Speculation: 2025-2026 Offseason Thread 4 - all these trades and all we got was this lousy thread!

[Flat Ronnie]

I'm gonna badly F up their names but there's a guy named Garrioch who covers Ottawa and another named Dhaliwhal for Vancouver and both guys always have tea. The NYR constantly leak and I can't remember the others right now. Those are just off the top of my head. It might be more correct to state that we don't communicate our interests and intentions to our own guys like Erlendsson and Encina. We are reported on constantly. But I doubt JBB or anyone in the building says "Oh yeah we were calling about that guy" and it is something pliable our own media can worth with.

Seldom is a it a singular rumor but we do get "Lightning are pushing hard for Tuch" at times. But notice that *OUR GUYS* are NEVER the ones to report it. A good day for those guys is to post a previously injured player practicing in a regular jersey

I kinda think getting scoops is part of their job . Unofficially, at least. So many great beat writers in other sports (and the NHL) find a way to get scoops. It doesn't have to come from the horses mouth itself either.

 

[Antiramie]

Guys who are untouchable on this team:

Hagel
Moser
Guentzel

That's it.

 

[DownIsTheNewUp]

 

[Antiramie]

The way they've upgraded, I think their goal is to not have stable goaltending but injure every team they play every game so no one is healthy by the playoffs.

Carolina won a cup with a no name backup and Vegas got real close with historically bad goaltending in the SCF.

I'll take the Panthers and that roster with whatever goaltending they end up with over both those teams every day of the week.

Zito will make it work anyway. He'll either get Bob to sign for cheap or he'll get a decent guy via FA because players actually want to go to Florida unlike us.

 

[Major4Boarding]

So 50% retained by Philly on that Hathaway deal?

 

[The Gongshow]

Carolina won a cup with a no name backup and Vegas got real close with historically bad goaltending in the SCF.

I'll take the Panthers and that roster with whatever goaltending they end up with over both those teams every day of the week.

Zito will make it work anyway. He'll either get Bob to sign for cheap or he'll get a decent guy via FA because players actually want to go to Florida unlike us.

It's quite annoying Panthers have a competent GM. Meanwhile ours has had way more whiffs than hits.

Hell the Jones and Marchand moves were both great and would have loved those for Tampa. Meanwhile...we get Perry for a 2nd and Gourde and Bjork for two firsts.... yikes.

 

[Antiramie]

It's quite annoying Panthers have a competent GM. Meanwhile ours has had way more whiffs than hits.

Hell the Jones and Marchand moves were both great and would have loved those for Tampa. Meanwhile...we get Perry for a 2nd and Gourde and Bjork for two firsts.... yikes.

I 100% hate Maurice for creating/enabling the goon squad mentality the Panthers have now, but he gets more out of his players than Cooper does.

Their organization as a whole is running circles around us right now.

 

[Zwui21]

The Panthers are getting tougher and tougher with every add they make. f*** sake, they are gonna bully us next season.

 

[Antiramie]

The Panthers are getting tougher and tougher with every add they make. f*** sake, they are gonna bully us next season.

Next season? They've been doing it for years now.

 

[bov]

It's quite annoying Panthers have a competent GM. Meanwhile ours has had way more whiffs than hits.

Yeah BriseBois only has 2 cups to his name and multiple GM of the Year award nominations, while running arguably the most successful team in the league since the beginning of his tenure.

There's no way you had a straight face when you typed that.

 

[Tampa22]

Poor Sabourin, the only one to stop the Panthers next season?
Bennet, Tkachuk's brothers, Gadjovich healthy again and now Hathaway.
Hope the GM wake up for his long nap....

 

[The Gongshow]

Yeah BriseBois only has 2 cups to his name and multiple GM of the Year award nominations, while running arguably the most successful team in the league since the beginning of his tenure.

There's no way you had a straight face when you typed that.

JBB also inherited a cup contender squad built by Yzerman

 

[RussianGuyovich]

JBB has made good trades, and he has made bad trades. he is a GM of contrasts.

 

[Antiramie]

JBB has made good trades, and he has made bad trades. he is a GM of contrasts.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Players I would look at now that the market seems to be "EVERYONE IS PRETTY MUCH AVAILABLE":

Pittsburgh: Brazeau - 1 year left @ $1.5M
St Louis: Toropchenko - 2 years @ $2.5M
NYI: Palmieri - 1 year @ $4.75M
Vancouver: Karlsson - 2 years @ $2.25M

 

[The Gongshow]

Thomas + Parayko package?

Parayko was almost moved at the TDL. Would give us a 1C ans RD to pair with Moser.

STL has 4 first round picks and moved Kyrou they are sort of rebuilding? Parayko forsure doesnt fit with their timeline anymore

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Thomas + Parayko package?

Parayko was almost moved at the TDL. Would give us a 1C ans RD to pair with Moser.

STL has 4 first round picks and moved Kyrou they are sort of rebuilding? Parayko forsure doesnt fit with their timeline anymore

St Louis saying that Thomas is not available now that they moved Kyrou.

 

[Antiramie]

Y'all are the type of people who keep sending fantasy football trade offers of 4 bench players for someone's #1 pick despite them saying they'll never trade them, eh?

