Speculation: 2025-2026 Offseason Thread 2: lol Kucherov is never winning another MVP again is he?

[TampaBoltz]

Get Rempe and Popisil and pound the hell out of the Panthers

 

[Felonious Python]

Friedman suspects the Lightning are in on Toews.
52 minutes in.

32 Thoughts: The Podcast

Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.

www.sportsnet.ca

plz no more band-aids

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

I had no idea he had such a great season.

Yeah he still has some gas in the tank. If Pitts will play ball, I hope we make a move for him. I don't imagine it is going to be this super extraordinary cost. I never suggested him much because Pitts has needed to sell for like 3 years and has otherwise refused until now

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

Friedman suspects the Lightning are in on Toews.
52 minutes in.

32 Thoughts: The Podcast

Hockey fans already know the name, but this is not the blog. From Sportsnet, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast with NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas is a weekly deep dive into the biggest news and interviews from the hockey world.

www.sportsnet.ca

plz no more band-aids

Let the Jets do that shit. We don't need another Kunitz and Morrow so we can dick around and run the Cooper shell all game

 

[Felonious Python]

Let the Jets do that shit. We don't need another Kunitz and Morrow so we can dick around and run the Cooper shell all game

I'd be okay with Toews if we can get him on a cheap enough contract to be able to bury him in Syracuse.

We don't actually know how good he is at this point, and we're only left imagining how much he's fallen off.

His last season was 22-23. He was on pace for nearly 50 pts that year, and that was already after missing a full season.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

I'd be okay with Toews if we can get him on a cheap enough contract to be able to bury him in Syracuse.

We don't actually know how good he is at this point, and we're only left imagining how much he's fallen off.

His last season was 22-23. He was on pace for nearly 50 pts that year, and that was already after missing a full season.

You make good points but he's a "pass" for me

 

[Felonious Python]

You make good points but he's a "pass" for me

I don't want to get too old. I'd be interested in Perry or JVR.

 

[creg]

if we're getting Toews for literal league minimum I guess it's a bet you could take, but I'd just be worried that the Bolts wouldn't waive him if he was buns similar to how we kept Atkinson around

i think coming off what 3 years of not playing in the league and long-covid it's probably a lot more likely he's cooked, not to mention that he's pushing 40

also don't really get how this makes sense for us, we have a glut of Centers

 

[Todd1a]

 

[Todd1a]

I'd be okay with Toews if we can get him on a cheap enough contract to be able to bury him in Syracuse.

We don't actually know how good he is at this point, and we're only left imagining how much he's fallen off.

His last season was 22-23. He was on pace for nearly 50 pts that year, and that was already after missing a full season.

He won’t be cheap I imagine he can get a 1 year deal for 2 million AAV

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

So either this guy is full of it or Toews' agent is actually telling everyone everything. The Lightning don't leak. Like ever. We find out the moment it happens

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[DFC]

Yeah he still has some gas in the tank. If Pitts will play ball, I hope we make a move for him. I don't imagine it is going to be this super extraordinary cost. I never suggested him much because Pitts has needed to sell for like 3 years and has otherwise refused until now

Contract looks about in line with what we need. Age doesn't bother me. Even if we get 40 points, probably a decent addition. We would still need some work but it would be a start. Howard ++??

 

[DFC]

I mean, Toews is gonna be on a cheap contract. If he can play at all, he would have to be on our radar for a bottom-6 C. Seems low risk, reasonable reward to me. Bring him in as mainly a PK center and some extra scoring. I doubt there would be much scoring, mind you.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

Contract looks about in line with what we need. Age doesn't bother me. Even if we get 40 points, probably a decent addition. We would still need some work but it would be a start. Howard ++??

Probably. We could even keep Cirelli and just call it good. Rakell would make us harder to play against


Edit: I have had time to think it over and yeah. Howard probably gets it done. He is exactly the kind of player Pitts wants and needs for a rebuild. It makes a lot of sense. Cirelli on a 2 for 1 ala Sergachev should still be on the table too

I'm seriously not that worried about "BUT WHO IS GONNA SHUT DOWN LINE 1??!?!?!?!?" when it's literally been the only thing our coaching staff has cared about for like 4 years. Scoring even a routine freaking goal has become as difficult as winning a game anymore and I don't see why we shouldn't be working on new solutions when what we are doing isn't working

Step 1. Thicc boiis
Step 2. Make superstars grind again
Step 3. ??????
Step 4. Profit

 

[T REX]

The through line seems to be seeing teams with cap space, and a need, but not recognizing that their chances of winning drop off the face of the Earth.

