conundrumed

This one weighs on me now. I liked the pick at the time. I really liked Robert Thomas in jr. He has a real nasty streak. So I'm not using hindsight now because I didn't mind the Vali pick. But damn, what a difference that would have made. 2C would have been solved. 3rd pair in the AHL 4-5 yrs later isn't what I imagined. Hopefully he'll have a great summer knowing that he's running out of real estate. KHL isn't a viable option anymore due to Russia being, well, Russia. A mafia state. He needs to figure it out equally to us needing him to. It's becoming, "If you aren't a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem". I remain hopeful, yet he seems really discouraged to me. Get him a girlfriend, she'll set him straight.lol I'm half-kidding.

Uh-oh😅

Oilers related...

I was thinking the same. Team and Arena, actually. Pay homage to our greats. That's the way.

You left out that he's 25 and it feels like he's been around forever. I'm a fan of Dunn's. I think he's exactly the Dman that Sutter teaches better approaches. He was behind a lot of great dmen in St. Loo as a kid. I think there's a lot more there than what he's shown, personally. Then he goes to Seattle's cesspool... I'd do this, scraping players that need real opportunities with a good team. He's one for sure.

Starting to look a lot like it. Certainly my bet and I think most D fans. Yzerman hired him in Tampa, also hired Cooper. Excellent resume like Cooper, USHL, ECHL, AHL. Very D & neutral zone "play the right way" approach. And very relaxed and poised. Should be a great fit. Yzerman will work with him to find the right assistants too. Man I'm glad he came back home, never should have left. No leaks out of Detroit, ever. BT is good at keeping things really quiet also. This is the way. That's going to be a great hire for Detroit. He'll get a big welcome in the D. A good coach to grow with a young team. Blashill was always a placeholder and a little beyond his element. And finally, no one is stealing all of Detroit's coaching staff.lol In Yzerplan we trust.

Flames icon. RIP Bearcat. The new rink will need statues and his should be the first.

Kakko's definitely one I've been thinking about. I agree cross, the big names are unrealistic when JG and Tkachuk sign. There has to be cheaper alternatives that assume some risk. One thing we definitely have to offer is opportunity,

I'm not sure that he's even that peeps. I'm not sure how he went 3oa, a good tournament maybe? Kylington, sure. Anyone else, nope. Maybe...maybe Chicago brought him in too fast because they suck. Maybe. But I don't see a top 6 guy. I see a big, RS pass first center. I actually prefer Ruzicka to be honest. DeBrincat isn't my fave either. If we wanna keep playing pond hockey against the Oilers, sure, get DeBrincat. I like 200' players, you just have to be in this league. I really like Pelletier and Kerins as prospects. Size is over-rated. These 2 think the game really well. Kerins finishing 2nd behind Wyatt Johnson astonishes me. He's a great passer, sees the ice well. Great shot? Nope. Great skater? Nope. He was the Soo's top defensive C and 1C on the PP and PK. Tye Kartye earned an ELC this year with Seattle. Undrafted, 21.Filled the net, not much else. Kerins is a Backlund replacement for 2023-24. He does nothing elite, but everything really well. My comparison is Trochek, just a good all around C. He's a C, he won't be moving to wing. He won't blow you away, but then you look at his stat line and go, "how was he in on everything"? Good into the fire for him right now in the A. He'll be stalwart as a D-first C, then figure out the O.

I do believe so, but @cross is the authority on this stuff. I don't know how he rhymes it off like nothing, but love that he edumucates us. Seems to know even the obscurest. I'm too busy trying to memorize songs and lyrics.lol

Uh-oh. I'm not picking up what you guys are laying down. I'm sure ChiTown would like a do-over from taking Dach 3oa. 3rd rder? Sure. Overall, ouch. Dube>Dach. Tkachuk>DeBrincat. As for McLeod, good grab at #40. We didn't have a pick until 3 4th rders, thanks for nothing Hamonic. I hate revisiting the '18-19 drafts. Too bad we weren't scouting Nik Abbruzzese over Lucas Feuk. Do we even scout Chicago's elite hockey program? Throwing picks around like candy, and we're still doing it.

I guess we shall see. I've no horse in this race. The Avs have better young D. Consider, how many jersey's will TBay be hanging from the rafters from this team? 77, 86, 88, 91. That's the for-sures. I've relegated myself to Tampa being a dynasty. I'll be shocked if the Avs stop this train.

To mash Johnny Dangerously and Snatch....farging icehole pikeys.lol Good luck buddy. I hope you do, it'd be fun, as rd titled this thing. Of course he's dead last and deserves hugs.🙃💖

I disagree. They need him just to compete with Tampa. The Avs have high end skill, so does Tampa. Bottom 9, easily Tampa. D easily Tampa, G easily Tampa. Maybe it's just me...I don't have a horse in this race. Tampa is a dynasty team rn. Thank christ they'll age at some point. Can't see it being this year.

