HumanSlinky39

Draisaitl is something else, man. I'd take him over Auston Matthews without a moment's hesitation.

Unless any draft pick received is intended to be part of a package to add good, NHL-ready players, ***** all the way off.

Seems about right. Good season for Rasmus. If only he had more help.

Palm trees and taxes, man. Amiright?

Yeah, there's a coaching problem. "Accountability" was the buzz word after Lindy was hired, we saw none of that. The team had the same issues that the previous coach oversaw. Is it all Lindy's fault? Nah. The roster is very clearly flawed. But do I think Lindy helped? Also no. I never say how bringing in a retread coach with a spotty record in the years before his hire was going to move the team forward. It was the laziest "coaching search" outside of just promoting another assistant I've seen. You cannot convince me hiring Lindy wasn't done with the hopes nostalgia would be enough to pacify the fanbase. And we will very probably just get that next year with Appert. This isn't a serious hockey organization.

The Oilers have 2 of the best 5 players on the planet and have assembled a solid, cohesive supporting cast around them. They understood the assignment. Only question is will Skinner hold up.

Give Muel's to Zucker.

Good for Skinner.

Golden goal for Tage. That's awesome.

I heard a stat that Marner in games 5-7 over the past few years has just 7 points (0G, 7A) in 20 games. That is almost unplayable in those situations. Maybe it's a function of the synergy between the rest of their "core 4", but that is a big, big red flag. He's a terrific regular season player, but he totally disappears when the pressure gets ratcheted up.

Fair, but I'd say just on talent alone, the Sabres have a leg up on them. We have quite a few young guys who have been productive in the NHL, they're just not a cohesive unit. There's plenty to work with here to reshape the roster to make it fit together better. Not sure I can say that about the Flyers.

And what a glorious, oh-so-Leafs elimination it was!

I thought they played like their hair was on fire in the MTL series, but looked totally spent against the Canes. Wonder how much the spunky Habs took out of them while the Canes barely broke a sweat vs. NJ. You're right - looked old & slow.

The Flyers roster is BARREN aside from Michkov and Konecny. And they haven't been bad enough to draft really high, so the guys in their system are still question marks. I would take our roster over theirs up-and-down without giving it a second thought.