Around the NHL 2022-2023 *Mod warning in effect pg145

[542365]

USA lost to Latvia and Germany on back to back days. I know it’s far from the best team the US could send, but it was still filled with current and future NHLers. I choose to look at it as a good thing. Countries around the world are getting stronger and hockey is getting bigger and bigger. Hopefully some Latvian and German kids watched those games and were inspired to try hockey.

 

[STL fan in MN]

USA lost to Latvia and Germany on back to back days. I know it’s far from the best team the US could send, but it was still filled with current and future NHLers. I choose to look at it as a good thing. Countries around the world are getting stronger and hockey is getting bigger and bigger. Hopefully some Latvian and German kids watched those games and were inspired to try hockey.

Yep, another lead with less than 5 minutes to go in the game and Latvia ties it, then wins it a minute into OT.

USA undefeated through the QFs (8-0 record), finish without a medal.

Perunovich with 2 primary assists. Both nice reads to feed the puck to Grimaldi. Grimaldi showed in this tourney why I liked him so much when he was with the NTDP. Very very talented player. But he’s also a great example of a very very talented player not being able to keep a foothold in the NHL as he’s only 5’6”. 5’10”, perhaps even 5’9” can be overcome but I can only think of one player as small as Grimaldi that had a good NHL career - Theo Fleury.

 

[Reality Czech]

Yep, another lead with less than 5 minutes to go in the game and Latvia ties it, then wins it a minute into OT.

USA undefeated through the QFs (8-0 record), finish without a medal.

Perunovich with 2 primary assists. Both nice reads to feed the puck to Grimaldi. Grimaldi showed in this tourney why I liked him so much when he was with the NTDP. Very very talented player. But he’s also a great example of a very very talented player not being able to keep a foothold in the NHL as he’s only 5’6”. 5’10”, perhaps even 5’9” can be overcome but I can only think of one player as small as Grimaldi that had a good NHL career - Theo Fleury.

I couldn't even watch today after yesterday's debacle. Crazy how the US team does this almost every year. Dominate the first round but inevitably lose in the quarters or semis no matter who they are playing. Maybe these other countries want it more, or maybe the US team parties a little too much during these tourneys. Most of the Euro teams are full of less skilled, but older, more experienced players while the US team is usually made up of young guys coming up.

Either way, good for Latvia. Their fans are incredible so I don't mind seeing them end on a high note.

 

[TheDizee]

God I hope they do. It would be so incredible.

yeah but it hurts our pick if they do sadly.

i dont think vegas has much of a chance vs florida anyways unless this week or so break cools them off.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

yeah but it hurts our pick if they do sadly.

i dont think vegas has much of a chance vs florida anyways unless this week or so break cools them off.

Honestly, at this point, a three pick swing isn’t too bad if it means vegas choking lol

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Honestly, at this point, a three pick swing isn’t too bad if it means vegas choking lol

If Dallas pulls off the come back, then beats Florida, and Benn is suspended for that final game, who the hell would Bettman pass the Cup to first? I realize it's probably Benn coming on the ice a la black aces, but still an interesting thought.

 

[Eldon Reid]

Just looking around the league. Some of these teams are in MAJOR CAP TROUBLE.

Boston has only 7 forwards, 7 dman, & a goalie signed with only 5 million in cap space after all the carryover penalties. Swayman & Frederic need raises.

Colorado has only 12 players signed (5 forwards, 5 dman, 2 goalies) with about 20 mill (including Landy 7 on LTIR). I assume Byram gets a decent raise.

Then you have opposite and some interesting teams.

I hate talking about Chicago, but my lord not counting Bedard, every forward is UFA or RFA within next 2 years.

This offseason should be an interesting one that's for sure.

 

[oPlaiD]

15 minutes in and Jamie Benn is a -2 letting the VGK fourth line score two goals while he's on the ice. Maybe Dallas shoulda suspended him a few more games xD

 

[BlueDream]

And Dallas is eliminated. Nice.

Stanley Cup time.

 

[ScratchCatFever]

When do the finals start? Thursday?

