Dabura

Matt Lorito.

#BringBackKrupp

Radulov is a punk, but he's also a fantastic player.

This is why God invented the Oilers and Canadiens. Maybe when the Leafs are contenders in three years Babcock decides he needs some Real Gud Vetrin Leaderpish and we get a 1st for Helm at the trade deadline. Playing the long game. It's all part of The Plan. Ken Holland is a misunderstood genius.

DON'T FORGET FEDOR TYUTIN AND TROY BROUWER.

hoo boy

In fairness, we suck at that. And the shootout. And scoring in general. Beggars, choosers...

Frans Nielsen 15-16 Highlights FILAPOOLA

Sounds about right. He's reel gud defensively tho.

I love the s*** out of Frans Nielsen. He has long been one of my favorite players and a dream acquisition of mine. But...I need to know what we're giving him, contract-wise. Cuz, real talk? Dude's a 31-year-old 2C. We can't go crazy with term. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe five years. Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe.

Brandon Pirri. Not necessarily a "lesser" player, but certainly very underappreciated. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/ufa-bargain-bin-four-players-analytics-identify-value-adds/ AND HE EVEN SHOOTS LEFT!!!!!

Honestly, I might try Smith-Trouba as the top pairing. If you look at their underlying numbers, Trouba is an abysmal shot-suppressor, while Smith is just the opposite (though, granted, he's played easier minutes than Trouba has).

yah At this point, I'd be ok with Ladd and E. Staal. We'd get a rich man's Abdelkader and a bridge 1C (maybe). Of course, even that much is probably to much to ask for, because Red Wings.

Eric Staal isn't quite the player he once was, but if we're looking for someone to simply hold down the 1C role just for, like, a year, we could do much worse than signing him to a short deal. Jordan Staal is another option. (I think?) (Is there a Hurricanes fan in the house?)

Also, I still love Mattias Ekholm.

I think Larkin could be a serviceable 1C this coming season. I think Athanasiou could be a serviceable 2C this coming season. But do we want to bet on those two things happening? Do we want to take the chance? Do we want to potentially stunt the growth of these players by forcing them into big-time roles they're not quite ready for? I'd rather see them grow into -- and, yes, earn -- the roles over the course of the next couple of seasons. This is why a guy like Backes or Hanzal intrigues me. Either one could be a bridge 1C for a season or two. I wonder what it'd take to land Matt Duchene. DeKeyser...and...a French-Canadian player (Mantha/Ouellet)? Who knows with Sakic and Roy. They're weird and they do stupid things.

Yes, the fourth line could use a different element. And that element is skill. Like I've said before, Miller and Glendening are possession black holes. Having them together on the same line and hard-matching that line against the opposition's best players is tantamount to shooting ourselves in the foot. We don't need a Matt Martin or a Mike Brown. We don't need "physicality." We need to be so deep, top-to-bottom, that our fourth-liners are overqualified and could just as easily be our third-liners. Sheahan is our 3C? Then, ideally, we're so deep at forward that he's our 4C. This kind of depth is what all Cup-winning teams have in common. Unfortunately for us, you need to have some serious top-end talent in order for this to be feasible. We lack that proven elite talent, and, as a result, all of our players are asked to do more than what they're realistically capable of doing (e.g. Tatar, Nyquist). And this is our plight, in a nutshell. Mind you, I believe Larkin and Athanasiou are going to become cornerstone centermen. I just don't think they're there yet.

God no.

No. Not even close. Word on the street is the Oilers received better offers (than Larsson) but are really high on Larsson. The trade in no way means that Alexey Marchenko can get you Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. DeKeyser + Mantha might get you RNH. Might.

What if we were to sign both Backes and Nielsen? Long-term, probably not smart investments. But in the short term, that puts a couple of very capable veteran centermen above Larkin and Athanasiou on the depth chart. I don't want Larkin being forced into the 1C role before he's ready, and, at the risk of sounding like Ken Holland, I'm not confident that he's ready. Nah.

Don't forget Quincey!

The great thing is Subban's going to sell the s*** out of NHL hockey to the people of Nashville and in the States. I think it's a match made in heaven. They're going to adore him there. He's going to become what he deserves to be, which is one of The Names in pro sports. For anyone who doesn't like Subban... P.K. Subban donating $10 million to Montreal's Children's Hospital P.K. Subban lights up Chris Neil P.K. Subban crushes Brad Marchand P.K. Subban...destroys I mean, c'mon.

TBH, I'm not super-crazy about the implications for our boys in red and white. Feels like Weber's had our number for quite a while now and feels like we've generally been able to neutralize Subban. Granted, we have a longer and more intimate history with Weber. He knows us well. I think you're right about the Habs' overall possession game, though. I mean, in theory, you absolutely are. They're a bad possession team with a possession monster in Subban, because Michele Therrien is a dinosaur. Weber's never really had strong underlying numbers. Do the math...

Nashville wins. Weber's best days are already behind him, more or less. Subban is younger and, frankly, better. Poile has basically undone the Seth Jones trade -- only, he gets to keep Ryan Johansen. And that, my friends, is how you GM.