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Wish we had someone like him. We have a bunch of passive players.

Jurco comes to mind

46 points isn't that bad. Still not sure I'd want him at 9 though. Like RWN said, seems like he could be a McIlrath type

Seems like a Dylan McIlrath type. And while I'd like to see McIlrath as Detroit's 6-7, I don't use a top 10 pick on him

If history dictates anything with these players, they aren't coming to a nhl team to not be in the nhl. Maybe they spend one year in the A, but then they pull the whole "either I'm in the nhl or I'm going home. " it's happened a lot.

Toledo Walleye onto the Conference finals. Our pipeline is looking strong.

GR wins Game 3 4-2... Go up 2-1 in the Series, Game 4 back at the Van on Monday Night at 7 PM

Great start... Lead 3-0 after 1... Ford, Street and Lil' Bert with the goals

Who?

No thanks. Doesn't score much, and some scouting reports say skating is an issue. Big, slow footed defensemen, without much scoring are a thing of the past. I'd take Makar or Liljegren first.

I like him a lot, but I think he's well past the #9 position and we'd have to trade down to get him. I don't know that he's worth whatever we'd have to trade down to get him. Being 6'5" is great but size alone doesn't always work out. I know the brass has been scouting Missassauga heavily but I've been hoping it's for Tippett, if we're lucky enough to land him.

That game reminded me of the Wings collapse against LA in 2001, game 4. I remember going to sleep when we were up 3-0 and being in for the shock of my life the next afternoon when they showed highlights on espn. This series is why I can't stand the NHL's marketing. Instead of rigging it to help Edmonton and their young phenom, they're rigging this series to help Anaheim for some reason. Two goalie interference calls that were missed. That dirtbag Kesler was laying on the ice holding on to the goalie's right pad.

So many different directions you went in, I'll stick to just two. To be fair though Frank, changes made in the Leafs scouting really have nothing to do with their turn around. The majority of the players that are turning into stars were their prior to these changes being made with the exception of I believe Matthews. No doubt Babs is a huge reason for the Leafs success, I was not one of the one's who was happy when he left. If we had Babs and Toronto had Blashill. no doubt in my mind they do not make the playoffs and we are a lot closer (possibly slipping in). Why do I rag on Buffalo? Because they have made the playoffs 2 times in the last 10 seasons meaning they have had 8 "top 15" but probably closer to top 5 picks and have nothing to show for it. This is why I use them as an example, if you tank and are bad for a decade, you can still be a bottom feeder in the standings. Tanking is not some pill that just magically makes you a contender, it's alot more complicated that that and to think otherwise is just a simplistic way of looking at things. I am not saying that Buffalo will never be good again, but they are the perfect example of how tanking does not guarantee success. If "tanking" is a 10-15 year process, I want no part in it. We need to make moves, no doubt. But there is a huge difference between making moves and just trading everyone/scorched earth. This is why I constantly bring up the Leafs. Shanny and company got rid of the massive contracts, traded a lot of second tier players/upcoming UFA's, hired a new coach, and have a good mix of vets/kids. This is what I want to do. Doing this they pretty much transformed the team in only a couple seasons. They DID NOT tear it down.

Not to speak for anyone, but I think the point that @Dabura i trying to make is that it doesn't have to be one extreme or the other which is the same thing I keep trying to tell you. I read the initial post and there was nothing about hanging on to the streak (which doesn't even make sense to say anymore), signing vets to long term contracts, or magically hoping for players to get better. That's an extreme argument that you always go to in an effort to make other posters sound stupid. It would be like me saying to you "Well Frank, I dont think we should tank and attempt to be bad for 20 years". Using hyperbole in an argument just makes a person sound like their argument is a weak one. Like I have said, I really like what the Leafs have done. They didn't just blow everything up, they made the right moves that appear to have really helped them turn the corner. I would prefer to be a Toronto then a Buffalo or an Edmonton (pre McDavid).

