Randall Flagg

It is that simple. The problem is our GM traded pillars for cinder blocks and thinks bad players are good. That's the reason we aren't already there. It's been highlighted in my last 8,000 or so posts

ES goal percentage is just plus minus in percentage form pretty much. I'll let others provide the meaty responses

You've just forgotten what replacement-level GMing is capable of Its not an impressive feat to be in the 12-16 range of teams and solid managing and a solid offseason can put most non-first-year-of-rebuild teams in contention for it

Downright mediocre teams compete for the playoffs this year, and replacing Hutton with average backup goaltending would have us probably right down to the wire this season alone, so while I agree that we are a few years out from being a seriously good team there's no reason outside incompetence why we can't have an exciting March and April next season

Is this guys under contract for next year? Dang, we might be bad for a while

I like Borgen a lot - what are the chances he can have an impact like last year's Cernak, or this year's Jokiharju, in terms of quality play? Or even just 80% of Joki's impact

For some reason I had thought that Backes had one of the Lucic/Eriksson/Okposo contracts from around the same time period and still had 3+ years left I might have legit switched him up with Eriksson

Well this is news to me - you've got someone in the organization that told you that was on the table? Did they say that Jason turned it down, or why?

Can you show me a Risto for Ehlers rumor that wasn't him filling in the blanks for general "Buffalo and Winnipeg had talks this summer" rumors that did come out?

I didn't think it'd be so quick for someone to notice my hyperbole I really wouldn't kill for Copp lol but I'd trade for him and build a good 3rd line around him

Not sure I believe those rumors especially since chad is the source of some of them, but I'd kill to have Copp on our team

Is Axel a good prospect?

Uhhhhhhhh Backes and a 1st should have gotten Boston like a 7th rounder Risto for Rakell Oh nvm, I thought Backes had much more term left.

He could really be a nice piece for them if he can finally manage to stay healthy.

Trocheck does not seem to be the type of player at the moment that would be good for any winger. Anyway, Marty noticing a 'lazy' Skinner practice the morning after his vague rant in the mold of pretty much any sports radio dude in any city any given day, continues to be an uninteresting thread of development

We're definitely hitting that point of the season where you'd like to see general experimentation, and then Bylsma and Phil would respond with doing the same stuff that led to playoffs being out of the question in February for the rest of the season. I hope Ralph is more interesting than that, with whatever he decides to do.

Eh, I don't count posts within 24 hours of a loss lol

Nobody thinks we aren't pretty close to being where we need to be, we know that one good offseason by one competent GM can get us there. The point is that three straight offseasons Jason has shown himself incapable of identifying forwards that play the type of hockey we need them to play to get to that point, and we're worried about giving him a fourth one that has the potential to screw us up for years should players like all of those he has acquired to date get substantial contracts to fill these positions.

Pretty sure he should be looking at them for some of THEIR UFAs too. don't they have a couple centers that could be decent stop-gap 2/3C options?

Please god just let Jason do whatever pi doesn't want him to so we can finally be good

Helluva summary. I won't repost it, but I put a wall of text in the Ottawa GDT about Jason's team, and I think it's worth considering that, through all of these moves, his stated vision has been more quickly and more successfully implemented on the ice by the Melnyk and Dorion-led Senators, and they have used it to clobber us relentlessly this season, while still being one of the worst teams in the league. Even the "pass" acquisitions of Botterill don't play the game he says he's looking for.

This is unreal

Krueger does seem to like him, how rare is it for coaches to come in and keep an assistant that was already there? id have to hope that the pool of available HCs is enticing enough to not go that route While I want him fired because I don't believe he is better than mediocre in those areas, I understand that there is a chance that a Botts can make these moves and get us there, so while I'd fire him I understand it's likely that he's here one more offseason and am not fully in doom and gloom mode about it

I don't think we're particularly far down the road towards a model of hockey that remotely resembles what those teams were capable of at their peak. As long as we bring in somebody that is competent in the arena of player value, making trades, pro scouting etc. we will be a playoff caliber team next year

With generic cliches about depth, sure. And we remember well, as the talking heads' opinions were brandished against us in the debate over how awful the trade was. That the "this was horrible" crowd was correct compared to those airheads that don't actually provide value in hockey discussions isn't surprising, and this was not a unique example of that