Around the League 2018-2019 Part 2- Everyone is having fun except us

[DoktorJeep]

Looking at the playoff picture now that the TDL is gone, I think the cup favorites rank as follows ...

1 Tampa

2a / b Winnipeg / Nashville

3 a / b Washington / SJ

4 Vegas

5 Toronto

6 Calgary

7 Boston

8 Columbus

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

That was the moment you could tell they entered the drafts with barely (if any) strategy. Not once during the Dave Taylor era did the Kings ever attempt to move up in the draft.

The scouting staff that Yzerman hired could also be significantly better at procuring talent. Al Murray did have some decent selections in LA, but they were all over the place with their results given the amount of years he was here.

Which I think is a really important point. TB has a very clearly articulated vision. That's gotta help Murray and the staff.

Man, Vegas has added an entire top six line in Pacioretty-Stastny-Stone over the past six months. And they still have arguably their best prospect in Glass. Impressive.

...but pretty much nothing else, haha. Most picks over the 3rd round over the next few years gone, Brannstrom gone, etc.

Don't get me wrong, doesn't really matter because they see a window they're going hard for and are runners for Karlsson this offseason to fill the D 'void' but I think some people (not you) are acting like they still have the farm stocked.

 

[AzKing]

Which I think is a really important point. TB has a very clearly articulated vision. That's gotta help Murray and the staff.




...but pretty much nothing else, haha. Most picks over the 3rd round over the next few years gone, Brannstrom gone, etc.

Don't get me wrong, doesn't really matter because they see a window they're going hard for and are runners for Karlsson this offseason to fill the D 'void' but I think some people (not you) are acting like they still have the farm stocked.

Their cap situation will be interesting as well. I don't know how they could get Karlsson in there especially after that Stone extension.

Vegas Golden Knights - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

"We need more Warren Rychel's"
"You win with Warren Rychel's"
"That's how championships are won, by big strong men running into each other"

And that's why Darryl Sydor was dealt for Doug Zmolek and Shane Churla, and Corey Millen and Mike Donnelly were given away to make room for the bigger and slower players who did nothing to help the Kings.

The team was in such disarray after '93. It's amazing how Barry Melrose only got one other opportunity to coach, and quickly demonstrated just how clueless he was.
Melrose, Lightning owner still feuding over firing

In particular, according to the Times, Barrie said he wanted to defend rookie Steven Stamkos, who Melrose has said is not ready for the NHL.

"He didn't want Steven on this team from day one, and it was evident how he played him," Barrie said, according to the Times. "Everyone knows this kid is a star player."

Barrie said he never told Melrose to play Stamkos certain minutes, according to the report. "But I did say, 'Why not try Steven Stamkos on the point?' The kid's done it [in juniors] and played well back there."

Melrose, a former coach of the Los Angeles Kings, was an ESPN hockey analyst from October 1996 until leaving to join the Lightning in June. He will return to ESPN's hockey coverage beginning Jan. 1.
On Tuesday, Melrose told Toronto radio station The Fan 590 that "[Stamkos] is not ready for the NHL."

"Steven is going to be a good player ... right now he's just not strong enough physically to play against defensemen who are [6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4] that can skate as good as him," Melrose said.

I guess Tampa Bay needed more Warren Rychel's to satisfy Barry's concerns.

 

[deeshamrock]

Man, Vegas has added an entire top six line in Pacioretty-Stastny-Stone over the past six months. And they still have arguably their best prospect in Glass. Impressive.

Yes it is and Glass was the reason that trade didn't happen sooner. Vegas stood their ground and Dorion finally moved. Stone alone would have made them alot better but will also elevate the other 2 on the line.

 

[deeshamrock]

Good deal for the Wild.

 

[KINGS17]

Good deal for the Wild.

This is the right term and cap hit for a 34-year old player.

 

[YP44]

Vegas sure has gone from a team with a lot of space to a team against the cap starting next year though, and that is without Karlsson extension.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Vegas sure has gone from a team with a lot of space to a team against the cap starting next year though, and that is without Karlsson extension.

