Around the NHL, Off-Season Edition

[Stealth JD]

Kadri's non-signing (thus far) leads me to believe he'll be re-signing with Colorado...in which case their only notable losses are Keumper and Burakovsky. Still quite a chasm between them and the rest of the West if things stay as is.

 

[Vektor]

Kadri's non-signing (thus far) leads me to believe he'll be re-signing with Colorado...in which case their only notable losses are Keumper and Burakovsky. Still quite a chasm between them and the rest of the West if things stay as is.

It's a shame the thread about Kadri is unreadable due to Avs fans. He will have to take a hefty discount to stay there.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Colorado would probably have to move Girard to make Kadri work, and in the next 2 off-seasons you have Mack, Byram, and Toews, with just Compher and Johnson as the only sizable expiring contracts. I'm sure Kadri would like to stay there, but Joe is going to have to get creative to figure out what pieces he wants long-term.

 

[Allens Five Hole]

I personally think Edmonton is gonna win a Cup in the next 3-5 years. You can only keep the best player in the game down for so long, and they seem to be trending in the right direction.

And as much as it pains me, I think Vegas will bounce back strong and push for the Pacific crown next year.

I think you are underrating Edmonton, which I know you acknowledge, but yeah the conference is pretty weak. Campbell is certainly an upgrade over 80 year old Mike Smith and while I have real doubts that his contract ages well, he is definitely an upgrade. They brought Kane back who fit like a glove with McDavid. The team still has its flaws, but so does any other team they'll be competing with. I also think Vegas will be back in the mix now that they dropped DeBoer and assuming they get even a little bit luckier on the injury front. The conference is far from a murderers row right now and barring some major injuries or Georgiev being outright horrendous, the Avs have to be viewed as heavy, heavy favorites.

I definitely acknowledge that I am probably underestimating the Oilers but to me, they are essentially the LA Angels of hockey. Arguably the two best current players in the league but not near enough around them to win anything significant.

I like Campbell as a starter for them over Mike Smith but I still just think they are so far away from being a real contender. The Avs are the measuring stick and they dispatched the Oilers with ease. I firmly believe had we beat the Avs, the outcome would have been very similar, probably Blues in 5.

 

[MissouriMook]

Colorado would probably have to move Girard to make Kadri work, and in the next 2 off-seasons you have Mack, Byram, and Toews, with just Compher and Johnson as the only sizable expiring contracts. I'm sure Kadri would like to stay there, but Joe is going to have to get creative to figure out what pieces he wants long-term.

Just my $0.02, but I think if Kadri is still there by the end of the weekend he goes back to Colorado and they buyout EJ in the 2nd buyout period.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Just my $0.02, but I think if Kadri is still there by the end of the weekend he goes back to Colorado and they buyout EJ in the 2nd buyout period.

They still have the same issue of why we didn't want to go longer than 1 year for Perron. This issue of this year can be solved rather easily, but Mack is getting 5-6M more next season and Byram could easily be in that 4-6M range as well, and then Toews the season after. Getting too many long-term deals complicates the more important extensions in near future.

 

[Reality Czech]

I definitely acknowledge that I am probably underestimating the Oilers but to me, they are essentially the LA Angels of hockey. Arguably the two best current players in the league but not near enough around them to win anything significant.

I like Campbell as a starter for them over Mike Smith but I still just think they are so far away from being a real contender. The Avs are the measuring stick and they dispatched the Oilers with ease. I firmly believe had we beat the Avs, the outcome would have been very similar, probably Blues in 5.

I agree we would have beaten the Oilers this year, but I expect them to keep trending up. They have the core players, just need to figure out the right mix of role players like the Avs did this year. Not many people would have expected Darren Helm and Andrew Cogliano to be key role players on a Cup team. Mainly I just think Connor will eventually will the Oilers to the Finals, but it's just a guess on my part. Who's the greatest player to not win a Cup? The all-time greats usually find a way to get it done at some point.

 

[Allens Five Hole]

I agree we would have beaten the Oilers this year, but I expect them to keep trending up. They have the core players, just need to figure out the right mix of role players like the Avs did this year. Not many people would have expected Darren Helm and Andrew Cogliano to be key role players on a Cup team. Mainly I just think Connor will eventually will the Oilers to the Finals, but it's just a guess on my part. Who's the greatest player to not win a Cup? The all-time greats usually find a way to get it done at some point.

