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This roster is very deep, what it lacks is high end talent. We are filled with mid pairing d-men and 2nd/3rd line forwards.

out of all non-Wing players I hope he wins a Cup the most

You're right, the guy has won at every level. He has been lucky enough his entire career to play with great players around him. He has never had to be "the guy" at the NHL level. On his own team I would say he is the 4th most valuable player behind Kane, Seabrook, and Keith (you could even argue 5th with Panarin). At the Olympic level he's won, but again surrounded by elite level talent (Keith, Weber, Doughty, Price, Crosby etc.). I'm not saying Toews is a bad player, he is a very good 2 way center but the fact that you compare him to Sakic just proves my point of how he is the most overrated player in the NHL. Him being added to the all-star game even proves that further. He is the captain of a team that wins in a big market and makes the NHL money, as a result he is pushed to the moon as "a star", Toews has had the success he's had because he's never played on a team not surrounded by all-stars/elite talent. Like I said, put him on Carolina and he's Patrice Bergeron at best, but more likely he's a solid 60 point scorer who nobody talks about.

Are you seriously trying to sell the idea that playing on Chicago has hurt his public perception? Toews gets more love and media attention then anyone in the NHL not named Crosby and has been talked about for years as if he is the 2nd or 3rd best player in the NHL. If Towes didnt play for Chicago and lets say played for Carolina, at best he would be thought of as a Patrice Bergeron. More likely, he wouldn't even be talked about. Playing on Chicago with Seabrook, Keith, Kane, Hossa and company has given the illusion that he is an all time great. Very good player, but not as good as the media makes him out to be.

Even worse, no movement clause. Cant even waive him if you wanted to.

Nielsen is a very good 2nd line center, nobody should be criticizing him for playing the way he is playing. FIrst line centers get about 8+ mil per year, he gets 5.25 which fits right line in for a second line center. With that being said, he is not an all star caliber player. Its not his fault that we dont have elite players around him right now.

We should all be ashamed that we didn't "John Scott" Riley Sheahan into this game.

Put him on Carolina and hes Eric Staal. Put Eric Staal on Chicago and hes Jonathan Toews.

Toews isn't in the same class as Sakic. That's taking the already excessive level of overratedness another notch up.

Did they start cutting goalie equipment size yet? Or is it next season? I have a bet going that he'll surpass Gretzky's goal totals (as long as he remains healthy and plays in the NHL till hes 40) with someone.

Nice to see him get it against the Penguins too

Ppl tend to forget but these guys are PEOPLE with FAMILIES. When you sign a long contract with an NMC in your 30s with a mediocre team, part of that is leaving money on the table so that you can have guarranteed stability so that you can raise your family without uprooting them possibly multiple times. IDK if you have a family or not, but if my company requested to trade me (with my family following) to a competitor in a different city (earning the same money) id tell them to pound sand.

I'm not avoiding anything. That hasn't been a discussion about the reasons of his struggles but merely about his production and linemates. But if you want me to talk about the reason he's struggled then it's most likely because he's not an NHL caliber player as of now. Maybe eventually but I don't know that. He was a good AHL player that seems to be having a hard time transitioning into the NHL. Even with having the linemates he did (Glendening, Miller, Ott) he should still be able to individually produce. Glendening and Miller can both put up numbers for their 4th line level . So why can't Jurco? If Jurco actually had better production than Miller and Glendening then I'd probably agree that they are the reason he's being held back. But on the contrary they are outproducing him . This has become more about Jurco rather than his linemates. If you asked me in 2015, I would have probably said that the other two guys must be holding him back. But Jurco's decline has been pretty bad. It's alarming that Luke Glendening had 21 points in 81 games last year while Jurco had 6 points in 44 games. It's alarming that Miller currently has 6 points in 30 games and Jurco has 0 in 11. And you know I'm not a fan of either Glendening or Miller so there's no reason for me to try to make them look good. As of now I think Sheahan has been a colossal failure (this season) and Jurco just can't help himself and is likely going to be exiting the NHL sooner rather than later. Just like Pulkinnen did. I won't be upset if he proves me wrong though, I'd probably be very happy because we need all the help we can get. If a player is scratched like Jurco is, it means the club doesn't see him as a suitable player on the roster. When he's put into the roster he needs to produce. If he doesn't produce he's likely going to get scratched again and again and again. There's literally no way around this scenario unless there were injuries. Sheahan is likely in the lineup because he can play both center and wing. Centers are far too valuable in this league compared to wingers. And I'm sure Jurco's confidence is in the gutter right now. But whose problem is that? His and his alone. Ain't Blashbaldy's problem. I sound blunt but you know that's exactly how these people think. They got their own jobs to worry about. Anyways my original point is that making excuses for Jurco and pretending like he's not at fault is taking it a bit too far (Dickie's original post). Sure he's been dealt a bad hand. Sure he hasn't been utilized like some people hoped he would have. But that is no excuse for him not being able to show some signs of being an NHL caliber player. Blame Blashill and Babcock all you want, ultimately the responsibility is Jurco's to prove himself. Ain't nobody going to do it for him.

90% of pro sports is mental. Jurco's confidence has to be in the gutter with how he's been treated. Get his confidence up and I think he can be a 20 goal guy. Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

This poor team. They don't even care. You can clearly see it in everything they do out there.

Some old school Photoshop War material for good luck.

Good for him. Poor guy must be traumatized playing on this team. Let me guess, even at this game, he'll probably have Sheahan or Glendenning stuck on his wing.

If we have an opportunity to get Trouba or Hamilton, you deal the pick. Like someone said, by time their due for a huge raise, we'll have plenty of cap space. We haven't touched on when they sign Tavares after next season...

Trouba is 22 years, DD is 26, for a D-man that is a HUGE difference. You cannot compare the two, very very weak argument on your part. Please do not twist my argument around to fit your narrative. What I said was that Trouba has the POTENTIAL to be elite, I never once said he is currently elite. I cant remember anyone ever saying that DD had the potential to be elite, not even close to the same situation.

I don't know why anyone wants to get rid of Ott for cryinjg out loud. He's the least of our worries. He has veteran leadership and has heart.

You can't evaluate a player solely on OHL points. Sproul had 66 points in 50 games, Ekblad had 53 points in 58 games. I dont think anyone would argue Sproul was a better player going into the draft then Ekblad. I couldn't care less that Trouba is from Michigan, and that truly has zero to do with me wanting us to acquire him. I dont live in Michigan (same goes for krsmith17) so why would I care. I want to acquire him because he is a player who has 1A D-man upside and wants out of his current situation. Name me another player in the NHL that is 22 or younger with that upside and wants out. If players like Ekblad or OEL were available I would want them to, but they are not going anywhere.

Its all about probability. The probability of Trouba becoming a 1A d-man is much higher then a top 5 pick being a 1A d-man. Unless we are talking a can't miss like an Ekblad, I take Trouba every time.

Gordon Bombay, Judge Burns, or Peter Griffin would be an improvement right now.

can't be mad at him for trying, at least it seems like he's trying to change the strategy, going the unconventional way, wether it works or not all we can dois wait and see.

I have no doubt Ott scores on the PP before Sheahan does with equal playtime. Chances are it would be off his butt, but he would get a goal before Sheahan.