1. "Without a raised salary cap I don't know how Oshie is resigned" In response to Reply # 0
Unless he gives the world's biggest hometown discount. All the sudden Justin Williams for another two years at his age is looking mighty cost-effective.
Caps main offseason focus is giving big deals to the future of the team (Kuzy, Bura, Orlov, Schmidt).
Also apparently Fleury waived his NTC to allow him to be moved to Vegas.
"The Jackets are believed to be trading this year’s first-round draft pick (No. 24 overall) and a prospect (not Pierre-Luc Dubois or Sonny Milano) to Vegas for assurances that the Golden Knights will select either left wing Matt Calvert, center William Karlsson or defenseman Ryan Murray. Vegas’ acquisition of the contract of injured veteran forward David Clarkson ($5.25 million salary cap hit) may also be part of the deal."
4. "could be a good deal" In response to Reply # 2
if they can unload clarkson's contract and murray's salary in the deal, the i like it a lot. sounds like the prospect will be marginal. shaving three contracts toward the 50-contract maximum, getting nearly $3M in cap space by dumping Murray's final year and jettisoning the complicated Clarkson deal would be worth a first rounder.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
3. "Too late to make the title fear and goaltending in Las Vegas?" In response to Reply # 0 Sat Jun-17-17 03:01 PM by ConcreteCharlie
or something along those lines?
lots of little trades already. mueller to jersey. surprising to me, the sharks at one point had very high expectations for mueller. decent return but seems like an "eh, go away" kind of deal just the same.
columbus sent a first and a prospect to vegas so that they wouldn't take any of their desirable players. seems like a high price to pay but then again this draft is not very highly regarded.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
6. "if they stretch out the benefits, it's well worth it" In response to Reply # 5
i just went through every pick in the past 10 drafts for a project. there are tons of late first-rounders who never play an NHL game or never make any kind of impact. dump that pick to get rid of two shitty contracts potentially? why not?
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
7. "Very high expectations..." In response to Reply # 3
>mueller to jersey. surprising >to me, the sharks at one point had very high expectations for >mueller. decent return but seems like an "eh, go away" kind of >deal just the same. >
Just like Goldobin, he can't catch a whole bunch of other guys who weren't expected to pass him on the depth chart... Getting a 2nd and a 4th is a great deal!
_____________________________________________________________ Everyone here hates pop music, but loves Michael Jackson... Okay Player...
10. "Minnesota was in a tough spot. Florida just fucked up." In response to Reply # 9 Sun Jun-18-17 11:16 PM by ConcreteCharlie
How is Florida going to go 8-1 to protect Pysyk and Petrovic? Pick one and move on. If they leave one of those two unprotected, then they can protect both Marchessault and Smith.
The only thing I can think of is that they have a deal in place already for Marchessault. I am not a huge believer in him so a sell high would be smart but if these teams have deals in place, why didn't they make them ahead of the freeze? A lot can still happen before the selections are revealed though.
I guess they don't mind losing Smith because of his money. We saw some decent but inconsistent scorers left unprotected. The Blues protected Reaves but not Perron? Weird, but same theme, I guess.
The Preds did not protect Neal. He is a UFA in a year and for $5M in cap space they can replace him, that must be the thinking there.
Same thing with Ryan; I am not remotely surprised they exposed him and I would only be surprise if Vegas took his godawful contract. Funny how he and Phaneuf were good in the playoffs and the Sens still wanted to take the opportunity to dump at least one of them.
The Howard/Mrazek thing is baffling but let me just say that it matters not because one is a leaky old refrigerator and the other is a stack of Uruguayan pesos, neither is really worth shit to anyone. I'd say the same thing about the Blues' big conundrum of what forwards to protect, they probably made the right call protecting Reaves because he had the most reasonable cap hit.
Isles protecting 5 D is stupid, how did they leave Nelson and Strome unprotected? They and the Panthers were really showing their true colors here.
Minnesota was in a tough spot, tough to expose Zucker but Staal? That hurts. Same thing on D, Brodin and Scandella are solid but how do you expose Dumba? Fletcher has to get in there and make a deal to dictate who gets taken, no way around it. Ownership can't be thrilled about a high-priced rental gone to shit and now having to bribe Vegas.
