cross16

I think it's more your last sentence and not really an intelligence thing. At the end of the day it's also easier as a fan to say rebuild or trade this guy when we are not signing the cheques and not attracting sponsors. So I can appreciate that the owners are in more of a bind when it comes to a rebuild and it's much harder to sell a product that is losing than one that is winning. I also just think we forget that winning is really, really hard. I mean people argue the Leafs didn't have a succesfull rebuild and they were a bounce away from eliminated the team who just played game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. There is no set blueprint to this or a road map you can follow, every team and situation is so different and I think we over simplify it way too much. Owners can't really afford to do that.

https://www.nhl.com/news/hockey-hall-of-fame-class-of-2022-possible-candidates/c-334720696 Ya i'm not sure if it's easier as I do think most sports seem to have these controversies but it does feel like the NHL feels more pressure to keep electing their maximum every year. I'm sure I coud be proven wrong but it doesn't feel like they every elect less than the max and I wonder if that pressure leads them to create votes instead of just looking at who is eligible. but I do think it's wroth pointing out that Hockey has the largest international component of all of the 4 major leagues so there are more things to consider.

Luongo is a tough one for me. I'm not sure how a goalie can be a first ballot hall of fame and never win a Vezina, a cup or really any major award. I get he is 4th all times in wins (but with a lot of games played), won a Jennings and a gold medal but man i'm not sure that resume screams Hall to me let alone first ballot. Goalies are for sure challenging and at the end of the day the guy is 4th all time in wins so I get that piece but i'm also not sure wins are the best stat for a goalie's case. I'm good with everyone else. Alfredsson's NHL career doesn't scream Hall of fame but I think when you pair it with his international career (which you should IMO) he's a first ballot guy.

This looks awful when put into a tweet but at the same time it lacks context and should be pointed out this isn't much different than other NHL teams, especially ones in Canada. But I've said this before asset management is key in the cap area and if (i stress this) Gaudreau walks I think it's an organizational failure that needs to be investigated. If it's GM driven then you need to replace the GM and if it boils down to the directive then you need to fix the directive.

I think there is a huge difference there. First of all it's another example of a team that actually wasn't that good but got hot but even that aside they didn't really take their team down. They made the Duchene move months after, they thought they were good. I don't think losing Karlsson and Stone because they wanted contracts the Sens wouldn't pay is the same as intentionally taking apart your team. Especially when you consider the contract scenarios of the Flames. Again not saying you 'cant" do it, just that's its never been done.

While fair and very fair to question the patience of this ownership group I think something else should be pointed out. No organization in the salary cap era has ever done what is being proposed here. That doesn't mean to say it's wrong just I think we should point out it's never been done by any ownership group or organization since the cap was brought in.

Well that is my point, that team was the 12th worst in the league and were a break away from making the playoffs. It's still a ways down to the lottery area. I'm not really arguing that it is or it not a good time to rebuild. I'm just arguing it's more challenging than just letting Gaudreau walk and moving Tkachuk. And pointing out that still lots needs to happen for the Flames to be able to use the rebuild to actually improve their current situation.

What blueprint is that and what "commitment" did the Avs show? They had some patience with certain players for sure, which is nice but also mirrors what Calgary has done, but i'm not sure i'm seeing the followable blueprint. They went through 2 GMs and 3 head coaches and what happens if Roy doesn't suddenly resign when he did, they might not even have Bednar. Not to mention this actually starts in 2009 when they took Duchene 3rd overall because without that trade (that it's interesting to point out he demanded) I don't think they are cup champs. Don't get me wrong they did a lot of things right and had some very key acquisitions, but they also had a lot of circumstances go their way. I'm not sure there is that much of a blueprint there because they was not a tank for a ton of high picks strategy IMO.

Habs were 24-21 before they got hot in the playoffs. 71 points the year before (in 71 games), 96 the year before and then 71 before that. They were not a very good team and not trending well as that shows. Even they year they had 96 points they were carried by Price and Domi. They got hot at the right time, Price found his game but their "fall from cup finals to 1st overall pick isn't that far. I'm not saying the Flames can't do it but it's going to take a gutting of their team. Gaudreau, Tkachuk, Mang, Lindholm, Markstrom and 1 of Hanifin/Tanev all have to go.

The problem though with the idea of the strip it down rebuild is it relies completely on snagging an elite player at the top of the draft and IMO that needs to be a center. So you need to get yourself a Wright, Bedard, Michkov, maybe a Fantilli, but if you don't the odds are VERY likely you wind up in the same boat. They've already missed the chance for Wright (which i'm not upset by it's just reality though you aren't getting the number 1 pick) so you are either loading up for the 2023 draft and relying on luck, or your waiting for probably a 2-3 year bottoming out process in order to hopefully get that center. Coming off a 100 pt season that's an awfully tough plan to sell to your fan base. I get the argument of going this way without Gaudreau but I also think the Flames are late to the party on it. It be really hard for them to take this team and put themselves into the lottery mix for 2023 so you really are banking on a lot of luck. I don't love the idea of the Flames doing what they can to scrape together a playoff team either but the rebuild route comes with its fair share of pain too and the reward is far from guaranteed.

