TrueBlueGED

That would be fantastic, and the best possible outcome. I also think it's more likely that Jim Kelly comes out of retirement and quarterbacks the Bills to the Super Bowl.

Completely agree.

McCabe, at the absolute peak of his career to this point, looked like he could be developing into a 2nd pair Dman. Absolutely nothing he's shown to this point would indicate it's even possible he could be paired with Risto. If McCabe was with Risto (assuming the same minutes Risto has been playing) he'd look as good as Beaulieu. He'd completely crumble.

Dahlin may not need a vet, but at 18, it'd be nice if he could skate next to a legitimate top-4 NHL defenseman. Only players on the roster who fit that criteria are Risto and Scandella, who are almost certainly going to play with one another in the same role they had last season.

Hjalmarsson and Tanev are light years ahead of Bogosian defensively. Bogo is a defensive liability that doesn't score. Basically, he's Beaulieu without the possession metrics to hang your hat on.

Scandella probably isn't going to be skating with him. I'm looking for a good on-ice presence next to him. Maybe I should remove that aspect from my analysis entirely and just say I'm trying to improve a blue line that still sucks.

Bogosian has played over 60 games and scored 20+ points only 4 times in his 10-year career.

Even joking about this makes me think you've been hitting the sauce.

Looking at our roster, it's certainly a realistic possibility. What we know about the roster is it's bad. Some of the unknown commodities producing better than expected can certainly rise our fortunes, and that's absolutely possible. Of course, they also may not, and if they don't then we're definitely looking at being one of the worst teams in the league.

What if the ancient vet can still play? The problem with Moulson et al. is they have nothing left in the tank. If Enstrom does, I think he can play a role on this team, even if it's for half a season while Guhle and Pilut germinate a little more. Signing Enstrom would be a cheap and risk-free way to bolster depth and competition on what remains a really bad blue line. If he sucks, so what? It's not like he's going to command a multi-year contract we have to deal with.

I'm not sure I expect this at all, but I think our best option is to keep Dahlin on the right. Additionally, I'd sign Enstrom to a cheap deal to bolster the left side and provide a stabilizing presence for Dahlin. His health is a concern and he's not giving you anything offensively, but he was still a positive possession player and would allow more time for Pilut/Guhle et al. to develop. I'd run something like: Scandella-Risto Enstrom-Dahlin McCabe-Bogo I'm biased (it is my idea, after all), but I think that looks a hell of a lot better than rolling Dahlin on the left paired with Bogo, and our 3RD being Nelson.

In general, I'm just happy Marvel movies have turned the corner. Outside of Cap 2, I think Phase 2 was pretty uninspiring as a whole, right up to and including the second Avengers. Phase 3 has been fantastic from start to finish. The "lowlight" for me is probably Guardians 2, which was still really good. Ultimately I think they're best off when they tell tight, personal stories for each hero, rather than obsessing with tying everything together on a grand scale throughout the entirety of every film.

You're not allowed to quit the league until you field a crappy team. The rest of us need to know it's possible and that you're not the Belichick of fantasy football.

Or, well, Chiarelli's incompetence has resulted in Rattie being the best option for McDavid's wing.

It happened once. One game. If they played 9 more in a row, it wouldn't happen again.

I'm in, and I'm gonna win.

If we want to add Bieksa, we may as well have kept Gorges.

Agree on Ullmark. Unfortunately, I don't think we have a Miller in the organization.

YOU'RE BACK!!! When did this happen? I'm indescribably happy that you're no longer a contraction.

I expect plenty of enjoyable individual moments from those players. I just happen to think they're going to be, unfortunately, buried with some pretty bad team play. It's similar to the first post-tank season for me when I was excited to see Eichel and Reinhart as kids with O'Reilly and Kane as good vets, while still having very little expectation for the team in the standings. Only difference is this time Sam and Jack are the vets I want to watch, and Dahlin and Mittstadt are the kids. Ha! Fair.

You're approaching We've's level of dead insideness ?

Mid-70s or so. Then again, I sort of expect league scoring to come down some. Three 100-point scorers? I'll take the under.

I don't expect him to fall off a cliff. But I also don't expect him to finish 13th in scoring again with 85 points.

I agree the team will be good when the youth surprises us. I just think Housley is going to be like most coaches and keep throwing the vets out there regardless of how poorly they play. Because it's what coaches do. If we start opening night icing a roster with youth in important roles, I'll be more optimistic. But I suspect we're going to be seeing things like Pominville on Eichel's wing. To be honest, I'd like to reserve my betting for something more interesting than Beaulieu. I'm sure you understand!

Yes. I'm not saying that to be snide either.