Around the League 36-But Who's Counting...

[HisIceness]

Ryan Reynolds liquidity isn't enough to buy the Sens outright. He'd be a minority owner at most.

That said, say hello to the Houston Gunslingers.

Funny enough when I first actually started following the league and not just the Hurricanes, the Senators went into bankruptcy (and despite that the team was damn good) and speculation pointed towards Houston being their future home, with Detroit or Columbus going to the Eastern Conference.

I mean, the Senators fans don't deserve that but it is amazing how if you told someone in say, 1997 when expansion happened that 25 (damn I'm old) years later that Houston still wouldn't have an NHL franchise, you'd probably win a large bet. But, here we are.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Holy wow, Devils just put in a couple of goals in 7 seconds to take a late lead on the Oilers.

 

[HisIceness]

Holy wow, Devils just put in a couple of goals in 7 seconds to take a late lead on the Oilers.

On one hand I want the Devils to continue their mediocrity since 2012 sans the Taylor Hall MVP season. On the other hand I'm afraid they might make a really smart coaching hire if Ruff gets fired and become another pain in the ass in this gauntlet of an Eastern Conference.

So, I don't know, man.

 

[surfzone365]

The Mighty Blackhawks edge the powerful Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in a marquee battle royale of “has-beens”

 

[A Star is Burns]

Erik Karlsson, 10th goal....

 

[Rynewed]

On one hand I want the Devils to continue their mediocrity since 2012 sans the Taylor Hall MVP season. On the other hand I'm afraid they might make a really smart coaching hire if Ruff gets fired and become another pain in the ass in this gauntlet of an Eastern Conference.

So, I don't know, man.

Devils have their next head coach already. Andrew Brunette from Florida, hes an associate coach for NJ now (which in management titles means hes above the assistants). Seems obvious to NJ fans he will be the successor and Ruff was given the go on the season start due to goaltending woes last season (they started eight different goalies)

 

[Canes]

Funny enough when I first actually started following the league and not just the Hurricanes, the Senators went into bankruptcy (and despite that the team was damn good) and speculation pointed towards Houston being their future home, with Detroit or Columbus going to the Eastern Conference.

I mean, the Senators fans don't deserve that but it is amazing how if you told someone in say, 1997 when expansion happened that 25 (damn I'm old) years later that Houston still wouldn't have an NHL franchise, you'd probably win a large bet. But, here we are.

I am mostly kidding. But the Sens do kind of have a big problem brewing but I don't teach their grandmas golf lessons so I am not very plugged in.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Erik Karlsson, 10th goal....

SJ is just awful too

 

[tarheelhockey]

SJ is just awful too

Watched the end of their game against Florida last night. They’re comically bad in some ways. Just little fundamental things like turning the wrong way to face the puck. It’s one of those reality checks that we just assume the Canes will play fundamentally sound, NHL quality hockey on a given night.

 

[MinJaBen]

Watched the end of their game against Florida last night. They’re comically bad in some ways. Just little fundamental things like turning the wrong way to face the puck. It’s one of those reality checks that we just assume the Canes will play fundamentally sound, NHL quality hockey on a given night.

They couldn't have made a worse coaching hire this offseason. As much as I like Mo, he is not a guy that should be given a team that had a "fun and gun" style like the Cats had last year. Couple that with the personnel changes they made and I don't like their chances going forward for several years.

 

[tarheelhockey]

They couldn't have made a worse coaching hire this offseason. As much as I like Mo, he is not a guy that should be given a team that had a "fun and gun" style like the Cats had last year. Couple that with the personnel changes they made and I don't like their chances going forward for several years.

Oh, I was talking about the Sharks.

I think Florida's a really good team that's just missing two key players in Ekblad and Duclair, with Forsling having missed a chunk of time recently. I'm hoping they lose as many games as possible while they're shorthanded, because I fully expect they'll be a 105-110 point team when it's all said and done this year. That being said, IMO they whiffed on their best shot last year and they now remind me more of a Calgary in the sense of being a second-tier contender which went all-in at the wrong time.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

Oh, I was talking about the Sharks.

I think Florida's a really good team that's just missing two key players in Ekblad and Duclair, with Forsling having missed a chunk of time recently. I'm hoping they lose as many games as possible while they're shorthanded, because I fully expect they'll be a 105-110 point team when it's all said and done this year. That being said, IMO they whiffed on their best shot last year and they now remind me more of a Calgary in the sense of being a second-tier contender which went all-in at the wrong time.

