travel_dude

We should re-name the thread to "Vegas Hooped" and stop there.

I think it was a shot as much as praising the player, but that's my own opinion. He has a high opinion of those two, but as he says, it's the biog goals and not being on for the ones against. We get scored on in the first minute, but who comes out the next shift and ties it? The top line. Huge goal. Every goal scored by the line was huge. Not being on for ones against key. One of the things I have seen is that We own the cycle with Tkachuk out there. The big goal on Smith was a loss of possession that Johnny got back from McDavid (helped by the D). Tkachuk went from behind the net to the right slot and bam it's in. Johnny is thinking the game 2 plays ahead. The Kylington goal was a perfect example. Sprung on a partial break, he could have just put it on net. His immediate passing option was covered. Instead he goes for the non obvious play because he knows the D are coming in to support him. It might be considered a blind pass, but he has a sixth sense and sees red in the corner of his eye. Completely took the goalie and D out of the play. Dube is earning his minutes. Way it should be. In fact, every player with 15 minutes is.

Not totally unexpected..... Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon: Sidelined Tuesday Rotowire 3 MINS AGO MacKinnon will miss out versus Calgary on Tuesday with an upper-body injury, Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports. MacKinnon's absence will severely hurt the Avs' attack heading into Tuesday's tilt considering he has racked up 27 points in his last 20 contests, including nine power-play points. Nazem Kadri should be in the mix for MacKinnon's spot on the top line while Devon Toews jumps up to the No. 1 power-play unit. If MacKinnon is unavailable long term, it could see Colorado fall out of the race for the Presidents' Trophy.

We have nobody to shake hands with Bettman when we win the cup this spring/summer. Do we send up Tkachuk and he butt-checks Bettman?

Good to get Mionahan back in. I'm not sure how the Carpenter experiment really worked, but Monahan is better at C, in my opinion. Maybe he would be a better option for RW? Would like to see Dube move to C, with Jarnkrok moving to RW, but they were a good line last game. I wonder if Coleman stays on RW? He seemed to be comfortable there in the past. Or perhaps flip him and Dube on the wings?

Mangiapane-Backlund-Tkachuk works, but that is as much on Tkachuk's abilities and Mange playing LW. I would like to see a game of Mangiapane on LW with Gaudreau to see if there is anything there. I feel like Tkachuk's passing ability is underrated though. Perhaps one of the reasons why Gaudreau is leading the primary assists category. Those passes to him are coming from somebody. If you were to ask the coach, he would say leave my line alone. I will use all of the players top the betterment of the team. What I would want in a Tkachuk trade would be a top 6C and a top 6 winger (or top 3 D). But is that the problem with this team? We have potential replacements coming up for 2/3C, wingers and D-men. What we don't have is any Tkachuk's coming up. That's pretty unique. Laine would be a good replacement, but doesn't have all the rounded tools.

I'm not convinced we get enough for him to "win" the trade. Without winning it, the trade takes us sideways at best. But then again it could be sneaky good. Playing Sutter hockey, he's crushing it this year.

No doubt he was a better player for the same cap. We had the 4th tied up to the Toffoli deal, but the chances of us having a top 10 pick are almost nil. I'm not sure that he would do well in the West.

Most likely teams to get WC2? Dallas, Nashville, STL, Vegas, with an outside chance for either LA or EDM ending up there. Best matchup? STL would give COL fits. Nashville has the defense and goalie to make a long series. Dallas, no idea. EDM, no chance for EDM. 100% cheating/healthy Vegas - tough to call.

Ideally, we could use Kylington in a trade for Chychrun, but that doesn't get us cap space as much as cap certainty for a player. And an improvement overall. I've been a supporter of Kylington this year, but I wonder if he has much more improvement left in him. Or if we see a little regression to end the year and into next season. There's not too many places we can cut cap. Monahan and Lucic are the biggest hits with the least impact. Can we manage moving one or both without sweeteners. Can't buy out Lucic, but his $1M salary after signing bonus is paid is an interesting trade option. He has control over his future (to a certain extent), but we did him a solid by honoring his NMC and only asking him to waive for the draft. He's been given a chance by Sutter to show he's still a player. With Monahan, the only options are trade or buy out. Can't keep him. Trading him only works if we can find a team that takes a chance on him and has enough cap to not worry about it. His contract is a negative, but could be a win for a team that looks to move him next TDL. He would have to be scoring back close to his former self.

