travel_dude

The Oilers would be wise not to turn this into a war. I would think Tkachuk knows the strategic advantages of when to fight. He's going to be as close to the edge as you can get. He will instigate a lot of stuff, but won't take a useless fight. Him vs Kassian is useless. 4th line grinder. Kassian has to come through at least two other players first. Kane? Why bother. Taking the fight would make him happy. He wants to be the tough guy? There is a lineup in front of Tkachuk to settle the score.

Monahan comes to mind as a player dealing with two successive LTI's, but he's not that old and could still have a long career. I doubt he would give up on hockey unless it was a health risk.

I used to agree with that statement, but the Flames lead the league with scoring first. It was a little different in the playoffs, but not from being asleep. The other thing is no give up. Only 2 games in the playoffs have we scored first. Went on to win 2 where the other team scored first.

He seems to actually enjoy the game again. Unless he feels he can't compete, why would he walk away?

He was at practice today, playing with Kyler. Mackey-Stone a 4th pairing. Ruzie-Carpenter extras. I don't think Sutter mentions anything about lines and pairs until puck drop. Would make sense for his to go with Stone as in 11-7. Ease Tanev back in and not kill him with minutes. And that allow us to roll 4 lines without fear. Toffoli or Jarnkrok as the extra on the 4th line. Gaudreauu slots in to 3rd line depending on the way the lines run. Toffee and Jarny are pretty safe players to put out there with Lucic.

He's massive. Has a couple of fights in the U. Maybe another Hunter Smith, but could be closer to a real NHL player. Dunno. Flames don't waste time on NHL deals for nobodies. At least not anymore.

Zero. The recovery time push him closer to TC than anything else.

I think it's a bit of posturing myself. Yes, they may want to be close to Calgary. But, they have been stalemated with Stockton over a long term deal. I don't see the Dome working as a venue. 2k seats somewhere may be okay, since you don't get as much interest in AHL. Abby was pretty good as a spot, but that's taken. 7 Chiefs may be the best fit.

If he only focuses on that (which I doubt he would), he would miss a lot of subtle stuff. For one thing, we are not just plan A. We have plan B and C. Sutter may be stubborn, but he also sees who's going out there. And he adjusts to the game on the ice. While the games were close, we smothered DAL with offence. And I think that is key to shutting down the Oilers. Keep McD defending for shifts. Frustrate Kane with a bunch of little hits. Target the D in their zone so they can't make simple plays.

TBH, Monahan is likely on his way out with little coming back. It does allow us to keep Lucic for one for year. Guddy depends on asking price. He's re-invented himself and I think he's found a home. Zaddy will be tough to replace, but you can't pay top 4 for a bottom pair guy. He's done well in a limited, sheltered role. Pair him with a puck mover and I think the pair is only missing some toughness but has better escape. Ritchie is not going to break the bank. Waive him if necessary if you have a better player up and need cap. Low risk. The only real luxury is Lucic. If you have to trade him, you bring in a guy just as tough, but making 4th line money. Maybe a bit presumptious, but maybe Kapka is that guy in waiting.

I think it's pretty fair to say that Johnny has had one linemate that has been consistent in the last number of years. Lindholm. He's played off and on with Tkachuk. Matty has helped Johnny increase his points total, but Johnny could set up Ritchie for a tap in. It's best to keep the three together. We need a dominant line to compete. Pay them and get ready to pay Lindholm. Gaudreau has looked different this playoffs. There's always been some part of the team that has held us back in the playoffs. JH gets frustrated when there is something cancelling anything we do otherwise. Since there was nothing in the way, other than a killer goalie on the other team, JH has turned into a driven player. Has one goal. Get the puck in the net any way he can. Make the other team take a penalty. Get them watching, while the other guys sneak in. Who would have be thinking about covering Stone on a breakaway? Total shell game.

He can be called up and down with impunity, so there's a good chance he's there to replace some of the lost toughness of Zaddy. Maybe he's the replacement for Ritchie. Probably (by the looks of it) has a bit more offence. I mean we have a good team this year. We won't be able to keep everyone. Cap victims this coming season: Monahan Zadorov Carpenter Backlund* Kylington* I listed the last two, only because their cap hurts or will hurt. Valimaki should be closer to where Kyl is, but it seems he's still lagging. Backlund is a tough call. Only if we can replace that ability for less or from within does it make sense to deal him. Ruzicka and Pelletier should be ready for full time work here. Maybe. Would like to bring back Jarnkrok and Guddy.