This is actually an interesting off-season question. Off the top of my head, the two that come to mind are Lindros and Bure. But you're right, they typically find a way to break through in hockey.

 

[eibyyz]

There's a story on NHL.com for two days now mention that the 'Hawks front office is 'unsure' that Kane and Toews are going to buy into the reboot.

So what? Are they going to demand trades and sit out until they get them? Not that I want them, mind you, but what's the endgame?

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

There's a story on NHL.com for two days now mention that the 'Hawks front office is 'unsure' that Kane and Toews are going to buy into the reboot.

So what? Are they going to demand trades and sit out until they get them? Not that I want them, mind you, but what's the endgame?

Hawks want to deal them but don’t want to look like bad guys in dealing franchise icons. So they are making them ask to be traded.

 

[Stealth JD]

I agree we would have beaten the Oilers this year, but I expect them to keep trending up. They have the core players, just need to figure out the right mix of role players like the Avs did this year. Not many people would have expected Darren Helm and Andrew Cogliano to be key role players on a Cup team. Mainly I just think Connor will eventually will the Oilers to the Finals, but it's just a guess on my part. Who's the greatest player to not win a Cup? The all-time greats usually find a way to get it done at some point.

Marcel Dionne

 

[mk80]

Who's the greatest player to not win a Cup? The all-time greats usually find a way to get it done at some point.

Maybe not in the same category as some of the other names that could be in the discussion, but two more recent names of Henrik Lundqvist and Pekka Rinne come to mind for me.

 

[joe galiba]

There's a story on NHL.com for two days now mention that the 'Hawks front office is 'unsure' that Kane and Toews are going to buy into the reboot.

So what? Are they going to demand trades and sit out until they get them? Not that I want them, mind you, but what's the endgame?

At the right price I would love Toews as our Bozak, 3rd wing center for a couple of years

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Preds signed Sanford. So that weakens them too.

 

[MissouriMook]

Marcel Dionne

I think we have our winner.

 

[BlueDream]

Preds signed Sanford. So that weakens them too.

I can accept not signing Perron. I can accept not trading Scandella even if I want him gone ASAP.

But not bringing back Sanford? That’s the final straw. Fire Armstrong.

 

[Zezel’s Pretzels]

They still have the same issue of why we didn't want to go longer than 1 year for Perron. This issue of this year can be solved rather easily, but Mack is getting 5-6M more next season and Byram could easily be in that 4-6M range as well, and then Toews the season after. Getting too many long-term deals complicates the more important extensions in near future.

Does all this account for the expected, massive cap jump?

Preds signed Sanford. So that weakens them too.

Junkman back in our division. Nashville's puking before the parade starts.

 

[Reality Czech]

Marcel Dionne

That's clearly the correct answer. In top 20 all time points, only Dionne, Thornton, and Oates (have) never won one.

 

[joe galiba]

Preds signed Sanford. So that weakens them too.

i am guessing Bortz will always be in the lineup when Sanford is

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Mac Mac now a Caniac.

 

[Drubilly]

Does all this account for the expected, massive cap jump?


Junkman back in our division. Nashville's puking before the parade starts.

I bet there’s a banner for that.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Preds signed Sanford. So that weakens them too.

Until he scores 6 goals in two games and carries the Preds to 2 Ws against us. (Nevermind he only pots 2 the rest of the season)

 

[BlueDream]

Mac Mac now a Caniac.

Kinda surprised he went there. I figured he would go to a bad team like Seattle or Arizona so he would have a better chance at staying in the NHL and maybe proving himself more, but in Carolina I'm not sure he'll even make the team.

Maybe there just wasn't much interest. But that's why it made sense for Joshua to go to Vancouver.

 

[Stealth JD]

I was reading an article about the Red Wings off-season and their projected line-up for next season and there was a comment that read:

“Note that Robby Fabbri is expected to start the year on injured reserve after tearing his ACL late in the 2021-22 season”.

Good God…that guys ligaments must be made out of porcelain. The doctors are going to need start using cadavers to rebuild Robby, as I can’t imagine there is much material left in his knees to rebuild. I’m going to assume his career is more or less done. That’s a shame. Stevie Y was wise not to trade Armstrong any more than Jacob de la Rose for that fragile little forward.

 

[Reality Czech]

Mac Mac now a Caniac.

What a Jerk