Dabura

I've referenced this piece by Kevin Weekes before and I'm gonna do it again, because he nails it (and echoes what we're all saying, right on down to the Kings being a model): http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=23229 And before someone says "YEAH BUT NAME ONE REALLY GOOD DEFENSEMAN WHO'S BEEN TRADED (HA! THEREFORE WE CAN'T TRADE FOR ONE BECAUSE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE. THESE STICKS KEEP THOSE LIONS AWAY REAL GOOD)"... http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/41032-Campbell-Brent-Burns-trade-moves-Sharks-closer-to-Stanley-Cup.html Can you believe that? We still had Nick Lidstrom at that point, yet Babcock was, by his own candid admission, pissed off that we didn't add this top-four defenseman! I ask if you can believe that because, well, here we are, it's several years later, we have no Rafalski, no Lidstrom, and still no "Brent Burns" (solid top-four defenseman). And, oh yeah, our core players are that much older*. *(Datsyuk is 35, slowing down, and making incredibly uncharacteristic mistakes on the ice. Z is 33 and has been battling back problems which recently pushed him to the ultimate measure of last resort for a pro athlete: back surgery. Kronwall is 33 and is being leaned on way too heavily. [Which is the whole point here, really.] Franzen is 34 and probably one concussion away from early retirement. Hell, our kids are barely even "kids." We talk about Smith like he's 20 when he's actually 25. Young, but not a kid.) Kenny needs to be aggressive. He needs to be ruthless. He can't be completely averse to risk. To which he'd say: "Well, we need to draft well and build from within. We can't go chasing big names. We can't go out and get a guy every time we have a hole to fill. That's not the way you win these days. If you look at the top teams in the league right now, they got to where they are today by drafting well and developing well. Now they're reaping the benefits. Blah blah blah." And yet, he was in on Suter and Parise. And he was in on Edler. And he was in on Bouwmeester. And he kicked the tires on Weber. And he kicked the tires on Salo. And he actually brought in two guys in Colaiacovo and Quincey (and a third in DeKeyser, if you want to count him that way). And he also brought in Alfredsson and Weiss. And he traded one of our best prospects and a second-round pick for a few weeks of Legwand. I have a love/hate relationship with our GM.

If this were a normal offseason for the Pens, I'd agree. But it's not. They want change, and they'd probably like to move someone, even if it'd be mostly symbolic. I'm not making this up or jumping to conclusions, I'm basing it off stuff that's coming out of their own camp. I'm also not saying they'll aggressively shop Neal and try to move him at all costs. I'm saying there's a possibility they see what's out there, because why not. Also, for what it's worth... 1) 99.99999% of all players in the NHL can be described as "well liked in their locker room." And 2) there've actually been some whispers about Neal being a petulant rich kid spoiled brat POS who the organization has had to "sit down and set straight" more than once... http://blogs.post-gazette.com/sports/2013-06-20-18-51-15/empty-netters/41477-the-day-after-after-05-15-14

(Or, y'know, Ekblad.)

Weiss + Ericsson + ? for Reinhart?

It'd be pretty much impossible to move Weiss or Franzen, but you never know. Then there's UFA rights, our fringe roster players, Smith, and our deep prospect pool. I think we could get something done. If it's for Florida's pick? I'd consider moving a key piece, even though they're divisional rivals who seem to have our number and are only going to get better, with or without our help. Ericsson's basically untouchable (loyalty), but I have to think he'd draw great interest from Florida and Edmonton and pretty much every team that wants a big, strong, veteran top-four defenseman (so...pretty much every team).

Maybe add Anaheim and Winnipeg to the list. The Ducks are a contender with plenty of young talent; I bet they're not overly attached to the 10th pick. (Then again, perennial contenders rarely get to pick in the top 10.) Winnipeg - I know their whole thing is trying to draft well and build from within and never make an actual trade (sounds kinda familiar...), but, seriously, they need to make the playoffs and we could probably help.

