2023 Tank Thread (Mod post Page 60)

[GunnarStahl]

Since it seems the Ducks will likely finish bottom 5 this year, I figured we should have a thread for discussing the implications of where the f***s will finish in the standings. As well as what factors could affect where they finish.

Tonight was interesting as all bottom 5 teams earned 2 points sans the Ducks and the Hawks.

Hey Folks,

Want to clear some of the air here, Tank talk is not an issue, please talk tank to your heart’s content here, totally understand how critical it is for that Future Potential Top pick. The issue is posting in the GDT, like you want the team to lose or make posts that you are angry they are winning or won the game, or bashing the team for not tanking.

The main reason is, to respect your fellow members. The GDT is about discussion of the game on a live basis and then post game discussion and opinions. A lot of fans are not rooting for the team to lose, and everyone has their views and opinions towards tanking, and may not want to discuss tanking in the GDT

If you guys have any concerns, feel free to PM me or another mod, and would be happy to explain more in detail.

Thanks!

Leo

Click to read more...

 

[Terry Yake]

At least one person will, for the rest of his life.

i have a feeling he'd rather play at least one NHL game no matter how bad he plays as opposed to not

this whole "honor" thing is bullshit. all the other tanking teams can ice AHL squads but the ducks have to play for "honor" and "the badge"? lol f*** off. this season has already killed off any "honor" this organization had and it'll just get worse if they win another game this and likely drop down to picking 6th

 

[DuckTech]

Everyone who is sayong OEE one night then Dostal the second has to understand what you're really asking for is 1 period of OEE then watch him get pulled and put Dostal in.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

iirc, Dostal playing back to back games, the 2nd of a back to back game usually results in Dostal getting blown apart in the 2nd game. He gave up like 4 goals on 5/6 shots in San Diego. Might be better to save Dostal against the Avs and put OEE tonight.

Also, there's the possibility that Arizona throws their AHL goalie, Prosvetov, onto the ice tonight. On April 3rd, Prosvetov allowed 8 goals by the Kraken. Putting in OEE is evening the handicap for the game should Prosvetov start for the Yotes.

 

[Smirnov2Chistov]

who gives a shit at this point, can’t wait for more of this next season!

 

[HanSolo]

I appreciate your take on this as a goalie, and I would hope that’s the real reason, but…

My concern would be that this is the kid’s chosen career, and its one thing to be pretty sure that your dreams will never come through, and another to have your dreams brutally crushed in a fashion that may ruin you for life. Being the worst goalie to ever wear a Ducks uniform would be quite the stigma. Knowing you did your best and it’ll never be enough is even worse.

This is not to you, but I do wish people would stop pretending that wanting to have this kid play is anything other than personal selfishness. I’m not even disagreeing that it’s the best way forward for the franchise. But…yes, it’s bush league, no, most of you don’t give a Shattenkirk about this kid as a human being or his professional future, no, he is not an NHL goalie, yes, the damage this could do to his confidence could eliminate his (already small) chances of being a career AHL goalie, no, a couple extra thousand for bring on the roster a few days doesn’t justify it and yes, starting the kid is absolutely bush league. This isn’t the miracle underdog zamboni driver living the dream.

This is the tank thread. Have the integrity to own it and stop acting like it’s not sheer greed driving the decision.

I'll start by saying I'll happily admit that playing a lesser qualified goaltender is motivated by my desire to see the uncertainty of our future even marginally minimized through draft position guarantees. You're right. It'd be ridiculous to pretend otherwise.

And I almost universally find your takes to be well reasoned but the bolded is a head scratcher. Why are we dressing a start from him like it will lock him in as the worst goalie in franchise history? He hasn't played an NHL game yet. So if he gets one shot today against the Yotes, it's hard to imagine he can do worse than Timo Pielmier who got roasted for a 58.7 sv% and 7.5 GAA (not sure how that was calculated) in his lone NHL game. If he's up to snuff, he should be able to do better than that.

 

[Ducks DVM]

i have a feeling he'd rather play at least one NHL game no matter how bad he plays as opposed to not

this whole "honor" thing is bullshit. all the other tanking teams can ice AHL squads but the ducks have to play for "honor" and "the badge"? lol f*** off. this season has already killed off any "honor" this organization had and it'll just get worse if they win another game this and likely drop down to picking 6th

The very definition of integrity is doing the right thing when it’s hard.

