pi2000

Increasing goal scoring on it's own won't make the game more entertaining. For example, today is primarily a game of get the puck low then back out high to the D and hope a long shot from the point either finds it's way in or creates a scoring chance. That said, while shrinking goalie equipment even further will help increase number of goals, it won't change the way the game is played. If anything, it will only encourage more shots from the point through traffic as the primary source of goal scoring.... BOOOOORRRRRING!

If the league shrunk down to 21-24 teams, guys like Kevin Porter, Brian Flynn, Matt D'Agostini, Deslaurier, etc... would never have sniffed an NHL lineup.... but fortunately, thanks to the watered down depth, we got to watch them for an entire season in 13-14... yay NHL!

You can't compare depth of talent on pre and post cap era teams. Pre-cap (2004 prior), the talent was concentrated on a few teams, eg the 93-94 NYR had 8 20+ goal scorers. Their 91-92 team had 5 30+ goal scorers. You'l never see that again. The salary cap era spread out the talent, then you add in expansion and it gets watered down even more. There's no denying that if the league contracted, the depth of talent of EVERY team would increase due to salary cap constraints (ceiling AND floor). Without a cap, that talent would concentrate itself in larger markets. Either way, the games would be more fun to watch IMO.

Jody Gage in the AHL. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=1804 He scored 60g one season for Roch, but couldn't crack the Sabres lineup. Anybody who sniffs 30-40g in the AHL automatically moves up these days.

why?

I'd actually like to see some contraction, but that will never happen under Bettman. The talent level is too watered down and some markets with very weak fan bases, now they want to water it down even more. The quality of the product on the ice is not where it was 20-30 years ago, and the league is suffering because of it IMO.

You can't have depth without star players, however, you can have star players without depth, however, you can't have depth without star players.

TM likes big athletic north americans. It's gonna be Cychrun or Brown, or a move up to #4 for Tkachuk, but that will take #8, a quality roster player and high end prospect.

not a chance Pysyk and 8 might get you to 7. Pysyk, 8, and a top prospect (Bailey/Fasching) and another pick (3rd round) might... might get you to 4.

fixed

They would still need one more team in the West to balance out the conferences. With 2 extra teams, it's that much harder to make the playoffs in the East.

I'd throw Borgen in the mix on D as well.

..and if he gets traded, I win

C'mon Tim, makes this happen! Barrie would instantly transform this team, he's one of the best skaters in the league.

We need a finisher because we finished 26th in the league in goal scoring last season. Ennis, Moulson, Foligno, Girgensons all need to contribute in significant ways for this team to sniff the playoffs... last season they combined for 28 goals. That's over $12 million for 28 goals. Why not get rid of those contracts and pay only $10 million for a guaranteed 40 goals from Stamkos? You'd add 12 goals and save over $2 million. Ask Kobe Bryant and Shaq how much chemistry matters. Talented players leads to winning. Winning leads to chemistry.

Love those new Panthers sweaters. Similar to the Senators, but a big improvement over the old colors. This is the last season of Reebok sweaters, 2017-18 will be Adidas, we'll get an idea of what they'll look like at the World Cup.

I agree. Don't forget, Murray did not draft Risto. We have no idea what he thinks of him as a player. from http://www.diebytheblade.com/2016/4/11/11410328/buffalo-sabres-season-ending-press-conference-highlights-news "Murray was asked about a contract for Rasmus Ristolainen, and said the team was not sure whether they would like to go for a bridge deal or something more long-term, it would depend on what Risto's camp wanted. Murray also mentioned that a bridge deal with a smaller cap number might allow them to add a big player in free agency on a short-term deal."

We do? Buffalo missed the playoffs last time I checked, ranking 26th in goals for, 16th in goals against. To take the next step they need goal scorers, Stamkos is legit top 3 scorer in the league and he's only 26. I don't see him on any sort of decline, in fact, I believe he has significant upside playing with guys like Eichel and Reinhart, instead of Namestnikov, Palat or Callahan who he's played with the past few season.

+10mil/yr isn't "crazy stupid" if he's scoring 40 genos on Eichel's wing. Let me put it this way.... The Sabres will be a better team having Stamkos on the roster at $10mil/yr than they would having 2 lesser players at $5mil/yr.

Hurricanes need to move. Long overdue, they never fill that place, even for playoff games. With 30 teams they should move to three 10-team divisions. The top 16 overall get in the playoffs, 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc.... Gretzky division: ANA, LA, SJ, VAN, CGY, WPG, COL, ARI, EDM, DAL Howe: DET, MIN, CHI, BUF, TOR, STL, CBJ, MTL, OTT, QBC (CAR) Lemieux: PIT, PHI, NYR, NYI, BOS, FLA, TBL, WSH, NSH, NJ

do it!

You have a sport played on a surface of frozen water, so you physically evaluate the players on dry land? OK. They should do it like the NFL combine... game specific drills, all on the ice, agility tests, shot speed, 40 yard sprint, etc... that would be must see TV. But no, the NHL would rather evaluate their ability to play the fastest game in sports by doing an exaggerated curtsy..... brilliant.

That was different. ROR was traded to BUF with 1 year remaining on his deal, he wasn't a UFA like Stamkos where multiple teams will competing for his services, which will drive his price up and up and up..

Murray will overpay for him. He's got a man crush on him, and the money and term will be outrageous and we'll all moan about all the money tied up in him for years down the road.... but we'll all sing a different tune when he's leading us to playoff glory.

I'd rather watch the draft on TV, get close ups of the players and interviews and whatnot. Otherwise you're just sitting there watching a crowd of people move around, I don't get it.