travel_dude

You mean sign with a NTC for a flat salary amount that doesn't match NJ's needs? Then he rejects the trade? Just kidding about the NTC, but really it's something BT would need to give to get a long term deal.

Maybe I am presuming more than the reality, but I think Gaudreau signs an extension in NJ. They don't make the trade unless they have prelim discussions (like Vegas did with Stone).

The 3rd line is a problem. It could be a lot better and we are sorta wasting Backlund. Might as well trade him and use Lucic on the 4th line. Build a 3rd line with speed and agility. Dube-Ruzicka-RW or even Pelletier-Ruzicka-Dube. That would be an exciting line and it doesn't bury our top talent on a 4th line. Then you can adjust lines as their paly gets better. I don't think Lucic deserves more ice than Dube, but I also think Dube has to be more consistent. Building him with a line of good players may do that sooner.

We used to have 3M, Mangiapane, Mickael, and Matty. Was a really good line, but we moved on from that to have Lindholm as a top C. Fine. I don't really think Lucic is there for protection, he just doesn't fit anywhere else. That is for sure a problem. My biggest problem with Lucic is his speed. He makes mistakes sure, but his speed is what makes him a bad fit for the team. Play him on the 4th line and we have a slow grinder line. Play him on a shutdown line and we need to sacrifice a good player or two to make up for the speed.

It all depends what you have when you do those trades. If you have Reinhart, Eichel, Lindholm, Dube, Mangiapane and Monahan left, that's not bad. You can make two lines out of that. Don't get me wrong, I like Dube. Perhaps he's one of those players that can excel on the wrong wing. I would hate to think we do the same thing with him as we did with Bennett and that is force him to RW because he's one of our better players but we have no proper spot for him.

NJ has waffled between competing now and building for the future. The bought out Schneider to compete now. They traded Palmieri and Zajac to improve for the future and avoid losing a player for nothing. Gaudreau brings them a player that bridges between now and the future. And he's young enough to be part of that younger group. Mercer is not a guaranteed NHL player, so really it's Zacha + prospect for Gaudreau. In 2 years, they may still only have Zacha and Hughes and Hischier. How long does it makes sense for them to continue to build and not compete?

It's a crazy offer and they would be crazy to accept. The positives for them is that Backlund replaces two C's they lose this year and that Gio is the mentor for their young D. They lose out on Power, but get back $12m in salary. They have a lot of yutes, not a lot of vets.

If we keep Gaudreau and Tkachuk, Mangiapane is at worst 2nd line LW. But your point is well taken. I would suggest that even if we traded Tkachuk, Mangiapane still should stick to 2LW. We definitely should not have Mange playing with Backlund and Lucic.

I would think that NJ, while it's not the 1st team he would go to, is not the last team. He's a NJ boy, coming home. They would offer him max money to get him to sign. Or, he becomes the top pending UFA available to a few select teams. Yes, they would be dealing with Metro teams like Philly or NYR, but would get back what they paid or more. Let me turn it around a bit. Would you offer Gaudreau this year for 4th overall? That sounds like a steal for NJ. Yes, it would go a long way towards a rebuild, assuming we keep the 12th.

I felt he was one of the lesser appreciated players in VAN. Let him go for what they ended up paying Hamonic. They will probably end up trading Schmidt due to Hughes and Pettersen new deals.

Mangiapane with the GWG in OT against Russia. What a pass by Stetcher. Play moved up the ice by Mange, but some excellent passing between the two.

My point was without an injury is this considered a match penalty. Maybe it is. To protect players it should be. I'm not putting any of this on the victim at all. His head snapping back when it hit the ice is sickening to even watch.

There is a difference between freak accidents and intent to injure. You could probably argue that the force of the hit contributed to the concussion. That's a bit of a stretch. The hit caused him to fall awkwardly. Suspend or not, just try to be consistent and not knee jerk decisions.

Take the injury out of the discussion, is this 10 and a game? It was a late hit on a vulnerable player. Perhaps charging, if so interpreted. I don't think his intent was to take revenge on a EN goal. The goal; was scored just before the hit. Let's be honest, they are not consistent in the approach to suspensions. Dumba laid out Backlund at the end of a game after the results had basically been decided. No suspension. Graves lays out a player and Reaves gets suspended. Landeskog was cross checked in the face after a faceoff. No call, no supplemental discipline. If Evans gets the wind knocked out of him are we having this discussion? The whiplash of the fall did more damage to the player.

I don't really care if people dump on the team or not, that is your choice. The successes and failures are well known. We are wallowing about Bennett, which is both a systemic failure and a player failure. As far as Feaster, he had a direction that screwed us up for years. What plan other than team good enough to compete, so use Iggy's final year and don't set it up for success or future change. Trade Iggy for pennies. Force Kipper to play his only hand available by talking trade. Had years to define a direction.

I don't know why I have this feeling that Lysell will easily drop to us and we pick him. Maybe because it seems like the best D will get picked early and even the best goalie will go by 9. All we can hope for is that VAN picks another loser and a good player drops to us.

I tend to see a link between arenas and #1. Happens far too frequently to be just a coincidence. But, they supposedly are audited for the process. Cuz, nothing bad ever happens when things are audited.

I would be looking for more than just a prospect for Gaudreau. At least a Zacha + Mercer. Monahan for Mercer is maybe something to consider. Then we can do Gaudreau for Hischier straight up. Gives NJ a top scoring line until Hughes can step up. Shorten their timetable to compete.

Had he arrived about 1 second earlier, would he still have played it that way? Hard to say. On one hand, he was taking the body which is one way to play it. He could have made a play on the stick, which may not have removed the threat. I'm not in favor of taking a run at a player, but timing is everything. He wasn't skating down the ice with intent to injure, he was going to try to defend the net. A second longer to react, he maybe doesn't make a hit. A second earlier, it's a player walking out to score and has a target on him.

Best GIF ever...

Final season results had no impact on our placement. I didn't agree with Sutter's strategy, but that's why he was brought in. Well, except for playing injured players. I think we get a decent pick this year. If we fail to make the playoffs next season (doubt it), then we have a true #1 to win a lotto for. Saying that I would be happy with any of that top 3 you mentioned.

We shall offer Gio + Backlund + 12th overall for #1.

Buffalo #1 Sattle #2 Anaheim #3

Is Buffalo curse or is this a year for them?

12th it is. No change up to the top 3.