Great end to a great series. One of the better cup finals i can remember in a while. So much speed, and flow to the game it was great to watch. Full marks to the Avs though, they are a damn good team, well built and deserved this one. I would have appreciated the Lightning pulling off a 3 peat but I think the right team won. I felt top to bottom Colorado was the best team in the league this year especially after their deadline moves.

and just to add i think that’s still the highest price a team has paid for UFA rights. Going off memory so I could be wrong but I can’t think of a circumstance where a players UFA rights garnered more. I agree if the flames shop the UFA rights they might get a mid round pick and j don’t think we should expect anything more. I honestly doubt they’ll even shop the rights.

Yup and I mean any team who has a top pairing dman just walk away from the team is going to hurt, no question. Hard to have depth to recover from that. I'm a little surprised they haven't been able to bring in some more solid D pieces but i'm sure part of that is they are Winnipeg as I'd presume it's not easy to get FA to come there. Forwards are still very good, Perfetti is going to be great I believe and they still draft and develop well. Short of landing Bedard next year i'm not sure a rebuild does much for them.

And to be fair I would agree. Doesn't make much sense to me to try and push forward if you lose an asset like that for nothing. Just don't think it will happen.

That's not really true, structure has become very important to players too. What is salary vs bonus, front load vs back load and then does that % of money being paid in bonus change year by year or is it static? Many players are trying to move bonuses around now to stack the money once the escrow is paid back so there are more than a few things to go back and forth about. On top of that what is the motivation to sign right now? What is the harm with waiting and seeing if the Flames will flinch. If the Flames lose Gaudreau I don't think for a second they will rebuild. Can absolutely argue what the better route is but I think we can be honest that it won't change their plans. I think this is still a playoff team without Gaudreau too. Maybe, stress maybe, if Gaudreau goes and then Tkachuk wants out (not sure this is likely honestly) then maybe the Flames would "rebuild" but I still doubt it. I think the owners would push Treliving to keep trying to find ways to win.

It doesn't sound like the Jets have any appetite to rebuild, they want to win. Sounds like it was a big part of their pitch to Trotz and a part that really impressed he, they are committed to winning. Jets just have some interesting decision to make. Their roster has holes and they have a few key players starting to talk about their futures. Still a very talented club, especially at forward, and an all star goalie so a strip down rebuild doesn't really appear to make much sense to me. I just thikn they will be interesting to watch because of the player dynamics and some kind of hinting they are tired of losing. Trotz would have been a big way to move the needle.

Interesting for the Jets as it sounds like they were the only ones Trotz was actually considering. I think he could have got them back into the playoffs. See what Plan B is, but i'm not sure there is a Plan B for them as strong as Trotz. Jets just potentially became one of the most interesting teams of the off season.

It will be interesting to see where his career goes. I am a fan and think he has done an excellent job for the organization. His name appears on lists but mostly as a dark horse. lately it seems the league is trending away from assistants though and they want that bench experience. I wonder if at any point Huska would return to the AHL to run a bench to get that back on his resume. I know Muller did this to try and make himself a more rounded candidate so be curious to see what direction Huska goes. I would hate to lose him but at the same time one of the things the Flames have done a really good job of under Treliving is develop coaches.

Looks like no Huska in Chicago

It would appear to be that way. Mackinnon is the only player who comes towards the bench after Kadri jumps on.

Forsberg and Preds don't appear close in talks according to Seravelli.

A sign and trade is a possibility but I'm not sure it's a likely one and even if it was i don't think you'd get anywhere close to the 2nd overall pick. If Gaudreau leaves I think it's for 1 of 2 reasons. 1 - he wants to go to the highest bidder and he and his agent think a bidding war can drive the price out of Calgary's range (unlikely IMO) or 2 he just wants to be somewhere else. Both situations don't really lend themselves well to getting a team to give up an asset because at the end day they are not really gaining anything by doing so. If it were NJ for example maybe they value the 8th year and the potential to shave a mill or so off their cap enough to warrant flipping you a mid round draft picks or something but I can't see them doing more than that.

I agree. There is a human element to officiating and the game that should not be overly policed. Some are calling for expanding video review now which I think is crap. I don't think for a second this situation cost the Lightning the game. The only thing I want to see with NHL officiating is to keep the standard consistent and stop having the "can't call a penalty at this point" idea. Like the call on Landeskog, I don't care it's late in the Stanley Cup finals it's a penalty so call it. Outside of that I don't think the officiating is near as bad as it gets made out to be. It's subjective an always will be but that's pro sports and is no different in other sports.

Bit of an exodus on the Heat here, which honestly is not that surprising when you look at the contract situation and no one here really played a key role last year. Tuulola is too bad and he did play a bit of a role but I think his NHL clock was up so I can see why he'd want to head back home.

It's a valid gripe for sure as this angle shows. Kardri is out of the frame before you even see Mackinnon and that would make him well outside of 5 feet. Letter of the law says this is too many men. I'm not really seeing this as that controversial though. yes it culd have been a penalty but the situation gets called both ways and is a judgement call by the official. I'm not sure this really created an unfair advantage for the Avs so while you can certainly argue it's a miss I don't feel it's an egregious one as it really amounts to a sloppy line change (and funny enough if you look at the play Tampa also has more than 5 on the ice). Looks pretty bad though. I actually thought the bigger missed call was the hook by Landeskog in front of his own net. Clearly got the stick in the hands and parallel to take away a scoring chance so if your made about a call i'd be more made about that one.