The main things hurting Florida at the moment are Hornqvist's final contract year and the Yandle buyout, which is why the left side of their defense has essentially shrunk to Marc Staal's corpse and waiver wire guys. Both of these cap hits essentially go away after this season, and they will likely be UFA players next season for defensive upgrades.

 

[CupInSIX]

Apparently Laine is back, and he's playing in Finland tonight/this afternoon.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The main things hurting Florida at the moment are Hornqvist's final contract year and the Yandle buyout, which is why the left side of their defense has essentially shrunk to Marc Staal's corpse and waiver wire guys. Both of these cap hits essentially go away after this season, and they will likely be UFA players next season for defensive upgrades.

Yep, their approach is to clear out the contract baggage before next year. I think they already had that in mind last year, which is why they went into the TDL so aggressively to try and load up the roster with Huberdeau and Weegar still in place.

To hear their fans talk about it, this is all leading up to them re-loading for long term success starting next season. I'm just not sure I buy into the overall plan. Loading up on UFAs or trade acquisitions is a risky game to play, because any given decision can blow up in your face and leave you unable to take the next step forward. In Florida's case they're already locked into their core contracts (Barkov, Bobrovsky, Tkachuk) and I don't see that group contending pound-for-pound with the top contenders. They were a scary team when they had more depth, but that's starting to erode and going the UFA route doesn't bode well for replacing talent efficiently.

They may get the last laugh, but I see them having a trajectory kind of like Winnipeg's, who peaked really high and then underestimated the impact of the talent they bled year-over-year. Also, I'm looking at Ekblad's injury history and wondering if that's becoming an annual problem for them. Again it reminds me a lot of how the Jets were night-and-day less intimidating when Buff was out of the lineup, which turned out to be a more serious issue than they anticipated.

edit: this all serves as a reminder that, with only very rare exceptions, you only get a brief window to be a top contender. Canes are going to hit a wall of contract issues pretty soon, and tough decisions will be made. In all likelihood, we look back at 22-24 as the years where the table was set for top-level contention, and after that it kind of eroded down to "you've got a shot as long as you're in the playoffs". That's the reality of the NHL for most orgs, and fans tend to have rose colored glasses about long term top-level contention.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Yep, their approach is to clear out the contract baggage before next year. I think they already had that in mind last year, which is why they went into the TDL so aggressively to try and load up the roster with Huberdeau and Weegar still in place.

To hear their fans talk about it, this is all leading up to them re-loading for long term success starting next season. I'm just not sure I buy into the overall plan. Loading up on UFAs or trade acquisitions is a risky game to play, because any given decision can blow up in your face and leave you unable to take the next step forward. In Florida's case they're already locked into their core contracts (Barkov, Bobrovsky, Tkachuk) and I don't see that group contending pound-for-pound with the top contenders. They were a scary team when they had more depth, but that's starting to erode and going the UFA route doesn't bode well for replacing talent efficiently.

They may get the last laugh, but I see them having a trajectory kind of like Winnipeg's, who peaked really high and then underestimated the impact of the talent they bled year-over-year. Also, I'm looking at Ekblad's injury history and wondering if that's becoming an annual problem for them. Again it reminds me a lot of how the Jets were night-and-day less intimidating when Buff was out of the lineup, which turned out to be a more serious issue than they anticipated.

edit: this all serves as a reminder that, with only very rare exceptions, you only get a brief window to be a top contender. Canes are going to hit a wall of contract issues pretty soon, and tough decisions will be made. In all likelihood, we look back at 22-24 as the years where the table was set for top-level contention, and after that it kind of eroded down to "you've got a shot as long as you're in the playoffs". That's the reality of the NHL for most orgs, and fans tend to have rose colored glasses about long term top-level contention.