Like the other post said, go ahead and be greedy. I understand and don’t even disagree with it. But I find it distasteful that people won’t own the greed as simply “I want what’s best for my future enjoyment of the franchise and don’t care about the ramifications to anyone else” and instead try to cloak the opinion in some veneer of respectability or other legitimate justification.

If people want to be Gordon Gecko…just be Gordon Gecko.

 

[Ducks DVM]

I'll start by saying I'll happily admit that playing a lesser qualified goaltender is motivated by my desire to see the uncertainty of our future even marginally minimized through draft position guarantees. You're right. It'd be ridiculous to pretend otherwise.

And I almost universally find your takes to be well reasoned but the bolded is a head scratcher. Why are we dressing a start from him like it will lock him in as the worst goalie in franchise history? He hasn't played an NHL game yet. So if he gets one shot today against the Yotes, it's hard to imagine he can do worse than Timo Pielmier who got roasted for a 58.7 sv% and 7.5 GAA (not sure how that was calculated) in his lone NHL game. If he's up to snuff, he should be able to do better than that.

I’ve seen his AHL play, I think he may actually be worse. I think if he’s in against any team other than Arizona tonight, he will be absolutely lit up.

This is the game that he needs to play, because this is the team they need to ice the worst roster against.

Pelmier didn’t play the whole game. I think we gave up like 12 in that game? Yes, I was there for that lol

edit - I 100% get that they need to lose every game, and how as a fan of the franchise that’s what is needed. I even said at the start of the season that I wanted entertaining losses. I just find the arguments that won’t own that it’s just greed, or that there’s a human cost involved, to be distasteful. You don’t even have to say that you don’t care, because likely you just care less about that human cost. But trying to say losing is in the best interest of the sacrificial goalie, or the current players trying to make sure they’re employed next year..c’mon people. Be better. (this 100% isn’t aimed at you)

 

[ScarTroy]

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to throw in OEE for selfish reasons, as we’ll be fans of this team far longer than he’ll be part of this organization, or any NHL organization for that matter. But don’t paint it as we’re doing him a favor by giving him his dream chance at playing in the NHL, because if we had a crystal ball and could see that his actual dream would come true and he’d shutout whoever he plays, you’d want Verbeek to have him ride pine.

 

[ADHB]

Again, the Coyotes played what looks like (on paper anyway) a very average AHL goalie two games in a row last week, despite having both NHL goalies available and healthy. He gave up 7+ in each, and wasn’t pulled either time. No one is questioning their “integrity.” These teams are at the bottom of the standings, and half of the rosters of each team are AHL level. No one will give two shits if some scrub goalie played one game for us, except for the goalie himself, who can say he played in the NHL.

If Gibson is healthy, then the argument is moot. But if he‘s not, then it makes no sense to play Dostal b2b. Yes, he can if necessary, just like any other NHL player. But the games mean nothing. So there’s not a necessity to do so.

 

[Terry Yake]

The very definition of integrity is doing the right thing when it’s hard.

Like the other post said, go ahead and be greedy. I understand and don’t even disagree with it. But I find it distasteful that people won’t own the greed as simply “I want what’s best for my future enjoyment of the franchise and don’t care about the ramifications to anyone else” and instead try to cloak the opinion in some veneer of respectability or other legitimate justification.

If people want to be Gordon Gecko…just be Gordon Gecko.

i think it's pretty obvious from my posts in this thread that i would want OEE to start because it gives the team a better chance of losing, which in turn, gives the franchise a chance at a brighter future

what ramifications? he has no future with this franchise or in the NHL really. i don't think his life is going to be ruined because he sucks in his only NHL game. i'd bet you can find plenty of goalies who played a single NHL game and sucked. and like i said, i highly doubt he'd turn down the chance to appear in an NHL game

 

[Ducks DVM]

i think it's pretty obvious from my posts in this thread that i would want OEE to start because it gives the team a better chance of losing, which in turn, gives the franchise a chance at a brighter future

what ramifications? he has no future with this franchise or in the NHL really. i don't think his life is going to be ruined because he sucks in his only NHL game. i'd bet you can find plenty of goalies who played a single NHL game and sucked. and like i said, i highly doubt he'd turn down the chance to appear in an NHL game

How many of those goalies have you asked, or even briefly researched, if that experience was a permanent negative life experience that changed the course of their lives in a non-positive way? The answer appears to be zero, in spite of that thought being expounded upon more than once in this thread.

Don’t say “I don’t think”. Say “I don’t care”.

