eva unit zero

Wait... You say that being a team player is big and then pick Bryzgalov? Bryzgalov's contract demands just dismantled a pretty solid Philly team. Richards, Carter, Versteeg, Leino...all gone. Carter was supposedly a cancer, so we'll still make that trade. But not the Richards trade. And not the Bryz trade. The Versteeg trade was made to make room for Jagr, so we'll keep that. With the Richards trade canceled, Schenn's $3m is available. The Flyers can use it to then fill their goaltending vacancy with Tomas Vokoun, who ended up in Washington for $1.5m. That's a MUCH better team. Better in goal, better at forward, same defensemen. And using Crosby as an example of a team player? The guy who skipped the handshake? For shame. Ovechkin may have an ego, but most big stars do. That doesn't mean they aren't team players. Sergei Fedorov had an ego, yet was an excellent team player. Ovechkin is also a good team player; he gave up his personal offensive numbers (and therefore received much criticism) to play within an improved defensive system. Ovie is better than Malkin or Bryz.

Helm already plays 3rd line ice time. You do realize that lines fluctuate throughout the game and season, right? As for the sniper thing; Semin being on the team instead of Filppula and Hudler would lead to less offense and thinner offense. Do you want to have a team with an offense deep and skilled enough to win the Cup, or a team with a few star players that may not be able to? We're not talking NBA here. You don't just stack up as many superstars as you can and it automatically works. I thought you knew this stuff, given how much time you dedicate to arguing about things you can't influence. But just so I can get this straight, you think Hudler is a *****, right? And you want to replace him with Semin? Can I get you to confirm for me that you'd rather have Semin than a *****?

You don't think Miller has at least a chance at a regular spot ahead of Abdelkader? If you take my lineup and put Franzen on Datsyuk's wing and move Flip to the third line, you have either Abdelkader/Flip/Bertuzzi or Miller/Flip/Bertuzzi. There's not really much of a difference there; if anything Miller has the advantage as he scored 10 goals last season to Abby's 7. Emmerton is likely penciled in right now simply because of everything the organization has invested in him, and the fact that he has good skills, good potential, and would be one of only three forwards on the team under the age of 25. Conner will probably put in a good fight, but will not displace him.

The Kings aren't going to trade for both Hudler and Filppula. They might take one in a deal, but the Kings have a stack full of big scoring forwards. A guy like Filppula ends up being Manny Malhotra on that roster; a defensive center who is excellent on PK and faceoffs. Hudler might have more penetration simply because his role is more offensive, but they don't really need that so they're not likely to trade for him. Stuart would give them a veteran defenseman who has actually been more than a depth defenseman most of his career, as opposed to what they have now in Mitchell and Scuderi. Ericsson would give them a moderately experienced defenseman with size, skating ability, a huge shot, and puck skills. The Kings would definitely want at least one first round pick back, and picks have to be part of the equation because LA's roster is strong enough that the Wings can't offer fair value without them.

The player is paid 2/3 of his remaining salary, but the average cap hit is only 1/3 of his salary. Lecavalier's buyout would be almost non-existent capwise for the next five years, and then would jack up to around his current level around 2017-18 to 2019-20, before dropping to about $2.4m for the remaining years until 2028-29. It could make it tight around 2018 cap-wise, but it certainly works as a short-term solution to clear up space for Stamkos.

Mursak is an effective checker with speed and work ethic to match Conner's, but better skill. Emmerton is reliable defensively but doesn't fill a checking role. However, he is the most offensively capable of the three, and if the Wings are going with 14 forwards they don't need two reserve checking forwards. I expect Miller and Emmerton to start the year as the reserves, possibly one of them in for Abdelkader. Cory looked ready in his short time up last year. He's not a star, but he's competent and still as a lot of potential and development left in him. Conner better be NHL-ready at his age. He's played a decent number of games for multiple teams, which suggests that he's at least serviceable in a Doug Janik sort of way. Emmerton is the obvious choice, because he's so much more likely to be claimed on waivers. Because: 1) The Wings don't need to have two reserve checking line forwards for the fourth line. 2) Emmerton provides a "scoring reserve" which would allow a Mursak/Helm/Eaves line to stay intact in the event of injuries. 3) Emmerton knows the Wings' system, and has the skills to play within it proficiently.

Given the Wings' surprising lack of a high profile defensive signing (unless you count Mike Commodore's Twitter account) that would give credence to rumors we'd all like to believe. Such as "Holland is currently in trade talks with LA to acquire Drew Doughty, who he will then re-sign long-term for a reasonable deal." We'd all love to see that move made to succeed Nick. But who would go in such a deal? The Kings are probably set at forward, so it's unlikely we could just pack up one or more of Hudler/Filppula/Franzen to grab him. Plus they would want a competent defenseman back to fill Doughty's spot. Maybe two, given the fact that they only have five signed defensemen. How about Brad Stuart, Jonathan Ericsson, and a 1st for Drew Doughty? Two 1sts?

