Around the NHL 2024-2025

[ChicagoBlues]

I don't think it is odd at all. It's not like they had him signed and in the press box for 2 weeks and then decided to debut him. He played 50+ minutes in DU's Frozen Four game Thursday 4/10 before losing in double OT. Even if he had signed with Minnesota that night and, it would have been asking way too much to have him join the team on a Canadian road trip to make his NHL debut Friday or Saturday without ever practicing with the team. And then their final regular season game was a do-or-die with more pressure than any of the playoff games they've played so far.

I think having him get a week of practices with the team and playing game 1 made a ton of sense. Including rookie mistakes, I think that there is very much an argument that he belongs on the ice among their blue line. I'm happy we got to season Snuggy a bit, but given the talent, I'd have wanted Snuggy in the lineup right now if he had made the Frozen Four.

Hard disagree. This doesn't make much sense.

He played a ton of minutes in a college tournament, not the AHL. How can you say that inserting a barely-19 y/o defenseman in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs made a ton of sense? A forward? Maybe. Not a defenseman and especially not one drafted as highly as he was with the risk of hindering his development and diminishing his confidence.

With that said, Guerin and company are on the inside and have watched him play and then practice with the Wild. They know more than we do. They took a major risk debuting a highly-drafted 19 y/o defenseman in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs. That is, objectively, a stupid idea and that it has somewhat worked out is luck. It is easy to disagree with my statement when you can look back at 4 games and see that he is not extremely in over his head.

With that said #2, Buium was benched in G4 OT, which contributed to the other 5 D being a little gassed. Also, it looks like Buium will sit for G5 in favor of Merrill.

 

[STL fan in MN]

I can tell you most Wild fans did not agree with Buium not playing Game 82 as he’d already had one 1 practice in by then (and already pranked by MAF so fully initiated into the team I suppose) but I can understand why. They hadn’t secured a playoff spot by then so went with the guys that got them there, which made sense.

I did find it a little odd he then played Game 1 but not super odd. NHL coaches aren’t morons. The Wild coaches must’ve felt after seeing him in practice a few days by then that he gave them a slightly better chance. I thought he’s done alright. Very tough first assignment. But also don’t disagree Merrill should go in for him now.

Heck of a future for the kid though. But he’s still pretty slight. 180, maybe 185 lbs. Get him a little experience and 10ish more lbs of muscle and I bet he’ll start to shine.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I can tell you most Wild fans did not agree with Buium not playing Game 82 as he’d already had one 1 practice in by then (and already pranked by MAF so fully initiated into the team I suppose) but I can understand why. They hadn’t secured a playoff spot by then so went with the guys that got them there, which made sense.

I did find it a little odd he then played Game 1 but not super odd. NHL coaches aren’t morons. The Wild coaches must’ve felt after seeing him in practice a few days by then that he gave them a slightly better chance. I thought he’s done alright. Very tough first assignment. But also don’t disagree Merrill should go in for him now.

Heck of a future for the kid though. But he’s still pretty slight. 180, maybe 185 lbs. Get him a little experience and 10ish more lbs of muscle and I bet he’ll start to shine.

I love him and wish he was in our system. I’d hate to see him lose confidence if he falters because he was exposed too early.

 

[Brian39]

Hard disagree. This doesn't make much sense.

He played a ton of minutes in a college tournament, not the AHL. How can you say that inserting a barely-19 y/o defenseman in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs made a ton of sense? A forward? Maybe. Not a defenseman and especially not one drafted as highly as he was with the risk of hindering his development and diminishing his confidence.

With that said, Guerin and company are on the inside and have watched him play and then practice with the Wild. They know more than we do. They took a major risk debuting a highly-drafted 19 y/o defenseman in Game 1 of the NHL playoffs. That is, objectively, a stupid idea and that it has somewhat worked out is luck. It is easy to disagree with my statement when you can look back at 4 games and see that he is not extremely in over his head.

With that said #2, Buium was benched in G4 OT, which contributed to the other 5 D being a little gassed. Also, it looks like Buium will sit for G5 in favor of Merrill.