Since you clipped it out for some reason, I will post it again - If you want to be Gordon Gecko…be Gordon Gecko.

 

[HanSolo]

I’ve seen his AHL play, I think he may actually be worse. I think if he’s in against any team other than Arizona tonight, he will be absolutely lit up.

This is the game that he needs to play, because this is the team they need to ice the worst roster against.

Pelmier didn’t play the whole game. I think we gave up like 12 in that game? Yes, I was there for that lol

edit - I 100% get that they need to lose every game, and how as a fan of the franchise that’s what is needed. I even said at the start of the season that I wanted entertaining losses. I just find the arguments that won’t own that it’s just greed, or that there’s a human cost involved, to be distasteful. You don’t even have to say that you don’t care, because likely you just care less about that human cost. But trying to say losing is in the best interest of the sacrificial goalie, or the current players trying to make sure they’re employed next year..c’mon people. Be better. (this 100% isn’t aimed at you)

Wanted to think about what you said before I responded because I was taking exception to calling it greed. But I guess in a way you're right. And before I continue, for what it's worth I totally agree. He should only play today because playing him evens the playing field more than it gives us a measurable advantage.

I think when it comes to the greed issue. Like yeah, in a way, it is casting aside traditional elements of being a fan like always rooting for the win, wanting your players to be successful and happy. But it doesn't come out of purely callous selfish greed. The position the Ducks are in right now a single point could be the difference between a sure fire star and a guy that could hit that potential if the stars align right. When people hope for more stability out of what is, essentially, the one thing worth feeling good about in a turd of a season, the draft, they're casting aside of a failure of a season for the prospect of a brighter future. And that doesn't just encompass a shiny new toy, it's a potential for a foundational building block upon which a new era of success and competitive hockey can be built, and from that comes the fans being happier, the players being happier and the team being more successful on the standings sheet and their financial statements.

I mean obviously the draft is no guarantee of anything. Even Bedard could end up, I'm not going to say busting but he could fall well short of expectations. A prospect is always a gamble. But it's also how shit teams get back to being in the competitive business of hockey. We're in, generously, year 3 but objectively 5 of a rebuild right now. Even if we win out, this is a historically bad and objectively painful season to be a Ducks fan. When you have *four* guys at the top of the pool that could have arguably gone first overall in a number of drafts between 2013 to the present, of course the prospect of getting one of those guys is going to be inordinately desirable.

Is there the human factor of our players and prospects to think about? Of course. As far as the players I mean sure, the lack of systems (and I would argue, Eakins' abject failure as a "youth development coach") and roster strength is just as much to blame for their own shortcomings in performance, but in fairness they're the ones on the ice and they had 78 games to not be this historically bad, so I feel bad for them but only to an extent. This is their job and they didn't perform as needed to do better than being worthy of last place.

As far as Ericksson Ek is concerned, yeah, it's not really cool to put him out against LA and Colorado to be carpet bombed unless he was the only guy available. The people who are suggesting it just want every advantage they can get to see this team capitalize on a very very rare opportunity and one that can dramatically cut down the time this rebuild will take to churn out a return to competitive hockey in Anaheim.

So yeah. It's correct to call it greed, but I'd say it's also a pretty reductive and narrow classification at the same time.

 

[Terry Yake]

How many of those goalies have you asked, or even briefly researched, if that experience was a permanent negative life experience that changed the course of their lives in a non-positive way? The answer appears to be zero, in spite of that thought being expounded upon more than once in this thread.

Don’t say “I don’t think”. Say “I don’t care”.

Since you clipped it out for some reason, I will post it again - If you want to be Gordon Gecko…be Gordon Gecko.

lol

if i didn't care i would say i didn't care, but i just think it's silly to think a guy's life will be ruined because he stinks it up in what may be his only NHL game. how do you know that'll be the case anyways? do you know OEE personally? and of course, there's no guarantee he allows 8 goals or whatever anyways, but we'll just keep assuming that to keep this going

have all the one and done NHL'ers seen their lives go into complete despair and ruin afterwards? should we start hesitating to call up prospects because they might suck with the big club and become depressed after?

 

[Vipers31]

I appreciate your take on this as a goalie, and I would hope that’s the real reason, but…

My concern would be that this is the kid’s chosen career, and its one thing to be pretty sure that your dreams will never come through, and another to have your dreams brutally crushed in a fashion that may ruin you for life. Being the worst goalie to ever wear a Ducks uniform would be quite the stigma. Knowing you did your best and it’ll never be enough is even worse.

