kipwinger

I'm telling you dudes, Hage is the guy. Won't be mad at MBN though.

So what’s up with you guys tonight?

I'd imagine it's all situationally dependent. I don't really know what New Jersey needs but the article quoted their GM as saying something like "whoever we take with this pick won't be ready to contribute for another 5 years". They want to win now, so you'd have to imagine they'd want pieces that can help with that. My guess is that the package starts with the 15th OA pick plus Berggren/Walman.

Read an article that said New Jersey is open to moving the 10th overall pick for help winning now.

Mazur reminds me a lot of Alex Killorn.

I generally agree with most of these, but I'd quibble with a few. I see 2nd pair upside with Gibson. I think Kasper plays in the top six no matter what, but maybe on the wing. Mazur will also be in the top six. And after watching Danielson's play in the playoffs I think he's on a steep upward trajectory. I think his floor is 2C.

I know, you'd have to think that's good for a few reasons. First, the Wings can keep an eye on his development at Michigan. But also, spots on Michigan's team are pretty hard to land in their own right. If Michigan's program wants him that's just another set of eyes that have looked at this kid and liked what they saw. The Wings shouldn't draft him BECAUSE Michigan likes him, but having the additional confirmation from a respected program can't hurt.

I wasn't big on Hage either until I read his story. Missed his entire draft minus one season to shoulder injury and then dealt with the death of his father in his draft season. Despite that he's performed exceptionally well with respect to his counting (especially playoff) stats, and he seems to have a great attitude. Every talent evaluator I've seen says that the kid's physical tools and skills are exceptional: powerful skating, strong, quick hands, excellent passing and shooting. The only knock on him was that he plays on the perimeter too much. I'm willing to take the gamble that's because he's missed a whole lot of coaching and not because he's soft (most people like his effort and head for the game). But again, I'm mostly a big fan of any kid that faces THAT much adversity at an early age and still finds a way to keep working toward his goals and succeeding. Sometimes the difference between a good player and a great one is mental toughness/discipline. I'd bet on this kid.

After careful consideration I’ve decided that Michael Hage is my preferred pick. You can read all about his on ice skill (which is considerable) or his size/speed combination. All of which is attractive. But I read an article about how he handled the loss of his father a year ago. His dad was extremely demanding and had high standards but they were very close and the kid handled the death with a ton of grace. I want the player with high standards and emotional maturity. Sign me up for Danielson/Hage as our centers of the future.

I've been camping for the holiday, so I wasn't able to watch the last two games.

Askarov and Cossa in a goalie duel tonight. Heck of a game so far.

Probably roughly what it cost to land Debrincat, a first/roster player/mid level prospect

Friedman reporting that the Hurricanes are not going to re-sign Necas and Pesce. Necas is an RFA so trading for his negotiating rights would give the Wings exclusive rights to the player. Super skilled, fast, big, and wants to play center. Go get this guy now.

Hard not to bet on them. They're playing really really well right now. And as much as I like the way Florida plays, their game is sloppy and New York could expose that. Boston really had no offense to speak of, so Florida could run around all game without any fear of getting punished by the powerplay. New York will wash the Cats if they don't stay out of the box.

I've been wrong many times before, so maybe I'm galaxy braining this. But I think it's a little easier to turn that money down if you think you're going to get 10+ million per year (on an 8 year deal) when you're 27.

I'd be surprised if either Raymond or Seider sign 8 year deals. Raymond's offense kicked into hyperdrive at the end of the season after being pedestrian the two previous years. Seider's offense suffered from the hardest usage in the league. It's pretty easy to imagine a reality where the next three seasons are miles more productive than the last three and their value skyrockets. So why would they want to be locked in long term at a lower value? I think both these deals fall in the 4-5 year range just in time for their big payday in UFA.

Vancouver/Edmonton plays zero defense. I think Dallas will make easy work out of either of them.

I have no idea how to handicap that one. I'm going to watch ever second of it though. If I had to put money on it I'd have to say New York will win. But I'd probably prefer to see Florida move on. Going to be a barn burner though.

That's true, but it wasn't just him. I commented on this throughout the season but it wasn't until Watson elevated the young guys into key positions that the Griffins started winning. Early in the season he deferred a lot to the veterans, which is understandable for a rookie coach. But part way through the season you started to see Kasper, Mazur, Johansson, Lombardi, and Cossa climbing the depth chart and veteran players taking on support roles. That's when the team took off.

Aaaaand Boston is dead. Can't say I mind. Still, I'll always love them for beating Toronto...again.

Isn’t this just more evidence of what I’ve been saying forever? Winning the lottery doesn’t really matter all that much? I’d rather have the 5th overall pick and a competently run organization than the 1st overall and be the Oilers/Buffalo/Arizona/Toronto/etc.

There’s something to this. All season long he’s played head to head against peers Wallstedt and Askarov in the same AHL conference. Wallstedt’s team sucked, but when you watch us play Iowa he was regularly getting beat clean by our shooters. So was Iowa bad because their star goalie couldn’t make saves? Similarly, Milwaukee is a “good” team and Askarov isn’t starting for them in the playoffs, so clearly they think they’re better without him in net. Cossa’s the only one of the three that’s the top goaltender on a good team.

I'll leave the goalie analysis up to you. I'm out of my depth on that. The only thing I'd add is that it seems like a big part of playing the goalie position is just experience. Knowing what to do, when to do it, and what to expect from the opposition seems just as (or more) important as developing the physical tools. For skaters it's almost the opposite. If you're Taro Hirose you're never going to see NHL time because despite your experience you'll never have the physical skill to play in the NHL. For goalies is different. Your body can be more than ready, but until you've had the reps you're just not going to be any good against pro shooters.

We were badly out shot that game. While I don't put too much stock in the "shots tell the whole story" approach to analyzing hockey, I do think Cossa was the difference in that one. We're going to need to clean up our game a little before Game 2. We looked pretty sloppy with the puck at times.

It seriously looks like a regular season overtime period. Just odd man rushes back and forth. Dallas/Colorado is going to bend over whichever of these teams makes it through.