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Post by DoubtfulObelisk on Jun 22, 2019 12:49:30 GMT -5
I sure hope David Poile knows what he's doing... Gonna miss PK, but I understand why he was moved. Not overly thrilled with the return. On the bright side, looks like the Duchene Train is on its way to Music City.
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Post by boffo on Jun 23, 2019 17:36:34 GMT -5
I sure hope David Poile knows what he's doing... Gonna miss PK, but I understand why he was moved. Not overly thrilled with the return. On the bright side, looks like the Duchene Train is on its way to Music City. They basically had to give him away to dump his $9 million, but at least they didn't have to throw in a 1st round pick like the Leafs did to get rid of Marleau. Fortunately for Nashville defense has always been their strong suit so losing Subban should hurt them less than it would most teams. |
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Post by DoubtfulObelisk on Jun 23, 2019 22:45:51 GMT -5
I sure hope David Poile knows what he's doing... Gonna miss PK, but I understand why he was moved. Not overly thrilled with the return. On the bright side, looks like the Duchene Train is on its way to Music City. They basically had to give him away to dump his $9 million, but at least they didn't have to throw in a 1st round pick like the Leafs did to get rid of Marleau. Fortunately for Nashville defense has always been their strong suit so losing Subban should hurt them less than it would most teams. Yeah, I'm feeling better about this trade after having some time to process it. The real key here is the fact that the Devils absorbed the entirety of Subban's contract, which is especially huge given that the cap for next season will be $1.5 million less than was expected a few months ago. Now Poile has to do something with the extra cap space. As I said, signs are definitely pointing to Matt Duchene joining the roster in a week. Ideally, this move amounts to Subban for Santini, Davies, 2 picks, and a long-term Duchene contract (7 x $9-9.5?), which is a trade I absolutely would've taken a few days ago. Of course, if the Preds whiff in free agency for whatever reason, then this offseason might shut the Cup window a couple years prematurely. |
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Post by boffo on Jun 24, 2019 11:12:28 GMT -5
Dang you guys know your stuff. Good to see some hockey lovers around here. I don’t have near as much insight. What do you guys think about my Minnesota Mild?? You can be brutally honest. My thoughts are the ship has long sailed, time for a rebuild and I can’t wait for Parise and Suter to be gone. They’re doing to the Wild what Mauer did to the Twins the last few years (if you follow MLB), just tying up resources, far too overpaid (not that it’s their fault personally, but their contracts) I really want to like Boudreau but definitely think he needs to do something this year or he could be gone before the all star break. Really frustrating when this team represents our “state of hockey” and have been pretty much mediocre since forming the team. Can't say too much as it's a team I've never had any reason to follow that closely. It was cool at the time when they shocked the hockey world by signing the two biggest UFA's available, but have really never followed it up with anything. It feels like their plan started and ended with signing Suter and Parise and everything else was just supposed to magically fall into place around them. They got fairly lucky with Dubnyk turning things around and have a couple decent younger pieces like Dumba, but on paper it still looks like they have no plan. They can't even successfully trade Zucker despite their repeated attempts. Seems telling that a player from Wisconsin, Phil Kessel was unwilling to waive his no trade clause to go as close to home as he could get. Although I get the feeling Kessel didn't waive just to spite the Penguins as much as he didn't want to play for the Wild. |
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Post by DoubtfulObelisk on Jun 24, 2019 19:12:34 GMT -5
