shrader

So what you’re saying is that the book is not already written for 20 year olds?

Dive

That dynasty was built on the backs of three hall of gamers (plus others who came and went). Jack, Rasmus, and Sam better keep growing.

If your goal is 4-6 Cups, failure is essentially guaranteed.

That same core was the age of our current one pretty damn close to when the previously mentioned 9 year stretch started. If you want to compare the present day Blackhawks to the current Sabres, it doesn't get much more apples-to-oranges than that. So if you want to rewind to their start and look at moves they made back then, it would probably be more interesting. Someone else might have more time to study it in detail, but it does look like they held onto 1st round picks as much as possible. 2015 (traded for Vermette) and 2016 (traded for package included Andrew Ladd) were the only years they didn't have a 1st round pick. That's the timeframe for picks that would be helping today's team, but at the same time, they did walk away with the Cup in 2015. The main thing that sticks out to me looking over their trade history is that they made a ton of deal over that time. So you can get to success even while shuffling a ton of pieces.

3 cups in the last 9 years? I'm guessing most people would love that, even with the recent struggles.

They can change the format all they want, but at the end of the day, it will remain exactly what it is: an all star game. By definition, it's pointless.

The point you're mentioning is valid only if you assume the current GM is also incompetent. That goes hand in hand with the "reckless" part. Otherwise, it's completely random. One GM's poor moves does not predict another's.

I don't know, sounds like an enabler.

It's as predictable as the response from NS anytime a player from Halifax is mentioned.

I just heard a radio ad telling you that if you're overweight with diabetes and need life insurance, call such and such number and ask for Big Lou. Sounds completely legit.

Given the constraints of the system they have chosen you're left with the choice of putting Skinner in over Tavares or Kucherov/Stamkos. Obviously we can remove Kucherov from the discussion. Picking between the remaining 3 is actually far more interesting that I thought it would be before looking up the stats. Stamkos probably would have been the odd man out if they went with Skinner, but the name recognition plays a huge role there.

I've always wondered why that spelling always shows up for Reinhart and I finally figured out why. Yesterday my phone autocorrected it and added in the D. I almost never catch those erroneous autocorrects before I submit the post/text, but fortunately I did that time.

Remember when we were ahead of them in the standings? It's crazy how fast that turned.

Day two day

I guess that gives me a slight hope that he'll play next weekend here in NC.

Anyone like you watching it would just be an added bonus to them. They should do it with the Canadian tv audience solely in mind. With all the money Rogers pays them, they need a game aimed at that country.

I would have said that at the start of the season, but the 10 game win streak really changes things. It's almost like they're trying to find new ways to suck if they miss after that.

I think they should stick with two games. One in the US and one in Canada.

The whole thing needs to be held inside a snow globe or else there's no interest to it at all. But hey, they sell a bunch of extra tickets, so go league! Schedule all 20 of those games near the great lakes during lake effect season and hope for the best. That's all they can really do if they want a true tv spectacle.

With this team today? I just want to get them into the playoffs. To miss out on them after the 10 game run, they may never wash the stink of defeat off of this group. That's not to say that bigger move couldn't be made right now, I just don't think it's all that likely to find the right one available until the offseason.

I can't blame any comedian who has taken that approach. All it takes is one person to be offended today and it hits the fan. We're very slowly stamping out any personality or individuality. These things tend to change over times, so hopefully this culture you're talking about does a 180 at some point (ok, maybe not a 180, but how about a 45 or something).

I'd settle for a ground rule double. They need something and it's not going to drain the team of all of their ammo for the future.

Apparently the Hurricanes are trying to push hard for one. The owner truly is clueless. Does anyone really think the league would put one of these events in a market that is consistently one of the worst draws in the league, 5 straight years now in the bottom 3?

The point was that we have the what, but we are still pretty much clueless on the why. I figured that was obvious from the post, but I guess not.