yave1964

@CamWardo Great post. Welcome to the forum, kind of curious what brought you here, glad to see a Cane fan. This forum was established by Flyer fans and Wild fans kind of joined after they had a problem with another forum that they were with. There are a few dozen of us who are fans of other clubs who are welcome with open arms. We have a bunch of guys (and a few ladies) who are big fantasy geeks as well. Agreed the Devils have BIG problems in net. If Hellboy comes over from the Jets midseason as rumored not sure if they can be stopped, Devils have the young talent to offer Winnpeg for him if he as rumored does not wish to resign. I absolutely love Rod as a coach, they are disciplined and talented and play a team game. I mean ZERO disrespect with Svech, he is a talented two way player but he came into the league with many thinkng he would be the 'next Ovie' which he clearly is not. Taking nothing from his game, but i think he will be considered a mild disappointment until his first 50 goal season. It could be worse, my Wings drafted his brother who was as big a bust as we have ever had until we drafted Zadina, lol. Anyway, should be a great season, glad the players finally reported. Cant wait to see the first preseason games over the weekend!

Welcome. Man I agree with Staal, he is as underappreciated and underrated as Marc was overrated. He does everything well, except score. I wrote I like the moves, I think waddell is an overrated GM but he had one hell of a summer. Carolina is a solid team, I just feel they cannot match the skill in Jersey and the Rangers IMHO are a hair better. Agreed Jarvis or especially Necas could take a big next step. BUT Svechnikov at this point is solid but injury prone and not the elite talent he once appeared to be. Terravainen is hot and cold, with more cold streaks than hot last season. Burns another year older. Stastny was a adequate middle six center not replaced. Bunting put up good numbers on a line with Marner and Matthews now he is likely with Necas and Fast. Please don't get me wrong, I love the fun the canes have brought turning into a consistent 100 point plus team, I would have liked them better if they had pulled the trigger on a deal around Nylander and Pesce which was rumored much of the summer. I like the club but don't feel they adequately addressed their major need of offense. Necas led the team in scoring but was 58th in the NHL. Love the insane defensive depth, the goaltending, Staal, but the top six scares absolutely nobody. Until they add to that area I feel they are near elite but likely the third best team in Division.

Vancouver added backup goalie Casey DeSmith in exchange for Tanner Pearson and a 3rd a few ago. DeSmith is miles and miles and miles better than Spencer Martin and the backup goalies that Vancouver ran out there last year. Great add for the Canucks. Pearson missed most of last year and managed only one goal. He was activated off LTIR earlier today to participate in camp. I have no idea how healthy he is or if he has anything in the tank. The big get for Vancouver is getting rid of 1.4 million in cap, the difference in their two salaries. Vancouver needed to shed salary to become cap compliant. Trading essentially a 3rd to save cap space and get a solid veteran backup goalie was great for them. I think they are the big winner in this one. Montreal added Desmith and Petry and picks to help facilitate the Karlsson trade between the Sharks/Penguins. Petry went to Detroit for a fourth, Desmith for a 3rd, neither fit into their plans, great asset management for Montreal. If Pearson can play he will net another pick at the deadline. They won the day as well. Give it to Vancouver by a nose, both got what they wanted but IMHO Vancouver came out slightly ahead on this one.

Actually the Ducks are a few years ahead with MacTavish, Zegras, Carlson and five brilliant D prospects. Ducks should be the poster child for how to do a rebuild.

