travel_dude

I am neither agreeing or disagreeing your assessment. To me, it's a power move. They want Tank gone and are meh on signing Thomas for his worth. We value Tkachuk for being a SOB, which is fine. His hockey sense alludes him when he plays to his choice to exploit toughness. We can do without paying $9m for that and at the same time picking up a vet and a good young player. Tank's next deal is less than Tkachuk and we could easily give Thomas a bridge deal. And Tank may actually bring in a ton if he plays really well and we think we can't resign him. A bit old, but snipers don't grow on trees (or Tre's).

I think it would work if we had them retain $1.5m. Or half that amount and we send them Ritchie or Stone. Just to make money work. Might have to send them a 3rd to account for the money retention. But really, them getting a Tkachuk is a huge win. Media darling in a place like St. Lou. They love the miserable players like Perron.

I'm starting to wonder if Conumdrumed may be onto something. Tarasenko + Thomas for Tkachuk may be the smartest move for this team. It means we can keep Monahan and Gaudreau plus have an option for a top 6 C, if not a 3rd line C. Get a sniper for the PP. Motivated player. I think he has had bad coaches over the last few years. Even if we end up trading him, he could be a steal right now. And we get a young C, which is what we need.

I don't think I am really sure of what Pos is. I knew what Mangiapane was coming in and knew that he would be a gamer in the NHL. Pos had a ton of points in the USHL, but not many goals. As a player, he was know for being brutal. Not the mark I am looking for as a primary thing, but it is an attribute. Want to see what he is away from the goonery. Is he really better than Mangiapane at an earlier age? Bigger - yes. 21 points in 40 games as a 20 to 21 year old Mangiapane had 41 in 66 games as a 1st year pro (20-21 years old). Stayed one extra season as a 19/20 year old due to birthdate. Look, all I am saying is that he has skill and could improve on that part. Not big enough to be a power forward. Don't want him to be.

Yeck. Injuries in a nothing rookie game. Guess the Oiler hopefuls have the same feeling. 6 weeks with a broken jaw for one of their top guys.

Is Zary serious? Heard he blocked a shot. What's up with Kinnvall, thought he was a healthy scratch.

Maybe, but we can't just have a bunch of Gudbransons out there. Really we should have a mix of types. If he's no good in the D-zone, then fine - pass. If he has the ability to play 2-way, then look at him.

I look at AHL success as a bit of a red herring. Mangiapane was about 20-21 when he joined the AHL and was not a P/GP player. Pos had a very limited season where he was just below being a P/GP player. I am very leery in suggesting that a deft AHL'er will be a 2nd line player in the NHL. Hathaway became a role player, much like Bennett did here. It's dependent on the skill level, the work ethic and the opportunity that he can play into. Ruzicka is easily a more skilled prospect. May not get there in the NHL. My point is that AHL success and early showing there means little. How they look in camp and when an injury comes up determines their NHL fate. So many AHL tweeners.

Perhaps he is a Hathaway type. Same grit. I doubt he becomes a top scorer in the AHL, but he should do well there. He was finding his mark when derailed by a douchebag. As long as he walks the line between grit and goon, I am fine. Don't want to see him fighting in the AHL. It's going to be an interesting AHL season. Some guys like Zary, Pelletier and Zav may look better than we expect. Zav reminds me a bit of Mangiapane. Just a feeling, perhaps not justified. Has to find his scoring in pro.

That is just insane. They have zero cap even with the LTIR. They would need to waive him as it is, with Dillon and Schmidt signaling the end of his getting minutes (with others taking up the 6/7 spots). Say yes to signing him. Would be an option for 6/7. Pushes Stone to 8. Kylington and Stone are going to be waived as it is. We have 46 contracts used, but defense is a good place to add a contract. I think Niku was a scapegoat; WPG sucks on defense.