Meh. Maybe I’ve got the rose colored glasses you’re mentioning. But I think Florida and Tampa are examples on either side of the coin you’re describing. You are right that a lot of teams have those shorter windows (by design of the league - “parity”), but at the beginning of your paragraph you sort of handwaved away all the teams that haven’t petered out the way you’re referencing. Since the lockout: Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, Tampa, San Jose, Boston Colorado (current) have all maintained high levels of consistent regular season success for ~a decade at a time. I think the team has consciously put itself in a very good position to come out of the 2024 offseason relatively unscathed (including making their tough decisions early on guys like Hamilton and Trocheck). I’m not going to say we’ll definitely be elite for another decade. But I do think we have a lot of similarities with the teams that have done so, and if I had to bet on anyone besides Colorado, it’d be us.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Meh. Maybe I’ve got the rose colored glasses you’re mentioning. But I think Florida and Tampa are examples on either side of the coin you’re describing. You are right that a lot of teams have those shorter windows (by design of the league - “parity”), but at the beginning of your paragraph you sort of handwaved away all the teams that haven’t petered out the way you’re referencing. Since the lockout: Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh, Tampa, San Jose, Boston Colorado (current) have all maintained high levels of consistent regular season success for ~a decade at a time. I think the team has consciously put itself in a very good position to come out of the 2024 offseason relatively unscathed (including making their tough decisions early on guys like Hamilton and Trocheck). I’m not going to say we’ll definitely be elite for another decade. But I do think we have a lot of similarities with the teams that have done so, and if I had to bet on anyone besides Colorado, it’d be us.

I think the Canes have played the hand they were dealt very, very well. I don't know that there's a single decision in the past 3 years that's been a pure blunder. Some decisions looked questionable and turned out aces, others were very defensible and didn't work out in the end. But they don't outright shoot themselves in the foot very often, and that's about all you can ask. Beyond that, I am fully bought into their overall vision when it comes to building a roster for long-term success, and their method of player evaluations. Whatever doubts and criticisms I had a couple of years ago, I've learned to take a seat because these guys clearly have a plan and know how to execute it.

But being realistic here, I look at that list of teams you just mentioned and the common factor is that they were built around one of the league's top 1st lines, as well as a Norris-contending defenseman. Ask yourself honestly, how many current Hurricanes are definitely going to the Hall of Fame someday? How many of them are definitely going to win a major award before the end of their career? Now ask that question of any of the teams above, and the names pop to mind instantly. In that respect, the Canes are a lot closer to the Panthers than they are to the Pens or Avs or Blackhawks.

FWIW, this is precisely the reason I'm so bought in to the Borg's approach. I don't think it makes sense with this roster to put all our chips in the pot for a single run, nor did I think that was a very smart approach for Florida last season. For both on-ice and off-ice reasons, I'd rather see this org take 10 shots as a 6th seed than 3 shots as a division winner.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I think the Canes have played the hand they were dealt very, very well. I don't know that there's a single decision in the past 3 years that's been a pure blunder. Some decisions looked questionable and turned out aces, others were very defensible and didn't work out in the end. But they don't outright shoot themselves in the foot very often, and that's about all you can ask. Beyond that, I am fully bought into their overall vision when it comes to building a roster for long-term success, and their method of player evaluations. Whatever doubts and criticisms I had a couple of years ago, I've learned to take a seat because these guys clearly have a plan and know how to execute it.

But being realistic here, I look at that list of teams you just mentioned and the common factor is that they were built around one of the league's top 1st lines, as well as a Norris-contending defenseman. Ask yourself honestly, how many current Hurricanes are definitely going to the Hall of Fame someday? How many of them are definitely going to win a major award before the end of their career? Now ask that question of any of the teams above, and the names pop to mind instantly. In that respect, the Canes are a lot closer to the Panthers than they are to the Pens or Avs or Blackhawks.

FWIW, this is precisely the reason I'm so bought in to the Borg's approach. I don't think it makes sense with this roster to put all our chips in the pot for a single run, nor did I think that was a very smart approach for Florida last season. For both on-ice and off-ice reasons, I'd rather see this org take 10 shots as a 6th seed than 3 shots as a division winner.

