kickazz

You don’t think Green would waive his NTC if he got the opportunity to play for a legit contender projected to have a high probability of winning the cup?

Pretty much. The key for this league is they have to sell it to the south if they want to compete with NFL/NBA. Vegas has been a success story thus far. Winter Classic is a great way to continue this. If anything; showing that it's possible to play on ice outdoors down there will probably be intriguing to people. Often times it's just shoved to the side "oh it's too hot to play on ice in the summer". This mentality needs to change. It was in issue in Michigan too growing up for a lot of the local arenas and one of my biggest pet peeves growing up. Given the opportunity, I would have rather played in an ice rink in the summer time everyday but it just wasn't feasible with the lack of cost effective measures and tech for those arenas back then.

Official. 2019.

A. I mean, they have to sell their other products.... They've been trying to expand in the south and other parts of the country for years. This shouldn't come as a surprise at all. B. I'm sure the players wouldn't mind not playing in -20 degree weather for a change. As far as ice conditions; it's 2019 for technology.

I don't even think we need to go balls for an elite defenseman. Just 1-2 stable defensemen like Mike Green, above-average type guys that would be a good supporting cast for Larkin on the back end. And I agree that if we got a new GM; they would be expected to make changes, just like anyone being replaced at a job usually brings "something new" to the table. In our case it would probably be something along the lines of a trade since that's the exact opposite of what the current philosophy is.

Honestly I would say it may take 1-2 top defenseman (which I know is asking for a lot). I’m not overly optimistic about our future in goaltending either. Would be one thing if we had a young Hasek coming in (much as I gave flack to Mrazek it really does suck he didn’t live up to expectations). Alright maybe not a world class like Hasek but even a prime Ryan Miller type would be nice. Maybe then we would have gotten away with the core you presented in your post. But without a high caliber goalie in sight, that defense really needs to get better for us to be a legit contender. I would hate for all this forward talent to go to waste the next 5-7 years while we’re still waiting and waiting to get better on defense Ergo; I think a trade is necessary within a couple of years of this build.

Still the most overrated player of modern hockey. And honestly, the guy knows it himself too.

That defensive core gives me anxiety.

I'd rather take a worse point getter Pavel Datsyuk than Frans Nielsen at this point. It's meaningless to have someone who might put 10-15 more points but isn't nearly as complete of a player or a leader by example. Datsyuk over Nielsen any day for these young players to continue their growth. Larkin is who he is today due to his work with Zetterberg. Same with Bert.

Except it’s true. The American hockey fan market is larger than Canadian. Just by sheer numbers. More and more American players are representing NHL and the Canadian numbers have been at a decline. Not because less Canadians are interested, but just because more Americans kids are and their talent has vastly improved amongst youngsters in the last 2 decades. The AHL has become pretty popular compared to years ago as well. That league used to be a joke and is now one of the more popular minor leagues. I would even argue that the AHL is more popular than any Basketball, Football or Baseball minor league in the US. Penguins, Hawks, Capitals resurgence in the 2000s likely had a lot to do with it, add in the fact the the Wings were already a juggernaut in the 90s and 00s. The Avalance and Forsberg/ Sakic era created a huge fan base in the West as well. Chicago, Minnesota, Vegas by far have the best selling tickets for the NHL. Toronto comes in at 4th followed by Winnipeg. No other Canadian team makes the top 10 list in terms of arena selling tickets. The market is just better in the US. And it's likely the reason Quebec will never get a team and Vegas ended up getting one (and their sales are incredible). Rangers in recent years surpassed the Maple Leafs in terms of team value. Gone are the days that the Leafs were the richest team.

He's lazy and he sucks.

Hype night tonight When did you transform into Groot. A pubescent version too.

He would surpass* Datsyuk hat tricks.

He would tie Datsyuk with hat tricks.

Splendid.

Pink lives matter

How about Bibidi, Babidi, Boo? Black panther nominated for best picture. Oscars have turned into a joke to please the PC police. Absolutely ridiculous.

It's all part of his elaborate plan to tank.

you are family and overrated

me too

No he will say "Nyquististhefuture biiiaaatch" Then he'll hang up.

That’s inappropriate.

Dragon ball Z better than Pokémon

Ain’t nobody giving up a 1st rounder for a retiring defenseman that’s a fraction of a player he used to be.