PerreaultForever

My speculative guess (based on how Pegula has operated so far) is if Adams fails to get them into the playoffs this year he will be fired and Forton will be named as the new GM. Which would be absurd, but I'd bet on it.

But if you invest in the wrong thing.................... I knew what you meant and my comment was joking but there's a point to be made there. You spend money or you don't. You make decisions on thinking certain players will be all that or you don't pay them. There's no difference with these "investments" or with free agent signings. We've grossly overpaid Skinner. At the moment we are overpaying Cozens by a lot and Power. Matter of fact as I've said, at the moment they are all overpaid except Peterka and UPL (yet). (I'm not counting rookie deals like Benson) The key isn't wise investments or prudency or any mathematical formulas it's just can we make the team better and get in the playoffs or not. Adams needs to do whatever it takes to make that happen. If a free agent is too expensive make a trade. DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Yes, and remember Briere wasn't Briere at 18. Benson could be better than Briere.

With Barkov "questionable" the s#it would be hitting the fan right now if it was anybody but Draisaitl (or McDavid) that gave that headshot. Imagine what people would be saying if Bennett had done it to McJesus.

To the first paragraph no, I don't think he'd have the same level of success in Buffalo as in Boston, but that's not the question. The question would be can adding him get us enough more wins to make the playoffs? To the second paragraph yes, we haven't had a real NHL coach (as I've said before) since Ruff and now it's Ruff again. Older and wiser or burned out memory from yesteryear? Remains to be seen. I think a good hire and I think it'll help, but I do not want to go in just thinking he can magically change everything. I want a lineup put in place that will allow him to be the coach he can be. Fill the holes and let's put it all together rather than just trying one thing and wasting another year. Ruff needs to have enough of a roster that should he need to bench Skinner (or somebody else) he can and he can then whip them into shape. We don't want him handcuffed with a have to play this guy or that guy cause there's no alternative scenario. You can't coach successfully in that, nobody can.

You mean like Cozens and Power right.

E-Rod. How utterly fittingly hilarious (as we discuss our need for a 3C).

Too small imo. He looks small too. Doesn't have the squat frame Benson has or the fortitude. So we shall see, but I have my doubts.

But watch, some team like Boston will sign Lindholm to 8 million or something and this board will go "oh it's too much, they are stupid, contract won't age well etc" and then watch that team win their division and go on a playoff run. It's time to stop thinking about winning every trade and worrying about future cap numbers and rather actually trying to make the team the best it can be and win now.

I'm more interested in getting missing pieces this year than BPA that'll end up landing us another speedy and possibly small scorer or Euro prospect. Maybe we start trading for the missing pieces but a guy like Greentree would be perfectly timed for when we might be pushing for an actual playoff run (if things go well). We can sign a veteran now and then Greentree can push him out or replace him in 3 years. He's a character guy who elevates players around him and rises to the challenge of big and hard moments. We need that.

I'm not offended, but I want to see an alternative rather than just a critique.

Exactly, and who are the best two guys to come out of Rochester lately, Peterka and Quinn. Letting Peca go rather than promoting him was a big mistake.

You don't know Jack.

1st round pick Liam Greentree. I'm set on this (unless Iginla falls which he won't). 2nd round pick Jacob Battaglia unless one of the bigger D men falls (Roberts, Emery etc.). 3rd round pick I'd like to see us take Lukas Matecha. You could argue he can wait until the 4th round but I'd play it safe and grab him earlier. I think he will be a good one. The rest whatever. Size, speed, character, BPA.

John Hayden hat trick sends Coachella (coached by Disco Dan) to the Calder Cup. Just had to put that somewhere after reading it and chuckling.

"bridge" is the operative word. I think we have to accept that we won't get the ideal choice in every spot (and hopefully KA realizes this too) but we need to make the moves we can make to make this roster a playoff contender this year. We need to add veterans and create internal competition and also give the proper time for the kids to fully develop. We have to end the development year stuff and the learning on the fly which should only be done out of injury necessity (if that happens). Winning, should be all that matters this year. If Laughton makes us better (and he would) and he's the best we can do then do it.

Your position is clear. You believe in Power. Hope you are right. I'm unsure at the moment and at the moment he is grossly overpaid.

I agree with most of this. Don't really care about losing Clifton Greenway or Krebs though. I'm not looking to lose them, but they aren't integral either if you can make your team better. idk where the Peterka idea comes from. Probably just somebody thinking Ottawa wants a German connect with Stutzle which I think is kind of silly. I like Peterka, but having said that, Tkachuk is much better than Peterka. That's a no brainer. Power out Tkachuk in is trickier since Power isn't fully formed yet. That one would be a tricky GM calculation and might cost somebody a job down the road. I'm fine to shed Byram because I see a contract problem down the road. I'm fine to shed Samuelsson because of the injuries, but I'd want a key return and I'd want to sign a replacement as well. End of the day I'm not looking to trade anyone (except Skinner) but if we make the team better I'm fine to move on from any of them as well.

Elias Petterson 82 games 34 goals 89 points +20 and yet in playoffs Elias Lindholm 13 games 10 pts. +4 Elias Petterson 13 games 6 pts +0 You stats guys and gals will never get it.

I don't see how I can be disappointed by that designation. Right now he's playing like a 3C at best. So if I'm the GM I go and get a 2C. The team is better. If Cozens begins playing like a 2C or even a 1C well then great, depth at center. Competition for jobs, and if the competition gets too great then you have bodies to trade for other assets that fill needs or the future. It all comes down to whether you look at the team as not good enough and needs to be improved OR just wait until they develop. I'm done with the latter view. Never liked it.

That's my view as well and has been for ages. The mix and composition of the roster needs rearranging. Free agency can help with that.

Everything comes and goes on the internet. One thing gets bought up, another comes along. Personally (and probably sounding like an old guy) I think there's too much info around sports and too much "fantasy" and not enough people today just watch and enjoy what they see on the ice with their own eyes. But I don't really care.

Adding Lindholm would actually take us to what Murray envisioned only instead of Eichel/ROR, it'd be Thompson/Lindholm, but it would be the exact same idea. 1 or 2 doesn't matter, it's your offensive guy and your match up defensive guy. I doubt we'd go this route though, even though we do need that guy as Cozens doesn't seem to be it. Cozens looks like an overpaid 3C at the moment.

Because Reinhart is elevated by Barkov. You don't see that. Look at an example I have familiarity with. Brad Marchand's numbers went way down this year. People saying oh he's losing a step, getting old, which is true to some extent, but the big reason? No Bergeron. It's the exact same thing with Reinhart and Barkov.