I don't care what level it is at. 50+ minutes is an insane TOI in a competitive hockey game. Making your NHL debut less than 48 hours after a 50+ minute game is a recipe to have absolutely no legs to compete. The fact that it was "only" the NCAA and not the AHL doesn't mean the player is going to have more energy. Playing 50+ minutes on Thursday and then playing his first NHL game Friday or Saturday with zero practices would have been a horrifically bad decision. I don't know what to tell you if you think that he'd have been good to play in one of those games.

Game 1 of the playoffs was the least important game the Wild have played since then. It was less important than game 82 of the regular season and is less important than any game further into a series. The only other D man I can recall making his NHL debut in the playoffs was Cale Makar and it worked out pretty damn well. Was that a smart decision because game 3 was the first game he was eligible to play? Is there something easier about making a debut in game 3 of a tied series than game 1? Or was it objectively stupid too?

I think deciding that "we can never play you in the playoffs because you haven't played yet" is far dumber than playing a player you believe to be ready in the least important game of the playoffs. Because that is what game 1 is unless you jump out to a huge series lead. If you can't play them in game 1 of round 1, there are usually know 'better' games to play them. Because the intensity only increases. I sure as hell don't think the Blues would be better today if Snuggy had made the Frozen 4, joined the team too late to get acclimated for our do-or-die game 82, and we decided that we just couldn't play him in the playoffs after that.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I don't care what level it is at. 50+ minutes is an insane TOI in a competitive hockey game. Making your NHL debut less than 48 hours after a 50+ minute game is a recipe to have absolutely no legs to compete. The fact that it was "only" the NCAA and not the AHL doesn't mean the player is going to have more energy. Playing 50+ minutes on Thursday and then playing his first NHL game Friday or Saturday with zero practices would have been a horrifically bad decision. I don't know what to tell you if you think that he'd have been good to play in one of those games.

Game 1 of the playoffs was the least important game the Wild have played since then. It was less important than game 82 of the regular season and is less important than any game further into a series. The only other D man I can recall making his NHL debut in the playoffs was Cale Makar and it worked out pretty damn well. Was that a smart decision because game 3 was the first game he was eligible to play? Is there something easier about making a debut in game 3 of a tied series than game 1? Or was it objectively stupid too?

I think deciding that "we can never play you in the playoffs because you haven't played yet" is far dumber than playing a player you believe to be ready in the least important game of the playoffs. Because that is what game 1 is unless you jump out to a huge series lead. If you can't play them in game 1 of round 1, there are usually know 'better' games to play them. Because the intensity only increases. I sure as hell don't think the Blues would be better today if Snuggy had made the Frozen 4, joined the team too late to get acclimated for our do-or-die game 82, and we decided that we just couldn't play him in the playoffs after that.

No no no.

My opinion is that they should’ve waited until next season.

And characterizing any playoff game as “less important” is bad thinking.

Every single playoff game is massively important.

Also, comparing Snuggy to Buim doesn’t make sense.

 

[MissouriMook]

Lightning with the ultimate FU to the Panthers and the refs. Ekblad sends Hagel to the locker room with a forearm to the head right in front of the ref with no call. Cooper is irate on the bench and his team goes out and scores twice in 11 seconds to take a 2-1 lead.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Lightning with the ultimate FU to the Panthers and the refs. Ekblad sends Hagel to the locker room with a forearm to the head right in front of the ref with no call. Cooper is irate on the bench and his team goes out and scores twice in 11 seconds to take a 2-1 lead.

But noooooooo......sports isn't rigged. C'mon!

We should let games be decided by a fan duel.

 

[Stelmacki]

Tamps bay just casually putting up a 5 min power play with 0 SOG.

 

[Xerloris]

I don't care what level it is at. 50+ minutes is an insane TOI in a competitive hockey game. Making your NHL debut less than 48 hours after a 50+ minute game is a recipe to have absolutely no legs to compete. The fact that it was "only" the NCAA and not the AHL doesn't mean the player is going to have more energy. Playing 50+ minutes on Thursday and then playing his first NHL game Friday or Saturday with zero practices would have been a horrifically bad decision. I don't know what to tell you if you think that he'd have been good to play in one of those games.

Game 1 of the playoffs was the least important game the Wild have played since then. It was less important than game 82 of the regular season and is less important than any game further into a series. The only other D man I can recall making his NHL debut in the playoffs was Cale Makar and it worked out pretty damn well. Was that a smart decision because game 3 was the first game he was eligible to play? Is there something easier about making a debut in game 3 of a tied series than game 1? Or was it objectively stupid too?

