yave1964

8 minutes ago, radoran said:

 

It was necessary to get LA to give up Walker and a 2nd and retain salary on Provorov.

 

Petersen will (hopefully) be a Phantom.

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. 

19 hours ago, Mad Dog said:

I really wanted the Flyers to draft him.  

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.

1 hour ago, Mad Dog said:

How do you guys feel about Nate Danielson?  The 9th overall, excellent skater, led Brandon in pretty much every single category.... Can he be NHL-ready as soon as 2024-2025?

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.

6 minutes ago, Math said:

 

Option #3: I force him to take a discount deal to actually become the face of the franchise. If not, let him walk.

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.

23 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

It's the Coyotes...theres zero effect if anyone in the org. is suspended....nobody cares.

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

1 minute ago, Brewin Flames said:

David Quinn was just on NHL radio an hr ago, and even he stated that while he projected the offense to be a strenth, they were really going to have to tighten up netminding and play solid in front in order to have a playoff shot...

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. 

6 hours ago, JR Ewing said:

 

The Hawks are in better position than were the Oilers, whose management was the textbook definition of dysfunctional.

 

-Edmonton was in the midst of historic lack of success, coming off of having three of the previous four 1st-overall picks and when drafted McDavid #1, they had just spent the last six consecutive years with a PTS% below .500, including three times under .400.

 

-They were going through at least a coach per season and changing General Managers like we change socks.

 

-The owner constantly interfered with HockeyOps. Oilers scouts were so disinterested in Nail Yakupov that they don't even interview him, but are forced to select him when the team owner, about an hour before the draft, tells them that if they want to have jobs, they'd better take him with that 1st overall pick. Funny side bit: Brian Burke says that Yakupov was the worst pre-draft interview he saw in his career, and was so arrogant and insulting, that a member of Burke's scouting team had to physically restrained from attacking the idiot.

 

-They signed Sheldon Souray to a big free agent deal and on his first day with the team, pressured him to play three months earlier than his shoulder surgery recovery was timed for. Result: he was almost immediately injured and missed the rest of the year. Two years later, he was told to fight in a blowout, where he broke his hand. The team forced him to get surgery with a doctor he was uncomfortable with, and he ended up with an infection which literally almost killed him: he was in ICU with a PICC line pumping antiobiotics directly to his heart. Almost lost his hand and almost died. The team's response? "Souray's milking a minor injury". When Souray was asked by the media how he was doing, he said he wasn't even sure that the team sees him as an Oiler anymore, since they hadn't even called to ask how he's doing while he in the hospital. Well, that was it. "We can't have this kind of cancer on the team." So, they spent millions of dollars paying Souray to play for other team's AHL clubs. Amusingly enough, at the same time, GM Steve Tambellini publicly talked about how the club could really use a big defenseman who could shoot the puck.

 

-Craig MacTavish was a decent coach, but was in over his head as GM. His first day on the job, he announced that starter Devan Dubnyk wasn't cut out to be a #1 goaltender, said he would be trading him that year, and noted a puzzling lack of confidence from the goalie. He and Kevin Lowe ended the press conference by arguing with the media. Later in the year, MacTavish hopped on a plane and flew to Finland to scout a kid they were interested in drafting. The problem? The kid's team was in Sweden.

 

-MacTavish and coach Ralph Krueger decided that they needed an Xs and Os man as an assistant for the 2014 season. He told Krueger to keep with his scheduled speaking tour of the summer, and that he would interview the hopefuls. Liked Dallas Eakins so much that he hired him as Head Coach and MacT fired Kruger over a Skype call.

 

-Eakin has a disastrous run in Edmonton, though he had a comically bad roster, as MacTavish was fond of immediately pencilling in 1st round picks with jobs at the top of the roster and trading any player with experience, convinced he had found his next guy. Eakins begins his time in Edmonton by yanking donuts and treats from the media room and hands out the captaincy based on the results of fitness tests.

 

-We near the McDavid lottery... MacTavish drives to Dallas Eakins on Christmas Eve and informs him he's fired. Eakins bad luck continues a week later, when he finds out that he and his wife have lost all of their savings in a Ponzi scheme. MacTavish spends the season telling press that upcoming UFA Jeff Petry wants too much money for what he brings, and then a week before the trade deadline states that he can't figure out why Petry has refused to sign the Oilers offer. When asked by the media why he's not re-signed with Edmonton, Petry notes that he doesn't know what MacT is talking: he hadn't been offered a contract. He's moved for picks a week later.

 

-The Oilers finish 3rd last, but win the draft lottery. MacTavish publicly talks about how exciting it would be to draft a player like Connor MDavid. Oilers owner, Daryl Katz, one of his best friends for 30 years, fires him a week later.

 

Even more than on-ice, Connor McDavid saved the Oilers from themselves off-ice as well. Chicago has problems, but they are 100% in a better position than Edmonton was at the end of the 2015 season.

Love when you rant about your beloved Oilers lol. I do the same about the disaster that Holland left in Detroit.