Bennett and Marchand have rings. Marner wants money. Bennett and Marchand are chasing money at this point. Might as well.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

Bennett and Marchand have rings. Marner wants money. Bennett and Marchand are chasing money at this point. Might as well.

I heard Bennett might do an 8x8 in Florida. It would make a lot of sense and keep the band together

 

[Major4Boarding]

I said it two years ago in a Armchair GM deal with the Kings for Sergachev that Spence had to be one of the pieces coming back

That would add a solid foundation to the 4 to 7 spot

 

[Todd1a]

So either this guy is full of it or Toews' agent is actually telling everyone everything. The Lightning don't leak. Like ever. We find out the moment it happens

They could actually sign toews now since he currently is not signed to a team since he didn’t play last season.

 

[RSchmitz PhD]

Toews replacing Glendening I can see but not something I'm really mulling over, he's not going to be a top 6 guy and not someone I'm thinking we absolutely need to address.

 

[Stammertime91]

Get Rempe and Popisil and pound the hell out of the Panthers

Lol. Id take Rempe because if there was a shit for brains player out there capable of just getting a one suspension wonder that ends a career, hes a strong candidate to do it.

But in all seriousness, no. Dude sucks.

 

[DFC]

Probably. We could even keep Cirelli and just call it good. Rakell would make us harder to play against


Edit: I have had time to think it over and yeah. Howard probably gets it done. He is exactly the kind of player Pitts wants and needs for a rebuild. It makes a lot of sense. Cirelli on a 2 for 1 ala Sergachev should still be on the table too

I'm seriously not that worried about "BUT WHO IS GONNA SHUT DOWN LINE 1??!?!?!?!?" when it's literally been the only thing our coaching staff has cared about for like 4 years. Scoring even a routine freaking goal has become as difficult as winning a game anymore and I don't see why we shouldn't be working on new solutions when what we are doing isn't working

Step 1. Thicc boiis
Step 2. Make superstars grind again
Step 3. ??????
Step 4. Profit

I don't know that it would solve all our problems because we've seen time and time again that Crosby gets the most out of guys who can't cut it elsewhere. So I'm not convinced that Rackell would fix the top six problem. He would be an option, but it wouldn't surprise me if he wound up a decent 3rd liner for us, or a tweener. I wouldn't bring him in expecting 30 goals.

The only star who really stopped grinding is Point. Kucherov played like a psycho, but he wasn't really fighting in the corners or anything. Hagel and Guentzel weren't here, but they took over for guys who got their hands really dirty.

I mean, a big part of the issue is probably just Point. Because having a 1C who's a locl for 10 goals in a post season is pretty valuable. But the caveat is he got hurt playing that way, literally every time. So I'm not sure if it's still there or if he's better off as a 2C now. It's also easy to forget thar he always saved that mode for the playoffs. He wasn't nearly so reckless or relentless in the reg season through the cup years.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

I don't know that it would solve all our problems because we've seen time and time again that Crosby gets the most out of guys who can't cut it elsewhere. So I'm not convinced that Rackell would fix the top six problem. He would be an option, but it wouldn't surprise me if he wound up a decent 3rd liner for us, or a tweener. I wouldn't bring him in expecting 30 goals.

The only star who really stopped grinding is Point. Kucherov played like a psycho, but he wasn't really fighting in the corners or anything. Hagel and Guentzel weren't here, but they took over for guys who got their hands really dirty.

I mean, a big part of the issue is probably just Point. Because having a 1C who's a locl for 10 goals in a post season is pretty valuable. But the caveat is he got hurt playing that way, literally every time. So I'm not sure if it's still there or if he's better off as a 2C now.

I don't think it is absurd to think Hagel can get to "poor man's Palat" at least. That the coaches can't get on Paul to be far more physical and gritty. Rakell, we won't have to ask. If Point buys in we are going to fix A LOT of problems in a hurry. If we keep Cirelli, we can deploy him differently too

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

We also need to stop going full Cooper shell to start off games and then just sticking with it til we need 3 goals in 18 minutes because we are down 4-1 to the Panthers of the world

 

[ccman68]

All I know is that if we go to game 1 of next year with Guentzel-Point-Kucherov as the top line i'm gonna be pissed. You are not winning a cup with that shit.