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Xerloris said:
I really don't care how good McDavid is, the fact the oilers are able to get to the finals by banging their heads against the wall until the stars align and they get carried by 2 guys is f***ing dumb. I hope they don't win and I hope they never win a cup as long as they're such a shit show of a franchise. I would love to see McDavid and Drai win but just not with Edmonton.
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This was definitely true before this year, but they have actually turned a corner on the defensive side. That, coupled with none of the big dogs being hurt, as led them to where they should be just taking into account the top end talent. If they had a goalie, they would fare so well in the coming years, but they're doing ok right now. It's also a bit disingenuous to say only McDavid and Draisaitl have carried them; they are definitely doing a lot of the work, but Nuge, Bouchard, and Hyman are also leading the charge. Knoblauch has done a good job changing up the lines and pairings for his first playoff run, but the jury is still out on if he is a good coach. All I can say is that he is pushing the right buttons and that's really all you need. This oilers team feels a bit like the first Penguins team from 2016 - basically zero defenseman, generational talent up top, secondary scoring throughout the lineup, but the goalie situation is much different. Might lose Edmonton the series if they can hold the forechecking of Florida at bay.
 
What I meant by that, @Renard, is that their roster was a poor mix of older vets and young up and comers who are inexperienced. Mix that in with their issues on D and that they have several UFA/RFAs and it seems to me that they will have a lot of turnover.

Suter is probably going to be bought out (if that's possible). Either way, he will be escorted out of town.
Dadonov will be available.
Duchene withered in the WCF and is pretty much gone.
Pavs (poor guy) might be done for good.
Benn has just one more year on his contract, so he'll be around for a minute yet.
Tanev will be gone, Jani gone, Pouliot gone, Lundqvist needs to go.
Harley needs to be extended, but he also withered in the WCF.

They will have cap room and will be attractive to the top D FAs.
 
Blueston said:
I hope they drop that awful black/neon alternate!
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My first time seeing in person that green-trimmed building downtown, I screamed Cheaters!!!

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Dallas is a bit of a paper tiger with a mid-to-low ranking prospect pool and few draft picks coming up (barring acquisitions). I was not excited about them as true Cup contenders and am not surprised they got bounced in G6. Dallas drafted FOUR defensemen in 2022, so maybe two pan out.

The Avs are in for some trouble as well with a good deal of roster turnover coming up. Nichushkin's absence is a problem, but they also have a low-ranking prospect pool and mostly late-round picks this draft.

Winnipeg is in pretty good shape, if only people wanted to be there.

In 3-4 seasons, the Blues will be the Central's juggernaut with the Predators right behind them when they wiggle out of their dead cap situation. NSH has enough draft capital to be able to weather their dead cap issue as their prospects grow, with the understanding that, as the cap increases, the impact of dead cap lessens. There's a lot to like in Nashville. They're doing what we're doing; stay competitive and keep re-tooling.
 
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mk80 said:
This popped up on my twitter feed today and was an interesting quick read about some of the rejected color schemes and ideas from the rebrand that led to their current look.

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I still can’t figure out why they ever got rid of their unis they won the Cup with in 99. Those were absolutely perfect and everything they’ve done since then has been hot garbage.
 
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ChicagoBlues said:
My first time seeing in person that green-trimmed building downtown, I screamed Cheaters!!!

--

Dallas is a bit of a paper tiger with a mid-to-low ranking prospect pool and few draft picks coming up (barring acquisitions). I was not excited about them as true Cup contenders and am not surprised they got bounced in G6. Dallas drafted FOUR defensemen in 2022, so maybe two pan out.

The Avs are in for some trouble as well with a good deal of roster turnover coming up. Nichushkin's absence is a problem, but they also have a low-ranking prospect pool and mostly late-round picks this draft.

Winnipeg is in pretty good shape, if only people wanted to be there.

