeing as how guys like Stamkos, Kucherov, Johnson, Palat, and Vasilevskiy ALL took similar short term deals before ultimately getting the big paycheck. Tampa Bay GM Julien Brisbois says its about managing the cap while trying to stay fair, and should Point take the three year bridge, more cap will open up for a bigger payday after some other salaries come off the books. Point, meanwhile, is understandably trying to get the best possible deal for himself, as NOTHING in life is guaranteed. I mean, he could take a bridge deal, get seriously injured during that time, and never see the light of day on a full, market value contract on his services. Still though, I hope these guys can reach some sort of compromise. Point simply cannot lose anymore time NOT being on the ice. Ultimately it hurts him more than it does the club. I think the bridge deal is a good way to go for both sides...maybe Brisbois can up the AAV just a bit (maybe an even 6M AAV?), giving Point an extra 900K while he plays on for his huge payday...and let's face it, 5.5M-6M annually is NOTHING to sneeze at...especially considering that Point was living off an actual salary of less than 1M annually since he started playing for the big club. Get something done already guys!

Well, to be honest, I thought the Hawks were a bit idiotic to trade away Saad in the first place. Hopefully, Flyers fans won't have to see that sort of short sightedness with regards to Konecny. Team seems to be trending upward, he is a young player who hasn't seen his ceiling yet, Philly should just now stick with him for the duration...……..UNLESS, they'd like to trade him to the Wild for Kevin Fiala…

Fantastic. So...I suppose NOW you are gonna tell me that just because I am a Vezinette quality goalie in street ball hockey, that I really can't play for my national women's hockey team??? Pffft…..