I like the potential that a guy like Topi brings to be an impact player and the way weve pissed away depth talent over the years and havent utilized it on our own has been an ongoing issue, so i wouldnt dismiss the value in that.
I really hope Topi develops into something special but it’s really depressing to realize that Sandin as an 18 year old Marlie crushed Niemela as a 21 year old. Sandin stepped in and was an automatic impact player for the Marlies.
That shouldn't be depressing. Sandin looked to have great potential at that stage of his young career until the Leafs completely bungled his development.
Sandin was a good prospect , so im not too worried about that. Sandin's big issue was understanding his limitations and playing within them, if he can figure that out even now he'll be a good one
I mean if you are watching Vegas play tonight with the size of their D, one win from the cup final, and think oh we need small defenseman lol!You like 21 year old defencemen that are 170lbs?
That's below-average size at the OHL level
It’s kind of depressing just because at the time when he was the top d in wjc just looking like an absolute elite future top 4 guy we also had a young Matthews, Marner and Nylander tearing up the nhl. When Sandin came over and was putting up historic 18 year old numbers on the ahl it was almost overlooked because the present was looking so shit hot. And here we are!
If you don't have some generational talent like Makar, that format of D always seems to be good for the playoffs.
They just got haven't been goalied like the Leafs for 6 years
I dont know why anyone would think Ottawa is a mess. They are a young team on the rise. Their young players are starting to hit their potential and have more coming. They are already a team that is showing they can be hard to play against and will likely become one of the top teams in the east again in these next few years.
How about now? Boston said bye-bye to Joe Thornton at age 26 right after the lockout (a time of uncertainty due to a new economic system), and despite losing the trade it didn't hurt their long-term prospects. Our big guns are now all around that age.
Agree with your thoughts on Ottawa but not on Pittsburgh. There are so few of these jobs that when one comes open and you need a job, you’re going to apply.
The way I see it, taking a job in Pitts right now is setting yourself up for failure. Their core players are already in their late 30s. Likely aren't movable. Their best "young" player in Guentzel, who is 28, is a FA next year and is basically their only tradeable asset that can help them rebuild. They have a mediocre defense, questionable goaltending and one of the worst prospect pools in the league. They won't be competitive again till those core guys retire and they bottom out for a few more years after that.
This year confirmed to me these guys will never win together for the reason you stated. In the past I always wondered and hoped that maybe winning the first round would get the monkey off their back and they'd push through. That is clearly not the case, and game 3 against Florida highlighted that this team will never change their ways
To be fair, Korpisalo was doing something similar versus Edmonton in round 1 this year
This has been coming for a while though. I suggested a retool after last season's Tampa loss because the D situation is looking bleak and it's going to get worse before it gets better.