I'm not so sure. This is looking to be a pretty interesting draft day. Personally, I'd be interested in Nashville, Phoenix Arizona, Dallas. Poile's under immense pressure to get his team back into the playoffs, and that's not going to happen unless they add some scoring punch. They might try the free agent market, but they're a budget team with relatively little allure. The Coyotes are in a similar position. Dallas - there's familiarity because of Nill, we're neighbors at 14 and 15, and I think both teams have discovered their youth is for real. I could see a deal being made with one of these Western teams. And, actually, I'd add the Caps to the list. I think we could help them, whether it's giving them some skill and veteran experience on their roster or maybe donating a couple of our NHL-ready prospects who probably don't have a future with the Wings (Almqvist, Ferraro).

Two blatant embellishments in one period. The Habs have no shame. Brassard's goal. Wow. Looks like sheer brute force, but he picked that corner, in close, at full speed, with Tokarski aggressively challenging. Filthy. Tokarski has been phenomenal. Tokarski-Mrazek tandem? GETTER DUN KENNY!

Rags with a shorthanded tally, up 1-0.

I wouldn't read too much into Kenny's comment. I do believe he's going to get a pretty fair shot, but, either way, Kenny's not going to say, "Will he have a shot in the fall? Probably not." (See: Alfredsson, Daniel.) But if we want to read into stuff, I think that little Q & A Babs did on the night he watched Mantha play seemed to suggest he's a bit skeptical, because that's just how he is when it comes to this kind of thing. (That's not an actual quote, but it's pretty close to what he said. I was too lazy to track down the original audio, so I just put on my Generic Babcock Hat there.) Pesonally, I think I'd rather have him start the season in GR and see how he does, unless he has a really, really, really good training camp. What's the risk? ...Versus, if you throw him right into the fire, that could backfire - for him and the team. We need to get as many points as possible, and, if we're being honest and objective, he does need to improve his all-around game. So...expect him to start in GR. (I wouldn't necessarily mind being wrong on this one, of course.) As for maybe putting the feelers out re: his possible trade value...I don't know why you wouldn't at least dip your toes into those waters. It doesn't mean you think any less of Mantha. It doesn't mean "OMG HOLLAND IS SHOPPING MANTHA! FULL STORY @ 10!" It's just, if there's a fantastic opportunity out there, you'd like to know. Right?

Credit where it's due - both of Toews's goals were awesome. That first one especially.

"That 70s Line."

LA - the highest scoring team in the playoffs - now leads the series. I am pleased.

I'd like to at least get something in the top 10. I'm really high on a bunch of names in the top 20.

Hell of a game tonight. These teams are so good it's silly.

Wasn't Clarkson's decision based mostly on his Mimico roots? (Not that the money wasn't key.) In any case, I just wanted to point out - in re: to Jesusberg - that while Sproul might possibly go the Franson route, Franson plays for Randy Carlyle, who's ruining his young players. I like the idea of Boyle as a mentor. Or, rather, Boyle and Kronwall as mentors. Hey, since we're talking about Schenn... Flyers could've had Keith Yandle, wound up with Luke Schenn

Also - I feel bad for any and every defenseman who has to play under Randy Carlyle. He has no idea what he's doing, which puts a world of strain on his defensemen. So, while a guy like Franson may be seen as sort of a problem player, I think that's largely on the coach and his "systems" and his dumb-ass decisions. But now I'm derailing the thread. Sorry!

