League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) - 2022-23 season, Vol. 4, Off-season Edition

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Don't really think Tarasenko moves the needle much for the Rangers.

Glad the Capitals avoided that land mine. Hopefully they avoid the Patrick Kane trap as well!
You don’t think Tarasenko could be a good fit with Panarin? His production is down compared to last year but that dude is still a legit top 6 winger. NYR didn’t give much up and STL retained 50%, seems like a good deal for NYR if he plays well
 
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You don’t think Tarasenko could be a good fit with Panarin? His production is down compared to last year but that dude is still a legit top 6 winger. NYR didn’t give much up and STL retained 50%, seems like a good deal for NYR if he plays well

It's hard for me to overlook how bad Tarasenko is defensively. And that's on a team that already contains some poor defensive forwards. Zibanejad and Panarin among them, who are likely to be his linemates to start. I think it's very possible that a Panarin-Zibanejad-Tarasenko line will not work just as the Kuznetsov-Ovechkin duo doesn't work because there's just way too much going the other way.

Yeah Tarasenko's going to score some goals but he's not the absolute gamebreaker or goal-scorer that can just make you overlook just how poor his defensive impacts are. Not that Timo Meier wouldn't be a good fit on any team, but Meier on the Rangers would be been an especially good fit.
 
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Meier to the Metro makes me want to walk slowly into the sea.


Unfortunately, the Canes just make too much sense imo. They have money due to Max Pac going back to LTIR, Meier’s age fits with their core/contention window, and they really do need his scoring ability. As good as they are defensively, they often struggle to score in the postseason (hence Patches).

And they are looking at the prospect of playing the high scoring Bruins in the ECF (ofc you never know how the ‘loffs will shake out). Unless the Swiss connection in NJ is such a huge deciding factor, the Canes should be doing whatever they can to get Meier.
 
Florida has suddenly become a theat again. Now we need to outplay the Panthers/pens/sabres/isles to be in the playoffs.

Hope the boys are ready for the game in Boston
 
5 teams for 2 spots in the Eastern wild card. Pretty much zero margin for error at this point.

I'm betting one of Florida or Buffalo and one of Pittsburgh or Washington. Sorry Islanders.
 
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So... how many standings points are folks expecting the Caps to earn in the month Feb...?
(which of course starts tomorrow afternoon)
I could see it possibly being as few as 7 or 8 points if the 'wrong' Caps team shows up.
..and I generally detest 'sports cliches' but.... if they don't play above their 'floor' as a team the next 2 1/2 weeks, then........... .... .. . ?
 
So... how many standings points are folks expecting the Caps to earn in the month Feb...?
(which of course starts tomorrow afternoon)
I could see it possibly being as few as 7 or 8 points if the 'wrong' Caps team shows up.
..and I generally detest 'sports cliches' but.... if they don't play above their 'floor' as a team the next 2 1/2 weeks, then........... .... .. . ?

These are all ballpark estimates of the number of standings points they'd get on average in each game:

@ BOS - 0.5 points
SJ - 1.4 points
CAR - 0.9 points
FLA - 1.2 points
@ CAR - 0.6 points
DET - 1.3 points
ANA - 1.5 points
NYR - 1.1 points
@ BUF - 1.0 points

Total: 9.5 points in 9 games

I think 9-10 points in February would still leave them in a the same spot entering the deadline, somewhere between #8 and #10 in the conference. Ideally they go on a bit of a run, but it's tough to imagine given the current lineup.

The big games are of course the Florida and Buffalo games. Regulation wins in those games will give them a much bigger boost in playoff probability.
 
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I know I've beaten this horse to death but Meier is the exact type of player Washington desperately needs. A goal scorer and a playdriver still near the prime of his career who should provide great value over the course of this year and even his next contract. I don't know what teams like NJ and CAR will offer for him but Washington should be just as if not more desperate for a player like Meier.
 
It's not obvious why MoneyPuck has the Caps with a higher chance of making the playoffs than Pittsburgh, who has only one less point and three games in hand.
 
It's hard for me to overlook how bad Tarasenko is defensively. And that's on a team that already contains some poor defensive forwards. Zibanejad and Panarin among them, who are likely to be his linemates to start. I think it's very possible that a Panarin-Zibanejad-Tarasenko line will not work just as the Kuznetsov-Ovechkin duo doesn't work because there's just way too much going the other way.

Yeah Tarasenko's going to score some goals but he's not the absolute gamebreaker or goal-scorer that can just make you overlook just how poor his defensive impacts are. Not that Timo Meier wouldn't be a good fit on any team, but Meier on the Rangers would be been an especially good fit.
I can think of one time that Kuznetsov-Ovechkin duo worked.

I think Tarasenko is a great pick up. I think their offense is overrated because of all their overhyped prospects and Kreider's career year, they could use Tarasenko.
 
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I want the Caps to wreck teams that are going to make it in, especially rivals. They haven't played spoiler in a long time.

Tarasenko will do well for a bit then on the LTIR.
 
The stars jerseys are the worst. You should not have blocked numbers on black jerseys. You can’t see them at all, and never know who has the puck.
 
Sabres lose big to the Flames. Isles lose in OT. Panthers play the ‘Lanche later today.
 
Pens play Kings, right? They and the Isles are the ones. Just get 4th in Metro. Should equal playoffs

Assuming BOS, CAR, NJ, NYR, TB, and TOR are locks it’s 5 teams vying for the 2 wild card spots:

WSH
BUF
PIT
NYI
FLA

They really need all of those teams to avoid going on a run.
 
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