Dang you guys know your stuff. Good to see some hockey lovers around here. I don’t have near as much insight. What do you guys think about my Minnesota Mild?? You can be brutally honest. My thoughts are the ship has long sailed, time for a rebuild and I can’t wait for Parise and Suter to be gone. They’re doing to the Wild what Mauer did to the Twins the last few years (if you follow MLB), just tying up resources, far too overpaid (not that it’s their fault personally, but their contracts) I really want to like Boudreau but definitely think he needs to do something this year or he could be gone before the all star break. Really frustrating when this team represents our “state of hockey” and have been pretty much mediocre since forming the team. Minnesota is the only team in the Central Division that Nashville (my favorite team) hasn't played in a playoff series in the last three years (or ever, for that matter), so they're probably the division rival I'm least familiar with. That said, the Wild's current GM, Paul Fenton, was the longtime assistant GM here in Nashville and has picked up several former Preds over the last year: Brad Hunt, Anthony Bitetto, Pontus Aberg, and Kevin Fiala, most notably. They made three big trades this past season. I think everyone agrees that the Rask-Niederreiter swap with Carolina was an unmitigated disaster for Minnesota. Ryan Donato is a really good young player (exactly what an older team like Minnesota needs), though Charlie Coyle had an incredible postseason in Boston. I'd call that trade a win for both teams. The last one, of course, was Mikael Granlund to Nashville for Kevin Fiala, two players who underperformed for their new teams. Fiala is a tricky case -- he's a very streaky player, and when he runs cold, he is *ice cold*. Preds fans grew tired of him (and there's a good chance Wild fans will too), so it's probably for the best that he got a change of scenery. He potentially has 30-goal upside, but it's hard to say if he'll ever reach it. Looking at the roster, I don't see a ton of reason for optimism. You're spot on about Parise and Suter: it's hard to fathom paying them a combined $15 million a year until they're 40 (in 2024-2025). Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal are both good players, but you have to think they're on the decline, Koivu more so than Staal. I don't quite understand why they're shopping Jason Zucker, who is arguably their best forward under 30. Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, Donato, and Fiala are good young pieces, but it's hard to imagine them as the core of a Cup contender. The defense looks pretty good, at least the top 4 of Suter, Matt Dumba, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin. I don't know much about Nick Seeler or Greg Pateryn, but I assume they're a serviceable third pair. Dubnyk is still playing good hockey, but age is starting to be a concern at 33. From an outside perspective, I have to agree: the Wild would likely benefit from a rebuild. This team needs an infusion of high-end young talent. Kirill Kaprisov's expected arrival in another year or two will help, but Minnesota needs to find a true 1C to complement him (hey, sounds familiar as a Preds fan...). They seem to have ample cap space, pending Fiala's and Eriksson Ek's extensions, but I'm not sure what they can do with it, at least this offseason. Maybe they can make some good moves over the next couple years and return to contending. It would be fun from my perspective to have to rivalry between Nashville and Minnesota heat up. I wish Fenton, Fiala, and Aberg well, at the very least. As for Suter, well... probably best to leave my feelings on him unsaid.  |
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Post by mrooola on Jun 25, 2019 0:02:10 GMT -5
I'll summarise the Minnesota situation far quicker than the others.
If you are a GM in the NHL and you're not calling Minnesota every day to ask for a trade you are not doing your job correctly.
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Post by boffo on Jun 29, 2019 19:24:00 GMT -5
Phil Kessel has been traded to the Coyotes. There's all the assessment of the Wild you need. Kessel vetoed a trade to Minnesota but accepted one to Arizona. I think that's the first time ever that the Coyotes have been a preferred destination over any other NHL team(being sarcastic. You don't need to take the time trying to find a couple of players who have done it before).
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Post by boffo on Jul 30, 2019 20:04:45 GMT -5
Remember when I said Minnesota looked like a team without a plan? I'd say firing your GM after only 14 months on the job and at the end of July instead of in April or May proves that point. Pretty messed up situation there.
