News from Around the AHL/NHL/KHL 2023-24

[MJF]

Bratt is coming off back to back 73 point seasons. Good timing for him. Only 24 years old.

 

[doublechili]

Bratt is coming off back to back 73 point seasons. Good timing for him. Only 24 years old.

Fair contract for his regular seasons. Devs rolling the dice a bit that his playoffs this year will not be par for the course moving forward.

Cap wise, it appears that their core is going to be Hughes, Hischier, Meier and Bratt up front, and Hamilton and Luke Hughes on the back end. Then they'll fill in the rest of the roster as needed.

 

[Throttle]

Fair contract for his regular seasons. Devs rolling the dice a bit that his playoffs this year will not be par for the course moving forward.

Cap wise, it appears that their core is going to be Hughes, Hischier, Meier and Bratt up front, and Hamilton and Luke Hughes on the back end. Then they'll fill in the rest of the roster as needed.

That ain’t gonna work, but go for it Fitzy!

 

[doublechili]

That ain’t gonna work, but go for it Fitzy!

I did kinda forget about Mercer - he's probably going to get a big payday in a year, or at worst a bridge deal of probably $4M+ per. Goalie? IDK - we'll have to see how this shakes out.

 

[Lights911]

That ain’t gonna work, but go for it Fitzy!

How so?

 

[Throttle]

How so?

It’s relying on the sum of the parts that filling in the rest as needed is easy and/or cheap and/or has little value.

All the Devils riding high in the regular season were exposed in the playoffs and rather quickly. That core doesn’t change that.

 

[MJF]

It’s relying on the sum of the parts that filling in the rest as needed is easy and/or cheap and/or has little value.

All the Devils riding high in the regular season were exposed in the playoffs and rather quickly. That core doesn’t change that.

They are young enough to improve. I’ll take their potential to improve any day of the week as opposed to what the Lou is going to do with the Islanders in 2023-24. Also, that team still doesn’t have a goalie worth a damn. The Devils were an example of how you just can’t rely on any ole goaltender to get you there. In the case of VGK, they got damned lucky their goaltending by committee took them to a Cup. It’s still the exception, not the rule.

 

[Glory Days]

They are young enough to improve. I’ll take their potential to improve any day of the week as opposed to what the Lou is going to do with the Islanders in 2023-24. Also, that team still doesn’t have a goalie worth a damn. The Devils were an example of how you just can’t rely on any ole goaltender to get you there. In the case of VGK, they got damned lucky their goaltending by committee took them to a Cup. It’s still the exception, not the rule.

Vegas is a bigger team than the Devils and plays much better team defense. Vegas can better afford to roll the dice on goaltending. The Devils don’t have the same luxury imo.

 

[MJF]

Vegas is a bigger team than the Devils and plays much better team defense. Vegas can better afford to roll the dice on goaltending. The Devils don’t have the same luxury imo.

The Devils goalie tandem when healthy was supposed to he Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. That wouldn’t be good enough even in the best of times.

 

[Zeeker]

How so?

It takes some creative mental gymnastics to put down the Devils’ situation while remaining positive about ours. Some posters here are like that, you have the opposite also.

 

[doublechili]

I do wonder about the Devs structurally. Lou may be a dinosaur, but VGK just won a Cup with a big and strong D, a great corps of center icemen, and one skater under 6' tall. That's a pretty old school formula for playoff success - like early Cretaceous period, give or take. The Devs have a lot of smallish forwards, no goalie, and a questionable defense with Dougie "The Anchor Contract" Hamilton leading the way. We'll see. Maybe they work it out, or maybe not. That Simon Nemec kid might be the most important player in their organization. If he becomes a stud, that will really help. If not....

 

[doublechili]

It takes some creative mental gymnastics to put down the Devils’ situation while remaining positive about ours. Some posters here are like that, you have the opposite also.

Speaking only for myself, I'm not "positive" about our situation. I just accept it and work with what we have. Some view that as delusional or something, but I just figure it beats complaining about something over which I have no control.

