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Roster/Rumors/Speculation/Trade Talk - 2023-24: Hotel California

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JJ18Sniper said:
theathletic.com

Russian NHL stars traveled home; will they all be back? 'It's a big unknown'

Work visa complications, war in Ukraine create anxiety among some who worry high-profile stars will face obstacles when trying to return.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

Not sure if Sorokin went back home for the summer, but this alone may be reason enough to hold onto Varlamov (if I'm not mistaken he's settled in Texas).
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That's a fun hypothetical scenario to play with during the summer: if every Russian player went home and couldn't return, which teams would benefit and lose the most?

I see the Caps, Rags, lightning, and us being big losers. Toronto would be fine. I don't know what happens in the western conference.
 
attilatheislander said:
That's a fun hypothetical scenario to play with during the summer: if every Russian player went home and couldn't return, which teams would benefit and lose the most?

I see the Caps, Rags, lightning, and us being big losers. Toronto would be fine. I don't know what happens in the western conference.
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Minnesota Wild implode. Blues are poised to move on from Tarasenko, but could still take a hit.
 
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More Barzal nonsense...ugh.

500 minutes is all I ask. That isn't even half a season for Barzal in EVS minutes. Hell, there are come centers that get three times that, and Matty himself has topped 1100 four times including 1200 once.

500 minutes with a top line wing who can shoot and score, preferably a 30 goal per82 scorer.

Now if you agree that Anders Lee is a wing who EXCELS at getting in front of the net and is getting his 200 shots/30 goals regardless of what line he is on and isn't really anything more than that, then I ask you; among the following:

Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle, Andrew Ladd, Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Alan Quine, Tom Kuhnackl, Michael Dal Colle, Leo Komarov, Derrick Brassard, Ross Johnston, Travis Zajac, Matt Martin, Kieffer Bellows, Oliver Wahlstrom, Kyle Palmieri and 37-year old Zach Parise....

Those are the 16 wingers that have played on Matty's line (other than Lee) since he came into the league (I did not list the very limited time that John Tavares, Brock Nelson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau played with him because they are centers and for each of them it was LESS than 20 minutes)

Now, please tell me which of those 16 are/or have the potential to be 30-goal scorers and are true top line wingers???

Before you answer: Remember you are talking about 37-year old Parise.

Answer: Two (Palmieri and Wahlstrom)

No, Jordan Eberle is not a top line winger. Now one could argue AB had the potential to, based on his offensive success with Barzal his rookie season (21 goals) but Barry Trotz went further and further away from that pairing each season; to where the two spent 0:00 together last season on EVS.

So my answer is two....Kyle Palmieri and Oliver Wahlstrom.

In five seasons now the 25-year old Barzal has logged in 5592:10 of even strength ice time.

281:20 of that (5% of the time) he has had one of those two guys on his line....so for 95% of the other time he has had POOP......

Stop with the insanity already....
 
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JJ18Sniper said:
theathletic.com

Russian NHL stars traveled home; will they all be back? 'It's a big unknown'

Work visa complications, war in Ukraine create anxiety among some who worry high-profile stars will face obstacles when trying to return.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

Not sure if Sorokin went back home for the summer, but this alone may be reason enough to hold onto Varlamov (if I'm not mistaken he's settled in Texas).
Click to expand...

:oops: YIKES!

www.insider.com

A Philadelphia Flyers goalie was detained in Russia and accused of dodging the military draft after he signed with the NHL team

Russian Olympian Ivan Fedotov was detained and accused of "draft evasion" after saying he wanted to leave Russia, according to a local report.
www.insider.com www.insider.com
 
leeroggy said:
Barbashev had 24G/36A last year, that’s a lot better than a ‘depth player’
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Well yes. But as we’ve mentioned about the Blues, they are probably the most balanced team 1-12 in the NHL. So while statistically that’s pretty significant. He is still a bottom center or depth in relation to the rest of the lineup.

That wasn’t to suggest he is an afterthought by calling him depth. He is certainly more productive at that spot than the majority of players in a similar situation

But the Blues are purposefully constructed that way. Instead of the top end players in specific spots they have it spread throughout.

I guess I’m also one of those posters who doesn’t see common hockey descriptors like “depth, grit, physicality etc.” as inherently negative. Essentially the hockey equivalent of… “She’s got a nice personality” kiss of death.

Also, maybe it was the thread or posters on the day in question, but reading some of the Blues posters… they didn’t seem as high on him as I figured they would be.

I have heard that Josh Bailey has a nice personality! :sarcasm:
 
The Blues had nine players scoring 20+ goals this year and before that Barbashev never touched 20. Totally fair to think of him as depth on that team.

(Meanwhile two Isles scored 20+ this year)
 
PK Cronin said:
It's not to diminish what he did, but he has an elite skillset that players hadn't seen before and could definitely catch some by surprise during the season. Saying he did it on the second line does not imply that it's normal for second liners to produce like that, it's suggesting he was insulated from the top defensive match ups because he was a second liner. It works in tandem with the first point, which is that he was catching teams/players by surprise, and playing against inferior opponents with an elite skillset.



Yes. I have no doubt that Trotz's system has impacted his offensive production. I've mentioned the need for elite talent, not necessarily a line mate, for some time now.



See, I don't think he's a problem but "put him in a position to succeed" is where there are gripes. First line minutes with every top 6 forward and getting PP isn't a position to succeed? The systems can't be changed to suit a singular player.
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No one is saying the system needs to be changed to suit Barzal, but we've known that a high-end scorer has been needed for some time now. Ever since it was clear that the Beau-Barzal-Eberle line was being broken up in favor of playing Lee with Barzal. We went after Panarin for that reason exactly. I guess it's good that we gave him the pick of the leftovers, but I wouldn't exactly say that was putting him in a position to succeed.

I mean when Leo Komarov and Cal Clutterbuck are regular members of the rotation, I don't really buy this argument that he had every chance to succeed. It's the same stuff we saw when Tavares was here: play Tavares with whatever's leftover and stack the other lines, since JT will get his points regardless. Only difference being Tavares never had to play in Trotz's defensive system. I wonder what debates we'd be having about Tavares now if it was him in Barzal's place.

Also I know that was your point regarding the 2nd line thing: easier matchups; my point is that you can apply that logic to every 2C in the league and it should mean every 2C's numbers are inflated, yet no 2C's really produce the way Barzal did that year. Either way this is all kind of a waste of time until we see A) what kind of system Lambert runs with and B) how Barzal produces in that system. All we can hope for at this point is that Barzal finally has a winger on his level for it. In the meantime though Barzal isn't going anywhere, and nor should he.
 
Throttle said:
Barzal the Solution. That’s a new one. I don’t mind adjusting or building a team around a Crosby or Crosby-lite. I do mind doing that for, well, someone like Barzal. A bunch of not so elite players have played shotgun with Crosby and HE elevated their game. Barzal, yeah, not so much.

Still waiting on 5 comparable players to Barzal making $7M with similar production.
Please enlighten us all.
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Sounds like you're advocating to trade him.

lafellaesobar said:
Beauviller being looked at by the Kraken
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On a search engine...? With Tarot Cards...?
 
lafellaesobar said:
or compete because we haven't done jack in 40 years now.
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Brand new Arena
Playoffs 3/4 years
Final four 2/4 years

1656706934137.png
 
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