How is the Bruins exposing Beleskey a surprise? That contract had terrible written all over it. Good for him, super nice guy/hard worker but he got lucky AF in his contract year. That was a David Clarkson/Jeff Finger-esque FA signing.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
12. "Vaya con dios, Doaner" In response to Reply # 0
This is a shitty decision by the Coyotes. He had plenty of opportunities to bail on them and didn't. Two years ago he had a great season. Yes he did very little this year but the same could be said of much younger guys on their roster. If he wanted to come back on a one-year deal with a fair term, they should have given it to him. Then again it's not like the Coyotes had a lot of credibility to lose.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
15. "WTF is Florida doing? Other puzzling ones are LAK, ANA and OTT" In response to Reply # 14
I could see Florida wanting to dump the salary of Smith, I guess, but why Marchessault? He has trade value.
Ottawa couldn't protect Methot somehow? That hurts. If I were them I'd have easily given a first for the Knights to take Ryan. Tough pill to swallow but it moves a very bad contract. Ryan had a great playoff, but Dion Phaneuf had a good one and they were trying to dump him. You have to think long-term here.
Kings reportedly had the opportunity to trade a first to get rid of Brown's contract. Tough way to do your two-time Cup captain but hey he took the long-ass contract and cashes the checks. He and Gaborik are hurling toward buyouts. A mid first in a so-so draft or a future first is not a bad price to pay to 1) dump a bad deal that lasts FIVE more seasons and 2) protect your other players.
Anaheim makes a puzzling move. Theodore has been passed by Montour as their top D prospect in my opinion but he is still a good young defenseman. I get that they didn't want to lose Manson, who is turning into a very good stay-at-home D, but it seems like a steep price to pay. Vatanen may still end up getting traded. It depends how scared off teams are by his being injury prone and currently dealing with recovery from surgery. He is a good offensive defenseman who also kills penalties and battles hard despite being short. One thing I will say here is that Ducks dumped the cap hit of Stoner and most of Depres's cap hit, so they are now in much better position to add to their team.
Minnesota also gives up a good prospect but I think you live with that given that they had three good players with good contracts exposed. Haula is what he is at this point, some upside in a bigger role but never going to be more than a guy who creates some tempo. Tuch is a hit but they didn't have a first this year. Keeping Staal at a great term, Scandella at a fair one (BTW he still may be traded) and Dumba on an early deal (though he will get paid very soon) seems worth it. Good deal for both sides.
I still don't get what the Isles did, why not just 7-3-1 and avoid this situation? Isles gonna Isle.
Smooth leveraging by McPhee to get a pick out of Pittsburgh. He wanted Fleury the whole time and probably would have given a pick for him if it came down to it. But no one else wanted Fleury in the end--once Calgary fixated on Mike Smith as a bridge guy--so all the chips fell to McPhee.
Chicago sending both guys to Vegas was reported by Seravalli a while ago. They are basically using this as a cap dump, their MO in recent years. TVR can eat minutes and Kruger is a good PK guy, he and Lewis would look nice as a duo.
The savviest deal here is Tampa. They manage to protect Dotchin, who I think was one of the best values available in this draft, along with the rest of their D. Garrison wasn't in their future plans anyway. If the pick is anything lower than a second, this is a steal and the best side deal made so far.
Columbus we already knew about. Karlsson is a decent player and a first is a nice prize. Was it worth it to protect Korpisalo when you already have Bob? Anderson also gets protected but it seems like this could have been approached differently.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
16. "Rangers lose Oscar Lindberg (confirmed) no trade involved" In response to Reply # 0
Lindberg is the guy that the Knights chose from the Rangers. Appears to be no attached stipulations. Pretty obvious that Grabner had a career year, though he is very fast and capable of playing in all situations even if he produces less. It seemed like most shouted about Raanta not being on many projected lists. Again, they can't take a shitload of goalies. They can only use four of them and guys like Raanta they can only use two of. Not many teams looking to trade for goalies, in fact I can't think of any other than possibly the Islanders.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
18. "Real Deal James Neal gone" In response to Reply # 0
I'm completely conflicted
On one hand, I like the signal protecting Jarnkrok sends, highlighting David Poile's belief that we have still a good 5 year window ahead of us and his contract is a great one for cap reasons.
