...

Me either.

That's not chocolate.

Yeaaaah. Normally, I wouldn't care if it's just one player doing what one player does, but if it turns out it's true that Kane brought Eichel and Reinhart along, I would stand behind any decision GMTM makes to jettison Kane. That's just not good for our young stars. Fortunately, if they were there, the lesson they learned was that Kane is a DB and acting like a DB gets you into super huge trouble.

GMTM could have easily planted the story as a means of scaring Kane straight. He did say they will have to find new ways of dealing with these...scenarios.

Are we factoring in that he actually has to play that extra year to make the extra year factor work?

As I see it, the challenge with offer sheets isn't a future offer sheet in retaliation, it's that you might lose at least one trading partner for a while after you do it. And, who knows, others might not want to trade with you because of their distaste for it. Speculating, of course, but I think the stakes for Murray are high because the dude loves to trade, and risking a trading partner or partners over a player is a maybe a larger gamble than over-paying for a player or two.

I don't know, man, I think the possibility of that recapture penalty is pretty real. That right there tips the crazy scale in Nashville's direction, IMHO. I don't think Subban brings what the Preds needed.

Totally agree. I liked Nelson's debut.

I'm not convinced GMTM wanted Stamkos in the first place. That seems like a meddling owner type of thing to do. Pegula is still looking for that big pro-sports splash. Anyway, they should sign Vesey. They should also pursue Loui Eriksson, and make a trade for Hampus Lindholm.

Really? I think this is a good thing. Maybe they'll spend the money on more D.

That's not quite how business works. The only way Newport gets the best contracts for its clients and themselves consistently is to have excellent working relationships with everyone, especially the GMs and their staffs.

"Brian Campbell - Dallas. Runner up: Chicago" Good call. I didn't think of it, but it makes complete sense. ...and, FWIW, I have been having a strong gut feeling about SS coming here. Not that I want him, but I'm feeling it in the air.

I disagree. If he doesn't do TB now, or TO right out of the gate, we're likely his landing spot IMHO. This would be the kind of signing Pegula loves.

I don't see not getting SS as a bust.

Great post. It speaks to me.

Any date for me, so long as its not in the throws of winter.

TBPhD, have you considered that the Sabres have developed their own proprietary stat bundle that might not equate with the stats we all have access to? They did install an analytics department, did they not? It'd be interesting if one of you with nothing to do could scan the current D stat lines and look for patterns that may reveal alternate interpretations.

That's just it. I don't think Stamkos should be brought in as a leader. Period. Ugh...

Honestly, the only way I can get behind acquiring Stamkos is if I think of him as a complimentary player like Doughnut Boy is for Pittsburgh. As a complimentary player, okay, but I still cringe at the idea of paying big bucks for him.

I had to turn it off. He was just awful. There has to be something to the possession numbers Pysyk has, and the lack of (apparently) for Kulikov. There have to be wide gaps in there that tell a different story when accurately and reasonably filled in. My eyeball test told me Pysyk was never "hard to play against". My eyes told me that a Pysyk-type player probably would show his weaknesses during the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup rounds. Those were fricking tough-played games with lots of battling. Risto doesn't go out of his way to hit, the hits line themselves up for him. If Kulikov plays a similar game to Risto and can QB a PP, and is left-handed...what's not to like? Pysyk doesn't have those qualities, which is not to say Pysyk is a bad D-man, but he wasn't/isn't a fit for this team the way DD and GMTM are putting it together. Plus, this allowed Murray the chance to move up and get a man he wants. I'm still a believin' Murray knows what he wants in a player and knows how he wants his team to fit together. You can talk about Bogo and Kane all you want, frankly I think Kane is panning out, but sometimes you're going to miss the mark a little. The Kane part of that trade got us Eichel - a huge component in that transaction IMHO. Anyway, look at ROR, Reinhart, Eichel, Kane, and now Nylander, and possibly Vesey and possibly Stamkos. He kept D-Lo which I think is great. I'm looking at those names and I'm thinking "now that's a line-up I would pay to go see..." and that tells me GMTM is doing his job.

He may have wanted to focus on D, but all paths pointed toward the O. If we get Vesey and Stamkos to add to what we already have, plus the kids in the pipeline...woah. We should be good for the next 7 years or so offensively. There's still trades and free-agency, still time to work on the D. But, if nothing else, one side will be set up long term.

I think Girgensons and one of Gorges or Franson gets packaged for a trade, ideally for some picks. I would prefer Ennis be involved in that trade, too. This year, if we get Stamkos and Vesey, GMTM gets his forward ranks completed (essentially) and has to wait until next season to finish up the D.

Watching the highlights. God, I love a player who doesn't need to stop the puck to shoot it - on net. The break-away skill, wow. He has those top far-corner shots down. He's like the Eichel of wingers. Very patient and confident. Looks like he belongs in a metal band. This guy on a line with Eichel and Reinhart, wut? That'll be a treat.

I seem to recall TBPhD and few others touting Nylander in the draft thread. Not a guy I thought would be available for us, so, he's been off my radar. I will have to catch up on him. How did he do at the combine? From what I know, this seems to be one of those crazy end-cap deals you score once a decade.

I'm all excited that I'm going to buy a Lamborghini! Yeah, I won't be able to buy a daily driver having spent all of my money, and the Lamborghini has been in accidents that have assuredly compromised its structural integrity, but, screw it...it's a Lamborghini!