And they lucked out that he has regressed in such in a big way, the one thing I will say for them is that if they are smart and they let guys walk away at 29-30 instead of extending them for however many more years that CBA will allow, they'll be ok. I'm mostly referring to Reilly Smith and Cody Eakin (strikes me as that "glue guy" they might overpay to keep around).

 

[kovacro]

Which I think is a really important point. TB has a very clearly articulated vision. That's gotta help Murray and the staff.

...but pretty much nothing else, haha. Most picks over the 3rd round over the next few years gone, Brannstrom gone, etc.

Don't get me wrong, doesn't really matter because they see a window they're going hard for and are runners for Karlsson this offseason to fill the D 'void' but I think some people (not you) are acting like they still have the farm stocked.

They still have plenty of draft capital according to Cap Friendly. Only missing a couple late picks this year and a 3rd in 2021.

I honestly don't know much about their system minus Glass and Leschyushyn so tough to judge what else is in the pipeline.

I think Brannstrom is going to be very good. Should make a nice 1-2 punch with Chabot in the near future.

 

[kovacro]

Never heard Glass being on the table but it was mentioned by the guys on Sportsnet that Vegas, on Sunday said they would be willing to part with Brannstrom. I think it was pending getting a signed Stone.

You have to wonder what other teams were offering throughout the process and if those teams were willing to give Stone that type of deal. It could have dwindled the list of teams in on him.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Which I think is a really important point. TB has a very clearly articulated vision. That's gotta help Murray and the staff.




...but pretty much nothing else, haha. Most picks over the 3rd round over the next few years gone, Brannstrom gone, etc.

Don't get me wrong, doesn't really matter because they see a window they're going hard for and are runners for Karlsson this offseason to fill the D 'void' but I think some people (not you) are acting like they still have the farm stocked.

Oh, they’ve definitely paid for it; no doubt. Losing Suzuki and Brannstrom is no small price for Pacioretty and Stone.

Their forward corps is set, though, and very deep. But they really need a #1 D.

 

[YP44]

And they lucked out that he has regressed in such in a big way, the one thing I will say for them is that if they are smart and they let guys walk away at 29-30 instead of extending them for however many more years that CBA will allow, they'll be ok. I'm mostly referring to Reilly Smith and Cody Eakin (strikes me as that "glue guy" they might overpay to keep around).

I don't think Karlsson regression was a luck thing. I think most thought he would regress a fair bit. It is why they were smart and only signed him to a 1 year deal.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

They still have plenty of draft capital according to Cap Friendly. Only missing a couple late picks this year and a 3rd in 2021.

I honestly don't know much about their system minus Glass and Leschyushyn so tough to judge what else is in the pipeline.

I think Brannstrom is going to be very good. Should make a nice 1-2 punch with Chabot in the near future.

You know, you're right--I totally forgot about all the picks they stashed moving people around at and around the expansion draft.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

You know, you're right--I totally forgot about all the picks they stashed moving people around at and around the expansion draft.

Yep. They were indeed given very, very favorable expansion conditions. But they also miraculously put together a legendary season last year, and they’ve managed their assets well (not including the Tatar debacle).

They are perfectly set up to be good for a long time.

 

[YP44]

Yep. They were indeed given very, very favorable expansion conditions. But they also miraculously put together a legendary season last year, and they’ve managed their assets well (not including the Tatar debacle).

They are perfectly set up to be good for a long time.

imagine if they didn't wiff on Tatar

 

[SettlementRichie10]

imagine if they didn't wiff on Tatar

I still don’t understand why things fell through with Karlsson. By all accounts, Vegas had the inside track going all the way back to the 17/18 deadline.

Considering they’ve parted with both Brannstrom and Suzuki since then, I can’t imagine how talks broke down with Dorion.

 

[BigKing]

Yep. They were indeed given very, very favorable expansion conditions. But they also miraculously put together a legendary season last year, and they’ve managed their assets well (not including the Tatar debacle).

They are perfectly set up to be good for a long time.