Forgetting politics (if that is possible in this world anymore) I would love to see SKA Moscow or St/ Petersburg play against NHL teams, one issue would be rink size, the KHL plays a 197 by 92 foot rink, the NHL plays a 200 by 85, so whoever hosted would have an advantage based off what they are used to. I believe the top tier KHL teams fall somewhere between the top of the AHL and the bottom of the NHL. For instance, if you look at SKA who went 41-22-5 they have a bunch of failed NHLers from NA and Europe, guys like Grigorenko who washed out in Buffalo/Colorado, Christian Jaros, Fredrik Claesson, Darren Dietz, Vitaly Abramov, Sergei Plotnikov, Vladislav Kamenev, Maxim Mamin and Nikita Nesterov, who the most hardcore of NHL fans will remember for brief NHL careers. I believe the teams best player Konstantin Okulov could easily be an NHL regular if he had chosen to do so but instead he decided to stay home in Russia where he is a star.Their goalie is the Infamous Ivan Fedotov who the league and the Flyers are fighting over his rights. He is IMHO a capable AHL goalie or possibly an NHL backup. In the KHL with this team he will be a star. St. Petersburg same kind of thing, Nikita Gusev wh bombed with the Knights is among the leagues greatest stars, Dmitri Jaskin, Mikhail Vorobyov who failed to impress the Flyers, Valentin Zykov, Alex Grant all former NHLrole players at best playing key roles. They also have young studs who were drafted early in the NHL drafts who havent come over such as Maret Khusnutdinov (2nd round Wild) and Alex Nikishkin (3rd round Carolina) and Maxim Groshev (3rd round Tampa) all of whom will eventually play in North America and all are considered fine prospects.Their main goalie is 23 year old Dmitri Nikolayev who has no intention of coming to North America, has made it clear he is happy in Mother russia and went 30-7-3 with a 1.98 goals against last year. So I see these two teams, the best that the KHL has to offer as capable and even slightly favored if facing AHL champ Hershey in a seven game series, but on the opposite end, overwhelmingly favored to get their hat handed to them against a bottom feeder like the Sharks or Canadiens. This is team versus team. You could make an All star team of KHL stars who could give an average NHL team a run for their money on a given night, but that is an unfair comparison. Team for team the NHL is superior, even the worst we have to offer is significantly better than their best teams. Not insulting the league I would love to see it happen but it would not be close. It would be fun to watch but wouldnt be much of a series team versus team. I could see the argument that it is the worlds second best league but it is not just a dropoff from one to two, it is a chasm. S

I am not completely against him, Andrae can skate, is not afraid to hit, but at his size I dont see him developing into a dependable top four guy. He reminds me of Brett Lebda who had a nice career with the Wings as a 5/6 d-man who had a very good first pass, little guy but would hit people. He played around seven or eight years in the league which is certainly not nothing, he won a cup, but smalish guys especially on the back end tend not to develop into dependable top four roles. a solid 5/6 who can run the second unit power play has very nice value, that is really where i see him.

I believe they could have the WORST record, but are absolutely not the worst organization. San Jose doesnt seem to have a clue, Columbus with Babcock right before the season is a mess. Arizona is playing in a middle school gym. The Islanders and Canucks both seem that they would be happy stumbling into the playoffs only to lose in five quick games. St. Louis and Washington are both happy to live for the glory days of a few years ago while they slip past mediocrity and into plain bad. I am sure that there are a few others who i feel are worse as an organization. Philly under Fletcher was a mess, Briere has the broom to clean up what was left behind and a plan. A lot of organizations dnt take a good hard look in the mirror and see where they are, instead continuing to put bandaids on the problem. Holland did it with my Wings for four or five years to when he road off into the sunset and left the team in in devastation. What the Flyers are doing now is what Detroit shoulda done several years before they actually did. Getting rid of the vets was a huge message, I dont like the salary being kept especialy getting nothing in return but it shows guts.

I drank the Kool aid on him, really thought he was the real deal. I have never seen anyone whose own head is his worst enemy. I cannot remember the exact stat but it is something crazy close to 40 percent of the time after giving up a goal he gives up a second within four minutes. As soon as scored upon the flood gates open...