On full display last game, wasn't it? He can stickhandle like a dream, then on the same shift pass it onto the stick of the other team. Was in the middle of praising him for a great play where he weaved around players, protected the puck, skated it out. Then seconds late made a stupid play that cost a goal. When he gets on the puck carrier, they can't do a lot. When he gives them 20 feet, it's over. He should do the following: hang onto the puck when going on offense; he's tough to check and protects the puck/dekes well look for a lane and shoot on net when he has the puck in the D-zone with forecheckers on him, pass to Guddy, That is all.

He's feisty. And crazy. Love when you team's leader drops the mitts. Hate it when you best player drops the mitts. Do they not have a player to take care of bizznezz? I am really hoping that the Oilers face this team in the playoff round 1. Too bad they won't. Would be a fun but short series. Anyway, let's take the dominating performance we had Saturday and put it to use. Two evenly matched teams We are 1-1-0 in the series, both played in COL.

Coronato is a RW most likely. Possibly a Dube or Toffoli replacement in 3 years, but who really knows. We have three top player that are solid where they are. Mangiapane and Toffoli in that next tier, with maybe Dube if he grows. Coleman you can fit anywhere except C. That leaves us looking for a 2C in the immediate or Dube takes that role. Next tier is (potential) Ruzicka, Pelletier, Zary, Coronato. 2-3 of those guys able to play NHL level for a third line would be great. 4th line a hodge podge. If Ruzie could take that next step or two, he could be the answer to line 2. I really don't see Mangiapane letting his foot off the gas over the next 5 years. His balance may be his biggest issue. Just because he is smaller doesn't set him up any worse than a Kucherov. Virtually the same size.

It's a tough choice. EDM has two star C's and little on the wing. Over $25M up the middle and can afford one winger at close to $5M. There are only a few C's that really score at a 30+ goal pace. Way more wingers.

If that happens, then you have a player with term you can trade. If those guys become top 6 players and they are better than Mangiapane, then we are laughing.

Do we have any 40 goal scorers on our team? EDM has one and his name isn't McD and doesn't play all season with him. But the other argument is how many minutes do you have to play to be scoring that many points. 22+? Look, I get the best player argument, but if you aren't crushing it 5v5 in goal for and against, then how improtant to the team are you? Flawed stat, but it shows team results too, when you are on the ice.

He's playing primarily on a shutdown line. He's basically in his prime now. So, some comps: McCann 5x$5M Farabe 6x$5M Point - a high of 41, last three years less than 30. Not expected to be a shutdown player. 5x5 is probably fair, but if you want to buy UFA years, it costs a bit more. I'm bad at predicting salaries. What is a 30 goal guy worth?

Ideally, you buy as many UFA years as possible. 3 years gets you two I think. I know short term cap management is a goal, but there are things to be said about locking a guy up. How bad is it that we only have bargain contracts for Johnny and Lindy now? Lindy's lasts only another 2 years. It was a bargain when we signed it, but we needed a bargain. I just don't want to get caught 3 years from now trying to re-sign a player that again exceeds expectations. You go short, it probably costs a bit more now and future. A two year bridge is probably no longer a reality. If it is, it's not cheap. The thing about players hitting 29, is that it tends to be the last contract they sign for any great amount of money. To keep it cheap, you have to go 6-8 years then. I would rather get it out of the way and sign him long term. That's just me. In 5 years, that money will look small if he's a 30 goal scorer. If he's not scoring at that level, then it's a Coleman deal. My preferences would be (and I'm not sure how realistic they are): Gaudreau 8 x $10M Tkachuk 8 x $9M Mangiapane 7 x $5.6M Kylington 4 x $3.5M After next year, we have Backlund, Lindholm, Toffoli and Dube (RFA) needing neew deals, but we have 3 guys locked in. We have Ruzie and Valimaki coming next year and possibly Pelletier. Some value there to offset the big deals. In two years, we have Tanev and Hanifin pending UFA; would rather have two guys locked up during that time.

