Around the NHL — Episode XLXVI

[YouGotAStuGoing]

Nurse, Karlsson, Bob...that is a lot of money for guys that aren't top of the league.

Bob is hit or miss but man that contract...

For sure. Bob's the cautionary tale of why you never break the bank after a goalie strung together a good year or two. Shades of Bryzgalov in Philly.

 

[Six Assets]

 

[BondraTime]

He's going to be an incredibly good GM soon

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

He's going to be an incredibly good GM soon

Can't wait to see it. Such a likable guy from the outside looking in imo.

 

[OD99]

Can't wait to see it. Such a likable guy from the outside looking in imo.

Total student of the game as well - big time hockey nerd.

 

[Qward]

https://preview.redd.it/hsccj76vmje...p4&s=012439059e3882f2c2146586cecb31fd85827885


I give up on making gifs work


[mod: fixed it for ya]

 

[DaveMatthew]

Pacioretty believes Golden Knights organization lacks accountability

When his request to be moved out of Montreal was granted by a trade to the Vegas Golden Knights, there was some relief for Pacioretty. What he didn't expect was how vastly different the environment was, especially for a team that was contending right from its first season as an expansion club.

www.sportsnet.ca

The "Vegas is amazing" angle is starting to shift. Not a great testament for Stone and Pietrangelo's leadership, and I'm not sure that getting Eichel in there will right the ship.

I understand where Pacioretty is coming from though. That's why what Tampa has done is so impressive.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Golden Knights have been extremely well run, with the exception of recent questionable cap management by McCrimmon, particularly adding Dadonov and Brossoit last off-season.

All the hate they get for moving players out is excessive. They do what they can to improve their team.

They are absolutely stacked and are set to be a contender for years to come.

 

[SPF6ty9]

Golden Knights have been extremely well run, with the exception of recent questionable cap management by McCrimmon, particularly adding Dadonov and Brossoit last off-season.

All the hate they get for moving players out is excessive. They do what they can to improve their team.

They are absolutely stacked and are set to be a contender for years to come.

It's interesting the different narrative they get and the New England Patriots get for having done basically the same type of stuff for years. Probably because New England have won a bunch they get some leeway. But it's not like Vegas hasn't been in the hunt annually.

Although the way Pacioretty describes it, sounds like the actual environment around the team is much different than New England.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Sounds more like he just didn't jive with the vibe the team had after being in a pressure cooker like Montreal and is a little bitter he got dealt. Every player is different. Just the other day Giroux named Torts as a guy he'd really like to play for and likes his style. How many guys would say the complete opposite?

 

[DaveMatthew]

Golden Knights have been extremely well run, with the exception of recent questionable cap management by McCrimmon, particularly adding Dadonov and Brossoit last off-season.

All the hate they get for moving players out is excessive. They do what they can to improve their team.

They are absolutely stacked and are set to be a contender for years to come.

Huh?

They missed the playoffs last season.
Mark Stone is 30, has major back issues, and is signed for 5 more years at $9.5M.
Jack Eichel has scored 43 points in 55 points over the last 2 seasons, has injury and character concerns, and is signed for 4 more years at $10M.
William Karlsson has regressed to being Columbus-era Willam Karlsson (aka a 35-point player) and is signed for 5 more seasons at $5.9M.
Robin Lehner is a crapshoot.
Alex Pietrangelo is about to turn 33.
They have next to no prospects ready to make an impact.

I get that they have the "warm weather players want to be there" thing going for them, but they look a lot more like San Jose circa 2020 than they do Tampa Bay.

 

[JD1]

Huh?

They missed the playoffs last season.
Mark Stone is 30, has major back issues, and is signed for 5 more years at $9.5M.
Jack Eichel has scored 43 points in 55 points over the last 2 seasons, has injury and character concerns, and is signed for 4 more years at $10M.
William Karlsson has regressed to being Columbus-era Willam Karlsson (aka a 35-point player) and is signed for 5 more seasons at $5.9M.
Robin Lehner is a crapshoot.
Alex Pietrangelo is about to turn 33.
They have next to no prospects ready to make an impact.