This is not to you, but I do wish people would stop pretending that wanting to have this kid play is anything other than personal selfishness. I’m not even disagreeing that it’s the best way forward for the franchise. But…yes, it’s bush league, no, most of you don’t give a Shattenkirk about this kid as a human being or his professional future, no, he is not an NHL goalie, yes, the damage this could do to his confidence could eliminate his (already small) chances of being a career AHL goalie, no, a couple extra thousand for bring on the roster a few days doesn’t justify it and yes, starting the kid is absolutely bush league. This isn’t the miracle underdog zamboni driver living the dream.

This is the tank thread. Have the integrity to own it and stop acting like it’s not sheer greed driving the decision.

Agreed on what motivates virtually all posters here to want him in net, I think it's pretty clear they don't really care about him. And I agree that from the organisation it would be bush league, unless all of the other guys really are legitimately unavailable and Dostal either says he doesn't feel good to go for the 2nd night or your goaltending coach saw signs of fatigue in his game even late in the 1st of the B2B and suggests to switch in order to not risk an injury.

That said, I think people overestimate the degree to which he'd be likely to get crushed. Plenty of realistically average AHLers get starts every year, and that rarely results in absurd scorelines - they're all generally good enough to not be worse than an average NHL backup by a .005 SV%, which would translate to an extra two goals given up on 40 shots, if the math in my head's right. Of course, the Ducks being particularly bad defensively and lacking the sheer defensive quality to do what most teams are capable of when they have a goalie in net they know needs their support and play a tighter game makes it possible that things could go worse for him, but on a personal level, I'm entirely sure it would be a net positive for him.

I truly don't think there's any chance it could ruin him mentally. Life in the AHL is tough, especially for young Europeans coming over; the amount of travelling, the different assignments, witnessing others passing you by on depth chart while you can't seem to advance, and all that for a pay that you could possibly beat back at home - the only thing that makes it somewhat worth it is that small shot at the NHL. Olle is probably going to turn that page soon enough, will go back and start his European pro career. I'm pretty sure he knows that. It'll be a fresh start, and I think he's going to feel a little better going back with one NHL game to his name, regardless of what happens there. The mental game to become a pro goalie - at any level - is so demanding that one game isn't going to ruin the vast majority of goalies - especially when you already know you're realistically out of your depth there. Since that name was dropped before: OEE would likely not end up with a worse SV% than Timo Pielmeier's .583. The latter came back, proved himself as a pro in the German 2nd division one year, won rookie of the year in the DEL next season and backstopped his team to a championship.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Wanted to think about what you said before I responded because I was taking exception to calling it greed. But I guess in a way you're right. And before I continue, for what it's worth I totally agree. He should only play today because playing him evens the playing field more than it gives us a measurable advantage.

I think when it comes to the greed issue. Like yeah, in a way, it is casting aside traditional elements of being a fan like always rooting for the win, wanting your players to be successful and happy. But it doesn't come out of purely callous selfish greed. The position the Ducks are in right now a single point could be the difference between a sure fire star and a guy that could hit that potential if the stars align right. When people hope for more stability out of what is, essentially, the one thing worth feeling good about in a turd of a season, the draft, they're casting aside of a failure of a season for the prospect of a brighter future. And that doesn't just encompass a shiny new toy, it's a potential for a foundational building block upon which a new era of success and competitive hockey can be built, and from that comes the fans being happier, the players being happier and the team being more successful on the standings sheet and their financial statements.

I mean obviously the draft is no guarantee of anything. Even Bedard could end up, I'm not going to say busting but he could fall well short of expectations. A prospect is always a gamble. But it's also how shit teams get back to being in the competitive business of hockey. We're in, generously, year 3 but objectively 5 of a rebuild right now. Even if we win out, this is a historically bad and objectively painful season to be a Ducks fan. When you have *four* guys at the top of the pool that could have arguably gone first overall in a number of drafts between 2013 to the present, of course the prospect of getting one of those guys is going to be inordinately desirable.

Is there the human factor of our players and prospects to think about? Of course. As far as the players I mean sure, the lack of systems (and I would argue, Eakins' abject failure as a "youth development coach") and roster strength is just as much to blame for their own shortcomings in performance, but in fairness they're the ones on the ice and they had 78 games to not be this historically bad, so I feel bad for them but only to an extent. This is their job and they didn't perform as needed to do better than being worthy of last place.

