DarthEbriate

It makes for the prettiest lightsaber blade (meaning green).

Saw we had some new duds so I built a pod car racer. It's the fastest ever built. I would have gone with some slick whitewalls, but alas the sweater, so I chose the gray wheels. Some would say the swords would be hazardous on the nosecone, but they're no more dangerous than the lack of guardrails next to the bottomless shafts of most Imperial-constructed workplaces.

Execute Order... 25. Portillo will be at University of Michigan whenever they next play. He was good in the USHL, next step is college. It's likely a couple years before he heads to Rochester.

It is regrettable he didn't learn his lesson and get comeuppance in a more timely manner, but the loss of an NHL signing and UND scholarship will hopefully be a punishment he learns from. It's never too late to learn from your past. And he gets a second chance in the KHL. The cynic in me simply says he's obviously not that good. Otherwise his second chance would have been with UND and the NHL.

Hutton + someone = someone new

That's a nice one-year deal for Edmonton. Kahun would easily push Ennis down the lineup at this point if he switches to the other wing. And it's nice for Kahun as he's an injury from skating alongside McDavid or Draisaitl. That's a pretty good way to bet on yourself and pad some stats.

In addition to a Bond as background noise, I'll have to watch either The Name of the Rose or The Hunt for Red October this weekend. His comedic timing and delivery was also underappreciated, as the entirety of Last Crusade shows. "Son, I'm sorry.... They got us."

It won't be us because Vesey. It won't be Detroit or Ottawa because neither Cirelli nor Sergachev is sufficient to take them out of the top 8 picks. But tons have teams can easily drop 6.5 on Sergachev or Cirelli, and are just afraid to do so. Our RFAs came in under what I expected (I thought Olofsson would be more like Kubalik in the 3.4-3.7 range). So maybe Tampa gets them on super-cheap team-friendly one-year deals (like Cirelli at 3.5 and Sergachev at 3.8... which still puts them over the cap), but just paints all other GMs with their 1-3 picks as cowards for not prying either away at 5/year.

Now serving Order 24. I like the numbers on this deal. He's going to score goals wherever he lines up, and balance PP1 with Eichel.

Offseason plan goal: get a 2C and a top-six F to flesh out the top six. Achieved! (Let's not talk about balancing D handedness or goalies yet.) Instead, let's just admire that we have a complete top six for the first time in a decade. I went back to look at all of the previous top two lines on (more-or-less) opening night each year. I also noted where we had a rookie (strictly <82 GP and Calder-eligible). Two things of note: 1) we've had really poor top sixes since we last made the playoffs, and 2) we are always adding rookies, so Cozens, get ready to skate! But Hall-Eichel-Reinhart / Skinner-Staal-Olofsson or any combination thereof looks might nice compared to the following: 2010-11 (10/8/10) Ruff Our last playoff roster. Vanek - Roy - Stafford Ennis [R] - Connolly - Pominville 2011-12 (10/7/11) Helsinki/Berlin - Ruff Adam had played 19 NHL games the season before, and had a hot start between Vanek and Pominville Vanek – Adam [R] - Pominville Gerbe - Roy - Stafford 2012-13 (1/20/13) - Ruff 48 game season. Note that Leino was out and likely takes Foligno's spot if healthy. Vanek - Hodgson - Pominville Foligno [R] - Ennis - Stafford 2013-14 10/2/2013 - Rolston Vanek - Hodgson - Stafford Ott - Ennis - Leino 2014-15 (10/9/2014) - Nolan Foligno/Hodgson eventually made up the 2nd line once Reino went down, including Foligno at center as Hodgson's health was further compromised Moulson - Ennis - Stafford Hodgson – Reinhart [R] - Gionta 2015-16 (10/8/2015) - Bylsma Technically, Reino only had 9 games of experience, so he’s Calder-eligible this year, too. Rookie up! Moulson - O’Reilly - Ennis Kane – Eichel [R] – Reinhart [R] 2016-17 (11/29/2016) - Bylsma (I cheated and delayed to get past Eichel’s injury. Note that opening night had Ennis on 1LW and Larry as 2C. Sadly, Ennis was hurt just before Jack returned, so we didn't see a top 6 with he and Eichel in the lineup until later that season.) Carrier [R] - R.O'Reilly - Okposo (pre-ICU) Kane - Eichel - Reinhart 2017-18 (10/5/17) - Housley Kane - Eichel - Pominville Pouliot - O’Reilly - Okposo (post-ICU) 2018-19 (10/4/18) - Housley Added an optional #2, based on ice-time it was the vets: Sobotka, Berglund, Okposo Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart Sheary - Berglund - Thompson [R] OR Sobotka - Mittelstadt [R] - Okposo 2019-20 (10/3/19) - Krueger If memory serves, Vesey played a period or so with Skinner and MoJo? Olofsson [R] - Eichel - Reinhart Skinner - Johansson - Sobotka/Vesey

Ah, this takes me back to my Lego Space compatriots! Do they all have to wear the black visors? Ala Blacktron series 1. Or can they go with a neon-green visor and fully embrace Blacktron series 2? Edit: Also, Pegulas... two words: "Neon Goatheads" followed by three more words of which one is a contraction of two words: "Don't do it."

