Miscellaneous NHL Discussion LXXXVI: 86 Proof

[Starat327]

You'd be happier if you didn't

You aren't allowed to say this to other people.

 

[renberg]

Florida got the most impactful overall player, and the youngest by far, in the deal. That part is a win, even if the Huberdeau name has shock value. Their forward depth, even with Duclair injured, is very good.

But I really don't know what's going on with their defense. Weegar gets flack for having his aggressive sliders set to max, but their defense group just looks weak subtracting him. He is a very good player, end of story, and there is a massive hole subtracting a top pair defender. Gudas, Forsling, Montour is fine depth, along with Ekblad up top, but internally, their prospect pool is forward heavy. I don't know that they have assets to even fill the Weegar hole. Also, that Yandle *spit* buyout cap hit f***ing sucks.

Ekblad is the best that they have but with his history injuries, he is a question mark. Lots of miles on his tires already in his career.

 

[TB87]

Especially when it’s caused by signing Eric Gusbrandson for 4 years

The shine of a top 3 pick never wears off to hockey men. It blows my mind that that dude was a top 3 pick. Defenseman, who struggle creating offense/putting up points, should NEVER be picked high in the draft. He is BiG ya know. B.I.G.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Panthers have mortgaged alot of future in recent trades and have lost considerable talent off roster recently

Adding Tkachuk is nice going forward but team is in worse defensively and don't have much asset/cap wise to work a deal to improve D if Lundell and Knight are off limits

Doesn't feel like Zito has a plan to be honest and the Chariot deal blew up in Panther's face.

Panthers are a prime candidate to fall out of playoff picture this coming season now

As for Flames they are in tough spot because while getting good haul in this deal a lot depends on if they can convince Huberdeau and Weeger to sign extensions

Also, if they hold onto them into season and they won't sign they probably can't trade them without major fan backlash because Flames roster wise is still pretty good and they should be in playoff mix if not division title mix this coming season. There would be major backlash if they trade those guys while on track for playoffs

 

[deadhead]

Also, if they hold onto them into season and they won't sign they probably can't trade them without major fan backlash because Flames roster wise is still pretty good and they should be in playoff mix if not division title mix this coming season. There would be major backlash if they trade those guys while on track for playoffs

Smart ownership goes to the fans and say we weren't good enough with JG and Tkachuk, we think taking one step back, garnering a bunch of assets and cap room will allow us to quickly turn it around.

And then focus on obtaining players who would want to live in Calgary, both Canadians and Europeans from smaller towns who are comfortable out there - do your research on the player, and not just his on ice play.

 

[Rebels57]

Its also interesting that the two Panthers moved were the two that were most criticized in the Playoffs.

Both Huby & Weegar were ass. Huby was just flat and Weegar cost them 3 games with untimely blunders. Wonder if that soured Zito on them.

 

[TCTC]

Its also interesting that the two Panthers moved were the two that were most criticized in the Playoffs.

Both Huby & Weegar were ass. Huby was just flat and Weegar cost them 3 games with untimely blunders. Wonder if that soured Zito on them.

Huberdeau was their best player in the 2021 playoffs though and just had a career year with 115 points and should've been a Hart candidate.
For me the only explanation is that Huberdeau refused to sign a new contract.

 

[Rebels57]

Huberdeau was their best player in the 2021 playoffs though and just had a career year with 115 points and should've been a Hart candidate.
For me the only explanation is that Huberdeau refused to sign a new contract.

Yeah the contract is the bigger issue for sure.

Florida should be calling Arizona about local boy Shayne Gostisbehere as a Weegar replacement..

 

[deadhead]

Its also interesting that the two Panthers moved were the two that were most criticized in the Playoffs.

Both Huby & Weegar were ass. Huby was just flat and Weegar cost them 3 games with untimely blunders. Wonder if that soured Zito on them.

While Tkachuk scored in the POs (3-4 7 at ES), he was also -6 in 12 games.
That line created a lot of scoring chances, but also gave up a few.

The real problem in Florida, outside of the lack of depth, is that last season was probably an anomaly, with the coaching changes they'll struggle to recapture lightning in a bottle, and who knows how they'll respond to Maurice.

Zito might blame Huberdeau and Weegar, but the whole team looked like crap against TB.
Worst performers included Lundell, Lomberg, Loustarinen, Hornqvist, your bottom six guys.

 

[Chinatown88]

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

While Tkachuk scored in the POs (3-4 7 at ES), he was also -6 in 12 games.
That line created a lot of scoring chances, but also gave up a few.

The real problem in Florida, outside of the lack of depth, is that last season was probably an anomaly, with the coaching changes they'll struggle to recapture lightning in a bottle, and who knows how they'll respond to Maurice.

Zito might blame Huberdeau and Weegar, but the whole team looked like crap against TB.
Worst performers included Lundell, Lomberg, Loustarinen, Hornqvist, your bottom six guys.

Gudas looked pretty terrible as well and now Panthers will be depending on him having bigger role with team with Weeger gone

They had to hide Gudas at times in playoffs if I recall correctly as his usage was much lower than in regular season struggling vs Caps + TB

 

[deadhead]

Gudas looked pretty terrible as well and now Panthers will be depending on him having bigger role with team with Weeger gone

They had to hide Gudas at times in playoffs if I recall correctly as his usage was much lower than in regular season struggling vs Caps + TB

Yeah, Gudas is a great 3rd pair D-man who gets exposed if you ask him to do too much.
Chariot also sucked, what a waste of a 2023 1st rd pick.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I think Gaudreau & Tkachuk are better than Huberdeau & Weegar but that drop off isn’t as steep. Calgary replaced some of what they lost at least for next year. They probably have the best defense core in the league now for next year.