On the other hand, we should still to some extent be in win now mode coming off the run to the cup final, and scorers like Neal don't grow on trees, and certainly aren't available from this years crap class of UFAs at the $5 MM hit he carried. It is also a little worrysome that it signals Fisher won't be back and need that center depth.
Can't fault McPhee, he played the hand dealt him very well, and borderline extorted a couple teams lol
22. "Tough call but I think they made the right decision" In response to Reply # 18
First off it says that Poile thinks Neal is in decline, which is probably true. If nothing else it says he was not in their future plans as a UFA next year. So they lose him for nothing then or lose him for nothing now. They have another $5M to invest now in another forward. Could they get a point-per-game guy at that price? Obviously not. Could they get a 25-goal-guy sure? Sure.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
34. "not that it helps them now but they drafted a scorer" In response to Reply # 18
guy who can score a lot of different ways and has a sick shot. patrick laine is still alive so it's hard to say he'll have the best one-timer in the NHL but he could be top 10 or top five. this can REALLY fire the puck.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
Hearing he'll need a year in Milwaukee but that he was one of the top 3 pure scorers in the draft. Apparently fell so low because he is a little arrogant and i think failed his entrance exams to BC or BU or somewhere. IDGAF, as long as he puts the puck in the net
21. "Last night was a very sad night" In response to Reply # 0 Thu Jun-22-17 01:36 PM by Y2Flound
I mean I KNEW it was coming, but like 13 years, the first of the 3 picks that turned around the team and kept them in the city. Seeing him in that ugly jersey with a forced smile really was sad.
Malkin uploading the photo of him in a Fleury jersey that he changed the name on to My MVP
I'm happy about how excited Vegas is to have him, it makes me think of when you get too old for your stuffed animal or something that you loved as a kid and your mom makes you give it away but then you see how excited the new little kid is to have it (not to compare him to a toy).
Just a very odd feeling seeing him officially gone.
24. "RE: Last night was a very sad night" In response to Reply # 21
>I'm happy about how excited Vegas is to have him, it makes me >think of when you get too old for your stuffed animal or >something that you loved as a kid and your mom makes you give >it away but then you see how excited the new little kid is to >have it (not to compare him to a toy).
And that kid is a zit faced gargoyle looking playoff save machine.
26. "Isles/Oilers make a swap: Eberle for Strome. Vegas trades 2 DMen" In response to Reply # 0
Kind of a desperate move for the Isles bringing in a guy who has some limited familiarity with Tavares. Maybe the Isles benefit, probably they don't. Some NY outlets are making a big deal out of this. Pffft, obviously they haven't actually watched Eberle. This is a cap dump for Edmonton with some upside. They get a more versatile forward who can score a little and get rid of a guy that was not longer working out. $12M in salary over two years for $2.5M this year? Yes please. If only they could unload Lucic's contract.
Vegas got rid of TVR and Schlemko. Not sure price on the former, latter was a nice bargain.
Also Dave Tippett got fired. More low-rent shit from the Coyotes. I had heard they were considering firing him at the end of the season so why did they wait til now? At least give him the opportunity to pursue a vacancy.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
28. "Stepan+Raanta to the desert for No. 7 overall, DeAngelo." In response to Reply # 0
My thinking was always that the Rangers would prefer to shed Stepan's salary straight up and that's essentially what they did. Raanta was going to move for sure.
This is a nice move, they get a right-shot DMan with offensive ability and a high pick, dumping close to $7M in salary.
I feel for Stepan. Party's over.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
29. "Hawks send away Hjalmarsson to ARI, Panarin to CBJ" In response to Reply # 0
They get a young right-shot D in Murphy plus Laurent Dauphin, a young centerman with some versatility.
With Panarin they got Saad and Forsberg back.
Tough to peace out a warrior like Hammer and a scorer like Panarin in one fell swoop but I think Stan Bowman has earned a little trust.
With Saad they get bigger and more explosive while not losing too much production. They also get Forsberg who can replace Scott Darling right today and might replace Crawford in the long run. He is a very good goalie prospect. I like that move, don't really understand it for Columbus I guess they figure they get another really skilled guy and they were approaching an impasse with Forsberg.
