coldply123

That’s a little too rich for a goalie on one year left. I don’t see much more than a Mercer and a conditional 1st.

Flames ownership pushed the onus to get players to try and keep winning. If they don’t sign Huberdeau or flip him for big package, this deal is a loser. That 1st rounder from Panthers won’t effectively return sight of anything of value for like at least 5 yrs from now. Panthers also have really risked it. Their defensive group is awful and they’re stuck with Bobrovsky right now and while they have a buyout window next off-season and cap room they may end up hamstringing themselves in future years with a buyout. They are going to ride Ekblad into the ground and if he gets injured their season is toast. As for Devils I expect Fitz to keep working the lines and keep his eyes out through rest of off-season and into next off-season.

Disagree. Only high price paid so far is the Nash deal and there’s salary cap ramifications that inflated the return. The Brassard deal to me was a bit of a steal. i think we see some surprising trades tomorrow.

Spooner on the Rangers is a nice pickup. Lindgren is also a solid prospect. He won’t be the next McDonagh, but he should settle in somewhere on the 2nd pair eventually. I think if the Rangers decide to move McDonagh and Zuccarello they will want a 1 and a top prospect. McDonagh probably costs an additional prospect or high pick. They will be a bad team again next year and likely a marginal team the year after but if done right they can have a quick rebuild.

Nolan Patrick. He's a center with size, very good shot, fluid skater too. Plays two ways. Was fairly dominant last year. If he stayed healthy this year, he would have been clear cut first pick. Hischier looks like he's got ability but I'm not sure I see a high ceiling with him. I also am wary of guys from the Q. i think as long as we can squeeze a good 3-4 yrs out of Zajac he can be a terrific mentor to both McLeod and Patrick. Centers that are good don't grow on trees. Shero followed that blueprint in PITT. He then went and found complements on the wings. And then drafted a lot of the guys who helped them retool their wings on the top 3 lines to help win that second Cup last year.

Hes not coming back to the Devils. If they can get a pick for his rights I'm all for it. I don't see any way Shero brings him in here. I think this is a leverage for a final big payday in the KHL. If he wants to come back to NHL sincerely, it's to win a Cup and he's not getting that here in the next couple seasons.

Agree almost entirely with Sundstrom on the facet of it all and the chore for Shero. Top pairing of defense has to be figured out. Lovejoy is a 3rd pair who played top pairing minutes and situations. Greene is on the decline, needs to be sheltered more and should no longer see any serious PP time. Shattenkirk and a LD would do wonders for this team. In terms of F, they ideally need two replacement forwards for the Top 9. I think they can fill the 4th line with Noesen, Wood, and maybe a Speers or a veteran C. But they need another winger who can skate and shoot.

Sheri isn't trading the pick for a pipe dream sign and trade. It's going to be a Top 8 pick. Any talk otherwise is ludicrous.

Pretty solid game by a lot of people. Quincey and Auvitu were real solid. Hall did what we need him to do. Use speed, forecheck, make plays, score. Schneider was his dependable self. Zajac and Henrique I thought got a little hapless and sloppy a few times in the offensive zone but still played relatively well. Fiddler has impressed me a great deal in just a short while. Just a solid smart veteran who gives the bottom line some smarts and reliability and fundamental play on the PK.

Ok. I see that. I would suppose Bennett will see some time on the 1st and 3rd lines a bit. Not sure DSP is a guy I see holding onto that first line role.

I don't see Beau Bennett in the projection. I don't see him a healthy scratch. He'll play over Speers/Wood.

Can't complain. Big guy who can skate okay. He'll play on the 4th and provide some ability along the boards on that line. Him, Fiddler, and I guess Josefson will be our 4th line. All three can play C and take face offs too.

Most of these guys already know where they are going. With the week for visits and discussion, most of the free agents will be off the board by tomorrow. Florida surprises me with Okposo.

I love this new Bruins regime. People knock Chiarelli for some of his trades in Boston but he was GM when they won the Cup and came close to a 2nd. Sweeney and Neely and company seem to try a rebuild but the blueprint to me looks confusing like they think it's the 90s. I think we will see a lot of the signings today. Guys have had quite a few days to discuss interest and offer of terms. Should be fast and furious through the afternoon. No question the big forward dominoes need to fall but I think we will see a few more trades too.

Oilers needed a shutdown D badly. They needed Larsson bigtime. He will make them a better team even if in a vacuum he might not be the Lidstrom people thought he would. Hall is talented but does have some questions himself on maturity. But on talent and skills he will make the Devils dangerous 5v5 and on the PP. And he's 24. And he and Henrique are friends and have chemistry. Good feelings all around.

I really think Keller doesn't get past 9. He may even go Top 8. I wouldn't get my hopes up. I'm interested to see if Shero pulls off a trade tonight back into Round 1 or for a player.

Which gives him leverage to choose a suitor. I don't see Shatt wanting to go to Edmonton. I've heard he'd prefer East Coast either Bruins, Rangers, Wings perhaps.

Shattenkirk is a one yr deal guy right now and strong rumors he intends to tear UFA unless he gets a big deal. Not sure that's a move for Chiarelli to make.

Agreed. I'd like to see Shero inquire if he's available though.

Parenteau is more of a passing forward who can get some goals if he gets enough shots. Eberle is a shooter and not much else. He doesn't play the defensive side well at all at forward. He's also not great along the boards or when the puck isn't on his stick. People got excited because he was very productive early but the rest of his game hasn't caught up or developed or he hasn't committed himself to it. I think we could get a better player or prospect for Severson than Eberle.

Surprised he has Laine so low. Would love to know his reasons. He's got Nylander up real high. Nylanders got real skill but he's raw in terms of having a complete or ready package. Lacks in a few areas you have to work out in the NHL.

There's been rumors Shero likes Eberle even going back years when Shero was GM of the Pens. I wouldn't give up anything of immediate value for Yakupov. He's perilously close to being a total bust and is a huge gamble. I think we definitely deal Stempniak and it's probably a toss up between whether Schlemko or Gelinas gets moved. As for a third move I think it would have to be a really good deal and getting a forward we could build with for five years forward. Most likely any exciting moves with our forward situation will be in the offseason.

You're not getting Drouin for a Stempniak rental. Come on folks. Stempniak is a guy who was on the verge of not having a job a few months ago. He's proven he can still play but if we are lucky we get a 2nd rounder for him and maybe a B prospect if there's teams willing to gamble and bid. He's a guy who has put up numbers playing key minutes with other playmakers. On a playoff team he is at most a 3rd liner and I don't see him continuing this kind of production there. He's a depth addition. Ladd is a prime addition and a big go for it move for the Blackhawks.

It was Verbeek,. who has a rich history of putting in time as a talent evaluator and dealing with player personnel. If TB wanted to send a game scout or advance scout they would have sent somebody else. Not that I think we are getting Drouin, but it potentially validates Friedman's mention that we are a dark horse in the Drouin conversations.

Elias is on his retirement tour. Anyone expecting anything out of him this year wasn't thinking clearly. Come on now. The team just isn't built well enough and deep enough at forward. We knew that coming in this year and we're seeing it show up a bit more now. They will still give some good games the rest of the year but I do think some stretches like this are going to be the norm. People need to let Shero get another offseason to shed some of the remaining age (Elias, Ruutu) with younger skill forwards and upgrade the low level line depth (Tootoo, Gionta).