This is a good point and I agree with you. I don't think we have a Kucherov or a Hedman or a Crosby or a Mackinnon or whoever on our team. That said, framing the question this way is decided a "hindsight is 20-20" approach. Names pop to mind instantly because they've already done so. Kucherov is Kucherov in our heads because he's done it. Kucherov has won a Hart and an Art Ross. If you asked me whether he'd ever do that in 2014-2015 when he was my stealth daily fantasy play every night on FanDuel... I would not have said "there's a name that's instantly popping to mind as a Hall of Famer that is going to separate Tampa into one of the elites of the elite." It could've just as easily been Killorn or Palat or Tyler Johnson taking that step into stardom at that time, or none of them! Even in 2011 when he won the Cup - Brad Marchand was not going to become the player he has. Etc. Now, I'm not saying the Canes absolutely have one of those guys. But like... would you not take Andrei Svechnikov as someone who could do that up against most other 22-year-olds in the league? Could Aho not take another step? (Not even being our Mackinnon, could he be our Brayden Point? I'd argue he already is.) Who knows - Necas's production isn't looking unsustainable right now, I think it's matching his play (whether his play itself is unsustainable remains to be seen). Slavin doesn't really fit that bill but is he better than a couple of 1Ds from teams on that list? Sure, I think so (John Carlson comes to mind). Meanwhile, a lot of teams with those bonafide guys (Toronto, Edmonton) are perhaps a little more questionable to actually become one of these teams.

I agree with your last paragraph wholeheartedly. I might even take it further and say it almost never makes sense for a team to go all-in, perhaps save for a "Last Dance"-type situation like the Bruins are in right now.


(Also, on a technicality, I think Burns is a Hall-of-Famer )

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Bruins sign that douche Mitchell Miller to an ELC.

 

[Svechhammer]

Bruins sign that douche Mitchell Miller to an ELC.

Who could have ever predicted Boston would sign a player with a known racist past? Totally out of character for that sports town.

 

[tarheelhockey]

This is a good point and I agree with you. I don't think we have a Kucherov or a Hedman or a Crosby or a Mackinnon or whoever on our team. That said, framing the question this way is decided a "hindsight is 20-20" approach. Names pop to mind instantly because they've already done so. Kucherov is Kucherov in our heads because he's done it. Kucherov has won a Hart and an Art Ross. If you asked me whether he'd ever do that in 2014-2015 when he was my stealth daily fantasy play every night on FanDuel... I would not have said "there's a name that's instantly popping to mind as a Hall of Famer that is going to separate Tampa into one of the elites of the elite." It could've just as easily been Killorn or Palat or Tyler Johnson taking that step into stardom at that time, or none of them! Even in 2011 when he won the Cup - Brad Marchand was not going to become the player he has. Etc. Now, I'm not saying the Canes absolutely have one of those guys. But like... would you not take Andrei Svechnikov as someone who could do that up against most other 22-year-olds in the league? Could Aho not take another step? (Not even being our Mackinnon, could he be our Brayden Point? I'd argue he already is.) Who knows - Necas's production isn't looking unsustainable right now, I think it's matching his play (whether his play itself is unsustainable remains to be seen). Slavin doesn't really fit that bill but is he better than a couple of 1Ds from teams on that list? Sure, I think so (John Carlson comes to mind). Meanwhile, a lot of teams with those bonafide guys (Toronto, Edmonton) are perhaps a little more questionable to actually become one of these teams.

I agree with your last paragraph wholeheartedly. I might even take it further and say it almost never makes sense for a team to go all-in, perhaps save for a "Last Dance"-type situation like the Bruins are in right now.


(Also, on a technicality, I think Burns is a Hall-of-Famer )

This is where it gets a bit tricky to self-assess as an organization. Personally, I feel like our core is a noticeable step below that of the Avs/Pens/Hawks/Lightning teams that sustained so much success. All due respect to Aho and Svech, but they are unlikely to ever be Hart finalists, let alone win a Hart, let alone be expected to win a Hart. Maybe a one-off peak season gets one of them a finalist nod, but it would take a lot for that to happen. Even compared to teams like the Caps/Sharks which were a little less stacked than the above, we don't have that clear-cut star like Ovechkin or Thornton. The one comparable remaining is the Bruins, who a) had arguably the best defenseman and goalie in the league when they won the Cup, and b) followed that up with having arguably the most dominant forward line of the past half-decade. Again it's very hard to imagine the Canes rolling out even a single season with those sorts of superlatives, let alone sustaining it.

All that being said, of course "we like our group" and we want to maximize the hand we've been dealt. Lacking a top-tier forward star or Norris-winning defenseman doesn't mean we can't win. For one thing, I think Slavin is legitimately on the level necessary to anchor a Cup winner. The reason he won't get Norris votes isn't germane to his quality as a player... he's just as good as a Letang and better than a Carlson. Likewise, Andersen is a very good goalie and easily good enough to win a Cup -- as long as we hold on to him, which is the question. Aho and Svech... that's where I see us being more like a 2011 Bruins or 2019 Blues situation, where we have good but not great players. To me, that means we've got a shot at winning a Stanley Cup, but contending long term and winning Multiple Stanley Cups might be beyond the reach of this core. I think Aho is what he is at this point, Svech is pretty close to peaking out, and Jarvis/Necas are a step down from that level.

