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Around the League - PLAYOFFS!?

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The demise of Bos and TB might have been premature.

Looks like by American Thanksgiving the top 3 in the Atlantic will be the same 3 as always.
 
Jojalu said:
The demise of Bos and TB might have been premature.

Looks like by American Thanksgiving the top 3 in the Atlantic will be the same 3 as always.
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Only for those who thought Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa would actually be any real threat this season. The reality is that neither Boston nor Tampa will be threats either, but they still be better than those three. I think it is possible that one or two of those three end up passing Tampa, but all of them are first or second round exits. The Leafs are clearly a cut above all of them.
 
Evilhomer said:
Only for those who thought Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa would actually be any real threat this season. The reality is that neither Boston nor Tampa will be threats either, but they still be better than those three. I think it is possible that one or two of those three end up passing Tampa, but all of them are first or second round exits. The Leafs are clearly a cut above all of them.
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I love your optimism but saying TB and Bos are not threats seems more like fantasy than reality.

If Vasi comes back healthy and motivated, he alone makes them a threat.
 
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How in the world does Edmonton get on this board’s radar? Is an East vs West thing? I hardly know they exist, like Minnesota.
 
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TMLeafer said:
What worries me somewhat is... Didn't Treliving kind of....create said Flames situation?
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Indeed he did, he was dealt a tough situation for sure, with two superstar caliber players wanting out at the same time. But how he responded not only made the flames worse in the short term, but also killed their hopes of getting better in the future.
 
TMLeafer said:
What worries me somewhat is... Didn't Treliving kind of....create said Flames situation?
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He sure did. We can put the blame on ownership or whatever but he was the GM so the blame falls on him for the contracts and their depth. He had a long list of questionable contracts while he was there, even before that one off-season. I wonder how different it would be if he was able to retain Gaudreau and Tkachuk like he's trying to do here with Nylander, Matthews, Marner, etc.
 
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Jojalu said:
I love your optimism but saying TB and Bos are not threats seems more like fantasy than reality.

If Vasi comes back healthy and motivated, he alone makes them a threat.
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Boston has been a poor playoff team for years now, so I don't get what the big concern with them is. If they were ever going to be a playoff threat, it was last season. As for Tampa, the Vasi stuff is tiresome. He was mediocre last season, and Tampa's defense is now so ordinary that it would be hard for him to save them even if he could.

Like I said yesterday, it's okay to be optimistic and confident. Toronto is one of, if not the, best team in the league, and now has goaltending that it didn't have before. Treliving will add two defensemen and a third line centre at or before the trade deadline to fill those holes. Unless Jersey finds some defense and goaltending, I don't see any other team in the Eastern conference that can play with Toronto in a seven game series. Now, the West may be a different story. If Colorado stays healthy and gets Landeskog back for the playoffs, it may be a tall order for any team to beat them.
 
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Evilhomer said:
Boston has been a poor playoff team for years now, so I don't get what the big concern with them is. If they were ever going to be a playoff threat, it was last season.
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I'd be more worried about them this season. Probably playing with a chip on their shoulder after everyone has written them off.

Last year they were reading the press clippings about an easy stroll to the Cup.
 
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rdogg said:
Edmonton fans are losing their shit right now, and I don't blame them! IMO they have to waive Connor Brown and gain some cap space for next year to eventually re-sign Draisaitl. But apparently Connor Brown's ex-agent is now in charge of the Oilers? Seems unlikely he'll get waived. What an absolute tire fire to start the year
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Draisaitl doesn't have to be signed until 25-26 season.
 
SprDaVE said:
He sure did. We can put the blame on ownership or whatever but he was the GM so the blame falls on him for the contracts and their depth. He had a long list of questionable contracts while he was there, even before that one off-season. I wonder how different it would be if he was able to retain Gaudreau and Tkachuk like he's trying to do here with Nylander, Matthews, Marner, etc.
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I'm sure he realizes adding $1mm to an offer to Nylander isn't as bad as offering 7*7 to a 31 year old who had 1 great year in his career, and is a 56 point player.

Did I mention it runs through age 38?
 
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rdogg said:
Edmonton fans are losing their shit right now, and I don't blame them! IMO they have to waive Connor Brown and gain some cap space for next year to eventually re-sign Draisaitl. But apparently Connor Brown's ex-agent is now in charge of the Oilers? Seems unlikely he'll get waived. What an absolute tire fire to start the year
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Music to my ears.:D
 
Peasy said:
Yes, but the real issue i believe is ownership. If he gets told from his bosses, try and make the playoffs by any means necessary, what is he going to do?

Took a decade of failure for the leafs ownership to green light a re-build.
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SprDaVE said:
He sure did. We can put the blame on ownership or whatever but he was the GM so the blame falls on him for the contracts and their depth. He had a long list of questionable contracts while he was there, even before that one off-season. I wonder how different it would be if he was able to retain Gaudreau and Tkachuk like he's trying to do here with Nylander, Matthews, Marner, etc.
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Both parties are certainly to blame, but the majority should be on ownership. They hate the word rebuild (seriously, when was the last time they went through a true rebuild?), and even more so now they are building the new arena.

Sure, perhaps Treliving did a poor job selling the rebuild plan to them (if at all) and ultimately handed out some bad contracts, but it was a result of ownership panicking after the whole Gaudreau/Tkachuk situation. They were just coming off a division title so they thought the team could still be competitive by bringing in Huberdeau and Kadri. And the last thing they wanted is to see a decline in season ticket holders because the product sucks.

There's still a path for them to rebuild (or re-tool) and potentially be a good team come opening night in their new arena (2026 or 2027) as their cap structure isn't as bad long-term. Weegar, Huberdeau, and Kadri are the only long contracts on their books. It all starts by accumulating picks and prospects for Hanifin, Lindholm, Tanev, Zadorov, etc this deadline and taking on bad contracts with sweeteners. Do the same thing the next two years and then see where you're at. They have a few decent young players already, although no one who really moves the needle.

The above will only happen if they continue to lose and/or Conroy sells the rebuild idea to his bosses. Good luck lol
 
Just checking on Durzi on Arizona and noticed this:

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Anyway, Durzi 2nd. round pick looks like a good pick.
 
Yikes.

Kadri 1 point and a -10 to start the year.

No wonder Flames fans are losing their cool
 
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