Around the NHL 2024-2025

[ChicagoBlues]

Lol Sabres blow a 4-0 lead

Sooooo......do they blow or suck?

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Oilers fans are going to talk about HollyBro for years, just like Blues fans and Pietro.

 

[Brian39]

Seguin out 4-6 months for hip surgery, which pretty much assures that his regular season is over (4.5 months left). But that window makes a playoff return very realistic. Dallas suddenly has the cap space to make any acquisition they want. That includes contracts with term since Benn's $9.5M comes off the books this summer.

Losing him is a big blow because he was playing some damn good hockey. And who knows what his level of play will be like whenever he does get back into action. But that recovery window is ideal for them to deal with it.

 

[Stealth JD]

Big money contract, you say. Maybe Jim Nill would like to add the veteran leadership and truculence brought by one Brayden Schenn. He could be the guy to push them over the top!

Spoiler

Schenn has looked better under Monty...I'll give him that.

 

[Brian39]

Big money contract, you say. Maybe Jim Nill would like to add the veteran leadership and truculence brought by one Brayden Schenn. He could be the guy to push them over the top!

Spoiler

Schenn has looked better under Monty...I'll give him that.

I think that contract is essentially unmovable, but I agree that he's looked better under Monty.

Back to Dallas though, I wonder if they have interest in Trouba. RHD is their thinnest position on the NHL roster and they have very little snarl on the back end. They would be more than justified telling the Rangers that they have to take back Dumba's contract to help make the money work, so they would at least be shedding $2M+ of bad money while taking on Trouba's bad money.

 

[Stelmacki]

Oilers fans are going to talk about HollyBro for years, just like Blues fans and Pietro.

The thread on their board about these two has some hilariously pathetic takes.

 

[Stealth JD]

Looking at the playoff standings today, the two teams we need to pass to get into a playoff spot are the Oilers and the Avs. That would be hilarious if the blues could run both of them down and leave them on the outside looking in.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I think that contract is essentially unmovable, but I agree that he's looked better under Monty.

Back to Dallas though, I wonder if they have interest in Trouba. RHD is their thinnest position on the NHL roster and they have very little snarl on the back end. They would be more than justified telling the Rangers that they have to take back Dumba's contract to help make the money work, so they would at least be shedding $2M+ of bad money while taking on Trouba's bad money.

Dallas will have lots of cap by the TDL, but I’m not sure what they can do with it except take on a couple bad contracts. If I were Nill, I’d wait for the offseason when the JRob situation clears up. He is pretty much a goner.

Dallas is barely playoff-worthy and barely better than the teams chasing them.

 

[Brockon]

Dallas will have lots of cap by the TDL, but I’m not sure what they can do with it except take on a couple bad contracts. If I were Nill, I’d wait for the offseason when the JRob situation clears up. He is pretty much a goner.

Dallas is barely playoff-worthy and barely better than the teams chasing them.

I imagine the 4-6 month recovery timeline for Seguin's procedures means his 9.85m of LTIR can be used to make a high cap hit acquisition today, rather than waiting for the TDL.

Benn, Dadonov and Duchene are all pending UFAs, so they have a fair amount of cap space to work with acquiring someone with term if there's a fit out there. That's 14.75m opening up that if these 3 players return it will be for significantly less than Benn makes now, or a reasonable pay bump for Duchene. Dadonov I think is gone as a 36 y/o UFA due to the other younger internal options.

Bourque, Johnston and Lundkvist are all RFAs this summer, but Dallas has been bridging a lot of their players recently - if they take that route for 2 of 3 and extend the most promising player here long-term that's not too daunting.

Edit: some cleaning up of a poorly worded sentence.

Also, looking at the standings, I think Dallas will probably add sooner rather than later, because they don't have a huge points lead (they do have games in hand over the WC 1&2, C 1&2 and teams chasing them). There isn't very much separation in the playoff picture right now and they have to be watching the Blues with some wariness since the coaching change - nobody expects us to keep up a 0.875 points percentage, but we've gone from a team that was almost certainly missing the playoffs to one that is playing itself into the mix for a spot.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I imagine the 4-6 month recovery timeline for Seguin's procedures means his 9.85m of LTIR can be used to make a high cap hit acquisition today, rather than waiting for the TDL.