That's all to say... the best thing we can do is buying playoff tickets with a 10% chance of hitting the jackpot. If we do it for a few more years running, we're more likely than not to win a Cup at some point. And in the case of a team that doesn't have multiple generational players to build around, "more likely than not" is about as good as we can hope for.

 

[Chrispy]

This is where it gets a bit tricky to self-assess as an organization. Personally, I feel like our core is a noticeable step below that of the Avs/Pens/Hawks/Lightning teams that sustained so much success. All due respect to Aho and Svech, but they are unlikely to ever be Hart finalists, let alone win a Hart, let alone be expected to win a Hart. Maybe a one-off peak season gets one of them a finalist nod, but it would take a lot for that to happen. Even compared to teams like the Caps/Sharks which were a little less stacked than the above, we don't have that clear-cut star like Ovechkin or Thornton. The one comparable remaining is the Bruins, who a) had arguably the best defenseman and goalie in the league when they won the Cup, and b) followed that up with having arguably the most dominant forward line of the past half-decade. Again it's very hard to imagine the Canes rolling out even a single season with those sorts of superlatives, let alone sustaining it.

All that being said, of course "we like our group" and we want to maximize the hand we've been dealt. Lacking a top-tier forward star or Norris-winning defenseman doesn't mean we can't win. For one thing, I think Slavin is legitimately on the level necessary to anchor a Cup winner. The reason he won't get Norris votes isn't germane to his quality as a player... he's just as good as a Letang and better than a Carlson. Likewise, Andersen is a very good goalie and easily good enough to win a Cup -- as long as we hold on to him, which is the question. Aho and Svech... that's where I see us being more like a 2011 Bruins or 2019 Blues situation, where we have good but not great players. To me, that means we've got a shot at winning a Stanley Cup, but contending long term and winning Multiple Stanley Cups might be beyond the reach of this core. I think Aho is what he is at this point, Svech is pretty close to peaking out, and Jarvis/Necas are a step down from that level.

That's all to say... the best thing we can do is buying playoff tickets with a 10% chance of hitting the jackpot. If we do it for a few more years running, we're more likely than not to win a Cup at some point. And in the case of a team that doesn't have multiple generational players to build around, "more likely than not" is about as good as we can hope for.

I agree with your point on Slavin and Andersen: won't get the votes, but good enough (if healthy in the playoffs unlike the last 2 years) to win in the playoffs.

I'll even give you Aho. But I think Svech is still developing even as he breaks out onto the scene. He's working on his one-timer to have that shot in his arsenal along with his great wrist shot. He's a great passer. His defense has improved quite a bit, and he does good work on the boards.

I think he's a very small step from getting consideration for the Hart. And at 22 going on 23, I think saying he won't take that next step is the type of thing that gets dragged back up in 5-10 years and laughed at.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Long, long ways to go in their careers and development but I think both Svech and Necas have the potential to be elite top tier caliber players. Odds are neither does, because it's damn hard and they've already been in the league for a bit without showing it. But these guys have the physical tools, and have shown glimpses of the skill and hockey sense needed to be a top tier player. If one or both can take those next steps forward I think we'd be very well positioned to win it all with them and this core. But if we don't start seeing that in the next 2-4 years I'd say we need to think about trying to shake things up and acquire a true star player if one becomes available (like Eichel for example). But those guys don't really become available unless there are concerns (like Eichel's neck injury recovery, requesting trade/lack of leadership, etc.) so we will more likely just need to ride it out with the core we have.

I also don't think Aho is at his peak, but physically he doesn't have the tools those guys have and already has an advanced sense of the game that likely won't develop much further. He's a great all around top line center in my opinion (or best of the best/elite 2nd line C if we did get an Eichel caliber 1st line C), and critical to our success, but I do agree he likely won't ever become a bonafide star player.