For sure. (See: Hitchcock, Ken.) I think what I like about him is that there appears to be precious little bulls*** in his approach to coaching this Pens team. He's logical, rational, reasonable, calculating. When he took over for Mike Johnston, he assessed the team's strengths and built the team's new systems and sensibilities around those strengths, whereas Mike Johnston had decided the Pens were going to be a team that tries to win games 2-1, "because defense" (or something). Sullivan got everyone to buy in; the players embraced a new team identity, one which helps make this team more than the sum of its parts. He seems to treat players fairly and the players seem to enjoy playing for him. By all accounts, he's extremely demanding -- but, at the same time, his troops always understand where he's coming from and what he wants from them and why he wants it. No behind-the-scenes drama. Players playing to their full potential. Good, winning hockey. A couple pretty good pieces: How the Mike Sullivan effect turned the Penguins into playoff bullies How does Pittsburgh seemingly put every opponent, even the offensively elite Washington Capitals in Round 2, back on its heels? The straightforward answer is speed. The Conor Sheary-Sidney Crosby-Patric Hornqvist line skates. The HBK line, Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, really skates. The Chris Kunitz-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust line skates. Fleet-footed Rust put daggers in the Bolts' hearts in Games 6 and 7. The D-corps, from Kris Letang to Olli Maatta, skates. But it's more than that. This team's personality changed completely Dec. 12, 2015, when coach Mike Sullivan took over. They ranked 20th in 5-on-5 score adjusted Corsi and 28th in goals per game at the time of coach Mike Johnston's firing. Sullivan came in, and the Pens were second only to the Los Angeles Kings for the rest of the season in 5-on-5 score-adjusted Corsi. It seems Sullivan unlocked or unshackled this team. And, talking to Sullivan and his players on media day at the Stanley Cup final, it's clear this is no shoehorned narrative. Pittsburgh didn't just happen to wake up under a new coach and bust a slump playing the same way they did under the old coach. No. Everything about the franchise's turnaround this season has been deliberate. Sullivan had a specific vision when he came in. Right wingers Kessel and Hornqvist both mentioned Sunday that Sullivan is a serious man. Hornqvist said he likes Sullivan's honesty. But what both players, and seemingly Penguins player, praise most consistently about their coach: his organizational skills. Everything he does is structured and calculated. “One of the things we tried to do as a coaching staff is instill a game plan where we could play to our strengths," Sullivan said Sunday, his gaze hardened with focus and conviction. "When you look at our core players, they all want to play a speed game. They can all skate. They all have really good hockey sense. They have the ability to move the puck and change the point of attack. So speed in all its forms, whether it’s foot speed or team speed and your ability to move the puck and change the point of attack quickly, and to create opportunities or to create a competitive advantage, is what I envisioned with this group. So we’ve tried to implement some strategies to give these players an opportunity to play to their strengths.” How Mike Sullivan's Magic Took the Penguins from Underachievers to Champions Is Mike Sullivan the best coach in the NHL right now? Too early to say either way. However, I do think he's starting to make a case for himself. If the Pens repeat as champs this year, with a D group of Ian Cole, Justin Schultz, Olli Maatta, Trevor Daley, Brian Dumoulin, Ron Hainsey? I think it becomes a worthwhile discussion.

Molotov - Improv - Mazeltov

Go easy on Pierre. Kris "Kristopher Letang" Letang is out for the postseason and Pierre doesn't know what to do with himself.

It's great that you'd trade our roster for the Leafs' roster. But, tell me: Would you also trade our past ten years for the Leafs' past ten years? Before you answer, understand a few things. First, that the Leafs haven't won a damn thing in the past 500 years. Second, that the Leafs under Shanahan didn't get to where they are now by blowing it all up, trading all the veterans, playing all the kids. In fact, they signed some veterans so that they could flip them for picks at the trade deadline, which would seem to go against your "DON'T SIGN VETERANS. NO VETERANS ALLOWED. ONLY KIDS. THE MORE KIDS YOU HAVE, THE STRONGER YOUR TANK WILL BE AND THE BETTER THE KIDS WILL BECOME. THIS IS SCIENCE" line of reasoning. Third, the Leafs of the past ten years or so were the ultimate example of a team that isn't a contender but won't admit it and is therefore stuck in no man's land. Fourth, most of the Leafs' current leaders were acquired when the Leafs were in denial about their situation and were trying to compete for the Cup. They drafted Luke Schenn 5th overall in 2008 and traded him to the Flyers for James van Riemsdyk in 2012. They drafted Nazem Kadri 7th overall in 2009. They drafted Morgan Rielly 5th overall in 2012. They traded for Jake Gardiner (Ducks, 13th overall in 2008) in 2013. You could argue the Leafs began to accept reality in 2014, but there was no "All kids, no veterans" scorched earth tear-down, and they ended up drafting William Nylander 8th overall. Again, the Wings aren't in a hopeless place. We missed the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century and 9th overall is our highest position since Keith Primeau. Not the pot of gold we'd hoped for, but it's a start. And that's where we are: the beginning stages of a rebuild. Your take on the situation? "Everything is awful, blow it up, trade all the veterans, play all the kids, forget what's best for the kids' development, forget flipping UFA signings for picks at the deadline, all that matters is having a roster full of kids and getting the best lottery odds. Odds, odds, odds, odds, odds. Buffalo knows what I'm talking about. Toronto knows what I'm taking about. Edmonton knows what I'm talking about. Florida knows what I'm talking about. They all traded their veterans and played all their kids and got awesome lottery odds and got awesome young players and they only had to go through maybe one or two years of pain and now they're all Cup contenders and all their fans are like, 'Yep, it's been pretty awesome for us. Thankfully, we've been blessed with awesome owners and awesome general managers who have consistently done awesome things. We pity you, Wings fans. Truly, we do. You've suffered for so long. You deserve better.'"