I think deciding that "we can never play you in the playoffs because you haven't played yet" is far dumber than playing a player you believe to be ready in the least important game of the playoffs. Because that is what game 1 is unless you jump out to a huge series lead. If you can't play them in game 1 of round 1, there are usually know 'better' games to play them. Because the intensity only increases. I sure as hell don't think the Blues would be better today if Snuggy had made the Frozen 4, joined the team too late to get acclimated for our do-or-die game 82, and we decided that we just couldn't play him in the playoffs after that.

Goalies routinely play 60 minutes per night and if you think playing goal is less physically demanding than playing defense that's just wrong.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Tamps bay just casually putting up a 5 min power play with 0 SOG.

How much were they paid to do that?

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Goalies routinely play 60 minutes per night and if you think playing goal is less physically demanding than playing defense that's just wrong.

I just read about a kid in midgets who plays 60+ every single game. I don't care at what level this happens, bring him up NOW!!!

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Lightning with the ultimate FU to the Panthers and the refs. Ekblad sends Hagel to the locker room with a forearm to the head right in front of the ref with no call. Cooper is irate on the bench and his team goes out and scores twice in 11 seconds to take a 2-1 lead.

Florida pulled an uno reverse and scored their own pair of goals in 11 seconds.

 

[mk80]

Every series in East at 3-1, meanwhile the West is all at 2-2, minus the winner of Stars vs Avs tonight. There could be some very rested eastern teams next round

 

[TheOrganist]

Stars seem to be finding their mojo. Would love it if the Avs lost. They had the second lowest odds to win the Cup after they won Game 1.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Every series in East at 3-1, meanwhile the West is all at 2-2, minus the winner of Stars vs Avs tonight. There could be some very rested eastern teams next round

West teams are generally much better than East. If Florida can stay healthy, hard to see anyone out east touching them. West is a bloodbath where virtually anyone can win.

 

[TheDizee]

refalanche getting shit on

 

[ChicagoBlues]

refalanche getting shit on

Poopalanche

 

[TruBlueFan1970]

refalanche getting shit on

Down 5-2 after 2nd period so I expect them to get at least 4 power plays in the 3rd. NateMac working the refs hard.

 

[TheDizee]

avs board is a great read

 

[Stelmacki]

I’ve been on a hot streak of turning on a playoff game and seeing the team that was leading, immediately blow it. I think I’ll not turn on the Dallas-Colorado game and watch Andor instead.

 

[TheDizee]

going to lose in the 1st round, have zero draft capital for the next 2 years and half their roster is UFA with hardly any cap space

wat a shame

Colorado Avalanche | Salary cap and contracts

Explore the salary cap, contracts, depth-charts and Armchair GM Mode for the Colorado Avalanche. Get insights into player salaries, contract details, and more.

capwages.com

 

[pseudoswede]

Stars seem to be finding their mojo. Would love it if the Avs lost. They had the second lowest odds to win the Cup after they won Game 1.

I would not want to face the Stars, especially if Heiskanen and Robertson are healthy.

 

[TheDizee]

I would not want to face the Stars, especially if Heiskanen and Robertson are healthy.

yep. but i'd rather play them than the refalanche. ref fest series is no bueno.

this is why i wanted in the pacific bracket. but ill be happy for the blues to advance no matter who they play. blues actually seem to have the stars number in the playoffs since 2001. even in 99 it was a close series.

 

[ScratchCatFever]

going to lose in the 1st round, have zero draft capital for the next 2 years and half their roster is UFA with hardly any cap space

wat a shame

Colorado Avalanche | Salary cap and contracts

Explore the salary cap, contracts, depth-charts and Armchair GM Mode for the Colorado Avalanche. Get insights into player salaries, contract details, and more.

capwages.com

 

[Stelmacki]

yep. but i'd rather play them than the refalanche. ref fest series is no bueno.

this is why i wanted in the pacific bracket. but ill be happy for the blues to advance no matter who they play. blues actually seem to have the stars number in the playoffs since 2001. even in 99 it was a close series.

It’s a tough choice for me because I hate Colorado, but Dallas is starting to take over the diving title from Edmonton.