krsmith17

No I'm not. I was just listing the pro goaltenders. Petruzzelli will be back in Quinnipiac, likely for another 2-3 season before he turns pro. Then he'll likely spend a year or two in Grand Rapids, before hopefully making Detroit some day. I disagree. I think it's more likely and more beneficial to him (and the organization) for him to turn pro. Yeah, I'm sure Hamilton would love to have him back, but it's not their decision. We'll see what happens, but I think he'll be the starter in Toledo.

I never argued otherwise... Obviously the old format was better for previously existing teams, and worse for expansion teams. That's why the new rules were implemented, so we don't have a repeat of previous expansion drafts where teams were ass for 5, 10, 20+ years. This team was never meant to be as good as it was, and never should have been, even with the terrible deals some of the other GM's made. The current expansion draft rules are just fine. The only minor change I'd make, is allow teams to expose one player with a NTC/NMC. That'll never happen though...

Yes it was, but there's no saying we would have taken Vasilevskiy. Chances are we wouldn't have, but maybe we would have taken Maatta...

I get as frustrated with Blashill as anyone, but he's not near as bad as some people make him out to be. He's an average (maybe better than average) coach, coaching a very bad team. He's still relatively young and new to the league, and I fully expect to see him improve as the team improves. I love Larkin and Mantha, but no coach is going to turn them into perennial 90 point / 30-40 scorers. The only way that happens, is if we get a McDavid level player to play them with.

He does this every year? By "this" you mean signs unrestricted free agents? That's literally every team, every year... This was expected. We still need to sign another two or three "depth" goaltenders. Typically teams have 5-6 pro goaltenders under contract (2 NHL, 2 AHL and 1-2 ECHL). We now have Howard, Fulcher and Rybar. Coreau and McCollum are UFA's. Maybe they decide to bring one back to Grand Rapids, but I doubt both come back. Machovsky went back over seas. I see Rybar as his replacement. Like I said, we still need to sign at least another couple goaltenders. I expect to sign a veteran to backup Howard, and maybe Coreau for Grand Rapids. Detroit - Howard / *Bernier Grand Rapids - *Coreau / Rybar Toledo - Fulcher

You're definitely not the only one. I'm notably pretty high on Mantha, but I've heard some people rag on him pretty hard every year since we've drafted him. He's a top 6 winger, that should be capable of scoring 30 goals (55-65 points), and to me, that's well worth $5-6M on a long term contract. People have to remember that this team is in shambles right now. Once we get things turned around, Mantha should be a very reliable goal scorer for this team for many years to come.

Meh, agree to disagree on this one. I'd definitely go max term on Larkin. More years usually means lower cap hit, and we could really get him on a steal of a contract. I'd also go long(er) term on Mantha. Maybe not 6 years, but I'd definitely go longer than 2 years. I'd be okay with $6-6.5M for 7-8 years for Larkin and $5-5.5M for 4-6 years for Mantha. 8 years is the max for the Islanders / Capitals to re-sign Tavares / Carlson, and 7 years is the max for any other team. So I assume Matt Cane is projected both to be re-signed by their current clubs.

Yeah, Florida, Columbus, Minnesota and Anaheim made some of the worst "deals" in the expansion draft. They're the reason Vegas are in the position they're in now, not the new expansion protection format.

Matt Cane just came out with his Free Agent predictions for this off-season. Here are a few notables... RFA's Larkin - 6 years at $6,320,945 Mantha - 2 years at $4,503,347 Athanasiou - 2 years at $1,881,831 Bertuzzi - 2 years at $1,057,648 Frk - 1 year at $1,017,035 UFA's Green - 5 years at $5,639,168 Tavares - 8 years at $10,734,881 Carlson - 8 years at $8,635,489 I'd prefer to get Larkin locked up for the max 8 years, but $6-6.5M would be a good deal for both sides. I'd also prefer to get Mantha locked up long term. Around $5-5.5M for 6 years would be what I'd like to see. I'd be okay with 3 of those deals for Athanasiou (1.75-2.25M), Bertuzzi ($1-1.5M) and Frk (1-1.25M). I don't think Green will get close to that, but if he does, Holland better stay far away. 2-3 years max at a much lower cap hit. And again, if we're bringing Green back, he better be willing to move another defenseman. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Q-Pnzfvmo_1hDlWu7WqJHVyTZqy15386jVESKSOf0V4/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0

Very well coached. Gallant will win the Adams by a landslide. It was a combination of McPhee doing a good job selecting some good players and other GM's doing a terrible job giving away better players. On paper, they're not a great team, but they've meshed well since day one and play the game the right way. No, I don't think anyone could have predicted that sort of production from half their team. Karlsson, Haula, Marchessault, Smith, Perron, the list goes on.