PREVIOUS SEASON 31-38-13 75 points, 7th in Metropolitan. Minus 55 goal differential ADDITIONS Garnet Hathaway is a nice solid two way forward ideal for a third line, plays a heavy game. Sean Walker was trapped in LA an offensive defenseman capable of 40-45 points with some holes in his defensive game. Marc Staal is ok on the bottom pair, nothing special. SUBTRACTIONS, Lots. JVR was allowed/asked to leave, taking his game to Boston of all places. Tony DeAngelo was released after a deal was thought to be struck with Carolina, he signed with the Canes shortly after. Kevin Hayes was dealt to St. Louis for little return with much of his salary retained. Ivan Provorov was dealt to Columbus. Lesser lights such as Braun, Cates and Lemeux were alowed to leave PROSPECTS Tyson Foerster seems the most NHL ready in the system, he will take JVRs slot in the lineup. Egor Zamula will likely make the team on the bottom pair on defense, not much to get excited about but sound defensively. Emil Andrae will get looks/callups when people are injured. A small defenseman who has good vision but gets pushed around a fair amount. Bobby Brink, the Flyers seem to be intent on not rushing him, I think he is the first callup when a winger is injured. Honestly, I think he is a tad overrated. They seem to see something that i don't, he is a small guy who gets pushed around a lot as well. A guy who i do like who i think is a Torts kind of player is Desnoyers, a fifth rounder, he has met and exceeded expectations at every level of Hockey. A wrecking ball, bottom six forward with a sneaky scoring touch. They have some decent to god prospects further down the line but that is about it for this year. ARE THEY THE WORST TEAM IN HOCKEY? Two trades to move out salary went south, DeAngelo was bought out, they will pay him for the next two years to play in Carolina, Hayes return ended up falling apart when Krug refused to come to Philly, they are paying him to not be a Flyer for the next three years. Lindblom was alowed to go and they are paying him to be a Shark where he seems to have found a home. These are red flags. I hate the addition of Petersen and his partial contract with the Kings picking up the rest. He is a head case and i dont understand the add at all unless Hart is on the way out, which is a move that I would not personally make. That said, no, i do not believe they are the worst team in Hockey, although they will almost certainly be among the bottom five in the standings when the year is done. They allowed the veteran core to leave, in a few cases they shoved them out in others they simply were not invited back. They seem to accept the growing pains of a young organization, Torts will train the kids up well, Konecny and Sanheim may yet be on the move, I get it with Sanheim but do not understand it with Konecny who i could see as a building block. They have some nice young players already in the NHL, Frost, York, Farabee, Cates are all worth watching play. Carter Hart is another young kid who may stay or may go, it looks Danny briere will listen to any team about any player and has a vision. That is why I do not believe they are the worst team in Hockey, they seem to have a plan. It could and likely will get worse before it gets better. But at least a plan seems to be in place here. I think a slip from the 75 points of last year is in order, 68 points, dead last in the Division but taking their lumps during a developmental phase is not neccesarilly a bad thing. Given a choice of 75 points and 7th with Hayes/DeAngelo/Braun types or 68 point with getting the kids prepared for the NHL it seems a no brainer to me which way to go.

Yeah but when Michkov somehow fell in your lap it was the perfect fit. Flyers in full rebuild can wait for him to come over.

I think realistically 25-26. Love the guy, fantastic two way player, all I have watched is about a half hour of highlights, just looks mature. Bedard stated that the only player who he played against who made him lose sleep the night before was Danielson. That is high praise indeed. Great add.

FINAL RECORD 52-21-9 111 Points, edged out the Devils by a point to win division. Easily bested the Islanders in the first round, exposed the Devils in an easy five game series then were exposed themselves in four straight by the Panthers in Eastern Conference finals. plus 53 goal differential NEW FACES Orlov signed a lucrative one year deal bring his brand of solid nasty defense to the club that was already strong on the back end. Bunning left Toronto and signed as a free agent. Tony DeAngelo came aboard for the bottom pair and second PP QB. Brendan Lemieux brings his nasty 4th line presence to the team. MOVING OUT Ghostisbehere left to take his skills to Detroit. A bunch of old vets, Stastny, De Haan, Pacioretty, Stepan and Kase are long gone. Puljujarvi was not invited back as well KIDS ON THE RISE the Canes will not have an AHL team this year as the Chicago Wolves have went independent. The Canes will loan players t Europe, the ECHL and to other organizations. Pyotr Kchetkov will tend net somewhere but likely not in Carolina until injuries force a recall, solid if a bit overrated prospect. Nobody else will help much this year. IS THIS THE YEAR THEY PUSH THROUGH AND WIN THE CUP? I dont see them doing that, although they might be slightly better. DeAngelo and Ghost are a push, Bunting is a tremendous imrpovement over Stastny, Orlov is a great get. Plus they resigned all their own free agents who they wanted to return. It was a very solid offseason. Plus Svechnikov should return healthy. One look at the division and you can see they have a big three in the Rangers/Devils/Canes. you could make the case that all three will be better this coming season. I think Carolina comes in second, bests the Devils and loses to the eventual Eastern Conference champ Rangers, I have been critical in the past of Don Waddell as a GM but you must give credit, he had one hell of an offseason I just think they are still short a scorer or two and with the cap situation that is not likely to change unless they move out Slavin or Pesce and their contract. Solid team, 2nd in Division and possible cup contender i just dont believe they get past the Rangers.

