Frozen-Man

Sometimes it’s a good exercise to flip things around. Imagine if Detroit traded a 1st round pick for Nyquist. 

Keep in mind that Rasmussen is a slide candidate. He can only play 9 games before using a year of his ELC. Scratching him gives an opportunity for more practice, more instruction, more time with the team, before that decision has to be made. It's not necessarily punishment or singling him out. 

I'm in the "Hossa > Mantha" camp

If this was golf, he'd be amazing 

He scored 24 goals last season. It's not a big stretch to say he'll score 30 or more this season. You're being a baby.
Just my two cents.

You misspelled "Alex Edler."

LOL. Kane and Toews both put up less than 80 points and their AAV is 10.5 mil each. Larkin at 70 points at 6.1 is a great deal. Less than market value equals team friendly deal. Why is anyone complaining?

Damn, wish we would’ve got Larkin for 8 years/1 mill per year. Way to go Holland.... 

Vanek signed for nearly the exact cap hit as Mantha, so obvious Mantha is done.
Only you could be upset by this deal

BURN THE WITCH

Then after a loss all he talks about is "we did a lot of good things."  He sounds like a mites coach telling his players that they can still have ice cream after losing because they tried hard.  

I haven't heard that one before.  Blame the lawyers.    

I see where you are coming from in regards to Abby & Helm, but I disagree with the DD contract. He's a bit overpaid, sure. But for a team that has struggled mightily in the D department, you need to lock up your only legit top 4 young D-man. The issue with DD is that last year he played first pairing and fans expected top pairing production from him, same issue fans have with Nyquist/Tatar. Put DD back on 2nd pairing where he belongs with a solid partner and nobody will have an issue with him. 5mil for a top 4 guy his his age is not that bad. 
If you could snap your finger and just 3 of E, Howard, Abby, Helm, and Nielsen were gone, nobody would even care about DD's contract.

While I'm obviously not happy with our current cap situation, I am happy that Holland is standing his ground in regards to AA using the KHL as leverage in negotiations. If Holland were to cave and pay AA 3mil per because a KHL team offered the same, he would be setting an awful precedent.
I know some like to complain and go with the narrative "AA should ask for more money, look at what Abby/Helm etc. got!!!!!!!!!" but Holland overpaying UFA's doesn't mean he should also overpay RFA's. If anything, hopefully this teaches him a lesson and he doesnt overpay UFA's moving forward.
We're not going to be contenders this year, so if he wants to walk, let him walk. We retain his rights anyways and I highly doubt he spends his entire career in the KHL. Or, trade him for a D-man along with a 1st which is what I have wanted for a while.

Wow! It looks like we are losing Tomas Nosek and people are upset? Ottawa is likely losing Methot, NYI are losing the 15th overall pick, we are losing Tomas fricken Nosek! Come on guys, with all due respect to Nosek, he is a 4th line player, 3rd liner at best.
Some people just want to ***** and moan regardless of what happens.
 

Just when I thought I've heard it all, someone says they'd rather lose any of Mrazek (elite number one potential), Sheahan (reliable 3rd line center), or Sproul (top 4 potential), over Nosek (3rd line center potential)... Not only that, goes on to say that they would offer Mrazek and a pick to stay away from our coveted bottom 6 center...
Absolutely stoked that it looks like Mrazek is staying, just have no idea what is going to happen to him going forward... I'm okay with shopping him, but it has to be for a significant return, and that's not going to happen now while his stock is at an all time low. I say, see how this season turns out, and make the decision next summer. Shouldn't be any rush to move either Mrazek or Howard at this point.

I may have been reading it wrong but I didn't take that article as saying Mrazek is #2 out of the seven goalies listed just that he is one of the seven best goalies available in the expansion draft. 

I must be the only person alive who is fine with Howard being protected?  I fully get the arguments around asset (mis)management, but I think there is a whole human element not being mentioned or discussed.
Howard came off a pretty bad season, worked his arse off, came back a much better player, held teams to zero goals over 60-65mins, while his team failed to score in front of him. And no complaints the following game he'd come back with more of the same.  If I was his team-mate I'd have a truckload of respect for the man and his attitude, likewise if I was his boss.  To me he has earned the right to be protected, especially looking through a lens of respect and integrity.
Meanwhile the young kid with all the potential in the world, lets in 3-4 goals a game, and calls out his team-mates for not scoring enough?  Who would you rather had your back when it came to the crunch?
As stated, I agree not a good move in terms of asset management.  But do we all forget that these are people & not just assets?  That when they earn the respect of the peers, and management, they deserve it in return?
I hope we keep Mrazek, but if we don't it ain't the end of the world.  I'll still be cheering my damned team on.

I think the real question is whether Foo is a fighter, cause I could support getting a Foo Fighter.

The last person I want in net is someone with a fragile ego and the ability to get shaken easily.  If Mraz can't handle the pressure of something as basic as a qualified starter backing him up, how can you reasonably expect him to handle real adversity (which he has also struggled with)?

Ya, we'll lose XO and get ZERO cap relief. 
...actually the point speaks quite loudly. He led our team, but we can't expect him to keep it up. Now that point is moot.
 

If the rumors of attitude problems in thge room are true, I understand them leaving Petr open. I am still a big fan and also a Jimmy hater, but you can't have locker room cancer.
But don't, for a minute, believe Holland has anything up his sleeve. We have been burned too many times by him. 

That's exactly how I feel man.
They probably would have taken Z. Especially if they're looking for a captain or something. He was a top point producer in the league last year and the cap hit is nice for them to reach their cap limit. Not to mention he has no NTC, NMC and they wouldn't actually have to pay him much since his salary drops to $3.5 million then $1 million. 
A $6 million 70-ish point producer that you DON'T actually pay wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up. 
There are a very few older players you want on your team in this lesgue. Z is one of them. The other one is Joe Thornton. Also Marian Hossa.

Fleury, Raanta, Grubauer. Our goalies are safe.

Why are you trying to make it sound like people want Howard more then Bishop with all things things being equal? You are really simplifying something that is much more complicated.
If we could trade Howard and get rid of his last 2 years, and acquire Bishop for 2 years at the same cap hit, I'm guessing there are not a ton of people that would have an issue with this. This is however not the situation. The reality of the situation is that Howard is under contract for 2 more years, Bishop is under contract for 6 more years. By the time we become contenders, Howard will be long gone. With Bishop, if he were here he would likely be an over paid 30+ goalie in about 3 years and you would start to crap on him just like you do on Howard.
Do you see the difference?