In 3-4 seasons, the Blues will be the Central's juggernaut with the Predators right behind them when they wiggle out of their dead cap situation. NSH has enough draft capital to be able to weather their dead cap issue as their prospects grow, with the understanding that, as the cap increases, the impact of dead cap lessens. There's a lot to like in Nashville. They're doing what we're doing; stay competitive and keep re-tooling.
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I don't agree with your take on Dallas.

X Hintz Robertson
Stankoven Johnston x
X Seguin x

Benn, Marchment, Dadonov all fit into those roles, meaning they need a middle 6 winger for the coming season - something tells me Benn stays on cheap after his deal ends this year. Dadonov likely leaves a 2025 UFA, but for the 2024-25 season the top 9 is in good shape with both Johnston and Stankoven looking really impressive in the playoffs.

Lindell Heiskanen
Harley Suter

They need a 3/4 to replace Suter in the next year (2025 UFA, but shouldn't be 2nd pairing at his age & mileage).

Overall Dallas needs to add a middle 6 forward and a 2nd pairing dman, then figure out their 4th line and 3rd D pairing (far easier to address). 16m shouldn't leave them hurting too much doing so.

They aren't likely to be a top 2 team in the league again next year, but they will be top 10. And the West isn't as highly competitive as the east of recent years - I'd expect them to be 2nd round or 3rd round exit again next year unless Nill pulls a rabbit out of a hat this summer, to cement that 2nd D pairing and a solid 2nd line winger while clearing a little cap space to sign Harley long term.
 
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ChicagoBlues said:
What I meant by that, @Renard, is that their roster was a poor mix of older vets and young up and comers who are inexperienced. Mix that in with their issues on D and that they have several UFA/RFAs and it seems to me that they will have a lot of turnover.

Suter is probably going to be bought out (if that's possible). Either way, he will be escorted out of town.
Dadonov will be available.
Duchene withered in the WCF and is pretty much gone.
Pavs (poor guy) might be done for good.
Benn has just one more year on his contract, so he'll be around for a minute yet.
Tanev will be gone, Jani gone, Pouliot gone, Lundqvist needs to go.
Harley needs to be extended, but he also withered in the WCF.

They will have cap room and will be attractive to the top D FAs.
Click to expand...
They have a number of talented young players.

Some of their draft choices have come through - like Johnston playing as a regular at age 19.
 
ChicagoBlues said:
What I meant by that, @Renard, is that their roster was a poor mix of older vets and young up and comers who are inexperienced. Mix that in with their issues on D and that they have several UFA/RFAs and it seems to me that they will have a lot of turnover.

Suter is probably going to be bought out (if that's possible). Either way, he will be escorted out of town.
Dadonov will be available.
Duchene withered in the WCF and is pretty much gone.
Pavs (poor guy) might be done for good.
Benn has just one more year on his contract, so he'll be around for a minute yet.
Tanev will be gone, Jani gone, Pouliot gone, Lundqvist needs to go.
Harley needs to be extended, but he also withered in the WCF.

They will have cap room and will be attractive to the top D FAs.
Click to expand...
i bet they keep suter, sure everyone hates him, but he's at least 6/7 material still and they'll need someone to replace if they buy him out, which just adds to their already glaring defensive needs

do they try to sign pavelski mid-season to see if he can at least skate in may still?
 
BlueOil said:
i bet they keep suter, sure everyone hates him, but he's at least 6/7 material still and they'll need someone to replace if they buy him out, which just adds to their already glaring defensive needs

do they try to sign pavelski mid-season to see if he can at least skate in may still?
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Pavelski retired according to the crawl line on last nites late news. Pavelski is from Plover, WI.
 
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ChicagoBlues said:
What I meant by that, @Renard, is that their roster was a poor mix of older vets and young up and comers who are inexperienced. Mix that in with their issues on D and that they have several UFA/RFAs and it seems to me that they will have a lot of turnover.

Suter is probably going to be bought out (if that's possible). Either way, he will be escorted out of town.
Dadonov will be available.
Duchene withered in the WCF and is pretty much gone.
Pavs (poor guy) might be done for good.
Benn has just one more year on his contract, so he'll be around for a minute yet.
Tanev will be gone, Jani gone, Pouliot gone, Lundqvist needs to go.
Harley needs to be extended, but he also withered in the WCF.