I am only briefly going to get into what got Mailloux into serious hot water and nearly banned from pro Hockey before he was even drafted, suffice to say he took photos of a girl while having consenting adult stuff, he was 17, she was 18. But then he shared these photos along with all of the womans information including name, address, email and phone number on snapchat and with all of his friends. This occured in Sweden while playing for Canada in a World Juniors tourney before his draft year, the outrage was enormous, he asked not to be drafted but was anyway by Montreal late in the first round. He is attending rookie camp with Montreal as a solid blueline prospect, he will certainly play for Laval in the AHL and with the vanilla defense the parent club has has a better than fifty fifty shot at making the NHL at some point this year to get a taste of the big leagues. The league has cleared him to play, multiple Quebec womens groups are outraged and plan protests at any game he appears in. The question is, can he/should he be allowed to play? An aside, i thought it was distasteful of the Canadiens to draft him after he asked to not be drafted his first eligible year, The league was shocked when he was picked, IMHO if Bettman had forced Montreal to forfeit the pick and have Mailloux go into the next draft he would have been well within his right. Several teams stated after that if he had been considered available, they would have taken him. Okay, so should he be allowed to play in the greatest league in the world? He has excelled with London of the OHL scoring nearly a point a game from the blueline while also using his size to prove that he is a nasty piece of work, someone you don't want to mess with on the ice. He is indeed a very solid nearly top tier prospect. I listed three potential answers, No what he did was so terrible he should not be given a chance. Yes he has rehabilitated his self enough to deserve a shot at the nhl. it doesn't matter what he did at 17, he is NHL caliber so he should play in the NHL. So there it is, Does Logan Mailloux deserve a shot at playing in the NHL possible/likely at some point this season?

LAST SEASON 51-24-7 109 POINTS edged out the Stars by a point to win the division. Upset by the Kraken in first round. plus 54 goal differential ADDITIONS Tatar just added as middle six depth. Johansson came aboard to be the 2C. Ross Colton is new 3rd liner with grit. Wood is a new net front presence. Drouin will fit in somewhere among the forwards. SUBTRACTIONS longtime defender Erik Johnson is gone. Evan Rodgrigues and JT Compher both left as free agents. Newhook was traded for a first and third to the Habs. ROOKIES Jean Luc Foudy was good in the AHL and will fight for and likely win a middle six role, he can play any forward position. Justin Annunen is blocked in net. but has a nice future. A couple of decdent winger prospects in Olausson and Ranta could play if their are injuries. CAN THEY STILL WIN THE CUP? Maaybe. Landeskog is out long term but GM McFarland said two days ago he is doing amazing in his recovery from multiple knee surgeries and not to rule out a late season and postseason return. I do like the additions, I think they got a massive haul for Newhook who has settled into a 30 point a year role and even if he bumps it up to 50, getting a first and third was a steal. Johansson has a higher ceiling that Compher but also a lower floor, Tatar is basically Rodrigues, Wood brings a physical element they lost when Kadri went away, same with Colton. If those two can play their game and contribute 30 goals between them the Lanche will be able to role three lines that can score. Lots of ifs, but i love the core. MacKinnon is on the short list of who is the second best player in the game, Makar joins the same conversation. Rantanen is a pure goal scorer, Georgiev had a fantastic season. A lot has to go right, but imho the Avalanche still have a window open. I think Dallas wins the Division, Colorado comes in second and loses in the second round to the Stars but this is still a very good team and a very smart organization.

