ClassicJ

booing kids as they get drafted is foolish, I don't think there is any other way to look at it. "Oh, the proudest day of your life? A moment of joy and celebration for you, you're friends and family? Allow me to loudly boo you on this occasion in my best attempt to make an overwhelming positive event in your life taste a little bit bitter and thus reinforce a tired and beaten cliche that national journalists can rely on to fill columns on slow news days for years to come." sorry, I just really dislike it.

Grossman is a little uder appreciated I think. if you guys want to trade him to give prospects time at the NHL level that's cool I don't necessarily disagree, just be prepared for some ugly D. grossman isn't flashy, but he is a solid pro. if Alt and/or Lauridsen ever make a career like he has they will be exceeding most expectations of them and they will certainly have some growing pains along the way.

@jammer2 Maybe. I've just heard it said that the two of them are friends and I'm sure the flames would love to add Hayes. They have as good a shot as anyone I suppose, if actually does refuse to sign in Chicago. I like to think the Flyers are at least kicking tires here, in the hopes they can work out a trade and sign situation.

I think we're are jumping to conclusions a bit here. I can't imagine the kid is looking for guaranteed top 6 mins, more like looking for a legit shot at getting top line mins in the near future. That's not happening in Chicago. But hey, a 6 foot 3, 205 lb LW who can skate and has a high talent ceiling? forget top 6, how'd you like a legit shot at playing with Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek? That should be the Flyers pitch should the opportunity arise, becasue they can genuinely offer the kid a chance to play with top level talent. No guarantees, just opportunity. If he's got some maturity issues I don't mind him working them out in a Flyers uni. The Chief strikes me as guy with little patience for that nonsense, he'd handle it quickly. Problem is every team in the league will be making their best pitch for him, and I hear he's good buddies with Johnny Gaudreau.

The owners really do have a tough time controlling themselves. On one hand I suppose it's a sign of genuine competition and a desire to aquire/keep the best players. On the other hand the owners need to either stop paying out these big contracts or stop shutting the game down everytime the CBA runs out. Good for Kane and Toews they're two of the better players of this generation but the Hawks wouldn't be the same team minus Hossa and Sharp and these deals will make it tough to aquire and retain those types of players.

Defensemen take time to develop, big defensemen take longer. We are excited about the talent and potential of a kid and that's understandable. There's more too it than that. He's 18, just put 20lbs on his body, by all accounts still has work to do on his skating. He's saying the right things (of course he wants to make the team!) but if we are expecting him to be a difference maker this year we are being foolish. The Flyers are handling it well with the "he'll play in the NHL when he's ready and not before" approach.

A guy who has the right build but is lacking the finer points. Good news for the Sharks is that he's young enough that he could still surprise some people. Young guy gets a shot with a new organization, Flyers get a higher pick than most would have expected. Godd news all around.

If Nick Shultz was faster and made better breakout passes he wouldn't be a 7th defensemen. Just saying, With EDM he played around 20 mins in many games, that's top 4 kind of ice time and he's not that kind of player. With CBJ he played fewer mins and played reasonably well from what I've heard. As a 7th D man who you can trust in your own end, Shultz is just fine.

@J0e Th0rnton I don't know much about Stalok, well nothing at all really, but if he's got legit game that seems like a solid approach. Can't afford to be too sentimental with your roster in the salary cap era and I think more teams are starting to realize that. Chicago should be the model: won a stanley cup in 2010, traded their starting goalie and a promising young player and got value in return, won another Stanley cup a couple years later and could have easily won a third if they had held a game 7 lead against the Kings.

Yeah, It would be preferrable to lose Lecavalier, more specifically to lose his salary, but keeping him really isn't the worst case scenario. He had a rough season last year, it's true. He still scored 20 goals playing a system that doesn't suit his game, with a rotating 2nd line of youngsters and often out of his natural position. The refreshing thing about Hextall thus far though is that he seems committed to making move when it makes sense. If Nashville is asking too much (and it seems they are), carry an experienced (if overpaid) player into the season, help him to a solid campaign, then trade him at the deadline to someone looking for a bit more scoring to get over the hump.