They will have cap room and will be attractive to the top D FAs.
Click to expand...
Yeah, think your take here is just way off.

They may lose Pavelski and Smith/Duchene but that’s about it on offense. Doubt Dadanov is going anywhere. They’ll probably try to re-sign Duchene, he had a good playoff run for them IMO.

On defense they need to fill out their bottom pairing and add a second pairing guy. Not that heavy of a lift, they are projected to have about $15ish mill in cap space. Zero chance Suter gets bought out IMO (no idea where that’s coming from…?). Ideally they’d probably like to add a top 4 dman (re-sign Tanev?) to push Suter to the bottom pairing, but he is more than fine as a 4/5 D for one more year.

Brockon said:
I don't agree with your take on Dallas.

X Hintz Robertson
Stankoven Johnston x
X Seguin x

Benn, Marchment, Dadonov all fit into those roles, meaning they need a middle 6 winger for the coming season - something tells me Benn stays on cheap after his deal ends this year. Dadonov likely leaves a 2025 UFA, but for the 2024-25 season the top 9 is in good shape with both Johnston and Stankoven looking really impressive in the playoffs.

Lindell Heiskanen
Harley Suter

They need a 3/4 to replace Suter in the next year (2025 UFA, but shouldn't be 2nd pairing at his age & mileage).

Overall Dallas needs to add a middle 6 forward and a 2nd pairing dman, then figure out their 4th line and 3rd D pairing (far easier to address). 16m shouldn't leave them hurting too much doing so.

They aren't likely to be a top 2 team in the league again next year, but they will be top 10. And the West isn't as highly competitive as the east of recent years - I'd expect them to be 2nd round or 3rd round exit again next year unless Nill pulls a rabbit out of a hat this summer, to cement that 2nd D pairing and a solid 2nd line winger while clearing a little cap space to sign Harley long term.
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Don’t forget about Mavrik Bourque, he will likely be in the lineup for the stars next season! Not to mention a full season of Stankoven and continued growth from Johnston. On defense, I wonder if Bichsel and/or Kyrou will get a shot at some NHL games next year.

They will probably try to re-sign Duchene and/or Smith, add a reliable dman (re-sign Tanev?), and run it back. Frankly, they are going to be very good the next couple years unfortunately haha
 
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stl76 said:
Yeah, think your take here is just way off.

They may lose Pavelski and Smith/Duchene but that’s about it on offense. Doubt Dadanov is going anywhere. They’ll probably try to re-sign Duchene, he had a good playoff run for them IMO.

On defense they need to fill out their bottom pairing and add a second pairing guy. Not that heavy of a lift, they are projected to have about $15ish mill in cap space. Zero chance Suter gets bought out IMO (no idea where that’s coming from…?). Ideally they’d probably like to add a top 4 dman (re-sign Tanev?) to push Suter to the bottom pairing, but he is more than fine as a 4/5 D for one more year.


Don’t forget about Mavrik Bourque, he will likely be in the lineup for the stars next season! Not to mention a full season of Stankoven and continued growth from Johnston. On defense, I wonder if Bichsel and/or Kyrou will get a shot at some NHL games next year.

They will probably try to re-sign Duchene and/or Smith, add a reliable dman (re-sign Tanev?), and run it back. Frankly, they are going to be very good the next couple years unfortunately haha
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I'm thinking Harley probably takes 5-8m to sign depending on term and trade protection. Unless they strong arm his no arbitration rights into a 2x2 kind of bridge deal and deal with the monster contract he's going to push for after a bridge deal.

Then you figure another 2nd pair dman is going cost something similar. Unless they ship out cap (looking at these guys as candidates)

Suter 3.65 (39 y/o)
Faksa 3.25 (30 y/o)
Dadonov 2.25 (35 y/o)

There isn't room for Duchene to come back at even a modest 4.5 AAV without moving someone else out.