FINAL RECORD 31-45-6 68 points, dead last in division. minus 75 goal differential. ADDITIONS Alex Newhook was the big add from the Avalanche for a first and a fourth. Casey DeSmith was added in the Karlsson to Pens deal but he is reportedly on the block. Gustav Lindstrom came from Detroit for Petry and will compete for the 7D spot. SUBTRACTIONS Mike Hoffman went to San Jose, Drouin left for Colorado. Edmundson, Gurianov and Pitlick are also going to play elsewhere. Paul Byron hung up his skates. ROOKIES Slafkovsky has pressure to perform better next season. Logan Mailloux is hoping for a crack at the blueline. Sean Farrell may fight for a bottom forward spot but the odds are stacked against him. SO LAST IN THE DIVISION, 15TH IN THE CONFERENCE, ARE THEY GOING THE RIGHT WAY? IMHO no, not really. The goaltending of Allen and Montembault is just bad, i know Montembault was okay last year but he is a career minor leaguer, nothing more. The defense is not bad but conversely it is not good. they have no weak link in their top eight or nine potential defenseman but truth is they have no strengths there either. All are just forgettable bodies, at best anyone of the blueliners are a 4D playing above their head. The top line of Suzuki, Dach and Caulfield is quite capable, after that the forwards are a weak and pathetic bunch. I believe they way overpaid for Newhook and he will be doomed to fail as they want 18-20 minutes a night out of him. Other than that the vast majority of their forwards are vanilla at best. This is a team of lower end average players IF they develop. Getting rid of Hoffman and his contract while adding pics to help facilitate the Karlsson deal was a solid move.Baby steps were taken this offseason, i guess moving them up a notch but that is about it . They will probably finish last in the division for two years at the least.

Jenner says this is a nothing burger. The players association says there is nothing here to be worried about. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Yzerman did that with him on his last contract. He was approaching UFA status, Yzerman stressed to him the importance of spending his entire career with one team, he took less money to remain a Bolt than he would have certainly gotten from Tampa and likely several other teams as well, kinda like Bergeron has always done with Boston. This will be his last payday, he might make more elsewhere, or take a bit less to stay, i personally cannot see him in any other jersey but I felt that way with Kaner and quite a few others. Tough call, especially with Hedman a year behind him.

This was my longest writeup because I have struggled with the Bolts much more than any other team. It is hard to say a team with Kucherov, Point, Stammer, Hedman, Vasilevskiy and Sergechev is no longer quite a cup contender but that is what i see when I look at them. Still a brilliant franchise that goes about their business a bit different than literally any other club in the game signing everyone long term to provide stability but I think it just wont work anymore. Love that they dare to be different.

FINAL RECORD 46-30-6 98 points, 3rd in Division, 6th in conference. Lost in first round to the Leafs in 6 games. plus 29 goal differential ADDITIONS Tyler Motte signed yesterday to play 4th line minutes. Michael Eysimmont was brought on board to possibly play 3rd line late in the year. Glendening is the new 4th line center. Jonas Johansson is the new backup goalie. Logan Brown came from the Blues as a depth player. Calvin De Haan is the new 6D. Sheary is the new veteran bottom six replacement for Perry. DEPARTURES Last years 4th line was near elite, Perry, Bellemare and Maroon are all gone because of cap issues. Ian Cole has moved on from the back end. Elliott is no longer the backup goalie. PROSPECTS Alfenelt is one of my favorite prospects, I believe he could play in net in the NHL right now but obviously with Valilevskiy in goal there is simply no room and he is best used in the AHL where he can get some starts. Cole Koepke will be the first callup when/if a forward goes down, he can play either wing but provides little offense.Gage Concalves and Felix Robert are CMinus prospects among forwards. Nobody on the back end is anywhere enar ready. Like most teams that finish high in the standings year after year and deal picks away, the Bolts are among the lowest rated farm systems in the game. SO CAN THEY STILL WIN THE STANLEY CUP? An aside frist, they have signed nearly the entire team to long term deals and Steven Stamkos is an UFA at 33 at the end of the year. Very little has been mentioned about him, do you sign the face of the franchise to a five year deal at his age or let him walk for the cap savings? Players who they have signed for long term are Kucherov (4) Point (6) Cirelli (6) Paul (6) Hagel (6) Jeanot (3) Sheary (3) Eysimmont (2) Glendening (2) Sergechev (6) Cernak (6) Hedman (2) Perbix (2) Raddysh (3) Vasilevskiy (6) Johansson (2) No other team in the league has done this. Many players have foregone potential earnings with a higher cap for long term stability knowing where they will play much or most of their career. This year the stammer problem will need addressed, next year Hedman, but the core is there forever. CAN THEY WIN ANOTHER CUP? Man, I am so torn in this one. I dthink they are much weaker on the lower lines this year, I literally hate every move. Maroon over Motte Bellemare over Glendening Perry over Sheary Cole over De Haan Elliott over Johansson Logan Brown has done nothing to suggest he is an NHL player. So it is not one of these moves, but ALL of them. Half a dozen lower end roster spots are all slightly weaker than the year before. The core is signed long term with a few pieces still needing that last big contract as well. The Leafs built their team to beat the Bolts and they did so, I want to say that Tampa can still win a cup if everything goes right that in the postseason the 4th line and bottom pair play less minutes anyway and while I dont like the moves the guys they lost were spear carriers anyway and not superstars. No. I dont think they can or will win another cup with this team. I see them as making the playoffs, 3rd in the Division out in the first round, maybe the second round if all breaks right, I see that year after year. It is unusual to lock up more or less an entire roster for the long term with little tweaks along the way and I respect that but I think they are at that natural tipping point where they will start being passed by younger hungrier clubs. They saw it last season, I believe it will continue. They are still an absolutely amazing organization but I think the window has closed. They are now bunched in with teams such as Colorado and Pittsburgh who are still living off past reputaton and will do some damage but do not have enough for another cup run. Damn I hate saying that but that is where I see them. #rd place, likely first round knockout.