Heh, this was posted 45 minutes ago: Drew Doughty, the Nicklas Lidstrom of [the?] Los Angeles Kings [Puck Daddy]

Personally, I'm ok with trading for a defenseman, but I'd like for him to be a top-end player. I don't really see Schenn being a top-four rock on a skill-centric possession team (maaaybe a Brad Stuart-esque #4), which means we're talking about the third pairing, which means we're also talking about four or five NHL-ready kids with good upside, plus Kindl and Lashoff. So, unless he'd come real cheap, I wouldn't want to trade for Schenn. But a high-end guy? I'd be open to that. Free agency should be the priority, though. I probably should've been clearer. I don't think Sproul is going to be a two-way monster. It's possible, but unlikely. I can see Sproul putting up points like a lunatic and throwing some big hits while being so-so in his own end. (I don't see this happening right away. This would be a few years down the road.) Given the precedent that's been set by guys like Green and Karlsson and Subban and Letang (and, again, maybe we can go back as far as Coffey, Orr...), that would actually make Sproul one of the better defensemen in this league and a fringe Norris Trophy candidate, not unlike Kronwall. So, it's not necessarily that I think he's going to be facemeltingly amazing. I just think he fits the mold of That Guy Every Team Wants and Needs at Least One of on the Blue Line. Not on the same level as Keith or Doughty or Weber or Chara or Suter (two-way monsters)...or Karlsson or Subban (one-way monsters), for that matter. But those are insanely rare and special players. What I'm getting at is, the "new" school is never having to actually play defense. You still need your Schenns and Fistrics and Lashoffs, but the closer we can get our top three to what we had with Lidstrom-Rafalski-Kronwall, the better. That means, of course, we'll definitely need a two-way monster (who may or may not be an elderly Kronwall), and I'm not too confident Sproul is going to be that guy. But, the more offense from our defense, the better. I'm hoping Smith can blossom with some PP time and more experience. He's one of our better puck-movers at present, and he has pretty good offensive insticts - so he's far from expendable. But if he doesn't show some pretty significant growth, and if even one of the kids below manages to do what he was supposed to do and makes an impact straight out of the gate (as opposed to needing 3-4 years to be a solid top-four defenseman, after having spent extra time on the farm), he's going to fall down the depth chart, and if we then decide to move him, we'll be selling quite low. So it's an interesting situation with Smith.

It's probably moot. We'll sign Tom Gilbert ultra-cheap or sign Derek Morris ultra-expensive or something and none of us will be happy and yeah.

Mrazek's ready to be a starter, and Howard isn't going anywhere, so...no way in hell do we sign him. Some people are saying the Caps. I think that'd be a pretty good fit. Then again, he says he wants to play for a contender. Even with his services, I don't think the Caps are close to being a contender.

You. Must. Watch. This. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PAVN2yA7BM#t=15

He's a good hockey player. He's just not much more than a fourth-liner in the NHL. Which, from our perspective, makes him worthless, because he's not going to help our team. But if he can be more valuable to a KHL team (and make way more money), more power to him.

My only complaint is that song. It works, but man, that guy's voice. There's that one commercial that's been running during these playoffs, the one with - if memory serves - that twangy bluegrass-ish song that you wouldn't otherwise associate with playoff hockey. I'm not sure it works all that well, but I think they had the right idea. In my experience, the best kind of song for a thing like that (or this) is one that's a really interesting, unexpected fit in terms of tone/mood but - counterintuitively - not an obvious fit in terms of lyrical content. I feel like the 24/7s are really good at that, finding songs that feel right, even though they don't scream THIS IS A SPORTS MONTAGE SONG. Like, that hall of fame song? The one that gets played whenever a hockey player's being honored? (Or at least at the Bure number retirement ceremony.) Uggghhh.

The bombings hurt the city, its people. Pro sports bring people together, foster a sense of (comm)unity, give them something to rally around, provide catharsis, help them forget their troubles, make them happy, etc. That's likely why the marathon was targeted in the first place; attacking an event like that is striking right at the heart of a city. So I don't mind the association. Do I think Lucic beating his chest is more about Boston Strong than him just being a caveman who does that kind of thing anyway? Not really. But it's not a big deal, to me. But then, I'm not a Bostonian and the bombings didn't hurt me in any serious way. So I dunno.