Benn, Dadonov and Duchene are all pending UFAs, so they have a fair amount of cap space to work with acquiring someone with term if there's a fit out there. That's 14.75m opening up that if these 3 players return it will be for significantly less than Benn makes now, or a reasonable pay bump for Duchene. Dadonov I think is gone as a 36 y/o UFA due to the other younger internal options.

Bourque, Johnston and Lundkvist are all RFAs this summer, but Dallas has been bridging a lot of their players recently - if they take that route for 2 of 3 and extend the most promising player here long-term that's not too daunting.

Edit: some cleaning up of a poorly worded sentence.

Also, looking at the standings, I think Dallas will probably add sooner rather than later, because they don't have a huge points lead (they do have games in hand over the WC 1&2, C 1&2 and teams chasing them). There isn't very much separation in the playoff picture right now and they have to be watching the Blues with some wariness since the coaching change - nobody expects us to keep up a 0.875 points percentage, but we've gone from a team that was almost certainly missing the playoffs to one that is playing itself into the mix for a spot.

It’s not a so terrible of a problem that Nill can’t fix it. They need to a better bottom pairing D and should focus on that.

Nils doing what he does, suck. Lybushkin has been good, but Dumba and B Smith stink.

They have Kyrou and Bichsel, but neither are going to be game breakers. Maybe Bichsel, but the dude is pissing off people wherever he goes.

That is a roster caught in “the in between”. They will have cap for term in the summer. Nill is creative, so I expect him to do something unexpected.

I’ll add more to my post shortly.

 

[Xerloris]

I think that contract is essentially unmovable, but I agree that he's looked better under Monty.

Back to Dallas though, I wonder if they have interest in Trouba. RHD is their thinnest position on the NHL roster and they have very little snarl on the back end. They would be more than justified telling the Rangers that they have to take back Dumba's contract to help make the money work, so they would at least be shedding $2M+ of bad money while taking on Trouba's bad money.

I thought Dumba was supposed to be good?

 

[TheOrganist]

Dallas will have lots of cap by the TDL, but I’m not sure what they can do with it except take on a couple bad contracts. If I were Nill, I’d wait for the offseason when the JRob situation clears up. He is pretty much a goner.

Dallas is barely playoff-worthy and barely better than the teams chasing them.

You are really obsessed with tearing down Dallas. They have a great, young roster with the key pieces in place that all contending teams need. They are good and will be good for many years. Move on.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

You are really obsessed with tearing down Dallas. They have a great, young roster with the key pieces in place that all contending teams need. They are good and will be good for many years. Move on.

I’m not moving on from an extremely satisfying thought experiment that is fluid and dynamic. I started all of this to push back on the blind Dallas worship around here and to counter what is believed to be a great, young roster. It’s not. They have several great pieces, but that is not a great, young roster.

So, I shall carry on with my fun, dynamic word problem and occasionally be wrong. Big deal.

 

[TheOrganist]

Fun, dynamic word problem. Satisfying and fluid thought experiment. I don’t know what that means but ok, Chief. You do you. Dallas will the Central and I don’t think there’s another roster in the NHL I would trade for other than maybe Florida.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Fun, dynamic word problem. Satisfying and fluid thought experiment. I don’t know what that means but ok, Chief. You do you. Dallas will the Central and I don’t think there’s another roster in the NHL I would trade for other than maybe Florida.

Okie dokie

You’d trade for a deeply flawed roster. Maybe it is you who is obsessed with Stars worship and can’t get see how challenging of a situation they have in Dallas. You’re not the only one.

Oilers fans are also delusional.

I get enamored by certain players and it was fun watching Wyatt take off and Pavs and JRob tearing it up and then Stankmaster making plays. I get it.

And Jake playing well, and Harley starting to blossom. Esa is a gem and Miro is a stud. So, yeah, lots to like there.

After those guys, Wyatt, Stank, Esa, Miro and Harley, it’s ugly. No depth. Few trade chips. You’d trade for that?

But look at where they are right now. Look at the results. It ain’t pretty.

They are caught in between and are not contenders in the least bit.

EDIT: Hold on, we’re you trying to say that Dallas will WIN the Central?