As far as Ericksson Ek is concerned, yeah, it's not really cool to put him out against LA and Colorado to be carpet bombed unless he was the only guy available. The people who are suggesting it just want every advantage they can get to see this team capitalize on a very very rare opportunity and one that can dramatically cut down the time this rebuild will take to churn out a return to competitive hockey in Anaheim.

So yeah. It's correct to call it greed, but I'd say it's also a pretty reductive and narrow classification at the same time.

I’m using “greed“ instead of “self-interest” because it’s less clumsy. Also, because there’s a group of posters who keep pretending that it’s not simply self interest, it’s the ”right thing to do”, and I think greed is more appropriate for that degree of naked avarice.

I’m not opposed to having people being nakedly rooting for the franchise being openly promoted for at the cost of the players, the name on the front being more important than the name on the back Is a real thing. I just personally am too empathic to not care about the players who have to deal with the emotional toll of what this season is, much less the emotional toll of what people are asking for. Starting Ek is the equivalent of management telling the players on the ice “we expect every one of you to play your hardest to prove we should employ you next year, but we are going to ensure you cannot actually win, because we have grand designs on the future that require you fail”. Not easy to take, and very easy to see right through the lack of loyalty. Someone will tell me this is a ridiculous concern, or that “they are high paid professionals, they need to deal with it”, to which I will simply shake my head and hope that they’re never in a management position.

Again, the Ducks need to lose. Root for the loss. Do what needs to be done. But, when when a poster has a significant history of complaining that management won’t go full “burn it down for Lemieux/Ovechkin”, human consequences be damned/belittled, I do think greed is the right term.

Good post as always, sir

 

[Ducks DVM]

lol

if i didn't care i would say i didn't care, but i just think it's silly to think a guy's life will be ruined because he stinks it up in what may be his only NHL game. how do you know that'll be the case anyways? do you know OEE personally? and of course, there's no guarantee he allows 8 goals or whatever anyways, but we'll just keep assuming that to keep this going

have all the one and done NHL'ers seen their lives go into complete despair and ruin afterwards? should we start hesitating to call up prospects because they might suck with the big club and become depressed after?

I have repeatedly said “could“. You are repeatedly saying “won’t”. There’s a difference.

 

[Ducks DVM]

Agreed on what motivates virtually all posters here to want him in net, I think it's pretty clear they don't really care about him. And I agree that from the organisation it would be bush league, unless all of the other guys really are legitimately unavailable and Dostal either says he doesn't feel good to go for the 2nd night or your goaltending coach saw signs of fatigue in his game even late in the 1st of the B2B and suggests to switch in order to not risk an injury.

That said, I think people overestimate the degree to which he'd be likely to get crushed. Plenty of realistically average AHLers get starts every year, and that rarely results in absurd scorelines - they're all generally good enough to not be worse than an average NHL backup by a .005 SV%, which would translate to an extra two goals given up on 40 shots, if the math in my head's right. Of course, the Ducks being particularly bad defensively and lacking the sheer defensive quality to do what most teams are capable of when they have a goalie in net they know needs their support and play a tighter game makes it possible that things could go worse for him, but on a personal level, I'm entirely sure it would be a net positive for him.

I truly don't think there's any chance it could ruin him mentally. Life in the AHL is tough, especially for young Europeans coming over; the amount of travelling, the different assignments, witnessing others passing you by on depth chart while you can't seem to advance, and all that for a pay that you could possibly beat back at home - the only thing that makes it somewhat worth it is that small shot at the NHL. Olle is probably going to turn that page soon enough, will go back and start his European pro career. I'm pretty sure he knows that. It'll be a fresh start, and I think he's going to feel a little better going back with one NHL game to his name, regardless of what happens there. The mental game to become a pro goalie - at any level - is so demanding that one game isn't going to ruin the vast majority of goalies - especially when you already know you're realistically out of your depth there. Since that name was dropped before: OEE would likely not end up with a worse SV% than Timo Pielmeier's .583. The latter came back, proved himself as a pro in the German 2nd division one year, won rookie of the year in the DEL next season and backstopped his team to a championship.

Good to know about Meier, that was horrifying to watch lol

The only thing about Ek is that he’s not an average AHL goalie, he‘s ECHL emergency AHL backup level. .852,% 4.81GAA. He hasn’t played enough games to be qualified ( 1320 minutes to be “qualified”), but the bottom guy on that list at 45 is at .888. For ALL goalies who’ve played in the AHL, which is a bunch of guys with single digit games, he’s ranked at 128…out of 138.

