radoran

I love the concept of bringing a guy in for an interview while simultaneously saying they will fill the position this week. "So, am I a finalist?" I wonder who it will be...?

No, true, and I edited now to just being a better than 1 in 10 chance. It's not at all "shocking" under the circumstances. "Shocking" would be a 6.5% chance taking it. And, to be clear, the NHL's opacity on these results is ridiculous and hurts them more than it helps. And the league is more valuable and more popular than ever so if they're rigging it, it seems to be working for all of the parties concerned... We fans just get to finance the whole thing.

I don't know that we will see "the plan" outlined for us as much as we will see it executed or not. Where do they go from here and, to your point, how do they get there. This team will now have had back to back Top 10 picks. Which is great and adds talent, but it's not a matter of "assembling a good team" as much as it is "assembling a team that can beat the other teams in your division and Conference," much less league. For the VeeGee years, there was a roster that had "good players" but the players were simply never better than the players on other teams in their division. The Flyers don't need to build a "good" roster that "can compete" - they need to build a championship roster. That's the challenge before them. And championship rosters put simply have superstar players. I was there for Tippett's first hat trick. I bought a new hat. Is Tippett going to be a superstar? Will Gauthier? Or are we going to be there with Nashville, Minnestoa, Winnepeg, and quite probably Carolina always wondering why they don't get over the hump. Superstar players don't guarantee championships. They make it a whole heckuva lot easier, though. I think we're back to where we were when Hextall replaced Holmgren and had to spend 2-3 years just digging out of the mess. Like, maybe Hayes isn't "gone" this offseason, much like VLC wasn't "gone" in Hextall's first. A rebuild done right will take the time and make the moves that are available when they are available. If that means we get another year of Kevin Hayes making JVR look motivated... ^official GIF of the rebuild^

I remember the Cup parade in Vegas. It was crazy. Oh, wait... The Devils are falling into the "playoff experience" trap that afflicts many teams emerging after a long absence. Carolina is a deep, experienced team. They have an experienced coach. Solid home ice atmosphere. That said, if your only goal is to win a playoff round or two every year, then you can do that. If your goal is to win a Stanley Cup you need to do something different 90+% of the time. Citing the exception to the rule (Blues) doesn't invalidate the rule. Nor does it make the exception an example to build upon.

It is weird that the team with the highest percentage a better than one in ten chance to get the #1 overall got the #1 overall. Who could have predicted such a thing?

All of this. The question is whether they can improve the D and add speed with the forwards in a time frame that makes keeping the goalie an important thing. How different will Briere's approach be?

A build where you get to pick one from 3/4 of each of other team's rosters? No. Hard to get that done. Apparently can work well though. Although neither Vegas nor Seattle has actually won a Cup yet...

The issue is that there is a kernel of truth to it. Surprising teams do win a round or two here and there. A team that gets in on the last day of the season winning a shootout find themselves in the Cup Final. It happens. Sometimes. But those teams even more rarely win. Especially in today's league. Playing for the exception gets you a middling bubble playoff team. A mid round selection. A chance at some playoff gate revenue. And a "good sign" to build on because you lost to a Cup Finalist. And 48 years later here we are.

Yeah, I don't either and rarely gamble, but I know that 3 out of 4 is a better bet than 1 out of 4. And I'm not convinced the house is "cheating" when I don't hit my roulette number. It's a bad look for the league to have NJ NY Chicago getting high picks. You'd think it was fixed. Except for all the high picks that have gone to Edmonton, Picksburg, and Buffalo. The real story is that the Flyers - like many NHL teams - are happy being "competitive" and "playing for the playoffs." You can see a similar discussion over on the Wild forums...

They had a 1 in four chance and conversely 3 out of four times they would lose. They lost. It's called probability. If you were going to put money down, where do you bet? Flyers win a 1 in 4 or Flyers lose 3 in 4? It's why you don't "tank".

We have no interest in Matthews.

The conversation starts with "what would you trade the #1 pick for?" and your answer is likely similar to the person with the #1 pick. No team looking to get the #1 pick needs a Carter Hart rather than Conner Bedard.

The Leaes have half of their salary cap in four guys - Matthews, Marner, Pajamas, Rielly. In the playoffs, you can concentrate on stopping four guys...

"The grass is always greener" And if they beat the Devil's this doesn't happen. One game made the decision. That's not the mark of a seasoned professional.

Drury explaining that he's not ready to be a GM yet. "Mutually agreed" is such nonsense. You didn't want him around so he didn't want to stay. Go hire Joel Quenneville and we'll know we have the better of the two from Buffalo on the ice and in the GM office.

Devils' series to lose, and they're losing it. I'd say the Carolina edge in playoff experience is playing a role.

Snoop's an investor in a group, and not the lead investor. I doubt he's pulling strings on a hockey franchise...

Like anything else you need to look at fit and who's got the opportunity. If a contender that needs a goalie and cap room can create both in a deal, you may get a better return than expected. And, as always, if you don't get the return you want, you don't do the deal. There's no NEED to trade Hart. If you can improve the franchise by doing it - and it's definitely a tricky situation as to whether that happens - it's not something to be rejected out of hand. And, no, you're not getting multiple firsts and quality players for a guy who has played well but hasn't set the world on fire.

Snoop Dogg competing with Ryan Reynolds for ownership of the Ottawa Senators is the 2023 Bingo Card Content I'm here for. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nhl/snoop-dogg-joining-group-competing-with-ryan-reynolds-in-bid-for-senators-ownership-reports/ar-AA1aEQZh

Luckily, the venn diagram of people older than 27 and pretty much not going to be a part of the rebuild looks a lot like a circle. Who are you keeping of: Hayes Laughton Deslauriers Lemieux Ristolainen Deangelo Sanheim Seeler Couturier Atkinson I know you're big into Laughts, but I think you should look at this with a clear head and not let your personal feelings get in the way.

Quenneville would be a true change from Sutter. Quenneville apparently has no idea what's going on the room, can't be bothered to take an interest in what happens to his players, and accepts no responsibility at all. Great choice.

There's nothing less than a franchise changing deal that I move Hart for.

People can agree with you.

He had a career year in PIMs this year. Also played more games than in any season since 2014-15.