I think the fans are the only ones that truly believe this. The Flames just go to work again. The Oilers are the ones that have to prove something. They want to be stupid like NAS was against us and try to run us out. We just look for the hits and get them thinking. And get a little hot and retaliate. Tkachuk is the manipulator, so he will live rent free for two weeks or less. They will be expecting Guddy and Looch to be the hitters. But Backlund and Dube time hits really well. Zaddy catches players watching the play. And Tkachuk will be in Smith's grill for a week. I'm not really sure what to expect from the refs. They tend to let them play in the 2nd round. The first round is to give a chance to skill players by rewarding them with calls. Maybe a bit less of the 4v4 calls coming. Key to this series is getting the Oilers doubting. Blowouts don't work, since they adjust and put everything in one basket. That makes them tougher to play. Win the games by one goal and they play the same way.

I guess it's probably the best we can get for a pair. Simpson has a good eye, but he's so used to doing Leafs games. Won't be surprised when he starts talking about Matthews and Marner. Cuthbert gets a little wound up. A bit like Jack Edwards, who thankfully had zero games in the post season. He's annoying with his catch phrases. Yes, we saw that. What else would we be doing with the tv one?

Couple of suggestions: Long Train Running I hear that train a comin' (naw, it's a prison song, this isn't EDM). Takin' Care of Business (no trains just workin' OT).

I thought the exact same thing. I'm not sure how he drew that conclusion. Other than they were once coached by Sutter. Possession? Okay, so we play that way. So does 50% of the teams or at least they try. Low scoring? Maybe, but we had more goals than the Oilers in the season.

Come on JJ, just change your handle back to the original. Nobody wants to be reminded of that dweeb that used to post here.

Matty supported Brady during contract stuff, so Brady owes him. Besides the Tkachuks stick together. Big brother showing little guy how to win.

This is one of those matchups that sound good, but it's not really IMHO. Kane is a fool. Tries to act tough. Will only go against people he thinks he can beat. Or play the old "hold me back". McD took over games that teams gave him all the room he wanted. Smith is a first save goalie, otherwise he's like a tadpole flopping around. Not controlled chaos, just chaos. Unlike Otter, you just wait him out a bit. Make him look bad. His ego is bigger than his pads. The thing with the Oilers is they are fragile. Get a two goal lead on them and they resort to no structure. Adjust and exploit.

We also have a couple of guys that stick like glue. Kylington has an incredible knack of backchecking without taking penalties. Ras follows like a shadow and doesn't buy into the head fake.

Yeah, you are right. I will cease and desist. Look, a squirrel.

Include Monahan and it would work. But doesn't solve anything for us, just makes the deal work. Still not enough space to sign everyone.

Holy h.e.double hockey sticks. 6'8". Not a prolific scorer by the limited looks of it. Did we sign him to eventually play along side of Ruzicka? Slovaks and Czech have a lot in common....maybe. Or did we need someone near the same height as Vladar that speaks Czech? Are we looking to have the most guys over 6'5" on this team?

I don't think there is anything we could offer that would come close. Nor can I see any reason why Ottawa makes the deal. Eichel was broken and a difficult trade to gauge. A top C from a value team. Maybe something like Lindholm, Coronato, Pelletier and Valimaki. I don't even know if that is close. Just something to start with.

Dallas looked like a good matchup for us, except we knew COL was the lucky team to face NAS in round 1. That goal with 0.1 seconds remaining sealed the deal that we played DAL. I'm not bitter about that, since it got us to the never we need to win in the playoffs. I'm not even sure what to think about the Oilers having a harder time with the Kings. They were on the brink for two games including game 7. A tie game going late into the 3rd in game 6. Scoreless until late 2nd in game 7. As far as dealing with the Oilers, it's likely either Andersson, Hanifin or Kylington that sticks to him like glue. As far as defense that is. The F that will face him the most are Lindy and Backlund. They know how to frustrate McD. The big X factor for the Oilers is the PP and how often they get to use it. That and the relative health of Draisaitl.