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Pick #29 it is. Go Panthers

 

[Thallis]

When do the finals start? Thursday?

Saturday

 

[LetsGoBooze]

I really dont get all the Vegas hate. Isn't the biggest reason to dislike them the fact they've gone all-in on this roster for multiple years and traded away tons of young assets and fans all thought these were the "wrong moves" yet here they are. I personally dont hold any animosity towards Pietrango and would love to see Barby get another ring as well. I also would love to see Tkachuk get his first ring. Im just hoping for a great final, may the best team win.

 

[TK 421]

Our pick from Dallas is now set at 29th which means my interest in the NHL hibernates until June 29th. Thank you Vegas for doing your part.

 

[Xerloris]

I really dont get all the Vegas hate. Isn't the biggest reason to dislike them the fact they've gone all-in on this roster for multiple years and traded away tons of young assets and fans all thought these were the "wrong moves" yet here they are. I personally dont hold any animosity towards Pietrango and would love to see Barby get another ring as well. I also would love to see Tkachuk get his first ring. Im just hoping for a great final, may the best team win.

There's lots of reason to hate them. Mostly because f*** them that's why. The ownership treats players like shiny toys and throw away without so much as a give a shit at all about the players or their families. All so they can get the next shiny toy. It's how Vegas works and it's disgusting. Vegas the city not specifically only the team.

 

[Brian39]

Or, in a crazy twist, he takes that next step and cements himself as a sure fire too 6, puts up lots of points with Eichel (or another legit center), and half this board bitches for years how Army is an idiot for not knowing this would happen.

After his 60 point season last year, Barby had zero incentive to extend here for any contract that didn't pay him like exactly the player you are describing. He had 60 points last year and did it with 3rd line minutes and 2nd unit PP deployment. He tangibly produced when he slid up the lineup and the prospect we got for him at the deadline demonstrates his value league-wide.

 

[Brian39]

There's lots of reason to hate them. Mostly because f*** them that's why. The ownership treats players like shiny toys and throw away without so much as a give a shit at all about the players or their families. All so they can get the next shiny toy. It's how Vegas works and it's disgusting. Vegas the city not specifically only the team.

If only there were some type of clause that players could negotiate for that would limit a team's ability to move them.

You are describing professional sports. Professional athletes are assets that are moved at a moment's notice all the time. Every team in the league will happily move a player in order to make the team better. Our Stanley Cup was a direct result of doing exactly that. And then Vegas demonstrated more contractual loyalty to our Cup-winning captain than we were willing to demonstrate.

I will never understand this opinion about Vegas.

The "shiny new toys" have been objectively great players. Eichel is currently their leading scorer in the payoffs and is the frontrunner for playoff MVP if they win 4 more games. Stone is their captain, is tied for 3rd in playoff scoring for them and plays the 2nd most forward minutes for them. Petro is leading their team in ice time by 3:30+ per night and is their clear #1 D man. All 3 have full NMCs. Their 2nd, 5th, and 7th leading scorers in the playoffs have all been there since day 1 and then Barby is their deadline rental who rounds out the team's top 8 playoff producers.

It is absurd to act like they have just swapped guys out for the shiny new thing that isn't any better than what they already had. They moved out good players (and picks/prospects) in order to bring in great players.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

If only there were some type of clause that players could negotiate for that would limit a team's ability to move them.

You are describing professional sports. Professional athletes are assets that are moved at a moment's notice all the time. Every team in the league will happily move a player in order to make the team better. Our Stanley Cup was a direct result of doing exactly that. And then Vegas demonstrated more contractual loyalty to our Cup-winning captain than we were willing to demonstrate.

I will never understand this opinion about Vegas.

The "shiny new toys" have been objectively great players. Eichel is currently their leading scorer in the payoffs and is the frontrunner for playoff MVP if they win 4 more games. Stone is their captain, is tied for 3rd in playoff scoring for them and plays the 2nd most forward minutes for them. Petro is leading their team in ice time by 3:30+ per night and is their clear #1 D man. All 3 have full NMCs. Their 2nd, 5th, and 7th leading scorers in the playoffs have all been there since day 1 and then Barby is their deadline rental who rounds out the team's top 8 playoff producers.