Still surprised it was Fehr and not Chimera. Given their ages and skill, I thought it was a no-brainer to salary-dump Chimera for just a 4th or 5th pick next year. Would have made for a much better team in DC.

And. AND. Hudler AND Filppula vs. Semin AND Emmerton. Can you not read when the paragraph has "Hudler" in it? Because that's what it seems like. It seems like you're so concerned with getting Semin any way you can that you fail to recognize logical arguments.

Emmerton would definitely be claimed. Ritola has the size advantage, but Emmerton has the skill. Ritola's big issue has always been just like Franzen when he first came to Detroit; a big bodied forward that never goes to the net. The big difference is that Ritola is a playmaker and has very limited goal-scoring skills. Emmerton has a lot more speed than Ritola, is a better playmaker, and is a better goal scorer. He's fast and he's defensively responsible. If Ritola had made the team last year, he'd be gone this year in favor of Emmerton. The only thing that would prevent a team from claiming him would be his size. As for Conner, I can't speak to his waiver chances. He's nothing more than a grinder at the NHL level, so it comes down to whether a team needs a grinder like Conner. I would expect him to have a much easier time clearing than Emmerton because of this; most teams have players with similar grinding ability to Conner and so won't really look at grabbing him unless there's a monetary reason or trade reason they need a new guy. Emmerton is a good prospect, potential second-line center, so most teams would think about taking a shot there. Certainly teams that are thin at forward would take him on, hoping the NHL move creates a huge burst of development (a la Howard) and they have another core player.

False. The NHL has transfer agreements with the AHL, CHL, and ECHL as well. I don't think anyone would consider those peer leagues; especially as one isn't even a professional league.

I think his point was more that Hudler shouldn't be shuttled out for nothing in an effort to get Semin as a rental. Which you agreed with. Washington is unlikely to trade Semin for Hudler straight, and if they are trading Semin they will be wanting to drop $2m in cap space to be compliant. So if you put Hudler there, that means only $3.8m more in the deal, maximum. So who is added in? Filppula? Stuart? Ericsson? You're also going to see a pick and possibly a prospect given up. Still want to make the deal? I sure don't. We'd basically be looking at Huds and Flip vs. Semin and Emmerton. Which duo provides more offense? Which provides more defense? Which is better physically? Huds and Flip win on all three counts.

Bryzgalov is clearly the best Russian player. He even said so. Anyhow... Malkin-Kovalchuk-Ovechkin? I think you have those three in reverse order. Ovechkin has been one of the league's elite player's since entering it. Kovalchuk has been among the league's top players for years. Malkin's scoring numbers are slightly better than Kovalchuk's and worse than Ovechkin's, but neither Kovy nor Ovi have had anyone anywhere near Crosby's talent level. Ovechkin has a strong team that has developed around him, but it is built around him and was not in place when he was drafted. Crosby was in Pittsburgh when Malkin arrived. The best Kovalchuk has had was a still-developing Heatley, and a somewhat experienced Hossa. That's two players who could be expected to put up strong performances. Crosby is a yearly Hart and Art Ross contender. Hossa and Heatley are not. The top ten Russians go in this order: Pavel Datsyuk Alex Ovechkin Ilya Bryzgalov Ilya Kovalchuk Evgeni Malkin Andrei Markov Alex Semin Sergei Gonchar Nik Kulemin Anton Volchenkov

Emmerton is quick and has good skill, so would fit well as a substitute when Franzen/Holmstrom/Bert miss games, or on one of the top three lines if he makes the top-twelve. Conner doesn't have the hands or hockey sense to play an offensive role, but he is a hard worker and a good grinder despite his size; and he's fast. Conner in the lineup for Abdelkader would make for a Mursak/Helm/Conner line, allowing the Wings to utilize Eaves' shot on a scoring line. Potential lineups with each player: Hudler/Zetterberg/Franzen Filppula/Datsyuk/Bertuzzi Cleary/Helm/Eaves Mursak/Emmerton/Holmstrom Hudler/Zetterberg/Cleary Franzen/Datsyuk/Holmstrom Bertuzzi/Filppula/Eaves Mursak/Helm/Conner Both of those are solid lineups, but I think I prefer to run with this regular lineup: Hudler/Zetterberg/Cleary Filppula/Datsyuk/Holmstrom Franzen/Abdelkader/Bertuzzi Mursak/Helm/Eaves It's certainly easy to plug Emmerton into Abdelkader's spot in that lineup as the third line center, also.

Are you sure it's not #40? Z, not Dats, almost always gets the big defensive assignment. There's a definite argument for Zetterberg (my pick), and Iginla is also in there as a high-end complete player.