 

[LTIR Trickery]

Honestly, I'm becoming increasingly convinced that A. we will leave some cap for a midseason trade possibility or B. we will sign players to deals that can be moved and used as assets in the future. And honestly, I've said it before, but how many of the teams buying right now aren't going to have serious buyer's remorse in a few years?

Gotta leave cap and contract space for SOR, Rautiainen, Duke, Geekie, Groshev. At some point some of these kids have to make a step forward for this thing to keep going. I think SOR can, and I know Duke can, though just not exactly sure where just yet. Raut becoming something would be such a huge boon for us at this point.

Werenski makes no sense lol

Yeah, most likely. And yeah, extension or not, you move Moser+++ for Werenski easily if a deal was out there.

I don't think the difference between Werenski and Moser is worth the short and long term contract/cap implications.

Pass.

Zerenski is a top 3 defenseman in the league, who's the only reason Columbus hasn't been a lottery team these past couple of years. If they had made the playoffs, he should've been contending for the Hart alongside Kucherov. Yes the difference between him and Moser is a lot.

Werenski is great and all but you're talking about trading a guy playing top pairing minutes for you that you just signed until 2034 for under 7m a season. Thats crazy good. Really, really good. But also, the point would be to aquire him to build on defensive depth, not move it away. You'd be sending SOR the other way though, and that stings to lose that, plus take on Werenskis short contract and salary AND have to pay him, and you will because its ZW.

Kuch needs to be moved for a fortune.

I'm not joking.

Our lineup is going to get torched by Florida for the indefinite future.

Start rebuilding, JBB.

Oh no, is Brady Tkachuk going to go scoreless against us too?! They need Ekblad and Jones to carry a lot of weight moving forward and... well, good luck with it. This is the last hurrah for them right here, they've got all the big names locked up but after this season they're going to have to scrape the bottom for some league minimum bottom six guys, or hope a bunch of prospects start blossoming.

 

[Antiramie]

Oh no, is Brady Tkachuk going to go scoreless against us too?! They need Ekblad and Jones to carry a lot of weight moving forward and... well, good luck with it. This is the last hurrah for them right here, they've got all the big names locked up but after this season they're going to have to scrape the bottom for some league minimum bottom six guys, or hope a bunch of prospects start blossoming.

They have 10-11 studs locked up through at least '29/30.

We have 4-5.

Let me run that math on my abacus real quick...

 

[TheSchmidt]

The reason Columbus is waiting until after the draft to deal with the Werenski stuff?

So they can spin that our 2028 and 2029 picks are only two and three drafts away instead of three and four

But seriously, sounds like he has all but asked out.

 

[bov]

JBB also inherited a cup contender squad built by Yzerman

The team BriseBois "inherited" in his first season ended up getting swept by Columbus, were you calling it a cup contender built by Yzerman after that? Then traded for Coleman and Goodrow who everyone agrees were instrumental in the Cup runs.

Zito just missed the playoffs, Lightning have never missed under BriseBois with 2 cups plus a finals appearance and you're slobbering over Zito while trying to act like BriseBois isn't competent. Hilarious.

 

[The Gongshow]

I'm

The team BriseBois "inherited" in his first season ended up getting swept by Columbus, were you calling it a cup contender built by Yzerman after that? Then traded for Coleman and Goodrow who everyone agrees were instrumental in the Cup runs.

Zito just missed the playoffs, Lightning have never missed under BriseBois with 2 cups plus a finals appearance and you're slobbering over Zito while trying to act like BriseBois isn't competent. Hilarious.

Yes. The sweep was odd forsure but going into 2020 they were still considered a top contender. Coleman and Goodrow put them over the top. Coleman and Goodrow did not make them cup contenders lol

I mean Zito has just as many cups and final appearances as JBB. Stand Bowman has b2b cup appearances....

All I said was Zito is on a helluva run and liked the moves he made.. so sorry for "slobbing" on him, I guess. Its not the serious bud.

JBB hasn't been that great since... 2022...

 

[The Gongshow]

The reason Columbus is waiting until after the draft to deal with the Werenski stuff?

So they can spin that our 2028 and 2029 picks are only two and three drafts away instead of three and four

But seriously, sounds like he has all but asked out.

I think Elliot was even saying Werenski has expressed interest in being fine /wanting to stay in Columbus. Sounds like Colombus might just like where the market is at right now and thinks they can get a haul

 

[bov]

Yes. The sweep was odd forsure but going into 2020 they were still considered a top contender. Coleman and Goodrow put them over the top. Coleman and Goodrow did not make them cup contenders lol

I mean Zito has just as many cups and final appearances as JBB. Stand Bowman has b2b cup appearances....

All I said was Zito is on a helluva run and liked the moves he made.. so sorry for "slobbing" on him, I guess. Its not the serious bud.

JBB hasn't been that great since... 2022...

That's not all you said, praising him being "competent" in contrast to TB's GM as if he isn't one of the most competent and accomplished GMs in the NHL since he took over the role 8 years ago...nothing has to be serious, it was just a crazy thing to type.