I watched the presser as well. Some comments: 1) Ruzicka is not on the team because he is waiver eligible. He was back in the lineup before we got Carpenter, and had to be moved to make room for Jarnkrok and Carpenter. Not just money but roster space. It's kind of impossible for him to steal the C spot from either of the two guys that haven't played here. Sutter was talking more about Dube and really didn't get into it. 2) The Guadreau talk was interesting. Didn't really compare previous season or playoffs past with today. Just talked about what he does to win. Uses his stick and the way he has played since the All Star break has shown he is taking his game to the next level. The games are getting tougher, and he is getting better. Probably won't see as much rushes and breakaways from now on and into the playoffs, but he is finding his space. That is key. 3) Tkachuk is better coming off the boards now, becuase of his skillset and awareness. He's elite in front of the net, but the RW board work has taken him to anew level. I do like the things he said about scoring big goals and being on the ice for those as opposed to being scored on. Specifically at 5v5. Three of the top guys in the NHL are all on one line. Two guys not near the top in 5v5 play but at the top in scoring just had -4 nights. It was a shot across the bow. I know he thinks the Oilers have two of the best players, but that says something when he basically calls them out. McD and Drai were on for big goals against. Did little to prevent them.

Gaudreau is trying to fin a way to win the scoring title, stays at the top in +/- and still play Sutter's game. So far he's done 2/3 of that. His line is the best line in hockey 5v5. Nobody close. When Sutter even says that, you know it's something. The first star of Talbot is well earned. The 3rd star? With his "All Star" performance, the Oiler went 1-2-1. 3 goals and 1 assist came in a game where he was a minus 4. A hatty is always something to take notice of, but not exactly a 3rd star week. All I can say is get the deal done and damn the torpedoes. Nobody can even touch him when his game is on.

Not sure what the benefit would be to bringing him into the Flames org this soon. He's still honing his game in the non-pro world. He's in an excellent environment for growth as a person. He would just be in the AHL next year as it is. Need to manage the contract side of things too, and not have too many guys on ELC's without the space to use them.

I know last night was not the best example of a typical game, but it highlighted some things for me. Top line is your dominant line and should not be broken up for linger than a game. And that's only if they are getting donuts for at least one game. Mange and Toffee belong on a line with a playdriver/passer. They both excel at possession, but are both shooters. Keep Dube hungry, feed him some minutes when really hungry. Coleman and Jarnkrok seem like good options to shut down and transition the puck. 4th line needs players coming in and going out as the play dictates.

The impact of having a one line team or more appropriately, a 2 player team, is that they overplay them. Most minutes of any forwards in the NHL. And they wonder why they never do damage in the playoffs. Gaudreau also has far less PP points than either. Ahead of McD by 12 with 70 5v5 points. Leads the league at +49. If he doesn't have more Hart votes, it's a crime. Sure it's a team game, but he stirs the drinks.

For sure it was a dumb hit with 30 seconds left in a period, but it was less of a pick that finishing a check. McD had the puck when Backlund was lining him up. You knew the call was coming even if he embellished it. I hope we don't get Lee again as a ref. He is blatantly anti-Flames. I'll take the Guddy x 2, the Backlund calls, but the rest were iffy. The obvious non call on the too many men. Some pretty obvious hacks (Guadreau hacked in the neck), trips went uncalled. I don't really car, but it was a bad look.

The only thing that was close was the 1st period, where the Oilers tried to impose their will. The only even strength goals they scored. After that, the careless and ticky tacks call for and non against kept it close. But for every PP goal they scored to even it up, we scored to get the lead. Chased Kostco after 5, the last being a 5 hole. The mistakes the Flames made were overly not worrysome. The first goal was Tanev not boxing out Brassard on a topped shot. The 2nd goal was a missed check by Lucic followed by Zaddy giving DRai too much space to work with. The rest for 5v4 or a 5v3 goal against. For all the hooks, hacks and trips we received, we got called for almost every one we returned. Tollofi's was weak. Mange's was after being layed on. Guddy's two were obvious. Backlund's was stupid. Gaudreau was hacked in the neck on a rush and nothing. Backlund was in the box for one PPG against as was Guddy. The latter was the 2 man advantage for 1:57. Aside from that, it was as close to a 9-2 beatdown as you could imagine. I don't have the stats, but we dominated for long stretches. The first was the only really close period at even strength. Sutter loved the game. EDIT - mixed up things on the Mange penalty. He tripped Bouchard, but it was as much as dive as anything.