travel_dude

^^^^^ Those are probably as close to the best we can put out there. Hunt and Coronato both deserve to stay in, but both add a different element. Coronato has a better shot and nose for the play. Hunt has a better forecheck and 2 way play.

I think the best thing is to have them start Wolf and Markstrom provided tips. Then give a game to Markstrom then Wolf. 7-7 split. The season is toast, so playing Wolf benefits the Wranglers for the playoffs. Maybe send him down a week before the season is done and bring up Dansk? Give him a couple games down there to adjust. Just a thought. I have no issue keeping Wolf up here to the end if they give him regular starts.

We we will see how many starts Markstrom gets. Likely most. But I don't have a problem with Wolf understudying Markstrom. Should have been that way half way through the season. There is little point now in starting Markstrom. We aren't going 12-1-1 to finish the season. Evaluate.

Likely the first time the player suits up in red would be in the new arena. I'm not keen on picking wingers since we have a big hole in the middle. Yakemchuk stats are crazy good for a D. Unless we start losing, he may not even be available. BPA, as long as it isn't LW LHS.

He had a full year, last year. This is a shortened season no doubt, but he will get playoff experience in the AHL. Again.

Name brand either pushes other great players down to us or we win the lotto. All good.

I would like to think that Poirier would be the next to graduate to the NHL roster. That's not a snipe at Hanley or Okhotiuk, just that he brings different skills. Poirier might be okay with Pachal, with the obvious growing pains to endure. Just an opinion since I don't know how the 5-7 guys are in comparison.

This board describes the way conditions are becoming in the NHL. Here is another view with a "calmer" person explaining it.

We haven't had much luck in the 2nd round lately (2016 onwards), with the exception of Morin. I'm still a bit hesitant on Kuznetsov. To be fair, we haven't had a lot of 2nd round picks. We have found some gems in the later rounds. Crossed fingers on the ones we still have rights to.

Sad news for such a young fellow.

I can't keep that straight. Between the cap and roster numbers and number of regular recalls and reserve list, I just defer to the guys that know. I thought that the sending down of Pelletier had to also do with number of roster spots. Seeing as they still have 13F, 8D and 2G (plus Wolf on an emergency callup), that was an oversight on my part. With Pelletier, it doesn't make any sense to yoyo him up again with only 14 games left. Keep him down there. We may need a F at some point, but use it on a guy that hasn't been up or maybe fills a need or deserves a chance. We will have 14F once Zary is back, and guys will come in and go out of the lineup. May choose to bring up a couple of young guys to give vets a couple of games off.

I'm not sure what he is expectation to catch with a day-old worm and a spool of thread. Hard bargaining with Connie? What else can you afford?

I saw the ELC for him, but didn't notice his lack of waiver exemption. So, here is my problem with the lineup when Zary comes back. Coronato is the only remaining exempt player that's on a regular recall. A few games ago, I would have suggested we send him back down. His recent play suggested he was one of the few Flames playing well. What would you suggest?

We had some luck with Duehr and Hathaway, not so much with Philp.

Well I guess he won't be able to play in the AHL playoffs, so might as well keep him for now I guess. When Zary comes back we can always send down Okhotiuk to the AHL to make roster space.

Same front office more or less, so who knows. As far as the term, being a RFA after one year vs RFA after 2 years, is there really any benefit to a one year deal?

The Devils are in a mix with a whole bunch of teams to miss the playoffs. I wouldn't put money on any of them ending up 8-10th. 11 teams separated by 8 points, 5 of them 3 points or less. In the East, only 5 teams look to be on the verge of clinching a spot. In the West, the Central is the powerhouse, so probably only VGK and LA are in real danger from the Pacific.

I suspect he is done here for the season. 2 regular call ups remaining. Might as well get back up to speed and play in the AHL playoffs. On a side note, why are we still carrying 8D? Gilbert won't get back into the lineup.

Yeah, I saw that this morning. One thing about BT was he seemed to know these things. Then again, BT was only one of the many there. As far as bonuses, when Kuzmenko signed, how was he able to get an ELC with a signing bonus? Since the ELC is out the window, I guess we are able to sign a 2 year deal?

I think it would be more reasonable to target the 2025 draft for a 1st from NJ, if that is what you want. NJ is one of those teams that you can't figure out if they will be playoff bound or bottom 10. Last year 112 points, this year just out. With Dougie they expect to make the playoffs, but they seem content to invest in poor goaltending. Or temporary solutions. Allen is not a true starter. Next year will be a coin flip. They have a ton of cap and a 1b goalie on contract. With that cap, they only have 8F signed so far and lose two players in the WJC thing. They could very well be found innocent, but I doubt NJ wants them back. They claim to be going after the big fish for a goalie this summer. Other than Markstrom, who else would they even consider. But, I don't think they are trading picks in 2024 draft. 1x1st, 2x3rd, 2x5 and 1x6th. In 2025, they have a 1st and either 2x2nd or 2nd + 3rd. I don't think they trade their own 2nd, because it would have to have conditions if they send it to MTL, but won't know until end of next season.

Yes, I guess the ELC would start come new season, so he is 25 then. Odd that they enforce it that way. Hope it's just a slight delay and doesn't screw anything up.

We drafted two C's that have not played the position here at all; Zary and Pospisil. Lipinski the most recent C drafted; 4th round. Ruzicka - turned him into a LW.

^^^^^^^^ That's awesome. Says he was born in California, but "grew up" in COL and playing in Minny. He's a bit older, but the AHL games should give us some sense of his readiness. Since he was not on the AHL roster by cutoff, he won't get to play in the playoffs? That's fair.

Markstrom is skating, but Huska is expecting him to skate 3 more times this week. He's hoping to have him back on the weekend.

The deletions from the roster haven't exactly killed our chances of winning each game. Tanev should have had the biggest impact, but hasn't really hit yet. Removing Zadorov's dumb plays and penalties have been positive. Hanifin and Lindholm's not wanting to be hear may have been a room killer. Lindholm looked like he checked out during the season. The roster appears to believe they have a chance, so not shutting down in games. The coach believes in the team in front of Wolf being the reason for the wins. As far as final standings, I don't think there is much the coach can do. Even if we play a mostly AHL lineup (spoiler alert - we can't), we will still win games. In the final 15, we can easily go 7-7-1. I doubt much better than that. That may not even matter, since the teams currently behind us are trying to win. NJ seems to have the toughest schedule, plus they are playing the teams also behind us. Seattle seems to have the easiest schedule, so they "should" win about 9 games. Buffalo looks better with Byram, so never count them out. PITTS has Syd.