 

[AngelDuck]

Again, the Coyotes played what looks like (on paper anyway) a very average AHL goalie two games in a row last week, despite having both NHL goalies available and healthy. He gave up 7+ in each, and wasn’t pulled either time. No one is questioning their “integrity.” These teams are at the bottom of the standings, and half of the rosters of each team are AHL level. No one will give two shits if some scrub goalie played one game for us, except for the goalie himself, who can say he played in the NHL.

If Gibson is healthy, then the argument is moot. But if he‘s not, then it makes no sense to play Dostal b2b. Yes, he can if necessary, just like any other NHL player. But the games mean nothing. So there’s not a necessity to do so.

Agreed.

I don’t get why anyone would want Dostal playing 2 straight games. That doesn’t make sense for anyone at this point in a season

 

[tomd]

I can't think of a single win, goal, assist, save, or performance in the remaining four games that is more important than being guaranteed a top 3 pick in this draft.

 

[ohcomeonref]

I appreciate your take on this as a goalie, and I would hope that’s the real reason, but…

My concern would be that this is the kid’s chosen career, and its one thing to be pretty sure that your dreams will never come through, and another to have your dreams brutally crushed in a fashion that may ruin you for life. Being the worst goalie to ever wear a Ducks uniform would be quite the stigma. Knowing you did your best and it’ll never be enough is even worse.

This is not to you, but I do wish people would stop pretending that wanting to have this kid play is anything other than personal selfishness. I’m not even disagreeing that it’s the best way forward for the franchise. But…yes, it’s bush league, no, most of you don’t give a Shattenkirk about this kid as a human being or his professional future, no, he is not an NHL goalie, yes, the damage this could do to his confidence could eliminate his (already small) chances of being a career AHL goalie, no, a couple extra thousand for bring on the roster a few days doesn’t justify it and yes, starting the kid is absolutely bush league. This isn’t the miracle underdog zamboni driver living the dream.

This is the tank thread. Have the integrity to own it and stop acting like it’s not sheer greed driving the decision.

I shamelessly hope we start the non-NHL goalie for as many games as possible and lose the rest of the games this season.

 

[DuckDuckGetz]

All the “dream” stuff aside getting even one game in the NHL would probably open so many doors for his career beyond this.

Guy could go back home and be a goalie coach. Not many people can say they’ve faced an NHL shot, and with this team he’ll face at least 20 in the first period alone.

 

[robbieboy3686]

Agreed.

I don’t get why anyone would want Dostal playing 2 straight games. That doesn’t make sense for anyone at this point in a season

Best most logical posts I’ve seen.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

Agreed on what motivates virtually all posters here to want him in net, I think it's pretty clear they don't really care about him. And I agree that from the organisation it would be bush league, unless all of the other guys really are legitimately unavailable and Dostal either says he doesn't feel good to go for the 2nd night or your goaltending coach saw signs of fatigue in his game even late in the 1st of the B2B and suggests to switch in order to not risk an injury.

I'm a small minority here of wanting OEE to start this game due b2b games, where we're away for game 1 and have to fly back home for game 2. Between Arizona and Colorado, Colorado is the far better team. Save Dostal for Colorado and put OEE against Arizona. If Gibby were healthy, then it'll be a similar situation. Save Gibby for Colorado and put Dostal against Arizona.

If this wasn't a b2b and an away-home situation, then OEE wouldn't be a factor to me as Dostal would start all the games. If Eakins wants Dostal for both b2b games, then I'm okay with that too. It'll be hard on Dostal, though.

 

[Hockey Duckie]

I can't think of a single win, goal, assist, save, or performance in the remaining four games that is more important than being guaranteed a top 3 pick in this draft.

There will still be top talent in the top-6. Will Smith looks really good. He is more productive in his draft year than Zegras!

Guess I'm not too bent out of shape if we miss the top-3 b/c we already hit the jackpot with Terry (rd 5), Zegras (9th overall), and McTavish (3rd overall). We do need another top-end top-6 talent in our system. Should we land in the top-3, then that's even better!

 

[tomd]

There will still be top talent in the top-6. Will Smith looks really good. He is more productive in his draft year than Zegras!

Guess I'm not too bent out of shape if we miss the top-3 b/c we already hit the jackpot with Terry (rd 5), Zegras (9th overall), and McTavish (3rd overall). We do need another top-end top-6 talent in our system. Should we land in the top-3, then that's even better!

Your opinion is noted.