TrueBlueGED

Thanks for the clarification. We're on the same page. As to the skating, I think he's got elite speed and acceleration. Dare I say generational! But he definitely doesn't have the quick twitch change of direction as McDavid, or even someone like Gaudreau. Not as agile, or slippery, as others. The power he generates with only a few strides is insane, and the strides themselves are long, which is probably why he doesn't look like he's moving that fast until he's around guys. Likely also worth noting that I don't think we've seen his top burst yet this year. Thanks ankle.

I'd definitely be willing to trade up for him. I was hoping that his up and down season would cause him to slide, but that doesn't appear to be the case at the moment. If Tyrod isn't retained, I think there's a good chance. Though going safety and hoping Mahomes is there in round 2 makes sense too. There's the rub. I suppose anything is possible, but I'd be kinda surprised if Lynn stuck around unless he has no other equivalent (or better) options.

Not that it happens, but Whaley being ousted by the coaching search he spearheaded would be the Billsiest thing to ever Bills :lol:

That sounds right.

Lehner is an RFA. And at the time of the draft, Nilsson will not be a UFA...he'll be a pending UFA, thus we can expose him to meet the goalie requirement.

As with Tyrod, you're confusing average for terrible :p Because I have zero concern with them picking Nilsson. He'll be a UFA, and even if they take him anyway, guys like him are a dime a dozen. Long term I'd rather have Lehner's upside and team-controlled rights. Nope. Gorges definitely not, and unless Murray is a buffoon and voluntarily chose to honor Bogo's NMC, we don't have to protect him either.

O'Reilly, Okposo, Larsson, Kane, Girgensons, Foligno, Carrier Risto, McCabe, not-Bogo Lehner Really don't think there's a compelling reason to protect anyone else.

I really like him in general, not just as the best of this year's crop. He's not gonna run like Tyrod, but he has great pocket mobility to extend plays (and keeps his eyes up while doing so), a big arm, good accuracy (though like most, it comes and goes if he's getting consistently pressured). Reminds me of Roethlisberger as a prospect.

Absolutely. I luuuuuuurve Kizer.

I'd rather have Watson than Trubisky.

Samson and Jack are both exempt from the expansion draft. So yea, even though I'm far from Kane's biggest fan, there's no reason not to protect him.

With respect to the LBs, I'm not sure I like the idea of Preston Brown and Ragland next to each other in this defense. Really don't think either of them is that true all-around MLB.

No way SD trades Rivers unless he pulls a Carson Palmer on them.

The way he gets his DTs penetrating up field is perfect for Dareus and Williams (assuming he comes back). Really lets his line get after it, whereas Rex was more about gap discipline first with penetration second. And he leaves his top corner on an island less than Rex; Gilmore getting safety help as often as Norman did would be pretty great.

Yea, I'm not gonna go to battle to count Reinhart's first nine :lol: Maybe I'm overrating Carrier's game because he brings an element of speed and board play that we're sorely lacking, but I've liked his game and think he'll settle into around 30 points once developed.

Sure, but I never get the sense that it's because he doesn't know what he's doing...I think he believes in his talent and gets caught trying to force plays that aren't there. Without the puck, on the other hand, I frequently get the sense that he doesn't know what he's doing :lol: Finisher, yes. But I don't think he's particularly adept at finding space yet when others are working the puck. During the World Cup I commented that he still looks like a lost puppy without the puck on his stick, and I stand by it.

I also think Risto has been our best player to date, but looking at the Dmen who made it from the Atlantic...rightly or wrongly, there's no way Risto was cracking that group.

Well, it's partly a proxy, but also a predictor. I'm not about to argue that Carrier is bound to be an offensive dynamo, but if he maintains the same metrics, I do expect his raw production to increase over time. His GF/60 is lagging well behind his xGF/60, his shooting percentage is lower than we'd expect over the long haul, and he even passes the eye test! He looks like one of our best even strength players, and the underlying numbers back it up, and he's a rookie, so yea, I'm willing to give him a significant amount of time (the rest of the season unless his play tails off). And I certainly wouldn't say he's getting plenty of ice time, or had the best teammates over the course of the season. He's averaging only 9 minutes per game, with zero PP time. We're a crappy ES team (GF/60 is 26th in the league), and most of our offense from even our best players is coming on the PP (team GF/60 on the PP is 8th in the league). The most TOI he's had in any single game is 12:58. And his top linemates have been: O'Reilly (84:14), Grant (65:24), Okposo (60:15), Girgensons (52:23), Reinhart (49:21), and Moulson (30:46). Not horrible, but not exactly (he should have 10 goals!) territory either, and most of those good minutes have come recently. I guess I don't see why you're so fixated on the counting stats on a rookie who is getting limited minutes and no power play time on a bottom-5 even strength scoring team. Given the circumstances, I'm not sure how much more you expect out of him. And yes, as you and Flagg have mentioned, what exactly is the alternative? Ennis even when healthy has looked like hot garbage for nearly two years running. Deslauriers? Moulson? It goes without saying that, long term, you can't have a guy who paces 15 points per season playing with your best players regardless of what the other stats say...but given the circumstances, lack of viable alternatives, and underlying metrics, I think patience is absolutely warranted. Edit: To satisfy my own curiosity, I looked at Reinhart's first 26 NHL games. 7 points while getting ~14 minutes per game. Patience! :)

Are these moments, more often than not, distinguished by when he has the puck versus when he does not?

1) "Shot analytics" is offensive contribution. 2) You give him more than 26 games.

He had success with both Kyle Orton and Tim freaking Tebow.

Sure, if you want to be pessimistic about things :lol: Just saying, more new head coaches get fired by year 3 than coach long term. Not that it's all their fault.

Personally, it hurts my brain that seemingly many people don't appreciate Reinhart's game.

This is just a function of how most new head coaches are coordinators, but most new head coaches also fail, thereby making it seem that coordinators rarely work out. Meanwhile, I can't even think of a recent ST coach outside of John Harbaugh who made the jump to HC. Harbaugh has been successful, but that's one hire in forever.

Any particular reason why? Carolina routinely has a formidable defense (this year notwithstanding), and he runs a scheme that fits our personnel.