The other deal, I mean they get a little more mobile and they must see some of what I saw in Dauphin. Fits with Saad, very hard worker, pretty complete player, etc. With Schmaltz and Hartman they are developing some depth at center now, I thought Schmaltz came along quietly but very nicely last year.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
35. "probably they think he is going to fall off" In response to Reply # 30
a lot of the fearless D fall off in their early 30s. we will see how these guys perform for them and how he fares going forward. dauphin i think is better than his numbers suggest and they must have a plan for murphy. hammer had two more years on his deal though so the timing is a little weird unless they think moving him a year early will mean his value doesn't fall. he has blocked a lotta shots in the past nine years.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
31. "Oshie re-signs with Caps, 8/46M" In response to Reply # 0
Heard they were making progress in talks but I couldn't get how they could make the numbers work. Well there's how. You give a 30-year-old guy an eight-year deal. $5.75M is a great cap hit for Oshie all things considered but the reality is that you're going to get roughly five good years from probably. You have to figure this deal is as front-loaded as it can be (you can't weigh it down that heavily though). It'll be interesting to see exactly how it's structured. The Caps have the money though so what really matters is the salary cap. Pretty good signing from that perspective and they don't have the burn of losing him for nothing after a disappointing year for the team. Obviously Shattenkirk is out the door, Rags probably cleared the space for him today.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
32. "Nico becomes the first Swiss player ever taken No. 1 overall" In response to Reply # 0
I was really hoping the Devils would take Patrick. That said, Philly needs size in the middle and they got it. But man, Nico is smooth, great hands, very good stick and plays a complete game.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
33. "Philly/STL swap: Schenn for Lehtera and two firsts" In response to Reply # 0
Good return for Philly if they were determined to trade Schenn. Lehtera is OK but has kind of an iffy contract. He and Filppula I don't think are in their long term plans but might fill in OK. I think Patrick will play right away so the move makes sense.
The Blues gave up more than I expected Schenn to command but they didn't hustle backwards salary wise and they redeemed themselves by trading Reaves for a pick soon after the one they dealt this year. Nice pick at 31, and WTF gives up a first (albeit they got a second back) for Ryan Reaves? No disrespect but this ain't the 70s! (c) Wyclef.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
41. "Elliott to Philly, Mason to Winnipeg. Jumbo to Kings?" In response to Reply # 0
Steve Mason is going to Winnipeg. Upgrade for them but still a potentially tough situation for him. Playing goal for Paul Maurice is not an easy job.
Elliott goes to Philly. Probably roughly as good as Mason but cheaper. Too bad they will play Neuvirth $2.5M to "back up," and by that I mean get injured and play woefully inconsistent hockey when he is healthy.
Lots of goalie shuffling, really, with Dallas, Arizona, Carolina and Calgary also making changes with their No. 1s.
Thornton to the Kings might be a thing. Kind of risky with him coming off surgery and he doesn't really improve their team speed (doesn't hurt it either). But on the other hand he will really help their power play and he will be a good center for Pearson and Toffoli, two guys whose consistency could solve the Kings' problems. It also slots Carter in as a first-line RW, which is nice. Kopitar needs a reliable winger, Carter can focus more on scoring and they have a natural chemistry together. They play together three-on-three and on the PP quite a bit.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
42. "Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella to Buffalo " In response to Reply # 0
For Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno. Sad to see Scandella go, but I guess now we know why they were so desperate to make sure the Knights didn't draft him. We'll see if Ennis can stay healthy I guess.
------
12 play and 12 planets are enlighten for all the Aliens to Party and free those on the Sex Planet-maxxx
44. "Markov hitting the road, Patrick hurt (again ... already) and more" In response to Reply # 0
Markov won't be back with the Habs. Jumbo likely not back with the Sharks. Marleau could go either way but his durability has earned him a two-year offer from San Jose, though I bet some other team swoops in and makes his decision swing on his desire to stay put. Jagr I think will ultimately end up back with the Panthers. If I were a shitty team I would sign him in a heartbeat to put butts in seats. Nolan Patrick injured already, another sports hernia ... I wanted Hischier so fucking bad though some have told me I was wrong. Mason to Jets official, Elliott to Flyers official. Patrovic to re-sign in Florida. Stone re-signs in Calgary. Lots of other little filler and rumors but nothing too crazy that I'd be willing to say.
