tom webster

I misunderstood then. We appear to be on the same page.

I, for one, think that Murray has done a tremendous job. However, I disagree on the balance issue. The Blackhawks have proven that the successful model is three or four stars, some solid veterans and a constantly rotating pool of prospects.

I think there is one move still coming....stay tuned

Could mean they are just messing with us

Sakic and Murray walking up to draft stage together.

Shawn Stepner ust reported that TM and ZtO were huddled together and then TM walked over to Phoenix table.

Without doing the research, I will bet you that the above trade would be a steal for the team that got the 3rd and 4th pick in 90% of past drafts. Oh, and the 1st for Lehner is included in my list.

Scotty Bowman agrees with you and never got over blaming Martin for that loss.

Exactly, he traded a 12th, a 15th, a 16th a 21st and a 2nd round pick for a 3rd and a 4th. Go back in history and find how many drafts that would not have been a great trade.

Hasn't the Darcy era proven that its not about winning the trades, it is about building a team. You can't keep all these prospects. When finished this is going to be a very young team with only room for one or two new players per year.

First, I am not a big fan of this trade although I don't think it is as bad as some would have you believe. Second, if everything was just about the numbers, you wouldn't need a GM or scouts. Enroth showed what he is when he went to Dallas. A healthy Lehner is a huge upgrade. I'm still not sure he's worth a #1, but then I am not sure anyone short of Carey Price or King Henrik warrant a #1.

As I said before, they are very high on Foligno but they really want ROR and hate losing to Toronto so you never know.

And as is typical, people are mis-representing what Schoop said. He just threw it out there and the discussion became, if you think Reinhart's ceiling is a great, two way number two center and you think that is what ROR already is, then shouldn't it be at least considered. Granted, I didn't listen to the whole show but they debated both sides during the time I was listening. The point that was conclusive is that no one can say with certainty what Sam will end up being while we are pretty certain what ROR is. Mostly by the same people that thought Marc Andre Gragnani was the next great power play quarterback and Catenaci(sic) was a sure fire NHL'er. The educated opinion was hopeful but understanding as to why he fell to 12.

I don't know if any of you have done the math but over half of the undrafted games are accounted for by college free agents like DeKeyser, Krug, Sustr et al.

Lafontaine and Hawerchuk?

The original post suggested that it would lead to change which would suggest someone thinks it's not worth it. I think the Blackhawks have shown the way to navigate during the cap era. Obviously at some point they might have to make a hard decision with their stars but it looks like it is still years away.

Exactly. If they go the duration of Kane and Toew's new contracts without winning the Cup again isn't still worth it?

I think Chicago is proving just the opposite. They kept the right guys, changed their complimentary pieces and are 1 game away from their third Cup in six years. And I would hardly say LA is falling hard and their main problem isn't what the stars are making but rather what some of their complimentary pieces are making.

Sorry about that. Trying to do three things at once and missed that.

Grigorenko is not what TM is looking for. Big, fast and hard to play against is what he wants. Grigs only gets 1 out of 3. And Grigorenko is exactly what Edmonton doesn't need as well.

It's an assumption based on an informed opinion and while you may disagree, I'm not alone. Hamilton and Coller, who had been one of his biggest supporters, discussed him the other day after the Sabre fit down and came up with two or three teams that would want him on their NHL roster. That's the problem, every team knows it's NHL or KHL because he isn't going to the AHL.

My old timers are easy; I loved Alan Haworth and couldn't stand Ric Seiling although that may have been more about him not being Mike Bossy. On this team , I probably have too high an opinion of Johan Larsson. I think all the players I dislike will be gone before training camp so I will have to get back to you.

We are just going to have to agree to disagree on this one. He's just another guy that I see as having little value at this point. Could he turn into something? Sure but right now I'd put the odds at less then 10%. I would agree in theory you never want to lose an asset but sometimes you just have to admit when a mistake was made. Oh, and I didn't intend on sounding smug, never sure how some try to interpret tone but I apologize for the perception.

There is no doubt that Grigo was mishandled but there is no way to know that he would ever had developed into anything more. We hold certain things as truths until they are proven incorrect but unless someone figures out a way to invent some parallel universe we will continue to hear how certain a players benefited from their minor league seasoning. Detroit is continuously held to some high standard because they keep their prospects in the minors and they become great supporting cast players to their HOF core. However, the likely heir apparent will probably skip that process all together. And the Sabres think so highly of him they offered him a two way contract. Let's see, he can be part of this huge deal we are working on or I can claim him on waivers in October?

He has close to zero value right now. Lighting up the KHL would add to his value although my guess is it's good riddance and one less contract to worry about