Hopefully this statement is similar to SI proclaiming that the Kings were set-up for a dynasty after winning in 2014.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Hopefully this statement is similar to SI proclaiming that the Kings were set-up for a dynasty after winning in 2014.

We’ll never know what could have been post-2014. The Voynov incident set off a chain reaction that resulted in many, many bad decisions by Lombardi. If the Voynov thing never happens, who knows.

 

[BigKing]

We’ll never know what could have been post-2014. The Voynov incident set off a chain reaction that resulted in many, many bad decisions by Lombardi. If the Voynov thing never happens, who knows.

It was really just the SI Cover Curse.

 

[YP44]

I still don’t understand why things fell through with Karlsson. By all accounts, Vegas had the inside track going all the way back to the 17/18 deadline.

Considering they’ve parted with both Brannstrom and Suzuki since then, I can’t imagine how talks broke down with Dorion.

I think Ottawa just asked too much thinking that they would pay. In hind site Vegas probably should have ponied up as maybe Karlsson could have gotten them by Washington. But at the time they were likely smart to say no

 

[KingsFan7824]

We’ll never know what could have been post-2014. The Voynov incident set off a chain reaction that resulted in many, many bad decisions by Lombardi. If the Voynov thing never happens, who knows.

To some degree. I think we'll never know about 14-15. That one season is the big what if. With Voynov, there's almost certainly no Sekera. Maybe there's another trade, or they keep the 1st, who knows. Richards was done though, independent of Voynov. Stoll was done. Williams wasn't coming back. Gaborik was made of glass, independent of Voynov. Greene was still done. Regehr was still retiring. Jones was still going to be traded. You can make the argument that DL still would've welcomed Lucic at 50%, one way or another. Kopitar is still getting his contract. DL still wouldn't have traded anyone from the Cup teams until he got rid of King months before he was a UFA. How much is really all that different? They were not built for the long term. They just didn't draft well enough in DL's entire run. It's amazing they won in spite of missing on a top 4 pick.

 

[kilowatt]

To some degree. I think we'll never know about 14-15. That one season is the big what if. With Voynov, there's almost certainly no Sekera. Maybe there's another trade, or they keep the 1st, who knows. Richards was done though, independent of Voynov. Stoll was done. Williams wasn't coming back. Gaborik was made of glass, independent of Voynov. Greene was still done. Regehr was still retiring. Jones was still going to be traded. You can make the argument that DL still would've welcomed Lucic at 50%, one way or another. Kopitar is still getting his contract. DL still wouldn't have traded anyone from the Cup teams until he got rid of King months before he was a UFA. How much is really all that different? They were not built for the long term. They just didn't draft well enough in DL's entire run. It's amazing they won in spite of missing on a top 4 pick.

Even with all that, you still have a core of Muzzin - Doughty, Martinez - Voynov. Forbort is likely playing on the third pair. You don’t lose that first and McKeown, maybe we trade that for a winger. Maybe we keep it and have a guy like Sam Steel. Who knows. It was all bad. Real bummer.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

To some degree. I think we'll never know about 14-15. That one season is the big what if. With Voynov, there's almost certainly no Sekera. Maybe there's another trade, or they keep the 1st, who knows. Richards was done though, independent of Voynov. Stoll was done. Williams wasn't coming back. Gaborik was made of glass, independent of Voynov. Greene was still done. Regehr was still retiring. Jones was still going to be traded. You can make the argument that DL still would've welcomed Lucic at 50%, one way or another. Kopitar is still getting his contract. DL still wouldn't have traded anyone from the Cup teams until he got rid of King months before he was a UFA. How much is really all that different? They were not built for the long term. They just didn't draft well enough in DL's entire run. It's amazing they won in spite of missing on a top 4 pick.

I do think Voynov was worth 2.5 points in the standings at least.

We'll never know and there's no point in crying over spilled milk, but the margin from genius to insanity took that thin of one on a near-record playoff cutoff year.

 

[KingsFan7824]

St.Louis could win the Central at this point.