travel_dude

So, from a GM perspective, Connie has done a few things: - claimed Greer - waived and lost Ruzicka - traded Lindholm for a lot of pieces, including 2 picks in 2024 - traded Toffoli for a good, younger player and a 3rd (Suniev - doing well UMass-Amherst) - signed Sharky to a 3 year deal - traded Zadorov for a 3rd in 2026 I may have missed some good or bad things, but this was the main things I think of. The Lindholm trade should suggest that he trades some of the remaining UFA's. How he fills the holes on the roster is another thing I will pay attention to. It's not Sutter calling the shots.

I don't think we could pull this off without taking a big salary. I was worried it would be Myers from VAN. Or Ceci from EDM. Or something along those lines

I guess technically, his conduct (alleged) would be contrary to the terms set out in the standard player contract. Perry was terminated for conduct around the team. This is more serious. What I don't know is if you terminate and the NHLPA appeals pending the outcome?

We lost Dube and Lindholm, though Dube was not that good when paired with Mange. I think Pospisil could be useful there.

I cheered for BOS in the cup finals that year. And watched VAN burn it down. I would cheer for either VAN or EDM to lose and not even get to the cup.

The big 3 were gone; Johnny, Monny and Matty. There was no way to have him be the same player again. For this team, it didn't make sense to re-sign him. Saying that, there are two hated teams and he is now part of one of them. I have to hope either VAN gets to the West finals (draft pick) or neither them nor EDM makes it.

I think they look at him as the perfect fit for Kadri. If so, that's fine for now. I think Sharky might be the best alternative today. I don't want to see Rooney at all.

When you trade for prospects and picks, you are taking a risk. This may have been the best prospects available in trade, so there is no real way to compare. I wanted to sign Kuz when he was available. He's had one good year, but frankly he's scored as much as Lindholm this year. He's not fitting in with Toccet. We got back a player that checks a couple boxes for us. If we had got him for Zadorov, it might have been more appealing. But we just have opinions of a player we got. And our personal opinions of prospects. It may not be a homerun, but it's a double at the least. Might get called out at 3rd.

Can you send a message to The People (admin). I have sent one but I can't tell if it was sent or not. The thread is hidden from view.

No idea, but then again are we done right now? Possible that one or more deals are made in the next week. The C position is more of concern right now for the faceoff ability. We lost Dube, Ruzicka and Lindholm. Kadri is the top C right now, but I don't think you disrupt that line. Pospisil is ready to go. I would adjust based on the first line. Hubey-Sharky-Kuz Zary-Kadri-Pospisil Backlund line 4th line It does beg the question about getting a faceoff stud. Use them for faceoffs then switch them up. Eller types. You could target a decent offensive C in a Hanifin trade. Even with Tkachuk and Gaudreau, the C was not a play driver. With them gone, we have nobody other than Sharky. And Sharky is more of a finisher.

Just keep in mind the league and the NHLPA can be at odds about this type of thing. The union is all about protecting their members. The league is all about reputational hits that could impact media deals and worldwide interest. At odds to that is their desire to attract female viewers etc. Hockey Canada is the bigger villain at this point. If it took 6 years for the London Police and slightly less for HC to even admit anything was wrong is a bad look. HC used NDA's and hush money to cover this up. As Cross would suggest and logic dictate, the teams would know more than they said. Officially, they are in a bad situation about being 100% honest.

The rumours, are they ever true? Taking Kuz doesn't mean win now. I don't think you expect that after sending out your top C. And it's not like this is the last trade we make. This pretty much signals the end of the season as far as expectations. Next up, Tanev and Hanifin. You don't trade the C for a winger and D prospects unless you are selling. As far as passing on a COL deal, I think the impact to us would be longer term him going there. We have enough trouble beating them. VAN we can handle some nights. COL we can barely ever beat them. If he did well, we would face him for years to come.

I can't fault him for losing his game this year. It was sad to see, but he was never carrying any line this year. Give him a 30 goal guy and they will get 40. I will say that players don't always work out when they go to a new team. Sharky did, Tkachuk did, Hubey and Johnny didn't. If they can't use him right, they pay a ton and won't try to sign him. Lindy does have a chance to bleed some team for $$. VAN will try to get it done.

Brad who?