2023-24 SEASON 51-22-9 111 points first in the Western conference. Easily bested Winnipeg in 5 games, blew right past Edmonton and Dallas to make the cup finals, then took the Panthers apart like someone picking the legs off a spider in five easy games. Stanley cup champions ADDITIONS None. They resigned Barbachev but did not anyone worthy of mentioning. SUBTRACTIONS Reilly Smith was dealt to the Pens for cap space. Kessel was not invited back. Quick is now the backup goalie elsewhere after about a five minute run with the knights PROSPECTS Brendan Bisson was considered a top six winger prospect coming out of college but did not adjust well to the pro game in the AHL last year and is now already considered more suspect. Pavel Dorofeyev had an injury plagued AHL season, was benched for a game because of a lazy game, but in an NHL callup scored 9 points in 18 games so they hope he can play third line this year essentially gifting him the job once held by Reilly. Lukas Cormier can score from the back end, played very well at the AHL and they hope to cover defensive deficiencies enough to allow him to be the PP QB2. In short, an underwhelming lot but a couple of spots are open, the cap is a problem so they will be given a chance to see what they can do full time. SO THE QUESTION, CAN THEY REPEAT? It is hard to repeat, the Bolts did it a few years ago after nobody had repeated since the Wings in 97 and 98. The grind of a long playoff run has worn many a team down. I personally don't see them repeating. I have been an Adin Hill apologist for years; felt he was one of the most underrated okayers in the game and finally given a chance due to injuries silenced all critics with an outstanding champion run. Eichel had a chip on his shoulder coming out of Buffalo and proved he is a winning player. They are a smart and clinical organization who values winning andi is not afraid to jettison key players to improve the team. All that said, i think they will continue to be in the Western conference conversation and will likely win the Division but I think that both Dallas and Edmonton have overtaken them in the West. Winning the Division is possible but they will not make it out of the second round.

