marcaractac

And Yzerman clearly knows this, which is why Dorion ain't getting no first. Sure, he'll get a late first as a TDL rental for him. But then he'll still be a Wing next summer.

We got a center and a RHD. Success.

Two seconds and Zadina for DeBrincat. Get er done. Then he can fulfill his destiny of filling nets with pucks in Ottawa... during practice.

They'll need to clear a lot more than 6 mil. They have 10 mil in space with 7 roster spots to fill. One of which is giving Swayman a nice raise. They also have the whole issue of no signed top 6 centers.

And today's bad take from Scott is...

For Raymond, I say overpay a little now to try and lock him up for an 8-year deal that ages like fine wine.

This, but top 10 protected instead of just lotto protected. Got to wait and see on that Boston pick. If it's traded now and the Bruins fall, it'll be a bummer. There is a chance there of a 2025 lotto pick. If the Boston pick gets traded, hold off until next summer to do it once the picture is clear.

Paying 50% for another team's player for 8 years is about the dumbest thing I have ever read in this forum.

People also forget that Rafalski was basically a cripple at that point. That goal where Jordan Staal blew by him to score was the turning point of that series. You could feel the new life that goal gave that team going forward.

Would be a good thing. Better to have a guy like him sitting out games than calling up a prospect to do the same.

NO.

I'm only half joking when I say that, BUT he is entering the season at the age at which Thompson earned his big contract. At this stage, Ras actually outproduced Thompson at this stage of his career. Having said that, no I do not see Ras hitting those highs. But I feel comfortable saying we absolutely have yet to see the best of him.

Just wait until he has his Tage Thompson blow up in the next two seasons.

Those claiming he was generational were always out to lunch. The guy has the tools to be a top-10 scorer in the league for a long time for sure. But that 'generational' term is used far too loosely these days. Bedard is the closest thing since McDavid. But until he shows he can do it at the NHL level, it's all speculation. As for Hughes, he's still only 22 years old. He'll figure out this whole playoffs thing. My guess is he will do so sooner rather than later.

I don't think these things were difficult predictions at all really. Tampa/Toronto was really close last year, and this time around Toronto got better and Tampa got worse. The Oilers are just not as good as they are made out to be. They are stacked up front, but they don't have a championship-caliber defense at all. And their goaltending? Woof. Boston faced zero adversity all season and coasted into the playoffs. They were ripe to get upset like many President's Trophy winners do. As soon as the Panthers pushed back, they had nothing. It didn't help them that Bergeron is always two steps from the ICU every playoff run.

The only 3 things I correctly predicted were Toronto making it beyond round 1, Boston losing in the first round, and Edmonton not sniffing the final 4. All kinds of wrong outside of that though.

They basically didn't. They were a really good, but not great team there for a stretch of years. They happened to get hot at the right time one season and went the distance. I feel like this can be accomplished via UFA next summer tbh.

Rafalski being broken was what changed the course of that series. There was that goal where he got beaten 1v1, which gave the Pens life. Can't recall if it was a tying or go-ahead goal, but god damn...

I just hope if Yzerman gives up any first-round picks that it is to bring in guys who fit the Seider-Raymond-Kasper timeline and not the Larkin timeline. I want to see a nice long contention window like Tampa, or Boston. Not St. Louis.

Remember how Arizona lost a first-rounder because they had their own little combine for prospects? Remember how New Jersey lost a first-rounder because they signed Kovalchuk to a contract that was well within the rules of the CBA but the league decided to cry foul? Yet the team who covers up sexual assault for 10 years gets barely a slap on the wrist. Clown league.

My thoughts exactly. No teams get screwed in a lottery, and it would be significantly more difficult to abuse the system for high draft picks. It also would prevent scenarios like that Rangers lottery win that year where they were literally in the ******* playoffs.

Yes. Imagine in 3-4 years the team starts getting really competitive, and then suddenly adds a superstar scorer to the lineup. It would be like when the Wild got Kaprisov, except the Wings will be a much better, deeper team.

The difference is that Wings squad was still young. Boston is about to lose their top two centers. If a GM is still gonna try to win with zero center depth, well gl;hf. Without their centers, they will still have good players that can help them win some games. But there are a LOT of good upcoming teams now. Not to mention they are with the Wings in the division of death. Cracks are gonna start to show. They will have streaks where they play well. But 82 games with no Bergeron of Krejci will be their worst enemy. In the end, if Yzerman has any desire to use that Boston pick to make a trade, it should not happen until next offseason when we have a better idea of what that pick could be.

The league should do without the lottery and do something like base the draft order on the overall standings of the most recent 3 seasons combined. As well as not allowing any team to get a top pick in consecutive seasons. I'm sure this idea can be poked full of holes with more thought than the 30 seconds I have thought about it, but I feel it limits tanking, as it would be financially insane to tank for three straight seasons. Could very well be a stupid idea, but something to rant about I guess.