Curt

Yup, Vinnie Hinostroza for captain!

That’s kind of true. I’m assuming that any of those guys would want a 2, or probably 3, year deal to come the Buffalo. I think I’d go with Lowry given the choice. That’s based mostly on age.

I don’t know man, over the past three seasons he has a per 82 game average of 26.6 goals and 63.4 points. That’s pretty darn good. And he is a notoriously good dude. I think he would be a great addition. Another guy to look at in FA is Nino Niederreiter. Experienced depth scoring and another notoriously good guy. I want to add a little veteran depth (1 forward, 1 RHD) that can contribute and help the young guys along.

This season is absolutely not a tank season. Next season will not be a tank season. Using such a broad definition of tanking, that would mean 5-10 NHL teams are tanking every single season. They are just building for the future and aren’t that good (yet!).

He committed to Northeastern in January 2020 (after previously having committed and backed out of Vermont) and then must have been officially enrolled before June 1st 2020. I guess.

Signing a commitment letter is not the same as being enrolled or being a bona-fide student. You can sign a commitment letter then change your mind and never go.

Eichel was 3 seasons in when he was given the C. The Captain supposed to be someone who keeps the rest of the team honest, someone who can guide them in difficult situations, someone who the coaches can come to and discuss what the team needs, someone who can go to the coaches as a representative of the other players, someone who is going to be an on ice advocate to the officials, someone who is going to go face the media every single night. I just don’t think that a 22 year old who is still figuring out what he can be in the NHL is the right choice for that. He just hasn’t had the width and breadth of experiences in the NHL that lend themselves to doing the things a captain is supposed to. Let Dahlin focus on playing hockey and let someone more settled in their career take on the extra responsibilities of being captain.

It’s not that easy. Next 5 are on the easy side, but 3 of those are vs Vancouver and if Vegas loses even two of those three, it’s going vault Vancouver back into the playoff race with them. High pressure there. Also, only 5 of their remaining 13 games are at home.

I bet Devon Levi would have stopped them in that shootout. Where are you Devon? #Leviwatch2022

Tuch and Krebs came in, but Eichel, Reinhart, and Hall went out. I’m not convinced that this team is any more talented than previous seasons. I think coaching is the massive factor here. This team went from an ok coach (DDB), to a bad coach (PH), to the worst coach ever (RK), and now they are back to a coach that is at least ok, but is a great fit for this young team at this moment in time.

Well, max salary would be like $17M (20% of cap). No one in the league makes more than $12.5M (16.8%). McDavid signed that after leading the league in scoring (100 pts when next best had just 89) as a 19-20 year old. Realistically, Dahlin would probably be looking at a contract between $9M and $11M. It would put him among the top-5 highest paid defensemen. That would be if he keeps up his current level of play through the end of next season. Good defense and 60+ points.

Agree. That drop in was great, as was the whole interview with the Sabres’ defense coach Marty Wilford.

Are you being hyperbolic? Dahlin is not getting max money. 20% of salary cap ceiling.

I would counter that any team that wins a cup will have a couple guys who elevate and have a great playoffs. That’s why they won. I think for the purposes of this exercise, we are talking about guys who play at a superstar level over a period of years. With regards to the Sabres. That team had a superstar goalie, a borderline superstar in Briere, and great depth at both forward and defense. That team was a legit contender. Problem is they only had a 2 year window and one of those years they had a debilitating number of injuries on defense. A team definitely needs a couple superstar players to win a cup. The question is, can you win if you don’t have one at forward specifically? My half baked theory would be that between the Forward, Defense, and Goaltending positions you need a superstar at 2/3. So if Buffalo ends up with superstars Dahlin and Power on defense, they will need either a superstar goalie or forwards as well.

Vanek had better size and used it well.

Roenick is annoying sometimes but he really has great stories. A window into an airhead’s journey through the NHL.

Lol, occasionally Peters and Rivet drift into the weeds discussing something stupid when they don’t have a guest.

Could be, although I wouldn’t say that he is constantly making incorrect predictions though. Do you have other examples? If you look at what he actually said: “a good friend told him to expect major changes...” That’s far from a guarantee of anything. Also the podcast, After the Whistle, is great. Only thing that I don’t like about it is they have Roenick on pretty often and I think he is often annoying.

I’ll play. Definitely B at #1. Kind of a toss up between A and C. Need more information.

You guys think that hockey players go to class? Aww, that’s so cute.

Nah, never.

Came through for me. Spoiler Alert: it’s a picture of Levi in his hometown of Montreal. Nothing noteworthy.

Be ridiculously happy? Try to get at least one of them locked up long term for good value. An NHL team can be a cup contender and maintain a pretty healthy cap situation while having 3 or even 4 players making 10+% of the cap. The Leafs’ issue is having 3 players all making over 13% of the cap. They seem to have found a tipping point at which top heavy becomes top heavy.

Or maybe this backup goalie has gotten the impression that the new coaches don’t like him that much and are probably going to bring in someone else to start over him next season. Oh nooooo!!!!! He is signing with Montreal!!!!!! CONFIRMED