I think the complaint was more about Franzen, who is "an elite goal-scorer" in the NHL, scoring 2 goals over his last 27 games, after scoring 26 in his first 59. At the 60 game mark he was on pace for 35 goals, yet he didn't clear 30. That's a long slump.

Lilja only fell because he was tied up with Souray. Souray was the one who lost his balance after getting hit in the head.

Jason Chimera is a sad panda, because he knows he'll be traded again soon.

They have all of that cap space, that amount of bonuses, and that's for two buyouts, two goalies, eight defensemen, and nine forwards. So they have Stamkos, Purcell, and two other forwards to sign for less than $12.2m. Seems perfectly reasonable. Although something to consider given Vinny's albatross contract; He's definitely not worth the money. So if you waive him to buy him out, he almost certainly doesn't get picked up. Buy him out, that's $2,575,757 for the buyout, or 1/3 of his cap hit. Vinny is out about $21m because he'll only get two-thirds of what's left. Now you immediately sign him back on for *drumroll* $21m over nine years. That's a $2,333,333 hit, total hit for Vinny is cut down to $4,909090 from $7,727,273. That's over $2.8m.

Read it again. It was "Makes me happy SINCE McCollum is slipping" not "Makes me happy McCollum is slipping."

Yes.

Marian Hossa? White is a good offensive defenseman, he's physical, he's responsible defensively, and he's a good shot-blocker. MacDonald played well most of his time. He was unspectacular, but he was solid for the most part. Joey stopped the pucks he "should" be stopping, and even some that "should" have been goals. Conks isn't going to be any better than Joey was, because he's not much better, if at all.

Brendan Smith has as much potential as Drew Doughty or Keith Yandle? Doughty is ten months younger and has been nominated for the Norris, and has been challenging for it for years. Yandle is only two years and seven months older, and he is also an elite defenseman. At Smith's age he scored 30 points in 69 games. For Phoenix. Brendan Smith is still a developing prospect who could potentially play in the NHL, but would almost certainly not achieve a level even close to that of Doughty or Yandle. If I had the option to trade Smith and a first rounder for Doughty? I'd do it. For Yandle? Sure. That's a heartbeat trade, take it every time. Add on Tatar, and I'll still make the deal. You're trading a skilled defense prospect who is just about to burst into the NHL at 22-23 for an elite defenseman who can play both ends, who will anchor your blue line for years to come. If you don't want to give up a "maybe he'll be a top defenseman" to get a "he already is a top defenseman!", you should get out of the pretend GM stuff. Because that's a no-brainer.

Solid lines, have been used fairly regularly in the past. Should work out well; Huds and Flip have good chemistry, and Eaves would match with them much better than Miller or Abdelkader did. Three good bottom-six players. The wingers can't keep up with the center. Would be better with Mursak and Eaves flanking Helm. Stuart and Commodore won't be together. They're both the "stay at home" half of the pair. We saw this past season what happens to Stuart when he tries to be the offensive defenseman. His defense goes to s*** and he still doesn't score points. So if you go with the left/right shooting thing, we have Lidstrom, Kronwall, Ericsson, and Kindl on the left side and White, Stuart, and Commodore on the right. White is offensive while Stu and Commie are defensive. On the left Kronner and Kindl are offensive, Lidstrom is simply amazing, and Ericsson is offensive (accenting the second syllable). So we'll match up. Assuming Kindl is the scratch, we have two defensive players on the right. I wouldn't trust Ericsson as a defensive player, and Kronner is definitely offensive first. So that makes Lidstrom the third defensive half. Lidstrom/White is one pair. Now we have Kronwall/Stuart and Ericsson/Commodore or Kronwall/Commodore and Ericsson/Stuart. Ericsson obviously is filling the "offense" role in those pairs. I wouldn't mind seeing Kindl replace him there. Conklin is incredibly overrated on these boards. It's more likely Osgood returns than Conklin signs. Between the fact that Conklin is equal to or worse than Osgood, plus the fact he has to play for either Philadelphia or New York next season, he almost certainly won't be Howard's backup.

Silly about what, the Franzen-Hudler-Bertuzzi/Cleary thing? I'm serious there. I think it would work well. The "big wingers/small center" setup has worked many times to great success throughout history. Putting a skilled, small guy like Hudler with two big scorers isn't as crazy as you think. It wouldn't be my first choice given our current roster and the fact it would either: be the third line and force the move of Eaves, Mursak, or Miller (maybe even Tatar) onto the top two lines; or put Hudler in the second line slot with Flip on the third. One more big winger, a guy with a bit of speed, scoring skill, and grit, would fit perfectly on the wing instead. But this is a thread about how Leino will thoroughly disappoint the Sabres brass. So let's stay on topic.