It is absurd to act like they have just swapped guys out for the shiny new thing that isn't any better than what they already had. They moved out good players (and picks/prospects) in order to bring in great players.

They also have Pacioretty away for nothing, jettisoned the reigning Vezina winner in a clumsy fashion and tries to trade a player to a team on his no trade list.

Do you truly think every team in the league would have done that Pacioretty deal?

 

[Brian39]

Just looking around the league. Some of these teams are in MAJOR CAP TROUBLE.

Boston has only 7 forwards, 7 dman, & a goalie signed with only 5 million in cap space after all the carryover penalties. Swayman & Frederic need raises.

Colorado has only 12 players signed (5 forwards, 5 dman, 2 goalies) with about 20 mill (including Landy 7 on LTIR). I assume Byram gets a decent raise.

Then you have opposite and some interesting teams.

I hate talking about Chicago, but my lord not counting Bedard, every forward is UFA or RFA within next 2 years.

This offseason should be an interesting one that's for sure.

I'm very curious to see what Colorado does, but I don't view them as a team in major cap trouble.

Byram is a really good player, but I don't see him getting a significant raise. He doesn't have arbitration rights and he's never played more than 42 games in a season. But when he's healthy, he looks like a top pair guy. I'd be surprised if they can find a long-term number that both parties like, so I expect the Avs to hold firm on a cheap 2 year bridge.

Same goes for Newhook. No arbitration rights and he didn't take the next step they were hoping he'd take. He probably can't command a huge raise. Realistically, they should be able to bridge Newhook and Byram on 2 year deals for $3M-$4M. Maybe even a little less.

If I were them, I'd be shopping Girard this summer. He's a good player with positive value, but I think he's becoming a luxury that they can't afford. He's never going to overtake Makar as their PP1 QB and they certainly can't afford all 3 of Girard, Toews, and Byram long term. If they can swap him for a similarly skilled forward making the same money, they are suddenly in okay shape. If Newhook/Byram make $4M and that new forward makes exactly what Girard makes, then they would be sitting on about $16M in space with 7F, 5D, and 2G under contract. Still holes to fill, but those contracts would include 5 legit top 6 forwards and 4 legit top 4 D. The rest of the summer would be about finding a legit 2C, a #5 D and then filling the rest with cheap depth.

I'm not sold that they can build a deep team next year, but I think they can field a pretty damn good team without sacrificing a core piece.

Boston will need to make major, major cuts.

 

[hullderko]

I was struggling to decide who to hate more -- Dallas or Vegas, but I must admit seeing Benn choke and lose again was pretty satisfying.

 

[Brian39]

They also have Pacioretty away for nothing, jettisoned the reigning Vezina winner in a clumsy fashion and tries to trade a player to a team on his no trade list.

Do you truly think every team in the league would have done that Pacioretty deal?

The reporting on the Dadonov situation is that Ottawa did not provide the league or Vegas with documentation that Dadonov's agent properly filed his no trade list. The only explanation offered by Vegas, Ottawa, or the league has been that Vegas was told that his NTC wasn't valid when they initially acquired him. The league didn't punish them for the attempted trade, which certainly supports the notion that they weren't simply acting in bad faith and Ottawa declined to comment about what happened. I absolutely think that there are 32 teams in this league that would try to trade a guy if they were told that his NTC wasn't valid.

With Fleury, it was clumsy because his agent negotiates in the media (he's the best in the business at it) and started telling suitors that Fleury was going to retire instead of reporting to his new team if he was traded. Fleury had a 10 team no-trade list and was trying to effectively expand that list by destroying his trade value by threatening to retire. I don't agree with the decision to go with Lehner over Fleury, but once they had determined that they were going to move on from Fleury long-term, I have zero problem with the trade. Going much cheaper in net and spending that money elsewhere has proven to be a good strategy so far.

