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League News: NHL Talk - (News n' Scores n' Stuff) | 2024-25 Summer Edition

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StrikingDistance said:
I peek into the Pens future. Very satisfying.
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Reminder that the Pens system was ranked #20 while the Capitals were ranked #9 by Scott Wheeler over at the Athletic.

Further, Pens don't have any core players in the NHL under the age of 29 (except for Pettersson who they just traded) except for the goalie Blomqvist. For the purposes of measuring 'core', I looked at top 10 in points and top 10 in average TOI. [For comparison, Caps have 6 of their top 10 in points 28 or younger and 4 by TOI]

You love to see it.
 
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PlushMinus said:
Unfortunately the Isles and Rongos are both playing much better. They're a long way back from us but I could see the Rongos pushing for Metro 3 by end of the season. Isles might not be able to keep winning enough to snag a wildcard spot

Miller is only going to make the Rags better (and he already has, which sucks).

Rantanen SHOULD be a no brainer to make the Canes better but they are a weird team - mostly I think because of Brindamour. Rantanen probably got to just play his own way with the Avs. No way he'll be doing that for Rod the Bod. Could be a challenging adjustment.
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I don’t see it and hope they miss. I’m speaking of the Rangers lol.
 
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Langway said:
Great result IMO. Trash ass Rongos need to miss and the Pens need to stay in no man's land.
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The feared Rangers. They look like a heartless team.

Empty Goal Net said:
I don't follow the Preds, but have to think that at some point, the GM will have to answer for the team's performance.
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At some point, sure. I'd say this is more on the coach though. I didn't love the build off that roster like most did in the summer but looking at their line-up, it's still a team that should be capable of making the Playoffs. That kind of roster has no business being 18 points away from Playoff spot, but they are, and deservedly so because they have been playing like crap the entire season so far.

I kind of get the Trotz's decision to not pull the trigger on the coach early because he knows how tough that is on a coach but at the same time it's getting to a point where people are going to start pointing the finger at you too if you can't do what's best for the team.

I think Brunette is going to get fired shortly. This was their 6th loss in a row and against a team that's right there with you on the basement. There's 4N break coming up and no light at the end of the tunnel in sight. I think they'll have a new coach after the break.
 
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trick9 said:
I kind of get the Trotz's decision to not pull the trigger on the coach early because he knows how tough that is on a coach but at the same time it's getting to a point where people are going to start pointing the finger at you too if you can't do what's best for the team.
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If they aren’t already pointing the finger at him already they haven’t been paying attention. He’s made some absolutely baffling moves
 
ovikovy817 said:
Crosby do not want to play at the gimmick tournament? That's why he's missing the game tonight?
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He jacked up his arm/shoulder a few games ago, looked like maybe a shoulder separation?

Ironically he’s probably one of the guys most excited about the 4 nations thing. If he misses it will be interesting to see who replaces him.
 
trick9 said:
The feared Rangers. They look like a heartless team.
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It's not fear at all. It's them being trash. Old, declining, half-hearted bloated garbage. Even if Dolan gives Drury the okay to sell what has value? Lindgren? He's not netting a first rounder at this point. Smith? Quick? Even with the cap blowing up no one is going to want their quitters.

Maybe Kreider in a perfect scenario but, really, all teams in the next 1-3 years have to resist overpaying 30+ year olds now that they're flush with cash. Offer sheets are where it's at. Eye on the ball, GMs.
 
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Remember when FLA moved on from Brunette in favor of Maurice and everyone lost their minds ...
 
qc14 said:
Remember when FLA moved on from Brunette in favor of Maurice and everyone lost their minds ...
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I mean Nashville was absolutely fantastic with Brunette as the coach last year. I wouldn't be shocked if he is fired, but I'm not entirely convinced he's the issue.

Having said that, as the saying goes, you cannot fire the whole team, and a significant chunk of the team is struggling outside of FF. Saros' struggles from last year have worsened, and he was arguably their team MVP from 21-22 through 22-23. Josi has solid underlying numbers but is sitting at -27. I'm not usually a big believer in +/- but that is ghastly and worst on the team by a wide margin. And while some of their older players have regressed (Nyquist & Josi especially, RoR to a lesser extent), the real issue is their under-30 players have also regressed. Novak would've been 20+ 50+ in an 82 game season last year (was close in 71 GP), and he's on pace for around 30 points. Evangelista was 15/40 last year and is also on pace for 30 points (with less than 10 goals). And then Marchessault, Skjei, and Stamkos have not brought what was expected [Stamkos was 40/40 last year and is on pace for 51 points!]. They also seem to miss Ryan McDonagh a lot.

Some of it is definitely bad luck (lowest PDO in the NHL), but I don't believe bad luck fully explains going to 11th best to 3rd worst points percentage in the entire NHL.
 
Kazer said:
I mean Nashville was absolutely fantastic with Brunette as the coach last year. I wouldn't be shocked if he is fired, but I'm not entirely convinced he's the issue.

Having said that, as the saying goes, you cannot fire the whole team, and a significant chunk of the team is struggling outside of FF. Saros' struggles from last year have worsened, and he was arguably their team MVP from 21-22 through 22-23. Josi has solid underlying numbers but is sitting at -27. I'm not usually a big believer in +/- but that is ghastly and worst on the team by a wide margin. And while some of their older players have regressed (Nyquist & Josi especially, RoR to a lesser extent), the real issue is their under-30 players have also regressed. Novak would've been 20+ 50+ in an 82 game season last year (was close in 71 GP), and he's on pace for around 30 points. Evangelista was 15/40 last year and is also on pace for 30 points (with less than 10 goals). And then Marchessault, Skjei, and Stamkos have not brought what was expected [Stamkos was 40/40 last year and is on pace for 51 points!]. They also seem to miss Ryan McDonagh a lot.

Some of it is definitely bad luck (lowest PDO in the NHL), but I don't believe bad luck fully explains going to 11th best to 3rd worst points percentage in the entire NHL.
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Sounds like one possible answer that incorporates a sense of accountability is for the GM to fire the coach and assume his duties. Having built at least a good chunk of the roster, maybe he's in a position to get more out of them. (Not claiming that Barry is a youth whisperer.)
 
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I have been thinking about a Stamkos trade. I think he might be very cheap to add. He plays pretty much the same game as Ovie so I have a hard time finding a way to fit in. 4 years at 8 mill is a alot of money for someone trending down.
 
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