 

[Throttle]

They are young enough to improve. I’ll take their potential to improve any day of the week as opposed to what the Lou is going to do with the Islanders in 2023-24. Also, that team still doesn’t have a goalie worth a damn. The Devils were an example of how you just can’t rely on any ole goaltender to get you there. In the case of VGK, they got damned lucky their goaltending by committee took them to a Cup. It’s still the exception, not the rule.

Toronto was once young enough to improve with cap space to do it, but, we all see how that happens. Not at you, but that’s some real creative gymnastics to mess up the hand that was given to someone there…Only took 6 years to see it play out creatively (or affirmatively).

My comment was isolated to the Devils situation, not comparing it against the Isles. The Devils have a lot of work to do.

 

[MJF]

Toronto was once young enough to improve with cap space to do it, but, we all see how that happens. Not at you, but that’s some real creative gymnastics to mess up the hand that was given to someone there…Only took 6 years to see it play out creatively (or affirmatively).

My comment was isolated to the Devils situation, not comparing it against the Isles. The Devils have a lot of work to do.

Why invoke the Maple Leafs after the Devils put up their first really good season in years? I see no anchor contracts on their books that keeps Fitzy from improving his team.

The Devils as currently constituted remain one of the Metro Division's powers. Should they be able to improve on their back-end play and upgrade from Blackwood in net I see no reason to think they won't be a serious Cup contender.

EDIT: Hamilton at 9M with 5 more years remaining could be an issue down the road, but he certainly gave the Devils what they needed in the regular season.

 

[doublechili]

Anybody notice that Dubas hired Spezza as Asst GM in PIT? Makes me think Dubas will be Pres and Interim GM for a year or three and then hand over the GM title to Spezza at some point.

 

[Throttle]

Anybody notice that Dubas hired Spezza as Asst GM in PIT? Makes me think Dubas will be Pres and Interim GM for a year or three and then hand over the GM title to Spezza at some point.

Dubas is a ladder climber. Cheers to him for pulling it off, he worked that TOR media to puff himself up for his exit.

 

[JKP]

Dubas is a ladder climber. Cheers to him for pulling it off, he worked that TOR media to puff himself up for his exit.

Did he ever. So overrated. Be curious how Pit fans feel about him in a couple years….

 

[MJF]

Buyout season begins. This one is massive.

 

[MJF]

The Coyotes lose a retained salary slot for the duration of OEL’s buyout.

 

[Throttle]

Did he ever. So overrated. Be curious how Pit fans feel about him in a couple years….

He took a job with a ton of air cover. He can blame the lack of prospects/pipeline on the prior regime, he needs time to build it up, so that’s 3-5 years of playing that card. Whatever happens now he has Sid’s ear, so he can play that card in the interim.

Isles fans should be happy he’s in the Metro.

The Coyotes lose a retained salary slot for the duration of OEL’s buyout.

Which puts a premium on the Yotes retaining the other slots. Works in their favor actually.

 

[MJF]

Which puts a premium on the Yotes retaining the other slots. Works in their favor actually.

What would work in everyone’s favor is if the Coyotes moved and started acting like an NHL franchise for once.

 

[Throttle]

What would work in everyone’s favor is if the Coyotes moved and started acting like an NHL franchise for once.

Rock and hard place as the possible relocation cities don’t have NHL ready arenas, it’s just moving from one bridge to another.

 

[MJF]

Rock and hard place as the possible relocation cities don’t have NHL ready arenas, it’s just moving from one bridge to another.

What city rumored in the mix to host the Coyotes doesn’t have an NHL ready arena? Only Hartford

Houston has an arena, would be a larger tv market than Phoenix, and would keep the Yotes in the Western Conference.

 

[Throttle]

What city rumored in the mix to host the Coyotes doesn’t have an NHL ready arena? Only Hartford

SLC and Houston have basketball arenas that need to be modified.

Quebec ain’t getting a team. KC has an arena, but nothing else in terms of interest.

 

[MJF]

SLC and Houston have basketball arenas that need to be modified.

Quebec ain’t getting a team. KC has an arena, but nothing else in terms of interest.

Houston’s arena is multi-purpose and can hold over 17,000 for hockey. It has sufficient suites and doesn’t need modifications. Perhaps you’re thinking of the Phoenix Suns arena.