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Post by ErixonStone on Jul 30, 2019 20:43:35 GMT -5
Remember when I said Minnesota looked like a team without a plan? I'd say firing your GM after only 14 months on the job and at the end of July instead of in April or May proves that point. Pretty messed up situation there. To be fair to Fenton, he inherited a team with two aging stars breaking the bank for a near-eternity, plus another aging veteran player that just finished off a 40-goal season. Highly-touted prospects like Granlund didn't really pan out to be great, and the team couldn't build enough depth with their star center injured a lot of the time. Minnesota should have been rebuilding, but having Parise and Suter on the books with Koivu and Staal compelled the Wild into win-now mode when they were clearly mot good enough. That's not Fenton's fault. |
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Post by lessthanbread on Jul 31, 2019 7:06:21 GMT -5
Remember when I said Minnesota looked like a team without a plan? I'd say firing your GM after only 14 months on the job and at the end of July instead of in April or May proves that point. Pretty messed up situation there. To be fair to Fenton, he inherited a team with two aging stars breaking the bank for a near-eternity, plus another aging veteran player that just finished off a 40-goal season. Highly-touted prospects like Granlund didn't really pan out to be great, and the team couldn't build enough depth with their star center injured a lot of the time. Minnesota should have been rebuilding, but having Parise and Suter on the books with Koivu and Staal compelled the Wild into win-now mode when they were clearly mot good enough. That's not Fenton's fault. Maybe not his fault but when this stuff happens in sports there’s a lot of scapegoating. Just the way it is. The team is struggling, gotta fire someone. I think it’s completely wrong and simple thinking but that’s how it’s done. Is a new GM going to come in a have us winning championships in 2-3 years, perhaps. But we could have done that under Fenton as well. A lot of variables that I don’t think teams really consider. Just looking for a quick fix and hope the blame doesn’t fall on them one day |
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Post by ErixonStone on Jul 31, 2019 8:32:29 GMT -5
Maybe not his fault but when this stuff happens in sports there’s a lot of scapegoating. Just the way it is. The team is struggling, gotta fire someone. I think it’s completely wrong and simple thinking but that’s how it’s done. Is a new GM going to come in a have us winning championships in 2-3 years, perhaps. But we could have done that under Fenton as well. A lot of variables that I don’t think teams really consider. Just looking for a quick fix and hope the blame doesn’t fall on them one day In reading more, it appears that the team's owner just didn't like Fenton. He basically said Fenton was bad at his job, and was only good at scouting. Apparently, Fenton was more inclined to do a full rebuild, but was forced into tinkering with the current line-up in a failed attempt to win now. That compelled him to execute some poor trades resulting in Coyle-for-Donato, Granlund-for-Fiala and Neiderreiter-for-Rask trades which all backfired in the short term. That, in turn, also compelled Fenton to sign Zuccarello for $6M per for 5 years. Minnesota is a mess right now, and probably will be that way until Parise and Suter are close to coming off the books. That doesn't happen until 2025 - six years from now. |
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Post by lions67 on Jul 31, 2019 12:42:13 GMT -5
As a Jets fan this upcoming season has me a little concerned.
Not as bad Minny mind you. Still think we make the playoffs.But that D is worrisome. Helly can’t be jelly this year!
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Post by boffo on Jul 31, 2019 14:46:45 GMT -5
As a Jets fan this upcoming season has me a little concerned. Not as bad Minny mind you. Still think we make the playoffs.But that D is worrisome. Helly can’t be jelly this year! The Jets would probably have little to worry about if they played in pretty much any other division. Central could be brutal this year if 2018 St. Louis doesn't return at the expense of 2019 St. Louis and the on paper improvements of Dallas and Colorado play out well on the ice. Nashville and Winnipeg could have some serious competition at the top. |
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Post by boffo on Sept 17, 2019 21:29:00 GMT -5
Have to take a moment to congratulate Don Sweeney on demonstrating why is the reigning GM of the year. To get McAvoy and Carlo signed for less than $8 million a season combined is simply amazing. Seeing the Leafs having almost half of their cap tied up in just four forwards and no cap space to work while also having two active players on the LTIR seems even more crazy now. Not totally sure how Sweeney is doing it but he’s somehow convinced almost everyone on the team to take a discount towards the greater good of the franchise.
Beginning to look forward to the new season even though it feels like the last one just finished.
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Post by ErixonStone on Sept 17, 2019 22:54:36 GMT -5
Have to take a moment to congratulate Don Sweeney on demonstrating why is the reigning GM of the year. To get McAvoy and Carlo signed for less than $8 million a season combined is simply amazing. Seeing the Leafs having almost half of their cap tied up in just four forwards and no cap space to work while also having two active players on the LTIR seems even more crazy now. Not totally sure how Sweeney is doing it but he’s somehow convinced almost everyone on the team to take a discount towards the greater good of the franchise. Beginning to look forward to the new season even though it feels like the last one just finished. Considering that both McAvoy and Carlo were exiting their entry-level contracts and did not have arbitration rights, they didn't have very much leverage. Neither player was given any length on their deal, both needing new contracts in their age-24 season. Going forward, Torrey Krug is UFA at the end of the year. Matt Grzelcyk and Brett Ritchie are RFA with arbitration rights, and Jake DeBrusk is RFA but without arbitration at the end of this year. Boston may be thin on defense come 2020-2021, and forward depth may start to become a problem as some of their veterans begin to age. Barring injuries, the Bruins should be good for the next two years, and then things start to become questionable. The big key is that there aren't any truly terrible contracts on their roster - the worst being the serviceable David Backes at $6M for two more years. |
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