 

[TheOrganist]

They are currently betting favorites to win the Central despite being in 3rd place and trailing the division leader by 6 pts and only having a game in hand. There’s a fine line between thinking for yourself and being a loon. You seem to fall into the latter category. But YOU. DO. YOU.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

They are currently betting favorites to win the Central despite being in 3rd place and trailing the division leader by 6 pts and only having a game in hand. There’s a fine line between thinking for yourself and being a loon. You seem to fall into the latter category. But YOU. DO. YOU.

A loon? Is that the best you got? An insult that is lame. But you do you. Trust the polls. We see how that works out.

EDIT: Marchment has the been the biggest surprise. Whether this is the new Mush or a single-season burst, the Stars should ride it, but be leery of an extension. He was up to his typical shenanigans early in the season, but has since reined in his emotional outbursts resulting in a far slower rate of PIMs in the last 12 games or so.

I started souring on the Stars during the WCF and nothing they've done since has made them better. They are are worse.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I thought Dumba was supposed to be good?

Dumba had a few very good years with the Wild, but he is a shell of his former self and it just hasn't worked out in Dallas.

I have no doubt that Nill has a couple deals cooking to get scoring now and also a plan for the defense. I can see someone like Malkin joining the Stars and then maybe Geno goes full merc after this season..

The Supergroup experiment in Nashville has failed. I wonder if Nill is trying for Stamkos.

 

[Xerloris]

Dumba had a few very good years with the Wild, but he is a shell of his former self and it just hasn't worked out in Dallas.

I have no doubt that Nill has a couple deals cooking to get scoring now and also a plan for the defense. I can see someone like Malkin joining the Stars and then maybe Geno goes full merc after this season..

The Supergroup experiment in Nashville has failed. I wonder if Nill is trying for Stamkos.

I would definitely take ROR back and his contract is only for 2 years after this one right?

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I would definitely take ROR back and his contract is only for 2 years after this one right?

Yes. 2@ 4.5

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Stars-Kings game is pretty good.

I tuned in with Stars up 2-0. It's now 2-3 Kings.

Whichever line Steel is on is creating scoring chances. Daddy looks okay.

Byfield is having a great game. He seems really focused on being perfect. He trusts his abilities. Jeannot is a good a partner for him this game.

Rittich is tracking well.

Nils' shot is slow and terrible.

 

[Reality Czech]

Big money contract, you say. Maybe Jim Nill would like to add the veteran leadership and truculence brought by one Brayden Schenn. He could be the guy to push them over the top!

Spoiler

Schenn has looked better under Monty...I'll give him that.

Trading our second best center when center is already our biggest weakness sounds like a great idea.

 

[BlueOil]

i'll add to the dallas doubt and think it's well-warranted. hintz and heiskanen just aren't reliable enough as your 1C and 1D. far too many games where they are absent or outcompeted by the opposing team. just like zibanejad and fox in new york. the central being a weaker division also means dallas just has to be good, but not great to make the playoffs and that seems to be their sweet spot. wouldn't rule out them entering the playoffs as a wild card if the avs go on a run at some point or get a goalie. really doubt they win the division or have home ice in the playoffs. they just lose too much on the road so far. maybe their top line finally starts producing at a higher rate and things change, but right now they live or dive with oettinger and their depth scoring.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

i'll add to the dallas doubt and think it's well-warranted. hintz and heiskanen just aren't reliable enough as your 1C and 1D. far too many games where they are absent or outcompeted by the opposing team. just like zibanejad and fox in new york. the central being a weaker division also means dallas just has to be good, but not great to make the playoffs and that seems to be their sweet spot. wouldn't rule out them entering the playoffs as a wild card if the avs go on a run at some point or get a goalie. really doubt they win the division or have home ice in the playoffs. they just lose too much on the road so far. maybe their top line finally starts producing at a higher rate and things change, but right now they live or dive with oettinger and their depth scoring.

What are ya? A loon?!

 

[TheOrganist]

I should add that I like Dallas relative to other teams b/c they have both a positive short-term & long-term outlook with their cap structure (older, aging, overpaid guys about to fall off the books). In an era of parity and where it's hard to sustain consistent success they seem to have a really good foundation to be good for a while.