They "gave away" Patches to clear up cap space needed for Jack Eichel. I don't know if every GM would give away Patches in order to afford a star 1C, but they absolutely should. Do you think that Vegas should have not made the Eichel trade knowing it meant that they would have to find a way to move Patches?

Again, they weren't moving these guys to bring in similar toys. All 3 deals you mentioned were done in order to fit Jack Eichel. Mark Stone, and Alex Pietrangelo under the cap. Every GM in the league should absolutely be willing to give away core-adjacent players in order to acquire/keep legitimate stud core players.

 

[Xerloris]

If only there were some type of clause that players could negotiate for that would limit a team's ability to move them.

You are describing professional sports. Professional athletes are assets that are moved at a moment's notice all the time. Every team in the league will happily move a player in order to make the team better. Our Stanley Cup was a direct result of doing exactly that. And then Vegas demonstrated more contractual loyalty to our Cup-winning captain than we were willing to demonstrate.

I will never understand this opinion about Vegas.

The "shiny new toys" have been objectively great players. Eichel is currently their leading scorer in the payoffs and is the frontrunner for playoff MVP if they win 4 more games. Stone is their captain, is tied for 3rd in playoff scoring for them and plays the 2nd most forward minutes for them. Petro is leading their team in ice time by 3:30+ per night and is their clear #1 D man. All 3 have full NMCs. Their 2nd, 5th, and 7th leading scorers in the playoffs have all been there since day 1 and then Barby is their deadline rental who rounds out the team's top 8 playoff producers.

It is absurd to act like they have just swapped guys out for the shiny new thing that isn't any better than what they already had. They moved out good players (and picks/prospects) in order to bring in great players.

They have done some really shitty things in their very short life span. Patches, Fluery, Dadonov?( the guy they traded against his NTC ). Those are shittty ass things to do to people and that's all been done in just a few years. Saying that a player should negotiate for a NMC to prevent that is literally victim blaming and it's pretty sad. I mean can you imagine winning the f***ing Vezina and then getting pissed on? What more could a player do to secure their spot? Then they still get shit on. All because they thought Lehner was better lol

not only that but they did this stuff publicly.

 

[TheDizee]

i think florida is in a whole other league than vegas right now. The teams Florida has dispatched has been quite impressive and I think they are better than the 2012 Kings if they win the cup.

 

[Brian39]

They have done some really shitty things in their very short life span. Patches, Fluery, Dadonov?( the guy they traded against his NTC ). Those are shittty ass things to do to people and that's all been done in just a few years. Saying that a player should negotiate for a NMC to prevent that is literally victim blaming and it's pretty sad. I mean can you imagine winning the f***ing Vezina and then getting pissed on? What more could a player do to secure their spot? Then they still get shit on. All because they thought Lehner was better lol

not only that but they did this stuff publicly.

You should stop watching pro sports if you believe that trading a player is a shitty ass thing to do and is pissing on someone. Every team in pro sports does this shitty ass thing multiple times every single year. Almost every player in the league is going to be victimized and pissed on by a team during their career based on this standard.

I'm not being hyperbolic here. How can you enjoy watching something that you believe victimizes 95% of the people involved?

These players are mutli-millionaires, are represented by some of the best lawyers/negotiators on the planet and there are very specifically defined contractual protections they can obtain to avoid being traded. NMCs and robust NTCs are overwhelmingly the industry standard for top-end players. Acting like they weren't considered when these guys signed their deals is absurd.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

They have done some really shitty things in their very short life span. Patches, Fluery, Dadonov?( the guy they traded against his NTC ). Those are shittty ass things to do to people and that's all been done in just a few years. Saying that a player should negotiate for a NMC to prevent that is literally victim blaming and it's pretty sad. I mean can you imagine winning the f***ing Vezina and then getting pissed on? What more could a player do to secure their spot? Then they still get shit on. All because they thought Lehner was better lol

not only that but they did this stuff publicly.

I’m no Vegas fan, but how is that different than what blues did to berglund? Or what most folks seemingly want to do to Krug?