I get that they have the "warm weather players want to be there" thing going for them, but they look a lot more like San Jose circa 2020 than they do Tampa Bay.

And MaxPac isn't the first player to take a parting shot heading out the door.

 

[DaveMatthew]

It's interesting the different narrative they get and the New England Patriots get for having done basically the same type of stuff for years. Probably because New England have won a bunch they get some leeway. But it's not like Vegas hasn't been in the hunt annually.

Although the way Pacioretty describes it, sounds like the actual environment around the team is much different than New England.

New England, historically, avoided bringing in high-priced players and when they did, Belichick stressed flexibility. He was a master of plugging holes with cheap talent and getting everyone to play their role perfectly. Their depth was their advantage.

Vegas has operated in the opposite manner. They've brought in high-priced players on the wrong side of 28, gave them NTCs, and significantly limited their flexibility. Their depth is awful.

Beyond that, New England was a pressure cooker of a market. From what Pacioretty describes, Vegas is anything but.

 

[Hale The Villain]

Huh?

They missed the playoffs last season.
Mark Stone is 30, has major back issues, and is signed for 5 more years at $9.5M.
Jack Eichel has scored 43 points in 55 points over the last 2 seasons, has injury and character concerns, and is signed for 4 more years at $10M.
William Karlsson has regressed to being Columbus-era Willam Karlsson (aka a 35-point player) and is signed for 5 more seasons at $5.9M.
Robin Lehner is a crapshoot.
Alex Pietrangelo is about to turn 33.
They have next to no prospects ready to make an impact.

I get that they have the "warm weather players want to be there" thing going for them, but they look a lot more like San Jose circa 2020 than they do Tampa Bay.

Everything went wrong for them in 2021/22 and they still deserved to make the playoffs. Had a higher goal differential than Nashville, LA and Dallas, just got unlucky with some close losses.

I think you're really focusing heavily on the negatives. They have one of the best defenses in the league, have an above average forward group, and while there are some injury concerns still lingering with Lehner, they signed an undrafted goalie by the name of Logan Thompson who looks like a #1 in the making as soon as next season.

They should be contending for at least the next 2-3 seasons. May need to re-tool after that but they've been about as successful as could have possibly been expected as an expansion team. You look at Seattle as a comparison of what could have been and you have to be extremely impressed with their management team.

 

[SPF6ty9]

New England, historically, avoided bringing in high-priced players and when they did, Belichick stressed flexibility. He was a master of plugging holes with cheap talent and getting everyone to play their role perfectly. Their depth was their advantage.

Vegas has operated in the opposite manner. They've brought in high-priced players on the wrong side of 28, gave them NTCs, and significantly limited their flexibility. Their depth is awful.

Beyond that, New England was a pressure cooker of a market. From what Pacioretty describes, Vegas is anything but.

I suppose I meant more when it comes to getting rid of players. A player is approaching the end of his useful life, Bill has no problem getting rid of him no matter the optics. Even if it's a hall of fame level talent like a Randy Moss or Lawyer Milloy or whomever.

But yes, roster construction is not an apples to apples comparison.

 

[Emrasie]

It's interesting the different narrative they get and the New England Patriots get for having done basically the same type of stuff for years. Probably because New England have won a bunch they get some leeway. But it's not like Vegas hasn't been in the hunt annually.

Although the way Pacioretty describes it, sounds like the actual environment around the team is much different than New England.

There is no Bill Belichick in Vegas. And no TB. I don't see the same type of stuff at all. Basically Boston had 2 greats leaders, on and off the ice + a bunch of solid players, very disciplined.
Vegas?
They bring good to very good players, with good coach. A lot of very good but no great leader.

 

[JD1]

Everything went wrong for them in 2021/22 and they still deserved to make the playoffs. Had a higher goal differential than Nashville, LA and Dallas, just got unlucky with some close losses.

I think you're really focusing heavily on the negatives. They have one of the best defenses in the league, have an above average forward group, and while there are some injury concerns still lingering with Lehner, they signed an undrafted goalie by the name of Logan Thompson who looks like a #1 in the making as soon as next season.

They should be contending for at least the next 2-3 seasons. May need to re-tool after that but they've been about as successful as could have possibly been expected as an expansion team. You look at Seattle as a comparison of what could have been and you have to be extremely impressed with their management team.

