Jorcus

I agree that the NHL is not a parity league and NMC clauses have something to do with it. I would also add that because players are drafted at age 18 there is a much greater risk that the pick you make in the front of the draft will not turn out to be a very good player. You also have to wait 3 to 5 years to find out what they are. Another issue is that high end players can last a long time in the NHL. Most very good players can remain effective in their 30's. It takes awhile for father time to catch up to these teams for the next group to cycle though and take over. I wanted to discuss Washington. Things went well in the regular season for them but once again they flamed out in the playoffs. They seem to exist in this place of high mediocrity. It was mentioned on the radio the other day that only once since Ovi has been on the team that they have made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. Of course they Won the cup 2018 but that was the only time they made it to the conference finals. Had they not gotten over that hump in 2018 what would have happened to Ovi? I would guess a free agency walk to another contender. It's interesting to look back at that when Toronto parts ways with Marner. Washington had a lot of things go well this year. The had one of the best second lines in hockey with the McMichael and Protas who came through for them in the draft. Dylan Strom finally is living up to his high draft pick status after the Blackhawks let him go for nothing and Chychrun is healthy enough to show what he can do. I just wonder if Washington goes back to being a Pumpkin. Ovi can still shoot but he is getting very slow. Will the goaltending hold up like it did last year. A lot of players had a career years but I think they would have to regress. On the plus side they have been good at managing the cap space so they won't lose anyone. I think they are too good regress out of the playoffs but I would not be surprised to see them fall back in the standings.

Typically a 1 year deal at that point would be the result of an arbitration hearing or a contract to avoid arbitration.

Funeral lunch will be held at the Hungry Heifer.

Any thoughts on Matt Dumba? He finished the year hurt certainly obtainable. Other cheaper older guy might be Jan Rutta 34 year old UFA.

Toronto is going to match any offer so it would be a waste of time for an offer sheet even if we could do it. Tavares is going to go unless he wants to come back for 2 million or something. Marner may walk. They won't let go of Knies.

Well at least we found out that Justin Bieber is in fact still alive, and Drake gambled away another million bucks.

He got hit with a high stick and was bleeding badly.

You really need three things when you are planning to do an offer sheet. Draft Picks, money and the ability to make an offer the other team can not match. When you make an offer sheet you are most likely burning a bridge to any trades with that team in the near future. If you do it you better make it a good one. In general trades are a better way to go.

It's interesting how the Leafs have changed this year. They have gone from trying to be the Oilers to trying to be the Panthers. They are D first and trying to play close games then waiting for you to give them a power play or a breakaway. The trouble is they are not as experienced in that style as Florida is. They also probably need some different players to do it a little better. They still have a chance to get by Florida. It might be one of those 1 bounce games.

I know before the playoffs Leone stated that he was going to roll 4 lines. I would assume in an effort to wear Laval down. It would also seem that Kulich would be affected by playing less 5 on 5 time. I can't find time on ice numbers so just a guess about Kulich. Nice to see Rosen have a really good game when it matters.

I am not certain about Hershey this year but I just ran the numbers from AHL Tracker about the skaters that were on the ice last game. Average age of the Amerks was 24.4. The average age for Laval was 24.7. Laval had 11 skaters under the age of 24. We only had 9. The Amerks have no excuses. This is one of the best lineups they have put on the ice and they went into the series healthy.

I don't agree with this. In my view everything the Avs have done for the last 2 years is to try to win now at the expense of the future except in the case of Miko where their hands were tied. Last year they were desperate need for a 2 C so they traded a good asset for Mitt's. At that time and place neither team knew for certain what the next contract talks for either player would be. Mitts played pretty well and got the 3x 5.75. It could have been more if he had a great playoff run. We still don't know what Byram is going to get paid or by who. Assuming he gets no giant offer sheet a bridge contract is possible at something only a bit higher than what Mitts got. No matter what, I don't see how the Avs knew what that would be a year ago. In the meantime the Avs have dealt about every asset they have to try and win now. They only have a 4th and 7th pick this year. They do not have a 1,2 or3 next year. With Landeskog coming back they are over the cap with 6 UFA contracts. I don't blame them for what they tried to do. When you have 2 great players in their prime you have to go all out to support them. 2 years in a row they lost to the Stars in game 7's that could have gone either way. If they got past them either year maybe they could have another cup. It's a different team in a different place than the Sabres. It's hard to turn over that many players during the season and play as a unit. They are going to have a tough off season, but what ever they do it will be for the now in expense of the future because of the high end players they have in their prime.