I see a bit of a mismatch personally. If I'm Bednar, my first thought is, how in the dying Blockchain can I mitigate Kucherov? You either shadow him or think you can overcome the damage he'll do. Mitigate him, mitigate his linemates. Next, Palat, Cirelli, Perry, Colton, Hagel, Paul, Maroon. The Avs don't have nearly this level of depth. Imo, the Avs can match some things, but they definitely can't match the whole thing. Kadri and Girard are not misses that the Avs can afford. I really wish that wasn't the case. Like I said, nobody in 7. But I highly doubt the Avs can be a big threat to Tampa. They're a juggernaut.

I agree it should be fantastic hockey. The Avs are about to find out why G is important. Point should be back, it's a shame Khadri won't. Tampa is really in tune, moving all over as 5 man units. Incredible to watch how synchronized they are. Cooper painting another masterpiece. I'm cheering for nobody in 7. Expecting Vasilevsky to rip another Conn Smythe. There's really nothing left to say about him. One of the best ever?

Mackey the OT hero. Ruzicka still out, Kerins in. Kerins getting an 80(hopefully plus) game season in.

Sounds like Point should be back. She'll be a tight one with pikey I think.

Just for converation. Is packaging Hanifin & Toffoli viable to get cap space? I know it depends on replacing them. If Pelletier moves in, Dube to RW, is Toffoli redundant? Hanifin & Toffoli for Chychrun? ARI still needs NHL players. Another add not named Wolf?

I'm with what @cross & @sak22 are saying. But you're also right. Parents fight at kids games for the love of god. Americans are generally the nicest people on earth, but a lot of them aren't. I'm on a border town. There are 2 rules: Stay completely away from politics. Never, ever be arrogant. This guy likely had 100 really nice Rangers fans around him laughingly saying, "Blockchain you", and one guy that was pissed off. Everything peeps is saying is correct. Buddy was beaking. In general, and not saying this was the case, but instances I've seen, even at the Saddledome, it starts with, "shut your beak, or I'm going to shut it for you". Thankfully it always ends there from what I've witnessed. If he did have friends with him, I'd bet his own friends would threaten him. I know I would. So I can't feel completely sorry for the victim. What he was doing was incredibly stupid. Hope he enjoyed his night out (cold). Sorry, couldn't resist. Was that from arena camera? I'd hope so. If this is from a phone camera, someone saw a boiling point coming. Like there was already a confrontation.

I can appreciate what you're saying. There are a lot of examples of Dmen taking longer. I'd keep Kylington before Hanifin personally. We are saying, "Kylington, trade him, while his value is at it's highest". I don't agree. He has qualities that we don't have on the backend in skating and getting involved in offence. He can experience the league and figure out how not to go brain-dead. Another year of a good coach... My curiosity is piqued. Those attributes don't grow on trees. Hanifin, on the other hand, what's left to teach? Erase his memory that he was a high draft pick?

I tend do disagree. Hanifin burnt on speed, Kyl burnt on size. One's been, what, 7 yrs, the other, 1st year really. The separation between the best fwd in the league and the worst isn't massive, imho. Just different attributes. Kylington needs to make those mistakes to get better. Hanifin, this is him, none of this Satoshi Nakamoto should've been new to him.

Oh boy. I don't condone this, but I can tell everyone here very clearly. Do not go to the visitors rink, walk out with an emotional win, and trash talk everyone. Especially in the US. I will guarantee you, you are heightening the situation. Never, ever do this. Be respectful. "Good game, you guys are giving us all we can take. We got lucky. You guys have a great team". Don't ever do this. I've been home and away Detroit vs Chicago and nobody, but nobody, rubs salt in wounds. It's very dangerous thing to do. As I said, I don't condone the reaction. But don't Blockchaining invite it, because you WILL find it. Keep your mouth shut or just be really nice.

What if we look further down the UFA list? Namestnikov - I may have been the only one that wanted him at TDL. Very honest player that can slot into any role. Justin Braun - Does he have another year of decent stay-at-home RD depth left in him if no Gudbranson? Nick Paul - Not too sold on him, but good size and speed. Tampa's already out of cap, but they may have 3 Cups to show for it. Trevor Lewis - he had an effective season. I liked him a lot. There are others, but there's 4 that may be affordable. Namestnikov-Jarnkrok-Toffoli would be a pretty smart, experienced 3rd line. Just trying to be realistic if we can re-sign everyone. Should we move Toffoli to stick with Dube? Package Toffoli and Hanifin? That's $9mil in cap. But I may be alone in a whole new disdain for Hanifin if that's how he approaches playoffs. Lackadaisical is the best I can come up with. He plays with an arrogance that he can't afford. But like I said, I was extremely disappointed in his hustle, gap control, coverage, can't hold the line to save his life. Plays it all-too-cautious and gets beat regardless. *end rant* How to replace him is a conversation worth having, but I kinda hope we do replace him. Get another LD Swede.lol

Yeah I know.lol Doesn't make much sense. Cassidy, Torts and everyone else linked also. I might be the only one not linked. Thought I saw your name up there too.lol