PREVIOUS SEASON 42-32-8 92 points 8th n conference made playoffs on seasons last day. Plus 17 goal differential. Upset the mighty Bruins in 7, defeated the Leafs, beat Carolina to get to Stanley Cup final, lost in finals to Vegas. ADDITIONS Oliver Ekman Larsson came aboard after being paid millions and millions to go away by Vancouver. Evan Rodrigues comes aboard to help the middle six. Veteran Stolarz comes on to provide stability to a goalie room which is often a mess. Lorentz comes on as a 4th liner. Nikko Mikkola and Mike Reilly are veterans to stabilize the back end. SUBTRACTIONS Eric Staal likely to retire. Hornqvist already did. Duclair traded for cap space. Gudas tok the money from anaheim and ran. Marc Staal left for the Flyers. Alex Lyon had the best month of his life and turned it into a deal with Detroit. TOP PROSPECTS It is make or break for Denisenko and Heponiemi two prospects that much has been expected and little if any has been delivered. Mackie Samoskevich is a real prospect but likely a year away with this being his first season in the AHL but he is one to watch. Not a ton here, very little help in the immediate future. SO ARE THEY REAL CUP CONTENDERS? My feeling is they are better than they appeared for much of the regular season, not as good or as deep as they were in the playoffs. Tkachuk was a one man wrecking crew, leading the team in goals, assists and penalty minutes with an insane 74 in the postseason. My heart and my head are in the same place, a better regular season, approaching 100 points is probable and even likely, followed by a disappointing first round bow out. Keep an eye on Brandon Montour who had a monster breakout season and is an UFA at years end. This team is aggressive when it comes to moving potential free agents, signing him to an eight year deal might be difficult especially after Sandersons obscene deal in Ottawa. If they cannt sign him they may move him during the season for a veteran top six scoring forward. I believe that last seasons run was a bit fluky but they are built well and should be a regular playoff team provided Bob does not completely flake out.

Look I like the kid I really do, but wasaaaay to much wasaaaay to soon.

Not true. The league announced today that as discipline he will be forced to attend Coyote games. IF he can find where they play.

You cannot win with that defense or the two goalies. Yeah, last year Blackwood was a media darling which was just lazy reporting, he has never done anything to deserve the praise that has been handed him but then last year they turned on him and he isny as bad as he is now portrayed. That said, he is probably at best the 24th or 25th best starting goalie. At best. That defense, oof. Just pathetic. They may wind up with Tyler Myers after his bonus is paid in a week and Vancouver deals him, but so what? He isnt much of a player anyway. Mario ferraro is a fantastic third pair defender, a favorite of mine as a 3rd pair guy, he will play first pair minutes, 24, 25 minutes a night. This defense rivals Chicago as the worst in the game.

PREVIOUS SEASON 22-44-16 60 POINTS minus 87 goals differential. Worst stat of the season is they only won 8 games at home all year. Not only was that dead last by a large amount, but 29 other teams won at least double at home what the Sharks did. eleven teams won at least triple the home games as the Sharks. ADDITIONS Granlund came over from Pittsburgh Hoffman from the Habs in the Karlsson deal. Blackwood steps in as the default 1A or 1B in net. Rutta and Burroughs are 7th defenseman who will be playing nightly. Zadina a bust in Detroit will be given a chance to resurect his career. Duclair brings his offensive game from Florida as well as his lack of defense. DEPARTURES Karlsson and his 101 points from the back end are gone to the Penguins. Reimer left for Detroit, Gregor is a decent 6D is now in Toronto. PROSPECTS For a team in obvious rebuild mode, the NHL ready prospects are simply not there. I love William Eklund as a sniper on the wing and he could crack the top six,. Bordeleau is an ok 4th line center, Henry Thrun can play defense a bit but is very raw. All three will contribute to varying degrees this year. They drafted well when Will smith fell into their lap but he is nowhere near ready. They have a few B and C prospects as well but all are at least a year or more away. Very mediocre talent pool SO THE QUESTION, IS THERE ANY REASON FOR HOPE IN THE 23-24 SEASON? No, not really. Lets say Zadina and Duclair both pot 20 goals, Hoffman and Granlund score 40-45 points each, Eklund slashes with 20-30-50, the offense which really was not terrible last year will be there. The problem is that not all of those things will happen all at once and holdovers from when the Sharks were good Hertl/Couture are another year older. The other problem is the defense is bad, as in wretched as in patheticaly awful. Vlasic is a shell of his former self, Benning is a tweener, not really an NHL player more of an AHL blueliner but will play 20 minutes a night or more out of neccesity. Blackwood and Kahkonnen are not good enough to cover up for one of the two worst defenses in the game, possibly the absolute worst. Long season ahead, they are playing for a chance at the first pick in the draft to draft Celebrini. Nothing more.