IKnowPhysics

Oops, didn't read that StL won the draft lottery in your scenario. I'm definitely not betting that StL wins the draft lottery, though. Still. No reason not to take the first three picks of 2015. It would be ludicrous and unprecedented. But it would also be ###### sweet. Imagine drafting a forward line of skilled players like that. McDavid, Eichel, and [doesn't ###### matter]. Stellar. My point is, that's like drafting three #1 overalls in ONE year. That hurries up the rebuild quite a bit. I'd say that if we drafted 1-2-3 after drafting at #2 this year, and each of those four kids is NHL-ready, it suddenly becomes winning time.

Nope. Maximize the draft assets. Don't compromise. Can't get McDavid? Better get Eichel. But be sure to have the best chance at getting both. Also, consider later rounds. Finish 29 and 30, and we don't just get two top players, we get four players very near to the first round: at worst, picks #2, #3, #31, and #32. That's much better than #2, #10, #31, and #41. This isn't counting St Louis' pick. This rebuild centers around building through the draft. Don't give up because you got one (or two) high draft picks. Finish the job.

20-47-15, 55 points, should pretty much guarantee it. I wouldn't "try" for much higher. If that looks gross, note that we just finished 21-51-10, 52 points.

These things. I'm pretty sure that no one ever kicked Jean Knox out of a meeting. If Kim's interested to get to know the business, that's good. If she wants to do more, she can do that too. I'm glad she's interested. If Terry keels over after eating a bucket of Duff's Armageddon wings, it'll be good to have her on board. Also, Bucky's a weiner.

Customer retention? :thumbsup:

When we're tanking, offer sheeting is no way to go through life. I wouldn't want to move a 31-35 pick for a player that signs for $1.6M-$3.3M, let alone what could be multiple top five picks.

Good on him. I was confident he'd be employed in the NHL again. Buffalo Sabres because the Phoenix Coyotes don't have any money. And that's partly why Regier's a good fit there; he excelled for a long time with stringent financial constraints. He also GM'd a team through bankruptcy. Darcy gets an ex-Sabre-player level of respect from me; he wanted to win one for us as much as anyone during his time.

Understandable. I can't, with any tangible evidence, claim that Moulson made Tavares the player he is. But he certainly didn't ###### up Tavares' development, and the lack of a measurable increase in production with Vanek at least partially verifies that to me.

EJ Hradek made an abbreviated point on the wrapup tonight about Moulson and Tavares and what it could mean for Reinhart. I'll expand upon it, because I think it's worth serious consideration. MattyMo played with Tavares in Long Island and helped him develop into the player he is today. They played together through Tavares' entire career until Moulson's trade to Buffalo. Tavares' game developed from 54 points in 82 games in his rookie season to 47 points in 48 games in his 4th season. Tavares started the 2013-14 season with 13 points in 11 games until Moulson was traded; Tavares would keep the same pace with Vanek to finish with 66 points in 59 games. That's proven mentorship for our young centers, especially Reinhart (and in the future, McDavid, Eichel?). There's not many opportunities to find players that have that on their resume.

There used to be a street named after Tim Murray, but it was changed because nobody crosses Tim Murray and lives. Tim Murray can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves. Tim Murray doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Stock Leino.

But it's a chance for Edmonton to get better. As long as we and the Islanders still stink, we're good to go.

Put this in the All About Threads thread.

And he wears Tim Murray's glasses.

"Yeah, keep smiling you cocky punk. You're one bad training camp away from a buyout."

Now ban Chz and SDS to complete the coup and free us all.

I like Tim's attitude: if you're not in, you're right the ###### out. So much so that he's willing to pay two guys $19.3M to be right the ###### out I'd like to see how these prospects develop before I go "all in" on Murray, because that'll tell about his draft prowess and his system of player development, which are crucial. But I've been impressed so far with his attitude.

Thank you. The full size version is somewhere in the final pages of the Around the NHL '13-'14 thread. edit: Enjoy.

<- Heyo.

That would be hilarious. Good luck winning the cup.

Plugs 'R' Us

The conversation between Tim Murray and John Vogl? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb0VQTMKNR8

I understand the motivation for a recapture penalty, but the mechanics of it just seem...broken.

Hey, believe what you want. But if you're interested, here's the science: http://www.behindthenet.ca/projecting_to_nhl.php I played around with it, and I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked, but it's not perfect. Yep. It's a fun number to look at sometimes, which is why I occasionally invoke it, especially with prospects and rookies. I think it helps people get a feel for how good the stats of a prospect are in another league when you they can compare nearly-apples to apples in terms of an 82 game NHL season stat.