I mean how fast does he have to be? He should not play more than 2 feet over the blue line. I know this is not fair because when you have experience it can make up for lesser skating ability but some how the 40 year old Brent Burns gets up and down the ice. I know this much he can clear the crease and pin a guy behind the net.

If you took a poll of Eastern Conference coaches and asked which team had the best defense this year, If it wasn't Washington or Florida it would be Carolina. Where are they according to the WAR charts? Not in the top half in D or goaltending. Without considering how the forwards play defense I think it's just a exercise in frustration. All the parts fit together and if one part is weak then the whole thing is probably weak. It can be an individual player or pairing. It can be a forward who thinks getting back in the zone is for other people. It can be a goal tender who goes from shutout to giving up 5 the next time out. I know all the analytics try to parse this out but it seems incredibly difficult when it comes to hockey. I know this much I never want to see Bryson with Clifton ever again.

One of the forgotten players in all this is Tyson Kozak. When he came up to the Sabres I thought it was pretty much a move of convenience. He was waivers exempt and had a few years of AHL time under his belt. Nothing stunning on the score sheet but responsible and not a big drop off from the other 4th liners we have right now. I took a look at his NHL edge stats and was surprised to see how good they were. He is fast and has a hard shot. Not the usual numbers you see from a 7th round pick. He has had his share of injury problems but it's not impossible that he rounds into a good NHL forward.

Kulich may be able to do things that Benson can do. Benson will never be able to do things that Kulich can do.

I don't know if I would rather keep Samuelsson but but an argument for him is that he has only played 212 NHL games and should be coming into the best part of his development curve. The injuries have set him back and his start to this year was truly awful. He seemed to improve in fits and starts as the season went on. We were thinking he was guy to be supporting Power when in fact he has played less NHL games than Power. Not a good formula there. There is a decent chance that Sammy rounds into a much better player. I think he was one of the guys they were sending a message to about reporting to camp in shape. Playing his off wing did not help things. He would not be the first large defense man to overcome early injury trouble if it happens. Then again he may just be what he is now. Both Byram 246 NHL games and Power 242 NHL games are right in the sweet spot of the development curve. You have to be a bit careful about letting guys go at this juncture but reality probably dictates one of them is going if not two. Another thing to think about, did any one in this group ever write we need to find a right handed D man to play with Byram?

The funny thing about the power play situation is I never saw a reason why he could not have played with Dahlin on power play 1 here. He is a better passer than most of the forwards we have.

I would add Kracken, Jackets and Bruins to that list. Push come to shove we don't want the picks we want a player so a trade better be in the works.

Not the higher seed. Laval had the choice of 2,2,1 or 2,3. If 2,2,1 they would start at home. Sometimes it's about conflicts with the arena.

VO is pretty much in the same roll he was here in the pre Granato days. He was one of the few who floundered under Don. I do think he started to play better defense under Don. No matter what though he was not going to sign back here for 1 million after making 4.7. He got a real nice contract here because we had to get to the cap floor. For whatever reason he never seemed like he was very reliable. even in Vegas he seems to go in and out of the lineup for unknown reasons.

If I remember correctly he scored 2 empty net goals in the same game.

My thoughts on Byram. As far as the moving goes he was a player with 1 year left on a contract who now is waiting to find out where he will play next season. I doubt he owned wherever he was staying so if the lease is up you pack up and wait to find out where to go next. It still could be here but cost wise someone else has to go to keep him so he is probably the easiest player to deal. As far as his play. I think he is developing into a great mobile defenseman. He is fast, he is a very good passer and he has a high level of compete in his game. He may not have as accurate a shot as Power but he does disguise his shot at times. Having played 246 NHL games he is coming into the peak of his development curve as a player. I am sure he wants the chance as the primary D man on a power play unit which he will not get here and will not even be the primary player on the second unit with Power around. No skater on this team had more ice time overall than Byram. I think overall the organization really likes him as does many other teams in the NHL. As far as the trade to bring him here, I do think they wanted to move on from Mitts and much like a draft pick they took the best player available. At the end of the day if we have to move on from Byram I think we are going to do pretty well with the demand that is out there for him. I don't see how we keep Power and Byram because of the cost so it will come down to the deal we can get for one or the other. I would rather keep Byram but my guess is he will be traded.

So that's what's in our teams spam folder.