InHexyWeTrust

Not saying he's remotely ready, but is anyone clear on whether he would be eligible to be called up for the playoffs? Would a tryout contract be able to be used for the playoffs, or would that result in burning a year off the ELC?

I'm with you. I'm a big Read fan. I just threw him in thinking he would be a piece that could be sacrificed in a package for an Evander Kane or Eberle.

I think it's clear they won't be able to find a top paring d-man on the trade market. At least not unless it's for a huge package of picks and talent. Which, unless it's Shea Weber, let's just let Morin, Ghost, Hagg develop. That said, I'm not sure it makes sense to pursue a depth defenseman, especially because we already have so many. And hey, MAB might be called up soon. 3 points in 5 games since his comeback, always could skate, make smart decisions, check. Last thing we need is to give up assets for yet another bottom four dman. And the pairings seem to be coming together--Schenn has shown he can be an effective (albeit slow-footed, tentative with the puck, poor positioned) physical stay at home defender if he's paired with someone like Gus. The defense obviously needs work in order to compete for the cup, but that problem is not going to get solved by the deadline. So, I think the target might be a young scoring winger for G and Voracek--if they can get one. Trading some combination of Hartnell/Read/Downie/Mez/Grossmann/Cousins/et al. could yield some significant return.

Schenn doesn't strike me as a natural center. He was looking good on the wing with Vinny and Danny B before that.

If Hartnell on the fourth line results in the fourth line playing 9-10 minutes a night or so, it could be good for everyone. Balanced lines.

Picking this up from the Laughton vs. Wilson thread. There was a lot of debate here during the draft when we took Laughton one pick before the Pens took Maata. Or rather a lot of clamoring that Maata should have been ours. Now the conversation could be renewed with the recent developments for both players. Laughton, who was solid in the couple games he played for the Flyers last season, has been absolutely tearing it up in the OHL and was just named captain for Canada in the WJC. A very promising future for the 19 year old, and with our current glut of centers, no hurry for him to pushed with his development. Maata, on the other hand, is in the running for the Calder, already producing at a high level in the NHL. I still think Laughton was a solid pick, and fits our needs for now and the future better than Maata. Between Morin, Hagg, Ghost, and Lauridsen, we finally have a good defensive corps in the system that should seamlessly fill in for the aging veterans (Kimmo, Streit, Mez) in the coming years. But outside of Laughton, not much offense. As good as Maata may turn out to be, I'm definitely happy with the pick. Laughton should step into a full-time 4th line role next year, and the possibility of cycling 4 lines all with offensive upside is pretty exciting (a Laughton/Hartnell/Rinaldo sounds pretty good). So, who would you guys pick?

Probably right. But the chances we get pietrangelo are just as unlikely as getting jagr

I don't know. Coburn read and a pick for pietrangelo or bogosian, sign Jagr to replace read. That's a mighty good hockey team.

Didn't Jagr say the first time around that he need to play right side (either with JVR or Hartnell)? It doesn't make sense to force Voracek over to the left when he's had so much success on the off wing. But I'm likewise confused, I don't see where he fits in. Between Voracek, Simmonds, Read, there doesn't seem to be enough top RW spots to go around. Someone obviously has to get traded in order to fit him under the cap, but I'm not sure I want any part of Jagr for an 82 game season--or rather, Jagr only makes sense for part of an 82 game season.

Is anyone attending? I forget who usually gives those great player-by-player assessments. That would of course be greatly appreciated by all.

It's a fair point, rad. Though it wasn't a move just because they could "willy-nilly." The offense lost something after Jagr left, and they had an opportunity to sign the best offensive option available at neither a high cost in terms of cap hit nor tradable assets. A comparable hockey move, I suppose, is when teams on playoff runs add a big piece even if the need doesn't demand it (Iginla & Jagr last season, for example). Granted, neither worked, but also no one would criticize those moves, and deadline deals come at expense of those assets. I think the Phillies' commendable signing of Cliff Lee (for less money I think than was offered him by Texas or NYY) was similar to the VLC signing. I agree that the pursuit of Bryzgalov & Weber particularly in recent years were definitely moves that hurt the team, where they would have done better just to sit pat and resign Carle and see what happened with Bob. But those mistakes in themselves don't suggest that going after available high profile, talented players is a bad thing. After the Devils' series, it was clear that our d-corps wasn't going to cut it, and while Weber/Suter were undoubtedly a reach, and huge gambles that backfired, they represented a need for something that wasn't to be found on our roster; Carle for example was never going to be a defenseman that could handle the forecheck they faced in that series. I'm all for waiting for the core to mature and develop, but we needed more puckmovers than the soon to be gone Kimmo and Gus. And we needed a little more offensive firepower than what we had. Streit and Vinny were both great pickups. Homer has really done well this offseason, IMO.

@flyercanuck, Wow, that's obnoxious. I don't know what happened. My computer must have glitched out. Sorry guys. Edit. I can't seem to access those redundant posts to remove them; if an admin cares to delete them, please go ahead.

Going into the offseason the generally perceived top 3 priorities in order were 1. Improve the defense 2. Try to get a top 6 winger (especially in light of hartnells 3. Decent backup to push mason if they buyout bryz. I think they, like the rest of the NHL, saw vinny as immediately the top ufa available, and if you can add the best free agent on the market for a huge bargain compared to Horton or clarkson, it's a brilliant move regardless of need. But moreover, adding him fulfilled that second priority one way or the other. Either he steps into a wing with giroux, or giroux moves to left wing on what could be the best line in the league, or Schenn blossoms in, as others have mentioned, a solidified role on the wing better suited to his skillset.

Going into the offseason the generally perceived top 3 priorities in order were 1. Improve the defense 2. Try to get a top 6 winger (especially in light of hartnells 3. Decent backup to push mason if they buyout bryz. I think they, like the rest of the NHL, saw vinny as immediately the top ufa available, and if you can add the best free agent on the market for a huge bargain compared to Horton or clarkson, it's a brilliant move regardless of need. But moreover, adding him fulfilled that second priority one way or the other. Either he steps into a wing with giroux, or giroux moves to left wing on what could be the best line in the league, or Schenn blossoms in, as others have mentioned, a solidified role on the wing better suited to his skillset.

Going into the offseason the generally perceived top 3 priorities in order were 1. Improve the defense 2. Try to get a top 6 winger (especially in light of hartnells 3. Decent backup to push mason if they buyout bryz. I think they, like the rest of the NHL, saw vinny as immediately the top ufa available, and if you can add the best free agent on the market for a huge bargain compared to Horton or clarkson, it's a brilliant move regardless of need. But moreover, adding him fulfilled that second priority one way or the other. Either he steps into a wing with giroux, or giroux moves to left wing on what could be the best line in the league, or Schenn blossoms in, as others have mentioned, a solidified role on the wing better suited to his skillset.