They have 5 F openings (3 if you pencil in Steel and Bourque for ~2m).

They have 4 D openings (3 after signing Harley and I'm guessing we see him sign one of a 2x2 or a 6.5x5-7 deal).

They also need a backup goalie.

So, let's say they re-sign Harley, Steel and use Bourque at his 900k - that's either 4m or ~8.5m depending on Harley's contract. That's 12m or 7.5m to fill out 5 bottom line/pairing spots and a backup goalie.

Easily affordable, but it forces Duchesne or other marquee free agents out unless they go all in and don't lock up Harley long term. And if they sign a marquee free agent by bridging Harley, then when Johnston (2025 RFA) and Stankoven/Robertson/Harley (2026 RFAs) need new deals that leaves them in an awkward spot - even accounting for Marchment, Benn and others being up.
 
Renard said:
They have a number of talented young players.

Some of their draft choices have come through - like Johnston playing as a regular at age 19.
Click to expand...

Minor correction - Johnston turned 21 in May, so their talented ypung players were this age for the regular season

Johnston 20
Stankoven 20
Bourque 21 (black ace, impressive Sophomore pro season at PPG+ in AHL season + playoffs)
Delleandra 23 (debatable, but you didn't give names)
Robertson 24

Harley 22
Lundqvist 23 (also debatable, included for completeness).
Heiskanen 24
 
Brockon said:
Minor correction - Johnston turned 21 in May, so their talented ypung players were this age for the regular season

Johnston 20
Stankoven 20
Bourque 21 (black ace, impressive Sophomore pro season at PPG+ in AHL season + playoffs)
Delleandra 23 (debatable, but you didn't give names)
Robertson 24

Harley 22
Lundqvist 23 (also debatable, included for completeness).
Heiskanen 24
Click to expand...
Don't forget Oettinger is only 25. Dallas is going to be a wagon for awhile imo, they have a very young AND very good core. I would commit felonies for Heiskanen.
 
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Dallas would solve the vast majority of their cap issues if they can reach a 3 year bridge deal with Harley. A 2 year bridge doesn't make much sense for Dallas since they have to give Robertson and Stankoven new deals that same summer. Seguin has 3 years left on his deal, so trying to give 3 big raises out in the last year of his contract would be tough. But getting Harley to agree to 3 years would allow his raise to come in a summer where no one else (currently) is owed a raise and Seguin's $9.85Mwould be naturally coming off the books.

They could also do a 4 year deal without too much worry.

Harley has some leverage, but not a ton. He still has 5 more seasons before hitting UFA and he doesn't have arbitration rights this summer. Playing on his QO to get to arbitration next summer would lead to the Stars being able to take a 2 year arb award that would expire with the player still having 2 more years before hitting UFA.

It feels like there should be a pretty reasonable AAV that would satisfy both sides with either a 3 or 4 year deal. The player would be setting himself up for a massive pay day following his age 25 (or 26) season since a max-term deal would only take him through his age 33 (or 34) season. In that scenario, the team wouldn't be buying "bad" years and he should be able to make an absolute killing. Alternatively, a 3 or 4 year deal would give Harley the chance to go to arbitration following his age 25 (or 26) season, make bank on a 1-2 year deal and then hit UFA before his 29th birthday.

If Harley believes that he is going to keep improving, a 3 or 4 year deal is pretty much ideal (excluding a 5 year deal which Dallas almost certainly wouldn't do). I don't think he's proven enough to earn huge money on a long term deal this summer (from a win-now team with some cap crunch), so setting up his next contract as best as possible should be a large priority.

Lindgren was in a similar position with the Rangers coming off his ELC as a 22 year old and got $3M x 3 years. Different role and I think Harley has proven more. But Lindgren got $3M x 3 years. Adjust the AAV into the higher 3s or the low 4s and I think it starts to make a ton of sense. That AAV opens up flexibility for the Stars and pushes his big raise until after a bunch of dead money comes of the books and the cap increases by a good amount.
 
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