tom webster

The question isn’t if they’ll be terrible now, it’s they would’ve been if he stayed, which you implied. It was the right time for him to leave but he felt they would compete for the title again if everything fell into place. He left because he was never getting a better offer then this one, but with or without the Big guy out West, they had a ton of talent coming back.

Anyone thinking they were going to be terrible wasn’t paying attention. They have two guys practicing all year who might be best shooters on team coupled with two best rated recruiting classes the last two years plus 3 star recruit out west making his decision Fridsy. if Oates stayed they were going to be far from terrible. Now question is will not only recruits stay committed but will returning class remain.

Let me ask you this. In this year’s class how many are sure fire guys and of that, how many will play from day 1?

A) I hated Lehner trade as well B) I agree 2-4 years out is the window and I don’t see getting meaningful contributions in that span from any prospect other then a top 5 this year C) people keep talking about Blackhawks slide and I smile. They won 3 Cups, have started to retool and could be back in contention in a year or two. Give me those problems D) I think you’d be surprised if you look at the rosters of the 3 Blackhawks champs and the last Penguins one. I’ve only had time to check those four and they are not loaded with former number ones besides their core.

First, you are starting to sound agitated, and that’s not my intent. I’ve said before, you are one my go to posters. I just think you over value prospects, especially late first rounders. Second, didn’t say I wanted to trade pick but I would for a second line forward below the age of 25. And I’ll do the research, so far all 3 Blackhawks champions appear to have no one but I did it quick so I’ll double check.

Maybe you can list all the pivotal prospects that played a role in the Blackhawks Cups after they acquired Kane, Toews and Keith or Pittsburgh after Crosby, Malkin and Letang? The way it works in the Cap era is you draft your three or four core, surround them with the right players, hope you get lucky with a draft pick or two and go for it. Then you try and retool as the run ends. If you are waiting for late first round picks to develop all you are guaranteeing is a third GM trying to fulfill the Tanks legacy.

I’m including next year’s, thus 3. And(again that word) I would obviously expect more for this year’s number one but a 23-35 year old second pair defenseman or second line forward for San Jose’s and Buffalo’s next year, sign me up!

It’s kind of fun. I’ll take Montour over your prospect and Guhle. And(terrible start to a sentence) I would trade the remaining three picks for a similar return with the one caveat being if they won the lottery this year and you can guarantee me the resulting pick would be a slam dunk, day one contributor. This team is past waiting in prospects.

No, you were.

Keeping Oats will be the key. Like said upthread, they are losing five seniors. On the other hand they have had two better then average recruiting classes in a row and if the staff stays they might be ready for another run by mid season next year.

Blake Wheeler wasn’t an undrafted free agent.

Again, you don’t have to like it, but the numbers are the numbers. Obviously you want some hitting and if you can find a Tom Wilson who can destroy people and still score, awesome. But the fact of the matter is, teams that hit a lot don’t win. The playoffs are a different matter and the reason coaches like Lindy Russ constantly said, the key to the playoffs is guys playing out of their comfort zone and playing more physical and yes, as someone said upthread, it can have a cumulative effect, which is why teams often target two or three key players for said physicality. Or, you can hire Ted Nolan, never make the playoffs, but have something to cheer about for about ten home games.

I believe lack of effort is a refrain for lack of talent. If the Sabre’s has a true number two line and better goaltending they would be in the playoffs and all these guys that supposedly aren’t trying would look better. I think back to the Ranger game earlier as an example. They had a ton of chances but end up losing 6-2 or something like that. Bury a couple of those chances, they win 6-4 and no one questions the effort.

So you are saying that you would rather have them stop figuring out to score and win and just bring in a couple of guys who finish their checks? Got it.

Scoring and winning creates more. I like some grit as well but you don’t have to be an analytics geek to check it out. Teams that lead the league in hitting generally do not do well. The Blackhawks are the perfect example. One of the smaller teams in the league, they won three Cups and were always near the bottom of the “hits” category.

If you are hitting you don’t have the puck

Hm

Trust me, with all the different hockey sites it will be out there. They know that they could lose a couple thousand season tickets holders if they try and roll out the same team. As im writing this someone just text me that there is an article already posted on Athletic that mentions word around the league was that GMJB was big game hunting.

He can talk about the process all he wants but they tried to go big at deadline and plan on going hard after Duchene if he makes it to free agency.

Other guy is Jocelyn Guervernmont(sic)

Best thing they could get from Tampa is the rights to Stevie Y. Buffalo is a lot closer to Detroit and I’ll bet he misses running a team.

Hope you all had a good time. I swear I intended on being there today. Happy Birthday Drk! Maybe next year.

It might not be ideal and kind of busy but if the second game is on the table then obviously 716 is in same building and Labatt House is just down the street

Anything definitive?

Your ticket, as well as Wyld’s was mailed yesterday in Grand Island which usually adds a day or two to delivery time.