Vegas and Seattle got super deals in expansion. Vegas went first. I'll give McPhee a ton of credit. He played his fellow GMs very well. He had a few years to think about it. To think about nothing else really and he made some killer deals.

And GMs saw how it played out

When Seattle came around, there was experience in play in terms of dealing with the situation and Seattle wasn't able to leverage near what Vegas was.

I sill chuckle at the outcry on the board here about Methot being the best player lost.

 

[Emrasie]

Vegas and Seattle got super deals in expansion. Vegas went first. I'll give McPhee a ton of credit. He played his fellow GMs very well. He had a few years to think about it. To think about nothing else really and he made some killer deals.

And GMs saw how it played out

When Seattle came around, there was experience in play in terms of dealing with the situation and Seattle wasn't able to leverage near what Vegas was.

I sill chuckle at the outcry on the board here about Methot being the best player lost.

Seattle and Vegas have taken 2 different approaches.
Seattle, all with prospects and youth.
Vegas all in , hoping to win soon and surely rebuilt after that. I think at the start they wanted to go with Seattle approach but the first year changed everything.

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Golden Knights have been extremely well run, with the exception of recent questionable cap management by McCrimmon, particularly adding Dadonov and Brossoit last off-season.

All the hate they get for moving players out is excessive. They do what they can to improve their team.

They are absolutely stacked and are set to be a contender for years to come.

Pretty much.

By the logic of a lot of Vegas haters the Sens have been "disloyal" this offseason since we traded a fan/locker room favourite Connor Brown to make room for Debrincat/Giroux.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Vegas and Seattle got super deals in expansion. Vegas went first. I'll give McPhee a ton of credit. He played his fellow GMs very well. He had a few years to think about it. To think about nothing else really and he made some killer deals.

And GMs saw how it played out

When Seattle came around, there was experience in play in terms of dealing with the situation and Seattle wasn't able to leverage near what Vegas was.

I sill chuckle at the outcry on the board here about Methot being the best player lost.

Looking back, there were less star players in there picks than I thought there were, moreso just quality players top to bottom.

Vegas Golden Knights roster: NHL expansion draft picks

The NHL's 31st team will finally have a lineup to put on the ice.

www.usatoday.com

We just didn't have the depth to weather the loss like other teams. In that sense, it probably was the biggest single loss to a team even if it wouldn't have mattered due to his health developments and other factors on the team.

 

[DrEasy]

Sounds more like he just didn't jive with the vibe the team had after being in a pressure cooker like Montreal and is a little bitter he got dealt. Every player is different. Just the other day Giroux named Torts as a guy he'd really like to play for and likes his style. How many guys would say the complete opposite?

Yeah, all he was saying was that in Vegas there was no "pressure from outside" unlike in Montreal. Well yeah, every player in Montreal is under a microscope.

So yeah, that means you need to find other sources of motivation.

I didn't read any of this as criticism of the Vegas organization or his team-mates.

 

[yogibear]

Which teams has the worst schedule for 2022-2023?
I’ve counted 16 back to back games for the Sens (8 times).

 

[Ice-Tray]

Yeah, all he was saying was that in Vegas there was no "pressure from outside" unlike in Montreal. Well yeah, every player in Montreal is under a microscope.

So yeah, that means you need to find other sources of motivation.

I didn't read any of this as criticism of the Vegas organization or his team-mates.

He pretty much included management, coaching staff, and the players themselves which would include the leadership group.

Makes sense. The team is new, cobbled together to try and win right away, with no identity, and no adversity to draw character from. They need a true rebuild, and it’s coming.

 

[Butchy Dakkar]

I don’t know if this is where to put this. I was at Sensplex today and there was some kid in a black shirt running skating and puck drills with Jesse Winchester and a goalie. Holy hell it was fun to watch. I had a chance to talk with a kid after, turns out it was Jack Quinn. It’s unbelievable to watch these kids up close. They’ve got a player. He was skating with Shelly before I got there.

 

[Senscore]

Calgary locks up Huberdeau for 8x10.5.


They really needed that.