Yeah, I'm just throwing in the names of various tweeners who could be protected or not depending on how the year plays out, and who have RFA or multiyear deals remaining. If Mitts bombs in the AHL or Tage blows out his shoulder again -- we might not need to protect them. Similarly, if Cozens and Eakin form some amazing chemistry and you want to keep that rocking next year as Cozens plays center more and more in increased minutes, maybe Eakin is protected. As to Borgen, it all depends on if we move a RHD or if there's a lengthy injury. I'm still penciling in Montour on the left and Borgen as my first call-up on the right side until Krueger shows otherwise.

Unless Girgensons has a statistical anomaly of a season akin to his 15-15-30 sophomore season, there's no way we're protecting him. And, given what he provides, unless we give Seattle a sweetener to take him, there's no reason they take him in the expansion draft when they could take whoever of Tage, Mitts, Eakin, or Borgen, whomever we decide of that group to not protect.

I'm not sure this mock drafter understands how the capfriendly mock simulator works. See... you check the boxes of the players the team is going to protect. The target is less than two centimeters wide. It's a small thermal checkbox right next to the player's name. That said, I had hearty evil laugh. It's impossible, even for a computer Kraken fan! Edit: You know who you're getting, Seattle? Okposo and a pick. Or Rasmus Asplund. It's your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my ability to select a checkbox.

Arttu would make a good late-season callup for a minor injury. But he's going to need 35-50 games to fully acclimate to the pace and immediate forecheck of the NA ponds.

Once the first folks started signing before arbitration I said 11M upthread (thinking approximately 2.5, 3, 5.5). And now I'm thinking that's still easily in play. We can even make an additional move like a Kahun or Duclair to force Thompson to prove it in Rochester, then trade an asset in-season, if needed. (Or package something solid for a goalie of the playoff run!). This is a shrewd start for GM Sheevyn. But that should be expected after his 10-year phantom menace to overthrow the reigning chancellors.

Make the playoffs = worth it. Edit: And Hall and Staal make making the playoffs very possible. We're better than DET, MTL, and FLA. Gotta start to see some Bruins decline with their aging core. And need to continue to split with the Leafs. We're still not on the same plane with Tampa on paper. Edit edit: I forgot Ottawa. But... although I like their kids, I know they're not going to spend the money to support themselves. Hall-Eichel beats Ottawa's youth this year.

This is the key. We only have JJ to protect in next year's expansion. Which means... if the season really happens in full... and Ullmark lights it up, we want to re-sign him in-season and protect him. Otherwise, we're really banking on K^6 to hit it this year. And that's like dicing against Qui-Gon.

Yup -- Okposo is a really solid player, just not a 6M/season player. And with the flat cap there's no way we're getting out of that contract unless we give Seattle/other team a 1st to take him.

He had a couple absolute laser blasts, not asteroids, for goals last season. His shot has rounded into form the last couple years. While I would like one bigger/stronger winger in the top six to disrupt and go into corners, Reino works the boards nicely and he's also the only guy who consistently jumps into the fray no-questions-asked whenever someone runs Eichel.

Free would be a pretty good deal for Athanasiou. 🍺 I'm not sure where he'd play unless we moved out someone. Would you overpay him a touch (the Tage 1.5M route; so maybe like a 1.9 or such) to entice other teams to lay off him if you need to send him through waivers? I'm not sure Athanasiou is yet ready to go for a 2-way contract to rebuild himself.

Really nice deal for the Sabres. For the first time in <mumble> years we're going to have two complete top-six lines with NHL players across the board and no rookies who need to deliver to make it a viable lineup. Once Olofsson is locked up, we'll have a solid group of forwards for a admittedly unstable season. The Okposo and Skinner contracts are spinning wrenches in the sky, and the Girgs contract is like a banana peel on the floor, but this allows some good flexibility for our juggling next year. Edit: By midseason (whenever it is) we may even have some really nice lineup flexibility with Ruotsalainen adapted to the NHL rink size after some ROC time, Cozens with the ability to move around, and the Asplund/Mitts possibility of pushing for a callup with strong play (ideally).

Especially considering Carolina's cap situation at the time. It simply served up the contract for Carolina to sign.

Wait... we could be getting paid (minimally) to voice our opinions in much the manner we are now? But... in longer posts. Is it possible to learn such a power?

The Merzlikins contract earlier this year is what Linus has he eyes on. Only 33 GP, 2-yr extension at $4M.