This 100%! Especially the bolded. You did forget Anaheim though, who traded Theodore to protect Vatanen. That was probably the dumbest move of all. It was not the league that "gifted" Vegas with a Cup contending team, it was the dumbass GM's that gave away great players to protect mediocre players. There is nothing wrong with the new expansion draft rules, but there won't be any of those stupid side deals when Seattle pick their team. If every team just protected their 7 best forwards, 3 best defensemen and one goalie, and there were no trades to protect additional players, Vegas wouldn't have been half as good as they are. Maybe a playoff team (probably not though), but not a division winner, and definitely not a Stanley Cup finalist (maybe winner). Why should an expansion team have to be terrible for a decade? That's the dumbest thing ever. The way it's set up now, they should still be bad, just not '74 Capitals bad. I'd put a significant wager that Seattle will have a losing record in their inaugural season, and likely won't make the playoffs. The format will be the same, but the GM's won't make the same dumb mistakes they made last year. It's really funny that you're acting as if you or anyone in the hockey world seen this coming. Before the season started very few expected Vegas to make the playoffs, let alone win the Cup. They came out of the gate firing on all cylinders and haven't slowed down one bit. After the first month, everyone was saying, they'll come back down to earth by Christmas break. They didn't. Then everyone said this won't last through the All-Star break. It did. Then everyone said playoffs is a completely different game, they won't get out of the first round. They swept them. The Ducks didn't put up much of a fight, they won't get past the Sharks. They beat them in 6. The Sharks are choke artists, there's no way they'll get past the juggernaut Jets. They beat them in 5. The Jets were tired after a 7 game series against the Preds, there's no way they'll beat the Lightning / Capitals in the finals... to be continued... Unbelievable underdog story. The fact that you're trying to downplay it, or blame the league or whatever is hilarious.

Part of me sort of believes this...

A trade with Carolina makes way too much sense. Perfect trade partners. Make the call Holland.

This, so much. Give the kid an opportunity with skilled players to see what he can do. Some people won't admit that this organization has in the past, mismanged players. They have, and if they're not careful, Svechnikov will be the next to go by the wayside...

How the hell have you seen all those players play in person? That's insane. Did you go to the WJC or something? I haven't seen a single one of them in person, and only a handful live on TV. I completely agree regarding highlight videos. That's why I don't put a huge amount of stock into them. I more so base my opinion on reading articles written by, or quoted by the experts.

It was sarcasm. Too bad we didn't have a crystal ball or time machine... We could have taken Boeser with that pick three years ago...

I think that's why I originally fell in love with her thought she was hot... There are hot girls, and then there are hot girls that love sports. I'm a big fan of the latter...

Exactly what I've been saying... I'd trade him in a package for almost any of their defensemen.

Would you trade Svechnikov?...

Hronek is somewhat flashy, but I don't think he'll be a top end guy. Saarijarvi is flashy, but he might not even make the NHL. I prefer steady, two-way defensemen, which is probably why I like Bouchard so much. If you prefer flashy, you'd probably rather Boqvist or Hughes.

Most reputable draft rankings, including Bob McKenzie, Craig Button and NHL Central Scouting, all have Bouchard ranked above Wahlstrom. Not that that's the end all, be all, but it does give us some sort of indication. I've never seen Bouchard play a single game. I only have the highlights and scouting reports that everyone has seen to base an opinion. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert, but based on the way a lot of experts view him, I'd say he has just as much elite potential as anyone in this draft class, outside of Dahlin (and maybe Svechnikov). I've read that he has elite hockey IQ and awareness, and he's one of, if not the best passers in this draft. He has a bomb of a shot, that is also accurate. His foot speed isn't the best, but can be improved upon, and he makes up for it with great positioning. Also, he can quarterback a power-play as good as any. Holland made one thing clear when talking about this year's draft, and that is that we need to address the blueline, and we can't continue to draft all smallish defensemen. I'd personally take Bouchard over any of the other defenders available, and I do still say we should take a defenseman with that 6th overall pick. If Bouchard is off the board, I'd be completely okay with taking Wahlstrom. If both are gone, I'd highly consider trading back.

I'm really high on Wahlstrom as well. I think he has the potential to be an elite scorer at the NHL level within a year or two. Which is something we desperately need. Where I differ from you, kip, is that I think Bouchard also has the potential to be elite. For me, their ceilings and floors are around the same, and I'd take the elite defenseman over the elite winger. We need to fill holes all over the roster, but I still say defense is the biggest area of concern now and looking 2-3 years from now. Now, if Bouchard goes in the top 5, and Wahlstrom is still available, as I've said before, I'd definitely consider taking him over any of the other defensemen in that range. Holland really needs to figure out a way to get another top 10 (7th overall) pick so we can get both... Problem solved.

F*** You man! Carley is a goddamn goddess!

The thing is, no one is saying Svechnikov is awesome or irreplaceable or anything close to that. Most see him as a middle six winger, which is probably where he'll end up. Are middle six wingers replaceable? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean we should trade every future middle six winger in the system. I'd trade him, but not just to get rid of him. If he can be packaged with another piece to fill an area of need (defense), I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'll give you credit for calling some of the past duds, like Smith, Jurco and Mrazek, but let's hope Svechnikov doesn't follow the same path... All three of those guys had the raw skill, but couldn't keep their head on straight for one reason or another (not getting into that again). The difference with Svechnikov is that he has the raw skill, the hockey IQ, and desire to get better every day. He's a big body that moves well, isn't afraid to go to the dirty areas, has soft hands and a quick release. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Jurco. So again, hopefully he can break through and actually become what most of us expected from Jurco, a solid middle six winger...