French Collection

Getting beat up had an effect.

I didn’t know Lindstrom had a back injury. Those can linger or never go away and surgery can be career ending.

Waiting an extra year or two for Kaprizov didn’t turn out too bad for the Wild. He may have developed differently if rushed into the league.

Just got my copy of Elite Prospects Draft guide. 1900 pages. Tons of information, too bad I have to work today.

I don’t think the Sabres have ever had a Viking, I mean Norwegian player.

Brady, Matthew and Keith are in a Tim Horton’s commercial together. Brady has no Sens gear on and Keith has a Panthers shirt. He’s being moved.

I think Lindy should get the Cup second, not Tuch’s father.

I didn’t realize that the Okposo deal was a conditional pick. It becomes a 5th rounder instead of a 7th if the Panthers win the Cup. Small upgrade but it helps to sway my decision to back the Panthers. My main reason is Samson, he was my favourite player during his time in Buffalo. I couldn’t care less about Erod, Montour, Kulikov or Okposo.

This franchise needs to be relevant again for the mental health of the fans and players.

I like the name Utah Yeti best.

Between the NHL and CHL playoffs, the World Championships, this has been a good run. I’ve watched as much hockey as I can handle.

20 year old Josh Bloom crashing the net vs 16-19 year old Dmen is different than coming up against Trouba or Gudas.

Some guys will be taken earlier than they should because of the size factor. Silyalev 6’7”” defender, may not be better than a 4-5 D at the NHL level. Lindstrom is a power C that many teams covet, he may end up on the wing in a middle six role. Most of these guys will not play for a few years and their impact is minimal for the first year or two. It will be fun to revisit this draft in 2029.

I realize nothing happens around this time. I follow the entire league pretty closely. I am saying that KA needs to do something to improve the roster, no time frame except before October. My all caps sentence was to highlight my frustration with his past off seasons and not doing enough.

Oilers are very familiar with him as he was just down the highway for many years.

The main point most of us are trying to make is, DO SOMETHING. None of the moves need to be blockbusters. These are payers to round out a team, fill in gaps, provide depth and allow the prospects to grow and be challenged for ice time. Whatever KA does, it needs to be for the now, this team has plenty of future potential pieces.

Oilers win but not a very impressive win. 10 shots.

So, bring an umbrella. I was bringing one anyway.

Yeah, I don’t want another small forward but you cannot pass on him if he falls to 11. He’s not like Benson but he has the skill to outperform everyone not named Celebrini in this draft.

Kind of like what Harold Ballard said about Inge Hammarstrom, he can go into the corners with a dozen eggs and come out with all of them intact.

I am extremely passionate about making the playoffs this year and I would make that trade. If there are cheaper options to get similar players then that is KA’s job to go out and make those deals. I agree that sitting on his hands will to a lot of angst among the fanbase and he needs to round out the bottom six with some experience and grit. This is just one example of a hypothetical deal and it can also be tweaked by salary retention, a 2nd round pick coming back, Rosen instead of the 1st or being allowed to talk to the players about their futures. In my mind Krebs and Joki are easily replaced and the 1st rounder adds to the pile of prospects. The sum of that is a lot for 3UFAs but one or more could extend and I think cumulatively they have a greater impact than Krebs and Joki. Here is another theoretical layer to that deal. This trade happens at the draft and the Sabres have spoken to Larsson and he indicates he wants to get to UFA status. KA flips him for a good asset and makes a hard pitch to UFA Chris Tanev to play with his brother. Those guys would change the culture immediately. The other culture change would be the message that Mitts, Joki and Krebs were moved so there is an expectation to step up and be counted.

I’ve been waiting for Quinn highlights since his draft. He has just teased us with his potential. This is an important year for him to show what he can do. I think he can put up similar numbers to Cozens breakout season if he plays the whole season. Mule playing 70+ would provide stability on the D corps and show us where he slots in long term.

Labrador doesn’t get any warm currents. I have been to Newfoundland a few times but never when they are getting icebergs that come down from the Labrador Sea. That is something I would like to see. Northern Norway has milder winters than northern Ontario even though they are near the Arctic Circle and I live south of the 49th parallel.

The Mitch Marner of Dmen.

It is an overpay but I am tired of waiting for the prospects to step up and push this team over the hump. They probably won’t be ready in October, only growth from existing players (Power, Quinn, JJP, Benson, Byram, goalies) and a return to form for TNT and Cozens could do it. Injuries and regression from some could destroy this plan early on. I also suspect that 1 or 2 of the 3 could extend in Buffalo if they make the playoffs. Larsson could develop a Swedish connection with Rasmus or become a Tallinder type Dman for Power to blossom. Tanev is from southern Ontario and could be a well paid 4th liner/PK guy if he is a good fit. His work ethic and guts are contagious in a playoff run. You never know with Gourde. Their next contracts may be their last ones and if they like being the vets to get this up and coming team going it might work. Krebs could find another gear but maybe not. Jokiharju can easily be replaced. #11 is just another prospect.