One thing I think these early deals indicate is some market correction or at least stability. Terms have been reasonable on the guys who have re-upped and the FAs who were traded and then signed like Darling and Bishop.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
45. "Bonino Bonino Bonino" In response to Reply # 0
Don't Love what this signals for Mike Fisher. Chuck you heard anything about how he is leaning about retirement? I know he's got it in the tank, but couldn't blame him if he just wants to stay home and have sex with Carrie
46. "I doubt he is retiring but I didn't expect him back with the Preds" In response to Reply # 45
I knew they contacted Bonino's agent but I didn't know things were getting this far until early this morning. Good fit, good term. Wins faceoffs, blocks shots and is a very good passer. Everywhere he has been he has been a top guy in terms of production relative to playing time on the PP. Good signing and a fair term at about $4M per.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
47. "Also possible he decides later, signs cheaper as a 3C" In response to Reply # 45
Obviously there is pull for him to stay and it's not like he will get some huge offer on the open market. Could take a while to play out. Either way Bonino is a fit going forward as a 2C, Fisher could slot into their bottom six.
They really dumped Colin Wilson's ass. I knew he was done there and I guess a mid-round pick is fair but sucks for him that he ends up in Colorado.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
52. "I always liked Wilson" In response to Reply # 47
He was invisible most of the season after entering with high expectations after a great 2016 playoffs.
Hartnell and Bonino for for $5 MM is better than Fish and Willy for 7 or 8
Fish won't sign elsewhere, their kid Isaiah is like 2 or so and he is too good a person and dad to live remote. I really think it's Preds or retirement
53. "That'd be crazy if he retired although he is slowing down a bit" In response to Reply # 52
I think in a lesser role he could still give them a lot. Kill penalties, put more into fewer shifts.
Wilson I was a big fan of in college and thought he was going to be a star. Professionalism was there, he was a smart kid and his father was an NHL pro. Size, check. Hands, check. He had a real quick release on his wrist shot, he could really get it off in traffic. He was an excellent college player. He never put it all together though, sometimes he would look like that player, sometimes you couldn't really notice him. He should get plenty of opportunities in Colorado though.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
48. "Alzner to MTL/Williams to CAR/Girardi to TB/Boyle to NJ/Hanzal to DAL" In response to Reply # 0
Alzner to MTL was them getting the best D they could after losing Emelin and likely Markov. Not a big fan of the signing but this year's FA market doesn't seem to have exorbitant prices and they did need him or at least a guy like him.
Williams to CAR is a bit surprisingly but obviously he has a history there. The teams pursuing him with any sort of money behind them were all young teams looking for him as a bridge player. He cashed out here, $9M for two years is more than teams like Toronto were offering for the same role. He was probably get offers less than half that from good teams hoping to squeeze him under the cap.
Girardi to TB gives them the right shot they wanted. It's questionable what he has left in the tank but it's a two-year deal around $3M per year so not a disaster if it doesn't pan out.
Boyle to the Devils as a term that makes me surprised he didn't re-up in Toronto. They had talks with him that cut off in recent days, that made me think he has a long and/or lucrative deal on the table.
Hanzal signs with Dallas, who I think is the big winner of this offseason so far. This is a team that got better in goal, better on defense and now better at forward. They go three deep very nicely at center now. They have a couple of star wingers. They get Methot, a great prospect and they already had others in the pipeline on D. Obviously Bishop isn't a sure thing but he's better than what they had.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
49. "Extensions for McDavid, Fowler, Vlasic, Martin Jones" In response to Reply # 0
McDavid 13.25M per, Fowler about 6.5 per, Vlasic slightly more, Jones just under 6 per but a shorter deal (six as opposed to the other three being eight-year deals)
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
51. "Thornton returning to Sharks on one-year deal" In response to Reply # 0
He had a two-year offer out there but for less money. Wanted to stay plus he is betting he can sign a two-year deal in another year. The knee injury is the only thing creating doubt. I think if not for that he could have had a three-year deal worth at least $15M
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
57. "Schultz also re-signed with Pitt if I missed that one" In response to Reply # 51
3/16.5M if I remember correctly. Nice deal for a guy whose career was more or less circling the drain in Edmonton. He was a very talented college player but like most of the Oilers' guys you didn't know if he could hack it in the NHL.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
60. "Yeah he would have taken less had Patty stayed" In response to Reply # 58
Doug Wilson all but spelled it out today, basically a couple days ago Jumbo settled on a one-year deal and gave them different dollar amounts based on different situations, meaning if Patty left, if he stayed for X amount and if he stayed for Y amount probably.