Whatever. I talked about blowing the cap as something we do routinely. We only removed Gio's salary, but added Dube, Coleman and Zadorov. Annoyed about Gudbranson, but that's a minor beef. Can trade him at TDL if we want. Same with Pitlick, Lewis and Richardson. The problem is we still have Lucic's $5+m in there. That's the difference between a top 6 F and not having one. Can't really say much about $75m spent with our roster until you consider the extra $5+m for Lucic.

Kinnvall is someone that could really surprise. Been tolling away in the SHL for some time now. Decent offensive numbers so far. A little suspect on the D side, but the Heat coaches should be able to round him out. At 24, he's reaching the time he should play in the NHL, though I won't project him there....yet.

Not all players have a llinear devlopment. I think Valimaki was NHL ready last year, but like Ras was played with the wrong D. He should have played with Tanev. Hanifin with Ras. Gio with Stone or Kylington or Nesterov or Mackey. But that was determined by minutes to be played. Sure, there are many ways to use Zadorov. Bruiser for Ras. Big body for Tanev. Two bruisers with Gudbranson. I would prefer the following: Hanifin-Ras Valimaki-Tanev Zadorov-Gudbranson/Mackey I'm a bit leery with that last pair, but I just don't know how to use Guddy. He's not anything more than a 3rd pairing guy. I don't think it helps Valimaki at all. Could be wrong, but I just don't see it.

It's a tough pill to swallow when we used up all our cap this summer. Would need to find a new home for Lucic or Dube and take nothing back. If Dube, we need to have only 12F on the roster and 6D. If the deal was a long term one at $4.1m, it would be a reasonable risk. Assumng the Flames have done their homework and know a bit about the player.

We have Mangiapane and Dube that could be big surprises to a lot here. They so rarely are ralked about as elite players because they don't play top minutes and aren't McDavid. Ras had a down year, but is potentially a top2 player. Valimaki is one to watch for with the right coach; he has the talent but needs to have the trust to use it. We have three recent 1st rounders that could really be something. One is a possible Johnny in the making, but we need to see his transition first. Another is a pure sniper. Another is a pretty darn good 2-way C. Very seldom do you hit on an elite player. Most of the teams in the NHL have not yet.

Kinda like a time out room.

We haven't heard the end of STL yet. Thomas may be persona nongrata.... Tank isn;t going to get traded and there is no real way out. Line up your trade suggestions. We can do it.

Kucherov was scouted by the Flames but for some reason Feaster decided to wait. Gotta get Granlund and Wotherspoon.... You may not agree, but we are scouting better outsode the WHL. Not every swing is a hit, especially when you have to wait till later rounds. We have missed some guys but have giys that are not bad for the position drafted.

Good post

BOS - Joe Thorton (1st overall) CHI - Patrick Kane (1st overall) SLT - Eric Johnson (1st overall) TBL - see list from Conundrumed Your point being 1st overall doesn't guarantee a cup, or at least that's the argument today. Try not to ignore the facts though.

Gudbranson is not being paid $2m to go to the AHL. It's a waste of money for the cap to only bury half. Mackey may play 60 games in Kehatch's estimation, but I'm not sure how that is even possible without major injuries. Valimaki is at worst a 2nd pairing guy, about the same as Zaddy. Hanifin, Tanev and Ras are 1st or 2nd pairing. One of those LD will play 3rd pairing before Mackey. Gudbranson could be in the pressbox with Mackey on RD, but that seems unlikely.

You said KHL. Now you are saying AHL? Ortio had 926 and Rittich 925 and a couple had 946 and 950. But there must be a certain number of games where you base that statement on. Okay. Ortio is the absolute best Sigalet ever coached. (sarcasm off)

Low standards for KHL?

Considering how poorly MSM cover important topics (no not just Fox or CNN), I have to really do research to find the reasonable truth. I read twitter for entertainment. It can give you keys but you need to find out what the key opens.

He's not a plug. Two years from scoring 15. Does any player really score a lot in Zona? If he can take C on the 4th line and win faceoffs, or play on the PK to replace Ryan, then we don't overuse guys like Monahan or Lindholm.