 

[Svechhammer]

This is where it gets a bit tricky to self-assess as an organization. Personally, I feel like our core is a noticeable step below that of the Avs/Pens/Hawks/Lightning teams that sustained so much success. All due respect to Aho and Svech, but they are unlikely to ever be Hart finalists, let alone win a Hart, let alone be expected to win a Hart. Maybe a one-off peak season gets one of them a finalist nod, but it would take a lot for that to happen. Even compared to teams like the Caps/Sharks which were a little less stacked than the above, we don't have that clear-cut star like Ovechkin or Thornton. The one comparable remaining is the Bruins, who a) had arguably the best defenseman and goalie in the league when they won the Cup, and b) followed that up with having arguably the most dominant forward line of the past half-decade. Again it's very hard to imagine the Canes rolling out even a single season with those sorts of superlatives, let alone sustaining it.

All that being said, of course "we like our group" and we want to maximize the hand we've been dealt. Lacking a top-tier forward star or Norris-winning defenseman doesn't mean we can't win. For one thing, I think Slavin is legitimately on the level necessary to anchor a Cup winner. The reason he won't get Norris votes isn't germane to his quality as a player... he's just as good as a Letang and better than a Carlson. Likewise, Andersen is a very good goalie and easily good enough to win a Cup -- as long as we hold on to him, which is the question. Aho and Svech... that's where I see us being more like a 2011 Bruins or 2019 Blues situation, where we have good but not great players. To me, that means we've got a shot at winning a Stanley Cup, but contending long term and winning Multiple Stanley Cups might be beyond the reach of this core. I think Aho is what he is at this point, Svech is pretty close to peaking out, and Jarvis/Necas are a step down from that level.

That's all to say... the best thing we can do is buying playoff tickets with a 10% chance of hitting the jackpot. If we do it for a few more years running, we're more likely than not to win a Cup at some point. And in the case of a team that doesn't have multiple generational players to build around, "more likely than not" is about as good as we can hope for.

I legitimately think Svech has a ceiling of being the best player in the league. When he's on, he's an absolute beast and one of the few I've seen who are legitimately unstoppable. I'm not sure he'll get there, but it would be very good to get him on a great line where he's able to work in space rather than having to do everything on his own. Even the best players need help.

Now, I will also go on record now to say that I think our biggest problem is that we are relatively weak down the middle. Aho really should be a 2C on a legitimate contending team. Drury should be getting mins now in order to groom him to be the Jordo replacement. And, while I am looking forward to his future with us, if we can package KK, picks, and prospects (plus maybe another roster player) for a legit 1C, we should be exploring those options.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I agree with your point on Slavin and Andersen: won't get the votes, but good enough (if healthy in the playoffs unlike the last 2 years) to win in the playoffs.

I'll even give you Aho. But I think Svech is still developing even as he breaks out onto the scene. He's working on his one-timer to have that shot in his arsenal along with his great wrist shot. He's a great passer. His defense has improved quite a bit, and he does good work on the boards.

I think he's a very small step from getting consideration for the Hart. And at 22 going on 23, I think saying he won't take that next step is the type of thing that gets dragged back up in 5-10 years and laughed at.

Part of the picture is that it's so hard for a winger to hit that level. By the nature of the game, centers are always going to have a better shot at Hart votes. There are only, what, maybe 3 or 4 wingers in the league who can reliably compete for it? Ovechkin, Kane, Kucherov, maybe Panarin in a good year.

Last season Gaudreau missed being a Hart finalist for the second time, and he's at a totally different level than Svech as a line-driving catalyst. Kaprizov didn't even come close. Marchand has one 1st place vote (not finish, but vote) in his entire career. Guys like Pastrnak, Huberdeau, Rantanen have never even come close.

There's always the chance that a winger comes out of nowhere for a one-off like Hall or Perry, but if we're talking about a sustained, predictable Hart-finalist level of play, that's your top ~3 wingers in the entire NHL. Ovechkin and Kane had already blown past Svech's level when they were at the same age. Svech has never had a vote for any award other than the Calder, which would put him in the Kucherov/Panarin category of late bloomers if he were to do it later in his career. If Svech goes on to blow up like they did, I don't think it's something anyone could reasonably look at 10 years from now and honestly say they knew that would happen. We can hope for it, but we can't count on it.

 

[MinJaBen]

I legitimately think Svech has a ceiling of being the best player in the league. When he's on, he's an absolute beast and one of the few I've seen who are legitimately unstoppable.

I love the kid, but no way. He makes too many questionable decisions to ever get there. He'll get better, and could be the best player we have as he does, but he doesn't have everything needed to be the best player in the league.