  As far as personel Edmonton by far brought McDavid into a better roster. Chicago has drafted poorly and when 24 and 25 year olds work out like the Cat and Dach they trade them. The roster is a mess. I don't hate Korchinski but he as a rookie is set up for failure as arguably their second best defenseman. Huge difference between the Hall who played Wing with McDavid and the free floating paycheck stealing 3rd line Hall who will be playing on beards wing. Perry and foligno cannot contribute anymore. This team does not have five players on the roster who will ever make the playoffs with Bedard.  Just a sad wreck

20 hours ago, flyercanuck said:

 

This. 

4 hours ago, thegx.ca said:

They'll be the exact same as last year...

I agree no playoffs but much better. By 24-25 absolutely in the playoffs combo. Very deep and talented 

LAST SEASON 26-49-7 59 points. Last in division, minus 97 goal differential

ADDITIONS Well Bedard is the next superstar in Chicago right as Kane and Toews leave. Taylor Hall will be one of his new linemates by way of Boston. Also Foligno joins the middle six. Ryan Donato and Corey Perry bring veteran skill to the bottom six.

SUBTRACTIONS Kane was dealt away, Toews saw his career derailed by Covid and may never play again. Caleb Jones and Stalock wont be back. 

PROSPECTS bEDARD WILL come right to the NHL and stick around for the next 20 years. Lukas Reichel will stick around as a scoring winger in the top six. Kevin Korchinski is a puck moving defenseman who will play big minutes and learn from his mistakes on the job. 

SO A ROTTEN YEAR, WILL THE ADDS TURN IT AROUND REALLY QUICK? God no, the team is short of talent at every level, the goaltending is the worst in the league by a mile, there are only two real NHL defensmen on the roster counting Korchinski. I hate Taylor Hall, he is an aging skilled floater who has made a lot of money playing top six role for bad teams his entire career and seems content with being just that. Foligno, Perry and Donato are just slow aging vets who are placeholders.

  This team is bad. On any given night this year half the roster should be in the AHL or KHL. Bedard will have one hell of a career but by the time this ship turns around there arent five players who are on the 23-24 opening day lineup who will still be there. Last in the division with Bedard scoring 80 points as one of the lone bright spots.

LAST SEASON  35-37-1080 points, 12th in conference, 13 points out of a playoff spot. minus 39 goals against

ADDITIONS Debrincat gives the Wings a 40 goal scorer. Compher comes aboard as a middle six center. Alex Lyon and James Reimer were brought in to back up Husso in net. The defense is rebuilt with Holl signed for three years, a trade for Petry, Gostisbehere replaces Hronek as the power play quarterback. Daniel Sprong, Klim Kostin and Christian Fischer bring skill and talent to the bottom six.

DEPARTURES Zadina was released after basically being a dud. Kubalik was shipped as partial payment for Debrincat, Pius Suter left for Vancouver. None were wanted. None will be missed. Nedeljkovic was rotten last season and spent much of it in Grand Rapids now in Pittsburgh.  None will be missed. 

PROSPECTS Lots. Edvinsson would hae certainly cracked a top four role on the back end, possibly top pair but is coming off surgery so will begin the season in the AHL. Marco Kasper will also begin the year with the Griffins but is a Ryan Kesler clone, nasty center great defense and solid offense. He will be a force. William Wallinder is also pushing to get on the ice as a solid defenseman. The Wings are incredibly deep in their system with very talented prospects but only these three might get a chance on the ice with the big club this year, all are very talented.

 SO BIG QUESTION, ALL THIS MONEY SPENT, ALL THESE NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES, ARE THE WINGS A PLAYOFF TEAM?

  God this hurts, but no, not yet. I believe they will imrpove, 90 points is realistic. The problem is the big four are still the big four and sadly for me both Ottawa and Buffalo appear to be ahead of the Wings as well. The Wings quite literally have no weaknesses but really have very little strengths either. If Seider, Raymond, Larkin and Debrincat all roll this year and Begrenn builds off a solid rookie year and the defense is better, with the new names, yeah, I still see them on the outside. They will be tough to play every night and if you show up against them expecting an easy two points they will absolutely not lay down but they are not built for this year. They are likely two years away from being serious playoff contenders.

19 minutes ago, Holymakinaw said:

"are patience close to paying off?"

 

I'm going to assume you meant IS THEIR patience close to paying off.........and the answer is no.

Yes that is what I meant, lol.

  I have no horse (or Duck) in the race but I cannot think of a single team with as many under 25 year old superior talent players in the organization. Not quite ready but I like the direction. Within two years I believe they will be a consistent playoff team. 

8 hours ago, J0e Th0rnton said:

I agree, but They show their age funny.

Crosby is scoring and has all the same metrics as ever.

Malkin just had his best offensive season in 5 years.

Karlsson just had a career year for points

Letang is the one I worry for healthwise. But Karlsson was basically insurance for this possibility

Ok, showing age is an overstatement BUT it is playing Russian roulette with all the mid thirties stars. Any given year any of the four could fall off the face of the earth. Agreed Letang would be my first bet but of the other three I would not bet on all three scoring as many points as last year. In fact I would bet against it.