Seventeen teams made calls/offers to Thornton. He did not visit any of them.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
54. "Preds get Emelin for a third rounder. Bolts sign Kunitz, Wings get Daley" In response to Reply # 0
Poile is not fucking around, basically he upgraded positions than needed upgrading from top to bottom and even spent on third-string goalies just in case.
Also the Golden Knights are shaping up to be kind of sorry, are they not? Much of the team was taken as trade fodder, it seems.
The Red Wings get Daley, 3/$10.5M. How did Pittsburgh not match that? Then again, in recent years signing with Detroit as a free agent was a surefire sign your career was ready to fall apart. That was why your previous team let you walk.
Kunitz to Tampa, love it. Even if he is kind of trashy and plays on the fourth line, he will give you good ass shifts in big games and set a great example for younger guys (read: just about everyone). Tampa will be back in the playoffs next year.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
56. "Kuzy 8/$62M, Johansson to Devs, Marleau to Toronto" In response to Reply # 0
Many will say Marleau's contract is too long but I'd argue it's too much money. He is a pretty average player 5-on-5 offensively, he's not very good defensively but he does help the PP. Three years is not a huge deal, he almost never misses a game. But that kind of money? I mean Jumbo got it for ONE year, although he didn't try to cash out. I think Marleau got fed off with San Jose dicking him around and took the big offer. Suspect from the Leafs' side though, it's a lot of money to pay for a 20-to-25-goal scorer. He will be a great example for their young guys but you don't pay $6M+ for that.
Johansson becomes a casualty of the Caps' cap crunch, send to NJ for a second and a third, I think.
Kuzy gets over like a fat rat. Tough pill to swallow but maybe he will justify all that money.
I gotta say the best value so far on these extensions has probably been Fowler. Price was a very fair term, too, even if he is the highest paid goalie now (fuck, he should be!).
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
61. "They are in a tough ass spot" In response to Reply # 59
Even moving Johansson they are still up against it with the cap unless they can fill out the roster with mostly ELC guys.
Kuzy as a top 10 center? Potentially but I'm not sold on that as an eventuality.
Sid, Gino, McDavid, Matthews, Backstrom, Getzlaf, Toews, Kopitar, Carter, Seguin, Tavares, Bergeron and Stamkos are all guys I'd rank ahead of him right today. There are guys like Eichel and Hischier who could be better long term, not to mention a deep group of prospects at center.
He has the talent to get there but he still needs to play a lot more consistently.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
65. "yeah i read some thing today saying they were in an "abyss" LMAO" In response to Reply # 64
they still have ovie, backstrom, oshie, kuzy, orlov, niskanen, holtby, et al.
if anything it goes to show how fucking stacked they were.
the author's argument was keeping jojo over oshie and not paying orlov so much. orlov obviously got paid on potential and could make the contract look like a bargain. oshie vs johansson, eh, i think most teams would prefer oshie. yes jojo is younger and cheaper but he won't stay this cheap for long. i can see that as an argument but does that switch (plus you don't have two more draft picks that way) really make a huge difference? i don't think so.
they will have a rough transition here but they are still a playoff team and have a good chance to be more again soon.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
63. "They might play him with Spezza, either way great summer for Dallas" In response to Reply # 62
I think Radulov has changed but it's hard to say since he was playing for a contract and now he got it. Some have said he will fade away like Semin did but that's a bad comparison. I don't think Semin didn't care, I just think he wasn't built to last and had limited dimensions to his game. Radulov is bigger, for openers, and can score in different ways. Any way you slice it to land Radulov, Hanzal, Bishop and Methot (plus the best defense prospect in the world) in an offseason where most teams are losing players or signing role guys, Dallas fucking destroyed this offseason. Jim Nill poppin' bottles.
Even if not having Radulov for the long term is a blessing in disguise, the Habs didn't think so. They matched the offer but came too late. I also get the sense that all things being equal, Radulov would have chosen Dallas anyway. Montreal still has Gally and Markov dangling out there and they still need a center. Not a banner offseason for them so far.
And you will know MY JACKET IS GOLD when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
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