Thanks for that. I had only heard it was a 4th uf they made the finals. Honestly I was shocked that it went down now. He was going to the ASG as a Flame. Not like he deserved it. I love his faceoff ability, but that's about it this year.

What he meant was he was trading the scouts for picks. I think that's all he can say now. He's not giving any away now, just that he will try to get more. 7 confirmed picks right now (2 in 1st) with a possible 4th rounder.

To me skating is not the biggest issue, it's moving fast with the puck. It shows on the PP. We can't zone enter or make quick decisions.

You are linking sub-par performances with the players not being any good on their own. An injured Monahan or one that plays 3rd or 4th lines, is a 50 point player. Losing Gio's playmaking set the team back initially. The poor coaching by Wardo and the injuries to key players. Adjusting to the Sutter style and getting one good year out of it. He contributed to the loss of good players and created the down year. These are not excuses, since I think we are not close to being like the best teams we have been. Even those had issues. We solve one problem and create two more. Unfortunately, targeting Huberdeau while losing 2/3 of a top line was a mistake no doubt. Having Kadri + Tkachuk (or Gaudreau) would not have been as much a loss. Replacing Gaudreau with Huberdeau is not an even swap. Weegar for Tkachuk is the other part and that is not close to even. Huska has issues, but the talent level is well below a playoff team. We have pieces that could be better used.

It allegedly started with one guy, and the other joined in at a later time. The original guy may not even be one of the 5 charged. But, TBH do we really know what supposedly happened? The details will come out of some point.

Yeah, my bad. I had posted that before seeing the statement from the Flames. I have edited the post to remove the stuff that is no longer even possible.

I'm with you buddy. I was worried about this when it first surfaced, but assured by many that it was not him. Seems to me that his play followed the coming storm, in that he never seemed to be 100% all there. The dropoff is possible with players that just struggle, but this seemed more. Okay, so the reality is now he will be charged with something. At best it might be negligence for not reporting it, but that's a stretch. At worst, he's charged with the really bad ones. He's not guilty until proven guilty, but being aquitted isn't innocent. If he was there, and it happened, and he was part of it, he's a dirt bag.

I don't know if his manner in public matters to me. I would prefer if he yells at the ref, but it's not the end of the world. Many rookie coaches have not earned respect from the refs, so pissing on them doesn't get you anywhere. Saying that, I am concerned about his ability to get anything out of this team. Maybe all it is is that we are not very good. I think we may have been decieved by years of Monahan, Johnny, Lindy, Gio, Brodie, Tkachuk etc. They made the team seem better. We get that will the goalie playing well and we were a playoff team. But we can't seem to stay up for the full game. Lapses, mistakes that look the same every time, slow PP movement, dumb passes, you name it. It's on the coach, but not 100%. The players are mixed up or slacking off at times. Unwilling to take a hit (bail out) or block a chot (sell out). Guys looking for a new deal, sure I get that a bit. Not giving anyone a good view of future value though. Selling out to stay healthy. I think Connie was given a bill of goods he had little control over. Bean and Maloney said what he was going to get. He wasn't given full rein to strip it down. The play of some and health of others dictated that. For the talent we have right now, we are playing maybe a bit lower than I expected. I figured when we got back to normal in December that we would stay at that relative pace for the season. Really it was just a blip. Before and after are closer to the real team it seems. The coach has to make radical changes to the PP. That's on him right now. The usage and systems aren't logical. It may be nothing close to the way it was constructed, but can't tell. We never see anything different. Started out hot and fell from there. The N zone and D zone is due to some players not being great there. Adjust that based on who you have on the team. You don't have to be great to be good. Point out how gaps can't be bigger than X. Sit the fool who doesn't listen. Oesterle sat, and he wasn't the only one that boobed up. He was just the worst one.

There was only the announce about personal leave to attend to his mental health.

Alex Formenton, a former Canadian world junior hockey player and ex-member of the Ottawa Senators who currently plays in Switzerland, is facing charges in London, Ont., his lawyer said Sunday. Formenton made no comment as he arrived at London police headquarters late Sunday morning with his lawyers, Daniel Brown and Lindsay Board. "The London Police have charged several players, including Alex Formenton, in connection with an accusation made in 2018," Brown, who is lead counsel, said in an email. I don't think lack of specific news means much. The lawyers will set up a time that they will surrender, and maybe have it occur out of the public eye.