Future wise that’s probably not a good team but for next year that’s a playoff team & a contender for the Pacific division for me. So that’s part of the risk for me. I don’t think it’s as simple as just trading those two guys at the deadline if they’re unwilling to to re-sign. As I expect them to be solidly in the playoff mix.

You still have Lindholm, Mangiapane, Toffoli, Coleman, Backlund, & Dube upfront to go along with Huberdeau. Then you have a really good backend & Markstrom in net.

 

[GKJ]

How does Seattle have three overpaid goalies with trade restrictions?

Dreidger tore his ACL at the worlds so he’s basically out for the year

 

[Amorgus]

Its also interesting that the two Panthers moved were the two that were most criticized in the Playoffs.

Both Huby & Weegar were ass. Huby was just flat and Weegar cost them 3 games with untimely blunders. Wonder if that soured Zito on them.

Weegar was the standout while I watched most of their games after the G trade. Guy seemed to be bleeding breakaways. Weren't there any defensive stars available for rental? That's what their team truly needed. They had to keep coming back from way behind against bottom feeders before playoffs even began and Ekblad's return did nothing.

 

[Rebels57]

Weegar was the standout while I watched most of their games after the G trade. Guy seemed to be bleeding breakaways. Weren't there any defensive stars available for rental? That's what their team truly needed. They had to keep coming back from way behind against bottom feeders before playoffs even began and Ekblad's return did nothing.

Not after Chuck pulled Risto off the market

 

[deadhead]

Not after Chuck pulled Risto off the market

Unfortunately, that's not even funny, given Chariot just signed a 4yr/$4.75M AVV contract at 31.
That suggests Risto has a lot more value around the league than people here want to credit him with.
b/c Chariot went belly up in the playoffs.

 

[deadhead]

Under the radar note on Tkachuk trade:

In addition to Weegar, the Flames are getting prospect center, Schwindt. Schwindt is 21 years old and was drafted 81st overall at the 2019 draft. The former Mississauga Steelheads star has adjusted well to professional hockey, and had 40 points in 70 games as a rookie in the AHL.

 

[renberg]

Under the radar note on Tkachuk trade:

In addition to Weegar, the Flames are getting prospect center, Schwindt. Schwindt is 21 years old and was drafted 81st overall at the 2019 draft. The former Mississauga Steelheads star has adjusted well to professional hockey, and had 40 points in 70 games as a rookie in the AHL.

Would have been a better get than Tippett?

 

[deadhead]

Would have been a better get than Tippett?

I doubt it, he sounds more like a bottom six type.
Wheeler had him as their 10th best prospect, they also traded #8, Smilanic, in the Chariot trade.

Schwindt has always had the makings of a good role player and this year has has begun to show he’s more than that at the AHL level so that he can become that at the NHL level. He has been one of Charlotte’s top players, using his pro size and a workman’s approach to play to the inside, go to the net, and stay on pucks with his above-average overall skill and good instincts. He has also cleaned up his skating mechanics by the looks of it (he used to really drag his toes across the ice on his recovery but he has made some progress there) to round out his game. I don’t think he’ll be more than a bottom-six player at the next level but his odds of becoming an everyday guy instead of a fringe guy have definitely improved from low to medium.

 

[bennysflyers16]

Fatso is the best player involved , but on paper Flames look much better than the Panthers.

 

[wankstifier]

Panthers have mortgaged alot of future in recent trades and have lost considerable talent off roster recently

Adding Tkachuk is nice going forward but team is in worse defensively and don't have much asset/cap wise to work a deal to improve D if Lundell and Knight are off limits

Doesn't feel like Zito has a plan to be honest and the Chariot deal blew up in Panther's face.

Panthers are a prime candidate to fall out of playoff picture this coming season now

As for Flames they are in tough spot because while getting good haul in this deal a lot depends on if they can convince Huberdeau and Weeger to sign extensions

Also, if they hold onto them into season and they won't sign they probably can't trade them without major fan backlash because Flames roster wise is still pretty good and they should be in playoff mix if not division title mix this coming season. There would be major backlash if they trade those guys while on track for playoffs

They still have some pieces available besides Knight and Lundell to move to add a defender: Samoskevich, Heponiemi, Denisenko, and the 2023 2nd.

 

[deadhead]

They still have some pieces available besides Knight and Lundell to move to add a defender: Samoskevich, Heponiemi, Denisenko, and the 2023 2nd.

But that'll leave the cupboard bare until almost the end of the decade - this is the sorched earth approach to try and win a Cup.

To make it work, they'd either have to trade for a young D-man on his ELC or a low cost bridge RFA deal, otherwise the only contract to dump is Hornqvist (35), $5M, and that would cost you dearly in this market.

 

[Magua]

Hornqvist comes off the books for $5.3 mil next season. Yandle's buyout drops $4 mil. They will have some cap space, with not much to re-sign besides Knight as an RFA, and Gudas' contract ending. They could make a FA play in a year (Sanheim?!), but then they're clearly all-in right now. Going younger in Tkachuk by 5 years does adjust timelines, and their core is not remotely old, but I feel like another shoe needs to drop.

There was talk about trading Weegar before his last contract, then he went supernova. Then talk all off-season was trading Weegar still. I just don't think they valued him properly. I'm sure playoff over-evaluating was at hand. He's produced at almost a 50 point pace the last 2 seasons, without any PP time, while being an elite play-driver.....Ekblad will miss him. Weegar felt like almost a depth throw-in to this trade, when he should be a top asset.

 

[Stizzle]

Would Broad Street Hockey like to officially retract the over the top endorsement of Cole Caufield yet? Is being on equal footing in the playmaking department as Max Willman good? What about being slightly better than Nicolas Deslauriers?