pi2000

too much

correct Within 3 years of signing his big contract his production will decline and there will be questions raised about his commitment level. Being in the center of the hockey universe in Toronto, this will get ugly. I don't know that he'll drop to a 50pt player, but somewhere in the 25g/35a/60pt range within 3 years of his mega-deal. He'll eventually be dealt to ARI where he'll resurrect his career, ableit briefly, before completely flaming out (drugs/alcohol a likely possibility) before the age of 30. Is that specific enough for you?

General range for what exactly?

I'd trade all those picks to NWE if it meant Brady has to retire.

yes

I don't think he reaches his goal total from last season. He'll sign his mega-deal next summer, then his production will gradually tail-off and it will get ugly in Toronto. I'm not giving specific dates, because who knows if he signs his extension next summer, but considering how money hungry he and his family are, I'll bet it happens quickly. Soon after, there will be questions about commitment and leadership abilities, etc... sometime during the 2018-19 season. Culminating in his untimely demise... Correct.

But you only have so many contracts you can hand out... need to be selective in who you invest in. I think there's better prospects to spend a contract on than Butcher.

I was there. I miss it.

Yeah i was hoping he would be a late addition as JBOT was hinting that there might be some moves closer to the beginning of the season. I've always liked Cullen's game, and he's still plenty fast for his age.

IHDGAF about Butcher. He would probably help the depth in Rochester, but I don't project him to the NHL, not even as a depth guy.

I've become immune to the kool-aid One Bills Drive pours out every year. The fact remains, they have little chance at the playoffs because of a mediocre QB and having the most dominant team and greatest Headcoach/QB in NFL history in their division. Until those two things change, there really isn't much hope, and I think we all realize that.... however, that doesn't mean you should no longer be a fan, or wish them well. Just keep your expectations in perspective and it's not really that frustrating to follow them closely.

I thought he'd be a great fit to help offload ROR in certain areas... and provide leadership.

None of those guys, were taking that contest, seriously.

Can't say I'm really excited for anything.... it's a new system with some new pieces, might take a while before we see any positive results. ohhh, and the beginning of the downfall of Auston Matthews.

Haha, not a chance. They'll still scream to ice it, then the ref will blow the whistle and then they'll yell at the refs..... wash, rinse, repeat. Especially out here in Southern California where very few parents have played the sport or know the basic rules, yet they feel they must be involved in every single play by screaming at their kid to either skate or shoot. Pastrnak has a +9 TRpm on a good Bruins team. He's a significant asset. I'd do Reinhart+ as well.

Looks like synthetic ice to me.

Air Pegula left BUF landing in Boca Raton yesterday afternoon. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1977H Seems unlikely something is imminent.

Here's the USA Hockey explanation of why they made the rule change... http://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/804355 The TL;DR is to promote skill development by encouraging players to posses the puck and have to make a play with it rather than just blast it down the ice. “We want to encourage players to get their heads up, think and make skillful, intelligent plays,” said Ken Martel, the technical director of USA Hockey’s American Development Model. “To develop problem-solving skills, we need rules that encourage players to think..." I understand the reasoning, but as a coach, I'm going to tell my kids to ice it anyway. IMO, at the 14U level and below you're trying to build the correct habits for the next level. If you have teach kids to try to posses the puck or make a skill play in your own zone on the PK, that's going to result in more turnovers and pucks in the back of your net. They should be learning to ice the puck in those situations.

For youth hockey you're allowed to make changes after icing, that won't change on the PK. Coaches are still going to tell kids to ice the puck, this is going to slow the game down significantly IMO. I would've rather they did something else, like force the player to serve the entire penalty no matter how many goals are scored.

Not necessarily NHL related, but USA Hockey is changing the rules about playing shorthanded for this upcoming season. The shorthanded team will no longer be allowed to freely ice the puck, it will be called icing and the faceoff will come back into the shorthanded team's zone. This applies to 14U (Bantam) and younger divisions.

Risto quietly logged a +7 TRpm last season, the team was a bit better than average when he was on the ice.... which is obvious, even with his defensive shortcomings, he helped the team in a positive way. That said, the defense as a whole may be better under Housley, maybe not.... at least, maybe not initially until they learn the system. Anyway, beating a dead horse here... how many more days until the season starts?

In their current form, Risto and Scandella are a very nice NHL level 2A 2B pairing. IMO the 1A/B pairing isn't on the roster yet. Maybe they grow into 1A/B caliber under Housley's tutelage, but that's a big maybe.